"Plum Blossom Divine Sword."
Nangong Yi's sword swept out like a blooming plum blossom.
Beautiful—yet deadly.
Even from a distance, many of the young prodigies watching felt a chill run down their spines, their scalps tingling.
In the blink of an eye, Yang Cheng's wooden sword brushed past Yang Xiu's throat and stabbed toward Nangong Yi.
Nangong Yi's treasure sword unleashed over ten streaks of sword qi, like scattered plum petals, surrounding Yang Cheng in an encirclement.
In his mind, Yang Cheng should've panicked and floundered—then be defeated by him.
But Yang Cheng didn't hesitate at all. His wooden sword passed by Yang Xiu and shot toward Nangong Yi like a flash of lightning.
His sword was faster than Nangong Yi's sword qi.
In just a breath's time, the wooden sword pierced into the center of the more than ten sword qi attacks.
Nangong Yi's face went pale. He sensed danger and could only dodge by instinct.
Next moment—
Puchi!
Yang Cheng's wooden sword pierced straight through Nangong Yi's shoulder.
Only then did Nangong Yi's sword qi reach Yang Cheng.
Yang Cheng calmly dodged. Then, in one step, he shifted beside Nangong Yi and casually drew his wooden sword back out.
"Ah!"
Nangong Yi cried out in pain, staggering backward. Blood quickly soaked half his robe.
Zhao Shouyi took the opportunity to ambush Yang Cheng from behind, both palms rumbling with powerful, crashing force.
But Yang Cheng didn't even turn his head. He let Zhao Shouyi's palm slam into his back.
Zhao Shouyi's face lit up in delight.
Then—
"Stars Shift and Worlds Turn!"
Yang Cheng suddenly reversed his qi flow.
Boom!
Zhao Shouyi's palm force was instantly redirected, rebounding straight back at him.
Crack!
His arm fractured on the spot. Zhao Shouyi was sent flying backward.
Almost at the same time—
Yang Cheng's fingers swept once more across the zither strings of Wei Roujia's ancient zither.
This time, he got serious.
Yao Qingxiao's mind was thrown into chaos. His hands lost control.
All the strings snapped at once, and he coughed up blood, falling backward.
The whole fight lasted less than thirty breaths.
All six of the so-called prodigies had been completely defeated!
The hall fell dead silent.
Those other young geniuses who had been itching to make a move now looked deathly pale.
Leng Qianyu's sword hand clenched, then slowly released.
"Could I even block him?"
She asked herself honestly—and realized she had no confidence at all.
That realization made her heart feel even heavier.
Kongxing's prayer beads snapped with a loud crack—proof his mind was in turmoil.
Even the Jade Zither Pavilion senior sister's flowing skirt fluttered without wind. Clearly, she too was shaken to her core.
And then—
"From Taoshan of the Skyfeather Empire, we offer our congratulations to the Crown Prince and Sixth Prince of Great Zhou, and present a supreme-grade spirit peach and a high-grade spirit peach."
The Taoshan envoy group from the Skyfeather Empire had arrived.
Among their group, a seventeen-year-old youth stood out most.
The moment people saw him, the same name flashed across almost everyone's minds.
Tian Congxuan!
A peerless prodigy who had become famous in the Eastern Wastes at just three years old—and whose fame had only grown louder since.
Of course, the Yang Cheng of today clearly outshone the Three-Year-old Tian Congxuan from back then.
But the problem was—Tian Congxuan was now seventeen.
There were even rumors he had recently broken through to the peak of the Martial King realm.
That made him the youngest peak Martial King in the Eastern Wastes.
Everyone also knew Yang Cheng had slain Baili Guan in the Ancient Desolation Tower.
And five years ago, Tian Congxuan had publicly declared Yang Cheng would pay a price for that.
Earlier, no matter how monstrous Nangong Yi and the others were, their cultivation was still only at half-step Martial King.
Tian Congxuan was different.
He wasn't just a Martial King—he was a peak Martial King, a whole level beyond.
Under countless stares, Tian Congxuan raised his head and looked toward Yang Cheng.
Yang Cheng met his gaze at the same moment.
Their eyes locked.
Then Tian Congxuan turned to Emperor Qian Yuan and gave a respectful bow. "Your Majesty of Great Zhou, your Crown Prince killed my Skyfeather Empire's imperial prince and Taoshan's true disciple, Baili Guan. I hope your empire can give me an explanation—for the sake of Taoshan and the Skyfeather Empire."
"What kind of explanation are you asking for from Great Zhou?"
Emperor Qian Yuan asked calmly.
"Your Crown Prince is still young. If I were to challenge him to a duel, it would be an act of bullying."
Tian Congxuan said, "So I'm not being unreasonable. All I ask is that he take a single strike from me. If he can withstand it, I'll let go of my brother's death."
Emperor Qian Yuan let out a laugh.
But before he could speak, a lazy voice rang out: "How about this—you take one move from me first. If you survive, I'll let you challenge the Crown Prince. How's that?"
Shua!
Everyone turned at once toward the voice.
From among the banquet seats stood a youth, gentle and elegant, yet emanating a vast and deep presence.
Once they saw his face clearly, many in the hall felt a chill rise in their hearts.
The speaker—none other than Great Zhou's Marquis Champion, Yun Jinghuai.
Only now did people truly realize—
Earlier, all attention had been on the young prodigies, and they had completely overlooked the terrifying genius still present at the feast.
And come to think of it, the Marquis Champion was only twenty-two years old.
It was only because his accomplishments were so dazzling that people instinctively lumped him in with the veteran powerhouses.
Tian Congxuan was impressive, but compared to the Marquis Champion, he didn't seem like much.
At seventeen, Tian Congxuan had just broken through to the peak of the Martial King realm. But at that same age, the Marquis Champion was already a Martial Saint.
Yang Cheng smiled.
This life wasn't the same as his previous one.
In his last life, he would've had to face all of this alone.
But now, if anyone wanted to move against him, they had to consider whether those behind him would allow it.
Earlier, Yun Jinghuai hadn't spoken up because he had faith in Yang Cheng, believing he could handle Nangong Yi and the others.
But now that a peak Martial King like Tian Congxuan had stepped forward, it clearly crossed a line—Yun Jinghuai wasn't having it.
Only now did the various factions' cultivators suddenly come to their senses.
The person they were targeting wasn't some nobody from a humble background. He was the Crown Prince of Great Zhou—its most noble figure.
Great Zhou had deliberately kept its hands off earlier, just to let Yang Cheng showcase his talent and presence. But that didn't mean they'd allow anyone to bully him.
Tian Congxuan's face darkened.
He too had completely forgotten about the Marquis Champion.
Clearly, deep down, he'd unconsciously placed Yun Jinghuai in the same category as older generation powerhouses.
Only now did he realize—the Marquis Champion was just five years older than him.
That age gap was even smaller than the one between himself and Yang Cheng.
Still, Tian Congxuan quickly calmed down.
He wouldn't have shown up at the Great Zhou palace and said such things today if he hadn't come prepared.
He composed himself and said, "Honestly, this is the least damaging path for Great Zhou. Letting your Crown Prince take one strike from me is giving you a chance. If you don't take it, then don't blame me for what happens next."
Everyone from Great Zhou frowned. Tian Congxuan's words were sharp and abrasive.
Yang Cheng raised his brows, thinking to himself, 'So, Tian Congxuan knows what's about to happen too. Timing-wise, it's about right.'
He lifted his gaze toward the sky.
Buzz—
Suddenly, without warning, the sky surged with churning winds and clouds.
Everyone in the Imperial Supreme Hall sensed something was wrong and looked up.
They saw the clouds rapidly twisting into a massive black vortex.
Inside the vortex, lightning crackled and thunder roared.
"What's going on?"
"Why is the sky suddenly changing like this?"
Even the powerful cultivators were caught off guard.
Rumble!
A moment later, beams of divine light shot out from deep within the vortex.
Amid the swirling radiance, an ancient bronze token fell from the heavens, hurtling straight toward the Imperial Supreme Hall.
This token carried a mysterious force that seemed capable of distorting space.
"The Qingqiu Token!"
Yang Xiu's eyes lit up.
"It's here," Tian Congxuan muttered.
Yang Cheng was more familiar with this sight than anyone.
The Qingqiu Token—key to the Qingqiu Secret Realm.
In his past life, when it descended, it would briefly pull in any living being under the age of twenty with Martial cultivation within 100 zhang of it—about 330 meters.
The time inside wasn't long—just a few breaths.
Using the time units from his original world, it was about three minutes.
But in that short three minutes, within a secret realm no great power could interfere in, many things could happen.
In his previous life, several prodigies had died during those three minutes.
The most shocking was the death of Chu Xianyin, senior sister of the Jade Zither Pavilion.
She was on par with Leng Qianyu.
No one had expected her to die.
And even now, the cause of her death remained a mystery.
Back then, Yang Cheng was a useless nobody. He didn't even have true qi, so he hadn't been pulled into the Qingqiu Secret Realm.
Naturally, he had no idea how Chu Xianyin died.
In hindsight, that was lucky.
If he'd gone in, he likely would've been the first to die.
Buzz—
The next moment—
Yang Cheng felt the space around him ripple.
In a flash, the world spun, and he found himself in a strange new land.
The sky stretched thousands of zhang high, the land vast and boundless.
One by one, the young talents from the Imperial Supreme Hall appeared.
They quickly realized that this place was overflowing with rare treasures.
All the geniuses scattered instantly, each racing to seize the treasures before anyone else.
Even Nangong Yi and Zhao Shouyi, who had hated Yang Cheng moments ago, hesitated only briefly before abandoning revenge. They rushed off to search for treasures too.
Clearly, in their minds, getting stronger mattered more than personal grudges.
But not everyone acted that way.
Two pairs of eyes locked onto Yang Cheng.
Yang Xiu and Tian Congxuan.
Yang Cheng smiled. "Sixth Brother, you're really loyal. You knew he'd target me, so you stayed to help me deal with him."
Tian Congxuan's gaze turned sharp as a blade, glaring at Yang Xiu.
"Yang Cheng, trying to sow discord won't work."
Yang Xiu said, "Tian Congxuan, our goal is the same—kill him. Don't complicate things."
"You want him dead that badly? Fine. Then go kill him yourself."
Tian Congxuan gave a sinister smile.
Yang Xiu wasn't stupid. He immediately caught on and his face changed. "You want me to kill him so you don't have to worry about Great Zhou's retaliation. You get to watch him die and still stay clean—how sneaky."
"You don't have a choice. If you don't kill him, I'll kill you."
Tian Congxuan's voice turned cold. "Of course, while you fight him, I'll lend a hand."