"Interesting."
Mo Jialan smiled faintly, amused.
Tian Congxuan's face instantly darkened.
"Crown Prince of Great Zhou, do you really think our senior brother is still the same as he was a few years ago?"
A Taoshan martial artist shouted angrily. "A few years ago, our senior brother underestimated you and suffered a setback in your hands. But after that, he turned shame into strength and directly broke through the Martial King bottleneck, advancing to Martial Emperor!"
The moment these words fell, many around them were shaken.
Tian Congxuan had already become a Martial Emperor?
"Correct," Tian Congxuan said coldly. "Yang Cheng, I should thank you. If not for the pressure you gave me, I wouldn't have broken through the Martial King barrier so quickly."
Yang Cheng sighed. "Martial Emperor? In terms of cultivation, Tian Congxuan, you've already far surpassed this prince. Only…"
He changed his tone, his expression playful. "You don't think you're the only Martial Emperor here, do you?"
At this, Tian Congxuan's expression froze.
Yang Cheng turned to Mo Jialan. "The Holy Son of the Wheel-Turning Sect, Mo Jialan, broke through to Martial Emperor half a year ago. Compared to him, Tian Congxuan, you're still a bit lacking."
Mo Jialan had hidden himself well. Others all thought he was still a peak Martial King.
But Yang Cheng knew the truth. In his past life, when Mo Jialan clashed with Yang Xiu, he had revealed his true realm—Martial Emperor.
At that time, Yang Xiu's cultivation had been far inferior, unable to match Mo Jialan at all.
It was only because of his Heaven's Mandate fate that Yang Xiu survived.
Back then, on Heavenly Pillar Mountain, there had been a guardian beast—a transformed serpent that protected the divine corpse of the Chiwen.
For reasons unknown, that serpent had helped Yang Xiu against Mo Jialan, even suppressing Mo Jialan completely.
Mo Jialan had been enjoying the show from the sidelines just now, but he never expected Yang Cheng to turn the spearhead directly toward him.
What was worse, his carefully hidden realm was suddenly stripped bare without warning.
Tian Congxuan's pupils contracted.
He had truly wanted to wash away his shame by defeating Yang Cheng.
But after hearing this, he instantly restrained his impulse.
Mo Jialan was a Martial Emperor hiding as a Martial King—clearly an old fox.
If he and Yang Cheng fought to mutual destruction, Mo Jialan would only swoop in to reap the benefits.
Yang Xiu's expression also changed. Fear flickered in his eyes.
Tian Congxuan and Mo Jialan were both Martial Emperors?
Before entering the Qingqiu Secret Realm, he had only been at the peak of Martial Grandmaster.
After stepping inside, he realized Lin Xinglan had vanished, clearly suppressed by the rules of the secret realm.
He couldn't resist his desire and once again cultivated the Heaven-Devouring Technique.
Others could only absorb the pure energy from beast cores, but he could devour even the life essence of the beasts themselves.
This caused his cultivation to soar. He advanced to Martial King, then quickly climbed all the way to Seventh Layer Martial King.
Before this, he had been rather smug, believing that with such cultivation, he would dominate the secret realm.
But now, hearing that Tian Congxuan and Mo Jialan had already reached Martial Emperor, his pride collapsed, replaced by caution.
With just a few words, Yang Cheng had turned these prodigies against one another. He smiled faintly.
Then, without staying, he led his followers toward the mountain summit.
The other factions saw this and dared not hesitate. They quickly moved as well, unwilling to let Yang Cheng take the lead.
Yang Xiu felt suffocated with frustration.
Everyone clearly knew Yang Cheng had seized a great fortune, yet no one would join hands against him.
And by himself, he had no confidence to suppress Yang Cheng.
Still unwilling, he rushed into the cave.
But before long, he staggered back out, looking desolate.
Inside was nothing but ruins.
That only confirmed for him that a great fortune had indeed been inside—and Yang Cheng had taken it.
Still, thinking of the chance waiting at the summit, he didn't dare waste time. He let out a furious roar to vent his anger, then dashed up the mountain.
At the summit, the gathered geniuses all wore shocked expressions.
Before the crowd was a small lake.
What stunned them was the enormous corpse lying by its shore.
The corpse had the head of a dragon and the body of a fish. Half of its body lay on the bank, the other half submerged in water.
Even the part exposed on land stretched 20 zhang long.
That meant its full length was at least 30 zhang.
Even though everyone present came from extraordinary backgrounds, none had ever seen such a massive creature.
The aura it released even in death far surpassed what they had imagined.
They had seen Martial Sovereigns before.
But even a Martial Sovereign's aura could not compare to this corpse.
"A divine beast!"
Someone's voice trembled with excitement.
The others were no better.
Such a massive corpse, radiating such terrifying might—without doubt, it was the body of a divine beast.
This was a fortune.
A true, heaven-defying fortune.
Even geniuses like Tian Congxuan and Mo Jialan could not hide the fiery heat in their gazes.
But Yang Cheng remained calm.
If these people fought to the death over this at Heavenly Pillar Mountain, the mountain would likely collapse again.
The Qingqiu Secret Realm would sink once more into the Nether Abyss, opening another rift in the Wasteland Realm.
If he hadn't known that outcome, he could have ignored it. But since he knew, he would never allow it.
Yang Cheng acted decisively.
Before anyone else reacted, he charged to the side of the corpse, grabbed it with one hand, and dragged it away.
His strength was overwhelming. The massive body was pulled along with ease.
The others were stunned.
Just as they moved to stop him—
Roar!
The lake churned violently as a massive creature leapt out. Though far smaller than the divine corpse, it was still over 3 zhang long.
It was a serpent with wings, radiating the aura of a Beast Emperor.
Bursting from the lake, it immediately attacked the gathered crowd.
It didn't know Yang Cheng wasn't with them. Seeing him seize the divine corpse, it assumed all the humans were acting together and so struck at the rest from behind.
That left most people trapped by the serpent's water attacks, unable to pursue Yang Cheng.
Only Tian Congxuan, Mo Jialan, and Yang Xiu, with their superior strength and speed, managed to break free and chase after him.
"Yang Cheng, stop right there!"
"You can't possibly keep the divine corpse for yourself!"
The three top prodigies shouted in rage.
Yang Cheng ignored them.
Half an hour later, he had already escaped down from Heavenly Pillar Mountain, running another 10 li before stopping.
Here, even if a battle broke out, it wouldn't shatter Heavenly Pillar Mountain.
Only then did Yang Cheng relax.
Seeing him suddenly halt, the three pursuers were briefly startled.
"Sixth Brother, squabbles between us brothers aside, when facing outsiders we ought to stand together," Yang Cheng said as he looked at Yang Xiu.
At those words, Tian Congxuan and Mo Jialan immediately turned guarded gazes on Yang Xiu.
"Shut your mouth!"
Yang Xiu cursed furiously. "Yang Cheng, you and I are sworn enemies. There's no way I would ever join forces with you!"
Yang Cheng slapped his forehead lightly. "Ah, I was foolish. What I should have done is pretend to be enemies with you, so when the fighting starts, you can sneak up on them from behind."
Tian Congxuan and Mo Jialan's eyes grew sharp and dangerous.
"What are those looks supposed to mean?" Yang Xiu shouted angrily. "Don't tell me you can't see through such a cheap provocation. Right now, we should be working together to deal with him first."
"Yang Xiu," Mo Jialan said coldly, "to deal with Yang Cheng, Tian Congxuan and I are enough. If you're truly against him, then back off at least 3 li and don't come near."
"You idiot!" Yang Xiu almost burst with rage. "Yang Cheng is sly and hard to deal with. The two of you alone might not be able to kill him!"
Mo Jialan sneered. "What a joke. Do you mean to say the two of us working together still can't handle one of him? Or is it that you really do plan to stab us in the back?"
Yang Xiu nearly coughed blood but forced himself calm. "If you don't trust me, then I'll go ahead and fight him from the front. You two can follow behind to support me. That should work, right?"
He wanted Yang Cheng dead so badly that he was willing to swallow his pride. He would even give up the divine corpse if it meant killing him.
Yang Cheng's brows rose slightly. 'So he's grown a bit after all. He's starting to show some of the scheming of that so-called Heaven's Mandate Emperor.'
"Oh?"
Tian Congxuan and Mo Jialan exchanged glances, finally believing Yang Xiu's sincerity.
By now, Yang Cheng couldn't be bothered to toy with them any longer.
"No need for such trouble," he said flatly. "I really was just teasing Sixth Brother. You can all come at me together. Don't waste time."
"Good, good, good! Yang Cheng, in that case, let me once again test your strength!"
Tian Congxuan was the first to lose patience.
"Vast Heaven Hammer!"
He attacked with a killing move right from the start. The Vast Heaven Hammer appeared in his hands, and he charged forward, swinging it down at Yang Cheng with explosive force.
Boom!
The air shook violently, the ground trembling beneath them.
Tian Congxuan truly had reached Martial Emperor level. His might was incomparable to what it had been a year ago.
But Yang Cheng stood his ground. He swung his sword simply, without flourish.
"Northern Sea Sword Codex, First Form—In the Northern Sea, There Is a Fish."
The sword energy surged like a Kun, vast and unstoppable, colliding head-on with the Vast Heaven Hammer.
The resulting shockwave ripped outward, annihilating everything nearby. Rocks shattered into dust.
Both fighters were driven back several steps.
Mo Jialan's eyes narrowed sharply.
Until now, he had only heard Yang Cheng's name and had harbored doubts.
Could a nine-year-old boy really be that strong?
But now, before his very eyes, Yang Cheng had fought a Martial Emperor to a standstill.
Tian Congxuan's face twisted darkly.
He had thought himself soaring high by breaking through to Martial Emperor in a single year.
But Yang Cheng was even more monstrous.
The boy's cultivation was clearly at Sixth Layer Martial King, yet his strength rivaled Martial Emperors.
His plan to kill Yang Cheng alone was shattered.
"This child is too monstrous. He must not be allowed to live," Tian Congxuan said grimly, setting aside his pride.
"I've never cared about pride," Mo Jialan grinned. "Any means is fine, so long as the enemy dies. Crown Prince of Great Zhou, the three beauties you brought into the secret realm are quite something. Once you're dead, I'll take them for myself. I'll make sure they enjoy themselves day and night."
"You're trying to provoke me, to shake my composure and weaken my fighting spirit?"
Yang Cheng's eyes turned ice-cold. "Congratulations. You've succeeded. The price is this—I now see only one path for you. You've already chosen death."
In that instant, nothing else mattered to him.
All that mattered was killing Mo Jialan.
Mo Jialan only laughed harder. "Good! I'm right here. If you have the guts, kill me."
"Fine. I'll grant your wish."
Yang Cheng stomped hard, his figure shooting forward like a beast loosed from its cage.
Seeing this, Tian Congxuan and Yang Xiu grew excited.
Yang Cheng had truly been enraged by Mo Jialan's taunt.
To them, this was nothing but excellent news.