"You really came?"
Jiang Bingjun frowned. "Since you're here, there's no way out. Do as Young Master Chu Chen said—erect a monument for Chu Han and wear mourning clothes for three days. Then, for the sake of Ah Wu, I'll plead with Young Master Chu Chen to spare your life."
He thought this was the best outcome. It could save Yang Cheng's life, and at the same time, let his daughter see just how low Yang Cheng was before Chu Chen, making her give up on him completely.
Bai Lifo gritted his teeth. "Your Highness, you'd better run. I, Bai Lifo, will stake this worthless life of mine to hold him back for a few breaths."
The drunkard sighed. "Your Highness, you're still young. No need to risk everything for pride. Either bow your head to Chu Chen, or run right now. I can buy you some time."
Yang Cheng smiled.
Great Zhou was still not lacking in men with backbone.
He ignored their words and looked straight at Chu Chen. "Your challenge—I accept."
Everyone around changed color.
Chu Chen froze for a moment, then burst out laughing. "Bold. When I kill you later, I'll make it quick, so you suffer less…"
Boom!
At that moment, Lake-Heart Island shook violently.
In the next instant, the center of the island collapsed.
An ancient graveyard emerged.
"The Azure Emperor's Tomb!"
"It's appeared—the Azure Emperor's Tomb has appeared!"
Cries of shock rang out.
Chu Chen frowned, then looked at Yang Cheng. "Count yourself lucky. The Azure Emperor's Tomb has emerged. I'll let you live a little longer, and then kill you after."
"No need for that trouble," Yang Cheng said.
Everyone was puzzled. They didn't understand what he meant.
Then they heard him say, "Killing you takes only a moment. It won't delay me from seizing the fortunes of the Azure Emperor's Tomb."
At first the crowd froze. Then the place erupted.
"He's insane."
"The Crown Prince is insane, to say such words to Chu Chen."
"Chu Chen was willing to spare him for a while, but he just had to provoke him. Does he have a death wish?"
Everyone thought Yang Cheng was crazy.
"Hahaha!"
Chu Chen's eyes went cold, then he laughed loudly.
"Foolish brat. I was going to let you live longer, but since you don't want that, I'll kill you now."
Even before he finished speaking, Chu Chen's aura swelled and shook.
"Second-layer Martial Saint," the onlookers whispered, their faces grave.
Before, when fighting the drunkard, Chu Chen hadn't revealed his full cultivation. Now everyone realized how terrifying his realm truly was.
Chu Chen pointed a finger. An azure sword shadow shot out like lightning toward Yang Cheng.
The crowd held their breath.
Even the drunkard couldn't block this move.
At this moment, no one present believed Yang Cheng could survive.
"This sword of Chu Chen's is even stronger than before."
"Obviously Yang Cheng angered him. Now he's fighting seriously."
The powerhouses seemed to already see Yang Cheng's blood spill.
"What a pity," Elder Mo said. "This boy's aura isn't ordinary, his talent must be strong. If he could just endure this humiliation, he might one day reach True God."
"Hmph, what's there to pity?" Jiang Bingjun snorted. "He doesn't understand patience. Just a reckless fool. Even if he survived today, he'd still meet disaster sooner or later."
But Yang Cheng's eyes were calm, without the slightest ripple.
"Sword Dao at Great Achievement?"
"Not bad. But in front of me, you're far from enough."
His right hand closed as if gripping the air. True qi surged wildly, instantly condensing into a sword of energy.
Not only that, but the spiritual energy of heaven and earth around him was pulled, surging like a vast ocean.
In his hand, the qi sword was like a giant kun in the sea.
"Northern Sea Sword Codex, First Form—In the Northern Sea, there is a fish."
Yang Cheng swung his sword.
Boom!
In an instant, the azure sword shadow and his sword qi collided.
The destructive shockwaves spread in ripples.
Huge stones crumbled into dust.
The crowd's faces changed and they retreated rapidly, barely escaping the blast.
"What?"
Chu Chen's pupils shrank.
His strike had actually been blocked by Yang Cheng.
All around, faces showed disbelief.
"In Sword Dao, you still have much to learn," Yang Cheng said lightly.
"Arrogant brat," Chu Chen's face darkened.
The next instant, he vanished like a ghost.
He appeared behind Yang Cheng and slammed a palm toward his back.
He was cunning. On the surface he pretended to dismiss Yang Cheng's Sword Dao, but in truth he already feared it. So he changed to another method.
In his mind, Yang Cheng's sword was so strong at his young age that he must have focused only on Sword Dao. His other skills would be weak.
Fighting is about striking where the enemy is weakest.
Knowing Yang Cheng's sword was strong, he wouldn't be stupid enough to clash head-on in swordsmanship.
But Yang Cheng seemed to have already anticipated this.
When Chu Chen appeared behind him, Yang Cheng had already turned, punching out.
Crimson Flood Dragon Divine Fist!
Roar!
In that instant, it was as if a flood dragon burst from his fist, colliding with Chu Chen's palm.
Almost at the same time, Chu Chen felt an unimaginable force pouring from Yang Cheng's fist.
"Impossible!"
He was shocked. He couldn't believe a ten-year-old boy could have such power.
The next moment—
Boom!
Like thunder exploding, before the horrified eyes of the crowd, Chu Chen was blasted back by Yang Cheng's punch.
Yang Cheng's expression stayed calm and composed.
Did Chu Chen think he only knew swordsmanship?
He had no idea Yang Cheng's Fist Dao was already perfected.
Bang!
Chu Chen slammed into the ground, shaking the earth nearby.
A huge crater appeared on the ground.
"How can he be this strong?"
"His aura… it's Martial Emperor!"
"A ten-year-old Martial Emperor? Impossible!"
"But even a Martial Emperor shouldn't be this powerful."
Everyone around was dumbfounded.
If they hadn't seen it with their own eyes, they would never have believed such a thing could exist.
Chu Chen was now caught in a desperate situation.
Yang Cheng's strength far exceeded his expectations. He felt immense trouble looming.
Across from him, Yang Cheng gave him no time to think.
In the blink of an eye, Yang Cheng stepped forward and swung his sword with no wasted movement.
"Northern Sea Sword Codex, Second Form—Great Fish Surfaces."
Splash!
In an instant, it was as if a giant kun leapt from the sea, striking at Chu Chen.
"Danger."
Chu Chen's heart pounded. He frantically surged his true qi to resist and unleashed his strongest sword strike.
Clang!
The two swords clashed.
A tsunami-like force instantly overwhelmed Chu Chen.
His body smashed through a boulder more than ten feet wide, then fell to the ground with a scream.
When people saw him clearly, their scalps tingled.
Chu Chen was covered in blood, his right arm bent at a grotesque angle—clearly broken.
"Run."
At that moment, Chu Chen no longer cared about dignity or face. He turned and fled.
His escape path was straight toward the Azure Emperor's Tomb.
He obviously wanted to use it as shelter.
His speed was terrifying.
In the blink of an eye, he had reached above the Azure Emperor's Tomb.
Just as he was about to step inside, a voice rang from behind. "Northern Sea Sword Codex, Third Form—Kun Swims the Sea."
Before anyone could react, a terrifying sword qi swept across like a sea-drowning wave, slashing at Chu Chen's back.
In an instant, a deep bone-revealing wound split open across his back.
The sight made everyone shiver in terror.
Yang Cheng and Chu Chen were separated by over one hundred zhang.
Yet Yang Cheng's sword qi crossed that distance without losing any power?
What level of Sword Dao was this!
"Perfected Sword Dao," the drunkard cried out. "This is absolutely perfection. Only at this level can Sword Dao hold such divine might!"
The words left everyone stunned.
Ten years old and Sword Dao perfected?
This was beyond comprehension.
How could such a monster exist in the world!
Jiang Bingjun and Elder Mo both swallowed hard.
They came from the Azure Jade Realm and had always looked down on the Wasteland Realm's martial artists.
But Yang Cheng had just shattered their arrogance.
A freak like him—unheard of even in the Azure Jade Realm.
The Azure Jade Realm had plenty of people stronger than Yang Cheng, but at his age, none with this level of power.
Bang!
Almost at the same time, Chu Chen fell into the Azure Emperor's Tomb.
Ding!
[Before countless eyes, the host crushed Chu Chen with overwhelming might.]
[Chu Chen, a cultivator at Refining God level, couldn't withstand even three swords from the host. His reputation lies in ruins.]
[This battle is heaven-defying. The minds of all witnesses have been overturned.]
[System evaluation complete. Reward: host attains perfected Blade Dao.]
Ripples spread through the void as glowing system text appeared.
"Not dead?"
Yang Cheng looked a little surprised, though not too much.
Someone like Chu Chen must have life-saving cards hidden away.
But Chu Chen wasn't Yang Xiu.
Even if he escaped this time, he would never leave the Wasteland Realm alive.
While Yang Cheng remained calm, the crowd grew increasingly shaken.
Three swords.
The so-called genius of the Azure Jade Realm, Chu Chen, couldn't withstand even three swords from the Crown Prince of Great Zhou, Yang Cheng.
This battle had been hotly discussed across the Wasteland Realm for three months already.
No one had expected it to end like this.
At this moment, both Wasteland Realm martial artists and outsiders were silent, unable to breathe.
When the Azure Emperor's Tomb appeared and Yang Cheng declared killing Chu Chen wouldn't delay him from entering, people thought he was mad.
Now they understood.
It wasn't Yang Cheng who was mad—it was their vision that was too shallow.
The world truly held such monsters.
Miao Yongnian and the drunkard stood frozen, their minds blank.
Fang Muxian's legs shook uncontrollably, his heart filled with despair.
He had taken Chu Chen as his great backer, mocking Yang Cheng without restraint.
Who could have thought Chu Chen would be this unreliable?
"His Highness the Crown Prince is wise and mighty, unmatched under heaven!"
A trembling but excited voice shouted.
It was Bai Lifo.
He and the old man beside him were so thrilled they could barely contain themselves.
Who said the Wasteland Realm had no geniuses!
Compared to the Crown Prince, the so-called Azure Jade Realm genius Chu Chen was nothing but crap.
"Hahaha!"
Not only them—most Wasteland Realm martial artists present felt a surge of joy, until they too burst out laughing.
On a boat by the shore, Ouyang Xue gaped. "Didn't Uncle say our Wasteland geniuses are nothing compared to those of the Azure Jade Realm? Didn't he say Young Master Chu Chen could easily crush the Crown Prince?"
She had truly believed it.
She had thought the Azure Jade Realm geniuses shone like blazing suns, and Chu Chen was dazzling beyond compare.
But now, Chu Chen had been crushed by just three swords from the Crown Prince, cast into the Azure Emperor's Tomb, his life or death unknown.
To her, it suddenly felt like maybe it was the Azure Jade Realm's geniuses who weren't much, and not the Wasteland Realm's.