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Zhuang Lin said coldly, "So in today's Great Zhou, there really isn't a decent expert left?"
Qin Wuya clenched his fists. "If our Crown Prince were here, he would never let you act so arrogantly."
"Yang Cheng?"
Zhuang Lin sneered with disdain. "If he dares to come, I can suppress him with just one hand."
Qin Wuya shook his head and gave a faint laugh. "No, you don't know how strong the Crown Prince truly is."
"You've never even fought Yang Cheng, so how would you know?" Zhuang Lin mocked.
Qin Wuya replied, "I may not have fought the Crown Prince, but I've crossed hands with Chu Xuzhi."
"Chu Xuzhi was slain by the Crown Prince and became the laughingstock of the world, branded the weakest Martial Sovereign in history."
"But those who actually fought him know he was anything but weak. His strength was terrifying."
"Three years ago, I fought him myself. The result was that he suppressed me."
"Yet the Crown Prince was able to slay him without even taking a scratch. That kind of strength is far beyond what you can match."
"Ridiculous."
Zhuang Lin scoffed. "If he's really that strong, then why has Great Zhou and Great Zhao been at war for two months already, yet he hasn't dared to show his face before me?"
"The Crown Prince must have been delayed by some matter."
Qin Wuya said.
"Hahaha, keep that excuse to comfort yourselves, you ignorant fools."
Zhuang Lin's contempt grew even heavier.
Qin Wuya's face darkened, but he could only let his disciples drag him away.
Once he left, whispers spread among the gathered forces.
"Why hasn't the Crown Prince of Great Zhou shown up yet?"
"I think Lin Zhuang is right. Most likely, he's afraid."
"Understandable. After all, he's only 11 years old. It's normal for a child to be scared."
The world gossiped restlessly.
"People of Great Zhou, listen well. I've heard that Great Zhou has a Marquis Champion."
Zhuang Lin shouted, "It's one thing if Yang Cheng, still a child, doesn't dare to face me. But that Marquis Champion is about the same age as me. Why hasn't he appeared either?
Pass on my words to him—tell him Lin Zhuang is here waiting. He had better not be a turtle hiding in its shell."
This declaration made even more martial artists of Great Zhou flush with rage.
It was one thing to insult Yang Cheng.
After all, he was still young, and most felt it was only natural if he couldn't match Lin Zhuang.
But the Marquis Champion was the true faith and pride of Great Zhou's younger generation of martial cultivators.
And yet, as time passed—
Half a month slipped by.
The Marquis Champion still had not appeared.
This dealt a crushing blow to countless martial artists of Great Zhou.
Divine Medicine Valley.
"Finally… my Golden Dantian is completely filled."
Yang Cheng sat cross-legged on the ground.
A million spirit stones had been completely consumed.
His dantian had turned into a vast ocean of true qi.
It was terrifying.
The total amount of his true qi was at least ten thousand times that of other cultivators of the same realm.
His body had practically become a self-contained world of true qi.
Yet on the surface, his aura grew only calmer and more restrained.
"My strength… has already surpassed my previous life."
Yang Cheng let out a quiet sigh.
The gap between a cripple and a genius was clearer than ever.
In his past life, with his martial bones ruined, he struggled bitterly for 500 years, barely reaching the Martial Saint realm, and his strength was only equal to a mediocre Martial Sovereign.
But now—
At just 11 years old, he was already a Martial Saint.
And his true strength couldn't even be compared.
Now Yang Cheng understood how those so-called geniuses looked down on him back then.
Because now, when he looked at most of today's geniuses, they were no different from stray dogs in his eyes.
Still, he wasn't in a rush to leave seclusion.
"Now that my Golden Dantian is filled, it's time to make my breakthrough."
Yang Cheng closed his eyes again.
A million top-grade spirit stones had already formed a whirlpool like a sea eye inside Yang Cheng's Golden Dantian.
This gave his Golden Dantian an incredibly terrifying devouring power.
Outside the loft where Yang Cheng was in seclusion, a figure paced anxiously at the door.
That figure was Xu Qingxue's maid, Li Xiang.
"Your Highness, just how long are you going to stay in seclusion?"
Her face was pale, and despair had already set in.
Seventy-two days.
She had waited here for exactly seventy-two days.
Counting the travel time, it had been seventy-five days since Xu Qingxue was struck by the Nine-Nine Thunder Origin Finger.
Only six days remained until the final deadline.
By then, Xu Qingxue would die.
But the people of Divine Medicine Valley firmly refused to let her disturb the Crown Prince.
All she could do was wait.
These seventy-two days had felt like the world was being overturned, like seas turning into mulberry fields.
The Great Zhou martial world had fallen into sudden silence, like ten thousand horses gone mute.
Su Lingchen sat calmly atop Old Yin Mountain.
Countless experts of Great Zhou rushed to Zhen'nan Pass, eager to challenge him.
But Su Lingchen didn't even need to act. His disciple Lin Zhuang swept through every challenger from Great Zhou.
Even Qin Wuya, a triple Martial Sovereign, was defeated.
Was Qin Wuya truly the strongest Great Zhou had?
Of course not.
The ancient clans and aristocratic families absolutely hid stronger beings.
But—
On one hand, those beings probably wished to see the Yang clan's reputation dragged through the mud and deliberately stood by.
On the other hand, Su Lingchen was no ordinary opponent.
He looked like he hadn't moved, but just sitting there was already a crushing deterrent.
If anyone stronger than Qin Wuya appeared, Su Lingchen would likely strike for real.
Ordinary martial artists couldn't sense it.
But Martial Sovereigns could all feel the terrifying spiritual pressure looming over Old Yin Mountain.
Peak Martial Sovereign!
Su Lingchen was definitely a peak Martial Sovereign, the closest existence to a god.
That alone kept the old Martial Sovereigns of Great Zhou from daring to show themselves.
For a time, both the Marquis Champion and Yang Cheng's reputations had collapsed across the world.
These two once had immense prestige in Great Zhou.
But after two and a half months, neither had dared to show their faces.
"Forget Yang Cheng, but what's going on with the Marquis Champion?"
"He roared ferociously against us Wasteland Realm cultivators, yet now that Azure Jade Realm experts have come, he hides like a turtle. Truly disappointing."
"No one's asking him to fight Su Lingchen directly, but at least he should stop Su Lingchen's disciple from being so arrogant."
Most people no longer cared much about Yang Cheng.
In their eyes, he wasn't qualified to participate in this battle.
What they cared about was the Marquis Champion, and their fury grew because he still hadn't appeared.
Of course, some people still had their eyes on Yang Cheng.
"Fang Wunian, you're still alive? And your aura looks even stronger."
Zhou Chong's expression showed surprise.
Back then, the Fang clan offended the Crown Prince and was hunted down by the clans of Chanzhou.
The Fang clan collapsed, and even Fang Muxian perished.
They had assumed Fang Wunian was dead. But to their shock, he had survived.
"My Fang clan has thousands of years of heritage in Chanzhou. Some hidden strength helped me escape."
Fang Wunian said, "After escaping, I went to the Great Zhao Empire. Now I've returned to Great Zhou with their army."
"Not only that, I had good luck. Martial Sovereign Lin Zhuang values me, and he's allowed me to serve as his attendant."
"Then your luck really is good."
Zhou Chong said with envy. "Being the attendant of a Martial Sovereign—that's something countless people dream of."
"Brother Fang, since you're Martial Sovereign Lin's attendant, you must know him well."
Huang Yu asked, "In your view, if Martial Sovereign Lin fought the Crown Prince, who would win?"