Old Yin Mountain.
Su Lingchen suddenly turned his head toward the direction of Heavenly Heart Island.
"Tribulation lightning? Someone in the Wasteland Realm is actually crossing tribulation to become a god?"
His expression changed drastically.
In that moment, he even had the impulse to rush to Heavenly Heart Island at once.
But he knew it was pointless.
By the time he got there, that expert would already be finished.
And since this figure had no reputation in the Wasteland Realm, most likely they were a hidden master in seclusion.
He didn't believe they were a native martial artist of the Wasteland Realm.
"Seventeen years ago, perhaps another expert from the Azure Jade Realm descended secretly with us into the Wasteland Realm."
Su Lingchen thought to himself, "Now that person has been in seclusion for seventeen years, and finally stepped into the divine realm."
His eyes shone with yearning.
When would he himself reach this step?
At the same time.
Across the Wasteland Realm, countless experts were shaken to their core.
That such a mighty existence had been hiding in the Wasteland Realm all this time!
Divine Medicine Valley.
The rolling heavenly thunder was being swallowed into Yang Cheng's body.
"Hiss!"
"My heavens."
Everyone in Divine Medicine Valley gasped.
"Swallowing heavenly thunder?"
"Is… is he even human?"
And this was only the beginning of the tribulation.
One thunderbolt after another fell, each more terrifying than the last.
But Yang Cheng only grew fiercer.
He stood in the void, fists shattering thunder, each strike shaking heaven and earth.
The broken lightning was swallowed straight into his body.
By the seventh bolt, his clothes were shredded and his body was covered in scorched marks.
By the eighth bolt, blood flowed from his mouth and nose.
When the ninth thunderbolt descended—
"Come!"
Yang Cheng roared, surging forward with unstoppable force, his fist smashing straight into the final bolt of lightning.
Boom!
Heaven and earth lost their color.
The blinding light left everyone momentarily blind.
When the radiance faded—
Yang Cheng had passed through the tribulation lightning and rushed into the thunderclouds themselves.
"Swallow!"
Like a starving beast, Yang Cheng devoured the endless thunder around him.
It was like an ocean of lightning, giving him boundless energy never seen before.
Within half a cup of tea's time, the tribulation lightning in the sky was nearly all consumed.
Yang Cheng's cultivation surged wildly, leaping from the second level of Martial Saint straight to the seventh.
Boom!
The heavens cleared as the tribulation thunder completely scattered.
"The heavenly tribulation… was beaten back?"
Yu Qiuyue was utterly stunned.
Li Xiang's legs gave way, and she collapsed to the ground. "Your Highness… has become a god?"
The scene in the sky filled Murong Cong with regret so bitter it cut to the bone.
He had once sided with Zuo Qiuming.
Yu Qiuyue, out of consideration for Murong Yun, had spared his life.
But now, Murong Cong wished she hadn't.
Murong Yun's ties with the Great Zhou Crown Prince seemed rather close.
If not for his meddling, the Murong clan might have clung to the leg of the Great Zhou Crown Prince.
And he had ruined it all.
Yang Cheng slowly descended, his aura suppressed, yet giving off a pressure so unfathomable it was suffocating.
"Your Highness Yang Cheng… did you become a god?"
Yu Qiuyue's voice trembled.
Yang Cheng was startled at first, then quickly understood. "I haven't become a god. I'm still only at Martial Saint."
Hearing this, Yu Qiuyue and the disciples of Divine Medicine Valley were not disappointed—instead, they were even more shocked.
The power of that tribulation lightning was real, enough to kill a Martial Sovereign outright.
Yet Yang Cheng, only a Martial Saint, had withstood it. That was more terrifying than becoming a god.
At this moment, in their eyes, Yang Cheng was not a god but greater than a god.
"Greetings to His Highness the Crown Prince!"
A huge number of disciples of Divine Medicine Valley fell to their knees, treating Yang Cheng as if he truly were divine.
Even Yu Qiuyue and the other higher-ups, though they did not kneel, still bowed deeply.
It was then that Yang Cheng noticed Li Xiang and said in surprise, "Li Xiang? Why are you here?"
During this whole time, his consciousness had been immersed within the golden dantian, and he hadn't known what was happening outside.
"Your Highness, this girl is from the Xu clan of Chanzhou…"
Yu Qiuyue hurriedly explained.
"You've been waiting for me over seventy days?"
Yang Cheng's face grew solemn. "Li Xiang, did something happen to the Xu clan?"
Li Xiang felt a wave of sourness and grievance well up. Her eyes reddened as she said, "Your Highness, my lady… our young miss suffered under Su Lingchen's hand. Every day she endures the pain of lightning piercing her heart."
She dropped to her knees. "I beg you, save my lady!"
"Su Lingchen!"
Yang Cheng's eyes grew cold.
"Your Highness, Su Lingchen's power is no small thing…"
Yu Qiuyue instinctively tried to warn him to be careful. But then, recalling what Yang Cheng had just done, the words died in her throat.
It seemed that now, the one who should be careful was Su Lingchen—not His Highness.
Half a cup of tea's time later, Yang Cheng had learned everything from Yu Qiuyue and Li Xiang about what had happened over the seventy-plus days of his seclusion.
Su Lingchen had come to the Wasteland Realm, declaring he would take Yang Cheng as his disciple. At the same time, he had shown off his might against the Xu clan, tormenting Xu Qingxue with the Nine-Nine Thunder Origin Finger.
Now Su Lingchen, together with the Great Zhao army, was stationed outside Zhen'nan Pass, suppressing the Great Zhou martial world into silence.
If this went on, once the Great Zhou's morale collapsed, Zhen'nan Pass might fall.
"Good. If he's strong, all the better. I'll test the edge of this blade."
Yang Cheng spoke calmly.
He really didn't value Xu Qingxue that much.
Even if she died, it wouldn't stir much in his heart.
But in the eyes of others, Xu Qingxue and the Xu clan were serving under him.
What Su Lingchen had done was a direct provocation.
Especially while saying he wanted to accept Yang Cheng as a disciple, he had simultaneously done such disgusting things. In Yang Cheng's eyes, it was simply begging to be struck.
Ding!
[Su Lingchen has descended into the Wasteland Realm. He wants to take the host as his disciple, but he also tormented Xu Qingxue with the Nine-Nine Thunder Origin Finger, trying to take her away from the host.]
[As the saying goes—what can be endured, and what cannot? Su Lingchen has always treated disciples like slaves, believing everything about them belongs to him. Can the host endure such humiliation?]
[Of course, Su Lingchen is a peak Shattering God expert. If the host refuses him, it could easily spark his fury. If the host chooses to swallow this insult, it is understandable.]
[Please make your choice—First, accept Su Lingchen's offer, become his disciple, and serve at his beck and call, with no mission reward. Second, refuse to be his disciple and endure his wrath, in return obtaining a Two-Star Shura Sword Domain reward.]
"I choose the second."
Yang Cheng said flatly.
At the same time, he turned to Li Xiang. "Come. We're going back to Chanzhou."
Li Xiang's face lit up with joy.
Before making this plea, she had been deeply anxious.
Yang Cheng was the Crown Prince, his status unimaginably high. The Xu clan was far beneath him.
He could have ignored the fate of Xu Qingxue and the Xu clan completely.
Now, with his terrifying new strength, the Xu clan should have meant even less.
Yet Yang Cheng seemed willing to intervene for Xu Qingxue.
"Your Highness, I wrongly judged you before," she whispered inwardly.
As they left, Yang Cheng didn't spare Murong Cong or Murong Yun a glance.
That left Murong Yun with a hollow ache.
Perhaps the closest she would ever be to Yang Cheng was only that short journey from Great Zhou to Heavenly Heart Island.