The weather was clear and bright.
On the surface, everything seemed peaceful.
It looked as if Yang Cheng's two identities—Crown Prince Yang Cheng and Alchemy Master Yang—had truly been separated without flaw.
"Yang Cheng, Xingyu's looking for you."
Liu Hongfu appeared with a faint smirk.
Yang Cheng smiled slightly. "Lead the way."
A sly glimmer flashed in Liu Hongfu's eyes as she guided him to the Sword Pavilion within the Sword Institute.
However, when they entered, Tang Xingyu was nowhere to be found.
A few Sword Institute disciples stood inside, watching Yang Cheng with light smiles.
Yang Cheng's gaze was calm. "Liu Hongfu, do you find this funny?"
"Of course."
Liu Hongfu folded her arms and huffed. "Yang Cheng, I don't intend to harm you—otherwise Xingyu would be angry with me.
I just want you to understand what kind of world Xingyu belongs to. Xingyu is one of the most gifted disciples of our Sword Institute. Every senior and junior brother here deeply respects her.
If you want to stand beside her, you'll have to defeat them first. Otherwise, I'll say it plainly—you'll only drag her down in the future. Even if Xingyu ends up hating me for it, I won't allow that to happen."
At her words, Yang Cheng's expression softened instead of darkening.
Though her tone was disrespectful, everything she said came from concern for Tang Xingyu. It showed she was someone worth befriending.
He swept a calm glance over the Sword Institute disciples. "Very well. Since you want to see my sword technique, I'll let you open your eyes today."
But just then, one of the Sword Institute disciples took a good look at Yang Cheng's face. His knees nearly gave out.
"Y-You're… the Alchemy Master Yang?" he stammered.
"Wu Ming, you're mistaken," Liu Hongfu said quickly. "He only looks a little like Alchemy Master Yang, that's all."
Wu Ming, however, felt tears threatening to fall.
That day in the Alchemy Institute, he had been lucky enough to stand at the front and see Alchemy Master Yang up close. He could never forget that face.
The youth standing before him now wasn't similar—he was exactly the same.
He vividly remembered how, when he observed closely, Alchemy Master Yang's pupils were darker than ordinary people's—deep and bottomless, like an abyss.
And now, this youth's eyes were the same.
There was no way this was a coincidence.
"Haha, Senior Brother Wu, you're overthinking it."
Another Sword Institute disciple laughed dismissively. "A person like the Alchemy Master wouldn't show up here and let us surround him like this."
He turned toward Yang Cheng. "Let me show you what true Sword Dao looks like."
As he spoke, he drew his sword in one smooth motion.
Clearly, he didn't like Yang Cheng.
Tang Xingyu was one of the two bright stars—the twin flowers—of the Sword Institute.
Though he knew he wasn't worthy of her, he still couldn't stand seeing an outsider get close to her.
He planned to use this chance to teach Yang Cheng a lesson.
"Yang Cheng, Wang Xiang is a peak Sword Saint. If you can't handle it, you'd better surrender now," Liu Hongfu warned.
"I'm not finished talking—how could he possibly—"
Before Wang Xiang could even finish, the heavy sheath of a sword smacked hard against the back of his hand. He gasped in pain, the sword in his grip clattering to the floor.
"Who the hell just ambushed me—"
He spun around in anger, only to freeze. "Senior Brother Wu, why did you strike me?"
Wu Ming was the leader among their group, someone who usually looked after them.
What was happening?
"You're the idiot here," Wu Ming snapped. "You moron, I just saved your life!"
Then he quickly turned around and bowed deeply to Yang Cheng. "Alchemy Master Yang, these junior brothers of mine are hot-headed fools. They truly didn't mean to offend you. Please, forgive their ignorance."
The rest of the disciples stood there dumbfounded, their minds struggling to catch up.
Yang Cheng's face remained expressionless. "You're all Dao Academy disciples conspiring to challenge an Alchemy Master. Tell me—what crime does that constitute?"
Cold sweat poured down Wu Ming's forehead as he dropped to his knees with a loud thud. "Alchemy Master Yang, please forgive us this once! We truly know our mistake!"
"Perhaps you do," Yang Cheng said coolly. "But I don't see the same sincerity from the others."
Wu Ming's expression turned frantic. He glared at the group behind him. "You idiots, kneel! Now!"
The other Sword Institute disciples turned pale with terror. Their legs went weak as they realized who they had just tried to "teach a lesson."
Wu Ming was already kneeling, trembling from head to toe—it was impossible he was joking.
At that point, everything was clear. The youth standing before them was truly the Alchemy Master Yang.
Wang Xiang's legs went weak, and before he realized it, he had dropped to his knees as well.
The rest followed one after another, all collapsing to the ground in panic, begging for mercy.
"Get out."
Yang Cheng's tone was cold and disinterested. He had no desire to waste time with them.
"Yes, yes, yes!"
Wu Ming and the others scrambled away like frightened rats, tripping over themselves as they fled. None of them even dared glance at Liu Hongfu again.
At that moment, Liu Hongfu stood frozen in place, her face pale as a sheet.
"Y-you… you…"
Her voice trembled uncontrollably.
"Weren't you the one who talked so big just now?"
Yang Cheng sneered. "Why are you stuttering now?"
Liu Hongfu's eyes welled up with tears. "Y-you really are… the Alchemy Master Yang?"
Inside, her thoughts were in utter chaos.
A Dao Academy Alchemy Master—someone even Ouyang Yi and Cang Xuanji treated with reverence.
Yet Yang Cheng was a native of the Wasteland Realm.
A boy born in this barren world had somehow mastered the alchemy arts to such a terrifying degree that even the other Alchemy Masters of the Myriad Phenomena Dao Academy held him in awe.
That kind of talent was unprecedented, far beyond the so-called geniuses of those great alchemy families.
She suddenly hated herself for not having looked closely enough during the alchemy lecture that day. She'd been too far from the dais, and afterward, she'd been misled by the rumors the academy had deliberately spread.
If she'd known back then that Alchemy Master Yang and Tang Xingyu's junior brother were the same person, she never would have pulled such a foolish stunt.
After all, deep down, she'd always felt that Alchemy Master Yang and Tang Xingyu were a perfect match.
Yang Cheng's eyes turned icy. "So, from what you're saying, if I weren't the Alchemy Master, I'd deserve to be humiliated by you today?"
Even if Liu Hongfu had acted out of concern for Tang Xingyu, Yang Cheng had no reason to let her off easily.
After all, what she did was still an insult.
And thinking about it now, if this had been his past life—when he was nothing but a useless prince—he would have been bullied and humiliated without mercy.
That thought only made his expression grow colder.
"No, I didn't mean that!"
Liu Hongfu panicked. Her knees trembled as she tried to explain.
"You deceived an Alchemy Master, lured him into a trap, and even tried to have others attack him."
Yang Cheng's voice was calm but sharp as a blade. "Liu Hongfu, you've got quite the courage."
Her legs buckled instantly, and she fell to her knees with a thud, terrified beyond measure.
This was a grave offense.
If Yang Cheng truly decided to report her, being expelled from the Myriad Phenomena Dao Academy would be the least of her worries—the Enforcement Hall would take her away, and that was a place few ever returned from.
"No, Alchemy Master Yang, please, I swear, I've always admired and respected you deeply!"
Liu Hongfu's voice trembled as she pleaded. "I truly didn't know it was you. It was my blindness, my stupidity. I was wrong!"
"Oh? So admiration gives you the right to ignore the academy's laws?"
Yang Cheng's tone was as cold as ice.
"I'm also Xingyu's closest friend," Liu Hongfu said quickly. "Please, look at her face if not mine. Even if you can't forgive me, at least give me a little mercy on her behalf!"
Yang Cheng was speechless for a moment.
This girl really had a talent for dramatics.
His face, however, remained expressionless. "No amount of excuses can erase what you've done. So tell me—what price are you willing to pay?"