"Master Yang, our young lady is from the Cang family. Her father is a Yin God-level powerhouse!"
The half-divine woman's face tensed as she stared at Yang Cheng.
Yang Cheng pressed his palm down lightly.
An endless tide of true qi burst forth, forming a massive palm imprint that slammed onto the half-divine woman.
In Yang Cheng's eyes, this woman was about the same level as Night Owl—neither could withstand him now.
Sure enough, she couldn't resist at all.
The great formation in this place also couldn't hold under the pressure.
The marble floor shattered instantly. The half-divine woman was slammed downward and crashed into the next floor. She lay there motionless for quite a while.
Now only Yang Cheng and Cang Xuanji remained in the entire area.
"Master Yang…"
Cang Xuanji's face was pale, filled with fear.
Only now did she truly realize that when facing a power strong enough to crush everything, all those so-called hidden cards she relied on were utterly useless.
At this moment, facing Yang Cheng felt like a helpless mortal facing a tiger.
"As I said before, how ignorant must you be to think you could scheme against me?"
Yang Cheng's voice was calm. "If those true gods of your Cang family had come to deal with me, perhaps they might've had a chance. But you? You show up with a bunch of small fry, acting all smug in front of me. Have people flattered you for so long that you really believe you're some grand strategist?"
"I... I..."
Cang Xuanji's voice trembled along with her body.
If she could turn back time, she would never have done something this foolish.
Now her heart was full of nothing but regret.
She never imagined Yang Cheng would be this strong. All her careful calculations were nothing but a clown's act in his eyes.
"When you invited me here," Yang Cheng said, "I already suspected you had ulterior motives. I only came because I was curious to see if you could surprise me."
He shook his head. "But it turns out there was no surprise—only disappointment. Your tricks are still at the level of a greenhouse flower, miles away from a true killing scheme."
As he spoke, Yang Cheng stretched out his right hand toward her.
Cang Xuanji's fear surged to the extreme.
If Yang Cheng attacked her, she would die instantly.
In that desperate moment, the Cang family's so-called jewel finally squeezed out her last bit of composure.
"Master Yang, killing me will bring you no benefit," she said quickly. "I know you may not fear my Cang family, but why not take this chance to demand benefits from us instead? After all, it was my fault this time. The Cang family is clearly in the wrong."
Just as her last word fell, the sword qi from Yang Cheng's fingertip had already reached half an inch from her forehead.
The next instant, it would have pierced straight through her skull.
Cang Xuanji's face went completely white. She realized she had just brushed past death.
Yang Cheng was terrifyingly cold.
Toward someone like her, he showed no hesitation or pity at all.
If it had been any other man, even one who completely subdued her, he probably wouldn't have killed her immediately. He might have toyed with her first.
But in Yang Cheng's eyes, she saw only indifference.
It gave her the illusion that Yang Cheng wasn't a twelve-year-old boy at all, but an ancient monster who had killed countless people and long since viewed beauty as nothing but bones and ash.
"What you just said does make a bit of sense," Yang Cheng said lightly. "But I don't need your Cang family's benefits. From now on, you'll act as my insider within the Cang family and secretly transfer their resources to me."
Cang Xuanji's heart sank.
This Yang Cheng was truly cunning.
If the matter had been handled by the Cang family, she wouldn't have had to bear much responsibility afterward. But according to Yang Cheng's demand, she would now be completely tied to him—unable to break free.
Still, under another's roof, she could only bow her head.
She forced herself to nod. "Fine."
"Good."
Yang Cheng's finger tapped her forehead.
From his fingertip, the sword qi turned into flame.
It was the Black and White True Fire.
Under Yang Cheng's precise control, the flame seeped into Cang Xuanji's body.
He had used a similar method on Liu Hongfu before.
But that time, he used pure sword qi. Now, he decided to upgrade it—replacing the sword qi with a strange flame, making it far harder to dispel.
"What did you do to me?" Cang Xuanji asked in horror.
"I've only planted a strand of strange fire inside you," Yang Cheng said coldly. "If you ever do anything against me, I only need to move a single thought, and the strange fire will ignite inside your body—burning your organs to ashes."
"You—you can't do this to me!"
Cang Xuanji's face was full of shock and fury.
Whoosh!
In the next instant, black and white flames burst into life inside her body.
Under Yang Cheng's precise control, the fire caused her immense agony, yet it didn't actually harm her life force.
It was a terrifying demonstration of how absolute his control over the strange flame had become.
Cang Xuanji screamed miserably, curling up on the ground as she experienced pain unlike anything she had ever imagined—like the most excruciating torture in the world.
After about ten breaths, Yang Cheng sensed something and withdrew the flame, ending her punishment.
Cang Xuanji's entire body went limp. She dropped to her knees before him, completely drained.
At that moment, footsteps echoed from outside.
The first to appear was Tang Xingyu, followed by the others.
When everyone saw what was happening, they all froze.
What were they seeing?
Cang Xuanji—the proud and untouchable genius of the Cang family—was kneeling before Yang Cheng?
"Get up," Yang Cheng said calmly.
Cang Xuanji also noticed the arrival of the others, but she had no energy left to care about her humiliation.
She still hadn't recovered from that hellish pain.
"Yes," she replied quickly.
At least until she found a way to neutralize the strange flame in her body, she wouldn't dare defy him in the slightest.
"Sister Cang... you... what's going on between you two?"
A Sword Academy disciple stammered, unable to comprehend what he was seeing.
True to her name as Cang Xuanji, she quickly regained her composure.
Standing up, she showed neither shame nor panic, and said evenly, "Earlier, there was a traitor among my Cang family's ranks who tried to ambush me. Fortunately, Master Yang—no, Young Master Yang—acted in time to save my life. I'm deeply grateful to him."
As she spoke, she nervously glanced at Yang Cheng, afraid he wouldn't play along.
Fortunately, Yang Cheng gave a faint smile and nodded, secretly impressed by her quick wit.
"By the way, Young Master," Cang Xuanji said in a low voice through sound transmission, "it was Ouyang Yi who first told me about your identity as Master Yang."
"Hmm."
Yang Cheng responded flatly, showing no particular emotion.
When the group returned to the private room, Ouyang Yi froze the moment he saw them.
What was going on?
Yang Cheng had come back completely unharmed.
Not only that—Cang Xuanji's attitude toward him was respectful, even deferential.
He thought he must be hallucinating.
"Sister Cang, what exactly did you and Yang Cheng talk about?"
Ouyang Yi gave a small smile. "I'm very curious. Would you mind sharing it with us?"
The others turned their attention toward Yang Cheng as well.
Without a word, Yang Cheng picked up a nearby wine cup, still full of liquor, and splashed it directly onto Ouyang Yi's face.
Ouyang Yi was instantly drenched, looking utterly humiliated.
His expression twisted in rage. "Yang Cheng, are you out of your mind!"
He had been born with a golden spoon in his mouth. Never in his life had anyone dared treat him like this.