"They can be as strong as they want, but today, no one can save you."
Yang Cheng took one calm step after another toward Hu Yang.
Hu Yang's composure began to crumble. "Yang Cheng, don't tell me you're willing to throw away the life of your assistant lecturer!"
Wang Rou's eyes brimmed with tears, her whole body trembling with fear.
Yang Cheng sighed softly. "Even now, you still don't understand how vast the gap between us really is."
He truly thought Hu Yang had no idea what kind of situation he was in.
To Yang Cheng, Hu Yang standing there threatening him was no different than a grasshopper trying to threaten a tiger.
Then, his black-and-white True Fire erupted for real.
"No—!"
Terror washed over Hu Yang's face.
In his eyes, regret surged like a flood.
Only now did he truly grasp the vast chasm between him and Yang Cheng.
In that instant, standing before Yang Cheng felt no different than facing one of the supreme Insight God beings.
But Yang Cheng wasn't the kind to leave anyone a chance to regret.
Before the horrified eyes of Wang Rou and Zheng Qiu, Hu Yang—together with his strange flame—was swallowed whole.
In less than ten breaths of time, this half-god was reduced to ashes right in front of Yang Cheng.
Behind Hu Yang had been another man—a mysterious protector, also a half-god.
As soon as the first died, that man turned and bolted.
Yang Cheng made a move to chase but suddenly stopped, his expression shifting as if sensing something.
Ding!
[Host… Host, you actually killed Hu Yang!]
[Though the event is shocking, this system has seen so many of your miracles that even it has grown used to them.]
[In this mission, the host not only completed the third objective but once again far surpassed expectations.]
[Congratulations, host! You have obtained a Silver Corpse Puppet… Re-evaluating mission achievement… Reward adjusted—Golden Corpse Puppet.]
[Please collect your reward manually.]
Silence filled the room.
Zheng Qiu stood frozen, feeling as if he'd plunged into an icy abyss. His mind went blank, lost in disbelief.
That was Hu Yang—a half-god powerhouse!
And yet this so-called mighty existence had been erased so effortlessly by Yang Cheng, as if he were nothing but dust in the wind.
In that moment, Zheng Qiu finally understood how laughable his jealousy and petty schemes toward Yang Cheng had been.
All his actions these past days must have looked to Yang Cheng like a jumping grasshopper trying to bite a dragon.
"Master Yang, y-you… you killed Master Hu?"
Wang Rou's voice trembled as she spoke.
Her small face had gone pale, fear lingering in her eyes—not just from what had happened, but from witnessing Yang Cheng's overwhelming might.
Fortunately, Yang Cheng's gaze softened as he looked at her, and the fear in her heart turned into awe.
Only now did she realize—Master Yang's skill in alchemy wasn't his only strength. His martial power was just as terrifying.
"You think I shouldn't have killed him?" Yang Cheng asked with a light smile.
"No," Wang Rou said quickly. "I'm just worried that this might bring you trouble. Master Hu wasn't just backed by the Tianjiang Dao Academy, but also by the Eternal Society."
"No need to worry," Yang Cheng replied calmly. "This is the Wasteland Realm. No matter how powerful those forces are, once they set foot here, they'll have to crawl."
And he wasn't boasting.
The laws of the Wasteland Realm still stood firm. Foreign deities couldn't descend easily.
With his current strength, if any of those factions dared send people after him, it would only end with them becoming his next meal.
Whoosh!
Just then, a shadow flickered into view—it was Huang Gang.
He was carrying someone in his hand—the same half-god protector who had fled earlier.
Wang Rou and Zheng Qiu both froze again in shock.
That fleeing man was a half-god too!
And yet, Huang Gang was holding him like a chick caught by the neck.
Yang Cheng wasn't surprised at all.
He had once learned the Dragon Python Breathing Style from Huang Gang at the end of the desert. Someone with that kind of power could easily subdue a half-god.
Huang Gang scanned the room with cold eyes, then asked, "Who did this?"
Yang Cheng replied evenly, "Hu Yang."
Huang Gang frowned slightly. "That man has a complicated background… but if he dared cause trouble in my Myriad Phenomena Dao Academy, then being killed is exactly what he deserves."
After understanding what had happened, Huang Gang didn't hesitate in the slightest. He twisted the half-god's head off with one hand, the sound echoing through the courtyard.
Wang Rou shuddered, her face pale as snow, trembling from head to toe.
Hu Yang's death didn't cause much of a stir in the Wasteland Realm.
After all, the people here had never heard of Hu Yang and didn't understand the weight his death carried.
Huang Gang made sure the matter was kept quiet. Only a handful of people knew the truth.
But in the Horn Constellation Realm, the impact was far greater.
Hu Yang wasn't just anyone—he was the creator of the Heavenly Profound Spirit Pill and a core member of the Eternal Society.
For someone like that to die silently in the Wasteland Realm was nothing short of shocking.
The Horn Constellation Realm was even larger than the Azure Jade Realm.
Across its boundless seas lay a massive island.
This island was where the Eternal Society made its home.
Inside a grand hall atop the island, several godlike figures sat in silence, their divine pressure filling the air.
Some were surrounded by flames, some shrouded in lightning storms—each of them emanated terrifying power.
At the center sat a man whose long hair flowed like green vines. His aura was cold and oppressive.
"Daoist Qingteng, what's got you so riled up?" asked a man in pale moon-colored robes below him.
The speaker was Wen Hesheng, Sect Master of the Qingming Sect, and also a member of the Eternal Society.
The Eternal Society was unlike other factions. Its members came from all over the heavens—an alliance of elites from different sects and forces, bound by secrecy and shared ambition.
"One of my most valued juniors—almost half my disciple—just fell," Daoist Qingteng said in a low, icy tone.
"You're talking about Hu Yang, aren't you?" Wen Hesheng asked.
Many within the Society had held high hopes for Hu Yang. His talent in alchemy was outstanding, and it was believed he would one day ascend to godhood.
No one expected him to die before even becoming a god.
"That's right," Daoist Qingteng replied. "He died in the Wasteland Realm. Interesting, isn't it? Such a tiny, insignificant world actually managed to kill a half-god like him."
"The Wasteland Realm…" Wen Hesheng's brows furrowed slightly, his expression turning thoughtful.
Daoist Qingteng's gaze darkened. "And that's not all. I've received another piece of crucial news."
"In the Wasteland Realm, a new pill has appeared—called the Earth Spirit Heart Pill. It's a divine-grade pill that can be refined using ordinary begonia flowers."
"What?"
The entire hall erupted in shock.
"If that's true," Wen Hesheng said, his voice trembling with excitement, "then the profit behind such a pill would be unimaginable! We can't afford to ignore this."
"I suspect Hu Yang's death is tied to this Earth Spirit Heart Pill," Daoist Qingteng said coldly.
Just then, he seemed to receive another message. He fell silent for a few moments, then slowly raised his head, eyes gleaming like cold stars.
"I've just confirmed it," he said. "The one who killed Hu Yang's protector was Huang Gang from the Myriad Phenomena Dao Academy. And the one who killed Hu Yang himself… was a man named Yang Cheng, a tutor from that same academy."
"Yang Cheng?" Wen Hesheng's expression froze in disbelief.
Everyone in the hall turned to look at him.
Wen Hesheng frowned deeply. "That name—I know it well."
He then explained the past feud between Qingming Sect and Yang Cheng.
"What? You mean when he was just a teenager, he killed Night Owl and several other assassins?"
"Night Owl? The same assassin who once failed to kill a god and managed to escape alive?" one of the gods asked in astonishment. "And this Yang Cheng killed him?"
"A cultivator from an ephemeral world possessing such strength… that's unheard of. A true miracle."
The divine figures exchanged looks, all visibly shocked.
Daoist Qingteng's voice cut through the air, cold as winter steel. "Then there's no doubt. The one who killed Hu Yang… is this Yang Cheng."