This heir has no problem with it. The question is—does the Crown Prince dare to spar with me?" Wu Cangming said.
"Your Highness, you don't need to bother with him," Shen Muxue said coldly. "Wu Cangming, if you're looking for a spar, I can take you on."
Lu Yun added, "His Highness is a grandmaster of Zither Dao, a refined and elegant person. There's no need for him to get entangled with some crude martial brute."
Wu Cangming sneered. "If the Crown Prince is too scared, I understand. After all, you're only one and a half years old. Hiding behind women suits you better."
[Host has encountered Wu Cangming, an elder of the Nether Prison Demon Palace. In the past, Wu Cangming was defeated by the Heaven's Mandate Emperor and failed in his rebellion against Great Zhou, but his fate did not end there. He was rescued by the Nether Prison Demon Palace.]
[Wu Cangming has outstanding talent. He received high regard and nurturing in the Nether Prison Demon Palace and is now the youngest elder in their ranks, a Yang God powerhouse.]
[Warning: Wu Cangming poses significant danger. Host must find a way to withstand him.]
[Achievement Task: The stronger the results created during your confrontation with Wu Cangming, the higher the achievement points earned.]
[Task Reward: Blood Shadow Guard (1 to 1,000 members).]
Blood Shadow Guard?
Yang Cheng didn't know what it was, but anything from the system was definitely valuable.
Without hesitation, he said to Wu Cangming, "You want to spar with me? Then I'll grant your wish."
With that, his tiny hands folded behind his back as he walked calmly to the center of Autumn Water Courtyard.
"Your Highness!" Shen Muxue and Lu Yun both looked worried.
"No need to worry. This is nothing but a minor matter," Yang Cheng waved them off.
Meanwhile, outside Autumn Water Courtyard, a crowd of carriages arrived one after another.
Wu Cangming's status was extraordinary. Even the Emperor sent a prince to welcome him, so naturally other forces were eager to make a connection too.
When they learned Wu Cangming had gone to Autumn Water Courtyard, they followed.
Just as they stepped in, they saw Yang Cheng and Wu Cangming standing face to face in the courtyard center.
"What's this?"
"Why are Wu Cangming and the Crown Prince facing off?"
"From the look of it, are they about to spar?"
"Are you joking? Wu Cangming's a martial prodigy and already 11 years old. His Highness is just one and a half!"
The crowd murmured with doubt and confusion.
"Everyone, don't worry. Wu Cangming will suppress his cultivation to match the Crown Prince's realm. It's just a friendly exchange," Yang Xiu explained.
He had worked hard to arrange this situation and wouldn't allow anyone to interfere.
"So that's how it is."
The others relaxed.
In the courtyard center, Wu Cangming asked, "Crown Prince, what's your current cultivation?"
Yang Cheng smiled. "What do you think it is?"
"You've only trained in martial arts for half a year. If I'm guessing right, you should be in the mid-Houtian stage," Wu Cangming said.
For ordinary kids, reaching the Houtian stage in six months was already decent.
Still, he knew the Crown Prince had the Divine Dragon Sword Body, so he didn't dare to be completely dismissive.
Yang Cheng didn't answer directly. Instead, he said, "If you want to fight me, there's no need to suppress your cultivation. Go all out. Otherwise, you're not even qualified to face me."
Yang Xiu was thrilled when he heard that.
If that were true, Yang Cheng was going to suffer big-time.
"Go all out? Hah. If I went all out, you'd never even get the chance to attack," Wu Cangming scoffed. "Your Highness, let's not waste words. If you're not convinced, strike me with full force. If I take even a single step back, I'll admit defeat right here."
He was being crafty.
If he struck first and injured the Crown Prince, it'd be hard to explain to the royal family.
But if Yang Cheng attacked him first and was injured by the recoil of Wu's qi, then even the royal court couldn't blame him.
"Then as you wish."
Yang Cheng couldn't be bothered with more talk. He drew his wooden sword and slashed.
Boom!
The Ancestral Dragon Sword Body, his innate divine strength, and sword intent all activated at once.
Even though Yang Cheng only used early Xiantian strength, the sword force he unleashed was terrifying.
Wu Cangming suddenly felt an overwhelming wave of sword light crash toward him like a massive river.
"What?!"
His face changed drastically. He couldn't stay calm anymore.
Still, he wasn't ordinary. He reacted instantly.
In that flash of a moment, his true qi erupted.
"Qilin Sacred Fist!"
Wu Cangming didn't dare hold back. He unleashed his full strength in a single punch.
A phantom image of a Qilin appeared in front of him, with his punch as the creature's head.
It was a fearsome move.
But facing Yang Cheng's sword, the power of that punch fell far short.
The instant their attacks collided, Wu Cangming's punch crumbled apart like a collapsing cliff.
Boom!
Wu Cangming was blasted backward. His clothes tore apart, revealing a suit of inner armor made from silver scales.
The armor pulsed with powerful energy.
Clearly, without its protection, he would've been seriously injured.
The surrounding crowd fell utterly silent.
No one had expected this outcome.
What they were seeing was the exact opposite of what they'd imagined.
"The one defeated… is Wu Cangming? Not the Crown Prince?"
It took a while before someone spoke.
That sentence lit the fuse.
The crowd instantly erupted.
"This... this is insane! His Highness actually sent Wu Cangming flying with a single sword strike!"
"Wu Cangming isn't some nobody. He's a true genius, a 11-year-old Martial Master!"
"Did you see that? His Highness released true qi. He's already a Xiantian cultivator!"
"A one-and-a-half-year-old Xiantian cultivator? That's an absolute freak of nature!"
Everyone was completely shocked by Yang Cheng.
Lu Yun's eyes widened. Her gaze toward Yang Cheng brimmed with even more admiration.
It was already stunning that His Highness had peerless Zither Dao talent—but to think his martial talent was just as monstrous?
Wu Cangming wasn't even qualified to carry his shoes.
Shen Muxue's eyes sparkled.
"My disciple really knows how to keep secrets," Cheng Junyi couldn't help but marvel.
Even she hadn't known that Yang Cheng had already stepped into the Xiantian realm.
Clearly, he had some way of hiding his cultivation.
She didn't find it strange though. As the Crown Prince of Great Zhou, it was natural for him to have such means.
Yang Xiu, on the other hand, felt chills all over.
His own cultivation was already very close to breaking into the Xiantian realm—he'd expected to reach it within a month.
He had just been smug, thinking that once he stepped into the Xiantian realm, he could crush the Crown Prince.
But the Crown Prince had already reached the Xiantian stage before him!
Was he forever destined to be beneath Yang Cheng?
[Host has actually defeated a Yang God-level powerhouse like Wu Cangming? This isn't just a miracle—it's divine intervention.]
[Congratulations to the host for achieving a glorious feat. Reward: 100 Blood Shadow Guards.]
[Would host like to claim the reward or continue the mission?]
"Continue the mission," Yang Cheng silently responded.
"No… this is impossible!" Wu Cangming couldn't accept it at all.
He had planned everything before the fight even began.
He'd crush the Crown Prince first, then sweep through the top geniuses at the Great Zhou Dao Academy and Meng Division, dazzling the entire imperial capital.
That way, Lu Yun would realize how blind she'd been and regret everything.
He did actually like Lu Yun.
If she begged him then, he might have given her another chance.
But now, everything had crumbled.
He, the number one genius of Annan Province, couldn't even defeat a one-and-a-half-year-old in the imperial capital.
If word got out, he'd become the laughingstock of Annan.
"This is all you've got? Honestly, I'm disappointed," Yang Cheng shook his head.
He hadn't expected Wu Cangming to be so fragile.
If he'd known, he wouldn't have bothered going all out.
Of course, Yang Cheng understood—Wu Cangming wasn't weak.
He was just too strong in this life.
Even at the Xiantian stage and without using any hidden cards, he crushed Wu Cangming, a Martial Master.
His fate had completely diverged from his past life.
Wu Cangming's face went pale, then twisted in rage. "Crown Prince, I was just underestimating you earlier! You think that's all I've got?"
The next moment—buzz!
The pressure from the Qilin phantom on Wu Cangming surged.
Then, it was like a seal in his cultivation had burst open, and his power spiked uncontrollably.
Martial Master First Stage!
Martial Master Second Stage!
…
Martial Master Fourth Stage!
In just the blink of an eye, he jumped three stages, reaching the mid-Martial Master level.
The crowd around him gasped.
Leaping three stages in an instant—Wu Cangming was terrifying.
Even Cheng Junyi's eyes gleamed. "Wu Cangming really has deep reserves. This is what it means to burst forth after years of buildup."
Yang Cheng narrowed his eyes.
He wasn't surprised. This was a classic move from someone blessed by fate.
In his past life, his main enemy was Yang Xiu.
Yang Xiu pulled stunts like this all the time—and even more outrageous than Wu Cangming.
'Let's see whether your overpowered fate is stronger, or my system is stronger,' Yang Cheng sneered inwardly.
And even if Wu Cangming didn't attack first, Yang Cheng wouldn't let him walk away.
Otherwise, how would he continue racking up achievement points?
"Crown Prince, this is my true cultivation!" Wu Cangming's aura exploded. "You knocked me back once. Now I'll defeat you with a single strike!"
"Qilin Millstone!"
Wu Cangming's true qi surged and formed a small swirling vortex.
He pushed both palms forward. The vortex shot out and quickly expanded into a massive grindstone.
The closer it got to Yang Cheng, the larger it became—eventually growing as large as a house.
"Crown Prince, how will you fight me now!" Wu Cangming pointed, and the massive millstone slammed toward Yang Cheng.
"Is that it?" Yang Cheng's gaze stayed calm.
Then—
He casually slashed his sword.
Sword Dao—Initiation Level!
A plain and unadorned sword light cut upward.
To the system and Yang Cheng, this was merely entry-level swordsmanship.
But to everyone else present, that sword was utterly breathtaking.
Wu Cangming's Qilin Millstone got sliced apart like tofu, then shattered into countless fragments.
"No—!"
Wu Cangming's eyes widened, but he couldn't stop the outcome.
The vast sword qi slammed into his body.
A second later, he was sent flying again. Blood poured from every part of his body not protected by the soft inner armor.
"Even at your full strength, you're still no match for me," Yang Cheng looked at him like he was an ant.
"You… pfft!"
Wu Cangming couldn't take the humiliation. He spat out blood on the spot.
Then, seeing Lu Yun looking at Yang Cheng with admiration—and glancing at him with disdain—he staggered back, even more devastated.
Crash!
The mood among the crowd was explosive.
"His Highness is truly divine!"
"That sword strike was genius… to think His Highness could unleash such a technique!"
"The level of that sword wasn't high, but it felt all-encompassing and flawless!"
"A prodigy… an absolute sword prodigy!"
Many sword cultivators stared at Yang Cheng with burning eyes.
"Wu Cangming, do you see reality now?" Lu Yun looked coldly at him. "In front of His Highness, you're like a flickering firefly—how dare you try to outshine the full moon?"
"Apologize to His Highness now. As long as you're sincere, I believe he won't bother holding a grudge."
She really was disappointed in Wu Cangming.
Still, since they were once engaged, she wanted to help him.
Offending the Crown Prince, a peerless genius, was not something Wu Cangming could afford.
Telling him to apologize was for his own good.
Yang Cheng was speechless.
He knew Lu Yun meant well.
But she didn't understand men.
To any man, words like hers were the ultimate humiliation.
Sure enough, Wu Cangming's face twisted with rage. "You wretched girl! I, Wu Cangming, am a man of honor and steel. You want me to grovel to him?"
"Haha! Everything I suffered today is all because of you, and now you dare humiliate me more?"
Lu Yun's gaze turned cold. "Wu Cangming, don't be blind to others' kindness."
She'd been thinking of him, yet he called her a wretch?
"Wretched girl, get lost!"
Wu Cangming roared.
Then he swept his gaze around and finally locked onto Yang Cheng. "Crown Prince, I, Wu Cangming, will never forget today's humiliation."
"But the wheel of fate always turns. One day, I will come back to settle this score."
He turned to leave.
"You're threatening me?"
Yang Cheng's soft voice rang out slowly.
Even though it still carried a childish lilt, it made everyone shiver. The pressure was suffocating.