The next morning.
Yang Cheng rode the Golden Dragon Chariot toward Autumn Water Courtyard.
Up ahead, a stir broke out among the crowd lining the street.
Suddenly, a frail woman stumbled and fell in the middle of the road, right in Yang Cheng's path.
"Move aside at once!" the guards barked coldly.
"Your Highness, this common woman has been wronged. I beg Your Highness to help seek justice!"
The frail woman sobbed.
She had a delicate beauty, her face like peach blossoms, pitiful to behold.
Many people watching from the sides felt a surge of sympathy just looking at her.
Even the guards, who had been cold and sharp, now hesitated slightly.
Maybe she really had a grievance?
From within the chariot, Yang Cheng looked through the gap in the curtain.
At a glance, his pupils shrank sharply.
"Madam Jade Face?"
His heart pounded wildly.
At this moment, Madam Jade Face was still an unknown figure.
But within the next hundred years, more and more people in the world would be drained of their blood.
A century later, she would slip up during one of her killings and be exposed.
After that, she would no longer hide and her murderous reputation would spread across the world.
From then on, she would become a feared and hated demon.
But that wasn't the most shocking part.
Three hundred years later, in a battle, her mask would be knocked off, revealing the face of Master Mingxin beneath.
Only then would the people of the Wasteland Realm realize—Madam Jade Face was actually Su Yan in disguise.
The impact of this revelation was immense.
In Yang Cheng's past life, almost every martial cultivator in the Wasteland Realm had heard of it.
That was why, the instant he saw her, Yang Cheng recognized her immediately.
He also knew that before Su Yan's disgrace, he had been firmly supporting Yang Xiu.
'Su Yan's disguised as Madam Jade Face and playing the victim to seek justice from me? He's clearly up to no good.'
Yang Cheng didn't know Su Yan's exact motive.
But he didn't need to guess to know Su Yan wasn't here with good intentions.
[Host has encountered an extremely dangerous crisis. Master Mingxin Su Yan has disguised himself as Madam Jade Face to ambush the host.]
[When Su Yan becomes Madam Jade Face, it's when his demonic nature is at its peak—ruthless and deadly.]
[Su Yan is a Refining God expert and one of Yang Xiu's most powerful backers. He surely harbors killing intent toward the host. Host must escape from Su Yan.]
[Additionally, this is a task scenario. If the host escapes alive, a reward will be granted. If the host successfully strikes back, the reward will be even greater.]
[Mission Reward: Star Tear (One-Tribulation to Nine-Tribulation grade).]
Star Tear—a legendary substance also known as "Star Tribulation Gold."
Formed from the metallic remnants left after the destruction of a star during tribulation. It possesses terrifying power.
It's best used to refine weapons, turning ordinary weapons into top-tier divine artifacts.
In his previous life, Yang Cheng once caught a glimpse of a Five-Tribulation Star Tear at an elite auction that spanned the heavens.
Even that one drop fetched a sky-high price and triggered a bloodbath afterward, with more than a dozen True Gods killed.
Now the system was offering a Nine-Tribulation Star Tear as the highest reward.
Normally, the system wouldn't issue another task until the current one was complete.
But this time, it made an exception.
That alone showed how dangerous the situation was in the system's judgment.
Without a second of hesitation, Yang Cheng ordered, "Hu Po, kill her."
In his previous life, if he had encountered Su Yan five hundred years later, death would've been certain.
But now, Su Yan was still only at the Martial Sovereign realm. With strong experts at his side, Yang Cheng had no reason to fear him.
Hu Po froze for a moment, confused why Yang Cheng would give such an order.
But she didn't hesitate. The moment she recovered, she immediately launched an attack on Madam Jade Face.
Hu Po wasn't an ordinary servant. She had the strength of a Martial Saint.
Whoosh!
She struck with a palm, true qi surging forth. A massive azure luan burst from her palm, trailing roaring blue flames toward Madam Jade Face.
"What's going on?"
"Why would His Highness the Crown Prince order someone killed without hearing her out?"
"Could it be because that poor woman blocked his path, he got angry and wanted her dead?"
"I didn't think the Crown Prince was this kind of man. So disappointing."
"Totally expected. People like the Crown Prince live high above the rest of us. Why would they ever show sympathy for commoners?"
The crowd on both sides of the street were filled with righteous indignation.
As they murmured, Madam Jade Face's expression changed drastically.
If she tried to block the attack, she'd be exposed.
But she had no choice.
She could sense it—Hu Po wasn't testing her. She was genuinely trying to kill her.
If she kept up the weak and helpless act, Hu Po would absolutely kill her on the spot.
In that instant, Madam Jade Face felt bitter frustration.
She couldn't understand where things had gone wrong.
This wasn't how she had planned it.
According to her plan, she'd approach the Crown Prince disguised as a woman seeking justice, get close without arousing suspicion, then land a fatal blow and slip away unseen.
But before she even got near the Crown Prince, he had already ordered her execution.
'Why is this Crown Prince so violent? Just blocking his path a little, and he wants to kill me?'
In the blink of an eye, Madam Jade Face moved. Her figure darted away like drifting willow fluff, dodging Hu Po's attack.
With her power, she didn't fear Hu Po.
But she couldn't reveal her identity, so she couldn't use many of her techniques. Her strength was greatly restricted.
Besides, getting entangled with Hu Po was pointless. It would only waste her time.
This was the capital, where experts swarmed the streets.
Every moment she delayed increased the risk of being surrounded.
After dodging Hu Po's killing blow, Madam Jade Face made a snap decision and darted straight for the Crown Prince's chariot like lightning.
Since trickery had failed, she would kill him outright.
In a flash, she arrived before the Golden Dragon Chariot and struck with her palm.
In her mind, the chariot should have exploded instantly. She would then crush both the vehicle and the Crown Prince into dust.
Even though she was restraining her power, she still had the strength of a Martial Saint.
Boom!
But when her palm hit the chariot, it only made it tremble violently. It didn't even leave a scratch.
"Impossible!"
Madam Jade Face was stunned.
'What kind of chariot is this? Why is its defense so ridiculously strong?'
Inside the chariot, Yang Cheng was both shocked and furious.
Good thing he had chosen the Golden Dragon Chariot today—otherwise, he would've been in serious trouble.
Of course, he had only sat calmly because he trusted the chariot's defenses.
If not, he'd have been hiding behind Hu Po by now.
At that moment, Madam Jade Face realized things were going south and turned to flee.
But Hu Po charged in with rage, blocking her path.
"Get out of my way!" Madam Jade Face shouted, furious.
But Hu Po wasn't going to let her pass. She attacked even more fiercely.
The Empress and Crown Prince weren't just her masters—they were her entire reason for living.
If anything happened to the Crown Prince, she'd rather die with him.
So against someone trying to harm him, she hated them down to her bones.
Even if it meant her own death, she would never let the attacker escape.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
In the blink of an eye, Hu Po and Madam Jade Face had exchanged over ten blows.
The surrounding crowd was stunned.
When they snapped out of it, they were furious.
Even the dullest onlooker now realized they'd been played.
This woman was incredibly powerful—how could she possibly be a helpless victim?
But she had acted so pitiful, tricking their sympathy.
From her actions, it was clear she had come to assassinate the Crown Prince.
Thank the heavens the Crown Prince had seen through her at a glance. Otherwise, she might have succeeded.
"Damn it!"
"She's an assassin—a Martial Saint-level assassin!"
"She tricked us all!"
In their fury, several martial artists in the crowd who had some strength joined the fight against Madam Jade Face.
She was immediately surrounded.
Hu Po's pressure eased.
"You're asking for death!" Madam Jade Face was truly enraged now.
If she stayed any longer, she really wouldn't be able to escape.
Boom!
In an instant, the aura of a Martial Sovereign exploded outward.
The martial artists attacking her were all blasted away.
Then she stomped the ground and shot into the sky, fleeing toward the distance.
Just then—
A streak of purple light tore through the air from afar.
It was a long spear radiating blinding light and overwhelming might, aimed straight at Madam Jade Face.
Her face changed. She hastily defended with all her strength.
The next moment, she was blasted down to the ground.
High above, the long spear returned to the hand of a valiant young man.
"Marquis Champion!"
"It's the Marquis Champion!"
The crowd erupted in excited cheers.
The newcomer was none other than Yun Jinghuai.
"Try assassinating my nephew and still think you can get away?"
Yun Jinghuai launched a furious assault on Madam Jade Face.
Despite still being only a Martial Saint, he completely overpowered her—a Martial Sovereign.
That said everything about Yun Jinghuai's terrifying strength.
Back in the chariot—
"Divine Dragon Whip, deliver."
Yang Cheng silently chanted.
A golden whip dropped into his hand.
"This whip… it's made from dragon tendons?"
Yang Cheng's eyes lit up in surprise.
Then he remembered it was a system reward—not too shocking after all.
He shouted outside, "Hu Po, catch!"
He threw the Divine Dragon Whip to Hu Po.
Hu Po caught it, and her eyes immediately sparkled. Clearly, she sensed its extraordinary power.
Without hesitation, she charged at Madam Jade Face with the whip in hand.
Already fully suppressed by Yun Jinghuai, Madam Jade Face couldn't defend herself. She was instantly entangled by the Divine Dragon Whip.
Pfft!
In the next second, Yun Jinghuai's spear pierced straight through her body.
"No! You can't kill me!" Madam Jade Face screamed in terror.
Yang Cheng frowned.
Madam Jade Face's crimes hadn't been exposed yet.
If she revealed her identity as Master Mingxin now, it would complicate things.
After all, Master Mingxin still had immense reputation among scholars and the public.
She could even claim that disguising as Madam Jade Face was just a test for the Crown Prince.
"Uncle, now! Kill her! Don't let her speak!"
Yang Cheng immediately sent a voice transmission to Yun Jinghuai.
Yun Jinghuai didn't know the full story, but he chose to trust Yang Cheng.
Besides, regardless of who this woman really was, the fact remained—she had tried to kill Yang Cheng. She deserved death.
He gave her no chance to speak.
With a burst of true qi—
Boom!
The roaring energy surged through his spear, shattering all of Madam Jade Face's internal organs.
"I am…"
Her eyes widened. She seemed like she still wanted to say something.
But Yun Jinghuai sensed something was off and struck her throat without hesitation.
Crack!
Her throat was crushed.
She collapsed.
Lifeless.