Autumn Water Courtyard.
Cheng Junyi smiled gently and picked up Yang Cheng.
That familiar soft fragrance surrounded him again.
"Originally, there was something weighing on my heart. But now that it's resolved, I do feel a bit lighter," Cheng Junyi said.
"Teacher, then are you still planning to leave the Wasteland Realm?" Yang Cheng asked.
Cheng Junyi was slightly stunned.
She had indeed been considering leaving the Wasteland Realm. She didn't expect Yang Cheng to sense that.
"You little rascal, you really are too clever," Cheng Junyi said, pressing her cheek gently against his. "I'm not leaving. I'll stay and watch you grow up."
"Even if I do leave the Wasteland Realm one day, it'll only be a short trip. I'll return very soon."
Ding!
[Cheng Junyi's inner knot has been untied, and she has promised not to leave.]
[Host's actions have added tremendous leverage to his own future and that of the Wasteland Realm.]
[Sword Dao—Great Achievement has been issued. Host may now fuse it.]
"And Tangtang too!" Tang Xingyu leaned over. "Tangtang will stay with Chengcheng forever!"
"You're a little rascal too," Cheng Junyi chuckled.
Hour of the Rabbit.
Dusk settled in.
Another banquet was held at Splendid Radiance Hall.
As Empress, Yun Liyue had a duty to regularly gather the noblewomen of the court.
This was one of the ways to win hearts for the royal family.
Yang Cheng once again reunited with his Eighteen Tiger Generals.
Just like last time, Yang Cheng and his generals gathered in a side hall to "play."
Of course, the so-called "play" was what adults saw. The kids believed they were holding a serious meeting to discuss important affairs.
As Yang Cheng's number one supporter, Zheng Guanbao naturally took up the role of hyping him up.
Splendid Radiance Hall.
Side hall.
[For a late bloomer, both reputation and power are essential. Though the host has created many miracles and gained great fame, his forces are still lacking.]
[Host must further win over the hearts of the Tiger Generals, making them completely devoted and fanatically loyal.]
[Mission reward: Innate Fist Intent.]
Yang Cheng looked down at the group of little ones. He didn't need to say anything—Zheng Guanbao was already doing the job for him.
"A few days ago, the Crown Prince of Great Yan humiliated my brother. But thanks to my plea, our Crown Prince stepped in and killed him."
Zheng Guanbao spoke with fiery excitement. "That Crown Prince of Great Yan was a ninth-level Martial Master. But he didn't stand a chance against our Crown Prince!"
"This shows how much His Highness values and protects us Tiger Generals."
"Long live the Crown Prince!" the other children chimed in, their eyes full of awe as they looked at Yang Cheng.
"And that's not even the best part," Zheng Guanbao continued. "Today, the Crown Prince dealt with an even bigger crisis. A Martial Sovereign assassin disguised herself as a helpless woman and tried to stop his chariot."
"Too bad for her—she picked the wrong target. His Highness saw through her trick with just one glance… in the end, Marquis Champion and Lady Hu Po killed the assassin."
The children were completely focused, eyes wide, totally absorbed.
Even though they'd already heard these things, hearing Zheng Guanbao say it again made their blood boil. They could practically imagine themselves right there, beside the Crown Prince, witnessing it all.
"Your Highness," a five-year-old asked, "they say that female Martial Sovereign disguised herself perfectly and fooled everyone. When you had Lady Hu Po act, people even scolded you. How did you know she was a threat?"
Zheng Guanbao scratched his head. He didn't know how to answer that, so he looked to Yang Cheng along with the others.
Yang Cheng stood with his hands behind his back and said calmly, "There's no such thing as perfection in this world. If you think something is flawless, that just means your eyes aren't sharp enough."
"That Martial Sovereign thought she was well disguised. But a few days earlier, I caught a glimpse of her flying across rooftops. She didn't look weak at all."
"Anyone who's seen by these eyes of mine will be remembered forever. That's how I spotted her so easily."
Once he finished speaking, the Tiger Generals were even more awestruck. Their gazes toward Yang Cheng were like they were looking at a god.
"His Highness is truly wise and brave!" Zheng Guanbao shouted again. "Even a Martial Sovereign fell to his cunning in just a blink. Who else in this world could match him?"
"As they say—if Heaven hadn't born our Crown Prince, the Wasteland Realm would be shrouded in darkness for all time!"
"One day, His Highness will surely unite the Wasteland Realm and conquer the heavens!"
"Unite the Wasteland! Conquer the heavens!" the other little generals shouted excitedly.
"Calm down, calm down," Yang Cheng said, waving his hand casually.
Ding!
[Shen Muxue and the Eighteen Tiger Generals now deeply admire the host. They are fanatically loyal and thrilled by his presence.]
[Congratulations. Mission complete. Reward has been issued.]
Yang Cheng smiled calmly.
Late at night—
"Sword Dao—Great Achievement, receive."
"Innate Fist Intent, receive."
With eyes closed, Yang Cheng felt his mind fill with vast knowledge of swordsmanship, like a swirling galaxy of insight.
His understanding of the sword now far surpassed his previous life. That was terrifying.
After all, he was only one and a half years old right now.
Then came the comprehension of Innate Fist Intent.
In an instant, his grasp of fist arts reached an unimaginable height.
"If I use Crimson Flood Dragon Divine Fist now, its power would be at least double or triple what it was before," Yang Cheng thought to himself.
Radiant Sunlight Hall.
"Where's Master Mingxin?" Noble Consort Zhuang stared in shock.
The Zhuang clan had already made an agreement with Su Yan for him to become Yang Xiu's tutor.
But then Su Yan simply vanished without a trace.
Noble Consort Zhuang grew impatient and pushed the Zhuang clan to track him down.
But it was like Su Yan had evaporated from the world—no one could find even a shred of his whereabouts.
"Maybe Master Mingxin just had something urgent to handle. Mother believes he'll show up eventually," Noble Consort Zhuang tried to comfort Yang Xiu.
But as the days dragged on and Su Yan remained missing, both the Zhuang clan and Noble Consort Zhuang began to feel like they'd been played.
Yang Cheng didn't pay any attention to what was happening over at Radiant Sunlight Hall.
He was focused on a new system mission.
[Host has now firmly established himself in Great Zhou. For now, even Heaven's Mandate Emperor can't do much to shake you.]
[But if the host truly wishes to rise up, staying in Great Zhou isn't enough. Heaven's Mandate Emperor is already the Eastern Wastes Alliance Leader. To truly shake his position, the host must expand his influence across all of the Eastern Wastes.]
[Next mission: Intimidate the nations of the Eastern Wastes. Make sure their top cultivators recognize the host's overwhelming power.]
[Note: This mission is extremely difficult. Host is granted a ten-year extension.]
[Mission reward: Innate Gourd.]
Yang Cheng frowned slightly.
The reward was tempting.
The Innate Gourd could produce innate true essence, which was amazing for cultivation and constitution. It could also heal injuries and would be useful not just for himself, but also for those around him.
But the mission…
"Intimidate the nations of the Eastern Wastes?"
This was the first time Yang Cheng felt like the system was trying to mess with him.
He wasn't even three years old yet. How was he supposed to intimidate an entire region?
But after thinking it over, he realized there might be a loophole.
It was in the second half of the system's condition.
Make the great powers of the Eastern Wastes "feel" the host's power?
Well, weren't the ones who'd become those great powers in the future mostly little kids right now too?
Yang Cheng's eyes narrowed. 'Maybe… there's a chance in a year and a half.'
A year and a half from now, the Ancient Desolation Tower would open.
At the southern border between Great Zhou and the Great Zhao Nation was the Ancient Desolation Mountain Range.
Deep within it stood the Ancient Desolation Tower.
This tower opened once every 100 years.
Inside were countless opportunities, and every nation in the Eastern Wastes fought tooth and nail over it.
But it came with a strange restriction—only lifeforms under twelve years old were allowed inside.
So, every time it opened, all nations would send their under-twelve prodigies into the tower.
In his past life, Yang Xiu had returned from the tower a total monster.
Since there was still a year and a half to go, life became rather peaceful for now.
But Yang Cheng didn't mind.
He was happy to enjoy this stretch of quiet days.
He spent his days cultivating, and often accompanied Cheng Junyi and Tang Xingyu.
Sometimes he went with Yun Jinghuai to the barracks or brought his Tiger Generals to visit Xiao Jingchuan in the Divine Machinery Battalion.
At night, he kept his mother company and occasionally humored Emperor Qian Yuan.
Just like that, nearly a year and a half passed.
Yang Cheng turned three.
For that entire year and a half, he trained every single day.
With his terrifying talent, his cultivation speed was naturally insane.
In just that short time—and without relying on any external aid—he advanced from late Xiantian to second-level Martial Master.
And that was while deliberately suppressing his growth.
Otherwise, his realm would've skyrocketed even higher.
The benefit of that suppression was that his foundation became monstrously strong.
At the same time, Yang Xiu, just like in the past, had also made shocking progress.
He'd gone from early-stage Xiantian to peak Xiantian.
It had to be said—backed by a half-step Martial Ancestor like Lin Xinglan, Yang Xiu was genuinely scary.
But compared to Yang Cheng, who had the system, he still fell short.
Not that outsiders knew any of this.
Over the past year and a half, Yang Cheng had kept a pretty low profile.
Back then, whenever he acted high-profile, it was purely to complete missions.
Without a good reason, he really didn't care to show off.
He'd rather spend the time with his mother.
His mother and teacher both had a general idea of his cultivation progress.
But neither was the type to parade their child around like a trophy.
Because of that, Yang Xiu had started getting more and more attention again, even appearing to rival Yang Cheng's limelight.
'The peaceful days are almost over,' Yang Cheng sighed softly.
In three days, the Ancient Desolation Tower would open.
Meanwhile—
In Yang Xiu's sea of consciousness—
"The time has finally come."
Lin Xinglan suddenly opened her eyes.
"Senior," Yang Xiu said eagerly. Lin Xinglan had already told him about the Ancient Desolation Tower.
"Yang Xiu, inside that tower are five sword talismans," Lin Xinglan said. "They are the Taiyi Sword Talisman, Taichu Sword Talisman, Taishi Sword Talisman, Taisu Sword Talisman, and Taiji Sword Talisman."
"Each talisman contains a wisp of innate Sword Dao origin."
"The strongest of them is the Taiyi Sword Talisman. I want you to get it. At the very least, you must acquire the Taichu Sword Talisman."
"If you succeed, I'll officially take you as my disciple."
Yang Xiu lit up. "Senior, I promise I'll get the Taichu Sword Talisman—or even the Taiyi Sword Talisman!"
"Getting them won't be easy," Lin Xinglan warned. "To claim them, one needs insane sword comprehension and a rock-solid will."
"For the past two years, I've been using the Sword Qi River to temper you, all to prepare for this."
"Thank you, Senior. I won't let you down," Yang Xiu said. "But since the tower's been around so long and the talismans are so powerful, why hasn't anyone taken them before?"
"They're extremely well-hidden, and they've been dormant until now. No one could sense them, let alone seize them," Lin Xinglan said. "But you don't need to worry. After these two years of my training, your Sword Dao aptitude should be unmatched in the Wasteland Realm."
"As long as your will holds strong, you should be able to take one of the top two talismans."
"Once you do, your path of rebirth will begin—and after that, Yang Cheng won't be worthy of even standing next to you!"