A ten-thousand-foot-deep abyss.
Four figures drifted down like willow catkins.
All eyes immediately locked onto the two-year-old boy among them.
"The Crown Prince of Great Zhou..."
Everyone's expression turned serious.
Nangong Yi froze for a moment. Clearly, he hadn't expected Yang Cheng to appear so soon.
According to his and Lu Jingshu's assumption, Yang Cheng should've been hiding in the shadows like a rat.
But then his eyes turned cold.
No matter why Yang Cheng showed up, this was good for him.
"Yang Cheng, you really dared to show up," Nangong Yi said coldly. "You humiliated me outside the tower, then killed a county princess of my Great Zhao Empire inside the tower. You think just because you're the Crown Prince of Great Zhou, I won't dare kill you?"
"I've been waiting for you to try," Yang Cheng said calmly, hands behind his back, eyes looking down on him.
"No need to use a butcher's knife to kill a chicken," came a voice from behind Nangong Yi.
A genius from the Great Zhao Empire stepped forward. "Crown Prince of Great Zhou, let me handle you."
He was Nangong Shu, heir to King Cheng of the Great Zhao Empire, an eleven-year-old Martial Master at the ninth level.
Yang Cheng defeating Baili Guan was impressive, sure.
But the Skyfeather Empire was just a small peninsula nation, barely the size of one state within Great Zhou or Great Zhao.
Even though Baili Guan was somewhat well-known, Nangong Shu didn't take him seriously.
So Yang Cheng defeating him only made Nangong Shu raise an eyebrow, not feel threatened.
In fact, he was eager to fight Yang Cheng, hoping to impress Nangong Yi.
"You? You think you're worthy of fighting His Highness?" Shen Muxue flashed forward and stood in front of Yang Cheng.
"Foolish girl," Nangong Shu sneered, gripping his spear as killing intent flashed in his eyes. "Fine. Then I'll kill you first, then your prince."
As he spoke, a surge of true qi erupted from his body.
The next moment, he shot forward like a streak of black lightning.
In a flash, he reached Shen Muxue, his spear aimed straight at her throat with crushing force.
Shen Muxue gently raised her jade-like hand. A soft silver glow surged forth and instantly formed a glowing white lotus in front of her.
The spear struck the lotus. It trembled, but didn't break.
Previously, Shen Muxue was strong, but not strong enough to stand among top-tier geniuses.
Now, everything had changed.
The opportunity she gained in the Moon Cave had catapulted her to a new level.
Nangong Shu's pupils contracted in shock at her strength.
But he reacted fast, withdrawing his spear abruptly.
Then, his spear tip quivered, splitting into countless shadows that rained down like a storm of pear blossoms, aiming to overwhelm Shen Muxue.
She frowned slightly and clenched her right hand.
The glowing white lotus exploded into motes of light, then reformed into a shimmering silver veil.
All the spear shadows slammed into the veil and were blocked in an instant.
Before Nangong Shu could react, Shen Muxue grabbed the veil like lightning and swept it toward him.
"No!" Nangong Shu's face changed drastically.
He never imagined he'd lose to Shen Muxue in just a few exchanges.
Worse yet, this attack—he had no way to stop it.
Just as Nangong Shu was about to be overwhelmed, a brilliant blade light tore through the air.
Buzz!
The void trembled. It felt like heaven and earth might split apart.
The might of that blade was absolutely terrifying.
"The Divine Blade of the Other Shore!"
"That's the Bian'an Divine Sect's ultimate blade technique!"
Cries of shock rang out.
The one who attacked was clearly Nangong Yi.
The Eastern Wastes were vast. Geniuses from different nations rarely had a chance to meet.
So many here had never seen Nangong Yi's blade technique before.
Now that they did, they found his reputation well-deserved—maybe even terrifying.
In a blink, the blade light reached Shen Muxue.
She wasn't afraid.
Instead, her beautiful eyes lit up.
She had been eager to clash with one of the top-tier geniuses of the Eastern Wastes.
She really wanted to see just how far apart their strength was.
Without retreating, she let her true qi surge again.
The moonlight-like silver veil clashed head-on with the blade light.
Rip!
The veil tore visibly under the force of the blade.
But at the same time, Nangong Yi's blade light rapidly dimmed.
Moments later, the veil shattered completely.
And so did the blade light.
Everyone around them stared in stunned silence.
Shen Muxue actually blocked Nangong Yi's blade?
Even if it was only one strike, it was still unbelievable to most onlookers.
Shen Muxue staggered back several steps, blood seeping from the corner of her mouth.
But her expression was full of joy.
Nangong Yi was definitely powerful, and she still wasn't a match for him.
But from that single exchange, she could tell—he wasn't unreachable anymore.
Nangong Yi's face turned dark as night.
If Yang Cheng had blocked his blade, he might've just lost a bit of face.
But Yang Cheng hadn't even made a move yet.
It was just Shen Muxue, who had claimed to be Yang Cheng's maid, and she had blocked his blade.
This was pure humiliation.
"Wretched maid, you deserve to die."
Murderous intent fully ignited in Nangong Yi's eyes.
Boom!
Surging true qi burst out from Nangong Yi's body like a dam breaking, flooding into his long blade.
Then, he slashed again.
This strike felt like it could split mountains and rivers, even destroy heaven and earth.
Terrifying beyond words.
Even from far away, many felt suffocated.
"Nangong Yi is really furious now."
"What a terrifying blade."
People quickly backed away from the center of the fight.
In just a blink, the blade light was already above Shen Muxue.
"Not good!" Lin Shu's expression changed.
"Sister Muxue!" Tang Xingyu also sensed danger. Her soft little face tensed up.
But Shen Muxue herself stayed calm. Not a trace of panic could be seen on her face.
At that very moment, a figure suddenly appeared in front of her.
It was Yang Cheng.
Just like she had shielded him before, now Yang Cheng stepped in front of Shen Muxue without hesitation.
Seeing this, Shen Muxue smiled.
She knew His Highness would make a move.
Back in Fengtian City, when Tuoba Xiao attacked her, Yang Cheng helped her survive the disaster.
She'd worried back then, thinking she was just a burden.
But the truth proved she had worried too much.
It was from that moment she realized—there was no need to wait for His Highness to grow up. He was already strong enough.
And that was a year and a half ago.
Now that six months had passed and she had improved so much, how strong must His Highness be?
She couldn't even imagine it.
More importantly, after receiving the legacy of the wordless stone stele, her Sacred Spirit Dao Body had evolved, and her perception became even sharper.
She could now roughly gauge Nangong Yi's depth.
That was why she dared to block his earlier strike.
But when it came to His Highness, her Sacred Spirit Dao Body still couldn't get a read on him. All she sensed was unfathomable depth.
That convinced her—His Highness was far stronger than Nangong Yi. Far, far stronger.
Just then, Nangong Yi's blade light slammed into Yang Cheng without any pause.
"Your Highness!" Lin Shu's eyes turned red.
Tang Xingyu froze.
She was still young and innocent, but for the first time, she felt something called panic.
She was scared something would happen to Chengcheng.
Over this past year, she had grown used to having him by her side.
She couldn't even imagine what life would be like without him.
Along with that panic came another emotion: anger.
Nangong Yi.
It was the first time she had ever felt this much hatred and fury toward someone.
Buzz!
Brilliant blade light engulfed Yang Cheng's small figure.
"Could the Crown Prince of Great Zhou really die just like this?"
"He's a monster for sure, but as the saying goes—too much brilliance leads to a short life. Being too gifted isn't always a good thing."
The surrounding geniuses all held their breath.
If this was how it ended, it'd be a big loss for the world.
But just a loss.
After all, to forces outside of Great Zhou, Yang Cheng was an enemy.
Deep down, many of them were secretly hoping he'd die young, so he wouldn't grow into a threat to their nations.
"Pity about the Crown Prince of Great Zhou... huh?"
Leng Qianyu of the Ice Palace had just shown a hint of regret, when her gaze suddenly froze.
Kongxing also stared hard into the blade light.
As Nangong Yi's light began to dim, people started seeing what was inside.
What they saw shocked them all.
Under the blade light—there was still blade light.
But this light wasn't from Nangong Yi's strike.
Nangong Yi's blade was fierce and dominating, like a mountain-splitting force.
But this new light flowed gently, like a thin stream of water, wrapping softly around Yang Cheng.
And that soft blade light was the one that blocked Nangong Yi's fierce strike.
"That strike of yours... it was a bit crude," Yang Cheng said coolly.
Blade light flowed through the air, but none of it matched the brilliance in his eyes.
His gaze held a pool of calm, undisturbed water, yet shimmered like an unsheathed blade.
Many of the girls present couldn't take their eyes off him.
"You actually know blade techniques... and you've grasped blade intent?" Nangong Yi stared at him, stunned.
Blade intent?
The other geniuses looked confused.
Wasn't the Crown Prince of Great Zhou supposed to have sword intent?
He even carried a sword on his back.
But now, it seemed the rumors were wrong.
He didn't have sword intent—he had blade intent.
Only Shen Muxue and Lin Shu were completely dumbfounded.
They clearly remembered that back in Great Zhou, His Highness had used sword intent multiple times.
So he had sword intent too?
That meant... he had mastered both sword intent and blade intent?
They thought they knew him. But now, they realized they had only seen a tiny sliver of who he really was.
How monstrous was His Highness, really?
"You just slashed at me. Now it's only fair I return the favor," Yang Cheng said casually.
As he spoke, he raised his right hand, shaping it like a blade, and slashed forward.