"Wait, that's not the Divine Dragon Sword Body," Leng Qianyu suddenly said.
The other prodigies seemed to realize something too after hearing her. They looked carefully at the golden dragon in the sky and immediately noticed—it wasn't a five-clawed dragon but a nine-clawed one.
"An… Ancestral Dragon Sword Body…" one prodigy said, voice trembling.
"Impossible!"
"That's the legendary Ancestral Dragon Sword Body?"
"That's the exclusive physique of the ancient Human Emperors!"
Everyone was shaken to the core. Even those who usually kept calm and composed—top-tier geniuses with firm minds—lost control for a moment.
Just Yang Cheng with blade intent had already been overwhelming, suppressing Nangong Yi and Baili Guan so hard they couldn't even breathe.
Now, with him revealing the exceedingly rare Ancestral Dragon Sword Body, how terrifying would he become?
"Ancestral Dragon Sword Body? Truly worthy of being His Highness," Shen Muxue and Lin Shu both smiled.
Only Tang Xingyu stayed calm, simply because she had no idea what the Ancestral Dragon Sword Body even meant.
"This can't be real!" Yang Xiu was the one who struggled the most to accept it.
A year ago, he and Yang Cheng had gone through bone aptitude testing together.
Back then, both the Prince Duan and the Emperor had announced that Yang Cheng's bone was the Divine Dragon Sword Body.
How did it become the Ancestral Dragon Sword Body?
The other four geniuses who had joined forces to kill Yang Cheng were wide-eyed too, completely in disbelief.
When they saw Yang Cheng show sword intent, wielding both blade and sword intent, they were wary—but still held their ground.
Now that his sword body was revealed to be the Ancestral Dragon Sword Body, they were genuinely afraid.
"This guy is such a freak. If we let him grow, will there even be a place for us in the Wasteland Realm?" Baili Guan suddenly shouted.
This time, even more geniuses responded.
Six more joined in, clearly not willing to let Yang Cheng rise.
"Everyone, follow me! Kill him!" Baili Guan charged at Yang Cheng.
He had a strong hunch—if he didn't kill Yang Cheng today, he'd never have the power to take revenge in this lifetime.
And his hatred for Yang Cheng ran bone-deep.
As long as Yang Cheng lived, he'd haunt him like a heart demon.
So he charged more fiercely than anyone.
The others all followed.
Yang Cheng didn't move a step.
'Perfect time to test out the Ancestral Dragon Sword Body's power.'
Until now, he hadn't really used it to kill. This was the ideal moment to try.
He fully activated the Ancestral Dragon Sword Body.
In an instant, the nine-clawed golden dragon above became even more lifelike, radiating brilliant golden light in all directions.
Thunder boomed. Wind howled. The sky changed. Mountains quaked. Clouds roiled overhead.
In the dark, ink-like clouds, the nine-clawed golden dragon coiled like a rainbow stretching across the waves, its golden scales dazzling like a midday sun.
This sight made all the geniuses nearby visibly pale.
"Northern Sea Sword Codex, Third Form—Kun Swims the Sea!"
Yang Cheng struck.
The golden dragon spewed endless sword qi.
The sword qi transformed into a great kunpeng, echoing and harmonizing with the golden dragon.
The force it carried was even more terrifying, making some of the geniuses' souls tremble.
The eleven geniuses encircling Yang Cheng were all horrified.
The six who had joined later were already regretting it.
Unfortunately, it was too late to back out.
Eleven attacks blasted toward Yang Cheng, crashing into the sword qi kunpeng.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The whole realm shook.
At the center of the battle, light burst out like a sun exploding.
Waves of destruction swept across the field. The ground split, boulders shattered, even ancient trees in the distance were uprooted and swept into the chaos.
Of the eleven geniuses attacking Yang Cheng, six spat blood and were sent flying.
Nangong Yi, Baili Guan, Yang Xiu, Gao Yun, and Dong He barely held their ground, but their faces turned pale. Blood leaked from the corners of their mouths, and terror filled their eyes.
"This… This is the power of the Ancestral Dragon Sword Body?"
"If he doesn't die young, he'll crush our entire generation…"
All the surrounding geniuses watching the fight were in total shock. Some even instinctively backed away, afraid of getting caught in the storm.
Leng Qianyu and Kongxing exchanged glances, and both saw deep fear in the other's eyes.
Yang Cheng stood tall, sword in hand, golden light swirling around him. The nine-clawed golden dragon circled above his head, exuding overwhelming dragon might that suppressed the whole field.
"Your Highness of Great Zhou, I… I wasn't thinking clearly. I withdraw from the fight…" a genius from the second wave stammered.
Before he could finish, a flash of sword light shot out.
Pfft!
Blood sprayed into the air.
That genius's head flew off his neck.
Then Yang Cheng began the first true massacre of this life.
Under his attack, not a single genius could survive even one exchange.
In a blink, six weaker geniuses fell to his sword, dead on the spot.
The remaining five top talents felt their hair stand on end.
Rumble!
Just then—
The heavens trembled, and space itself began to quake violently.
"What is this?"
"This is bad—the Ancient Desolation Tower is collapsing!"
Many geniuses were startled, not knowing what was happening.
Yang Cheng, however, stayed calm and looked behind him. "Lin Shu, did you refine the Taiyi Sword Talisman?"
"Yes, Your Highness," Lin Shu replied, stepping forward.
Yang Cheng smiled at her, then turned to Tang Xingyu and Shen Muxue. "No need to panic."
He understood clearly. All five Innate Sword Talismans had been refined, and the Ancient Desolation Tower had lost its foundational support—its collapse was inevitable.
In his previous life, the Ancient Desolation Tower had also turned to ruins on this very day.
But this life, a lot had changed.
Back then, Yang Xiu, Nangong Yi, and Baili Guan were the ones who should've obtained the Taiyi, Taichu, and Taiyi Sword Talismans.
Now, Yang Xiu had only managed to get the Taichu Sword Talisman.
Nangong Yi and Baili Guan got nothing.
Only Leng Qianyu and Kongxing still mirrored the past, obtaining the Taishi and Taisu Sword Talismans.
Clearly, those were the ones they'd been aiming for from the start.
Before long, the space inside the Ancient Desolation Tower completely shattered.
The world flipped upside down, and all the geniuses suddenly reappeared outside.
Looking around, they saw the tower had collapsed. Where they stood was now a field of rubble.
The ones who had made enemies of Yang Cheng reacted first, turning to run.
Yang Cheng locked eyes on Baili Guan.
More than anyone else, Baili Guan was the one he wanted to kill.
Before even entering the tower, Baili Guan had provoked him.
Later, thanks to an elder of Taoshan intervening with sincerity, Baili Guan narrowly escaped punishment.
But during Yang Cheng's battle with Nangong Yi, Baili Guan had sneak-attacked him.
And during the group siege, Baili Guan had jumped in the loudest, truly disgusting him.
Besides, most of the pirates who harassed Great Zhou's sea borders every year came from the Skyfeather Empire.
He already had a poor opinion of Skyfeather Empire.
Add all that up, and his killing intent toward Baili Guan was far stronger than for anyone else.
"Trying to run? Too late."
Yang Cheng stepped forward. His figure flickered like a ghost and appeared directly in front of Baili Guan. His right hand formed a sword with two fingers, thrusting straight at Baili Guan's throat.
A terrifying sword qi surged forward. Baili Guan's face changed drastically.
Sensing death, he poured out all his true qi and used the Zhu Heaven Divine Sword to try and block the attack.
Boom!
Yang Cheng's sword qi clashed with the Zhu Heaven Divine Sword.
In a split second, his sword qi tore straight through Baili Guan's defenses.
"No!"
Baili Guan's eyes were wide with horror.
Puff!
A moment later, the sword qi pierced through his chest.
He screamed in agony.
Yang Cheng had no intention of letting him go. His gaze stayed ice cold.
"Your Highness of Great Zhou, stay your hand!" the Taoshan elder's voice rang out again.
At the same time, a powerful pressure came crashing down like the sky itself.
"This is the might of a half-step Martial Sovereign?"
"Terrifying beyond words."
Many cultivators trembled uncontrollably.
Baili Guan breathed a sigh of relief, thinking he was saved.
'So long as the green hills remain, there's no need to worry about firewood.'
'Yang Cheng, one day I'll make you pay a hundred times over for this humiliation.'
Hatred swelled in his heart.
Yang Cheng's expression didn't change much.
A half-step Martial Sovereign's power was terrifying, but in his past life, he had been a Martial Saint. With that kind of experience, this level of pressure wasn't much to bear.
He pulled his sword out from Baili Guan's chest.
Baili Guan thought Yang Cheng had chickened out and sneered. "Showing off in front of me means nothing."
"If you've got guts, go challenge my senior brother from Taoshan."
He was smart enough to know he wasn't Yang Cheng's match, so he tried to redirect him toward someone stronger.
Senior brother from Taoshan?
Of course Yang Cheng knew who that was.
In his last life, before his reincarnation, Baili Guan became Emperor of the Skyfeather Empire. But the one who became Head of Taoshan wasn't him—it was Tian Congxuan.
Tian Congxuan was currently the lead true disciple of Taoshan.
In martial skill alone, Baili Guan couldn't compare to him at all.
"Whether I fight Tian Congxuan or not is my business. You, a dead man, have no say."
Yang Cheng's voice was flat.
"What do you mean—are you still planning to kill me?!"
Baili Guan sensed something was off.
Yang Cheng's sword was already pressed to his throat.
"You impudent brat!" the Taoshan elder roared with fury.
Yang Cheng didn't even look at him. His right hand pressed down.
The wooden sword in his grip sliced out a thin line of sword light.
Baili Guan's head flew from his shoulders, rolling across the ground more than a dozen times before finally stopping.
When it stopped, his face was pointed right at Yang Cheng.
Yang Cheng, and many around him, could still see the lingering traces in his eyes—anger, disbelief, and deep unwillingness.
His mouth opened slightly, like he still wanted to speak. But no sound came out.
A moment later, all his life force vanished completely.
The prince of the Skyfeather Empire, true disciple of Taoshan, and future Skyfeather Emperor—dead, just like that.
The surroundings fell into utter silence.
No one had expected Yang Cheng to strike so decisively.
Though Baili Guan wasn't on the level of Nangong Yi, Leng Qianyu, or Kongxing, he was still a top genius, just beneath them.
And yet this top genius was just killed, right then and there.
"Your Highness of Great Zhou!" the Taoshan elder's furious roar shook the air. "You're courting death! Courting death!"
Boom!
The sky turned pitch black.
Roaring flames rolled across the heavens like twilight clouds.
An even more terrifying pressure crashed down like a raging river.
Many cultivators couldn't endure the weight and dropped to their knees.
This was the true meaning of heaven and earth turning dark, of all beings kneeling in awe.
The power of a half-step Martial Sovereign—utterly overwhelming.