Fire Dragon Mountain.
On the training grounds at the summit—
"I…"
Wei Hong's face was filled with despair.
Boom!
In the next moment, his entire body exploded.
Just after breaking through to the Martial Emperor realm, Wei Hong was shattered by a single palm from Yang Cheng.
He was completely and utterly dead.
Pan Yulou's legs trembled uncontrollably.
The people around them were all horrified.
At that moment, everyone clearly realized what royal authority truly meant.
The Crown Prince was not the same as ordinary martial artists.
Offending another martial artist wouldn't typically lead to death under the rules of the martial world. Someone like Wei Hong wouldn't have needed to die. After all, behind Wei Hong stood Cangyun Sect—others in the martial world would have had to take that into consideration.
But that kind of reasoning clearly didn't work with the Crown Prince.
Offending royal power? That could actually get you killed.
As everyone looked toward Yang Cheng, he remained calm inside, without a ripple.
Royal power?
What was powerful had never been the authority of the throne—it was strength.
Royal authority without strength would only be hollow and easily overridden.
If he didn't have the strength, Yang Xiu would've replaced him long ago.
So what these people feared wasn't royal power—it was royal power backed by strength. A Crown Prince who had real strength.
"Crown Prince!"
Sun Xiangsheng's eyes nearly bulged from rage.
"What? Does General Sun really intend to rebel?"
Yang Cheng calmly withdrew his hand.
"This humble one… wouldn't dare."
Sun Xiangsheng did feel a strong urge to take revenge for Wei Hong.
Wei Hong had been his most valued disciple.
But he didn't dare.
If it were a weak, timid royal, he might've dared to push them around.
But the Crown Prince clearly wasn't that type.
If he really dared raise a hand against the Crown Prince, the accusation of treason would come crashing down for real.
And not just on him—Cangyun Sect would be dragged into it too.
"Good."
Yang Cheng turned his gaze toward Pan Yulou.
Pan Yulou trembled with fear. "I'll take the beating—I accept the punishment."
Immediately, someone dragged Pan Yulou away to be caned.
The caning rods were specifically designed to break through true qi.
After 100 strikes, Pan Yulou's backside was a bloody mess. He couldn't even stand.
"Crown Prince, your actions today—I won't say more," said Sun Xiangsheng. "But Cangyun Sect will be very displeased."
"Here in Mozhou, Cangyun Sect has stood strong for over 5,000 years. Its history is far older than Great Zhou's."
"Even the royal family must tread carefully here if they don't have Cangyun Sect's support."
"This humble one takes his leave."
With that, Sun Xiangsheng carried Pan Yulou and left.
Yang Cheng's gaze remained cold.
So Sun Xiangsheng was trying to threaten him with Cangyun Sect?
Qin Qiancheng stayed silent.
Yang Cheng's strength had far surpassed what she'd imagined.
She had actually considered using Cangyun Sect's power to make things difficult for him.
But now, that thought had crumbled before it could even form.
'Elder… can Cangyun Sect really suppress the Crown Prince?' she sighed inwardly.
"Crown Prince is mighty!"
The Dragon Spear Army soldiers were already cheering.
In the military, power was everything.
Yang Cheng's overwhelming strength had completely won them over.
"General Qin, when does the Cangyun Assembly begin?" Yang Cheng asked.
"In seven days," Qin Qiancheng replied, her eyes full of hope. "Your Highness, if you want to attend, I can help get you an identity pass from Cangyun Sect."
"You mentioned before that the Cangyun Assembly gathers forces from all over. That means even those outside of Cangyun Sect can attend, right?" Yang Cheng asked.
Hearing this, Qin Qiancheng felt a bad premonition.
Yang Cheng smiled faintly and said no more, turning and leaving.
Hetian Town.
Located deep within the desert.
This was where the Cangyun Assembly would be held.
Yang Cheng and Lin Shu appeared just outside the town.
He didn't care how Great Zhou had handled things before.
But from now on, in the Great Zhou he ruled, no force would be allowed to operate beyond royal authority.
Sun Xiangsheng dared to say that without Cangyun Sect's support, even the royal family would be shackled in Mozhou?
Then he wanted to see just how domineering this Cangyun Sect really was.
At the town entrance, Yang Cheng was stopped.
"Sir, Hetian Town is currently hosting the Hetian Assembly. No idlers allowed inside," said a guard at the gate.
Yang Cheng pulled out a token. "This is a Cangyun Assembly qualification pass."
He had asked General Meng to buy it for him.
The guard glanced at it, then shook his head. "This is a Cangyun Assembly qualification pass, but this time's Dao Discussion is being hosted by the Chu clan. The qualification tokens have already changed."
"No one informed you of this? Clearly no one invited you in the first place. You probably bought that pass off the black market.""
"Chu clan?" Yang Cheng's eyes flickered.
"The Chu clan is the oldest family in the entire Ancient Western Regions," the guard said reverently. "The Ancient Western Regions aren't just modern Mozhou—they also cover several areas including Westenr Luo and more."
"Take our Mozhou War Goddess, General Qin Xuanjia—she used to be a discarded woman of the Chu clan."
Actually, none of this needed to be explained.
Yang Cheng understood the Chu clan better than the guard did.
Indeed, the Chu clan was a colossal, hidden force in these ancient Western lands.
But what Yang Cheng also knew was that many years ago, the Chu clan had already colluded with forces beyond this realm.
"Young master, come in with me."
Just then, a gentle voice came from the side.
Yang Cheng turned his head and saw two girls standing there.
One wore white and looked gentle and graceful. The other, in green, was lively and playful.
Both seemed about fifteen years old.
"This young master is really handsome!"
The girl in green looked at Yang Cheng, eyes sparkling.
"Thank you."
Yang Cheng didn't refuse.
For him, it didn't matter how he got in—as long as he could. He didn't care about the method.
As for the two girls, he really didn't know them and had never seen them in his past life either.
"Sorry, we can't let just anyone inside," said the guard with a stern face.
The girl in white took out an ancient jade token. "I'm from the Chu clan. My father is Chu Daohang."
"A real Chu clan jade token!"
The two guards were shocked and quickly bowed in respect. "Miss Chu, please enter."
Just like that, Yang Cheng and Lin Shu followed the two girls into the town.
"Why are you two helping me?"
Yang Cheng asked, puzzled.
The girl in white simply smiled.
The girl in green replied, "Because you're good-looking, of course."
Yang Cheng stayed silent.
The green-clothed girl didn't mind at all and enthusiastically said, "Young master, I'm Xue Fu, and she's Chu Meng. What's your name?"
"Yang Cheng."
He answered directly.
With Xue Fu and Chu Meng leading the way, Yang Cheng soon arrived at the central square of the town.
Hundreds of people had already gathered there.
Everyone gathered here either had powerful auras or unusual status.
Clearly, this Dao Discussion Assembly wasn't ordinary.
What surprised Yang Cheng even more was that the square had numerous stalls set up.
"The Dao Discussion isn't just a martial exchange—it's also a resource trading event."
Chu Meng explained, "If you have anything to sell or want to buy, you can give it a try."
"Miss Chu."
Just then, a richly dressed young man appeared.
Chu Meng frowned slightly.
Xue Fu rolled her eyes. "Ugh, this guy again, always lingering like a ghost."
Yang Cheng ignored them.
His gaze had been drawn to someone nearby.
It was a middle-aged man with a goatee.
Yang Cheng quickly lowered his head. Then, his breath caught.
On the goateed man's stall sat a sword.
The moment he saw the sword, Yang Cheng's heart skipped a beat.
Ding!
[Is this the Asura Fragment Sword?]
[A hundred years ago, the Asura Blood Sword that followed the host for over 300 years was taken by the Chu clan genius Chu Xuzhi.]
[Today, the host sees the Asura Blood Sword again in Hetian Town, the Chu clan's old domain. Is there sorrow in the host's heart?]
[Swords with spirits are extremely rare. The Asura Blood Sword is one of them. After being seized by Chu Xuzhi, the sword spirit sealed itself and refused to be used by him.]
[Because of that, Chu Xuzhi suppressed the Asura Blood Sword in the Nether Abyss and tried to use Nether Flames to burn it into submission.]
[But after a hundred years, Chu Xuzhi still hasn't been able to use it—proving that even after a century of burning, the sword spirit still refuses to yield.]
[Host, retrieve the Asura Blood Sword from Chu Xuzhi.]
[Quest Reward: Enlighten the Asura Blood Sword with Dao.]
Yang Cheng walked up to the stall. "How much for this sword?"
The goateed middle-aged man glanced at Yang Cheng. Seeing his fine clothes and the maid beside him, he smiled and said, "Eight hundred high-grade spirit stones. Non-negotiable."
At the moment, the Asura Divine Sword looked like a rusty, battered iron blade.
If not for the ancient Dao runes engraved on it, people might really treat it as scrap metal.
Even so, the vendor dared to ask for 800 high-grade spirit stones—clearly a swindler.
That's why, in Yang Cheng's past life, this sword had sat in his stall for 100 years before being sold to him.
That's right.
In his past life, Yang Cheng had bought the Asura Blood Sword from this man.
Because he had the Asura Demon Body, he could sense the sword's true nature.
"Old Chen, you're a scammer. That broken sword is worth 800 high-grade spirit stones?"
A nearby stall owner scoffed.
Chen Mohai stroked his beard. "What do you know? This is an ancient divine weapon. You just can't see it with your mortal eyes."
"Young master, don't listen to him."
Xue Fu snorted. "I don't think this sword is even worth one high-grade spirit stone."
"Eight hundred high-grade spirit stones. I'll take it."
Yang Cheng said calmly.
There was no point bargaining with Chen Mohai. If he were going to lower the price, he wouldn't have waited 100 years to sell it.
Besides, compared to the true value of the Asura Blood Sword, 800 spirit stones were nothing.
"Are you stupid?"
Xue Fu panicked.
The richly dressed man also looked over, frowning slightly.
He hadn't paid much attention to the boy with Chu Meng earlier, but now he had to.
Handsome, wealthy—he was now a real threat.
Especially since he was willing to throw 800 high-grade spirit stones at a broken sword. In his eyes, this was clearly just a stunt to show off in front of Chu Meng.
The rich youth said coldly, "I'll offer 1,000 high-grade spirit stones."
Chen Mohai beamed with joy.
He didn't make a living off selling treasures, so he always priced his items however he liked—buyers beware.
He never expected this rusty blade to attract such attention.
The stall owner beside him was burning with envy.
Yang Cheng's face remained indifferent. He looked at the young man and said, "I just met Miss Chu and Miss Xue for the first time. You don't need to come at me like this."
"I feel like it."
The young man sneered.
"Young Master Liang truly lives up to his name as the heir to Mozhou's number one merchant guild. So generous!"
Chen Mohai gave a thumbs-up.
"That's right. I lack everything—except money."
The wealthy youth looked at Yang Cheng with disdain. "Poor guy, don't pretend to be rich here if you don't have the cash."