With five hundred years of future memories, Yang Cheng saw through nearly everyone in this world like glass.
But there were exceptions.
Emperor Qian Yuan was one of them.
Yang Xiu was Heaven's Mandate's son.
Yet in his past life, Emperor Qian Yuan had fought against Yang Xiu for a hundred years before finally abdicating.
Even then, Qian Yuan became the Supreme Emperor and still held the cultivation of a Martial Sovereign.
Why didn't Yang Xiu kill Emperor Qian Yuan?
Yang Cheng didn't believe for a second that Yang Xiu spared him out of filial piety. And he doubted it was just to protect his reputation.
There had to be something hidden here that Yang Cheng didn't know about.
"Cheng'er, what are you thinking about?"
Yun Liyue asked.
"The position of Crown Prince of Great Zhou doesn't mean much to me anymore," Yang Cheng said. "But there's no need to change anything for now. After all, Father is still fighting in the Tianyuan Abyss. Once the abyss is conquered, I can consider stepping down from the crown prince's seat."
Yun Liyue spoke gently, "As long as your heart is at peace, no matter what you choose to do, Mother will support you."
"And if one day I really do step down as crown prince?" Yang Cheng asked.
"Then I'll step down as empress and go live on the Divine Mountain with you," Yun Liyue replied.
That same day.
Yang Cheng gathered the Nine Tiger Generals.
Back then, there were Eighteen Tiger Generals, but now only nine remained as his true confidants.
All nine had grown strong, and keeping them in Great Zhou would be a waste.
So Yang Cheng planned to relocate them to the Divine Mountain.
"Lin Shu, this time when I destroyed the Ouyang clan, I brought back ten million divine stones," Yang Cheng said. "I plan to use these stones on the Divine Mountain. But that means the Nanqiao Mountain Range in Chanzhou isn't enough anymore for the mountain's expansion. What do you think would be a better location for the Divine Mountain?"
Without hesitation, Lin Shu replied, "The Great Zhao Empire."
"Oh?" Yang Cheng raised a brow.
"Your Highness, we've operated in Chanzhou for many years and have deep roots there. Chanzhou borders the Great Zhao Empire, which makes it convenient for us to extend our influence. Also, nearly half of our Great Zhou's Ancient Desolation Mountain Range lies in Great Zhao's territory. So to be precise, we should move the Divine Mountain into the Ancient Desolation Mountains and use that to expand into the Great Zhao Empire."
"That's a solid plan. The Great Zhao Empire also took part in attacking our Great Zhou, so this is a good chance to collect some debts."
A few days later.
Yang Cheng headed to Fire Dragon Mountain.
The soldiers of the Dragon Spear Army looked at him with blazing admiration in their eyes.
Qin Xuanjia was now recovering with the Dragon Spear Army. Although Qin Qiansheng had warned her in advance about the last assassination attempt, she was still injured.
When she saw Yang Cheng, Qin Xuanjia stood up and said, "The Ouyang clan tried to assassinate me. Fortunately, Your Highness destroyed them. I will never forget such a favor."
"You don't need to say that, General Qin. I didn't destroy the Ouyang clan for you alone," Yang Cheng said.
"Even so, I still owe you."
Qin Xuanjia said seriously, "Without Your Highness, I may never have had the chance to get revenge in this life."
Beside her, Qin Qiansheng looked at Yang Cheng differently now too.
In that moment, she finally understood why her former self had been so loyal to Yang Cheng.
Even she couldn't bring herself to hate him anymore. In fact, somewhere deep down, she felt true respect.
Ding!
[Host has completely earned the gratitude and recognition of Qin Xuanjia and Qin Qiansheng.]
[Congratulations! Host has obtained full control over Fire Dragon Mountain and may now open a secret realm within the mountain.]
The system prompt flashed, catching Yang Cheng off guard.
It had been a long time since he'd touched this mission—he'd nearly forgotten it.
He never expected that only now would he fully win over Qin Xuanjia and Qin Qiansheng.
"Everyone," Yang Cheng said, "I plan to open a secret realm within Fire Dragon Mountain. From now on, you'll be able to cultivate here far more effectively."
"What?!"
"A secret realm? That's divine-level stuff!"
"His Highness has already slain multiple gods. It's not surprising if he can do this too!"
The soldiers were both shocked and thrilled, full of eager anticipation.
Yang Cheng then accepted the system reward and easily opened up a secret realm within Fire Dragon Mountain—a space one thousand zhang in diameter.
Fire Dragon Mountain was no ordinary place.
It had once been a meteorite from the heavens during the ancient era. Now that Yang Cheng controlled it, it was as if he had claimed a powerful divine artifact.
Afterward, Yang Cheng returned to the Myriad Phenomena Dao Academy.
As an instructor at the Myriad Phenomena Dao Academy, he received a monthly salary of 1,000 divine stones. He could also freely access all kinds of alchemy and martial arts texts in the academy.
With such generous benefits, of course he wouldn't pass them up. He was more than willing to fulfill his duties as an instructor.
Besides, Xu Qingxue and Wang Rou had been using the academy's pill formulas to refine Earth Spirit Heart Pills for him.
The academy turned a blind eye to this.
So Yang Cheng definitely held the Myriad Phenomena Dao Academy in high regard.
Being an instructor here was easy. Aside from giving lectures from time to time, he didn't have much else to do. Even the minor errands were handled by other lecturers and teaching assistants.
After wrapping up this month's alchemy class, Yang Cheng decided it was time to head to the Great Zhao Empire.
"Letian, we've been in the Wasteland Realm for a while now, but we've barely explored beyond this place," Yan Qingzhi said as she approached Xu Letian. "The Great Zhao Empire has ancient divine towers, primeval bays, and imperial ruins from ancient times. Sounds pretty fascinating. How about we travel through the empire and take in the sights of the Wasteland Realm?"
She'd noticed Xu Letian becoming colder toward her lately, so she hoped this trip could help patch things up.
Also, she genuinely wanted to see the Great Zhao Empire.
Xu Letian, Dongfang Sheng, and Zeng Niu were all tempted after hearing that.
Though the Wasteland Realm lagged behind the Horn Constellation Realm in development, it had its own unique scenery and charm.
"Master Yang, are you coming too?" Xu Letian asked without thinking.
"Sure," Yang Cheng said with a smile.
Xu Letian was stunned.
He had asked expecting Yang Cheng to refuse. The fact that Yang Cheng agreed caught him totally off guard.
That sealed it. He had no more doubts.
"Haha! If Master Yang is going, then of course we're in," Xu Letian said.
Once they heard Yang Cheng was joining, Ma Ruoruo and Wei Jia both quickly agreed to go as well.
Just like that, their little group became a full-on travel team.
As everyone went off to prepare, another person came looking for Yang Cheng.
"Cang Xuanji," Xu Letian said in surprise.
The others wisely backed off to give her space. None of them dared interrupt Cang Xuanji's conversation with Yang Cheng.
She was one of the Flower Maidens of the Sword Academy—someone way out of their league.
"What is it?" Yang Cheng asked.
Cang Xuanji looked slightly nervous. "Master Yang, my father would like to visit you. May he?"
Yang Cheng wasn't surprised. He calmly replied, "He's a god from beyond the realm. Can he enter the Wasteland Realm?"
"His true form can't, but he can descend through an avatar," Cang Xuanji said.
"I'll wait here for him," Yang Cheng said.
Cang Xuanji acted swiftly, pulling out an ancient jade talisman.
Soon, the jade released waves of spiritual energy, forming into a figure—Cang Dingtie.