"You're not sorry—you're just scared!"
Yang Cheng pressed down with his foot, shattering all of Song Danshi's internal organs and even his brain.
Song Danshi died instantly.
Ning Yuan's pupils shrank sharply.
He never imagined Yang Cheng would be this ruthless, killing without hesitation.
Earlier, he had relied on his status and hadn't really feared Yang Cheng.
But now, watching Yang Cheng's actions—it was like facing a mad bandit. Would someone like this ever be scared of someone's status?
Ning Yuan immediately tried to slip away.
Swish!
Before he could move, a figure blinked beside him, grabbing his neck.
Ning Yuan's whole body froze.
Yang Cheng looked over at Nangong Yan, who no longer dared to move.
"Sit."
Yang Cheng said.
Behind him, the long bench was still perfectly intact.
Soon, Ning Yuan and Nangong Yan sat obediently on the undamaged bench.
Yang Cheng looked at Ning Yuan. "The family you mentioned—is it the Rong family?"
Surprise flickered in Ning Yuan's eyes. Clearly, he hadn't expected Yang Cheng to know the Rong family.
He answered honestly, "It is the Rong family."
Yang Cheng's gaze deepened in thought.
The Rong family was a well-known alchemy force in the Horn Constellation Realm.
Later, that faction submitted to Yang Xiu.
From the looks of it now, the descendants of the Rong family were hiding in the Wasteland Realm.
"Sir, I have no intention of being your enemy. In fact, we don't even know each other."
Ning Yuan said, "If there's nothing else, may I take my leave?"
"No rush."
Yang Cheng replied calmly, "I actually came to find your Ning family. But it seems you're not the one in charge."
Ning Yuan's face changed drastically. "You want to see my sister?"
Yang Cheng didn't answer that. Instead, he turned to Nangong Yan.
"I…"
Nangong Yan tried to say something.
Yang Cheng casually spat out a breath of black and white true fire, reducing Nangong Yan to ashes on the spot.
Seeing this, Ning Yuan immediately straightened up. "I-I'll take you right away."
He had some life-saving methods.
But right now, he had zero confidence in surviving in front of Yang Cheng.
Very quickly, Ning Yuan personally drove his spirit deer carriage and brought Yang Cheng toward the Great Zhao imperial palace.
His sister was there.
Outside the palace, looking at the layers of guards, Ning Yuan had a sudden thought—if he could get these guards to attack Yang Cheng, could he escape?
But that idea vanished in a flash.
This wasn't the Ning clan's territory in the Horn Constellation Realm.
These imperial guards of Great Zhao were likely no match for Yang Cheng either. They'd just be throwing their lives away.
He could only let that idea go.
It seemed someone up top had already given word. The guards of the Great Zhao palace clearly recognized Ning Yuan and allowed his deer carriage to pass, letting Yang Cheng enter the palace without issue.
On the way, Ning Yuan couldn't help but ask, "Sir, may I ask why you're looking for the Ning family?"
Yang Cheng replied calmly, "Ning Yuan, has Ning Zhen ever told your Ning family descendants the origin of your clan?"
"The origin of the Ning family?"
Ning Yuan looked confused.
Then something seemed to click in his mind, and he nervously said, "I've never met the old ancestor. But some of our Ning clan's records say we came from the Wasteland Realm."
Yang Cheng said, "Ning Zhen was originally a founding general of Great Zhou. But he stole the empire's national treasure—the Kongtong Seal—and escaped to the Horn Constellation Realm. That's where he settled."
Ning Yuan's breath caught. "You… you're from Great Zhou?"
Yang Cheng didn't say another word.
Inside the Great Zhao imperial palace—
Nangong Wan was hosting a grand banquet to welcome Ning Yao.
To her and the entire Great Zhao royal family, Ning Yao was without a doubt an honored guest.
In the main hall, Nangong Wan was dressed in a wide-sleeved gown of shark-silk embroidered with cloud patterns. A crimson shawl draped gracefully from her shoulders. Her forehead bore a cinnabar plum blossom mark unique to the Great Zhao royal line. Twelve pearl hairpins trembled gently beside her temples as she moved, setting off her carefully maintained pale skin, making it look even more luminous.
Today, Nangong Wan was undeniably stunning.
But even so, someone beside her outshone her elegance.
Ning Yao stood calmly in a flowing moon-white, wide-sleeved immortal dress. She wore no elaborate hairpins or jewelry. Her long black hair was simply tied with a light ice-silk ribbon. A single jade-green hairpin was slanted into her hair, glowing with a gentle luster as if solidified moonlight had been pinned in place.
When she looked up, the faint trace of golden shimmer at the corners of her eyes caught the light with her movements, even more dazzling than the luminous pearls embedded in the palace ceiling.
Her eyes sparkled brighter than the stars in the sky.
"Greetings, Miss Ning Yao."
"A goddess like Miss Ning Yao gracing our Great Zhao Empire with her presence—what a blessing for our nation."
All the noble young men around immediately began flattering Ning Yao, each eager to win her favor.
But Ning Yao remained indifferent. She gave only slight nods in response to each toast, never even touching the wine with her lips.
Only when she felt like tasting it would she take a sip.
"Ning Yao, I heard the Ning family once originated from the Wasteland Realm?"
A young man in white approached.
He wore a brocade robe with drifting cloud patterns and a crimson gold belt adorned with chi-dragon motifs at his waist.
The most striking feature was the vermilion birthmark on his forehead—bright red and seductive—set against his paper-pale skin. The contrast gave him a strangely frail yet alluring beauty.
He too was from the Horn Constellation Realm.
Ning Yao's expression clearly turned more serious.
The people of Great Zhao didn't recognize this young man—but she did.
This was Wu Huai, the disciple of Qin Mingcheng.
And Qin Mingcheng was one of the top formation masters in the Horn Constellation Realm.
His expertise in formations had already reached the peak of the Yin God level, and he was said to be on the verge of stepping into the Yang God realm.
In a place like the Wasteland Realm, someone like Qin Mingcheng was terrifying.
Because what made him powerful wasn't his true qi cultivation—but his mastery of formations.
His true qi cultivation was only at the Demi-God level.
Which meant, while the Wasteland Realm restricted others' combat power, it didn't affect him.
As for Wu Huai, he wasn't weak either. His formation mastery had reached the Insight God level and he was Qin Mingcheng's most valued disciple, likely to inherit his mantle in the future.
Naturally, Ning Yao had to take someone like this seriously.
She raised her cup to Wu Huai and took half a sip of wine.
This gesture stunned many of the nearby guests, who began guessing at this young man's identity.
"My Ning family did indeed originate from the Wasteland Realm."
Ning Yao said, "But about 2,000 years ago, our ancestor Ning Yuan left the Wasteland Realm and settled in the Horn Constellation Realm. So I'm not familiar with the Wasteland Realm either. If you're hoping to ask me something about it, I'm afraid I can't help."
Wu Huai hadn't come to ask anything anyway. He was just looking for an excuse to get close.
To outsiders, his life looked glamorous, but he knew the truth himself.
Qin Mingcheng valued him, yes, but he wasn't the only favorite.
He still had to compete with his senior and junior disciples.
As a formation cultivator, every breakthrough consumed a massive amount of resources.
And he was extremely short on resources.
The Ning family was incredibly wealthy.
If he could marry Ning Yao, his resource problems might be solved.
Just then, a figure walked over—a middle-aged woman.
She said, "Miss, the information you asked me to find about Great Zhou—I've confirmed it. That person spreading through the Horn Constellation Realm recently really is the Crown Prince of Great Zhou."
Ning Yao's heart tightened.
There was another reason she had come to the Wasteland Realm.
The Ning family in the Horn Constellation Realm had also heard rumors about Crown Prince Yang Cheng of Great Zhou.
The news had shocked the Ning family.
So they sent her to investigate and confirm the truth.