"You win. I admit defeat..."
Wu Huai growled bitterly.
But before he could finish, Yang Cheng pointed at him.
A streak of sword qi shot out.
Wu Huai's face twisted in horror.
Then, Yang Cheng's sword qi pierced straight through his skull.
"Admit defeat? What do you think this is—a children's game?"
Yang Cheng said coolly.
Bang!
Wu Huai's body toppled backward.
Even after falling to the ground, his eyes remained open.
It was clear—even in death, he couldn't believe Yang Cheng had really killed him.
He was Qin Mingcheng's disciple. How could the other party dare?
Everyone around was stunned, eyes wide in disbelief.
They were shocked by two things: first, Yang Cheng actually dared to kill Qin Mingcheng's disciple. Second, Yang Cheng's strength—he killed Wu Huai so effortlessly.
Even Ning Yao was frightened.
If Yang Cheng dared kill Wu Huai, he'd dare kill her too.
If she said the wrong thing and angered him, she'd probably end up like Wu Huai.
Ding!
[Host… You actually killed Wu Huai and scared Ning Yao so much she's shaking?]
[Hiss... Host, you really are terrifying. You win.]
[Mission complete. Congratulations, Host.]
Yang Cheng looked at Ning Yao. "You're really sure the Ning clan can't repay their debt?"
Ning Yao looked like she was about to cry. "I'm just a junior of the Ning clan. I can't make decisions for the elders."
"In that case, you'll be my hostage."
Yang Cheng shifted his gaze to Ning Yuan. "Go tell whoever in your Ning clan makes the decisions—your sister is in my hands. If they want her back, they'd better pay up what they owe."
With that, he flickered and disappeared, taking Ning Yao with him.
Inside the hall, everyone stared at one another.
Many were still frozen in shock.
Outside the hall—
"You damn brat! You dare kill my young master?! Give me your life!"
A cold and furious voice exploded from the void like thunder from the heavens.
Yang Cheng didn't even turn his head, but he instantly sensed the murderous aura.
A beam of mysterious light tore through the air.
Then, an elder with a lean face and hawk-sharp eyes descended.
It was Wu Huai's protector.
Unfortunately, he was one step too late. Wu Huai was already dead.
Without a word, the protector flicked his horsetail whisk.
Thousands of silver threads transformed into sharp blades, shrieking through the air as they tore toward Yang Cheng.
Yang Cheng's expression didn't change at all.
It was like this deadly attack was nothing more than a breeze on his face.
He raised one finger, the tip swirling with black and white flames. "Why come all this way just to die?"
Before the words were even done, the Black and White True Fire on his fingertip shot out.
That single point seemed slow, yet it carried terrifying might. The black and white flames wove together and clashed head-on with the storm of silver threads.
Boom!
The skies roared, and the wind howled in reverse.
All the silver threads were cut cleanly in an instant.
Wu Huai's protector's expression changed dramatically. He hadn't expected his full-force attack to be broken so easily.
"You're just a bug from the Wasteland Realm—how can you have such power?"
He shouted in disbelief.
Now he finally understood how Wu Huai had died.
Yang Cheng let out a cold laugh. Then, he vanished like a ghost—he had used the Divine Ability · Shrinking the Earth to an Inch.
In the blink of an eye, he reappeared right in front of Wu Huai's protector. A wooden sword had appeared in his hand without warning. He calmly slashed forward.
The protector was hit by a force he couldn't resist.
His proud body-protection qi shattered like paper in front of the wooden sword.
He tried to circulate his divine power to block, but his true qi felt completely frozen. He couldn't move it at all.
In truth, he had once been a god. But after suffering a cultivation mishap and falling from godhood, he became a half-god and ended up as Wu Huai's protector.
Because of that, his strength surpassed most half-gods.
But someone like him—now couldn't even fight back against a boy from the Wasteland Realm.
"No!"
Wu Huai's protector let out a hopeless, despairing scream. His eyes were filled with fear.
Only now did he understand—he wasn't facing some lowly bug from the Wasteland Realm, but a true god of slaughter.
The wooden sword sliced past.
Wu Huai's protector's head flew into the air, his eyes still frozen with fear and unwillingness.
Yang Cheng didn't even glance at him. He turned and walked away.
It was as if he had merely stepped on a stray dog by the roadside.
Ning Yao felt a chill spread through her whole body.
Just a moment ago, she'd still been thinking about ways to save herself.
But now—every bit of hope in her heart was extinguished.
And the others who witnessed this scene inside the hall were even more speechless. The shock went beyond words.
News of this incident soon spread like a storm through Great Zhao—and then, all the way to the Horn Constellation Realm.
Horn Constellation Realm.
Ning City.
This was the Ning clan's headquarters.
The city was named "Ning City" precisely because the entire place had been built by the Ning clan. That alone said everything about how insanely wealthy they were.
Ning Clan's main hall.
"Outrageous!"
A middle-aged man with an authoritative aura exploded in fury. "How dare he capture Yao'er?! This is absolute madness!"
This man was none other than the current patriarch of the Ning clan—Ning Daowei.
Around him sat several core elders of the Ning clan.
The atmosphere was stifling.
"It truly is madness."
The elder in charge of intelligence said grimly, "The one who acted is the Crown Prince of the Wasteland Realm's Great Zhou."
"The Crown Prince of Great Zhou?"
Everyone's breath caught.
To the Ning clan, the name "Great Zhou" was definitely a sensitive topic.
"I don't care who it is. No one is allowed to take my daughter."
Ning Daowei's voice was cold.
"Patriarch, I think we should handle this matter with a cool head."
The elder who spoke earlier said, "This Crown Prince of Great Zhou is no ordinary person."
This elder was on very good terms with Ning Yao's protector.
He'd been present when everything happened. So, his understanding of the incident went deeper than anyone else's.
"Elder Three, you'd better explain what you mean."
"Exactly. It's not like we don't know Great Zhou. No matter how strong their people are, how strong could they possibly be?"
The others chimed in one after another.
"This Crown Prince of Great Zhou is the same person we recently launched an investigation on."
Elder Three reminded them.
At those words, the crowd suddenly realized something.
"It's him?"
"The reason we sent Ning Yao to the Wasteland Realm in the first place was to confirm one thing—whether it really was Great Zhou's Crown Prince who destroyed the Ouyang clan."
All eyes turned toward Elder Three.
"It was him."
Elder Three confirmed, "This has now been verified. Great Zhou's Crown Prince, Yang Cheng, killed Wu Huai and Wu Huai's protector right in front of Ning Yuan and a large crowd."
"You all know Wu Huai. He was Qin Mingcheng's most favored disciple, with formation mastery strong enough to fight many Insight God experts."
"But Yang Cheng killed him without the slightest effort. That alone proves he really did wipe out the Ouyang clan singlehandedly—it wasn't just rumors."
Hiss!
Many people sucked in a sharp breath.
"So what if he did? Our Ning clan isn't the Ouyang clan."
"Exactly. Our Ning clan has both Yin God and Yang God powerhouses. He may have destroyed the Ouyang clan, but that means nothing to us."
Several elders immediately expressed their dissatisfaction.
"True."
Elder Three said, "If this was happening in the Horn Constellation Realm, he really wouldn't be worth mentioning. But don't forget—he's in the Wasteland Realm."