Number One Handsome Man Under Heaven?
Hearing Yang Zhen's words, everyone present burst out laughing.
Yang Zhen had shot to fame at the Youzhou Grand Assembly, but it was hardly an illustrious reputation. In fact, it would have been no exaggeration to call him notorious.
Everyone knew Yang Zhen was willful and shameless, despicable and cunning, but none of them had expected him to be so arrogant.
Zhang Zongjin was no ordinary person. His halo was far more dazzling than that of someone like Yang Zhen. He had not given himself the title of Number One Sword Under Heaven; the cultivators of the younger generation had bestowed it upon him.
Moreover, everyone could see how powerful Zhang Zongjin was. His formidable strength and refined, courteous manner made him popular with the women of the Youzhou Continent. Even many men admired him and took him as a role model.
Yet Yang Zhen had mocked this young genius, who was almost flawless, as the "Number One Scoundrel Under Heaven." Though the words sounded alike, and there was no telling which character he meant from the pronunciation, anyone who wasn't a fool could read the word "scoundrel" on Yang Zhen's face.
Even Princess Changyang seemed not to have expected Yang Zhen to offend Zhang Zongjin so effortlessly. This... this man really did make enemies everywhere he went.
Zhang Zongjin's expression changed slightly when he heard Yang Zhen. He looked at him with interest and asked, "Number One Handsome Man Under Heaven? Do we know each other?"
"No!" Yang Zhen shook his head.
"Now that's interesting." A gentle smile appeared on Zhang Zongjin's face, but his eyes remained fixed on Yang Zhen as he spoke, enunciating each word. "Since you don't know me, why were you so rash as to offend me so readily, making a powerful enemy for yourself for no reason?"
At that, Zhang Zongjin cast a seemingly pointed glance at Princess Changyang, and the gentle smile on his face grew even more refined and courteous.
Oh?
Surprised, Yang Zhen took a proper look at Zhang Zongjin for the first time, sizing him up from head to toe.
What happened to supporting characters having no lower limit to their stupidity? Yang Zhen was almost falling in love with this unflappable fellow. He was handsome, had bearing, and spoke pleasantly. On top of that, he was a disciple of a major sect, highly talented, and known as the Number One Sword Under Heaven. Yang Zhen could scarcely find a single flaw in him.
This guy is the protagonist of this world, isn't he?
Yang Zhen was evidently not the only one present who thought so. Everyone around them was taken aback by Zhang Zongjin's words, then nodded in silent approval. Even Princess Changyang's eyes flashed with surprise as she glanced at Zhang Zongjin.
For a moment, the vast majority of eyes in the valley around Ghost's Sorrow fell on Zhang Zongjin, including those of the disciples from the major sects.
At that moment, only a few people looked at Yang Zhen, a trace of pity flashing in their eyes.
Standing beside Zhang Zongjin, Yang Zhen seemed to be eclipsed in an instant.
Just then, however, Yang Zhen suddenly burst out laughing. He tucked his hands behind his head and lay flat on the grass, and words that shocked everyone drifted leisurely from his mouth:
"Your fine reputation as the Number One Sword Under Heaven has spread far and wide, and that's none of my business. You're powerful and kind, and that's none of my business either. But no one is born above everyone else. You shouldn't look down on people like that. Besides, just because others don't dare offend you doesn't mean I have to flatter you. And... wouldn't a life without enemies be as lonely as snow?"
Gasp!
The moment Yang Zhen finished speaking, everyone at Ghost's Sorrow drew a sharp breath in unison and stared at him in disbelief. A gleam flashed in the eyes of the two peerless beauties, Princess Changyang and Su Qingyu, as they looked at Yang Zhen in astonishment.
Zhang Zongjin was shaken. He looked in surprise at Yang Zhen lying on the ground, with no trace of underestimation left in his eyes.
Yang Zhen's words were simple, but if someone at the Foundation Establishment Realm Third Layer really treated Zhang Zongjin, at the Foundation Establishment Realm Ninth Layer, as an enemy, that was not something an ordinary person could do.
Such a person was either a fool or a madman, and Yang Zhen was clearly not the former!
Yang Zhen was right. Zhang Zongjin had indeed looked down on him and paid him no heed. He had not expected Yang Zhen to sense it and strike back, and it truly surprised him.
After the chorus of gasps, a deathly silence fell over Ghost's Sorrow, and nearly everyone turned their eyes back to Zhang Zongjin.
Zhang Zongjin's expression gradually changed, and he laughed. "Interesting, very interesting. I admire your attitude, but the important thing is to know your own limits. As you are now, even five of you together would be no match for me. I look forward to the day we fight. I hope it won't be too late."
"We won't know whether I'm a match for you until we've fought."
"What?" Zhang Zongjin's expression sharpened. He fixed his eyes on Yang Zhen and asked with interest, "Do you want to try right now?"
Hearing this, both Princess Changyang and Su Qingyu showed a trace of a strange expression.
Clearly, Zhang Zongjin had already lost his composure before Yang Zhen, who had seized the initiative. The difference between them was plain to see, but no one could have imagined that, in terms of temperament, Yang Zhen, whose cultivation was five realms lower, would have the upper hand.
"I'm not fighting you!" Yang Zhen waved a hand and stared at the white clouds in the sky, seemingly falling into a daze.
"You don't dare?" A cold sneer appeared on Zhang Zongjin's face for the first time, making him seem rather aggressive.
Yang Zhen suddenly sat up, though his eyes remained fixed on the white clouds overhead. With an air and tone as though he were nearly muttering to himself, he said, "We can fight, but don't rush. You have to let me make an entrance first!"
"An... entrance?" Zhang Zongjin looked at Yang Zhen blankly and asked, puzzled, "How?"
"True experts always make their entrances in a uniquely spectacular way. They come with their own BGM, and the moment they appear, brilliant light shines for miles and millions cry out in astonishment."
"Are you indulging in wishful thinking?" Zhang Zongjin wondered if he had been talking to a fool all this time.
Princess Changyang and Su Qingyu exchanged a look from afar and saw the same puzzlement in each other's eyes. Clearly, neither knew what Yang Zhen was up to. He seemed to be full of secrets, from everything he said to every expression on his face.
There might be experts like that in this world, but how could one who made such an entrance appear at a place like the Youzhou Grand Assembly?
Just as the crowd grew somewhat disappointed in Yang Zhen, thinking him nothing more than a man unaware of his own arrogance, a terrifying burst of light suddenly erupted from his body.
Boom!
A terrifying tide of Primal Qi gathered in midair. As it rose and fell, it gave off fluctuations of power that made hearts tremble. It surged like a rushing river, roaring again and again like a savage beast from ancient times.
"A phenomenon of heaven and earth! Has someone attained sudden enlightenment?"
No one knew who shouted it from the crowd, but the cry set all of Ghost's Sorrow ablaze.
At a time like this, in a place like this, someone had actually attained sudden enlightenment?
The terrifying celestial phenomenon continued. Two masses of light, one in the sky and one on the ground, faced each other from afar, and everyone immediately turned their eyes to Yang Zhen.
"Th-this... how is this possible?!" Zhang Zongjin's whole body jolted, and he staggered back three steps, staring at Yang Zhen in utter horror.
"It's Yang Zhen! He's the one who attained sudden enlightenment!"
"My heavens, what am I seeing? He actually attained sudden enlightenment under these circumstances! Is Yang Zhen a man or a monster?"
Princess Changyang's cherry lips fell open in surprise as she, too, stared at Yang Zhen in disbelief.
Even Su Qingyu, far away in a mountain hollow to the east, had a flash of admiration in her eyes. She looked with interest at Yang Zhen, then at Zhang Zongjin.
"This Yang Zhen is no simple person. In the middle of a contest with Zhang Zongjin, he actually attained sudden enlightenment just by staring at the white clouds in the sky. What kind of monster has Zhang Zongjin provoked?"
In the crowd, Fang Shenhe, dressed in plain azure robes, looked in the direction of Yang Zhen and Zhang Zongjin with the hint of a smile and murmured to himself, "This is getting more and more interesting."
"Quick, look at Yang Zhen's hand gesture!" someone cried, pointing at Yang Zhen.
Hearing that, Zhang Zongjin looked over instinctively. His eyes suddenly went round, a flash of horror passed through them, and his face turned pale. "Th-this... how is this possible?!"