Zhang Zongjin was so furious with Yang Zhen that he nearly had a heart attack. A trace of murderous intent flashed in his eyes, making Yang Zhen shudder. Yang Zhen widened his eyes and managed an expression that looked rather frightened.
"Humiliation's turned to rage! The Number One Scoundrel Under Heaven is flying into a rage out of humiliation!" Yang Zhen pointed at Zhang Zongjin, suddenly putting on a righteous air again. "Brothers and sisters, this Young Master Zhang, known as the Number One Scoundrel Under Heaven, not only called us all stray cats and dogs, he wants to kill us to silence us! I'll stand right here without moving or fighting back. Even if I die, I'll demand justice for everyone!"
The crowd nearly rolled their eyes as one at Yang Zhen's words. Like hell we believe you. You shameless bastard are rotten to the core! What do you mean, standing there without moving or fighting back? What's that in your hand behind your back? That terrifying white cloud?
"Cotton candy!" Yang Zhen declared righteously. "This is cotton candy!"
Everyone rolled their eyes as one.
Princess Changyang looked at Yang Zhen, not knowing whether to laugh or cry, then exchanged a glance with the middle-aged man behind her.
The middle-aged man wore an equally peculiar expression. He glanced at the water flask at his waist, more than half of which Yang Zhen had drunk, and shook his head with a chuckle. Then he gave Princess Changyang an even stranger look.
When Princess Changyang met his gaze, she conveyed a very clear message: protect Yang Zhen!
The middle-aged man was a powerful cultivator from the imperial palace of the Youyang Kingdom. He had already reached the Lesser Vehicle Realm, so naturally he paid no mind to the so-called Number One Sword Under Heaven. But it was a little surprising that Princess Changyang was willing to expose his strength to protect Yang Zhen.
And considering that Princess Changyang and Yang Zhen had appeared at Ghost's Sorrow together, where had the two been before, and what had happened?
The middle-aged man could hardly ask, but something must have happened between them. Perhaps, just as Princess Changyang had said, Yang Zhen really had helped her.
That would explain why Princess Changyang wanted to protect Yang Zhen. Even so, it was enough to make the middle-aged man pay closer attention to him.
The atmosphere between Zhang Zongjin and Yang Zhen had grown tense, and just as a great battle seemed about to break out, an earth-shaking boom suddenly came from the horizon.
Terrifying lightning seemed to appear out of nowhere, streaking across the sky over the nearby mountain forest. With a thunderous crash, it tore through the heavens, illuminating the entire world.
Rumble!
Thunder dragons rolled like gigantic waves, flashing across the sky. The terrifying primordial Qi of heaven and earth suddenly grew violent, changing the color of the entire world. In the blink of an eye, the raging waves of Qi spread across the sky and covered the earth, making hearts tremble.
"It's here!" someone shouted, and every cultivator in Ghost's Sorrow grew excited.
The most exciting moment had finally arrived. Everyone stared eagerly at the phenomenon in the sky and rushed toward it.
Even Zhang Zongjin, who had looked ready to devour someone just moments ago, had a change of expression. He gave Yang Zhen a cold stare, then turned and raced toward the place where the thunder had erupted.
Yang Zhen looked in surprise at the terrifying, inexplicably shocking phenomenon in the sky. A fucking thunder tide must have broken out, right?
"What's going on?" Yang Zhen asked instinctively.
Princess Changyang looked solemn as she explained, "The Thunder Essence Wood has appeared. Be careful. Thunder Essence Wood is a completely natural lightning-attribute secret treasure, and it's extremely rare. All kinds of powerful creatures will covet it."
With that, before Yang Zhen could speak, Princess Changyang suddenly said, "Let's go!"
Hum!
A terrifying fluctuation of primordial Qi swept over them. The middle-aged man who had been standing behind Princess Changyang summoned a long sword, which swelled in the wind. He rode it, carrying Princess Changyang toward the rolling thunder.
Yang Zhen jumped in fright. Only then did he notice that many of the cultivators in Ghost's Sorrow could fly. Some rode flying swords, while others rode all sorts of strange things. One person was even piloting a flying shuttle that looked just like a supercar from Earth in his previous life, except it had no wheels.
"My god!" Yang Zhen stared, dumbfounded. Now that's what being low-key really looks like. This show-off move came out of nowhere, yet it was completely natural. I can't afford to mess with them, can't afford to mess with them.
Only cultivators who had broken through the Foundation Establishment Realm and reached the Lesser Vehicle Realm could ride objects through the air. Before someone in the Lesser Vehicle Realm, even Foundation Establishment Realm experts were almost like newbies who had just stepped through the gates of cultivation, posing no threat at all.
On the flying sword, Princess Changyang looked back at Yang Zhen and smiled at him. For a moment, her every charm blossomed, and even the air around her grew much brighter and fresher.
But Yang Zhen could sense a trace of regret in Princess Changyang's eyes.
There was nothing to be done about it. Although Yang Zhen had dared to make Zhang Zongjin burn with rage and nearly leave him with a heart demon, Yang Zhen was, after all, only a disciple of a minor sect with limited experience. In a situation like this, with the great chosen of heaven revealing all their trump cards, there was no place for people like Yang Zhen.
Now that he looked, the people flying on objects were all experts from major sects. Even Zhang Zongjin had a middle-aged woman carrying him. He looked at Yang Zhen with a cold smile as he headed toward the place where the heavenly phenomenon had erupted.
In the mountain hollow, Su Qingyu gave Yang Zhen a long look. Seeing him look back, she smiled and nodded, then sighed and said, "Let's go!"
Boom!
With a loud crash, a boat appeared beside Su Qingyu.
"A flying ship?" Yang Zhen was dumbfounded. You can do that too?
It seemed he had only seen the tiniest bit of the wonders this world had to offer.
The proud ones from the major sects all charged ahead as if they were racing, leaving only a group of people from minor sects or with meager strength running for all they were worth. Yang Zhen was one of them.
No, Yang Zhen seemed to have been scared silly. He was still standing motionless where he was.
Was this the difference between them?
Some of the people from minor sects suddenly felt sorry for Yang Zhen. No matter how hard he worked or how outstanding and audacious he was, in the end he could never compare with the disciples of these major sects. After all, from the moment those people began cultivating, what they saw, heard, and used were things people from minor sects had never encountered.
From now on, Yang Zhen... would probably fade into the crowd just like them.
"Hey!"
A drawn-out howl rang out, and everyone stumbled in unison. They turned back in surprise to look at Yang Zhen.
It was Yang Zhen who had shouted. When everyone looked back, the fellow was staring excitedly at the flying swords, flying boats, and flying vehicles ahead, his eyes almost glowing.
As everyone looked over, Yang Zhen waved his arms and shouted, "Brother Sword, wait for me!"
"Pfft!"
Zhang Zongjin scoffed and looked back. "Sorry, I'm too fast. There's no way I can wait... what?"
Before he could finish, Zhang Zongjin's eyes suddenly bulged, and his jaw nearly dropped onto the long sword.
As everyone stared in astonishment, Yang Zhen broke into a run, then used a hillside to launch himself high into the air, shooting toward them like a cannonball.
"Whoa, has... has he gone mad?"
"He jumped that high! If nobody catches him, won't he fall to his death?"
Everyone stared in shock. Seeing that Yang Zhen was about to become the first person to fall to his death at the Youzhou Grand Assembly, they wore expressions as strange as could be.
Princess Changyang and Su Qingyu both changed expression. They exchanged a glance and hesitated to speak, then said almost simultaneously, "Save him!"
Zhang Zongjin was startled too, but then he grew excited and laughed loudly. "Are you courting death? Jumping that high?"
Yang Zhen was now more than a thousand meters above the ground. If he fell from that height, he would be crippled even if he survived.
But to everyone's horror, not only did Yang Zhen not fall to his death, he curled his lip and said, "You're all too slow. I'll be going on ahead. Huh, that show-off move was a little too natural!"
As he spoke, a white cloud suddenly appeared beneath Yang Zhen's feet, exactly like the one in the sky that was constantly changing shape.
Boom!
With an explosive report, Yang Zhen shot more than a thousand meters through the air, and another white cloud appeared beneath his feet.
"Do you know a palm technique that descends from the heavens?"
Yang Zhen's words once again rang in the ears of everyone in Ghost's Sorrow. They widened their eyes and watched blankly as he passed the people from the major sects and pulled far ahead.
Zhang Zongjin nearly tumbled off his sword.
(End of chapter)