Everyone had grown accustomed to Yang Zhen's eccentric behavior. If he suddenly played by the rules, they would have found it hard to adjust.
Zhang Zongjin lay on the ground, looking as though he had nothing left to live for. He couldn't even be bothered to answer Yang Zhen, seemingly still pondering why he had lost. He didn't react even when Yang Zhen took the manual from inside his robes.
Everyone felt a chill down their backs as they watched Yang Zhen examine the martial skill manual inside and out, over and over, as if checking whether it was genuine. They resolved that in the future, they would rather fight a disciple of a major sect like Zhang Zongjin to the death than provoke a freak like Yang Zhen.
The vast majority of the cultivators present were Rogue Cultivators or disciples of minor sects. Disciples of major sects had always hogged the best spots by the Dao Comprehension Stele, and the others had long been angry but afraid to speak out. Now that Yang Zhen had actually defeated Zhang Zongjin, they were shocked for a moment, but soon moved past it. Perhaps others would challenge authority like Yang Zhen in the future, but that was a matter for another time.
For now, everyone was curious about what Yang Zhen would comprehend from the Dao Comprehension Stele. After all, he was the first disciple of a minor sect to study it at close range.
They had also seen enough to understand just how monstrous Yang Zhen was. If he managed to comprehend a spirit-grade or even a saint-grade cultivation method or martial skill, wouldn't that be a resounding slap in the faces of those major sect disciples?
At that thought, some of the people around him began looking at Yang Zhen eagerly.
Yang Zhen was somewhat shameless, but from beginning to end, he seemed to have picked fights only with people stronger than himself. He was still quite friendly toward those weaker than him.
In truth, Yang Zhen wasn't being friendly to them. He refrained from attacking them only because they were too poor. Who knew what they would think if they found out?
Only after Yang Zhen had confirmed that nothing was wrong with the manual and sat down in Zhang Zongjin's former spot did everyone come to their senses.
Princess Changyang looked at Yang Zhen in disbelief and asked, "Are you... all right?"
At those words, Zhang Zongjin spat out another mouthful of blood. Shouldn't you be asking me that?
A group of people around him looked at him with glee, silently mourning for him. Of all the people he could have provoked, he had to pick a monster like Yang Zhen.
Yang Zhen grinned and looked at the wounds on his body. "It hurts a little!"
Pfft!
Princess Changyang couldn't hold it in any longer. She laughed and said, "That's what you get for showing off."
With that, Princess Changyang glared at Yang Zhen and sat back down. She still hadn't managed to comprehend the Dao Comprehension Stele either.
Princess Changyang's smile struck the crowd with a sense of dazzling beauty, and for a moment they envied Yang Zhen.
"If I had Yang Zhen's strength, I'd show off too. He gave a major sect disciple a sound thrashing and vented his anger, and he even got a heaven-grade martial skill. Most importantly, he actually made Princess Changyang smile. Comparing yourself to others... forget it, I'm not comparing anymore."
The crowd stared blankly at Yang Zhen and Princess Changyang. The longer they watched, the worse they felt, so they simply found spots to sit down and continued their contemplation.
Zhang Zongjin's fellow sect members helped him up. After finding a place to sit, he stared darkly at Yang Zhen, who paid them no further attention.
Yang Zhen really was ignoring Zhang Zongjin and the others from the Tonglin Sect, because the moment he sat down, it was as if he had entered another world.
Boom!
His surroundings spun around him, and Yang Zhen's spirit reeled. When he regained consciousness, he found himself in a world of stars.
Yang Zhen's eyes widened. He understood that this should be the world inside the Dao Comprehension Stele, though he didn't know whether it was the same as everyone else's.
The world inside the Dao Comprehension Stele was wonderfully strange. The lifelike starry expanse seemed boundless and endless. Rather than hurry to comprehend anything, Yang Zhen began running through it.
Stars dotted the expanse. Every point of light was a star, seemingly an unknowable distance away, yet also close enough to touch with an outstretched hand.
Yang Zhen ran for a long time without reaching the edge of the starry world. Even beneath his feet was a boundless expanse of stars, just like everything around him.
Once he had confirmed that he couldn't find the edge of the starry world no matter what, Yang Zhen picked a spot at random, sat cross-legged, and silently began sensing the presence around him.
As time passed, Yang Zhen's expression grew increasingly astonished. Every star here was a separate insight, yet a cultivator could choose only one star in the starry world in an entire lifetime.
Looking at the countless stars scattered across the sky, Yang Zhen found himself in a quandary. There were at least eighty thousand points of light, if not a hundred thousand, and a brighter star didn't necessarily represent a better insight. That made it rather hard to know which one to choose.
"If I'd known, I would have asked Princess Changyang how to judge them!" Yang Zhen felt some regret. This seemed to have something to do with luck, while talent wasn't much use here.
Did he really have to pick one at random?
Yang Zhen frowned and thought for a moment. Then his eyes lit up. He rubbed his hands together, wiped them clean on his clothes, and gazed at the bright stars in the sky with the most solemn expression. With the utmost seriousness, he slowly raised one finger.
"Rooster head, hen head, not this one but... that one!"
Yang Zhen looked where his finger pointed. Before him was a speck of starlight so faint it was almost about to go out.
Looking at the unremarkable speck, Yang Zhen nodded solemnly and muttered, "Hmm, although it looks a little weak, maybe it's different from those flashy fellows out there. Perhaps it's actually an extremely powerful martial skill or cultivation method... forget it, I'm not picking this one. It's just too ugly!"
Yang Zhen shook his head and abandoned that unrealistic idea.
What a joke. Could something that looked bad on the outside be good on the inside?
He could go tell that to the ghosts. Who went shopping for vegetables and picked the rotten ones?
Just then, a terrifying light descended from the sky, nearly blinding Yang Zhen. His face changed in alarm, and he immediately narrowed his eyes and looked toward the source.
Once Yang Zhen saw what it was, his eyes lit up. He sprang to his feet and slapped his thigh. "That's the one!"
A huge ball of light, countless times larger than the stars around it, descended from the sky with a long tail streaming behind it. As if deliberately trying to catch Yang Zhen's attention, it flashed past him in a dazzling blaze.
Yang Zhen rushed after it. A cloud of white burst beneath his feet as Skyward Cannon abruptly activated, propelling him toward the ball of light.
The stars around him all blinked quietly, but this restless fellow swaggered about like Halley's Comet, darting everywhere with its gaudy light. Not even a ghost would believe it was ordinary.
Beside the Dao Comprehension Stele, everyone seemed to sense something. They abruptly opened their eyes and turned toward Yang Zhen as one.
Mottled points of light slowly began to flicker over Yang Zhen's body, like countless little sprites dancing around him.
The strange sight startled everyone.
"Just what did this guy comprehend?"
"I've never seen anything like this. Could what he comprehended be different?"
The cultivators all looked at one another, not knowing what had happened. Only Su Qingyu shuddered, looking at Yang Zhen with some horror.
Just then, a silent wave of air spread from the Dao Comprehension Stele, sweeping outward in every direction at an inconceivable speed. In the blink of an eye, it engulfed everyone.
"I... I can't see!"
"Is anyone there? What happened? Where am I?"
"What the hell is this place? Why is it so dark?"
Panicked voices rang out one after another. Yang Zhen shuddered and looked up at the endless firmament, his expression strange. "This looks serious!"