Th-this, this...
All ten people froze. Ma Dexing's longsword roared with thunder, its violent fluctuations of primordial Qi making their skin crawl. Everyone had thought Yang Zhen was as good as dead, but the scene before them had utterly exceeded their understanding.
A terrifying strike from a Golden Core Realm expert, delivered with a high-tier heaven-grade Law Treasure longsword, had actually fallen at Yang Zhen's feet like a limp serpent when it reached him. Yang Zhen had picked it up and run away.
He had run away! Yang Zhen had actually just run off like that, grabbing Ma Dexing's high-tier heaven-grade longsword and taking to his heels.
There had to be something strange about the piece of wood Yang Zhen had smashed just now. Otherwise, there was no way such a thing could have happened.
Wang Shuiyan cried out and clapped a hand over her mouth, unable to believe it.
Ma Dexing stared blankly at his hands, then flew into a rage and chased after Yang Zhen, roaring as he ran, "Yang Zhen, you brat! Give this old man back his Startling Thunder Sword!"
Yang Zhen burst out laughing and waved the longsword in his hand. In the blink of an eye, he had vanished from sight. A languid voice drifted through the air, making Ma Dexing jump with rage.
"Snatch and run! What a thrill!"
Young Master Lu and the others stared slack-jawed and muttered, "Too... too shameless."
The rest nodded hurriedly. Even Wang Shuiyan, who had always admired Yang Zhen, nodded along without thinking.
Yang Zhen's string of moves had been so shameless that his shamelessness had bloomed into flowers and soared to the heavens.
Now that they thought about it, Yang Zhen's boast that he would give Ma Dexing three sword strikes probably hadn't been a reverse provocation, much less an attempt to make Ma Dexing overestimate himself and offer Yang Zhen three strikes instead. His real aim was probably to make Ma Dexing use his sword.
One trap had led into another! Yang Zhen's schemes ran far too deep, and he was far too shameless. Look at Ma Dexing, chasing after him in a furious frenzy, practically scrambling on all fours.
It was true that experts at the Lesser Vehicle Realm or above could fly on swords or Law Treasures, but they couldn't control just any Law Treasure. It had to bear the cultivator's Divine Sense imprint.
Otherwise, if someone were flying on a sword and an enemy suddenly seized control of it too, wouldn't everything descend into chaos?
Ma Dexing probably would never have dreamed that Yang Zhen could erase the Divine Sense imprint he had left in the Startling Thunder Sword without anyone noticing.
How had he done it?
The ten exchanged glances, and nearly all of them remembered the wooden stick in Yang Zhen's hand at the same time.
Yang Zhen must have tampered with the stick, somehow using it to erase or conceal the Divine Sense imprint in the Startling Thunder Sword. Could it be that Yang Zhen had known all along he would offend Ma Dexing and prepared the stick in advance?
At that thought, Young Master Lu's back was drenched with sweat, and cold sweat poured down him in an unstoppable stream.
Terrifying. Far too terrifying. They absolutely must never offend the monstrous Yang Zhen in the future. As they watched Ma Dexing furiously hitch up his robes and desperately chase after Yang Zhen, all ten of Young Master Lu's group felt a chill run through them.
Yang Zhen's Movement Method was extraordinarily strange. He could conjure a white cloud beneath his feet and seemed capable of bursting out at a terrifying speed. With no other sword-type Law Treasure to ride, how could Ma Dexing possibly catch him?
Before long, Yang Zhen disappeared without a trace. Ma Dexing jumped with rage, able only to roar and bellow where he stood, venting his fury on the surrounding mountains and forest.
For a time, Ma Dexing's furious roars filled the entire mountain forest.
Hearing Ma Dexing's roars behind him, Yang Zhen couldn't help clicking his tongue in wonder. The old fellow's State of Mind was surprisingly advanced-he still hadn't coughed up blood from anger after all that.
Looking at the Startling Thunder Sword in his hand, Yang Zhen liked it more the longer he looked. He had long wanted to get himself a decent weapon.
His Ancient Elephant Lightning Defense Body had reached the advanced stage and was nearing perfection, while his Great Evolution Wind and Thunder Sword and Three Origins Ghost Shadow Sword could unleash their greatest power. There was also Hundred Swords Cry in Unison. All three martial skills needed a sword to display their full power, so now that he had the Startling Thunder Sword, Yang Zhen was practically a tiger with wings.
Young Master Lu and the others had guessed correctly. Yang Zhen had indeed inscribed a full ten formations on the wooden stick he had always carried on his back. All of them were formations transformed from those in the Heavenly Book: Profound Principles Chapter, and they were immensely powerful.
If not for that piece of wood, Yang Zhen probably would have had no escape this time. But although it had saved his life, he was still a little dissatisfied with it. The thing was too difficult to use.
The formations were powerful, but Yang Zhen had underestimated the True Essence needed to trigger them. That single burst had nearly drained all the True Essence in his body.
Fortunately, it had worked. Otherwise, if the Startling Thunder Sword had advanced even another meter, it would have punched a bloody hole through him.
Now, aside from running for his life, Yang Zhen could barely muster any strength at all, much less circulate his True Essence. Any random Essence Condensation Stage cultivator could probably pin him to the ground and grind him into it at will.
Over the next ten days or so, Yang Zhen finally used the knowledge in the Heavenly Book: Profound Principles Chapter to wipe the Divine Sense imprint completely from the Startling Thunder Sword. From then on, the Startling Thunder Sword belonged wholly to Yang and had nothing to do with Ma Dexing.
Great Smoke City was about fifteen days' travel from Raging Fire City. By the time Yang Zhen approached Raging Fire City, he had not only recovered to his peak condition but also broken through a minor layer to reach the Foundation Establishment Realm Seventh Layer, greatly increasing his strength.
Early that morning, Yang Zhen hummed a tune as he set off through a mountain forest on the way to Raging Fire City. Once he crossed it, he would be within Raging Fire City's territory and under the Long Moon Pavilion's sphere of influence.
There were many sects of all sizes in Raging Fire City, though most were affiliated with the Long Moon Pavilion. Under its protection, they had developed smoothly. It was said that they had produced quite a few exceptionally talented young elites.
Not long after entering the mountain forest, Yang Zhen suddenly felt a trace of scorching heat wash over his face, leaving him somewhat surprised.
Raging Fire City was named for the immense Volcanic Forest to its east. Countless powerful ferocious beasts lived there, and legend even held that Demon Beasts dwelled within it.
Because of the volcano's unpredictability, no cultivator was willing to venture lightly into the depths of the Volcanic Forest. Thus, although some information had come out of its depths over the years, they remained a mystery to most people, both mysterious and dangerous.
On this journey, Yang Zhen needed to skirt the Volcanic Forest and travel along its outskirts to reach Raging Fire City.
By rights, the fire essence fluctuations here shouldn't have been so strong. Since he could feel them now, something must have happened inside the Volcanic Forest.
Sure enough, Yang Zhen hadn't walked far in the direction of the intense fire essence fluctuations when he heard waves of whimpering from within, like weeping and lamenting, washing over him along with billowing waves of heat.
After passing an enormous fire-scorched rock, Yang Zhen came upon a group of people, both men and women, about fifteen or sixteen in all.
Their cultivation realms were about the same as Yang Zhen's, all at the sixth or seventh layer of the Foundation Establishment Realm, with only a few somewhat higher. What caught Yang Zhen's attention was a man and a woman among them. Both had presences around the Foundation Establishment Realm Ninth Layer, deep and vigorous. The woman was full of heroic spirit, while the man possessed a commanding stature. One look told him their backgrounds were extraordinary.
"Who's there?"
The woman in white suddenly gave a sharp cry and turned to stare in Yang Zhen's direction. Her gaze was like lightning, sending a tingling shudder through his entire body.
"Cousin, it really is you! I've missed you to death! I've finally found you, cousin!"
Yang Zhen jumped out from behind the boulder and ran toward the woman in white, his face full of delight.
"Cousin?" The man looked blankly at Yang Zhen, then at the woman in white, and asked in surprise, "Junior Sister, is this your older cousin from your mortal family?"
The woman in white looked sternly at Yang Zhen and demanded, "Stop right there. Who are you?"
Yang Zhen froze, then took three quick steps backward. Clutching his chest, he said in anguish, "C-cousin, don't you recognize me? I'm your eldest cousin!"