"You don't need to be afraid," said Li Tong calmly.
"Uncle Li… we were wrong."
Ouyang Yi's voice trembled with pain. "The Wasteland Realm isn't like the small, insignificant worlds we dealt with before. That Yang Cheng… he's a complete monster."
Li Tong's expression grew complicated. "Yeah. Who could have imagined that a so-called 'mayfly world' could produce someone that terrifying? He's only twelve years old, and yet he single-handedly wiped out the Ouyang Clan."
"It's my fault," Ouyang Yi said, voice filled with regret and fear. "I was the one who first suggested attacking the Great Zhou. If not for me, none of this would've happened. Because of my suggestion, we provoked someone this horrifying."
He clenched his fists. "While we were still celebrating our cleverness, that man went straight to the Horn Constellation Realm and annihilated the Ouyang Clan."
"Don't be afraid. As long as I'm here, you don't need to fear anything anymore," Li Tong said softly.
"Thank you, Uncle Li…"
Ouyang Yi was overwhelmed with gratitude.
But before he could finish speaking, he suddenly froze—eyes wide in disbelief.
Li Tong's hand was already gripping his throat.
"My dear nephew," Li Tong said gently, "everyone knows how close I was with the Ouyang Clan. So, the only way to make peace with the Great Zhou… is with your head."
He smiled faintly. "Don't be scared. The pain will only last a moment. Once you're dead, you'll never feel fear again."
"No—!"
Ouyang Yi's scream was cut short.
Crack!
In the next instant, his head was twisted clean off his shoulders.
Horn Constellation Realm.
At the Ouyang Residence—
Whoosh!
A sea of black-and-white true flames erupted, engulfing the entire estate in an instant.
Before even half a cup of tea's time had passed, over one thousand clan members had all turned to ash.
The Ouyang Clan, which had ruled Linjiang City for thousands of years, vanished completely from existence.
There was no hesitation, no mercy.
In that moment, Yang Cheng once again became the Asura Demon Lord of his previous life, cold and ruthless beyond compare.
Countless nearby forces were secretly observing from the shadows.
Every warrior watching felt a chill pierce their hearts. None dared utter a single word.
Yang Cheng swept his gaze across them.
Hua!
As his eyes moved, every cultivator instinctively stepped back in unison, trembling under the weight of his presence.
Only Cang Dingtie, patriarch of the Cang Family, managed to barely hold his ground.
He took a deep breath, then bowed deeply. "Cang Dingtie of the Cang Family, greets His Highness the Crown Prince of Great Zhou."
Though he was a senior and Yang Cheng was just a youth, Cang Dingtie's bow carried no shame or hesitation.
After all, Yang Cheng was the man who had single-handedly destroyed the Ouyang Clan.
Before someone of that caliber, even a mid-level Insight God Realm martial artist like him was utterly insignificant.
Yang Cheng met his gaze for a brief moment, then turned away without a word.
He wasn't one to show off.
This was the Horn Constellation Realm, not the Wasteland Realm.
He had made a massive commotion here—sooner or later, the disturbance would attract the attention of Yin God or even Yang God experts.
Everyone he needed to kill was dead.
Staying any longer would be foolish, not brave.
So, he left without looking back.
Once Yang Cheng departed, the entire Horn Constellation Realm erupted into chaos.
The Ouyang Clan might not have been a top-tier force, but it was still a solid mid-level power here.
Yet such a clan had been completely destroyed.
And the one who did it… was a twelve-year-old boy from a so-called mayfly world.
The name Yang Cheng instantly spread across the realm like wildfire.
There was no doubt about it—he was a monstrous prodigy, one who would be considered peerless even among the top geniuses of the Horn Constellation Realm.
All the great powers immediately began investigating his background.
They discovered that he was born gifted, blessed with divine strength, awakened the Ancestral Dragon Sword Body at the age of one…
The more they uncovered, the more shocked they became.
Only now did they realize—a terrifying monster had emerged from the Wasteland Realm.
Soon after, news of the Ouyang Clan's annihilation spread from the Horn Constellation Realm to other worlds.
And before long, even the Wasteland Realm itself received the news.
In an instant, every great power across the Wasteland Realm was shaken to its core.
"What?"
"The Crown Prince of Great Zhou actually went to the Horn Constellation Realm and wiped out the Ouyang Clan that had stood for thousands of years?"
The shock that rippled through the realm was unprecedented—something they couldn't have imagined even in their wildest dreams.
To them, the Horn Constellation Realm was a high, untouchable world—noble and superior beyond measure.
In comparison, martial artists from the Wasteland Realm were seen as backward, insignificant, and lowly—mere natives from a world where martial civilization lagged far behind.
But now…
A cultivator from the Wasteland Realm had gone there, slaughtered his enemies, and destroyed an ancient clan that had endured for millennia.
It was as if a legend had come to life.
The moment this news spread through the Wasteland Realm, Yang Cheng's status transformed completely.
Before this, people saw him only as Great Zhou's number one prodigy—a title many other nations didn't even acknowledge.
But now, that view shattered.
No one merely regarded him as the top youth anymore. They now believed he was the number one prodigy of the entire Wasteland Realm—and perhaps even the strongest being in it.
The anti–Great Zhou alliance collapsed in an instant.
The Great Zhao Empire was the first to retreat, followed by Great Yan and several other nations.
Even though they held the advantage, they were terrified of Yang Cheng.
What good would victory bring them now?
Once Yang Cheng returned from the Horn Constellation Realm, the greater their triumph today, the more tragic their downfall would be tomorrow.
The one who feared most was Western Luo.
After all, they had initiated this war.
Fire Dragon Mountain had nearly fallen, yet the Western Luo imperial court suddenly issued the order to retreat.
They knew perfectly well that even if they backed down now, Yang Cheng would probably come for revenge later.
But no one in Western Luo dared to keep fighting.
"From this day forward, no one must ever provoke Great Zhou again!"
Every nation's upper ranks trembled with fear.
None of them believed the news from the Horn Constellation Realm was false.
People there were proud and arrogant—there was no way they'd humiliate themselves just to glorify a youth from the Wasteland Realm.
Not long after, even the rebel forces within Great Zhou received the news.
Rebellion after rebellion crumbled almost overnight.
Many of their leaders personally turned themselves in to the Great Zhou government.
They now regarded Yang Cheng as a divine being, and believed that by rebelling, they had committed a grave sin against the heavens.
They begged to be imprisoned, seeking forgiveness.
While fear spread across the world, the imperial clan of Great Zhou erupted in joy.
Pure, unrestrained joy.
Before the news arrived, they had all felt like mountains were pressing down on their chests, convinced that Great Zhou was finished.
But once the report came, everything changed.
The entire situation flipped in an instant.
At the Tranquil Longevity Palace, countless royal relatives and nobles had gathered.
This time, Empress Yun Liyue was present too, seated right beside Empress Dowager Meng.
That seating alone spoke volumes.
The Dowager Empress had elevated Yun Liyue's status to be equal to her own.
In fact, under Meng's deliberate guidance, she had begun to step back, subtly transferring her influence and authority toward Yun Liyue.
"Empress, you are the mother of the nation," Meng said with a kind smile. "These people have been pestering me for over ten days. It's time they speak to you instead."
In truth, she had no other choice.
Every prince, princess, and noble in the room now looked at Yun Liyue with burning admiration.
They were all shrewd individuals, well aware of what this implied.
Why had Yang Cheng remained low-profile all this time, only to unleash his full strength after Yun Liyue was injured?
It was obvious that Yang Cheng's rage and massacre in the Horn Constellation Realm were triggered by that event.
Only when Yun Liyue had been attacked did Yang Cheng abandon all restraint, revealing the terrifying power he had been concealing.
It wasn't hard to see just how much he valued her.
And for these court nobles and relatives, that made the path ahead very clear.
If they wanted to win Yang Cheng's favor, there was only one way—
They had to please Yun Liyue.