Chapter 23  : Chapter 023 Natural Display

Zhang Zongjin was almost driven to a heart attack by Yang Zhen, a glimmer of murderous intent flashing in his eyes. This made Yang Zhen elated, his eyes splitting apart as he squeezed out a somewhat fearful look.

“He’s angry out of humiliation, the world’s first jackass is angry out of humiliation!” Yang Zhen pointed at Zhang Zongjin, all of a sudden adopting a righteous tone, “Brothers and sisters, this so-called world’s first jackass, Zhang, not only calls us mere strays, he also intends to murder us to silence us. Here I stand, unmoving, unresisting, prepared to die to seek justice for all.” Upon hearing Yang Zhen’s words, the surrounding crowd collectively rolled their eyes. I mean, I believe in ghosts before I’d believe you! You undeniably despicable fellow—what’s in your hands behind your back? That terrifying white cloud?

“Cotton Candy!” Yang Zhen announced, righteousness etched on his face, “What I hold now is Cotton Candy!

The crowd collectively rolled their eyes in unison.

Princess Changyang wore a look of amusement, sharing an exchange of glances with the middle-aged man behind her.

The middle-aged man wore a strange expression on his face. He glanced at his waist, where Yang Zhen had previously consumed a large jug of water from, shook his head, chuckled, and then exchanged a peculiar look with Princess Changyang.

When Princess Changyang exchanged glances with him, she shared a clear intention: to save Yang Zhen!

The middle-aged man was a powerful practitioner from the royal palace of the Nether Sun Country. His current cultivation level had already reached the Minor Mahayana Phase. He obviously would not take any so-called world-best swordsman seriously. But it was surprising that Princess Changyang was willing to reveal his power in order to protect Yang Zhen.

Recalling that Princess Changyang and Yang Zhen had appeared together at the Place of Despairing Ghosts made him wonder—where had they gone, and what had happened between them?

The middle-aged man couldn’t question them, but he was certain something had happened between the two. Perhaps, as Princess Changyang had explained, Yang Zhen had indeed helped her.

With this in consideration, it would now make sense that Princess Changyang wanted to protect Yang Zhen. Even so, this was enough to warrant the middle-aged man’s increased attention towards Yang Zhen.

The atmosphere between Zhang Zongjin and Yang Zhen was tense for a moment. Just when it seemed a large battle was about to break out, a tremendous burst of thunder suddenly came from the horizon.

The terrifying thunderbolt seems to have appeared suddenly, piercing the sky in the nearby forest. With a rumbling sound, it tore apart the sky, illuminating the heavens and the earth.

Rumble, rumble!

A thunder dragon rolled like gigantic waves, hovering and disappearing in the sky. The usually tranquil Heaven and Earth Qi became volatile, causing the entire environment to change color. The stormy surge of anger in the blink of an eye covered the entire sky.

“It’s here!” shouted someone. Suddenly, all the practitioners in the Place of Despairing Ghosts were aroused.

The most exciting moment was finally here. The crowd watched the spectacle flashed across the sky, rushing towards it.

Even Zhang Zongjin, who had been on the brink of pouncing on his prey, had a change in his expression. He shot a cold glare at Yang Zhen, then turned and charged towards where the thunder had exploded.

Yang Zhen was taken aback. He stared at the horrific weather phenomenon in the sky. Is this a thunderstorm?

“What’s happening?” Yang Zhen asked subconsciously.

Princess Changyang, with a serious expression, explained, “It’s the emergence of the Thunder Element Wood. Be careful, it’s a highly coveted, all-natural, thunder-attribute treasure.”

Barely waiting for Yang Zhen to respond, Princess Changyang said, “Let’s go!”

Wham!

A horrifying fluctuation of Qi erupted. The middle-aged man who had been standing behind Princess Changyang suddenly pulled out a long sword, growing huge in the wind. Riding it and carrying Princess Changyang, they charged towards the place of thunder.

Yang Zhen jumped in surprise. He finally noticed that among the practitioners in the Place of Despairing Ghosts, many could fly. Some were riding on flying swords, others on strange things, and there was even someone riding a flying shuttle. It looked like a supercar from Earth’s previous life, lifelike and realistic, only without wheels.

“My God!” Yang Zhen was astounded. This was the real definition of modesty— this round of showing-off was so sudden yet so smooth. He could not compete with them.

Only those who had broken through the Foundation Establishment phase, reaching the Minor Mahayana Phase, could move objects at will. Practitioners in the Foundation Establishment phase were almost as ineffective as novices before those in the Minor Mahayana Phase. They posed no threat.

On the flying sword, Princess Changyang turned her head to look at Yang Zhen, smiling at him. For a moment, it was as if a hundred charms were gathered together, and the surrounding air became much brighter and fresher.

But Yang Zhen could sense a trace of regret in Princess Changyang’s eyes.

It was an unavoidable circumstance. Although Yang Zhen had dared to infuriate Zhang Zongjin to the point where he almost developed a heart demon, Yang Zhen was after all just a disciple from a small sect with limited experience. Under these circumstances, when the top masters of the major sects revealed their powers, people like Yang Zhen were simply no longer relevant.

Looking around, all the flying figures were all powerful figures from the great sects. Even Zhang Zongjin was brought along by a middle-aged woman. With a sneer on his face, he watched Yang Zhen as they moved towards where the miraculous event was occurring.

In the valley, Su Qingyu gave Yang Zhen a deep look. Seeing Yang Zhen’s gaze reciprocated, she nodded lightly with a smile and sighed, “Let’s go!” Boom!

A loud explosion sounded and a ship suddenly appeared next to Su Qingyu.

”A flying ship?” Yang Zhen was flabbergasted. Could this actually happen?

It seemed that he had only just begun to glimpse the wonders of this world.

Seeing the proud disciples of the Great Sects charging forward, putting pedal to the metal, only a group of smaller sects or weaker individuals were left running desperately, with Yang Zhen among them.

No, it seemed that Yang Zhen was terrified and stood still in place.

Was this the gap?

Some of the smaller sect members suddenly felt sorry for Yang Zhen. No matter how hard he tried or showcased his talents and brilliance, he could never compare to these disciples from big sects. After all, these people had experienced and used things that the members of smaller sects had never seen since they began cultivating.

Yang Zhen… was probably going to be just like them, lost in the crowd.

“Hey!”

A prolonged shout echoed through the valley. Everyone stumbled in surprise and turned their heads back towards Yang Zhen.

It was Yang Zhen who’d shouted. As everyone looked back, they saw Yang Zhen eyeing the flying swords and flying boats and flying carriages ahead with excitement, as if his eyes were about to gleam.

When everyone looked at him, Yang Zhen was waving and shouting, “Brother Sword, wait for me!”

“Tsch!”

Zhang Zongjin sneered, looking back and saying, “Sorry, my speed is too fast. I can’t wait… What?”

Before he could finish his sentence, Zhang Zongjin’s eyes popped wide open in surprise, his jaw almost dropping to his sword.

To everyone’s amazement, Yang Zhen dashed towards a slope, leaped high into the air like a cannonball, and barreled towards them.

“Whoa, is he… is he mad?”

“If he jumps that high and no one catches him, won’t he fall to his death?”

Everyone stared in shock, watching Yang Zhen about to become the first person to fall to his death at the Nether State Gathering. Their faces contorted into bizarre expressions.

Princess Changyang and Su Qingyu’s faces paled simultaneously. After exchanging a glance, they hesitated, then almost swung into action at the same time, exclaiming, “Save him!”

Zhang Zongjin too was taken aback, then aroused with excitement, laughing loudly and saying, “Are you trying to die, jumping that high?”

At this point, Yang Zhen was at least a thousand meters above the ground. If he fell from such a height, he would either be dead or disabled.

However, what shocked everyone was that Yang Zhen didn’t fall to his death. Instead, he smirked, saying, “You guys are too slow. I’ll go first. Hey, now this is showing off!”

As he spoke, a cloud appeared under Yang Zhen’s feet, identical to the ever-changing ones in the sky.

Boom!

A burst of noise echoed as Yang Zhen’s body shot up in the air, propelled by another cloud appearing under his feet.

“Do you know the palm technique called ‘Heaven’s Descent’?”

Yang Zhen’s voice rang out again in everyone’s ears. Everyone’s eyes widened in amazement as they benumbedly watched Yang Zhen overtake the disciples from the Great Sects, taking the lead.

Zhang Zongjin almost tumbled down..