"Go to the Huang clan!"
Lin Shu's eyes gleamed coldly as she laid out her plan. "Before anyone realizes what's happening, we'll head straight for the Huang clan."
"By the time we get there, the Huang clan... might already be finished."
"When that happens, their millennia of accumulation will all belong to the Song clan alone."
"Take everything from the Huang clan?"
Song Shuyue and Song Mu both felt their blood surge, their hearts pounding wildly.
After the initial shock came overwhelming excitement and joy.
But as the patriarch of the Song clan, Song Mu quickly steadied his emotions. He made his decision on the spot. "Good! We'll do as Xiao Shu says. I'll send word to the clan immediately to split into two groups.
Song Zhen, you useless brat—go lead the first team. Join the others and sweep through the Lu and He clans for what's left. Xiao Shu, your uncle will go with you to the Huang clan. By the time we arrive, the clan's elites should be there too."
Meanwhile—
Huang Guinian was fleeing for his life, his very soul trembling in terror. He was burning his blood essence, using a forbidden Blood Escape Secret Art that drained his lifespan with every breath.
His figure turned into a streak of crimson light that tore across the sky. His speed skyrocketed as he desperately fled toward Rong Mountain, the ancestral seat of the Huang clan.
Behind him, Yang Cheng's presence was relentless—like a maggot clinging to bone. Under the Divine Ability · Shrinking the Earth to an Inch, the very space beneath his feet folded again and again, closing all distance between them. The pressure he gave off was suffocating.
The chase lasted for over an hour, spanning more than 2,000 li (approximately 1,000 kilometers).
At last, Huang Guinian reached Rong Mountain.
Bang!
The blood-red light he had become smashed straight into the spiritual mist covering the mountain's protective barrier. His cracked, hoarse voice roared through the air: "Activate the Mountain-Guarding Array! Now! All formations, full power!"
Moments later, lights flared throughout the Huang estate—but the entire clan was in panic.
When the clansmen saw their revered ancestor—who they had always regarded as a god—covered in blood and fleeing like a beaten dog, terror spread through their ranks. It felt as though the heavens themselves were collapsing.
Outside Rong Mountain, Yang Cheng appeared silently, like a death god come to claim souls.
His cold gaze pierced through the mist, sweeping across the terrified faces of the Huang clansmen below.
Huang Guinian, forcing himself to stay upright despite his grievous wounds, glared out through the fog and roared hysterically, "Yang Cheng! You can't kill me! The Xuan Turtle Stone Array of the Huang clan was left by our ancestor himself! It's as solid as steel and can withstand the full-force attack of a Yang God powerhouse! No matter what heaven-defying powers you have, you'll never break through it! Stop dreaming!"
Yang Cheng didn't move.
Huang Guinian panted heavily, his voice hoarse but filled with venom. "Why haven't you left yet? You've already killed so many of the Horn Constellation Realm's cultivators today! You've provoked public outrage! The mighty ones of this realm won't stand idly by! If you keep this up, when they descend upon you, it'll be too late to escape!"
The mountain wind howled, tugging at Yang Cheng's robes.
His face showed no emotion—only icy indifference.
"How could I not know that?"
His voice was calm, emotionless, yet it echoed clearly in the ears of every Huang clansman. "But even so, today, you will die without question."
Before his words even faded, Yang Cheng turned his palm.
A shimmering jade talisman shaped like a swimming fish appeared in his hand. Intricate spatial runes flowed across its surface—it was his Space Teleportation Talisman.
Without a moment's hesitation, Yang Cheng activated it.
Buzz!
The air rippled faintly.
His figure blurred like a reflection on water—and vanished.
In the next instant, within three steps behind Huang Guinian, the space rippled again like a disturbed pond. Yang Cheng's form reappeared, sharp and solid.
The blade of the Asura Blood Sword gleamed coldly, its edge humming with soul-tearing killing intent as it slashed through the air like lightning.
"Wha—"
The terror on Huang Guinian's face froze. It twisted into sheer disbelief.
He had no time to react before a chill sensation brushed across his neck.
A flash of sword light—then silence.
His head, still carrying that expression of shock, flew high into the air.
Hot blood burst from his neck like a fountain, spraying over the stunned faces of the Huang clansmen around him.
His headless body trembled once before collapsing with a thunderous crash.
Then—nothing.
A suffocating silence blanketed the entire ancestral estate of the Huang clan.
The mighty Huang clan, with a thousand years of legacy, had fallen in an instant.
Only the sound of blood gurgling echoed sharply through the dead silence.
Not far away, Huang Yuan stood frozen. He had seen everything—the moment his grandfather's head flew into the air was burned into his mind.
It felt as though an invisible hammer had smashed into his chest. His body trembled violently, and his face turned deathly pale.
Then, as if all his bones had been taken away, he collapsed to the ground like a pile of mud.
An overwhelming wave of regret devoured his heart like a venomous serpent.
The Huang clan had never even crossed paths with Yang Cheng.
All of this—every grudge, every calamity—had begun because of him.
Because of his own arrogant stupidity. Because of his contempt for that so-called "barbaric youth from the Wasteland Realm."
He had looked down on Yang Cheng from high above, treating him like an ant. But he never dreamed that this "ant" would one day slaughter his grandfather and drag the entire Huang clan into eternal ruin.
Just then, the air filled with the sharp whistle of movement.
Lin Shu arrived like a storm, leading Song Mu and a large force of Song clan elites straight to the gates of the Huang clan.
Yang Cheng didn't even glance at Huang Yuan, who was limp on the ground. With a single step, he used Divine Ability · Shrinking the Earth to an Inch and appeared directly before the core of the Huang clan's Mountain-Guarding Array—the formation's control pavilion.
"Deactivate the array."
His cold voice was like an imperial decree that brooked no disobedience.
Inside the pavilion, several Huang clan elders and disciples who had been controlling the formation froze.
They had witnessed Yang Cheng decapitate Huang Guinian in an instant. The terror of that sight had shattered their courage completely.
Hearing his voice now was like having icy water poured into their souls. Their bodies trembled uncontrollably, faces pale as ghosts.
At that moment, not one of them dared to resist.
One elder's hand shook violently as he pressed the deactivation rune on the control panel.
With a deep hum, the thick, earthen-yellow barrier covering Rong Mountain faded away like receding tides.
"Kill!"
Lin Shu's cold voice cut through the air.
Song Mu's eyes flashed sharply as he raised his hand and shouted, "Sons of the Song clan, follow me! Spare those who surrender—kill everyone who dares to resist!"
The Song clan elites, who had been waiting for this moment, charged in like tigers unleashed from their cages. Under Lin Shu and Song Mu's command, they stormed through the Huang clan's ancestral grounds, now stripped of all protection.
Battle erupted in an instant—and ended just as quickly.
Without their leader and with morale shattered, the remnants of the Huang clan's forces were no match for the Song clan's well-prepared assault.
Especially with Yang Cheng standing guard. Any of the Huang clan's remaining experts who tried to fight back were instantly crushed by his overwhelming might and finished off by the Song clan.
In less than one hour, every trace of resistance within the Huang clan's ancestral estate was wiped out.
Most of the clansmen surrendered. The few who stubbornly resisted were left lying in pools of blood.
Song Mu knew exactly where he stood.
He quickly stepped forward, bowed deeply to Yang Cheng, and spoke with utmost humility. "Song Mu greets His Highness Yang Cheng. The Huang clan brought this upon themselves through their treachery and greed.
My Song clan is willing to submit entirely to Your Highness. From this day forward, we shall follow your command without question, through fire and blood if need be."
Song Mu understood perfectly well.
Without Yang Cheng's approval, the Song clan had no right to touch even a fraction of the Huang clan's wealth.
If they wanted to enjoy this feast in peace, they had to become Yang Cheng's people. Otherwise, why would he ever let them share in the spoils?