Chapter 50 The World Not Yet Decided, You and I Are But Beasts of Burden
"Father, why did you not take the chance to kill him?"
Zhang Yang, covered in blood, roared at Zhang Zhengxiong with a twisted expression.
If Gu Qing did not die, then he was no longer the brightest genius of the Star Hall.
So long as Gu Qing wished, he could replace him as the Holy Son at any time.
If Gu Qing were dead, then it would merely be the death of the Starry Cosmos Divine Body. With the Zhang clan's standing in the Star Hall, nothing would happen to them.
He would still be the lofty Holy Son.
He could even take Su Qingyue, and perhaps ascend the Great Dao with a future full of light.
"Fool."
Zhang Zhengxiong's rebuke was cold, his expression indifferent as terrifying supreme might spread through the great hall.
"Do not ever say this again. Otherwise, even if you are my son, I will kill you."
"Wh-why?"
Zhang Yang's eyes bulged wide.
Zhang Zhengxiong did not answer. He only stared coldly at him.
After a long pause, he said icily, "The Old Ancestor has fallen."
At those words, Zhang Yang was struck as though by thunder. He stood silent for a long while before laughing miserably.
Now he understood.
He understood why Zhang Zhengxiong had not acted sooner to save him, why he let him endure Gu Qing's punch before pulling him away, and why he dared not utter a word afterward.
Their clan's Old Ancestor, Zhang Qiang—at the Saint Realm Third Heaven—had neither gone into seclusion nor departed. He had been in the Star Hall all along. How could he suddenly perish?
Unless he had been slain by the Old Ancestor of the Star Hall.
And indeed it was so.
When Gu Qing revealed the Starry Cosmos Divine Body, Zhang Qiang intended to strike under the pretense that Gu Qing had slain disciples without cause.
But the instant killing intent rose in him, he was annihilated by an indescribable force.
A generation's Saint, one said to live as long as heaven and earth, a mighty cultivator who patrolled the cosmos—dead without a trace.
"Gu Qing is the strongest Starry Cosmos Divine Body in history. His future is boundless. He is not one of us. When you see him again, avoid him."
"And as for Su Qingyue, she is not for you to covet. Give up. Otherwise, our Zhang clan will be destroyed."
Zhang Zhengxiong's face grew desolate, in that moment seeming to age decades.
He had believed that with their Zhang clan's power in the Star Hall, once Zhang Yang matured they would only grow stronger.
He had even dreamed of controlling the Star Hall's authority.
But reality had delivered a brutal slap.
No matter how many disciples they commanded, no matter how many positions they held, they were still mere beasts of burden for the Star Hall.
Even Saints, the very foundation of sects, in the eyes of those Old Ancestors were nothing but ants—slain with a flick of the hand.
The Star Hall inherited the Star Dao and valued only those who walked that path.
Gu Qing was the Starry Cosmos Divine Body. Whoever touched him would die.
Zhang Qiang had threatened Gu Qing, so he perished.
He and his son could not threaten Gu Qing, so they lived.
But at any moment, they might be cut down by Gu Qing.
At this thought, Zhang Zhengxiong felt despair creep in, his body growing cold.
"I understand, Father."
Zhang Yang's eyes burned with unwillingness, his face twisted with pain.
He truly could not accept it.
From birth, he had labored tirelessly, enduring what others could not.
Medicinal baths, relentless cultivation, duels with men, battles with beasts—his steps had never ceased.
The Great Dao was within reach, yet now he had to let it slip away. All his efforts amounted to nothing.
Three days passed in a flash.
The Star Hall was calm, and apart from those involved, none knew he had been defeated by Gu Qing.
Zhang Yang had already recovered from his injuries.
He lifted his head to the endless starry sky, his expression desolate, his former vigor gone.
Whistle—
A transmission talisman flew in. Zhang Yang glanced at it, his face darkening.
"Jiang Yu."
"You dare challenge me to a battle of life and death? Very well!"
"Last time you escaped by luck. This time I will kill you."
Furious, Zhang Yang rushed out of his cave, first claiming a treasure from the vault. After refining it, he flew straight to the starry sky.
There, in the silent void, many had already gathered. Among them, the most eye-catching was a white-robed figure standing with hands clasped behind his back.
Jiang Yu's expression was cold as he said flatly, "So you came at last. I thought you would hide like a turtle and not dare face me."
"Heh."
"If not for that wisp of soul your old ghost left you last time, do you think you would still be standing to speak with me?"
"A defeated man dares speak of courage?"
Zhang Yang sneered.
Hearing this, Jiang Yu's face darkened.
In their last battle, outsiders only knew the fight was undecided, but he himself knew he had lost.
At the crucial moment, the remnant soul in his jade pendant had shattered Zhang Yang's Seven-Star Sword Array and saved his life.
But now, things were different.
That ancient divine art, the Seven-Star Sword Array—he too had mastered it.
Moreover, his strength had advanced further, breaking through to the Seventh Heaven of the Void Dao Realm.
"A temporary failure means nothing; today I will wash away my previous shame."
Jiang Yu stood with his hands clasped behind his back and spoke coldly.
"Because of you?" Zhang Yang scoffed.
He admitted Jiang Yu was strong, but he was not weak.
If he could defeat Jiang Yu once, he could do it again.
"You talk too much," Jiang Yu said.
"What?"
How was that talking too much? If you had not kept jabbering, would he have replied?
Zhang Yang laughed through his rage and immediately drew the Solar Saber.
It was likewise a high-quality forged treasure, a King Artifact.
Boom.
The battle intensified, and suddenly Jiang Yu manifested six divine clones, each wielding a Heaven-grade treasure.
"Seven-Star Sword Array…" Zhang Yang's expression turned grim.
His contribution points were scarce now; he could only exchange for a single King Artifact Solar Saber.
Jiang Yu was hardly weaker than him; without the Seven-Star Swords, even if Zhang Yang used the Seven-Star Sword Array, he would still not be a match.
As expected, moments later Zhang Yang was bloodied and unable to resist the Seven-Star Sword Array.
"Where are your Seven-Star Swords?" Jiang Yu asked in surprise.
Zhang Yang had no Seven-Star Swords, not even the Solar Cauldron or protective golden armor.
It was extremely strange.
Zhang Yang did not answer; a chill of desolation filled him.
He had not died by Gu Qing's hand, yet he might die by the hand of the one he despised most, Jiang Yu.
Decades of effort dissolved in an instant.
It was the cruelest irony.
Zhang Yang glanced at the onlookers and listened to their murmurs, suddenly feeling utterly disheartened.
If he was destined never to reach the peak, rather than cling to life, it would be better to fall gloriously in battle.
"Zhang Yang, if you do not perform the Seven-Star Sword Array now, you may never have another chance in this life."
Jiang Yu stood in the void, a dazzling divine light surrounding him. His aura was sacred and ethereal, as if merged with the void itself.
"Hahaha!"
"Jiang Yu, do you think you have won?" Zhang Yang laughed manically.
"Ridiculous."
"The world is undecided; you and I are but beasts of burden."
His laughter turned to tears as he looked back on his life and found it pathetic.
Decades of striving and honor were taken from him in a moment.
The peerless goddess he longed for day and night—he never even dared declare his feelings.
What holy son, what unrivaled dominance—he was merely a pitiable creature of this era.
This age belonged to the monster Gu Qing.
No one could stop the monster's punch.
He could not; Jiang Yu could not either.
And Jiang Yu would inevitably follow the same path.
For Jiang Yu was also Su Qingyue's sycophant, perhaps even more so than he was.
At that thought, Zhang Yang inhaled deeply and burned his essence, energy, and spirit to madness, igniting the Solar Origin.
Even in death, he would fall with the honor he had earned in life.
He poured his lifetime of skills into this single slash.
"Zhang Yang, are you insane?" Jiang Yu changed color.
The onlookers likewise stared at Zhang Yang in shock.
Though this was a life-and-death duel, Zhang Yang was the Holy Son backed by the Zhang clan. If he conceded, Jiang Yu likely would not dare kill him.
At worst, he would lose the Holy Son position and gain another mark of cowardice on his record.
"Die, beasts of burden."
Zhang Yang infused all his life into the Solar Saber and unleashed a world-shattering slash capable of cleaving a King Realm cultivator.
Clang!
He split Jiang Yu's King Artifact in two and seemed about to kill Jiang Yu, when suddenly a great cauldron appeared above Jiang Yu's head, releasing ten thousand streams of Xuanhuang Maternal Qi which shattered Zhang Yang's Solar Saber.
"Supreme artifact…"
"No, this is an artifact embryo."
Everyone stared at the Xuanhuang Maternal Qi Cauldron with burning eyes and heavy breaths.
Jiang Yu sheathed the cauldron and frowned.
He could not understand what Zhang Yang meant by "the world is undecided; you and I are but beasts of burden."
Should it not have been "the world is undecided; you and I are both dark horses"?
It was baffling.
Shaking his head, Jiang Yu curled his mouth into a scornful smile.
The Holy Son position of the Star Hall would be his.
This lifetime's destiny belonged to him.
He would cast the prodigies of all heavens and worlds into his shadow.
…
"Jiang Yu… the Jiang clan…"
On the other side, upon receiving news of Zhang Yang's death, Zhang Zhengxiong trembled with rage and murderous intent.
Though he had been harsh with Zhang Yang, he had poured his life's effort into him.
For Zhang Yang he had even ventured into deadly places to seek the Taiyin origin.
Now his son Zhang Yang was dead.
"Go in peace, my son. Father will avenge you and leave the Jiang clan not a single dog or fowl."
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