I predicted the bird's prediction of my prediction.
To hit a bird in flight, one must anticipate its future trajectory and any potential changes in its course. At the same time, the bird is also trying to anticipate your anticipation. Then, decisively, it changes its flight path. Seemingly unexpected, this was, in fact, my true prediction.
One shot, and the bird fell.
It sounded like a tongue twister, but everyone present was incredibly shrewd and perceptive. How could they fail to understand the meaning behind Chen Yang's words?
"Are you trying to bluff us?" Zhou Yanqing said gravely.
Han Qing stared at Chen Yang, remaining silent.
"I, Chen Yang, have never been an impulsive man, nor do I fight unprepared." As he spoke, Chen Yang took a small device from his pocket. "A listening device. Highly sensitive, high definition. Care to listen to your recent grand pronouncements?"
Zhou Yanqing was speechless. "..."
So was Han Qing. "..."
He then pressed the play button.
The recording played everything, from the moment Chen Yang arrived. It captured Luo Hang's confession to assassinating the Great Elder, Zhou Yanqing's threats, and Han Qing's detailed explanation of his scheme to seize control of both the Elders' Court and the Bureau of Secrets.
"So, what do you think would happen if this recording were to get out?" Chen Yang asked earnestly, putting away the listening device and tilting his head.
The others were silent. "..."
What would happen?
Their late-life honor would be destroyed and their reputations would be in tatters. Beyond that, they would bear the crime of assassinating the Great Elder of the Elders' Court. By extension, the shadowy force that had been orchestrating attacks against the War God of the State would inevitably be dragged into the light of day.
In short, they would be utterly destroyed, their glory vanishing forever.
"What a treacherous little rat!" Zhou Yanqing spat coldly after a long pause.
CLICK.
Chen Yang slowly lit a cigarette and took a deep drag. "At most, this is just giving you a taste of your own medicine."
"Or, should I say, you all forced my hand?"
"Not a bad move. I underestimated you." Han Qing nodded, his words filled with admiration. He then chuckled. "However, what use is this recording if it never gets out of this room?"
His implication was clear: Chen Yang would not be leaving here alive.
"Kill him!"
FWOOSH!
A flash of blade light suddenly erupted from under the dome, moving as fast as lightning. It sliced across the sky in a wide, sweeping arc, aimed directly at Chen Yang. The attack came from a gaunt old man wielding an iron saber, who stood beneath the weeping willows by the lake. The gleam of his blade was more brilliant and searing than fireworks. It forcibly tore through the tense air, churning the lake's surface and kicking up a howling gale. The blade light itself seemed to gather a whirlwind of dead leaves as it slashed down from above, aimed straight for the crown of Chen Yang's head.
Those watching from a distance looked up, their scalps tingling. The murderous intent contained within that single strike was so potent it felt as if it could slice the very dome above them in two.
BOOM!
Chen Yang took a single step forward, and a shower of golden light burst into existence, sweeping across the world like divine rain.
The old man with the iron saber froze, his expression locked in place.
"What's happening over there? Is that coming from the Extreme Sea Villa?"
"Good heavens, is that a golden body?"
Centered on the Extreme Sea Villa, the tremors radiated outward for dozens of miles, shaking everything. Countless onlookers craned their necks, their eyes wide with disbelief, as if they had seen a ghost. Though their eyes stung, they refused to blink, not wanting to miss a single moment.
A Hundred Feet Golden Body rose from the ground.
Behind Chen Yang stood a giant that seemed to have been forged from pure gold. Its eyes were tightly shut, its thick lips sealed. Its entire body shone with a dazzling golden light, exuding an air of sacred solemnity. It looked just like a Divine Residence. Its body was covered in vivid, life-like patterns of mountains, rivers, and all living things—a microcosm of the world itself.
BOOM!
The giant's massive eyes suddenly snapped open. Following Chen Yang's movement, it raised its right hand, and the very sky for ten thousand miles seemed to twist and warp.
An... an aura that can pierce mountains and rivers?
The moment the golden giant appeared, the saber-wielding old man's face changed dramatically, the hair on his body standing on end.
Even though I'm also a sixteenth-tier expert, this aura... The gap between us isn't just a small one, is it? And from the look of it, his power is still climbing! How... how is this possible?! The old man's eyes looked ready to split as a bone-deep chill washed over him, setting every nerve on edge. Is this boy trying to defy the heavens?!
"Suppress!"
The single word boomed out like the Nine Character Mantra, its might shaking all directions.
BOOM!
Have you ever seen a palm strike that descends from the heavens? I have. With one palm, all ghosts and ghouls, all powerful clans and factions, are annihilated.
As the palm descended, the blade light instantly disintegrated. The old man, his clothes whipping in the wind, saw only a flash of gold that enveloped him like a raging fire. In an instant, the sixteenth-tier expert was reduced to ash, not even a bone fragment left behind. The palm struck the ground, blasting open a crater several meters deep, the five-fingered shape clearly visible. The earth trembled violently, and water from the lake rushed in to fill the new chasm.
Han Qing was silent. "..."
Everyone else was silent. "..."
HISS! An intense chill shot up their spines, from the soles of their feet to the crowns of their heads. Han Qing, Zhou Yanqing, and everyone else on the scene froze, their limbs stiff and their minds reeling in shock.
The Hundred Feet Golden Body dissipated.
Chen Yang stood with his hands behind his back, exuding the aura of a king, an emperor who commanded the mountains and rivers. Even though these three old men had long held positions of power, their auras already astonishingly strong, their hearts now hammered in their chests, as if they were staring into the eyes of the Grim Reaper himself. They had never feared anything in their lives, but they had certainly never felt terror like this.
"You... you..." After a long moment, Han Qing finally found his voice, only to feel his throat burn.
CRACK!
With a single slap from Chen Yang, half of Han Qing's face exploded in a mist of blood. He was sent spinning through the air before crashing violently to the ground.
Zhou Yanqing was speechless. "..."
Ji Wenping was speechless. "..."
"Since you've retired, you should be enjoying what's left of your life. Why still cling to power?" Chen Yang demanded.
"Cough, cough." Han Qing coughed up mouthfuls of blood as he struggled pathetically. He, a man who had once wielded immense power and commanded respect, was now reduced to such a miserable state in his twilight years? Staggering to his feet, he braced himself on a table with one hand and pointed at Chen Yang with the other. His gaze was frigid as he said, "You dare strike me? Do you have any idea of the consequences?"
"And I'm going to kill you," Chen Yang replied, his eyes like torches, blazing with a cold light. "A life for a life. Don't you understand that simple principle?"
"You... you dare!"
POP!
With a flick of his finger, Chen Yang sent a pulse of energy that instantly shattered Han Qing's crown. Amidst a spray of blood, the man's body went rigid and collapsed.
The others could only stare. "..."
Only at that moment did Zhou Yanqing and Ji Wenping finally understand why this young man had dared to storm their gates. In their first direct confrontation, they had been utterly defeated.
This young Supreme Martial Commander was truly a dragon, a force so formidable that even the royal family might have to tremble before him.
He stood tall, radiating an aura of righteousness.
For the common people, he was a great blessing.
But for them, he was destruction.
"From now on, do you know what to do?" Chen Yang asked, turning to stare at Zhou Yanqing and Ji Wenping.
The two men, who had always been high and mighty, directing the course of the world, now nodded their heads like obedient children.
Chen Yang turned and left, his final words hanging in the air:
"I am Chen Yang. I stand alone and have no one to fear. There is no one I dare not kill."
"..."