Myriad Dragon Divine Sovereign

Zhang Xiaoyun’s beautiful eyes held a trace of golden light. Instantly, a clear cry rang out from within the flames. The cry seemed to pierce the heavens, echoing in everyone’s hearts. The crowd saw a massive phantom begin to rise, its wings looking as if they could block out the sky. It was the phantom of a Phoenix.

It was only a phantom, but it was an utterly shocking sight for everyone present.

WHOOSH!

Zhang Xiaoyun charged toward Tang Ming, her body wreathed in flames. The Phoenix phantom danced behind her, its massive head raised high. With a flap of its wings, a violent, boundless fire erupted, ready to incinerate the world.

"How can this be? How is Zhang Xiaoyun so strong?"

Tang Ming’s eyes narrowed. Feeling an extremely dangerous aura, he took several steps back. At the same time, he frantically pushed his Primordial Qi forward.

The boundless, violent Primordial Qi flowed like water, slowly beginning to condense. It continuously solidified and converged, forming a massive Demon Beast. The beast had the head of a tiger, the claws of a human, and the body of a goat.

This Demon Beast was none other than the ancient Taotie.

On its enormous head was a massive mouth. As the mouth opened, a pillar of red energy shot toward Zhang Xiaoyun.

Tang Ming cultivated the Devouring Dao, one of the Three Thousand Great Dao. Also known as the Taotie’s Way, it was ranked somewhere past 1,700. He had already reached the second layer of the Earth Dao.

FLASH!

Red light filled everyone’s vision. A giant Phoenix soared through the air, its aura engulfing all of Cyan Cloud Mountain as it flew toward the Taotie. The Taotie also seemed to sense the Phoenix’s threat, its massive head tilting upward.

Instantly, a blinding flash of intense light stung everyone’s eyes. They couldn’t help but shut them, instinctively stepping backward.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

A deafening sound reverberated in their ears, and everyone could feel the scorching heatwaves in the air.

After a long moment, the smell of blood in the air pulled the crowd back to their senses. They slowly opened their eyes and looked.

Ahead, Zhang Xiaoyun stood, her arms trembling slightly. In her hands, she held two curved, jade-like blades, which were now stained with red blood. Tang Ming was behind her, a look of terror still on his face, but the light had already faded from his eyes. A thin line of blood was visible on his neck.

THUMP!

Tang Ming’s body fell heavily to the ground, kicking up a large cloud of dust.

"Senior... Senior Brother Tang," a disciple from Taiyi Pavilion whispered from the side.

But Tang Ming lay motionless on the ground, not responding. Another disciple from Taiyi Pavilion mustered his courage and slowly walked to Tang Ming’s side, reaching a finger toward his nose. The next moment, his heart went cold.

"Senior Brother Tang is dead! Senior Brother Tang is dead!"

The cry of alarm echoed throughout Cyan Cloud Mountain. Everyone was stunned. A True Disciple of Taiyi Pavilion, Tang Ming, an expert at the Second Heaven of the Destruction Realm, was actually dead—killed by Zhang Xiaoyun in a single move.

In an instant, the way everyone looked at Zhang Xiaoyun changed. Fear trembled in their eyes.

Zhang Xiaoyun struggled to control her trembling arms, then walked over to Gao Yuerou.

"Yuerou, let’s go," Zhang Xiaoyun said, her tone flat.

"Ah... O-Okay," Gao Yuerou said, finally snapping out of her daze and nodding.

With that, the two walked off toward the foot of the mountain, disappearing from view not long after.

At that moment, the Cyan Cloud List once again emitted a strange light that pierced the clouds and streaked across the horizon. Wen Qingye, who had just reached tenth place, was immediately knocked down to eleventh. A new name shot up the ranks, climbing all the way to ninth place. And that ninth-place name was none other than Zhang Xiaoyun.

An old man watched Zhang Xiaoyun’s departing figure and said softly, "This Zhang Xiaoyun’s strength is improving so quickly. As expected of someone with the Divine Soul of the Immortal Beast Extreme Flame Bird. It seems she’ll reach the Life and Death Realm in less than three years."

"But she killed Tang Ming. How will she answer for that crime?" a young man next to him couldn’t help but shake his head and sneer.

The old man glanced at the youth. "Wei Tianya, I imagine if you had stepped in just now, none of this would have happened, correct?"

"Hahaha, Gu Yifeng, you didn’t step in either, did you? I think Tang Ming’s death is exactly what you wanted. If I had intervened, wouldn’t you have held a grudge against me?" the young man couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

Gu Yifeng laughed as well. "Some things are best left unsaid between us. No need to be so blunt."

These two were none other than Gu Yifeng and Wei Tianya, two of the three great Elders of Taiyi Pavilion.

Taiyi Pavilion’s power was immense and complex. Experts were as numerous as the clouds, and the strong fell like rain. It was far from a peaceful place.

......

「A certain mountain peak in the Taiyi Cloud Sea.」

Zhang Xiaoyun stared ahead, her gaze distant and quiet. In her hand, she held a cup of tea that gave off wisps of hot steam.

"Xiaoyun, you were too reckless today," Gao Yuerou said softly, slowly walking to Zhang Xiaoyun’s side. "Taiyi Pavilion is extremely strict about disciples harming one another. And you killed the Pavilion Master’s youngest disciple, his favorite one at that. I’m sure they won’t let this go."

Zhang Xiaoyun smiled faintly and said softly, "If I killed him, I killed him. What can they do to me? Don’t worry. At most, they’ll just send more experts to watch over me, or have Shen Junru try to brainwash me. I’ve seen through all of it long ago."

Gao Yuerou nodded and sighed heavily.

Zhang Xiaoyun looked into the distance and said slowly, "Every time Shen Junru comes, I have to put on an act and pretend to get along with her, making her think I’m slowly adapting to Taiyi Pavilion. But in my heart, every time she visits, I want to kill her."

"Xiaoyun... you..." Gao Yuerou said, looking at her worriedly.

Zhang Xiaoyun’s eyes curved into crescents as she gave a gentle smile. "I’m fine, don’t worry about me. It’s just... compared to all this hatred, what I feel more is longing for my husband. I love him more than anything."

Gao Yuerou didn’t speak. For some reason, a warmth spread through her heart. After a moment, she smiled. "I understand. Don’t worry. I’ll go and gather some information, see what Taiyi Pavilion plans to do."

Zhang Xiaoyun nodded. "It’s good that you’re going. I think Shen Junru will be here soon."

Hearing Zhang Xiaoyun’s words, Gao Yuerou walked off into the distance.

Zhang Xiaoyun watched Gao Yuerou’s figure gradually disappear before slowly drawing back her gaze. She looked out at the vast sky and gently drank her tea. Her heart felt warm, as if she was getting closer and closer to him, so close it felt like she could reach out and touch him.

Zhang Xiaoyun looked at the teacup in her hand, a breathtaking smile gracing the corners of her lips, a smile that seemed to make the very clouds in the sky lose their brilliance. She whispered softly, "The road of life is long... Wait for me. I’ll be there to face the wind and waves with you, smiling all the way..."