Chapter 116: The Rampaging Green-Clad One

"Aaaargh!" A sharp, piercing screech sent the eardrums of the onlookers buzzing. As the youths looked up, a graceful black figure was already bathed in a blinding light. Slowly, her silhouette began to fade until it vanished entirely from their sight. Clearly, another person had successfully cleared the trial—and had done so while successfully bypassing the Steel Giant in its state of blind rage.

Beyond shock, the crowd felt only envy; save for a few, the others could not even muster the emotion of jealousy. Yang Shi clenched his fists tightly, his expression turning grim. Although the girl named Ye Xuan had relied on her agility to bypass the Steel Giant’s blockade, and while she did not possess the intense visual and psychological impact of Yang Fengge, the fact that she succeeded while the giant was in a fury proved one thing: she possessed formidable strength.

"Damn bunch of cowards and useless trash," a burly youth in green robes spat in the crowd as he watched the Steel Giant chase the other youths about in chaos. "Watch me show you how it’s done."

As he finished speaking, the green-robed youth charged toward the Steel Giant, his aura as fearless and indomitable as a veteran warrior who had survived a hundred battles. As he sprinted, he roared at the giant, "Ah! Your grandfather Li Zhen has arrived! You old steel thief, take a punch from your grandfather!"

"Aaaargh!" The Steel Giant, seeing yet another soul challenge its majesty, threw its head back and roared wildly. Every youth who had attempted the Tower of Heaven before had trembled at its sight, relying on numbers to scrape by. But today, that youth named Yang Fengge had not only challenged it alone but had also humiliated it, and now, this girl had used her footwork to mock it as well.

Recalling these slights, the Steel Giant was incensed. Before its rage could even subside, this fat youth in green had charged at it with such insolent clamor—it was the ultimate provocation. And what had the fat youth called it? "Old steel thief." Red light flickered wildly in the giant's eyes. It shoved aside a nearby youth in a fit of fury and lunged toward Li Zhen with its massive sword, "Aaaargh! You wretched green-clad fatty, I will tear you apart!"

"Boom, boom, boom..." The two collided instantly, followed by a series of frantic exchanges. Suddenly, a figure was sent flying through the air, spitting blood before he even hit the ground. Yet, the figure paid no mind to his injuries, merely muttering, "Why could Yang Fengge repel the old steel thief, but I, Li Zhen, cannot? Is he really that strong?"

Inside a small room of the Sword Inquiry Pavilion, Li Muqiu’s expression was dark. Li Zhen was a junior he held in high regard; he had never expected him to be defeated so quickly and so miserably. Though he did not know the true extent of the Steel Giant’s current power, seeing how easily and directly Yang Fengge had cleared the trial made him subconsciously assume the giant was quite pathetic.

Yang Fengge and Li Zhen were both in the late stages of the Origin Return realm. Li Muqiu had always believed they were of the same caliber, sometimes even suspecting that Li Zhen’s strength surpassed Yang Fengge’s. As for the cultivation talent Yang Fengge had shown since childhood, he had paid it no mind.

Because the Green Pool sect had no shortage of geniuses among its younger generation, a child showing mere preliminary talent rarely caught the eye of the Grandmaster. Had it not been for Li Zhen and his standing in the Li family, he might not have even known of Yang Fengge. But this incident forced him to face reality: this Yang Fengge was strong—at the very least, strong for his current stage—and truly lived up to the Yang family's reputation as a "prodigy seen once in a hundred years."

Li Zhen was the one who had been struck down. Had he utilized his full arsenal of techniques, he might not have cleared the trial, but there would at least have been a sliver of hope. Yet, seeing Yang Fengge’s overbearing momentum—that cool arrogance of "even with the Steel Giant before me, I shall blast it away with one punch"—Li Zhen had refused to let him claim all the glory.

In truth, in his subconscious, Li Zhen always felt he was on par with Yang Fengge. As for the likes of Yang Shi or Yang Qi, he had never even considered them rivals. Thus, he had naturally chosen to force a breakthrough; if Yang Fengge could do it, surely he could too. But...

Li Zhen lay quietly on the ground, a mocking smile on his rugged face. He was actually inferior to Yang Fengge, and the gap seemed significant. The Yang family had once been a slave clan to the Li family. Because they had been unfailingly loyal and performed meritorious deeds throughout the years of protecting the Li family, they had been granted an exceptional opportunity to study at the Green Pool Sword Sect. As time passed, the Yang family grew and thrived in Green Pool, eventually becoming the renowned Green Pool Yang family.

One must understand that the status of a slave clan was extremely low. They had no rights; they could be trampled, insulted, or even executed at their master's whim. Every member of a slave clan had a spiritual imprint forcibly branded into their sea of consciousness by their masters, ensuring they could never resist and would instinctively obey every command. Thus, people of slave clans were born with a subservient, fawning nature.

Yet, the current Yang family stood out as a singular force in Green Pool. Not only had they long since shed their slave status, but their ranks were filled with experts, and their influence was deeply entrenched. Many Yang family members held key positions within the Green Pool Sword Sect, and the Great Elder Yang Quchi had even successfully entered the sect’s Council of Elders, becoming a figure of immense power.

Li Zhen clearly found this blow hard to accept. As the absolute authority within the Green Pool Sword Sect, the Green Pool Li family held a position that no other faction could shake. They possessed unfathomable resources, and every generation was guarded by experts at the Immortal Inquiry realm. Their inherited bloodline was powerful, and though Li Zhen’s own bloodline had not yet fully awakened, as the most outstanding descendant of his generation, his strength was not something an ordinary person could compare with. And yet, he now found, with bitter irony, that he had been left far behind by the descendant of a slave.

"What a pathetic, boastful piece of trash," a voice suddenly cut through his misery. A youth spoke with disdain and mockery. "He looks all brawny, but one defeat and he’s reduced to this. Someone like him—I, Che Wuyou, would never deign to associate with. Since he wants to throw his life away, so be it. People like him are just a waste of grain, of no benefit to the path of immortality. If the Steel Giant tears him apart, it would be the best fate for him. Hahaha, hahaha!"