Feeling all the eyes on him, Yang Cheng sighed inwardly.
In his past life, he hadn't just disappointed these people—he had left them in utter despair.
His bone test result back then was among the very worst. He was a complete martial waste.
He couldn't imagine how his mother had managed to keep going after suffering such a blow.
Just then, a soft hand grasped his tiny one.
Yang Cheng turned his head to look at Yun Liyue.
She gazed at him seriously and said, "Cheng'er, don't be afraid. No matter what happens, Mother will always stand behind you. For me, it's enough if you can live your life happy, carefree, and safe."
A sour warmth welled up in Yang Cheng's chest.
He believed this exact moment had happened in his past life too.
But back then, he'd been so shocked by his result that he hadn't heard her words at all—and afterward, he never gave them another thought.
Looking at it now, he realized just how much he had owed his mother in his previous life.
"Mother, I'm not afraid," Yang Cheng said, speaking solemnly to Yun Liyue.
"Elder Sister," Noble Consort Zhuang's red lips curved in a fake smile, the dangling pearls at her temples flashing blinding reflections in the sunlight. "Why are you still not taking the crown prince up for testing? His Majesty, the clan patriarch, and all the ministers are waiting."
Her expression at that moment was one of pure arrogance.
Yun Liyue's eyes swept over her with icy calm. Then she bent down to straighten Yang Cheng's robes.
"Cheng'er, go ahead."
She didn't take his hand to lead him up but let him climb on his own.
Even if her son's bones turned out worthless, she believed his spirit never would be.
His future path, just like the jade steps of the testing platform, was one he had to walk himself.
As his mother, all she needed to do was watch over him quietly.
The entire crowd fell silent again.
Yang Cheng stepped forward, his little legs climbing the stone steps one by one.
The hearts of Yun Liyue's supporters seemed to climb ever higher with each step he took.
Everyone else was watching closely too.
After all, Yang Cheng was still the crown prince.
"I wonder what kind of bones His Highness has."
"His Highness has been extraordinary since birth. He won't disappoint us."
"Extraordinary or not, there's no way he can compare to the sixth prince. That's the Heavenly Sword Sacred Body we're talking about."
The ministers' faces were filled with different emotions.
Throughout history, there had been countless deposed crown princes.
Just because Yang Cheng was the crown prince now didn't mean he would always stay on top.
Before, people thought his position was secure because he had Yun Liyue behind him.
But Yang Xiu's brilliance had completely changed the game.
It had thrown a wrench into the future fight for the throne.
[Heavenly Emperor Yang Xiu defeated the other seven countries of Eastern Wastes and is about to form the Eastern Wastes Alliance, becoming its first leader.]
[If he succeeds, he'll gain the attention of Great Yan Dao Palace, which will be very bad for you.]
[You must do whatever it takes to strike at Yang Xiu's prestige in public and shake the loyalty of the seven nations' leaders to him.]
[Note: Because this mission is extremely difficult, the host is granted a three-year extension. If you fail, you will be punished by heavenly lightning.]
[Mission reward: Sword Dao Initiation.]
Yang Cheng's heart jolted with surprise. He hadn't expected the system to issue another mission at this moment.
Strike at Yang Xiu's prestige publicly, shaking the loyalty of the seven nations' leaders to him?
Right now, the leaders of the seven nations probably didn't give a damn about a baby like Yang Xiu.
Which meant the mission was half-complete before it even began.
And as for the rest of it, Yang Cheng thought that too would be easy.
As for the Sword Dao Initiation?
He felt sure that what the system called Sword Dao Initiation wasn't what most people would think of as just learning the basics.
Given how hard the system judged this mission to be—harder than the last—the reward couldn't possibly be ordinary.
Moments later, Yang Cheng stood before the martial testing monument.
Yang Xiu was still on the platform, looking at Yang Cheng with a haughty sneer. "Yang Cheng, in the martial path, you're destined to only look up at my back."
"So rude," someone muttered.
Yang Cheng kept his little face serious. "By status, I am the crown prince, the ruler, and you are a subject. By age, I am older, the elder brother, and you the younger. Seeing your crown prince brother, you don't even know how to bow and greet?"
"You…"
Yang Xiu's cheeks turned red. "You're only three days older than me. How does that make you an elder brother?"
As he said that, he suddenly realized countless eyes were watching him. He quickly swallowed his frustration, bowed awkwardly, and said, "Your subject-little brother greets Crown Prince Brother."
He comforted himself inwardly: even if Yang Cheng seemed clever, he was still just a one-year-old baby at heart. Unlike himself, whose intelligence already matched a four-year-old's, so there was no need to argue.
Their exchange made many in the audience chuckle.
If they'd been adults, it wouldn't have been so odd.
But seeing two tiny toddlers acting so serious and formal was simply hilarious.
"Not bad," Yang Cheng said with a slight nod, then placed his hand directly on the martial testing monument.
The smiles disappeared from the watching crowd as they focused intently on the monument.
The air in front of the testing stone suddenly turned frosty.
The moment Yang Cheng's small hand touched the cold bronze surface, the tall stone began to hum.
Ancient characters carved into the stone writhed wildly.
"This… could it be…"
Prince Duan, the royal clan patriarch, couldn't help tearing out a few of his beard hairs in shock.
If what he suspected was true, it meant Heaven itself favored the Great Zhou royal family.
Buzz!
In the next instant, a golden pillar of light shot into the sky, forming a dazzling golden sword above the monument. Around this golden sword coiled the shimmering image of a golden dragon.
A roar of astonishment burst through the crowd in the training ground.
"A golden dragon coiling around the sword… why does this look so familiar?"
An elderly royal relative spoke up.
"Forty years ago," another old noble said excitedly. "Forty years ago, when His Majesty took his bone test, this exact phenomenon appeared. The crown prince has inherited His Majesty's Divine Dragon Sword Body!"
"Impossible!" Noble Consort Zhuang cried out in shock.
That little wretch Yang Cheng had clearly been poisoned by Myriad Despair Divine Water—his bones should have been ruined. How could he have the Divine Dragon Sword Body?
"Congratulations, Your Majesty! Congratulations, Your Majesty the Empress!"
"The crown prince has inherited His Majesty's Divine Dragon Sword Body. This is a blessing for all of Great Zhou!"
Ministers and royal relatives all offered their congratulations.
In terms of grade, the Divine Dragon Sword Body wasn't stronger than the Heavenly Sword Sacred Body; they were roughly equal.
But the Divine Dragon Sword Body carried greater symbolic weight, as it was Emperor Qian Yuan's own sword body.
Noble Consort Zhuang knew that too, and her face grew uglier by the second.
"Hahaha, you're all right—this truly is a blessing for Great Zhou!" Emperor Qian Yuan burst into uncontrollable laughter, overjoyed beyond words.
"Wait, look at the dragon's claws," Prince Duan suddenly said.
"Dragon claws?"
Others looked puzzled.
Then their pupils contracted sharply.
A normal shenlong had five claws, but the golden dragon phantom above them had nine.
At the same time, the testing monument didn't stop shaking.
Slowly, the golden sword in the air turned a deep purple-gold, and the golden dragon phantom also shifted to a purple-gold dragon.
In an instant, every sword held by the guards in the training ground began to tremble, all pointing toward Yang Cheng as if bowing to a king.
Before anyone could react, the martial testing monument exploded with a loud bang.
The vision in the sky instantly faded.
Yang Xiu was still on the platform, closest to Yang Cheng.
When the purple-gold dragon's pressure swept out, he took the brunt of it.
No matter how talented he was, he was still just a one-year-old baby.
He was immediately so terrified his little body staggered backward.
No one paid him any attention—except Yang Cheng.
Because Yang Cheng still remembered his mission.
He looked at Yang Xiu.
In his mind flashed the image of the domineering, arrogant Heavenly Emperor Yang Xiu from his previous life.
Then he stepped up to Yang Xiu, slapped his shoulder hard, and sent the already-unstable Yang Xiu toppling forward, landing on his knees.