After the old man in the black robe left, Yang Xuanzong also took the Elders out of the dungeon. Li Chang'an said, "Long, this Yang Hao still has great use; don't go too far."
"I understand, Second Grandfather," Yang Long replied.
Once Li Chang'an left, only Yang Long and Yang Peng remained in the dungeon. Yang Long looked at my disheveled appearance and laughed heartily. "Brother, isn't it amusing that we meet in such circumstances? I have become a flawless person, while you have fallen to the status of a prisoner."
"Big Brother, he's useless. Why not let me ruin his Qi Sea? That way, he will be completely beyond saving," Yang Peng suggested.
Yang Long looked at Yang Peng with a righteous expression and said, "How can you be so cruel? What if he dies after ruining his Qi Sea?"
"Big Brother, I was wrong," Yang Peng admitted.
"Good to know. After all, he still has some use. Right now, we can't obtain the Martial Dao Classic or extract the Book of Life and Death, and we can't break the seal within him," Yang Long continued, turning to me. "My dear brother, I have never envied anyone's talent in my life because I possess the qualifications of a Nine-Tier Golden Elixir. With the talents of dozens from our clan, I ultimately surpassed the ninth grade. My roots, comprehension, and five elemental spiritual roots are nearly perfect. Yet I still cannot reach absolute perfection. But you, just one person, possess such perfect qualifications. It's simply envy-inducing. Now your achievements are within me; my cultivation talent will have no flaws. In just a few years, I will become an unparalleled powerhouse in history, while you will ultimately be my stepping stone—a grain of sand lost in the winds of time."
"Foolish dream! Even if you have perfect qualifications, it won't matter; you'll eventually die at someone else's hands. Your fate is sealed," the old man in the dungeon spoke again.
Yang Long raised an eyebrow and looked at the old man sitting across from me in the cell. He stepped forward and struck open the iron bars before moving beside the old man and softly said, "Did you really think that keeping you alive until now was out of familial affection?"
As Yang Long spoke, he placed his hand on the old man's head. The others pleaded for mercy; one person said, "Yang Long, let Sixth Elder go! If you're capable, come at me instead!"
Yang Long's expression turned cold as he slammed his palm onto the old man's head. The old man's skull shattered, and remnants of Dao Qi burst forth from his body. Dao Fire flew from Yang Long's hand and ignited the old man's body. The roaring flames illuminated every face of the Yang Family bastards in despair within their cells.
"Yang Long, it's not that I look down on you. If it weren't for how well the Yang Family protected you, even with my Perfect Golden Core in your possession, I could still kill you like slaughtering a dog," I said to Yang Long.
"Oh really?" Yang Long replied nonchalantly. "Originally, our family intended to cultivate you to the Dao Fruit Realm; at least you'd be at Nascent Soul Realm level so we could directly extract your Nascent Soul or Dao Fruit. But you discovered it first, and the informant was that bastard spawn. I hear your relationship with that girl is quite good?"
"What do you want?" I glared at Yang Long and shouted.
Yang Long said, "I have never liked anyone contradicting me, and I especially dislike threats. You think you're so impressive, huh? Fine."
With a clap of his hands, the dungeon door swung open, and a group of people brought Yang Wanru inside.
I said, "This is between you and me; there's no need to drag a girl into this. She's only in her teens—what does she know?"
Yang Long replied, "What do you mean she doesn't know? If it weren't for her, according to my family's original plan, I would have fed you an Elixir that even I can't afford. You would at least be in the Nascent Soul Realm by now!"
He pulled Yang Wanru from one of his subordinates and dragged her in front of me. Yang Wanru's face turned pale with fear as she cried out, "Brother, save me!"
"This is our matter; why do you have to involve a girl? Is your mind really that twisted? If you're a man, just kill me," I said.
"Yang Long, you're nothing but a beast—worse than a pig or a dog," others in the dungeon shouted.
"Useless! You only take your anger out on the weak. When faced with Yang Xuanzong and the elders of the Yang Family, you're still a coward. If it weren't for the Sixth Elder being crippled, you'd still be hiding from him like a dog."
"If you weren't Yang Xuanzong's grandson, who would even recognize you? You'll only ever be a cowardly grandson. Without Yang Xuanzong, you're nothing; you don't even have the courage to venture out on your own. You need to bring people with you everywhere—what else can you call yourself but useless?"
Hearing such insults made Yang Long's face turn dark. Yang Peng said, "Brother, should we kill them all?"
Yang Long smiled slightly and replied, "Now I have to criticize you again. Why do you always want to resort to killing? Is murder really the best punishment?"
After saying that, he lifted Yang Wanru up and removed one of his subordinate's belts, tying it around her neck and hanging her at the dungeon door.
"Put her down!" everyone shouted in unison. Yang Long pretended not to hear as he made us watch helplessly while Yang Wanru struggled for her life.
Her limbs flailed wildly as she choked back tears; she desperately tried to breathe and pull herself up. But Yang Long stood beside her, holding one of her legs and pulling it down.
Finally, Yang Wanru looked at me, her eyes bloodshot, refusing to close even in death.
The crowd erupted in curses, while Yang Long laughed heartily, humming a tune. Then he said, "Get ready, go!"
Yang Peng and the disciples of the Yang Family began to hum along with Yang Long's tune, and he twisted his neck, saying, "Such a deeply moving scene—let your anger out. Cry!"
The expressions of the crowd turned fierce, and some wept bitterly, shouting, "Yang Long, you are not worthy to be human!"
Yang Long chuckled as he turned to look at me sitting against the wall with my eyes closed. "Look at this Yang Hao; he is truly cold-blooded. I’m so moved that I could cry, yet he’s dozing off."
With that, Yang Long burst into laughter and swaggered away.
I opened my eyes to see Yang Wanru hanging by the prison door. I lowered her down and held her in my arms.
I closed Yang Wanru's eyes gently, gritting my teeth as I choked back tears of grievance.
"It’s my incompetence that I couldn’t save you. Farewell."
My fists clenched until they turned white. Time and again, I had watched those around me die helplessly. I had seen my mother burned alive before my eyes, watched Douding pierced through the chest by an arrow, witnessed Grandma Wu forced to commit suicide right in front of me, and seen Yunxi slowly poisoned, her life being consumed bit by bit.
Tears streamed down my face, falling onto Yang Wanru's cheeks. I vaguely remembered the days spent playing games by the lake pavilion with her, tracking cranes; her smile was so pure.
Suddenly, I gathered the little Dao Qi left in my Qi Sea and forcefully struck at my heart pulse.
"Child, don’t do anything foolish. Suicide won’t help now. After seven days at the Mount Hua Life and Death Register Conference, there may still be a chance," someone in the dungeon advised.
"Yes, if you give up now, we wouldn’t have survived this long. I’m not afraid of death; if it weren’t for the Sixth Elder setting an example for us all this time, I would have ended it myself long ago. Hold on! You are one in a million; heroes gather at Mount Hua. The Yinshan Yang Family cannot cover everything; perhaps there’s still a chance. You must endure for this girl."
"The Golden Core has already been excavated; I will never make any progress in my cultivation in this lifetime, and my great vengeance remains unavenged."
As I prepared to attempt to shatter my heart meridian, a disturbance occurred above the Qi Sea. The beast emerged from the Seven-Colored Bubble. It crawled out from my embrace, gazing at the lifeless Yang Wanru before me, then at my bloodied self. It let out a whimper, seemingly asking what had happened.
I said, "Bubble, go find a new master. I can’t go on anymore."
The beast bared its teeth, revealing a fierce expression. It dashed out of the dungeon and let out a youthful howl into the air.
Even from within the dungeon, I could clearly hear its cry. Soon after, screams from some disciples echoed outside, accompanied by the sound of bubbles being punctured.
A scream pierced through the air—it was the beast's voice. Li Chang'an shouted, "Where did this monster come from to wreak havoc in my Yang Family? Seeking death!"
Sounds of chaos erupted above the dungeon. Before long, the beast was enveloped by bubbles and flew in awkwardly, its fluffy white fur singed in patches and its claws injured.
The beast burrowed into my Seven-Colored Bubble and began to cry pitifully. I said, "The Yang Family has countless experts; you’ve just been born not long ago. No matter how powerful you are, you cannot match them. If I die, go find Wu."
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