Chapter 68

Seeing that the Jade Emperor himself had personally intervened, Marshal Tianpeng finally confirmed his suspicions: the mastermind behind all this was indeed the Jade Emperor, the ruler of the three realms.

Before this, the Jade Emperor had always tried to win over Marshal Tianpeng to serve him, but Marshal Tianpeng had never expressed any stance. This was not because Marshal Tianpeng was determined to serve the Great Emperor Ziwēi, but because he simply did not want to get involved in these matters. He just wanted to live a free and easy life, and he had no interest in the struggles for power.

However, Marshal Tianpeng had forgotten that only he knew his thoughts. His lack of a clear stance made the Jade Emperor believe that he could not be swayed. In this sensitive period, with his obvious character weaknesses and his command of troops, Marshal Tianpeng naturally became the best target.

"Whatever is going on with Marshal Tianpeng?" Yang Zhen whispered to Taibai Jinxing beside him.

Taibai Jinxing, naturally understanding what Yang Zhen was asking about, explained, "Marshal Tianpeng is one of the Great Emperor Ziwēi's people. He has always been arrogant, but today he actually broke into the Moon Palace and attempted to rape the Fairy Chang'e, and now he is openly defying the Heavenly Court. Either of these offenses is enough to punish him."

Yang Zhen also understood that the so-called rape was actually an attempted rape, and now, combined with his defiance of the Heavenly Court, the punishment of being sent down to the mortal world was actually quite lenient. However, Yang Zhen also understood that the reason Marshal Tianpeng was in this situation was due to the machinations of the seemingly benevolent old man and the Jade Emperor.

"I must be careful of this old man in the future," Yang Zhen thought to himself.

Kui Mulang, hearing the conversation between Yang Zhen and Taibai Jinxing, interjected, "But from what I know of Marshal Tianpeng, he doesn't seem like the type to do such things."

"Knowing a person's face doesn't mean knowing their heart. No one can guess what others are thinking!" Taibai Jinxing said.

Kui Mulang thought for a moment and said nothing, as he and Marshal Tianpeng had no real relationship, and his understanding of Marshal Tianpeng's character was based on hearsay.

When the other immortals heard the Jade Emperor's command, few stepped forward to confront Marshal Tianpeng. One reason was their fear of the Great Emperor Ziwēi, who stood behind Marshal Tianpeng, and the other was their fear of Marshal Tianpeng's cultivation. Even Li Jing, who possessed the Linglong Pagoda, had been defeated, so what could they do?

Seeing the immortals' actions, the Jade Emperor's face turned ashen.

Indeed, as long as the Great Emperor Ziwēi remained in the Heavenly Court, his power would always be limited. Now, even to subdue a mere Marshal Tianpeng, he could not find a suitable candidate. Those who had the confidence to do so, like Nezha, were all too proud and had not even shown up, who knew where they had gone to fool around.

Seeing this, Kui Mulang was about to step forward but was suddenly held back by Yang Zhen.

Looking at Kui Mulang's puzzled expression, Yang Zhen smiled and said, "I have not yet accomplished anything since coming to the Heavenly Court, so I will take on this battle. Don't even think about stealing my credit."

"Haha, naturally not," Kui Mulang laughed, stepping back half a step to indicate he would not participate, and then said, "Then let me see how far your strength has progressed, Brother Yang. Marshal Tianpeng is much stronger than I was back then."

Yang Zhen was taken aback by Kui Mulang's words, realizing that Marshal Tianpeng's strength was indeed considerable. However, even so, Kui Mulang was still confident enough to step forward, indicating that he must have gained significant benefits from his current cycle of cultivation, and his strength must have increased significantly.

Without further thought, Yang Zhen adjusted his mindset, flew forward, and stopped fifty meters in front of Marshal Tianpeng, smiling at him, the future famous Second Master Zhu Bajie.

"Who are you?" Marshal Tianpeng asked.

"Yang Zhen!" Yang Zhen replied.

Hearing the name "Yang Zhen," Marshal Tianpeng felt a sense of familiarity but could not recall where he had heard it. However, Marshal Tianpeng was extremely confident in his own strength. Although he did not know the strength of the person in front of him, he believed he could definitely win.

However, Marshal Tianpeng was already somewhat disappointed with the Heavenly Court. Looking at the immortals surrounding him, he thought to himself, "After defeating this person, I will escape to the mortal world. Living as a free and easy immortal in the mortal world is better than staying in the Heavenly Court and being manipulated."

The other immortals were taken aback when they saw Yang Zhen step forward. Those who knew Yang Zhen were not surprised, as they knew his abilities and naturally believed that the battle between Yang Zhen and Marshal Tianpeng would be a fierce one. However, most of the immortals in the Heavenly Court did not know Yang Zhen, and seeing an unknown minor immortal dare to challenge Marshal Tianpeng, they all sneered inwardly, thinking him overconfident.

Yang Zhen summoned the Qingming Sword and pointed it at Marshal Tianpeng.

As soon as the Qingming Sword appeared, everyone was stunned. The current form of the Qingming Sword was truly impressive, with a +8 effect creating a large green light column. From a distance, it was hard to see that Yang Zhen was holding a sword, and it looked more like a magical treasure.

Glancing at Marshal Tianpeng, Yang Zhen shot forward, rapidly swinging the Qingming Sword to create over two hundred sword strikes in an instant, forming a sword net that struck Marshal Tianpeng with the power to split mountains and cleave through the earth.

At the beginning of the battle, Yang Zhen did not use any skills from the store, but wanted to first test his close combat strength.

After 240 days in the Heavenly Court, Yang Zhen's cultivation had reached the Seventh Rank of the Great Immortal realm. His rapid advancement was due to his superior qualifications as a divine beast and the effects of the double experience pills.

A cultivator with Taibai Jinxing's average to above-average qualifications was still only at the True Immortal realm, and his cultivation had not advanced a single rank in over 240 days. This clearly showed how astonishing Yang Zhen's qualifications were, so much so that even a sage would be tempted to take him as a disciple.

When Yang Zhen's powerful sword strike came down, Marshal Tianpeng also wielded his nine-toothed rake and flew up to meet Yang Zhen's attack.

Instantly, the two powerful forces collided, and with a deafening explosion, a terrifying blast erupted.

However, Marshal Tianpeng was not affected by the explosion but instead passed through it and engaged in battle with Yang Zhen.

In terms of cultivation, Marshal Tianpeng was a few ranks higher than Yang Zhen, though he had not yet reached the Golden Immortal realm. But in terms of close combat strength, Marshal Tianpeng was completely outmatched. Yang Zhen had not intended to use any skills, just to practice and loosen up his muscles.

A character's skills can be unused, but a pet's skills are often used unconsciously. Thus, Marshal Tianpeng felt Yang Zhen's strength fluctuating, sometimes matching his own, but at other times, the sudden bursts of power made his arms shake, and his tiger's mouth (the area between the thumb and index finger) ached. After a few collisions, his hand holding the weapon began to go numb.

Marshal Tianpeng was immediately alarmed. Who was this person, to have such strength?