Chapter 403

Chapter 403: Before the Great Path, Immortals and Saints Are but Ants

Mortal!

Mortalis just an ant.But should ants be crushed, killed, and have their lives controlled at will?

Why did Zhang Yang harbor such deep hatred toward these people?

No one truly understood the weight of his killing intent. Some even believed he was deliberately provoking the Taixu Dynasty, suspecting he was merely putting on a show.

But what they didn’t realize was that Zhang Yang had always seen himself as just a mortal.

Only a year ago, he was still an ordinary man, worried about where his next meal would come from. Could a single year truly change everything? Deep down, he never considered himself superior.

In his eyes, those called immortals were merely people climbing a higher mountain. He had even guided Yaoruoxian toward “Becoming Ordinary,” thereby achieving true fearlessness, the essence of martial arts.

You and I are all mortals.

Without understanding this, how could anyone speak of martial arts?

“If you want to kill, then kill. Why pretend?” Wind Dragon snarled, his face twisted in pain.

Zhang Yang replied calmly, “Pretend? Think what you will. You’re already a dead man, you can’t comprehend the Great Path of this world, nor understand the divide between immortals and mortals.”

Wind Dragon tried to speak again, but Zhang Yang suddenly exerted strength, crushing his throat and snapping his neck.

The corpse dropped to the ground.

A wave of horror spread through the crowd.

He had killed again.

And this time, it was one of the top talents of the Taixu Dynasty, a member of the Nine Heroes from the Hunters’ Guild, and the close companion of Jin Liuli.

All eyes turned instinctively toward Jin Liuli once domineering, ruthless, and proud.

To their shock, she was gritting her teeth and clenching her fists, but she didn’t dare to strike back.

“Is that really Jin Liuli?”

“The Jin Liuli who looked down on princes and holy sons alike, now she won’t even say a word?”

“She looks terrified of Zhang Yang…”

“I can’t believe it.”

Their voices reached Jin Liuli’s ears, stoking her fury. But no matter how angry she felt, she couldn’t summon the courage to confront him.

Zhang Yang then turned and grabbed Ji Shaolong.

“I, Ji Shaolong, am no coward,” the man said boldly. “If you want to kill, then kill. But don’t think my death will somehow justify your twisted compassion for ants! I was born of the Taixu Dynasty and I’ll die with it!”

Zhang Yang crushed him without hesitation.

Two lifeless bodies now lay before the crowd.

Silence fell.

Then Zhang Yang spoke. “Do you want to collect the bodies… or continue?”

His voice was calm, but it carried absolute authority. He was directly challenging the people of Zi Tian Pavilion.

“I’ve killed two of your own. Do you dare make a move?”

Jin Zhihong clenched his jaw, his entire body trembling with the urge to attack. This was humiliation. If they accepted this and didn’t retaliate—how could they ever face the world again?

They had once stood at the top, humiliating others at will.

Now, the tables had turned, and they couldn’t bear it.

“Aren’t you going to fight?” Zhang Yang asked again.

Jin Zhihong, Jin Zhihu, Jin Liuli, Ye Wolf, and the others all felt the sting of insult, the need to retaliate burning in their veins.

But the two corpses on the ground kept them frozen.

“Zhang Yang! Not just anyone can kill someone from the Taixu Dynasty. I will avenge this!” Jin Zhihong shouted through gritted teeth.

Zhang Yang tilted his head. “Oh? You’re talking about killing at will?”

“Have you avenged the Ten Great Sages from Heavenly Reaching Mountain?”

“What about Taixu Palace, destroyed after ten thousand years, have you avenged that?”

“Five Great Sages died. Your Emperor, Jin Shengtian, lost his left arm to me. Have you avenged any of it?”

With every word, Jin Zhihong’s face grew paler. His hatred nearly drove him to madness.

But still—they didn’t dare act.

“Such disappointment,” Zhang Yang said.

“I thought Jin Shengtian would send some worthy opponents. Turns out, you’re just a bunch of useless cowards.”

“My sarcasm, my insults, none of it gets to you? What a waste of breath.”

With that, Zhang Yang turned to leave.

The people from Zi Tian Pavilion were going mad with humiliation. Never had they been treated like this.

Just as everyone thought the confrontation had ended, just when it seemed the tension had faded, a jarring voice rang out from the end of the street.

“Using mortal ants to stir up trouble… how disgusting.”

Most didn’t pay much attention—until Zhang Yang suddenly stopped and turned sharply toward the voice.

Startled by his reaction, others turned to look too.

A young man walked slowly through the darkness.

“The Seventh Prince…” Zhang Yang murmured.

The newcomer was none other than the Seventh Prince of the Great Xia Empire from the Southern Region, leader of the Demon Slayer Team, and the first opponent Zhang Yang had ever regarded as his equal.

As their eyes locked, sparks seemed to ignite between them.

They were true rivals.

In that instant, all thoughts of the Zi Tian Pavilion and Taixu Dynasty vanished from Zhang Yang’s mind.

“What is an ant?” the Seventh Prince asked.

Many felt a stir in their hearts, were they about to witness a philosophical debate?

Such debates were often the most dangerous. Failing to defeat one’s opponent in words could unravel one’s beliefs or worse.

Zhang Yang didn’t answer directly. Instead, he countered, “And what are you, in the eyes of the sages?”

The Seventh Prince sneered.

“Sooner or later, the sages will look up to me. I am destined to become the greatest in this vast world!”

The people of the Western Desert stared at him in shock. His arrogance was staggering, especially when directed at Zhang Yang.

But Zhang Yang remained calm.

“Sooner or later is irrelevant. As of now, in the eyes of the sages, you are nothing but an ant, no different from any ordinary person.”

The Seventh Prince replied,

“There’s a difference. Ordinary people are destined to be crushed. But I will rise. What sage would dare harm me in the slightest?”

Zhang Yang’s lips curled into a cold smile.

“If you revere the sage as the highest, then what is a sage in the face of an immortal?”

The Seventh Prince scoffed.

“You’re comparing sages to mortals from a higher realm? That comparison is meaningless.”

Zhang Yang pressed on.

“Then what are immortals before the Great Path?”

The Seventh Prince chuckled coldly.

Zhang Yang continued,

“Before the Great Path, is there truly a distinction between mortal, sage, and immortal? All, as you call them, are ants. The Great Path treats all beings equally. You and I seek martial arts and the Dao through the Great Path, yet you wish to defy it. That is what’s truly laughable.”

“Saying these things doesn’t change the fact that mortals are ants,” the Seventh Prince retorted.

Zhang Yang sighed.

“You likely don’t even grasp the simplest truth, that immortals are still human. How can someone like you be my opponent?”

“Immortals cannot be human!” the Seventh Prince blurted out.

“Are immortals not human? Are sages not human? Are divine beings not human?” Zhang Yang countered.

The Seventh Prince frowned, his expression turning cold.

“There are different kinds of humans.”

Zhang Yang replied,

“Exactly. Since they are human, differences are inevitable. Humanity is divided by gender, yin and yang, status. It is precisely these differences that shape a world filled with countless beings. Immortals, sages, mortals, they’re all part of it. And none of them are truly different; they are all ants. They all belong to the ordinary.”

The Seventh Prince’s expression darkened even further. He realized he had unconsciously begun to agree with Zhang Yang’s reasoning, a silent defeat in the debate.

With a final wave of his hand, he declared, “I don’t care about mortal ants. I only believe in the law of nature, survival of the fittest. The weak are prey for the strong!”

“Survival of the fittest, is it?” Zhang Yang’s eyes narrowed. “Then by your logic, I am strong, and you are weak. So I can… kill you.”

The Seventh Prince extended a finger and beckoned him provocatively.

“Come fight!”

They charged at each other.

In that moment, both unleashed overwhelming power.

Both possessed a Holy Body.

The Seventh Prince’s Holy Body was terrifying. Holy light enveloped him, conjuring the image of a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood, as if he had descended to annihilate the world.

Zhang Yang’s Divine Gold Holy Body shone with radiant brilliance. Holy light boiled around him, and the sound of metallic friction echoed through the air.

They moved with unimaginable speed and collided in an instant.

Then, the Seventh Prince made a jaw-dropping move that shocked even Zhang Yang.

He met Zhang Yang’s punch with his chest.

Boom!

Zhang Yang knew just how powerful the Seventh Prince was; he was the only one capable of facing him on equal footing. So, from the very beginning, he had unleashed his most devastating technique:

Consummate Slaughter Thunder Saint Power.

He meant to kill.

Bang!

The punch landed. The Seventh Prince’s ribcage looked like it would explode. His organs were on the verge of shattering.

And yet, nothing happened.

A remnant soul within him had absorbed over ninety percent of the punch’s power.

Even so, blood gushed from all seven of the Seventh Prince’s orifices. His bones cracked. His organs trembled on the brink of collapse. But it wasn’t a slow reaction, it was because he had swallowed a mouthful of sacred life water, healing himself rapidly.

After landing, he threw his head back and laughed wildly.

“Jigui Wu, from now on, you are you, and I am me!”

He was using Zhang Yang’s strength to free himself to achieve his own rebirth.