The news of the "Sneeze Prince" traveled through the Heavenridge Continent faster than a high-grade flying talisman.

  In the Qin Empire, the rank 2 powerhouse where "weakness is a crime," Emperor Qin Wushen sat atop a throne made of melted enemy weapons. He crushed a jade cup in his hand as he read the report.

  "A five-year-old? A sneeze that shattered a Qi Gathering disciple's sword?" The War-Emperor’s eyes blazed. "Qin Chenfeng! Get in here!"

  His youngest son, an 8-year-old speed demon with a Void Shadow Body, zoomed into the hall, leaving a trail of wind. "Yes, Father? Am I finally allowed to go hunt a Spirit Tiger?"

  "Forget the tigers," the Emperor growled. "There is a brat in the Lu Empire who is stealing your spotlight. Go to the border. Watch him. If he’s truly a monster, bring him a challenge. If he’s a fraud, laugh in his face."

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  Chenfeng’s eyes sparkled with a chaotic energy. "A five-year-old Martial God? Sounds like someone I need to annoy for the next several centuries."

  Meanwhile, in the Zhou Empire, the mood was far darker. Emperor Zhou Mingyuan sat in a cold, shadow-drenched hall. Unlike the Lu family, the Zhou line was a graveyard of "accidents." Talented children like Zhou Jianyi and Zhou Lingxue had been poisoned because they were "too bright."

  "The Lu siblings were already a headache," the Emperor whispered, his voice like dry leaves. "But they are 'idiots' who don't want the throne. This Lu Xian, however... a Martial God at five? He is a variable we cannot control."

  In a corner of the Zhou palace, the youngest son, Zhou Wenhao, kept his head down, scrubbing a floor he didn't need to scrub. His eyes were cold, filled with a hidden fire. A Martial God in the Lu family? Good. Maybe he can burn this rotten palace to the ground. For my sister Lingxue... I’ll keep my head down until the fire starts.