Chapter Thirty-Three: The Reason Behind the Fifth Prince's Live Broadcast

“No way.”
“He’s really a direct disciple of the Holy Land!”
“So this is Zhang Ning? He’s been talked up like a legend!”
“Even someone like him does livestreams?”
“I heard he’s a demon who toys with people’s hearts!”

After a torrent of disbelief, the comment feed finally settled into a chorus of “Greetings, Fifth Prince,” and polite, measured “Hello”s, suggesting that the audience didn’t harbor much resistance toward him.

Zhang Ning’s eyes crinkled with laughter as he faced the camera and continued, “I started this livestream because I heard someone got lost in the Liyin Rainforest. So I’ve come to show you, when your strength is low, gravely injured, with no other support and unable to call for help, how to make peace with nature and walk out of the Liyin Rainforest.”

After a flurry of educational comments whisked by, the rest of the viewers finally realized the connection between Zhang Ning’s stream and the previous incident. Seeing the impact was good, Zhang Ning mischievously moved the camera farther away, and in an instant, the comment feed erupted once again!

Exclamations of awe poured in, with countless viewers questioning their own reality in that moment. “Could the Fifth Prince, at such a young age, have already reached the Martial Emperor realm?”

For Zhang Ning was now floating high in the air, directly above the Liyin Rainforest. All his viewers were martial artists, so they weren’t terrified, but a wave of heart-pounding anxiety was unavoidable.

After all, levitating flight was only possible for those at the Martial Emperor level! Even brief hovering required one to be a Martial Lord!

It was almost unbelievable. Was this prince truly so stunningly gifted, reaching the Martial Lord realm at such a young age? Or was it that he was so favored by a master that someone had specially crafted him a flying artifact?

Zhang Ning watched the comment feed for a while, finding some of the guesses quite amusing, but eventually explained, “My cultivation technique is unique; it allows me to fly at a much earlier stage than most.”

Many breathed a sigh of relief at that, their hearts set at ease—at least there wasn’t yet another monstrous prodigy among them. They’d been so frightened just now, they didn’t know what to think!

Some comments began to surface, as if the posters, finally noticed, were eager to show off. One after another, they started explaining the unique features of the Great Freedom Demon Sect’s direct disciple cultivation technique, sounding like insiders.

Zhang Ning only smiled, not confirming or denying their claims.

He said, “Please like, subscribe, and send gifts! But since this livestream is for a special purpose, I’ve turned off the tipping function!”

It was as if he were pushing away money that was already in his grasp! Some visiting minor streamers and those familiar with the industry’s profits were all impressed by Zhang Ning’s boldness.

Before anyone could recover from their surprise, Zhang Ning slowly withdrew his inner energy, and in a flash, dropped straight from the sky!

“By the Holy Mother of a Hundred Lotuses, what’s he doing?!”

“Your Highness!!!!”

“What’s going on?!”

“Is this a live suicide?!”

“He must have a flying artifact, he’s being reckless.”

“Oh my god, Ning!”

“Fifth Prince!”

“Is he trying to kill himself?”

“Where are his guards? I haven’t seen a single one.”

Zhang Ning plummeted from the sky into the heart of the rainforest. The camera seemed slow to respond, only catching up to him several seconds later.

At that moment, Zhang Ning was dangling from a leafy branch, his robe caught high above the ground—at least ten meters up. Yet he showed not the slightest hint of panic, and addressed the camera, which was a beat behind, “Just now I was simulating a scenario for all of you: many of you have found yourselves lost in the rainforest after being blasted away in a fight, or falling off a cliff—situations beyond your control. At that point, you’re lost deep in the rainforest, armed only with your own weapon, maybe a bit of food. I’ve heard that many people don’t even have a compass, let alone a storage pouch.”

The audience, however, was far less composed.

“He scared me to death—thank goodness he’s all right.”

“Too bad, this little demon didn’t fall to his death!”

“Did you catch that—he said, ‘I’ve heard!’ Heard that many people don’t have a compass.”

“Wow, could he give us a warning next time?”

“I know why he’s streaming! It’s for those disciples who got lost in the Liyin Rainforest before!”

“Zhang Ning, have you finally realized not everyone is as rich as you?”

“Your Highness? Where are your guards? Aren’t they a bit too unconcerned?!”

“Am I the only one afraid of heights?”

“His Highness is so responsible!”

“I love you, Ning!”

Seeing this, Zhang Ning offered a shy smile—after all, he looked only eight years old. “All right, let’s run through a simulation! At this point, if you don’t have a special technique to help you float for a moment, the only thing you can do is jump down from the tree!”

He drew a small knife, its blade gleaming with a jet-black sheen that clearly marked it as forged from some special metal, with a hidden sigil of a door engraved on it.

With a couple of swift motions, Zhang Ning cut himself free, sliding down from the tree to the ground at last. But this was hardly anything—even a low-level martial artist wouldn’t die from a ten-meter fall, as long as they cushioned themselves on the way down. At worst, they might break an arm or a leg.

Zhang Ning continued, “Now, let’s try walking a bit in the Liyin Rainforest.”

He began to pick his way forward, but after just a few steps, his foot sank into rotting leaves or he was blocked completely by dense branches. Moreover, his clothes were hardly suited for trekking through a rainforest.

The comments began to mock him, leaving one to wonder where so many reckless people had come from.

Zhang Ning showed no sign of anger. “That was careless of me. Usually, no one would wear such formal clothes when traveling the land.”

He took off his outer robe, revealing a pale inner shirt, and tidied himself up a bit, finally looking like he wore a simple, practical outfit—at last, ready for action.

“If I had a machete, I could clear a path in the time it takes to brew a cup of tea. But right now, all I have is this small knife. Even though my storage pouch is filled with weapons and all kinds of magical talismans my masters have gifted me, since I’m simulating your situation, I won’t be using any of them!”

He made a couple of gestures with the knife, then tucked it back into his sleeve.

“Not using your available resources?”

“What’s the point of just carrying a small knife?”

“Finally, someone who understands how tough life is for us low-level martial artists?”

“Fifth Prince…”

“Why turn off the tipping function? How am I supposed to show my excitement?!”

“I thought he was just a playful child—didn’t expect him to take it this far!”

“Nonsense, he’s just putting on a show!”

“Even those righteous types have never done this for us!”

“Impressive!”

Elsewhere,

Su Ye was poring over the backend data, shouting hoarsely, “Everything’s going smoothly so far! Attention! The first big moment is coming up—make sure it’s perfect! Hold off on the comments for now!!!”