Chapter 72: A Battle Shocks the City (9)
"Haha, good! Actually, to be honest, I suddenly kind of hope I lose to Brother Yun. But even so, I definitely won't hold back!"
Tie Hengjun laughed loudly, then his gaze turned cold again. He swept his silver spear horizontally and let out a great shout: "Take this strike... Rising Sun Ascending Dragon!!"
A massive aura coalesced around the spear shaft. As the Cloud-Piercing Spear swung, the people in the hall could faintly hear the sound of a dragon's roar. Expressions of awe appeared on their faces. At that moment, the Cloud-Piercing Spear swept toward Yun Che... This move could be used to thrust or sweep—thrusting could pierce anything, sweeping could mow down thousands. Tie Hengjun chose to sweep because he understood the spear's power all too well. If he thrust, he feared Yun Che might be unable to dodge in time under the pressure and suffer serious injury. A sweep was more likely to hit Yun Che and wouldn't cause irreversible damage.
The silver spear descended with a shocking momentum, like an avalanche or a tidal wave, winds surging and clouds stirring. This strike was definitely more astonishing than any of Tie Hengjun's previous ones.
But what surprised Tie Hengjun and stunned everyone was that, faced with such a fearsome and overwhelming attack, Yun Che did not choose to evade with his strange and profound movement technique. Instead, he stood his ground, raised his right arm horizontally, and met the sweeping Cloud-Piercing Spear head-on.
"Holy shit! Is he crazy?!" Many disciples in the hall shouted out loud.
"Dodge!" The four elders of New Moon Mystic Palace all yelled out. As experts far surpassing these juniors, they could clearly see how terrifying the momentum behind Tie Hengjun's spear was.
Yun Che, however, paid them no heed. Instead, he accelerated his arm and slammed it fiercely into the Cloud-Piercing Spear, which carried immense force.
Clang!!
A piercing metallic clang echoed through the hall.
When Yun Che's arm collided with the Cloud-Piercing Spear, Tie Hengjun initially thought the strike would send him flying dozens of meters. But in that instant, his pupils contracted to the size of a needle point, because he felt as if his spear had struck an indestructible, incredibly thick steel plate. A massive recoil force surged toward him...
Tie Hengjun's chest tightened. He flipped backward and, after landing, staggered back five or six steps before steadying himself. Both arms holding the spear were numb. If his mastery over the spear hadn't been ingrained in his bones, the sudden recoil would have made the silver spear fly out of his hands.
Looking at Yun Che, he had only retreated two or three steps before firmly planting himself. He shook his slightly numb right arm and gave a faint smile.
"What...what!!" Tie Hengjun's father, Tie Zhancang, the sect master of the Iron Spear Sect, shot to his feet. This man, one of the seven sect masters who dominated New Moon City, was so shocked by this scene that he lost his composure on the spot! As the Iron Spear Sect Master, he knew better than anyone how terrifying Tie Hengjun's "Rising Sun Ascending Dragon" was. Even an opponent with profound strength three levels higher than Tie Hengjun might not be able to take it head-on.
And yet Yun Che, who was only at the Xuan Entry Realm, Level 1, actually... actually!!!
If Tie Zhancang was like this, the others were even more so. The disciples of the Iron Spear Sect were already so shocked their jaws nearly hit the floor. The four elders of New Moon Mystic Palace had eyes bulging almost out of their sockets. In this short time, Yun Che had shocked them again and again, and this time, it nearly made them lose their composure and scream out loud.
After enduring that spear strike, Yun Che's gaze became even calmer, because he knew he had already won this battle. "Evil Soul" was only the weakest first stage of the Evil God Art, but its terrifying power still far exceeded his expectations. He looked at the stunned Tie Hengjun and said with a smile, "Brother Tie, this time it's my turn to attack!"
Yun Che stepped forward, and his body moved like a swimming dragon, closing in on Tie Hengjun in an instant. Tie Hengjun's mental fortitude was indeed not comparable to that of ordinary youths his age. He immediately snapped out of his shock, and the Cloud-Piercing Spear swept up like lightning, slashing toward Yun Che, who was now right in front of him.
Clang!
The Cloud-Piercing Spear clashed with Yun Che's right fist, producing another earsplitting metallic ring. Tie Hengjun's body leaned back, his arm numb, and he nearly lost his grip on the spear. Shock surged through his heart... A profound force at the Xuan Entry Realm, Level 4, combined with the momentum of his spear, was blocked so easily by a fist! How could this be the power of someone at the Xuan Entry Realm, Level 1!
Amidst his shock, Tie Hengjun took a deep breath, unleashing all his profound force without reservation. He pushed his spearmanship to its limits, and the Cloud-Piercing Spear swept out a dense curtain of spear shadows, enveloping Yun Che's entire body.
Clang!
Clang!
Clang!
Clang...
Clang!
The Cloud-Piercing Spear collided with Yun Che's fists more than ten times in rapid succession, producing a dense metallic hum. On the final collision, Yun Che's gaze sharpened. Both fists shot out simultaneously and struck the Cloud-Piercing Spear squarely.
Clang!!!!
"Ugh!"
Tie Hengjun groaned, as if struck by an irresistible storm. He staggered backward, retreating more than ten steps before stopping. Both hands gripping the spear trembled violently.
Yun Che lowered his hands, glanced at him calmly, but did not press the attack.
Tie Hengjun let out a long breath, withdrew the Cloud-Piercing Spear into his space ring, stood up straight, and gave Yun Che a grateful smile. "Brother Yun, I lost. I am completely convinced."
Others might not know, but Tie Hengjun was perfectly aware that the final collision had far exceeded his limit. It would have sent the Cloud-Piercing Spear flying out of his hands, but just as it was about to leave his grip, that formidable profound force suddenly retracted... The Iron Spear Sect was named for the spear, showing how much they valued it. Before the match, Tie Hengjun had told Yun Che that the Cloud-Piercing Spear was a companion he regarded as his very life—he never let it leave his side. For someone like that, having his weapon knocked away was a great humiliation, almost harder to bear than death.
"If possible, I sincerely wish to be friends with Brother Yun," Tie Hengjun said.
"With those words, we are already friends." Yun Che smiled.
Tie Hengjun was taken aback, then clasped his hands toward Yun Che, gave a sincere smile, and walked down gracefully.
"Father, I have lost. I am fully convinced, and I am also very happy about it." Tie Hengjun walked to his father Tie Zhancang's side and said calmly.
"This was truly a splendid sparring match," Tie Zhancang praised sincerely. "Your progress surprises and gratifies me. You lost, but it's not because you are weak—on the contrary, your improvement has exceeded my expectations. It is because this boy named Yun Che..." He cast a deep glance at Yun Che. "This child will surely become a true dragon among men in the future. But this time, he has offended almost all the major sects of New Moon City at once. You know what he might face next. Even so, do you still want to be friends with him?"
Without a moment's hesitation, Tie Hengjun nodded directly.
"Good! That's what a real man does! That's my son!" Tie Zhancang laughed heartily.
The hall was buzzing with noise.
"He actually defeated Tie Hengjun! My god! Am I still dreaming?"
"He's really only at the Xuan Entry Realm, Level 1? Hiss... How is that possible! This is terrifying... terrifying!"
Tie Hengjun was an undisputed genius... and this Yun Che was simply a monster!
The sect masters and elders of the seven sects couldn't help but focus their attention on Yun Che. This New Moon Mystic Palace, which they had always looked down on, had produced such a figure—someone who at Xuan Entry Realm Level 1 defeated Xuan Yu of Xuanxin Sect, Yan Ming of Yunyang Sect, Feng Guangyi of Fengyun Mystic Palace, and Tie Hengjun, the young master of the Iron Spear Sect... If they hadn't witnessed it in person, there was no way they would believe it!
Their initial plan to intimidate the new palace master, as they had done in the past, had been completely thrown into chaos by Yun Che alone. Instead, it had become his personal showcase, turning the tables and making New Moon Mystic Palace stand proud before them, while slapping them in the face multiple times.
"Brother-in-law... is this really my brother-in-law?" Xia Yuanba stared wide-eyed at the imposing figure in the center of the hall, who attracted everyone's gaze. He couldn't connect this person to the crippled, ridiculed, and protected Yun Che he used to know.
The male disciples of New Moon Mystic Palace clenched their fists, their eyes blazing, their spirits high—they couldn't find words to express their feelings. The female disciples' eyes were full of little stars as they looked at Yun Che. Ye Honglin, who had spoken to him earlier, felt her face flush as she recalled saying, "Senior sister will look out for you." How ridiculously arrogant that had been!
Of course, there were those who felt envy, jealousy, and hatred—for example, Murong Ye.
As the disciples around him secretly cheered for Yun Che, he kept sneering, his heart bitter. Because Yun Che had stolen the spotlight and, at this occasion, made all the disciples of New Moon Mystic Palace feel a surge of pride. It was obvious how popular Yun Che would become in the palace from now on... perhaps even far surpassing him, who had always been the most prominent.
When he looked at Lan Xueruo and saw her staring intently at Yun Che, her beautiful eyes shimmering with a radiance she had never shown him, jealousy exploded in his heart, and he gritted his teeth... Just a Xuan Entry Realm Level 1 wild boy from a remote town! Go ahead and enjoy your moment of glory today. After today, I'll show you who the real boss of New Moon Mystic Palace is!
"Including Brother Tie, that makes four... Who's next?"
Yun Che stood in the center of the hall, looking at the seven sects, issuing another challenge.
Defeating Feng Guangyi had already scared off the sixteen-year-old group to the point where no one dared to respond. Now that he had also defeated Tie Hengjun, the sixteen-year-old group naturally had no one willing to answer. Nearly half a minute passed, and still no one from the seven sects responded. Then a voice full of disdain rang out: "In the sixteen-year-old group, the disciples we brought are lacking in both quantity and quality. Fine, we concede in the sixteen-year-old group. But dare you let your seventeen- and eighteen-year-old disciples come up and spar with us?"
These words immediately drew responses from the seven sects. But Yun Che sneered coldly: "You want to challenge the disciples of New Moon Mystic Palace who are older than sixteen? Sure, but at least you should first defeat me, a sixteen-year-old, right? Otherwise, you don't have the qualifications to challenge my senior brothers and senior sisters... Hah, this speaking friend, you look to be about eighteen or nineteen, right? How about you come and challenge me, a sixteen-year-old disciple of New Moon Mystic Palace? If you can beat me, then you can challenge any of my senior brothers or sisters you like. But if you can't even defeat a sixteen-year-old like me, heh..."
Everyone looked at the person who had spoken. When he lifted his head, all gazes froze. The New Moon Mystic Palace disciples who had been about to cheer suddenly fell silent. Even the elders of New Moon Mystic Palace showed looks of shock.
This person... this person was...
This man, about eighteen or nineteen years old, had a somewhat pale face. He cast a dull, indifferent glance at Yun Che and gave a supremely disdainful smile, as if he had heard some lowly, boring joke. "You mean... you want to challenge me?"
[Oh my god, finally caught up on the backlog of updates. So tired, so tired~~~~(_