Chapter 1005 - An Extraordinary Huo Poyun
Yun Che's brows slowly tightened as his gaze fixed unblinkingly on Huo Poyun.
This feeling...
Bloodline suppression!?
Yun Che possessed a full nine drops of Golden Crow divine blood, and moreover, it was source blood personally bestowed by the Golden Crow soul spirit itself. In addition, he also had a trace of the Golden Crow divine soul.
But when Huo Poyun had just unleashed Yellow Springs Ashes, Yun Che clearly felt a sense of bloodline suppression... and it was quite pronounced.
The only explanation for this situation was that Huo Poyun's Golden Crow bloodline could not possibly come solely from inheritance; it must contain source blood! And it was even denser than his!
It was even highly likely that he also possessed a Golden Crow divine soul!
Yun Che's Phoenix and Golden Crow bloodlines both came from source blood, not inheritance. Before today, the only one who could suppress him in terms of bloodline was Feng Xue'er.
And Feng Xue'er's Phoenix bloodline came from a complete bestowal by the Phoenix soul spirit.
But unlike the Lan Ji Star, within the Divine Realm over the past million years, most divine inheritances had long been thoroughly excavated. The soul fragments left behind by the ancient gods before their extinction should have been found hundreds of thousands of years ago. It was impossible for them to remain preserved until now, as they did on the Lan Ji Star.
But Huo Poyun...
Could it be...
Mu Hanyi panted heavily over a dozen times before his complexion finally improved slightly. Then, with a faint smile, he stepped back with his right foot and said, "Brother Poyun, make your move!"
Among the three great divine flames, the Golden Crow Flame possessed the most formidable incinerating power, naturally far surpassing the Ice Phoenix force. However, when it came to defensive capability, fire was incomparably inferior to ice.
Huo Poyun said nothing. A flash of flame light flickered in his eyes as he lightly flicked his finger. A fireball the size of a fist shot out like lightning, rapidly expanding until, by the time it reached Mu Hanyi, the flames stood several people tall.
Mu Hanyi frowned and slapped out with his palm. A blue light flashed, and the fireball was sent flying far away, dissipating and vanishing in midair.
"Consider this as returning your earlier 'greeting.'"
Huo Poyun's cold remark laid bare the proud nature ingrained in his bones.
"You're welcome." Mu Hanyi responded stiffly.
Meanwhile, Huo Poyun slowly raised his right hand, his arm bursting into blazing flames. The mass of Golden Crow Flame expanded at an astonishing speed, shooting up to a hundred zhang in the blink of an eye. Then, it abruptly began to contract rapidly. As it shrank, the color of the flames shifted from a reddish gold to an increasingly deep, pure gold.
With the change in flame color, the aura of incineration surged severalfold.
Finally, the towering Golden Crow Flame condensed in Huo Poyun's hand into an extremely slender beam of golden light.
It was like a hundred-zhang-long golden flame sword!
"Golden Annihilation," Yun Che murmured softly. "Looks like Mu Hanyi is about to fall directly."
As the strongest power of destruction, the Golden Crow Flame could not only incinerate on a large scale but also compress its power to the extreme for concentrated killing. Back when Yun Che was at the King Xuan realm, he had used Golden Annihilation to severely wound Huai Wang, who was at the Sovereign Xuan realm. Later, when Xuanyuan Wentian invaded the Huan Yao Realm, and faced against an opponent whom even Feng Xue'er and Xiao Yaohou together could not defeat, Yun Che had also inflicted not-insignificant wounds on him with Golden Annihilation.
Thus, Yun Che understood perfectly that between peers, Golden Annihilation was almost impossible to withstand head-on. Since the incineration range of Golden Annihilation was very small, and it required some time to compress the flame force, it was relatively easy to dodge... But under the current rules, Mu Hanyi could only endure it; he was not allowed to evade.
In the previous exchange, all three of Mu Hanyi's attacks were blocked by Huo Poyun, proving that his overall strength was far inferior to Huo Poyun's. To try and withstand this Golden Crow Flame head-on...
Yun Che could directly assert... it was utterly impossible!
At that moment, Huo Poyun let out a low shout. The golden flame sword descended through the air, carving a huge golden arc as it slashed straight down toward Mu Hanyi's head.
"Damn it!" Mu Hanyi's master, Mu Yunzhi, cried out involuntarily.
Mu Hanyi had never fought anyone from the Yan Shen Realm before and had never seen this technique of turning flames into a sword. But the terrifying aura bearing down from above made every hair on his body stand on end in an instant. This dreadful sensation caused his entire body to tense up. He no longer dared to hold anything back. He released his profound force wildly, instantly forming ten thick layers of ice in front of him.
In the next instant, another dozen or so ice layers formed.
And at that moment, the golden flame sword had already struck the first layer of ice.
WUUN——
Ice and flame collided. The first ice layer instantly split apart, not with a sound of shattering, but with a dull thud of being directly severed by the flames.
Beneath the severed ice layer, the momentum and aura of the golden flame sword showed almost no sign of weakening. The second layer... the third... the fourth... the fifth...
The ninth... the tenth!
This was the full-force ice defense of Mu Hanyi, the most outstanding disciple of this generation from the Bing Huang God Sect. Yet, under Huo Poyun's flame sword, it was melted through layer by layer like thin paper.
Having instantly severed ten layers of ice, the power of the golden flame sword had only diminished by less than twenty percent. Mu Hanyi's profound force had been pushed to its absolute limit. His pupils dilated as he watched his ultimate ice shields being shattered with devastating ease. The intensely dazzling golden flame light seemed to completely ignore the ice barriers in front of him as it closed in on his eyes in an instant...
BANG!!
The last ice shield in front of Mu Hanyi was also severed. The golden flame sword plunged straight down, effortlessly tearing through the blue light on his body's surface... and then abruptly stopped just above his left shoulder.
WHOOSH!
The snow-white robe on Mu Hanyi's left shoulder was instantly incinerated. The halted flame sword, had it descended even slightly further, would have severed his left arm from his body.
Mu Hanyi did not take the chance to retreat. He stood there stunned, unable to collect his thoughts for a long time.
If he had been facing someone with profound strength far surpassing his own, he could have accepted such a defeat. But his opponent was someone with profound strength equivalent to his own and even younger. For him, an extremely gifted individual who was almost never defeated among his peers, this was an unprecedented and unacceptable crushing blow.
"You have lost." Huo Poyun said indifferently. Then, with a casual flick of his hand, the golden flame sword soared into the sky, scattering into pieces of flame that rained down.
"..." Mu Hanyi finally sat down on the ground, his expression bleak.
"Ah... how could this be... Senior Brother Hanyi actually... actually..." This result was not only a shock to Mu Hanyi; all the Ice Phoenix disciples found it hard to believe and impossible to accept.
The eyes of the Ice Phoenix elders and palace masters were almost all fixed on Huo Poyun. Deep shock flickered in every single pair of pupils.
"Hanyi, withdraw." Mu Xuanyin said coldly.
"..." Mu Hanyi rose, took a long, deep breath, cupped his hands toward Huo Poyun, and said, "I, Mu Hanyi, willingly admit defeat. I spoke out of turn earlier in order to boost morale, and I had no ill intentions whatsoever. I hope you can forgive me."
Huo Poyun was momentarily startled, then nodded and returned a deep bow.
Mu Hanyi turned and took a deep look at Yun Che, shaking his head slightly at him, offering an apologetic and cautionary gaze. Then, with heavy steps, he returned to Mu Yunzhi's side.
Clap! Clap! Clap!
Huo Rulie clapped heavily, then let out his usual earsplitting laughter: "Hahahaha! I've long heard that your sect has produced a disciple named Mu Hanyi in this generation, with astonishing talent and strength. Seeing him today, he truly lives up to his reputation. This exchange was absolutely brilliant and thrilling! Even though my worthless disciple won, it was a narrow victory, and he is somewhat ashamed of it!"
"Then, this new prized disciple of the Yinxue Realm King must surely be even more formidable! Poyun, you must give it your all. At the very least, don't lose too disgracefully, hahahaha!"
Every word from Huo Rulie carried deep smugness and blatant mockery. The entire Bing Huang God Sect was filled with anger, yet they had nothing to say in response.
"Sect Master?" Mu Huanzhi could only turn his gaze to Mu Xuanyin.
"Xiao Che, you go up," Mu Xuanyin said coldly, then added in a low voice: "After all, they are guests from afar. Let's fulfill Sect Master Huo's wish and not make him lose too badly."
This sentence almost made Huo Rulie choke on his laughter. The Ice Sect members looked at each other in bewilderment.
"...Yes." Yun Che answered and walked slowly to stand opposite Huo Poyun, a hundred zhang separating them.
"Since we attacked first earlier, this time, you can make the first move." Yun Che's tone carried a hint of helplessness. Even now, he still couldn't figure out what Mu Xuanyin was trying to accomplish.
Huo Poyun was about to refuse, but Huo Rulie had already laughed and said, "Since it's the Yinxue Realm King's esteemed disciple, there's no need to be modest. Poyun, make sure to experience the strength of this disciple of the Yinxue Realm King. Don't embarrass your master, hahahaha!"
"...Yes." Although it was truly hard to accept taking the initiative to attack someone who was only at the first level of the Divine Origin realm, he couldn't defy his master's orders.
At that moment, a sound transmission from Yan Wancang reached his ears: "Poyun, be careful to control your profound force. If you accidentally injure him severely, given Mu Xuanyin's temperament, she will immediately seize the opportunity to cause trouble. Under these circumstances, this is very likely the outcome she most desires."
"However, do not underestimate him either. To become a personal disciple of the Yinxue Realm King, he must be extraordinary."
Huo Poyun nodded slightly and looked at Yun Che. "Be careful."
With a tap of his foot, Huo Poyun extended a hand and grasped. A mass of reddish-golden flame suddenly condensed in front of Yun Che, radiating dazzling light. As Huo Poyun lightly closed his fingers, the newly formed mass of golden flame exploded in midair, surging toward Yun Che.
"Be careful!" Mu Huanzhi shouted anxiously.
This was a Flame Sun Burst from the third level of the Golden Crow World-Incinerating Record, also the most basic Golden Crow incineration technique. Judging from its power, Huo Poyun had used less than a tenth of his strength. But even so, it was far beyond what Yun Che could withstand.
The hearts of everyone in the Bing Huang God Sect clenched instantly. However, Yun Che didn't move a step. He merely stretched out his hand unhurriedly, meeting the oncoming Golden Crow Flame... A bright blue light flickered on his palm.
WHOOSH!!
The heat wave surged. The Golden Crow Flame, carrying powerful incinerating force, suddenly split apart like a stream of water cut in two as it approached Yun Che, flowing past him on both sides and rushing behind him.
BOOM!!
The flames exploded. A sheet of ice behind Yun Che shot up into the air. He lowered his arm, and the blue light on his body vanished.
Except for his hair being tossed by the heat wave, he was completely unscathed... In fact, not a single strand of hair had even been touched by the Golden Crow Flame.
"First move." Yun Che said calmly.
But Huo Poyun standing opposite him was frozen in shock. Even Huo Rulie, who was waiting to enjoy the show beside him, had his smile stiffen on his face.
Huo Poyun had been extremely afraid of causing Yun Che severe flame injuries, so his first attack used only a very weak amount of force, so weak that Yun Che could directly counter-control it. As for the blue light and ice profound force... that was just a facade, creating the illusion that he had repelled the flames with his ice profound power.
(End of this chapter)