Chapter 1203: The Plot Exposed
Yun Che’s gaze shifted to a corner, where Jun Wuming and his disciple Jun Xilei were walking far away. Jun Xilei’s eyes did not even glance his way even once.
“Let’s go.” Mu Bingyun said.
Yun Che, however, shook his head. He stood up and said to Huo Poyun, “Brother Poyun, there is something I wish to discuss with you alone.”
Huo Poyun was startled. He did not speak, only nodded slightly.
Yun Che and Huo Poyun flew away. As soon as they left the vicinity of the Feng Shen Platform, Yun Che spoke directly, “Brother Poyun, you have always been regarded as the future of the Yan Shen Realm, especially by your fellow disciples of the Golden Crow Sect, who have always held extremely high expectations and praise for you. But after yesterday’s battle, the glory that should have been yours has entirely shifted onto me. The fervor they feel because of me far surpasses what they feel for you… that must be very hard for you to accept, right?”
Huo Poyun’s body clearly stiffened. Faced with Yun Che’s incredibly blunt words, he was momentarily speechless.
Yun Che turned to face him and said with utmost seriousness, “Yesterday, I originally thought that defeating Lu Lengchuan with the Golden Crow Flame would restore your confidence in it. But I severely overlooked the fact that it caused you more harm than comfort… Even though it was unintentional, the result is that I owe you an apology.”
“No, no, no!” Huo Poyun quickly waved his hands. He tried to force a smile but couldn’t. His expression dimmed, “You didn’t do anything wrong. In fact, it was you who made the Golden Crow Flame shine for the first time. It’s… it’s me. Not only am I such a disappointment, but I also harbored feelings of envy toward you, Brother Yun, that I shouldn’t have.”
With that, Huo Poyun lowered his head.
“Envy?” Yun Che offered a faint, ambiguous smile, “Brother Poyun, do you really think my Golden Crow Flame is stronger than yours?”
“Of course,” Huo Poyun murmured, “Your Golden Crow Flame could even defeat Lu Lengchuan. It surpasses mine by far more than a little.”
“No,” Yun Che shook his head slightly, “If we were talking about other aspects, I might be somewhat confident. But… when it comes to the Golden Crow Flame, I am absolutely far inferior to you.”
Yun Che’s tone was so determined it made Huo Poyun freeze in surprise.
“Brother Poyun, your Golden Crow bloodline and Golden Crow soul were fully inherited from the Golden Crow Soul Spirit of your Golden Crow Sect at the cost of that soul spirit’s existence, correct?” Yun Che suddenly said.
Huo Poyun jerked his head up, staring at Yun Che in disbelief.
Yun Che smiled, “No need to be surprised. Brother Poyun, you must be very puzzled as to why I possess Golden Crow divine blood and a Golden Crow divine soul. I can tell you frankly that in the world where I was born, though it was only a small planet, it also preserved a Golden Crow inheritance.”
“…As I thought.” Huo Poyun murmured blankly.
“Golden Crow Soul Spirits are fragments of the divine beast Golden Crow’s soul, and they can share consciousness. Therefore, before I arrived in the divine realm, I already knew that there was another Golden Crow Soul Spirit here. In other words, at least before that time, the Golden Crow Soul Spirit of your Yan Shen Realm had not yet dissipated. But after I arrived in the divine realm, the Yan Shen Realm no longer had a Golden Crow Soul Spirit, yet there was someone like you with exceptionally dense Golden Crow bloodline and an abnormally strong mastery of the Golden Crow Flame. So, when we first met in the Yin Xue Realm back then, I guessed as much.”
There was, of course, another reason: the precedent of Feng Xue’er by his side.
“You…” Huo Poyun was stunned, unable to speak for a moment.
“The Golden Crow bloodline and Golden Crow divine soul I possess come from the Golden Crow Soul Spirit of my world. I think the Golden Crow Soul Spirit of your Yan Shen Realm must have mentioned the existence of another soul spirit to you. The inheritance I received was a wisp of soul and a total of nine drops of Golden Crow source blood.”
“Nine… drops?” Huo Poyun repeated softly, his eyes filled with disbelief.
Nine drops of Golden Crow blood—source blood at that—was a divine gift that other Golden Crow disciples wouldn’t even dare dream of. But the terrifying power of the Golden Crow Flame that Yun Che burned… how could it come from just nine drops of Golden Crow divine blood?
“Yes, only nine drops. Both the divine blood and the divine soul are far weaker than yours.” Yun Che looked Huo Poyun in the eye, “The reason the Golden Crow Flame I burn appears so powerful is because I have a special profound art that allows me to better control the Golden Crow Flame, maximizing its might. In other words, at my current level of power, that is already the limit of Golden Crow Flame force under nine drops of Golden Crow divine blood. There is no way to make it stronger.”
“As for you, though your mastery of the Golden Crow Flame far exceeds others, you are still very young. You have yet to tap into the true divine might of the Golden Crow Flame. That is to say, the Golden Crow Flame I burn has reached its limit, while you, with the strongest Golden Crow bloodline and the strongest Golden Crow divine soul, still have immense potential that no one can imagine. By the time you reach that level, at the same power level, my Golden Crow Flame will absolutely not be able to match yours… it might not even be worthy of comparison.”
Huo Poyun: “…”
“So, there is absolutely no need for you to dwell on this. As for envy, it’s even more unnecessary. If anything, I should be the one envious of you. If I had such a powerful bloodline, I wouldn’t have had to struggle so hard with Lu Lengchuan. I could have burned him to ashes easily.”
Yun Che’s words brought a hint of color and light back to Huo Poyun’s previously dim eyes. He let out a long breath and finally managed a smile, “Brother Yun, thank you for comforting me again.”
“This isn’t comforting.” Yun Che said with a smile, “It’s just a fact you subconsciously overlooked. But even though my Golden Crow Flame will inevitably be far inferior to yours in the future, that doesn’t mean my overall strength will be weaker. Brother Poyun, how about we make a pact?”
“…What pact?”
“After the Feng Shen Battle, you will be sent to the Zhou Tian God Realm to cultivate for ‘three thousand years.’ So, after you emerge from the Zhou Tian Divine Realm, let’s have a proper duel, how about it?”
Three thousand years—for young people like them, it was a considerably long time that could bring about too many unpredictable changes. It could not only alter one’s strength but also one’s understanding, state of mind, pursuits… even temperament.
His words made Huo Poyun’s eyes light up. The inner silence that had persisted for days seemed to ignite with a blazing flame. Looking at Yun Che, he nodded heavily, “Brother Yun, thank you for waking me up. I am the inheritor of the Golden Crow soul spirit. I am just too immature now. In the future, my Golden Crow Flame will never be weaker than anyone else’s.”
“Brother Yun, I am far inferior to you now, but… in three years, I will definitely… definitely make you, my master, and the entire Dong Shen Domain look at me with new eyes!”
“Good!” Yun Che nodded solemnly, “I look forward to that day! And I will also do my utmost to make sure you don’t surpass me! So, in these ‘three thousand years,’ you’d better not slack off for a single day!”
Huo Poyun extended his hand and clasped Yun Che’s firmly. A smile like clouds parting to reveal the sun appeared on his face. Then he turned around and flew far away.
“Whew.” Watching Huo Poyun’s back, Yun Che let out a soft breath and muttered to himself, “Brother Poyun, keep it up.”
Huo Poyun did not notice that when Yun Che mentioned the three thousand years in the Zhou Tian Divine Realm, he said “you,” not “us.”
In the divine realm, Huo Poyun was the only person Yun Che truly considered a friend. This was not only because of his temperament but also another important reason: he was the last inheritor of the Golden Crow Soul Spirit.
Back in the Huan Yao Realm, he had not only received the divine blood and divine soul of the Golden Crow Soul Spirit but also many of its guidance. When he was on the brink of death from Yu Luo’s poison, the Golden Crow Soul Spirit guided Feng Xue’er to save his life with Nirvana Flame. When the Demon Source Pearl in his body erupted repeatedly, the Golden Crow Soul Spirit forcibly extended his life time and again at the cost of diminishing its own existence.
In the end, the Golden Crow Soul Spirit bestowed its final power upon Xiao Yaohou and then vanished into nothing.
All those debts of gratitude, Yun Che had no chance to repay.
Therefore, toward Huo Poyun, he not only felt closeness but also a very special emotion. Subconsciously, he always wanted to repay his gratitude to the Golden Crow Soul Spirit through Huo Poyun.
Over the past two days, Huo Poyun’s spirit had been repeatedly frustrated, yet Huo Rulie didn’t seem very concerned. Instead, it was Yun Che who racked his brains to help him resolve it.
Compared to Huo Poyun’s matter, what he had to face next was a truly big problem.
Three days later… Jun Xilei!
Lu Lengchuan’s words undoubtedly told him that there was an absolutely insurmountable gap between him and Jun Xilei.
And the only thing he could rely on now were the seven Time Wheel Pearls. But could just seven months really close this enormous gap?
Returning to the courtyard, Mu Bingyun was waiting for him quietly. Her first words were, “Jun Xilei—how do you plan to deal with her?”
“I don’t know.” Yun Che shook his head, “I currently have seven Time Wheel Pearls. If I can make a huge breakthrough within these ‘seven months,’ I might have a slight chance of putting up a fight… maybe.”
A middle-level realm’s representative becoming one of the Four Divine Sons—the entire Dong Shen Domain was in an uproar. But Mu Bingyun saw no joy or excitement on Yun Che’s face, only deep gravity. She sighed softly, “Yun Che, it seems that even at this height, it’s still not enough for you. Is it necessary to win against Jun Xilei?”
“I must win.” Yun Che said resolutely.
With three days remaining, Yun Che did not immediately activate the Time Wheel barrier for cultivation. Instead, he sat by the pond again, closed his eyes, and concentrated deeply. Seven months—seemingly a nice period—but he knew very well that the gap between him and Jun Xilei could not be bridged in just seven months.
He had to think of other methods… Were there any ways to greatly enhance his strength in a short time, or to massively increase the power of the Heaven-Defying Sword?
As he pondered, time passed quickly. Unknowingly, the sky began to darken.
Just as night was about to fully descend, Yun Che suddenly looked up. A momentary flicker of firelight passed through his pupils. At that moment, a furious shout came from outside:
“Yun Che, get the hell out here!!”
Before the shout faded, a blue sword light stabbed down from the sky, blasting the courtyard’s main gate to pieces.
This immediately alarmed everyone from the Yin Xue Realm. Mu Bingyun, Mu Huanzhi, and the others appeared instantly. But when they saw the woman walking in with a sword, they were all taken aback.
The woman was dressed in blue, with an immortal-like grace. The sword in her hand shimmered with flowing, iridescent light.
It was none other than Shui Yingyue.
As the eldest daughter of the Liuguang Realm King and one of the Four Divine Sons of the Eastern Domain, Shui Yingyue had long been famous throughout the Dong Shen Domain. But the Shui Yingyue people knew was as her name suggested—gentle and calm like water, noble and elegant like the moon, almost never showing any obvious emotional fluctuation… But now, Shui Yingyue’s gaze was icy cold, her snowy face filled with anger, and the Yaoxi Sword in her hand was not only drawn but also carried a hidden murderous intent.
Yun Che “jumped” to his feet, his scalp tingling… Oh no, the plot is exposed. This is really going to hit the fan!