Chapter 152: Golden Scale Dragon Transformation Pill
"No need to fight anymore." Qin Wuyou walked over: "Although you have shown mercy, Murong Yi is still heavily injured and no longer has combat capability. This match... Yun Che, you have achieved a great victory."
He saw clearly that if Yun Che's third sword had not held back, with the immense power of the heavy sword, it would have been enough to smash Murong Yi, whose protective profound energy had largely dissipated, into a pulp.
Yun Che put away the Overlord Giant Sword, stopped speaking, and stood with a smile.
The entire high platform had disappeared, reduced to a pile of ruined rubble. The surrounding watching disciples all had faces filled with deep shock and disbelief. Qin Wuyou announced the result, but the expected cheers did not rise; instead, there was only dead silence.
A True Profound Realm Level 2 against True Profound Realm Level 9. The disparity in profound strength was extremely vast. In everyone's eyes, the outcome of this battle was beyond doubt. They had come today merely to see the style of the inner palace disciples and witness the miserable defeat of an arrogant fool. They had mocked Yun Che's overestimation of his abilities, laughed at his stupidity and idiocy, and even treated him as a joke over the past three months, enjoying a sense of intellectual and moral superiority by belittling him...
Today, the astonishing truth before them told them that they had no right whatsoever to mock Yun Che. This person they had ridiculed for months had already stood at a height they could never reach, looking down on them. Recalling the months of sarcastic remarks they had made about Yun Che, many outer palace disciples blushed deeply, and some who had shouted insults in the arena wished they could find a hole to crawl into.
Everyone stared blankly at Yun Che. Their gazes no longer held the contempt they had before the battle, replaced by deep shock and admiration, which then turned into fervent adoration. Defeating an opponent seven levels higher, shaking the entire arena with a single swing of his heavy sword—at this moment, Yun Che seemed almost mythical in their eyes. Especially those three earth-shattering sword strikes left an indelible impression of shock on everyone.
"Too... too amazing! I used to mock him... turns out I was the most ridiculous one."
"True Profound Realm Level 9 isn't that impressive; I'll reach it someday too... but defeating an opponent seven levels higher—that's true strength! I probably won't be able to do it in my lifetime. This Yun junior is too... too terrifying."
"This heavy sword is simply too cool. This is a real man's weapon... Which bastard told me heavy swords were garbage before? No! I'm going to retrain in weapons! I'm going to immediately apply to the Human Weapon Pavilion to reselect a weapon!" An outer palace disciple shouted excitedly, then immediately ran off in the direction of the Human Weapon Pavilion.
As soon as this voice sounded, countless others echoed it. Large numbers of outer and middle palace disciples scrambled towards the Human Weapon and Earth Weapon Pavilions, afraid that the heavy sword type weapons would be snatched up. Yun Che's three moves had given them too much shock and made their blood boil with excitement.
The final result was that the few heavy sword-type weapons in the Human and Earth Weapon Pavilions were completely looted in less than half a day.
Qin Wushang slowly stood up. His gaze fixed on Yun Che in the arena, deep excitement showing on his face. He muttered in a voice only he could hear: "Truly worthy of being the one chosen by Princess Cang Yue... mastering the Overlord Giant Sword at True Profound Realm Level 2, effortlessly defeating True Profound Realm Level 9, imposing yet restrained, seemingly flamboyant but truly hiding his edge... such a genius is rarely seen in a lifetime!"
He was also quite sure that this was not Yun Che's full strength. After all, Yun Che had only swung the heavy sword three times. But those three sword strikes displayed a divine might and dominance that a light sword could not match even with ten thousand swings.
Then, Qin Wushang's clear voice rang out, carrying a strange penetrating power across the entire central square: "This is truly a shocking and wonderful battle. Yun Che, you have defeated inner palace disciple Murong Yi with True Profound Realm Level 2 profound strength, and have mastered the Overlord Giant Sword which no one in the Cangfeng Mystic Palace has been able to control for hundreds of years. This is truly astonishing! Based on what we have seen today, it would not be an exaggeration to call you the number one genius of our Cangfeng Mystic Palace in the past three hundred years. Moreover, you are still young, and your future achievements will surely be boundless."
When Qin Wushang finished speaking, the noise in the square immediately ceased. Every word he spoke was firm and serious, and no one thought it an exaggeration: "From today, you officially become an inner palace disciple and replace Murong Yi's position on the inner palace Heavenly Profound List, ranking seventy-third. In recognition of your performance today, you are specially permitted to enter the inner palace Supreme Profound Hall at any time, with no restrictions on the selection of profound skills and techniques or their frequency. Additionally, you will be rewarded with one Golden Scale Dragon Transformation Pill."
Hiss—
As soon as Qin Wushang finished speaking, the entire venue erupted in uproar.
Unrestricted access to the Supreme Profound Hall, with unlimited freedom to choose any profound skills and techniques—this treatment had never been seen before in the Cangfeng Mystic Palace. This reward alone was immensely generous. But what truly made everyone exclaim was the "Golden Scale Dragon Transformation Pill" he mentioned. This pill was a well-known, highly coveted advanced pill throughout Cangfeng Imperial City. As a direct affiliate of the imperial family and the largest mystic palace in the Cangfeng Empire, the Cangfeng Mystic Palace's strength was beyond doubt. However, even so, they obtained at most one Golden Scale Dragon Transformation Pill every two years. It was said that refining the pill required nearly a hundred types of medicinal herbs and over a dozen precious crystals, with extremely demanding conditions. Its effects were equally astounding: after taking it, a profound practitioner below the Spirit Profound Realm could have their profound strength... increase by one level overnight.
In the past, the Cangfeng Mystic Palace only gave the Golden Scale Dragon Transformation Pill to its seeded contestants just before the Cangfeng Ranking Battle, allowing them to make a great leap before the competition. This was the first time it was awarded to a disciple as a reward.
But despite such a reward, while all disciples were extremely envious, no one thought it excessive. Yun Che's performance today more than merited such an award.
As for the fallen Murong Yi, who had initially been the main focus, he was now forgotten. All eyes were on Yun Che, hardly anyone looking at him.
Murong Ye rushed over, helped Murong Yi up, and gritted his teeth, ready to leave. After taking two steps, Yun Che's voice sounded from behind.
"Are you just leaving like that?"
Murong Ye trembled all over, turning around with difficulty: "Yun Che, don't go too far... My cousin is the only son of the Northern Pacifying General. You have thoroughly offended my cousin today. You... you'll regret this."
Murong Ye was outwardly fierce but inwardly weak. He spoke harsh words, but his body was shaking, and his heart was pounding. Although he didn't want to admit it, the truth was that he, who considered himself a genius, now had a gap with Yun Che as wide as heaven and earth. Before Yun Che, not only did he have no right to act arrogant, he almost wasn't even qualified to lick his shoes.
"Senior Brother Murong, no need to be so nervous. I only wanted to remind Murong Yi of one thing." Yun Che said with a faint smile: "Back when we issued the challenge, we publicly stated that if I lost, I would be at your disposal. But if you lost, you would have to agree to three conditions, and absolutely could not refuse... Murong Yi, you haven't forgotten, have you? It's fine if you forgot; everyone present at that time can help you remember. Palace Master Qin was also an on-site witness."
"You..." The heavily injured Murong Yi's face turned purple, his lips trembling. Then he rolled his eyes and fainted from anger and frustration.
A white shadow flickered in front of Yun Che. Feng Baiyi stood before him, separating him from Murong Ye. The challenge ending like this also left Feng Baiyi with an extremely grim expression. But a cold smile hung on his lips: "Boy Yun Che, not bad... Too bad, an arrogant wild boy with no background dares to be so reckless. You'll suffer a great loss."
Yun Che responded with a cold smile: "Countless people have tried to make me suffer great losses. But in the end, either they were crippled or they died. I'm quite looking forward to seeing who will be the next to try."
Feng Baiyi's eyes narrowed sharply. A hint of coldness flashed between his brows. He turned around, leading Murong Ye and the unconscious Murong Yi away.
"Brother-in-law! Brother-in-law!!"
Xia Yuanba struggled through the heavy crowd, finally squeezing his way in. Rushing to Yun Che, his face flushed, he shouted excitedly: "I knew you would win! Wow ah ah... Brother-in-law! You've become so powerful now! I admire you so much... ah, anyway, I just admire you so much! If my sister knew that you are not only no longer a crippled profound meridian, but have become so strong, she would be very surprised too."
"Hehe." Yun Che smiled complacently. Hearing Xia Yuanba's words, his mind uncontrollably flashed with Xia Qingyue's immortal shadow... Since their separation at the Xiao Sect, a year had passed. During this year, he often thought of her. Not to mention other things, they had bowed to heaven and earth and entered the bridal chamber. Sixteen years of engagement, she was his lawfully wedded wife. Such an identity made it impossible for him to truly forget Xia Qingyue.
He glanced to the side and saw among the crowd the four who had bullied Xia Yuanba before. As soon as they met Yun Che's gaze, they shrank back and then put on fawning smiles... They had originally come to see Yun Che embarrass himself to vent their anger, but they never imagined that even an inner palace disciple on the Heavenly Profound List had been beaten like a dog by him. Now, even a hundred times the courage wouldn't make them dare to bully Xia Yuanba even a finger; instead, they would desperately try to curry favor.
Including some disciples present who knew Xia Yuanba and had mocked him before because of his low profound strength, they now saw his connection with Yun Che and instantly regretted it deeply. Sweating coldly, they secretly planned how to apologize to Xia Yuanba and build a good relationship with him in the future...
"Brother Yun, you are truly impressive and powerful!" A handsome young man squeezed over, shouting excitedly.
"Yun Xiaofan?" Recognizing the young man he had met during the entrance test, Yun Che smiled: "You successfully stayed in the mystic palace."
"Mm hmm." Yun Xiaofan nodded: "Thanks to Brother Yun's help back then, I had the chance to retake the exam with Mentor Qin and passed. Otherwise, not only would I not have been able to stay here, but I would have gone back covered in injuries... Brother Yun, you are not only my great benefactor, but also my idol. In these five years at the mystic palace, I will aim for you as my highest goal!"
"Haha! Keep it up! The outer palace is just your temporary home; your goal is the inner palace."
"I will definitely work hard!" Yun Xiaofan clenched his fist, saying resolutely.
On the periphery, watching Yun Che as the center of attention, Lan Xueruo's always anxious heart completely relaxed. A relieved smile appeared on her face. She couldn't see how gentle and beautiful her smile was at that moment. Her heart was filled with a deep sense of pride she hadn't even realized.
Having spent so much time with Yun Che, she knew he was not a man to make empty boasts or overestimate himself. He had astonishing cross-level combat ability. So regarding his challenge with Murong Yi, she hadn't been pessimistic... But she never imagined that Yun Che had become this strong—not only defeating Murong Yi, but crushing him.
But after the joy passed, deep worry began to spread in her heart.
She knew better than anyone what might happen after this match.
The Cangfeng Mystic Palace was directly under the imperial family, cultivating young talents for the Cangfeng imperial clan, nurturing future pillars and cornerstones. In a sense, it was also the face of the imperial family. Once a disciple entered the inner palace, their name would become widely known throughout the imperial city, because those who entered the inner palace would undoubtedly achieve great success, without exception.
And one who could completely defeat a True Profound Realm Level 9 at True Profound Realm Level 2, and was only just seventeen years old... what an unprecedented genius! At least in the past few hundred years, the Cangfeng Mystic Palace had never seen such an extraordinary talent. At only seventeen, what could his future achievements be? Simply unimaginable.
Beyond doubt, the name Yun Che would spread throughout the city within a few days, even causing a sensation. This would bring him great attention and praise, but at the same time, it would also plunge him into various whirlpools of public opinion.
But these were not Lan Xueruo's greatest concern.
What worried her were her two older brothers... Crown Prince Cang Lin and Third Prince Cang Shuo.
She believed they would certainly attempt to recruit Yun Che, and it would be a more intense recruitment than for any other inner palace disciple... even the top ten of the Heavenly Profound List!