Chapter 162: Three Swords
Mo Li's words truly made Yun Che's heart skip a beat. Qin Wuyou had told him before that although the Cangfeng Mystic Palace was glorious on the outside and the dream destination of countless profound practitioners, those massive sects had always looked down upon the Cangfeng Mystic Palace. Yun Che had somewhat felt that this was an exaggeration. After all, the Cangfeng Mystic Palace was established by the royal family, the largest profound palace in the Cangfeng Empire. Countless people dreamed of entering it but couldn't, and it gathered together countless members of the younger generation of the Cangfeng Empire!
"Hmph! A mere person at the third level of the True Xuan Realm dares to compare with me? Watch me beat you into a pig's head and make Princess Sister never pay you any attention again!"
As he spoke, Ling Jie raised his right hand, and a seven-foot longsword materialized horizontally before him.
The moment the sword was in his hand, Ling Jie's entire aura underwent a heaven-shaking transformation. His childish aura dissipated instantly, replaced by a sharp, overwhelming presence. It was as if he himself had become a sword—one that, when not drawn, lay dormant, but once drawn, would pierce the heavens.
The sword in his hand looked very ordinary, but when held by him, it gave off an incredibly harmonious feeling, as if the sword had merged with him, becoming an inseparable part of his body.
This sword momentum, this sword intent, made Yun Che's heart tremble. Only fifteen years old, yet possessing such sword momentum and intent—this Ling Jie's talent was simply astonishing. Perhaps it was also closely related to his possessing a pure heart untainted by worldly filth.
Ling Jie pointed his sword at Yun Che, looking extremely pleased with himself. "Show your weapon! I want to make you see what a truly powerful man is. Only a genius like me is worthy of Princess Sister!"
"Xiao Jie, stop fooling around!" Ling Yun quickly stepped forward and said to Yun Che, "Young brother, Xiao Jie is impulsive and says whatever comes to mind. Please don't take him seriously. This is the imperial palace, a place of great importance. Fighting here would be disrespectful to the royal family, so let's just forget about this."
With Ling Yun's ability, how could he not see Yun Che's profound strength level? Although Ling Yun's words seemed to be scolding Ling Jie, Yun Che understood clearly that Ling Yun was trying to save face for him. With a difference of an entire major realm, if they actually fought, Yun Che would be defeated miserably in a short time. Yun Che smiled gratefully at Ling Yun's goodwill and said, "Brother Ling is right. However, as a man, a word spoken can never be taken back. Since I already agreed to a spar with Ling Jie, I can't back out halfway."
Though he knew in his heart that he absolutely could not defeat this Ling Jie, the strongest quality Yun Che possessed was his pride. Since he had already agreed, how could he be willing to retreat just because he knew he was outmatched? Moreover, this matter had started because of Lan Xueruo. Before the woman he wanted to protect, how could he be willing to admit that he was inferior to another man... especially since this brat was even younger than him!
Ling Jie had been quite displeased with Ling Yun's words, but upon hearing this, his eyes lit up and he quickly chimed in, "Right, right, right, right, right! We're both grown men—a word spoken can never be taken back. Hurry up and show your weapon, and let Princess Sister see who's stronger!"
Yun Che glanced at him and said flatly, "However, Brother Ling is right about one thing. This is the imperial palace, not a suitable place for sparring. How about we change to a relatively 'gentler' method... Hmm, how about this? I see you're a sword user, and I happen to be one too. Let's just clash three times with our swords, shall we? A full-power clash for three strikes. It saves all the trouble and can perfectly decide the outcome between us. Little brother Ling Jie, do you dare?"
A single "do you dare" immediately provoked Ling Jie's pride. "Hmph! Facing a weak True Xuan Realm like you that's not even worth looking at, what do I have to be afraid of! Three clashes? No need! One strike from me will be enough to knock you flat!"
"Tch!" Yun Che curled his lip in disdain. "Bragging so loudly, aren't you afraid of biting your tongue? But big brother here needs to teach you a lesson. Since you keep claiming you're already a grown man, you have to be responsible for your words. You're shouting that one strike will be enough to knock me flat. But what if you can't knock me flat with one strike, and instead all three of your strikes are blocked by me?"
Ling Jie's eyes widened, and then he burst out laughing. "Hahahaha! How is that possible? You're so weak! If I can't knock you flat with one strike, I'll write my name backwards! If all three of my strikes are blocked by you, then I... I, I, I, I won't even be called Ling Jie anymore!"
Yun Che's mouth twitched, and then he said disdainfully, "Hmph, that doesn't have any weight to it at all. Little Ling Jie, do you dare make a bet with me? If you strike three times and I fail to block them, then if your Princess Sister agrees to marry you, I absolutely won't stand in your way. But if I successfully block all three of your strikes, then... hmm, you'll have to be my little brother! Not only will you have to call me 'Big Brother' from now on, but you'll also have to obey all of Big Brother's orders! How about it? Do you dare? If you dare, then we'll compete. But if you're just a showboat full of hot air, well, then forget it, and I'll just spare myself the trouble of competing with you."
This "bet" was clearly quite unbalanced in terms of winning and losing. If Ling Jie lost, he would become Yun Che's little brother; if Yun Che lost... as for the "beautiful result" that Ling Jie heard, if he thought about it even a little, he'd know it was nothing but empty words. Moreover, the provocation at the end was extremely straightforward. But for Ling Jie, who had rarely even left Tian Jian Villa, it was incredibly effective. Without even thinking, he agreed directly: "What do I have to be afraid of! If I lose to you, forget being your little brother—I'll even be your own son!"
"Cough, cough..." Ling Yun was a bit unsettled. He walked up beside Yun Che and said in a voice only he could hear, "Young brother, you might not know this. Although Xiao Jie is young, his profound strength is already at the Spirit Xuan Realm. This duel might be quite unfair to you, so... please think it over carefully."
"Thank you for the reminder, Brother Ling." Yun Che smiled gratefully at him.
His calm reaction surprised Ling Yun slightly. This reaction indicated that Yun Che was obviously already aware of Ling Jie's profound strength level, yet he still wanted to make this bet. Ling Yun raised an eyebrow slightly but didn't say anything more.
"Let's begin."
Yun Che stood before Ling Jie. As soon as he spoke, the Overlord Giant Sword appeared out of thin air. He gripped the hilt with both hands, lowered the blade, and with a "boom," it crashed onto the floor. The ground within three steps of him instantly cracked.
At the same time, a heavy, mountain-like aura radiated from both the Overlord Giant Sword and Yun Che, filling the entire Cangyun Hall and making everyone's breath catch for a moment.
"A heavy sword!?" Ling Yun was surprised by the weapon Yun Che had revealed. Combining this with Yun Che's age and profound strength, he immediately spoke, "Could it be that you are Yun Che, the genius disciple of the Mystic Palace currently being talked about all over the imperial city?"
"That's right." Yun Che nodded. "I am Yun Che. It is an honor that Brother Ling knows my name."
"Heh, young brother Yun is too modest." Ling Yun smiled warmly. "Ever since Xiao Jie and I arrived in the imperial city, we've heard people talking about you everywhere. I've heard that you can skillfully wield a heavy sword weighing several thousand jin, and that you crossed seven levels to defeat your opponent. It truly evokes admiration, and I've been thinking I'd like to see your skill in person one day. I never expected to run into young brother Yun here. This is truly fortunate."
"Oh, oh! So you're Yun Che!" This Ling Jie had apparently also heard some of the rumors about Yun Che in the imperial city along with Ling Yun. He twisted his mouth disdainfully. "Only at the True Xuan Realm, yet people call you a genius. Your kind of genius is way too cheap... Young master here will soon show you what a true genius is! Watch my sword!"
Ling Jie gave a soft shout, stepped forward, lifted his longsword, and slashed down... It was an extremely simple strike, something even a child who could hold a sword could do casually. But such a simple move, when executed by Ling Jie, carried an astonishingly powerful sword momentum. The unadorned sword blade vibrated at an incredibly high frequency, stirring up a surging and unceasing torrent of power that blasted straight towards Yun Che's chest.
Yun Che had proposed a three-strike clash, clearly intending to use the heavy sword's strengths against the light sword's weaknesses. In a clash, under equal conditions, a light sword could never be a match for a heavy sword. Coupled with the three-thousand-jin arm strength granted by the Great Dao Pagoda Art, in this form of contest, even against an opponent a full major realm above him, he could at least hold out for three strikes.
But when the astonishing sword momentum rushed towards him, Yun Che's expression changed slightly.
Ling Jie was young, somewhat competitive, and not deep-minded—almost entirely without guile—so his thoughts were easy to guess. Yun Che predicted that his first strike would not be too serious, at most using fifty to sixty percent of his power. Therefore, he had also decided to hold back on his first strike, not using profound techniques, and only using about seventy percent of his strength.
This first strike from Ling Jie indeed wasn't at full power. From the look of it, he wasn't even using fifty or sixty percent—he probably hadn't even used forty percent of his profound strength. But the casual sword momentum was like rolling waves, irresistible.
"HEGH!!"
Yun Che, who had originally planned to use only seventy percent of his strength, immediately dared not hold back any longer. With a low shout, he activated the Xie Po, circulated his profound energy throughout his body, and swung the heavy sword to meet the attack with full force. As the heavy sword moved, it brought with it a wind-like howl.
BOOM!!!!
The heavy sword and the light sword collided without any frills. The massive power of the heavy sword and the surging sword momentum erupted instantly, forming a profound energy storm between the two of them, which then violently blasted both of them apart.
Ling Jie stumbled back several steps, looking at Yun Che in astonishment. "Ah? You actually... blocked it? Oh... you seem to be a little stronger than I thought. Looks like I need to be a bit more serious."
Yun Che was thrown back more than ten yards. His expression was calm, but inside, his mind was churning with shockwaves... Mo Li was right. This kid was definitely not a simple third-level Spirit Xuan Realm. Though young, his mastery of the sword was already at the level of a grandmaster! He could easily cross levels to fight opponents.
To block three of his strikes with profound energy a full major realm lower than his, even with the advantage of a heavy sword, was incredibly difficult.