Chapter 1566: Yun Che Enters the Battle
"..."
The words that suddenly reached her ears made Nanhuang Chanyi clearly freeze. Then, her voice became a few degrees more distant: "Lecher."
Yun Che turned his head, this time not with spiritual perception, but with his eyes, blatantly and without restraint, looking at Nanhuang Chanyi: "Not flustered, not surprised, not angry, not even a trace of killing intent, completely indifferent to the current situation... Could it be that you're a person without emotions?"
"If someone else had said that just now, they might already be dead." This was Nanhuang Chanyi's response, still as soft as smoke, impossible to discern any emotion.
"..." Yun Che frowned slightly and said, "Now I'm more and more curious. What exactly is your reason for choosing me?"
"No, it's you who chose me." She replied, "And what is your reason?"
"Instinct."
She seemed to be smiling: "When it comes to instinct, how can men compare to women?"
Yun Che turned his gaze back and stopped asking.
Boom!
A huge crash, accompanied by a scream, as Nanhuang's ninth combatant was blasted down by the opponent within five exchanges. And this result was utterly unsurprising... A ninth-level Divine King in the Zhongxu Battlefield was just a weakling making up the numbers. To defeat such an opponent, no deliberate targeting was needed.
With a "bang," the Nanhuang profound practitioner crashed heavily to the ground, already unconscious, a large pool of blood rapidly spreading beneath him. It was clear he had suffered an extremely sinister and heavy blow.
In previous years, Nanhuang would have surely erupted in anger, denouncing the opponent for maliciously using heavy-handed tactics. But this time, they could only swallow their teeth and blood, silently carrying him away for treatment.
Right now, they only wished for the Zhongxu War to end quickly. Afterwards, they would do everything possible to clean up the aftermath... They absolutely, positively could not offend Beihan Chu.
With Beihan Chu's current halo, offending him was the same as offending the Jiuyao Heavenly Palace!
Although Beihan City was strong, it could not decide the life and death of the Nanhuang Divine Kingdom. But the Jiuyao Heavenly Palace could!
The fierce battle continued, with various roars and cheers never ceasing for a moment. Only Nanhuang was deathly still.
With Nanhuang's ninth person defeated, the current battlefield still had six people remaining from Beihan City, four each from Dongxu and Xixu... and only one person left from Nanhuang.
"Jian'er," Nanhuang Mofeng said in a deep voice, "Nine matches, all lost. We have one person left... Do you understand?"
"I understand!" Nanhuang Jian nodded with a frown. "For the final match, no matter what, I will win. As a prince of Nanhuang, I will, no matter what, even if I have to risk my life, absolutely... absolutely not let Nanhuang suffer the shame of total defeat in this Zhongxu War!"
The Zhongxu War continued.
Beihan versus Dongxu: Dongxu lost.
Beihan versus Xixu: Beihan lost.
The next match was Nanhuang's turn again... Nanhuang, with only one person left.
The eyes of the entire audience instantly turned to the Nanhuang Divine Kingdom. The final combatant was a foregone conclusion—it could only be Nanhuang Jian, the former crown prince of Nanhuang and the strongest among them in the battle array.
Nanhuang had lost all the way, holding back and refusing to let Nanhuang Jian fight, all for the sake of maintaining a final battle of dignity.
They absolutely could not leave behind the eternal shame of total defeat!
Beihan City, Dongxu Sect, Xixu Sect... their gazes all carried varying degrees of mockery. Beihan Chu, who had been sitting high on the honorable seat, remained indifferent as ever, assuming the posture of a supervising witness without any expression. But everyone knew that he was the root cause of the actions of the three side-realm sects today.
At this moment, standing in the battlefield was Qi Hanshan, the new sect master of the Qi Wang Sect, the second largest sect in Xixu Realm after the Xixu Sect. He was exactly fifty Jiazi years old and had remained at the tenth level of the Divine King Realm for five hundred years. The depth of his profound energy and his understanding of the peak of the Divine King Realm were obvious.
In the previous match, Qi Hanshan fought a Beihan profound practitioner. Within just a few exchanges, the Beihan practitioner was defeated, leaving Qi Hanshan almost completely exhausted. Everyone understood clearly that this move was meant to crush Nanhuang's last hope and dignity, leaving the eternal shame of ten consecutive defeats forever in the Zhongxu Realm.
Qi Hanshan's gaze fell on Nanhuang Jian, a provocative and contemptuous smile on his face.
"Jian'er," Nanhuang Mofeng spoke lowly, "This battle has nothing to do with the outcome of the Zhongxu War. It concerns the last shred of dignity for our Nanhuang. Prove it to everyone!"
"Yes!" Nanhuang Jian responded with a single word. His clenched fingers cracked, and his entire body's muscles began to swell exaggeratedly. Even before entering the battlefield, his fighting spirit was already erupting without reservation.
"Wait!"
Just as Nanhuang Jian was about to leap into the arena, a calm voice suddenly rang out.
Nanhuang Chanyi stood up and spoke slowly: "Yun Che, as the last person in Nanhuang's battle array, you will fight!"
As soon as these words were spoken, the entire audience was shocked. Nanhuang Mofeng whirled around: "What did you say!?"
After the curtain of the Zhongxu War had been drawn, Nanhuang Chanyi had been sitting there motionless, not saying a word. Everyone thought she knew she had caused a great disaster, was ashamed to face all the people of Nanhuang, and even more ashamed to say anything more.
Unexpectedly, in this final battle concerning Nanhuang's last dignity, she suddenly stood up again and spoke such... utterly absurd words.
"Chanyi, have you... caused enough trouble?!" Nanhuang Jian's face also turned ugly.
"Big brother, step down," Nanhuang Chanyi said. "Yun Che, enter the battlefield!"
Yun Che stood up.
"Outrageous!" Nanhuang Mofeng's hair and beard stood on end. He was angry, utterly angry. His furious eyes and the "outrageous" he spat out were all directed at Nanhuang Chanyi: "Do you think the disaster you've caused today isn't big enough? Bringing a Level 5 Divine King into the battle array is already self-humiliation! And now you want him to fight!?"
Nanhuang Mofeng pointed at Yun Che and growled, "Are you trying to make the whole world laugh at us, to strip away the last bit of face Nanhuang has left!?"
"I know what I'm doing," Nanhuang Chanyi said.
Nanhuang Mofeng turned around in fury and said to Nanhuang Jian, "Don't mind her! Jian'er, enter the battlefield!"
"Uncle Feng, in this Zhongxu War, I am the highest decision-maker," Nanhuang Chanyi said, a bit of cold authority seeping into her calm voice. "In this Zhongxu battlefield, my word is law. Not even you, nor even Father Emperor, can interfere!"
Nanhuang Mofeng glanced sideways and said in a deep voice, "From the moment you, for your own selfish reasons, did not hesitate to put Nanhuang in a desperate position, you were no longer fit to be the decision-maker!"
"If you go and kneel before Beihan Chu in person afterward, there might be a chance to salvage this. But before that, you are nothing but a sinner!"
The air within the barrier became tense, and no one dared to speak again.
This commotion was noticed by everyone, which invited even more ridicule... Having fallen to such a state, they were actually having an internal conflict?
"Even if I am a sinner, at least for now, I am still the decision-maker appointed by Father Emperor," Nanhuang Chanyi said. "For this battle, Yun Che goes up!"
Nanhuang Mofeng's expression was cold and hard to the extreme: "Do you think anyone still cares about or will obey your decision now!?"
"Chanyi," the Nanhuang Divine Monarch suddenly spoke at this moment, "Are you sure about this?"
"Yes," Nanhuang Chanyi responded softly. With the bead curtain in between, no one could see her eyes or expression at that moment.
"Mm." The Nanhuang Divine Monarch nodded. "Jian'er, step down. Yun Che, you will fight on behalf of Nanhuang in this match."
"Father Emperor?" Nanhuang Jian was stunned, unable to believe his ears no matter what.
"Divine Monarch, you..." Nanhuang Mofeng stared wide-eyed, exasperated. "You're just going to watch us become a complete joke!?"
"I said I would let Chanyi decide everything, and I won't go back on my word," the Nanhuang Divine Monarch said.
"Which is more important: the imperial decree or Nanhuang's dignity!" Nanhuang Mofeng began to tremble slightly all over. "The situation today was caused by her! Making Yun Che fight is a clear act of forcing self-humiliation... How can you continue to indulge her like this?"
"Self-humiliation?" Nanhuang Chanyi said leisurely. "And how do you know that Yun Che cannot win?"
"He... can win?" Nanhuang Mofeng almost laughed in anger. "Have you really fallen under some kind of spell!?"
"Uncle Feng, let's make a bet," Nanhuang Chanyi said. "If Yun Che wins this battle, what will you do?"
"Ha," an unknown Level 5 Divine King defeating the renowned Qi Hanshan? Nanhuang Mofeng felt his understanding and intelligence were being insulted: "If he can win, I'll kill myself right here today!"
"There's no need for that," Nanhuang Chanyi said. "Uncle Feng has dedicated his whole life to Nanhuang. Even if he made a grave mistake, it wouldn't come to that. If Yun Che wins, I want you to kneel and kowtow three times to atone for the crime of defiance and disrespect."
"But if Yun Che loses," before Nanhuang Mofeng could respond, Nanhuang Chanyi continued, "I will go alone in person to the Jiuyao Heavenly Palace to resolve Nanhuang's crisis."
"Do you dare to bet?"
"Hmph, where does she get such confidence?" Qianye Ying'er snorted softly.
"Good question," Yun Che replied indifferently.
"..." Qianye Ying'er looked at Nanhuang Chanyi, her golden eyes narrowing slightly... She vaguely thought of a possibility.
However, the possibility of such a thing appearing in a mid-level star realm was truly bizarre.
"Fine, you said it yourself!" Nanhuang Mofeng had no reason to refuse. "In that case, I'll go along with your wish! If this brat loses, you must personally go to the Jiuyao Heavenly Palace to redeem today's sin!"
"Yun Che, go ahead." Without further words, Nanhuang Chanyi said to Yun Che.
"What happens if I lose?" Yun Che asked with interest.
"You won't die," Nanhuang Chanyi replied.
"Interesting woman." Yun Che smiled faintly. He suddenly felt a trace of interest in her, wanting to see what kind of face was hidden behind the bead curtain.
"Chanyi, you..."
Nanhuang Jian wanted to say something more, but as soon as he opened his mouth, Yun Che had already leaped up, landing unhurriedly in the battlefield, facing Qi Hanshan of Xixu directly.
Separated by the barrier, outsiders could see the internal conflict within Nanhuang, but no one knew the reason. When they saw that Nanhuang's combatant was not Nanhuang Jian, everyone was stunned. Upon sensing the profound energy aura on Yun Che's body, the eyes of the gathered strong practitioners almost fell out of their sockets, and some even sprayed saliva on the spot.
Even Beihan Chu, who had been sitting motionless with a rare expressionless face, leaned forward noticeably, as if confirming whether his perception was faulty.
"Yun Che," he coldly reported his name.
"..." Qi Hanshan was stunned for a few breaths. Then the corners of his mouth began to twitch, and soon his entire face was twitching.
After a long silence, the battlefield erupted in uproar. As the words "Level 5 Divine King" quickly spread, the commotion became nearly unmanageable.
On Nanhuang's side, almost everyone lowered their heads deeply. They didn't need to listen to know what kind of sounds were rising from the battlefield.
They must think Nanhuang has gone mad... Even they themselves felt that the Nanhuang Divine Monarch and Nanhuang Chanyi had definitely lost their minds.