Chapter 1569: Tearing Apart the Mask
“F-F-Finished!?”
The voice from the East Ruins battle formation came over, causing countless gasps of shock.
In the Middle Ruins War, as long as there was no malicious intent to kill, no matter how severe the injury, it could not be pursued.
But Dong Xueci was not an ordinary Eastern Ruins profound practitioner; he was the Eastern Ruins Crown Prince, the most valued son of the Eastern Ruins Divine Lord!
The Eastern Ruins Divine Lord did not break out, and even his anger was being suppressed with extreme effort. Clearly, he did not want to lose both his son and the dignity of a Realm King.
But no one would doubt that Yun Che had already forged an eternal, irresolvable enmity with the Eastern Ruins Sect. Now, the Eastern Ruins Sect could not conveniently make a move in public. But after the Middle Ruins War, the Eastern Ruins Sect would surely launch an unceasing pursuit to kill Yun Che!
But compared to this, what was even more shocking was the terrifying strength with which Yun Che had instantly crippled Dong Xueci... The darkness obscured everything, and no one could see how Yun Che had struck. But from the moment they clashed to the time Dong Xueci was severely injured and crippled, only a few breaths had passed!
In the previous match, Qi Hanshan was severely injured by a single kick from Yun Che, and they could still forcibly explain it as Qi Hanshan being too careless, leaving his opening wide and being struck in a vital spot. But in the battle between Yun Che and Dong Xueci, Dong Xueci had clearly unleashed all his power from the start, releasing two laws simultaneously while also offering a demonic blade, something even a same-level Divine King would find hard to defend against. Yet he ended up with an even more miserable outcome than Qi Hanshan.
How could a Level 5 Divine King possibly possess such power!
“He... is exactly... who?” Nanhuang Jian muttered in a daze. He had been replaced by Yun Che in the battle, and was originally full of frustration and unwillingness. As part of the Nanhuang battle formation, he even wished for Yun Che to make a fool of himself.
But at this moment, he was utterly stunned.
Nanhuang Mofeng was even more unable to squeeze out a single word for a long time.
Yun Che, a strange face, a strange name, no one knew his origin.
But two battles, facing Level 10 Divine Kings as a Level 5 Divine King, both ended in a flash—one severely injured, one crippled.
Even the top geniuses of upper-level star realms, or even king realms, would not be able to burst out with such exaggerated power that exceeded the limits of boundaries!
Above the honored seats, the expressions of Bei Hanchu and Bubaishang Ren also completely changed.
“Half-step Divine Lord!?” Bubaishang Ren said in a low voice. He sensed it clearly. The power that instantly crippled Dong Xueci in the darkness just now, carrying the aura of a Level 5 Divine King, had clearly reached the intensity of a Half-step Divine Lord!
Half-step Divine Lord, a special realm that surpasses the peak of Divine King and has half a foot already stepping into the Divine Lord realm! Though not yet a true Divine Lord, it could already be considered superior to all Divine Kings, an existence invincible beneath the Divine Lord level.
The full-force strike of a Half-step Divine Lord, if it directly hit a vital spot, could indeed severely injure a peak Divine King with scattered defenses.
“With the realm of a Level 5 Divine King, releasing the power of a Half-step Divine Lord...” Bei Hanchu murmured, “Martial Uncle, my disciple’s knowledge is shallow. Can this magnitude of crossing realms really be possible?”
Bubaishang Ren thought for a moment, then said, “Some special demonic arts can forcibly amplify one’s own profound power within a certain time. Our Nine Radiance Heavenly Palace also has such demonic arts. But your master never intended to teach you, because such arts always come with extremely severe consequences—either loss of lifespan or loss of talent.”
“Martial Uncle means that this Yun Che, in order to let Nanhuang win, used such a demonic art?”
“...That’s the only possibility.” Bubaishang Ren said.
However, he had never heard of a demonic art that could amplify to such an extent. Also, generally, when such a rampage-type demonic art is activated, the surging profound energy would become extremely chaotic due to the inability to bear and control it. But Yun Che’s aura was as calm as dead water.
But apart from this, he really couldn’t find any other explanation.
If he hadn’t seen it with his own eyes... if someone told him that a Level 5 Divine King had burst out with Half-step Divine Lord power, he would directly tell them to stop talking nonsense.
“No wonder he always goes for heavy blows in gaps and absolutely avoids fighting longer.” Bei Hanchu seemed to understand.
“Bei Han Realm King, have you forgotten something again?” Nanhuang Chanyi said faintly, once again reminding the clearly distracted Bei Han Divine Lord.
In previous Middle Ruins Wars, it was always the Nanhuang Divine Lord who held the right to speak. But now, it was Nanhuang Chanyi, the one who had “committed a great sin,” who was speaking, and she showed no respect or leniency toward the various Realm Kings, even confronting them head-on.
Meanwhile, the Nanhuang Divine Lord sat calmly, neither stopping nor interfering.
The Eastern Ruins Crown Prince had been severely crippled by Yun Che’s heavy hand, and the Eastern Ruins Sect was in chaos. Even in the farthest corner of the battlefield, one could feel a tightly suppressed malicious aura. But the Nanhuang side didn’t even offer an apology or simple condolence.
Bei Han Divine Lord’s chest heaved. He took a heavy look at Yun Che and said, “Dong Xueci of the Eastern Ruins has lost. Yun Che wins.”
“Next battle...” Bei Han Divine Lord’s gaze condensed. The Western Ruins were wounded, the Eastern Ruins crippled. Next, his Northern Han City would fight.
The Northern Han battle formation was utterly silent. By this time, the strongest, Northern Han City, could still send five people, and there were as many as fifteen people to choose from in the formation, all at Level 10 Divine King.
Earlier, when Yun Che entered the battlefield, these Level 10 Divine Kings had undoubtedly laughed the most mockingly. They looked at Yun Che with eyes full of deep superiority, pity, and contempt, convinced that he was a joke forced out by Nanhuang, and that fighting him was almost a disgrace.
But now, as the Northern Han Divine King swept his gaze over them, they all bowed their heads deeply, none daring to meet his eyes.
This extremely awkward scene was the first time in the history of the Middle Ruins War that it had appeared in the Northern Han City battle formation.
Bei Han Divine Lord’s face sank heavily. Blood surged to his head. He was about to burst into rage when suddenly, in his ear came Nanhuang Chanyi’s faint voice: “Enough. For my Nanhuang, this Middle Ruins War no longer has any need to continue.”
These words startled everyone present. The members of Nanhuang all turned their heads in unison, at a loss.
Bei Han Divine Lord turned around: “So, you mean to directly forfeit the war?”
After the initial shock, the crowd looked at each other and suddenly seemed to understand something.
Originally, it was thought that Nanhuang would end this Middle Ruins War with the disgrace of a total defeat. But out of nowhere, a Yun Che appeared, and with the power of a Level 5 Divine King, he wounded one and crippled another of two Level 10 Divine Kings—one of them being the Eastern Ruins Crown Prince. It was stunning—no, it was terrifying for the entire audience.
But no matter what, Nanhuang only had Yun Che left. Facing the battle formations of three major sect realm king sects, it was impossible to change the bottom result.
Moreover, Yun Che had already defeated two in a row; his “trump card” should be exhausted.
To quit now, while avoiding the disgrace of a complete defeat, would also preserve face to the greatest extent and leave a rather shocking mark.
But Nanhuang Chanyi said coldly, “Forfeit? Bei Han Realm King, you are mistaken. It’s that this Middle Ruins War no longer deserves my Nanhuang to waste time on it!”
Bei Han Divine Lord was taken aback, then sneered: “Undeserving? I don’t understand what you mean.”
“You really don’t understand?”
Nanhuang Chanyi took a step, slowly walking out from the battle formation. For a moment, all eyes seemed pulled by an invisible force, focusing on her. Her voice was gentle yet carried an elusive coldness: “The Middle Ruins War was established to allocate the dominion rights of the Middle Ruins Realm, and it is also a contest of strength among the four realms of Youxu, a contest of dignity, and also helps Divine Kings comprehend the Dao!”
“My Nanhuang has historically been weak, always placing last in the Middle Ruins War. My Nanhuang has never had any objection, nor have we ever forfeited or been absent. Because even if we lose, even if we exert our greatest efforts only to end up last, the Middle Ruins War is still worth our Nanhuang’s full commitment.”
“But today’s war...” Nanhuang Chanyi’s voice suddenly grew several degrees colder and more imposing: “Northern Han, Eastern Ruins, Western Ruins—you three sects frequently conceded, faked battles, and colluded with those who came out on the battlefield, all for the purpose of making my Nanhuang profound practitioners lose completely. And in every battle, you inevitably struck extremely heavily against my Nanhuang profound practitioners!”
“Do you still remember that this is the Middle Ruins War!? Today’s war, does it deserve to be called the Middle Ruins War? Just to curry favor with the Nine Radiance Heavenly Palace and humiliate my Nanhuang, you three major sect realm king sects governing the Youxu Five Realms have actually abandoned dignity and shame, putting on such an ugly display. My Nanhuang disdains to fight with you!”
The Middle Ruins battlefield was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
That the three sects of Northern Han, Eastern Ruins, and Western Ruins had jointly trampled on Nanhuang in the Middle Ruins War was seen clearly by everyone, but no one dared to point it out. Because behind all this was Bei Hanchu, the Nine Radiance Heavenly Palace.
Even if Nanhuang ended up with ten total defeats and eternal humiliation, they could only forcibly endure it. Even the Nanhuang Divine Lord dared not say much. Because the Nanhuang Divine Kingdom had no qualifications to tear apart the mask with the other three sects on the surface, much less dare to further anger the Nine Radiance Heavenly Palace.
But Nanhuang Chanyi had directly exposed it in public!
Not only did she directly rebuke the three sects, but she also clearly brought up the Nine Radiance Heavenly Palace. When she said the words “just to curry favor with the Nine Radiance Heavenly Palace,” Nanhuang Jian behind her was so shocked that his legs went weak, and he nearly fell to the ground on the spot.
“Chanyi, what nonsense are you talking about!” Nanhuang Mofeng lowered his voice and shouted.
Everyone was stunned. Bei Hanchu’s eyes narrowed slightly, a faint, interested smile appearing on his face. At this moment, he suddenly realized that he seemed not to understand Nanhuang Chanyi... Little did he know that everyone in the Nanhuang imperial family was staring with wide, dazed eyes as if they were seeing Princess Chanyi for the first time.
The Nanhuang Divine Lord’s brows twitched violently. He stood up abruptly... but said nothing. After a moment, he slowly sat back down.
“Heh,” the Northern Han Divine Lord laughed: “Nanhuang Crown Princess, do you know what you are saying? Nanhuang, you remain silent—do you also think so? Or... are these words instigated by you?”
The Nanhuang Divine Lord said, “Since I have already authorized Chanyi to lead the Nanhuang battle formation, then on the battlefield, all her actions and words represent Nanhuang. If you think it is my intention, that is also acceptable.”
“Divine Emperor, you...” Nanhuang Mofeng turned back sharply, his face full of shock and disbelief.
Nanhuang Chanyi’s rejection of Bei Hanchu had already offended both Northern Han City and Bei Hanchu at the same time, and it was also the reason for Nanhuang being jointly trampled by the three sects. Yun Che’s astonishing performance had shocked the audience and regained some face for Nanhuang, but it did not change Nanhuang’s dangerous situation.
But Nanhuang Chanyi’s words were almost suicide, pushing the dangerous situation toward death... Not only did the Nanhuang Divine Lord not stop her, but he also expressed agreement!?
Were this father and daughter both possessed!?
“Very good. Very good indeed.” The Northern Han Divine Lord nodded slowly.
“Heh, what a joke.” The Western Ruins Divine Lord sneered coldly: “Just you, Nanhuang, doesn’t have the qualifications to make my Western Ruins target you, let alone all three sects.”
The Eastern Ruins Divine Lord threw the unconscious Dong Xueci aside, his voice extremely deep: “Clearly, knowing it’s a bottom result, you forcibly forfeit. Or maybe, you’re afraid that if you continue to fight, this person named Yun Che will expose something ugly on him.”
“But you speak so grandiosely, even forcibly slandering my three sects and slandering the name of the Middle Ruins War. Who is the one without shame!”
“Knowing it’s a bottom result, forcibly forfeiting?” Nanhuang Chanyi gave a slight cold snort: “How laughable.”
“Laughable?” The Northern Han Divine King smiled lowly: “Who is laughable, I think everyone knows clearly. Do you think everyone present is a fool!”
He was just about to rebuke Nanhuang for offending the Nine Radiance Heavenly Palace when he heard Nanhuang Chanyi suddenly say: “In that case, Northern Han, Eastern Ruins, Western Ruins—do you dare to make a bet with my Nanhuang?”
A bet?
Before the three Divine Lords could speak, Nanhuang Divine Lord Shenyi continued: “Today’s farcical Middle Ruins War has come to this point. Northern Han still has five people to appear, Eastern Ruins two, Western Ruins three.”
“All ten of you from the three sects go up together, fight my Nanhuang’s Yun Che alone!”
The pearl curtain rippled, and strange light overflowed with words that left everyone dumbfounded: “Do you dare!?”