# Chapter 163: Heavenly Wolf Strike
The loud noise in the great hall naturally alarmed the imperial palace guards outside. Hasty footsteps sounded as more than a dozen silver-armored guards filed in. The leader asked with a tense expression, "Princess Highness, are you alright?"
"I'm fine. All of you may withdraw." Lan Xueruo said with a sidelong glance.
"But..." The guard leader glanced at the cracked floor and at Yun Che and Ling Jie, who were holding weapons, a deep wariness appearing on his face.
"Withdraw!" Lan Xueruo's voice immediately turned more dignified: "Without my orders, even if there is a greater commotion later, none of you are to enter again."
"Yes!" The guard leader quickly bowed in acknowledgment and led his men out.
"As expected of the legendary four-thousand-jin heavy sword. Both its power and aura are truly eye-opening." Ling Yun said with sincere admiration. Ling Jie's previous sword strike appeared extremely simple and ordinary, but he deeply understood the sword momentum and intent contained within that strike. To fully block such a sword strike with a True Xuan Realm Level 3 profound force was practically a miracle.
"Hmph, it is indeed a bit more powerful than I imagined... but only a bit." Ling Jie wrinkled his nose and put on a disdainful expression. "That previous strike was just me casually swinging. This next strike, you absolutely~ absolutely~ absolutely cannot block!"
As he spoke, Ling Jie raised his sword with one hand toward the sky. Sword aura shot upward one after another, stirring up visible, astonishing ripples that spread outward in rings in the air.
Ling Jie thrust out his sword, and the sword momentum on the blade suddenly erupted. In an instant, thousands of sword shadows arose, overlapping into layers of sword waves that swept toward Yun Che like a vast sea churned by a hurricane. The terrifying momentum seemed as if it would completely grind the entire heaven and earth into its grasp.
"Heavenly Might Sword Formation—Flourishing Chaos!"
"Brother Yun, be careful!" As Ling Jie unleashed this sword, Ling Yun's brow furrowed, and he instinctively reminded him. Ling Jie was at an age full of competitive spirit. His first strike had been completely blocked, and in front of "Princess Sister" no less. His pride had clearly taken a blow. Ling Yun had anticipated that his second strike would be serious, but he never expected him to directly use the Heavenly Might Sword Formation. Any form of the Heavenly Might Sword Formation was difficult for someone of the same level to face head-on, let alone Yun Che, who was only at the True Xuan Realm.
A vast expanse of sword shadows covered the sky, layers upon layers. Yun Che felt as if he had been suddenly thrown into a blade hell. No matter whether he moved forward, backward, left, or right, he would be instantly swept into a deadly storm. He simply ignored the overwhelming sword shadows and swung the heavy sword in his hand with a thunderous roar.
"Falling… Moon… and… Sinking… Star!!"
The heavy sword swung out, carrying an earth-shattering momentum, meeting the layers of sword waves head-on.
BOOM!!
It was like a monstrous wave crashing into a millennial boulder. The roar was deafening. Within ten steps around Yun Che and Ling Jie, the floor instantly scattered into pieces. Countless icy sword shadows dissipated like destroyed ice crystals in a blinding flash. After the first wave of sword shadows, the Overlord Giant Sword broke through unstoppably, carrying the power of "Falling Moon and Sinking Star" as it rampaged forward, smashing all layers of sword shadows to pieces before colliding with Ling Jie's light sword without any flourishes.
"What... what!" Both Ling Jie and Ling Yun were greatly startled. The thirteenth form of the Heavenly Might Sword Formation, "Flourishing Chaos," had been directly broken in a single sword strike by Yun Che!
As the first form of the Evil God's Seven Forms, "Falling Moon and Sinking Star" was an extremely simple profound art. It had no flashy or gorgeous profound art effects, nor a complex operation method. Its power lay in instantly mobilizing all of one's profound force and compressing it in an instant, unleashing ten times the normal power. It was highly compatible with the "Berserk" characteristic of the Evil God's Profound Art—simple yet violent.
After the Overlord Giant Sword broke through the layers of sword waves, its power had essentially reached its limit. When it struck Ling Jie's sword, it was nearly exhausted. But even so, with its weight of a full three thousand nine hundred jin, the impact it carried was far from ordinary. Ling Jie was jolted back seven or eight steps, nearly falling on his rear.
He stood there in a daze, staring wide-eyed at Yun Che as if looking at a monster.
"Unbelievable," Ling Yun muttered to himself. "It seems the rumors of him overcoming opponents seven levels above him are not exaggerated boasts. A gap of a whole major realm, and he actually blocked it... If they were of equal rank, wouldn't this sword strike be a complete crush!"
With this sword strike, Yun Che used all his strength without holding back. Although with his current profound force, using "Falling Moon and Sinking Star" no longer drained almost all his profound energy like before, it still consumed a considerable amount. Moreover, his entire blood and energy were in turmoil. It took him seven or eight breaths to suppress the surging blood and energy in his body, adjusting to a good enough state as he calmly stared at Ling Jie.
"So... you're actually this powerful!" This time, Ling Jie was genuinely dumbfounded. Because in this previous strike, he had not only used seven-tenths of his profound force but also the Heavenly Might Sword Formation. Yet he was still blocked... and he was even knocked back, suffering a small loss.
If the opponent were of equal rank, or at the Spirit Xuan Realm one or two levels lower, he could still accept it. But the opponent was not only at the True Xuan Realm but also at the early stage of True Xuan!
This feeling was like a fierce tiger pouncing on a cat, only to be knocked aside by the cat.
"Deliver your final strike. If the third strike is also blocked by me, then it means you lose. Don't forget that if you lose, you must acknowledge me as your boss!" Yun Che steadied his aura and said with narrowed eyes.
"Lose? Me lose?" Ling Jie flicked his longsword, the surprise on his face gradually fading, replaced once again by a disdainful expression. "The previous two strikes were just me afraid of you losing too miserably, so I didn't use my full strength. Let's see how you block this one!"
As he spoke, Ling Jie suddenly pointed his sword forward. His entire profound force erupted like floodwaters bursting through a sluice gate, surging into his sword. The longsword trembled violently, rings of airflow suddenly swirling around the blade. Then, the surging sword energy condensed from emptiness to reality, spinning and wrapping around the sword body, making the entire sword appear twice as thick as before.
The surrounding airflow suddenly roiled violently on a large scale. Yun Che felt an incredibly sharp and domineering aura rush toward him, chilling his entire body. The longsword was being held in Ling Jie's hand, yet it made him clearly feel as if it were already pressed against his throat, ready to sever his windpipe and take his life in the next second.
Around Ling Jie, traces of rippling airflow were faintly visible. But astonishingly, these ripples did not present irregular lines like water patterns but were straight lines—like transparent sharp swords appearing out of thin air.
Such a strong sword momentum... The shock in Yun Che's heart grew bit by bit. According to Mo Li's description, he had already tried to overestimate this fifteen-year-old youth's sword mastery as much as possible. Yet now, feeling this astonishing sword momentum, he realized he had still underestimated this youth from the Tian Jian Villa.
Ling Jie's action first made Ling Yun frown. When he realized what Ling Jie was about to do, his gaze flickered sharply, and he said in a low voice, "Xiao Jie! What are you doing! Stop immediately! Do you want to kill him?!"
"Heh, big brother, I'm not as useless as you think. I've practiced this move to the level of releasing and retracting freely. When it's about to take his life, I'll naturally pull it back." Ling Jie laughed, then turned his gaze to Yun Che and said, "Hmph, daring to challenge the dignity of this young master Ling Jie, let me show you my might..."
"Try this sword strike... Heavenly Might Ultimate Sword—Piercing Sun!"
The sword in Ling Jie's hand was now completely wrapped in dense, materialized sword aura, making it look as large as the heavy sword in Yun Che's hand.
With a loud roar, the longsword, carrying endless sword momentum, was suddenly thrown from his hand, shooting straight toward Yun Che's chest.
The surrounding air churned wildly. The oncoming wind violently blew Yun Che's hair and robes. Wherever the sword tip passed, a trace of pitch-black spatial crack flashed and vanished.
This time, there were no thousands of sword shadows. Only one sword! A killing strike that condensed all of Ling Jie's sword intent.
Yun Che's body retreated sharply. The heavy sword was raised again, his entire profound force being mobilized in an instant, gathering in his arms and on the heavy sword. Another unreserved "Falling Moon and Sinking Star" met Ling Jie's killing strike head-on.
BOOM!!
The Overlord Giant Sword clashed with Ling Jie's light sword for the third time. But the moment of this collision, Yun Che clearly felt as if a mountain so tall its peak was invisible had slammed heavily into his heavy sword.
Instantly, the Overlord Giant Sword, a full four inches thick, bent into a shape like a waning crescent under this terrifying force.
To instantly bend a three-thousand-nine-hundred-jin heavy sword—it must have taken an unimaginably terrifying amount of force. Yun Che's entire body and arms trembled violently. If he had not comprehended the general formula of the Celestial Wolf Prison God Scripture and gained extremely strong control over the heavy sword, his Overlord Giant Sword would have already flown out of his hands.
Even so, the power of Ling Jie's sword was still not neutralized. It continued forward with terrifying sword momentum, forcibly pushing Yun Che toward the direction of the hall's entrance.
Yun Che's pupils contracted slightly. The bending amplitude of the heavy sword grew larger and larger, gradually approaching a half-moon shape. Under the immense impact, his body was driven rapidly backward, his feet carving two increasingly long furrows into the hard floor. His body itself was continuously taking damage from the sword momentum's assault.
"Xiao Jie, withdraw your sword immediately!" Ling Yun spoke up at once. He knew the power of this "Piercing Sun" move all too well. If Ling Jie did not withdraw his sword, the destruction of Yun Che's heavy sword would be the least concern; Yun Che himself would likely suffer severe injury, or even death.
"I know!" Ling Jie's hand was still extended forward. Although the sword had left his hand, it had not left his control. Seeing Yun Che about to be blasted out of the great hall, he grinned smugly. "Hehe, now do you see my might! You're still far from comparing with me."
Having said that smugly, he was about to withdraw his sword when a thunderous roar rang out in his ears.
"HYAAAH!!"
Amid the roar, Yun Che activated Star God Remnant Shadow, instantly retreating more than a dozen body-lengths straight back. Without pausing to catch his breath, he gritted his teeth, his gaze ferocious, and the Overlord Giant Sword was raised high in an instant, smashing toward the oncoming "Piercing Sun" sword.
"Heavenly... Wolf... Strike!!"
Following Yun Che's explosive shout, the Overlord Giant Sword suddenly released a majestic aura like raging waves. In an instant, the surrounding space churned wildly, the air was violently pushed aside. At the very moment the heavy sword slashed down, behind Yun Che, the image of a howling azure wolf suddenly flashed.
BOOOOOOM!!!!!!
The heavy sword, brimming with the Celestial Wolf's divine might, violently collided with Ling Jie's Heavenly Might killing sword. A storm of power exploded with a roar, surging upward, instantly shattering the floor and ceiling of the great hall. Even space itself seemed to be torn apart.