Chapter 165: Counter-kill!
The world is vast. The more people one meets and the more places one travels, the more one feels their own insignificance. From Liu Yun City to New Moon City, to the Cangfeng Imperial City, and then to Tian Jian Villa, the concept of a genius had been repeatedly redefined in Yun Che's understanding. Today, completely unprepared, he had encountered the true number one of the younger generation in the Cang Feng Empire—refined, courteous, without any sharp edges, and without any weaknesses.
If such a person were to become an enemy, he would undoubtedly be far more terrifying than those who are arrogant, domineering, and unbridled.
Yun Che spent the entire afternoon in the imperial palace healing his injuries. When he left the palace, the sky had already darkened. Lan Xueruo was preoccupied with the terrifying Gu poison in Cang Wanhe's body, so Yun Che did not ask her to see him off. He left the palace alone and walked in the direction of the Cangfeng Mystic Palace.
Under the night sky, there were not many pedestrians on the imperial city streets. The internal injuries Yun Che had suffered from Ling Jie's sword strike were quite severe. Even with the Great Dao Pagoda Art, it could not be fully healed in a single afternoon. Therefore, he did not use his profound power and walked slowly. When he was halfway, he suddenly changed direction and unhurriedly walked eastward.
He kept walking until he reached an empty grassland surrounded by a large area with no signs of human presence. Only then did he stop and calmly said while looking ahead, "Come out."
After he spoke, the surroundings fell into complete silence. After a long while, a cold snort sounded behind him, followed by the sound of footsteps that no longer tried to conceal themselves.
Yun Che turned around and saw a young man dressed entirely in black. This man was not tall, appearing to be around twenty years old, with eyes full of gloom. The gaze he directed at Yun Che was as low and dark as if he were looking at a dead person.
The aura of profound power he released was very dense, far surpassing Yun Che's... even surpassing Mu Rongyi, who was at the True Profound Realm, Level 9!
Yun Che crossed his arms over his chest, showing no fear on his face, and sneered, "And the other one? Come out too. What, after following behind me and eating dust the whole way, now that you're here, you don't even have the courage to show yourselves?"
"Hahahaha!" As soon as Yun Che's voice fell, a wild laugh rang out. Following that, a young man in white clothes slowly walked out from behind a thick tree. It was none other than Feng Baiyi.
"Yun Che, I was just wondering where to make a move without leaving any traces. Unexpectedly, you came and found such a good burial ground for yourself. Should I call you an idiot, or should I call you stupid?"
"Burial ground?" Yun Che looked at Feng Baiyi and the man in black with a mocking smile. "Indeed, it is a very good burial ground. But I didn't find it for myself—I left it for you."
Feng Baiyi's face darkened, and he sneered, "At death's door, you still dare to boast. Enough, there's no need to waste words on a dead man. Xue Lang, kill him!"
Xue Lang? This name fell on Yun Che's ears, instantly flashing through his mind... This was a name on the Inner Palace Heavenly Xuan List, and ranked seventh! He possessed peak-level profound power at the True Profound Realm, Level 10.
As soon as Feng Baiyi's words fell, a slender, entirely crimson sword appeared in Xue Lang's hand. His body burst forward, flashing a blurred black shadow under the night sky. The red sword blade cut through the night like a viper's tongue, stabbing toward Yun Che's throat.
Xue Lang's attack was clean and decisive. His movement technique and sword speed were extremely fast, just like a streak of flowing light!
A murderous intent flashed in Yun Che's eyes. He activated Star God Remnant Shadow, and his body suddenly shot upward, causing Xue Lang's lightning-fast strike to miss. However, as Yun Che moved to the air, his whole body stiffened, and a sharp pain came from his chest area.
As soon as he activated his profound power, it triggered his still-not-fully-healed internal injuries.
"I need to end this quickly..." Yun Che covered his chest for a moment, then beckoned with both hands. The Overlord Giant Sword appeared in his hands amidst a flash of black light that vanished instantly. Around his body, a crimson phoenix flame suddenly blazed.
Xue Lang's sword strike missed, so he swiftly changed direction, raising his red sword and thrusting abruptly at Yun Che, who was falling from the air.
"Die... Phoenix Wing Firmament Dance!"
A cold flame flashed in Yun Che's eyes. Phoenix flames surged all over his body, and a pair of Phoenix Flame Wings materialized on his back, carrying a wave of scorching heat as he dove toward Xue Lang.
Xue Lang's specialty was speed—both his movement technique and sword speed were as fast as flowing light. But before his very eyes, Yun Che, who had been more than a dozen body lengths away a moment ago, had instantly charged right in front of him. The speed was like a falling meteor, so fast that Xue Lang failed to react at all. Moreover, the impact force coming toward him was so terrifying that his face changed drastically.
The next moment, with a loud explosion, a ball of flame burst open between Yun Che and Xue Lang. The red sword light was instantly shattered, and even that crimson sword was broken into three pieces like scrap metal. Yun Che's heavy sword, its momentum undiminished, viciously smashed into Xue Lang's waist.
Boom!!!
Xue Lang's defensive profound power was shattered like paper under the heavy sword strike fused with Phoenix Flame Force. He let out a miserable scream, his ribs and vertebrae directly crushed into fragments. His entire body flew out like a torn sack, scattering large amounts of blood and internal organs in the air before splitting into two halves, landing one after the other in front of Feng Baiyi.
"Wha... What!?"
Feng Baiyi staggered back two steps, staring at the mutilated corpse on the ground. The smug sneer on his face was completely gone, replaced by sheer horror.
Feng Baiyi had firmly believed that Mu Rongyi lost to Yun Che only because Mu Rongyi was too careless and underestimating. He had even analyzed the reasons for Mu Rongyi's failure with plausible logic. He was even more confident that if he himself fought Yun Che, he could kill him within ten moves... As for bringing Xue Lang along, it was mainly because he didn't want to leave any traces by doing it himself, and also to add an extra layer of assurance that Yun Che would definitely die.
For today's assassination, he had considered all kinds of possible scenarios, even including Yun Che using some special trick to escape. But he never imagined that Xue Lang, who was a whole level stronger than Mu Rongyi, would die with his body mutilated under a single sword strike from Yun Che!
"Feng Baiyi, it's your turn!" Yun Che pointed his sword at Feng Baiyi and slowly walked toward him, speaking coldly. Having just used the Phoenix Wing Firmament Dance, his internal injuries had split open slightly, causing unbearable pain. But his face remained calm... Even with his internal injuries tearing open, killing this Feng Baiyi was more than enough!
"Yun Che, do you think you... can kill me!?" Although Feng Baiyi still wore a defiant expression, he was clearly putting on a brave front. His voice even began to tremble. Xue Lang's ranking on the Heavenly Xuan List was nearly thirty places higher than his, yet he was cut in half by Yun Che's sword. How could he not feel terrified inside?
Watching Yun Che approach step by step, Feng Baiyi suddenly let out a loud roar. He grabbed a cyan long spear with both hands, the spear shaft whipping up a raging storm as he swept it horizontally toward Yun Che's neck.
"Azure Dragon Stirring the Sea!"
Feng Baiyi, like Mu Rongyi, practiced the 'Azure Dragon Spear Art'. When Yun Che had fought Mu Rongyi before, he had also sustained a minor injury from this very move.
Facing this spear momentum that was even stronger than Mu Rongyi's, Yun Che smiled coldly. The reason he had been injured by Mu Rongyi's move earlier was mainly because of the sudden sneak attack and because he had no weapon to parry. But now, with his heavy sword in hand, how could such a spear momentum possibly harm him?
"Scram!"
Yun Che completely ignored the trajectory of Feng Baiyi's spear technique and didn't even use any profound skill. He simply swept his sword horizontally, and this most basic of sweeps raised a storm of force far surpassing Feng Baiyi's 'Azure Dragon Stirring the Sea'. With a loud 'boom', Feng Baiyi's spear momentum was violently shattered.
Feng Baiyi's mind was filled with terror. The moment Yun Che's heavy sword swung, he truly understood Yun Che's terror. He instantly realized why Mu Rongyi and Xue Lang had been defeated so miserably by his heavy sword. Because the air waves stirred up by that single sword strike were as fierce as the raging waves of the sea, sweeping him entirely into it... It wasn't that Mu Rongyi and Xue Lang didn't want to dodge; it was that under the terrifying pressure of these tumultuous waves, their bodies could hardly move, let alone evade or counterattack based on so-called openings.
In everyone's impression, a heavy sword was violent and domineering, but every swing would be heavy and slow, leaving wide openings. However, when Yun Che wielded his heavy sword, it was as if he was handling a nimble light sword!
Feng Baiyi's spear momentum completely collapsed. A torrent of immense force struck from the front, smashing heavily into his spear. The spear bent instantly, then flew far out of his hands. His entire body was also like it had been hit by a heavy hammer. Waves of violent force surged into his body, shattering dozens of his meridians into pieces.
"Ahh——"
Feng Baiyi let out a miserable scream, his body flying backward more than ten zhang and slamming heavily into the thick tree where he had earlier hidden himself. The tree shook violently, and leaves fell profusely.
Feng Baiyi lay prostrate on the ground, coughing up several mouthfuls of blood, unable to stand up for a long time.
Yun Che's internal injuries tore open even further, causing his face to turn pale and a trace of blood to seep from the corner of his mouth. He wasted no more time. He leaped forward, the Overlord Heavy Sword swinging without any mercy toward Feng Baiyi's neck. If this strike hit solidly, it would be enough to smash Feng Baiyi into a bloody mess.
As death approached, Feng Baiyi's body hastily retreated. At the same time, he let out a terrified roar: "Uncle Fang, save me quickly!"
The moment Feng Baiyi's roar faded, a thunderous roar from an old man came from above: "Junior, don't you dare harm my young master!"
Along with the roar, a force as heavy as a mountain pressed down from above Yun Che. This force was so powerful that Yun Che could never hope to block it. If he took one more step forward, he would be smashed into pieces without any chance of luck.
Though alarmed, Yun Che did not panic. Using Star God Remnant Shadow, he instantly retreated backward, then fully restrained his forward momentum, escaping the range of that force's impact. However, he was still grazed by the residual force. He let out a muffled grunt and leaped back more than twenty zhang before barely managing to disperse this terrifying force.
In front of Feng Baiyi stood an old man dressed in black with half-white beard. His appearance made Feng Baiyi, who had narrowly escaped death, let out a huge sigh of relief, and then he screamed madly: "Uncle Fang, kill him quickly, kill him!"
The families that Feng Baiyi and Mu Rongyi belonged to were longstanding allies. Naturally, his background was no weaker than Mu Rongyi's. With such a background, as the legitimate sons of their families, their safety was of the utmost priority. They would each have a powerful expert secretly guarding them. This old man surnamed Fang was Feng Baiyi's guardian. However, his duty was only to protect in secret, not to follow Feng Baiyi's commands, nor interfere in any of his actions or decisions. He only appeared when Feng Baiyi was in grave danger.
Yun Che clutched his chest, panting heavily. Within his sea of consciousness, Mo Li's voice also came: "Earth Profound Realm, Level 3. Not someone you can deal with."
The old man surnamed Fang glared at Yun Che with angry brows and said: "Junior, if you had just seriously injured my young master and then let him go, this old man would not have interfered. But your heart is so vicious that you even intended to kill him. Then don't blame this old man for taking your life!"
"Heh!" Yun Che sneered. "Take my life? With a piece of trash like you? You're not worthy!"