Chapter 186: Dragon Gate
Yun Che executed a kip-up, springing to his feet from the ground. He gazed at his own hands, feeling the surging power throughout his body, as if in a dream.
Yun Che's sudden leap undoubtedly startled Chu Yuechan. She looked at him, her voice weak and soft: "Yun Che... you..."
At this moment, three hours had passed since Yun Che lost consciousness and the Ice Soul Barrier was deployed. Given Chu Yuechan's current state, she had been forcing herself not to fall asleep, stubbornly waiting for Yun Che to wake up and stand again. But she never could have imagined that not only had Yun Che risen again, but within these short three hours, his injuries were completely healed, his strength fully restored, and he had been reborn.
"I'm fine now." Yun Che lowered his hands and said with a smile. He looked at the icy blue barrier that firmly separated the Rock Dragon Warriors and Rock Dragon General outside, and said in a low voice: "Did this barrier protect us?"
"Hmph, what nonsense! If not for this barrier, you wouldn't have broken through—you'd have died a hundred times over!" Mo Li said disdainfully.
"This is an Ice Soul Barrier. It can hold for another two hours. You... are you really all right?" Chu Yuechan looked at Yun Che, still unable to believe it.
Yun Che smiled slightly without speaking, releasing his profound force outward to expel all the bloodstains on his body's surface. Instantly, the skin on his face, hands, and the exposed areas through his torn clothes was spotless, smooth as jade with a hidden luster—not a single trace of a wound remained.
This scene made Chu Yuechan's gaze waver. Yun Che crouched down, sending a stream of profound energy into Chu Yuechan's body to protect her heart meridian, and said with a relaxed expression: "Wait for me here. We'll leave this place soon."
With that, Yun Che grabbed the heavy sword from the ground and rushed out of the Ice Soul Barrier... The Ice Soul Barrier was a defensive barrier, not a sealing one—impassable from outside, but open from within.
The breakthrough to the second level of the Great Dao Pagoda Art caused Yun Che's physical strength to skyrocket. The Overlord Giant Sword, weighing three thousand nine hundred jin, felt as light as nothing in his hand—far lighter and easier to handle than an ordinary profound practitioner wielding a light sword. As soon as he left the Ice Soul Barrier, his heavy sword swept out horizontally. Amid a series of explosive sounds, the Rock Dragon Warriors shattered like crushed beans... utterly pulverized.
Now, the power of a single swing of his sword was far beyond what it had been before. Over twenty Rock Dragon Warriors were completely obliterated by one horizontal sweep. Then he twisted his body, leaped high, let out a low roar, and smashed his sword down at the Rock Dragon General.
Previously, one strike from the Rock Dragon General's sword had nearly cost him half his life... But this time, he wanted to test whether his reborn self could contend head-on with this Rock Dragon General.
Boom!!
The two heavy swords collided violently. With a thunderous sound, the ground beneath their feet instantly split into two intersecting gullies. The Rock Dragon General leaned back, while Yun Che was blasted away, sliding far backward before finally stopping, his arm numb.
A new gap over an inch long appeared on the blade of the Overlord Giant Sword.
The Overlord Giant Sword and the giant sword in the Rock Dragon General's hand had clashed twice, and both times it had been chipped severely. Such was the gap in grade.
Yun Che's brow furrowed slightly. Although his strength had greatly increased, the Rock Dragon General's profound force was still as high as the fifth level of the Divine Spirit Realm, and the sword in its hand was an extremely rare Heavenly Xuan heavy sword. His idea of matching it head-on was still too naive.
However, there was no hint of worry in Yun Che's expression. With the Celestial Wolf Prison God Scripture, the last thing he feared was an opponent who used a heavy sword as a weapon. He was far too familiar with the heavy sword lineage. His gaze fell on the strange-shaped heavy sword in the Rock Dragon General's hand, and a strange light flickered frequently.
A Heavenly Xuan weapon—the entire Cang Feng Empire wouldn't have more than ten! As for a Heavenly Xuan-grade heavy sword, none should exist at all.
But now, one was right before his eyes!
Although the current location was a trial realm, since he could die and break through here, it proved everything here was real—not an illusion like the Phoenix Secret Realm. That meant this Heavenly Xuan heavy sword before him should also be real!
With that thought, Yun Che lifted his head, raised his heavy sword, and charged at the Rock Dragon General like lightning. This time, he didn't clash with the Rock Dragon General's attack. Instead, as the heavy sword came at him, he used Star God Remnant Shadow to instantly shift, appearing on its left side, and brought his heavy sword down with full force.
The Rock Dragon General's physical strength and power, as well as its weapon, were extremely terrifying. But it had one major flaw: its speed. Before his breakthrough, when he had only half his life left, he had clearly noticed this.
With a "boom," the heavy sword slammed heavily onto the Rock Dragon General's right shoulder. The golden armor on the shoulder caved in, but its body only tilted slightly to the left, not even losing balance. The sword in its hand instantly swept horizontally toward him.
Yun Che leaped far away to avoid the Rock Dragon General's counterattack, then winced in pain... This guy's body was really tough—even his heavy sword couldn't wound it... No wonder it had survived his combined attacks of Phoenix Burn Phoenix Break, Heaven's Dance, and Celestial Wolf Strike without dying.
I don't believe you can hold out forever!
With a flash of his eyes, Yun Che charged again, using Star God Remnant Shadow to rapidly move and flicker around the Rock Dragon General, leaving trail after trail of afterimages. Every attack from the Rock Dragon General was extremely fierce, but all smashed into the afterimages Yun Che left behind. Meanwhile, Yun Che's heavy sword landed precise blows on its body one after another.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom...
After being bashed by Yun Che's heavy sword over a dozen times, the golden armor on the Rock Dragon General was full of dents, but its body remained essentially unharmed. The Rock Dragon General half-turned and swung its heavy sword at Yun Che. This time, Yun Che didn't leap back to avoid it. Instead, he suddenly teleported vertically, instantly appearing two zhang above the ground, flames igniting on his body, and then plummeted like a flying meteor.
"Phoenix Wing Firmament!"
Boom!!!
This time, Yun Che chose to attack the Rock Dragon General's head. With an explosive sound, a ball of flame burst from the Rock Dragon General's head. Its helmet shattered directly, and it let out a roar that sounded like agony, finally losing its balance for the first time, staggering backward. In this state, to maintain balance, its left hand instinctively let go of the heavy sword.
And Yun Che was waiting for the moment when one hand left the heavy sword, leaving it to wield the sword with only one hand.
Another weakness of the heavy sword lineage was the wrist! Because the heavy sword was too heavy, it required both hands to wield. Only with both hands could the heavy sword's full power be unleashed. But due to its weight, when the wrist suffered a heavy blow, the heavy sword could easily slip from the grasp—especially when held with one hand!
Focusing intently on the position of the Rock Dragon General's right wrist, the moment Yun Che landed, he sprang forward like lightning, the aura of his profound force suddenly becoming incredibly wild.
"Falling Moon and Sinking Star!!"
Just as the Rock Dragon General finally steadied itself, Yun Che's heavy sword, carrying power ten times more berserk, struck the Rock Dragon General's wrist—the one gripping the heavy sword—with precision and heavy force.
Bang!!
Amid the ear-splitting collision, the Rock Dragon General let out another agonized roar. Its entire arm was knocked upward, the armor wrapped around it completely shattered. As Yun Che had anticipated, the strange-shaped heavy sword flew out of its hand, arcing dozens of zhang before falling heavily... When it hit the ground, accompanied by a sound like an avalanche, the ground split open with a crack several zhang long.
Yun Che sprinted over, arriving before the heavy sword that had slipped from the Rock Dragon General's grasp. He grabbed the dragon-bone-like hilt with both hands and lifted it into his own grip.
Although he had expected this heavy sword to be heavier than the Overlord Giant Sword, he was still secretly startled when he took hold of it. Its weight was more than double that of the Overlord Giant Sword—at least eight thousand jin! If his Great Dao Pagoda Art hadn't broken through, even if he could lift it, he wouldn't be able to swing it freely like the Overlord Giant Sword.
Both were heavy swords, but the feeling Yun Che had when holding this sword was completely different from when he wielded the Overlord Giant Sword. His entire aura underwent an earth-shaking transformation, like a crouching tiger baring its claws and fangs, ready to unleash heaven-shaking power at any moment.
His profound force flowed into the heavy sword, and within the sea of his heart, the sword's name appeared...
"Dra...gon... Gate... Good sword, good name!" Yun Che said in a low voice, a faint smile curling at the corner of his mouth. Although a Heavenly Xuan sword was only one rank above an Earth Xuan sword, the difference in weight, power, and momentum was as vast as the heavens and earth. And the Rock Dragon General, having lost Dragon Gate, had its aura diminished by more than half—like a tiger stripped of its claws and fangs, making Yun Che no longer feel any sense of threat.
He turned his gaze to the Rock Dragon General and said coldly, in a low voice: "I'll use this sword you gave me to send you to your grave!"
As his voice fell, he charged at the Rock Dragon General. With the howl of a storm, the heavy sword Dragon Gate displayed its edge for the first time in Yun Che's hands. With a rumbling sound, Dragon Gate slashed directly into the Rock Dragon General's body. A sharp, ear-piercing "chi" sound followed, and the thick golden armor shattered like a thin layer of paper. The Rock Dragon General let out a low roar, stumbling back several steps, a gash over two feet long and over an inch deep left on its hard body.
The effect of this strike made Yun Che smile in satisfaction. Before the Rock Dragon General could steady itself, he leaped high, Phoenix Flame igniting all over his body again, his gaze locked on the Rock Dragon General's head, and his voice came out ice-cold: "Let's see if your skull can withstand the power of this Heavenly Xuan heavy sword!"
"Phoenix Wing Firmament!"
Ssshhh!
Wrapped in flames, Yun Che's body broke through the air and crashed into the Rock Dragon General's head. "Boom!" Flames exploded, and the power of the Phoenix Flame and Dragon Gate erupted simultaneously. The thick helmet and hard head of the Rock Dragon General burst apart at the same instant, scattering gravel everywhere.
Yun Che plummeted down, landing steadily on the ground. He held Dragon Gate horizontally before his eyes, an extremely excited light shining in his gaze. Behind him, the Rock Dragon General, its head shattered, slowly tilted backward and then fell to the ground with a dull "thud," kicking up a cloud of dust.