# Chapter 1850: Crushing
Amidst the chaotic, swirling dust, pairs of bulging eyes were fixed in stunned disbelief. Neither the Northern Domain profound practitioners nor the Western Domain practitioners could believe their own eyes.
*Boom!*
The earth was torn open as Long Bai's figure burst out from the ground, slowly landing. His face was expressionless, not a speck of dust on his body. His posture was cold and composed, showing not the slightest sign of disgrace.
It was as if Yun Che's punch that had plowed him thirty miles across the ground moments ago had been nothing but a fleeting illusion.
"Th-this..." The Western Domain Divine Lords' eyes were still bulging.
The Dragon Gods and Dragon Lords exchanged various expressions, wanting to speak but not daring to.
Although Long Bai appeared uninjured, not even a speck of dust on his body, when Yun Che's power had erupted just now, the indentation on Long Bai's forehead... they had all seen it clearly with their sharp eyesight.
The hardness of dragon bone was unmatched in heaven and earth. And among dragon bones, the hardest was undoubtedly the skull.
How could the skull of the esteemed Dragon Emperor be dented, even for an instant, by a human's fist?
As for that scene just now, they could only tell themselves that the dent in Long Bai's skull had been a visual distortion caused by the collapse of space... That was the only possibility!
The Northern Domain profound practitioners all had their mouths wide open, frozen in shock for a long time.
Previously, all the core combat forces of the demon clan had fought Long Bai together, and they had all witnessed his extreme terror clearly... Yet they could never have imagined that in the very first exchange between the Demon Lord and the Dragon Emperor, the Dragon Emperor—who was so powerful as to defy all logic—would be sent flying by their Demon Lord with a single punch.
Shock far outweighed joy, leaving them completely unable to cheer or celebrate.
"How could there be... such a thing?" Long Wu's gaze was fixed on Yun Che, a clearly dazed murmur escaping his lips.
Even the five Withered Dragon Venerables all showed expressions of shock that lingered for a long time.
"His dragon aura suddenly collapsed just now. Was it intentional?" Long Yi muttered.
Others might not have sensed it, but as powerful as the Withered Dragon Venerables, at the moment Yun Che's power erupted, they clearly perceived Long Bai's dragon aura inexplicably withdraw... and it had dissipated by as much as three-tenths.
"...It could only have been intentional, but the purpose is unknown," Long Er said.
"Hmph!"
Long Bai let out a low snort. He stared straight at Yun Che, his face revealing neither joy nor anger, his voice still cold and indifferent: "It seems that in the Zhou Tian Divine Realm, you haven't been completely without progress. Not bad."
Even after being sent flying with a single punch in their first exchange, Long Bai still maintained a condescending posture, his words like an appraisal from a judge.
As if he had deliberately revealed a flaw just now to test Yun Che's depth.
But as soon as he finished speaking, the tip of his nose suddenly felt hot.
He quickly tried to suppress it, but the reverse-flowing blood was too turbulent, still gushing straight out of his nostrils. Under the interference of his suppression force, two splashes of blood exploded in front of his nostrils, staining his white clothes.
And in an instant, his dignified and imposing demeanor was utterly destroyed.
"Go on, keep pretending," Yun Che sneered. "Your pretentious act here is far more entertaining than the sight of you kneeling obediently before the Heaven's Calamity Demon Emperor back then. So entertaining it makes one want to vomit."
"Haha... hahahaha! Hahahahaha!" Cang Shitian clutched his chest and burst into wild laughter. Every laugh violently pulled at his wounds. He grinned in pain while laughing so hard he was bent over.
Under the suddenly sharp gaze of the Western Domain Dragon God, filled with anger and murderous intent, he not only didn't restrain himself but laughed even more wildly, until he was almost out of breath.
He had never seen Long Bai in such an ugly state in his entire life. It was a spectacle that could not be described in any words.
Cang Shitian's wild laughter snapped the Northern Domain practitioners out of their shock, and then the laughter spread, with waves of roaring laughter following one after another.
The Western Domain practitioners—especially the Dragon Gods—all turned extremely grim.
If not for the Dragon Emperor's earlier order, they would have surely attacked in fury.
Amidst the piercing, raucous laughter, the Dragon Emperor's face still showed no agitation. He swung his arm, wiping away the blood. Without a word, he struck out violently.
*Hum!*
Although Long Bai's face showed no joy or anger, this strike—anyone could sense—was delivered in fury. Like Yun Che, it was an unadorned punch heading straight for Yun Che, and at the moment the dragon aura was released, space tightened, and heaven and earth trembled in fear.
This was the strongest power in the current world, the supreme dragon force that suppressed all living things and controlled the entire heaven and earth.
From across a great distance, an intensely suffocating sensation came head-on, causing the wild laughter of the Northern Domain practitioners to cease instantly, their hearts quickly filling with deep fear and worry.
Yun Che's long hair and robes danced wildly in the oncoming storm. He neither retreated nor dodged, instead meeting Long Bai head-on with a punch of his own... Still, there was no trace of darkness profound light.
"Courting death!" The seven Dragon Gods simultaneously spat out the exact same two words.
The power of the Dragon God was so fierce and domineering as to crush everything, and when it reached its pinnacle, profound arts became a burden.
Among all living things in heaven and earth, who dared to compete head-on in strength with the Dragon God clan... and that was the Dragon Emperor!
In the tightly focused gazes of all, the power of the human and the dragon collided violently.
A hundred miles of space instantly deformed, then, after twisting to the extreme, violently exploded. Countless violently dancing black scars spread across the sky and earth.
At the center of the distorted space, Yun Che and Long Bai were frozen in place, their powers in balance, neither retreating half a step.
"What...?!" The Western Domain practitioners all cried out in alarm.
"What... what is happening?" The Jade Dragon God growled. "Impossible. Absolutely impossible!"
Yun Che, using pure profound force, had actually met Long Bai's power head-on and held his ground!?
Blood mist was still spreading from his chest and back... telling everyone that he was even doing this while forcibly suppressing his own wounds, yet still withstanding the Dragon Emperor's might.
Long Bai's brows twitched slightly. Having maintained an air of indifference and pride until now, he could no longer keep his composure at this moment.
*Boom!*
A spatial storm erupted. As their powers finally reached their explosive limit, the two separated. At the same time, a soul-shaking dragon roar resounded through the sky.
Amidst the roar, a white shadow flickered on Long Bai's arm, revealing a heavy, pale dragon claw aimed straight at Yun Che's heart.
This pale dragon claw also meant that Long Bai had now unleashed his full power.
Yun Che's expression darkened. He clenched his fist, channeled power into his right arm, and punched out.
*Crash!*
As if ten thousand thunderbolts had struck the world, half of the Divine Lords hundreds of miles away were shaken to the ground. The entire heaven and earth trembled visibly.
In the spatial storm swept up by the collision of two enormous powers, the figures of Yun Che and Long Bai still remained frozen in place.
This scene shocked the hearts of the Dragon Gods and Dragon Lords so much they nearly burst.
Under Long Bai's clearly furious full-power attack, Yun Che had still... not retreated half a step!?
"Hehehe..." Facing Long Bai, who was right in front of him, Yun Che revealed a cold, sinister grin. "Long Bai, this couldn't possibly be your full power, could it?"
"..." Long Bai's features clearly showed a trace of losing control, twisting.
"Your Dragon God clan claims to be unmatched in the world in power and physique, don't you?" Yun Che mocked contemptuously. "You, an old dragon who has lived over three hundred thousand years, can't even overpower in strength a human who is only a little over thirty. And you still have the nerve to call yourself the Dragon Emperor? I feel embarrassed for you!"
*Boom!!*
With a thunderous blast, the two separated by a great distance. Yun Che turned over and stabilized himself midair, while Long Bai slid back several miles through the air before barely coming to a stop.
*Roar!!!!*
Without a moment's pause, before the crowd could even react, an even more soul-shaking dragon roar shook the heavens and earth. A pale dragon shadow appeared behind Long Bai, causing his already world-shaking dragon might to surge instantly.
The dragon claw shadows covering his hands also became more solid.
The entire heaven and earth were completely enveloped in this supreme dragon might. When Long Bai's figure charged toward Yun Che, it was as if the whole world was crashing down upon him.
"The Dragon Emperor... is enraged," the Plain Heart Dragon God murmured softly.
"What exactly is going on with Yun Che's power?" The White Rainbow Dragon God seemed not yet fully recovered from his earlier shock.
Yun Che looked up, his eyes icy. Facing the Dragon Emperor, who had fully released his dragon might, he once again met him head-on with pure profound aura and pure strength.
*Boom!*
*Boom!!*
*Crash!!!*
Power collided, heaven collapsed, earth sank. The fully empowered Dragon Emperor, facing the Demon Lord who used only pure profound energy and strength, engaged in a shocking contest of power above this divine domain, which had already been ravaged by disaster. The howling, swirling storm of power tore apart heaven and earth with each moment, terrifying beyond measure.
One strike... two strikes... ten... a hundred...
Hundreds of sky-piercing profound lights, hundreds of power booms that shook the star domain... Yet neither side retreated or fell.
The Dragon Emperor, with his dragon might fully unleashed, still could not defeat the Demon Lord, who used only pure profound energy!
"Retreat... retreat further!"
Too many of the Northern Domain practitioners were severely injured. Even at the already considerable distance, the terrifyingly extreme power aftershocks were still too dangerous.
Chi Wuyue released her demon aura, urging everyone to retreat another three hundred miles, but her demonic eyes remained fixed on Yun Che, who was battling Long Bai in the distant sky, shimmering with an unfathomably deep and strange light.
"His cultivation hasn't improved much, so why has his power... seen such astonishing growth?" Qianye Ying'er murmured.
She was the one most familiar with Yun Che's profound cultivation and power limits.
But in less than three years in the Zhou Tian Divine Realm, without a breakthrough in profound cultivation, he seemed to have been reborn.
Shui Meiyin whispered, "Actually, Yun Che's profound strength reached the peak of the Divine Sovereign Realm, Level 10, about a year after entering the Zhou Tian Divine Realm. But when he tried to break through, he failed repeatedly. He told me that this was a restriction set by the Evil God in his profound veins, because once he sets foot in the Divine Lord realm, he would inevitably break through the limit that the current world's operating laws can bear."
"In other words, Yun Che's current cultivation at Level 10 Divine Sovereign is already the pinnacle of the current era. No one, no living being, can surpass it."
"And the following two years..." Shui Meiyin smiled softly. "He completely mastered and controlled two other... no, one type of power."
"With this power fully mastered, besides his profound energy, his physical strength and soul power also reached another realm. Especially... when facing the Dragon clan, it forms an irreversible crushing force."
Shui Meiyin's last sentence sent a violent tremor through the hearts of Qianye Ying'er, Mu Xuanyin, and Chi Wuyue.
The terror of the Dragon Emperor's physical strength could shake off the combined attack of the three Yan Ancestors.
And in the exchange between Yun Che and Long Bai, although the profound energy Yun Che released was powerful, in terms of momentum, it was clearly inferior to Long Bai's. Yet every time, it held its ground against Long Bai's power.
Now, they finally knew the answer.
*Boom!!*
Above the shattered sky, Yun Che and Long Bai met, fist and claw.
At this moment, Long Bai's features were tightly twisted, his dragon eyes no longer peaceful, churning with magma-like ferocity.
But across from him, Yun Che still wore that cold smile that seemed never to change.
"It seems this really is your limit," Yun Che said, his tone tinged with a hint of disappointment. "Seeing your earlier pose with hands behind your back and chest puffed out, looking down on the world, I thought you had some real capability. Who knew that the so-called Dragon Emperor was just a laughable piece of trash like this."
*Boom!*
Long Bai's arm surged with even greater force, but it was still firmly blocked by Yun Che, not retreating even half an inch.
Yun Che's eyes dropped, glancing at the mysterious white light enveloping Long Bai's arm and body. His gaze slowly turned cold: "The strongest Dragon Emperor in the history of the Dragon God Realm—what a grand, resounding, and world-shaking title. Do you still remember who earned you that title, and who gave you this worthless life that has stretched on for over three hundred thousand years?"
"..." Yun Che's words undoubtedly touched the most forbidden and fragile part of Long Bai's soul. His pupils contracted sharply as if pricked by needles.
"And this special layer of Light Dragon Power on you." Yun Che's eyes grew even colder. "Her grace over three hundred thousand years gave you growth far beyond your kind. Thirty thousand years of Life Divine Water tempering gave you a dragon body far beyond your peers. And the Life Miracle power contained within the Life Divine Water, over the long years, combined with your dragon aura to form this protective divine power, making you invincible under heaven."
"Compared to the repayment you gave her by providing a safe haven, the grace she bestowed upon you... you could not repay in a hundred lifetimes!"
"But you..."
The murderous intent that had never been out of control pierced straight into Long Bai's pupils at this moment. Yun Che's hand changed from a fist to a claw, fiercely grabbing Long Bai's dragon claw shrouded in white light: "This protective power she bestowed upon you... do you deserve it?!"
*Crack...*
A barely audible soft sound. Long Bai's protective white light dissipated in an instant, eerily... just like when he had been sent flying by Yun Che's punch earlier.
The origin of this protective white light was the Life Miracle power gradually derived and bestowed by the thirty thousand years of Life Divine Water tempering.
Its existence was an insurmountable barrier to others. Even powerful figures like Chi Wuyue had only managed to briefly break it with great effort before injuring him.
But under Yun Che, who had fully mastered Life Miracle... it could be dissolved with a flick of the finger!
After the white light, as an strange light flashed in Yun Che's eyes, Long Bai's dragon aura trembled violently, then receded like a torrent pouring out.
*Crunch!!*
Amidst the roar, Long Bai's wrist and all five fingers snapped at once. The crisp sound of Dragon Emperor bone breaking was so loud it nearly shattered eardrums.
His dragon body also plummeted downward, like a falling star piercing the earth.
Yun Che's figure also vanished from the air. When he reappeared, his surroundings were no longer pure profound energy, but a dark demonic light that made one's soul tremble at the mere touch.
His expression had also changed from the earlier cold sneer to one of vicious, venomous cruelty, as if suddenly possessed by a brutal demonic ghost full of malice.