# Chapter 1990: Overwhelming Pressure
Anger and humiliation were thoroughly ignited. Ximen Qi had completely forgotten where he was or the circumstances he was in.
The ground beneath his feet cracked. He exploded upward, charging straight at Yun Che. The profound light bursting from his body was as violent as a clawing, fang-baring evil ghost.
As he drew near, a ten-foot-long rock spear suddenly appeared in his hand, its shaft wrapped in yellow light, with a dragon's roar resounding.
"Dragon-Capturing Spear?" Helian Kun murmured.
This spear—Ximen Borong had not given it to his direct son Ximen Hong, but rather to Ximen Qi!
This showed Ximen Qi's current standing in Ximen Borong's eyes.
The suddenly surging storm of profound energy brought deep shock to everyone's faces... because the density and intensity of this profound energy was far beyond any Divine Sovereign they had ever known.
It even vaguely carried the might of a Divine Master.
His earlier arrogant words had truly been without exaggeration!
His earlier embarrassment was likely only due to carelessness and being caught off guard, after all, everything had happened in the blink of an eye with no time to react.
Now, with Ximen Qi releasing his full strength in fury and even bringing out the Dragon-Capturing Spear, this Yun Che, who was recklessly provoking without leaving himself any way out, would probably...
Compared to everyone else's emotional turmoil, Yun Che's face showed not a trace of being moved.
Facing the thrusting Dragon-Capturing Spear, Yun Che raised his left arm, crimson flame burning in his palm, and simply grabbed straight at it.
Yun Che's action drew a savage roar from Ximen Qi: "I'll cripple your hand first!"
**Clang!!**
The shattering sound tore at ears and shook souls.
But what was shattered was not Yun Che's seemingly self-destructive hand, but rather the thick profound light coiled around the Dragon-Capturing Spear.
As Yun Che's hand pressed forward, the withered yellow light screen carrying powerful rock might was burned through layer by layer by the crimson flame, like tearing through silk.
The dragon's roar emitted by the Dragon-Capturing Spear also suddenly turned into a struggling, miserable cry, then completely dissipated together with the profound light spiraling around it.
The ferocity on Ximen Qi's face instantly twisted. Countless cracks of terror spread across his pupils, which had been dilated to their maximum due to hatred.
Yun Che's hand grabbed onto Ximen Qi's thrusting Dragon-Capturing Spear with almost no obstruction.
A tremendous force struck from the spear shaft, shaking from his arm throughout his entire body.
Earth-type profound force was strongest in defense, with rock-type being the most powerful. The protective profound force covering Ximen Qi's body was as strong as ten thousand layers of solid rock.
Yet under this force from the Dragon-Capturing Spear, it collapsed in an instant.
A miserable shriek rang out. Blood mist exploded from his right arm holding the spear. Flesh flew everywhere. On his broken palm, five sections of bone-white finger bones were exposed.
The Dragon-Capturing Spear flew out of his hand, and the next moment was directly sucked into Yun Che's grasp.
"Cripple your hand?" Yun Che sneered. "Not a bad suggestion."
As he spoke, the Dragon-Capturing Spear in his hand stabbed down abruptly, piercing straight through Ximen Qi's right chest. The spear tip went through his back into the ground, nailing him down.
His foot followed, stomping Ximen Qi's head and screams deep into the ground with a "boom."
"Such a disgraceful thing, and this is the son of the Worship Qilin Alliance's leader?" Yun Che lowered his brow and chuckled. "A joke worse than trash like this actually has the face to provoke the Helian Imperial Clan? And dares to insult our Helian Eldest Princess?"
"...!" Helian Lingzhu's heartstrings violently trembled.
"Qi... Young Master Qi!"
Ximen Qi's wretched state shocked Zhai Liancheng, and then his face completely darkened.
His sleeves billowed as his body swiftly shifted... but immediately, the figure of Mo Cangying appeared before him.
**Boom!**
The two's power collided midair, and each was knocked back.
"As a fourth-rank Divine Master, you actually strike at a Divine Sovereign," Mo Cangying said with a cold face and eyes like poison blades, his profound energy surging as he guarded against another attack. "Zhai Liancheng, have you completely lost all shame?!"
But Zhai Liancheng paid him no attention at all. His eyes were still fixed dead on Yun Che.
Yun Che released his foot from grinding Ximen Qi's head, then kicked out, sending Ximen Qi along with the Dragon-Capturing Spear flying toward Zhai Liancheng.
Zhai Liancheng quickly reached out and caught Ximen Qi.
His right hand was reduced to white bones. The Dragon-Capturing Spear, which he treasured, was thrust through his body. There were at least a dozen cracks in his skull... He was already unconscious, whether from pain or from being unable to bear such humiliation.
Zhai Liancheng's scalp went numb. He had never seen... never even imagined Ximen Qi looking so miserable.
He raised his head, his gaze locking onto Yun Che again: "Who... are you exactly?!"
"Eldest Princess's guard, Yun Che." Yun Che's expression and tone were utterly calm. "A mere lowly beast of Worship Qilin Alliance actually dares to covet the Eldest Princess. As her guard, if not for fear of dirtying the Eldest Princess's eyes, even ten of his lives wouldn't be enough to die."
Helian Lingzhu: "..."
Zhai Liancheng's gaze darkened further. In front of him, Mo Cangying's hands clenched, his pupils shaking, his face burning.
"Impossible!" Zhai Liancheng's eyes were cold and stern. "Helian is already left with nothing but trash. You... cannot be one of Helian's people!"
"Heh." Yun Che gave a cold smile, seemingly full of meaning. "Young master of Rock Mystery Sect, haven't you realized yet that you're nothing but a self-righteous fool?"
"No wonder. How could a fool ever think himself a fool?"
"You!!" Zhai Liancheng was furious, but this time, he didn't flare up immediately.
Yun Che continued: "When Helian ruled over Linyuan Realm, even your sect's founding ancestor likely hadn't been born yet. The accumulated heritage over so many eras—outsiders can only glimpse a fraction. Yet a few jumped-up clowns that have only been hopping around for a few years actually think they can replace them."
"Truly the height of stupidity!"
"..." Helian Kun's eyes shifted. If he weren't the current Helian ruler, he might have believed it himself.
Zhai Liancheng's face changed constantly... Yun Che, a Divine Sovereign, looked at him, a fourth-rank Divine Master, like an ant, with mockery and even a hint of pity.
Could it be... that everyone had misjudged Helian Imperial Clan's heritage?
Mo Cangying suddenly spoke: "Young Master of Rock Mystery Sect, you should leave. If you delay any longer, this man's hand will likely be completely useless."
Zhai Liancheng glanced at Ximen Qi, grit his teeth, and left a threatening remark: "Helian... I'll remember this today. You'd better be able to bear the wrath of Worship Qilin Alliance and Senior Ximen!"
"...I won't see you out!" After a long silence, Helian Kun finally spoke.
"Hmph!"
Zhai Liancheng snorted coldly, picked up Ximen Qi and the Dragon-Capturing Spear, and without looking back, shot out of the imperial hall.
He had come arrogantly, charging straight in with his nose in the air. He left with a face as black as a pot, utterly disgraced... with a trail of blood behind him.
This scene would undoubtedly be seen by many, though it was unknown how it would be spread.
"Yun Che, you... you... are you injured?"
Helian Lingzhu stepped forward a few paces, wanting to approach Yun Che. But she finally stopped, not moving far from Helian Kun's side.
However, the way she looked at Yun Che was now completely different from before.
In her slightly trembling gaze, there were many more shimmering ripples.
Yun Che smiled: "Not a scratch. Eldest Princess need not worry."
"Yun Che!" Helian Kun's imperial brows were deeply furrowed, his eyes full of authority and coldness. "What is your origin?!"
"I told you, I lost my memory after severe injury. I don't know my origin." Yun Che answered frankly.
"Without knowing your origin, you dare to act so recklessly?" He clutched his heart, but his face was stern, every word containing authority. "Do you know who you've injured? Do you know what kind of disaster your actions today will bring upon us?!"
"Heh!"
Yun Che laughed. He turned sideways, crushing a bloodstained piece of gravel under his foot into powder, making a rather stimulating cracking sound:
"In front of two people who trampled Helian Imperial Clan's dignity under their feet, you didn't dare to even fart. But against me, who helped you pick up that dignity, you put on airs."
"Truly a splendid display from the Helian ruler. I, an outsider, am truly enlightened!"
This mocking remark, leaving no face untouched, turned Helian Kun's face purple.
"You!" Helian Kun's finger trembled, and a sharp pain struck his heart, nearly making him faint.
The ruler was insulted, but Mo Cangying remained silent, not refuting.
"Father," Helian Lingzhu quickly pressed down Helian Kun's raised hand. "Zhai Liancheng and Ximen Qi were unbearably arrogant, already not taking our Helian seriously at all. It was indeed Yun Che who extinguished their flames and helped us save face."
Helian Kun said angrily: "What are Zhai Liancheng and Ximen Qi? What business is it of some wild outsider to meddle? The truly terrifying ones are those behind them..."
"Zhai Liancheng and Ximen Qi are indeed nothing," Yun Che interrupted Helian Kun without any courtesy. "But for such a major event as the 'Qilin God Meeting' and 'Establishing a Kingdom, Changing Dynasties,' the Worship Qilin Alliance didn't send their leader but only two juniors."
Helian Kun's voice and expression froze simultaneously.
Yun Che's eyes were full of undisguised contempt: "When these two barged in, I was still puzzled why two juniors dared to act so arrogantly before an imperial clan that rules over Linyuan Realm. But soon I understood. With a ruler who has no spine... oh no, not even bones, sitting in the imperial palace, two juniors are enough."
"No wonder a princess who should be enjoying glory and wealth has to be so anxious and risk her life for the imperial family's future."
Yun Che's words directly stabbed at Helian Kun's weak spots and sore points.
His face twisted violently, but not from heart pain. He shook off Helian Lingzhu's arm, stepped forward, and shouted: "What do you know?! What do you know?! You—an unknown young...ster, what right do you have to judge my actions?!"
Helian Kun was furious in expression, Yun Che was smiling with contempt. A ruler, a junior... the scene was extremely ridiculous and ironic.
"Zhai Liancheng mentioned someone, your Helian's 'Guardian Grand Ancestor,'" Yun Che said without even looking at Helian Kun. "This Guardian Grand Ancestor should probably be a demigod."
Apart from the Pure Land and the Six Divine Kingdoms, there were no true gods. In this remote place, there likely weren't any Divine Extreme Realm existences either; Divine Annihilation Realm was basically the limit.
The slight movement in Helian Kun's eyes told Yun Che he was right.
"Setting everything else aside, if it really came to that, destroying a demigod would undoubtedly come at a great cost. The net would break, and even if it didn't, it would be damaged."
"So for Worship Qilin Alliance and the Three Sects, the best outcome would be to force Helian to kneel for self-preservation, achieving victory without bloodshed."
"And for your Helian Imperial Clan, the best countermeasure should be to meet them with strength and bluff."
"The more forcefully you act, the more Worship Qilin Alliance and the Three Sects will hesitate. After all, 'hundreds of eras of heritage' can be quite intimidating if used well."
"Such a pity, such a pity," Yun Che shook his head. "A ruler with no blood or backbone, trembling and timid all day, has probably long since revealed the imperial clan's weak foundation. Even two juniors from Worship Qilin Alliance and Rock Mystery Sect look down on you."
From the attitudes of Ximen Qi and Zhai Liancheng, from start to finish, where had they ever taken Helian Kun seriously?
It was easy to imagine how weak and pathetic this Helian ruler was in the eyes of Worship Qilin Alliance and the Three Sects, to the point where sending two juniors was enough to handle him.
"Faced with such a huge provocation and humiliation as 'establishing a kingdom and changing dynasties,' the resistance your Helian ruler showed was merely not marrying a concubine's son but a direct son... Hahahaha!"
Yun Che burst into laughter: "For Helian Imperial Clan to fall into your hands, it truly deserves to perish."
"..." Mo Cangying's mouth twitched repeatedly.
Yun Che was cursing the Helian ruler, insulting Helian... and yet he felt a bit refreshed inside.
"You... you... you!!" Helian Kun shook all over like a sieve. He was, after all, a ruler of a nation. When had he ever been insulted like this, with every word piercing his heart and soul?
"You've got some nerve! Do you really think... I won't kill you?!"
"Kill me?" Yun Che's eyes slanted, and he unhurriedly stepped forward two paces. "Do... you... dare...?"
Facing Yun Che's approach, Helian Kun's instinctive reaction was to move his extended arm back slightly.
The Divine Sovereign might Ximen Qi had displayed was shocking. And such a Ximen Qi, facing another Divine Sovereign in Yun Che, had been almost utterly helpless.
Even someone without a brain would think that the one who raised such a person was very likely an existence from a far higher plane than Worship Qilin Alliance.
Coupled with Yun Che's extraordinary appearance and his imposing aura that made even imperial authority vanish...
A Divine Kingdom...?
Helian Kun had already thought of these two words.
Blood and spirit were engraved in one's bones. Unfortunately, he had no blood and no bones.
Such a Helian Kun, before truly figuring out Yun Che's background, how could he dare to touch him.
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