Chapter 2000: Sweeping Clean (Part 2)
A fierce and resolute battle intent released from Mo Cangying's body, but Yun Che made no response to it. "Yo, isn't this the guy who injured..." Zhai Liancheng began to speak, then suddenly felt it inappropriate and promptly changed his wording, "Isn't this the kept man of the Eldest Princess? What's his name... Yun Che, is it? Looks like being a lackey for the imperial clan has been quite comfortable for you lately."
The name "Yun Che" caused Ximen Boyun and Ximen Borong's gazes to instantly lock onto him. At the same time, Ximen Qi's almost insane voice transmission echoed in Zhai Liancheng's ear: "Young Sect Master Zhai, give him a good... a good thrashing! Trample him! Crush his bones! Smash his head! Ugh... Don't even give him a chance to beg for mercy or surrender!"
It was clear just how much resentment Ximen Qi had accumulated over the past month.
Zhai Liancheng leisurely replied, "Young Master Qi, rest assured. Since he dares to step onto the field, he's a toy in my hands. I can mold him however I like, round or flat, as I please. Just wait and watch the show."
Yun Che said nothing, only the corners of his brows sinking slightly as his gaze swept lightly over Zhai Liancheng's body.
"Zhai Liancheng, your mouth is as foul as ever," Mo Cangying said coldly.
Zhai Liancheng's expression grew even more contemptuous: "Speaking of foulness, who can compare to the Helian Imperial Clan?"
"With a battle at hand, what's the point of wagging tongues?" Zhai Kexie turned his gaze to the Helian Imperial Clan's direction: "The time is up. Eldest Princess Helian, are you only preparing to send two into battle?"
Several Xuan practitioners from the Helian Imperial Clan and Helian Heavenly Mansion were restless, caught in a dilemma: "Crown Prince, are we really... not going?"
They dared not meet the gazes cast around them—the disdain and ridicule were all too predictable.
"Hmph!" Helian Linglang lowered his head and said in a deep voice: "Choose now—be cowards for a time, or be reviled for several eras and drag your birth clans down with you as sinners. The choice is yours."
Those words instantly erased the last traces of hesitation and backbone from the minds of those Xuan practitioners.
Kuxuan remained motionless, not offering a single word of counsel.
As the saying goes, there is no greater grief than a dead heart. A once-great dynasty reduced to this—he wasn't even greatly surprised.
The three great sects had harsh, cruel survival, competition, and elimination laws. They would stop at nothing to advance further, and their successive rise in power was only natural.
As for the Helian Imperial Clan... generation after generation of nation lords preferred a comfortable corner, seeking only temporary peace. With the nation lord like this, the lands they governed and the people they ruled naturally followed suit.
Over the years, he had even hoped Mo Cangying would leave the imperial clan and join one of the three great sects.
If the next generation of the Helian Imperial Clan fell into Helian Linglang's hands, it would surely be even more unbearable.
Or perhaps, the Helian Imperial Clan no longer had a next generation. It was hard to imagine how humiliated and tormented Helian Lingzhu must be at this moment. Any response would only be met with ridicule and pity. So Mo Cangying raised his head and declared: "Let's begin! What use are spineless dogs? As for the backbone of Helian... the two of us are enough."
"Backbone? Pfft, hahahaha!" Wan Zhongyue burst into loud laughter.
Helian Linglang looked up, his anger and shame all turning to venom: Mo Cangying... I'll get you one day!
"Hmph!"
Zhai Kexie said no more. He pointed a finger, and a withered yellow profound beam shot down, imprinting upon the ground, then forming a circle with a radius of a hundred miles as the battlefield.
For Divine Lords and Divine Sovereigns, especially in a group battle, this battlefield was extremely cramped—forcing all Xuan practitioners to advance with no retreat.
"Three-way battle, the ranking is determined by the order of total defeat." "Fainting, surrendering, or being knocked out of the battlefield—all count as defeat. Injuries are unavoidable but shall not be pursued... malicious killing is forbidden... if someone surrenders, the opponent may not attack again... no one outside the battlefield may interfere in the battle!" Zhai Kexie recited a series of fairly standard battlefield rules. His final words turned solemn and stern: "The Knight Envoy is here as a full witness. Whether inside or outside the battlefield, whoever dares to defy these rules will face the judgment of the Pure Land! You had better... take heed."
His figure flickered, leaving the space above the battlefield, and he roared: "The first battle of the Lin Divine Convocation—Ten Thousand Ren Sect, Helian Imperial Clan, and Rock Mystery Sect—begin!"
As the command to start fell, not a single one of the twenty-two Xuan practitioners on the battlefield moved.
Outside the battlefield, some were angry at their lack of ambition, some sighed in disappointment, and some gloated.
They all clearly saw that the Helian Imperial Clan was finished... not just this Lin Divine Convocation, but they had no future.
After today, the four powers ruling over the Linyuan Realm would no longer be One Dynasty and Three Sects, but Three Sects and One Alliance.
"What a strange formation."
Hua Caili's eyes were full of curiosity and confusion: "And that person... the most isolated, the weakest aura, but he doesn't seem nervous or scared at all."
"Then again, he's only a Divine Sovereign, surrounded by so many Divine Lords. Being nervous wouldn't help anyway."
"A bit foolish, but he's rare good person. He'll definitely get hurt under the pressure of Divine Lords. Such a pity."
She muttered to herself, but no one responded.
For a Sword Immortal like Hua Qingying, such a scene didn't even qualify as children's play, far beneath her notice.
Rock Mystery Sect and Ten Thousand Ren Sect stood on opposite sides. No one made a move—after all, the plan was to clear out the trash first.
Too bad only two pieces of trash showed up. It dampened their spirits somewhat.
"Young Sect Master Zhai, you or me?" Wan Zhongyue spoke, looking utterly disinterested.
A three-way free-for-all—whether they fought among themselves or two united to besiege one—was just basic battle strategy, not violating any rules.
Zhai Liancheng smiled faintly, then stepped forward, casually approaching Yun Che and Mo Cangying.
Mo Cangying suddenly stepped forward, his aura surging wildly, shielding Yun Che behind him... With Zhai Liancheng as a fourth-rank Divine Lord, a sudden strike from him could heavily injure Yun Che in an instant.
"Only two people, and you actually had the nerve to step onto the field," Zhai Liancheng said as he approached step by step, his face full of pity.
His gaze swept over Yun Che and finally landed on Mo Cangying: "Brother Cangying, back then my father, eager for talent, even deigned to personally invite you to join my Rock Mystery Sect. How arrogant you were then."
"And now, look at the Helian Imperial Clan you serve, and look at your current state. Even the Eldest Princess you've been licking is just a plaything for a pretty boy. What a pity, what a shame."
"...?" Mo Cangying's face was dark, but he showed no anger.
In his eyes, the Helian Imperial Clan had long rotted to the core, but for Helian Lingzhu, he was resolute and without regret. Among the young Xuan practitioners of Linyuan Realm in this generation, Zhai Liancheng and Mo Cangying were the foremost. And now, facing his former greatest rival, Zhai Liancheng was like an arbiter, free to toy with the other's fate, deciding whether he would suffer humiliation and a miserable defeat, or be granted a dignified battle.
The complete control over his former greatest rival felt absolutely wonderful.
"Only two people—how pitiful. And if they get cleared out directly, that would be even more pitiful—not even a shred of face left. How about this..." He was now within thirty steps of them, all smiles: "Why don't you two try begging me? Beg well, and maybe this young master will take pity and help you clear out a few opponents from Ten Thousand Ren Sect, so you don't lose so disgracefully."
"Hahaha!" Laughter erupted from both the Rock Mystery Sect and Ten Thousand Ren Sect.
Mo Cangying turned his wrist, a withered yellow profound light about to burst forth, when he heard Yun Che's voice behind him, full of cheerful agreement:
"Alright. Since Young Sect Master Zhai has said so, we can only... reluctantly accept."
The corner of his mouth curled, and his figure shifted slightly.
Whoosh!!
A faint afterimage flickered at the corner of Mo Cangying's eye... and in Zhai Liancheng's pupils, Yun Che's faintly smiling face suddenly appeared.
Barely an inch away from him.
Zhai Liancheng didn't even have time to react, let alone solidify his expression, when a crimson thunderbolt burst across his chest.
Crack!
Heavenly Dao Calamity Thunder struck his body, ten thousand lightning bolts like rampaging demons surging through every meridian of Zhai Liancheng's body, turning his eyes a blood-red.
The sudden eruption of profound aura forced Mo Cangying back, even dispersing the profound light he had gathered in his palm... His eyes widened, his face full of shock.
"Ah..."
"Wha...?!"
"What happened—"
...
Gasps erupted across the entire audience. Every expression shifted to shock in an instant.
The profound aura erupting from Yun Che... though it was at the Divine Sovereign realm, released a pressure that suffocated even the Divine Lords.
Under the assault of Heavenly Dao Calamity Thunder, Zhai Liancheng's features twisted instantly, his limbs splayed wide, his long hair—all his body hair—standing on end like steel needles.
He could no longer feel his own body, nor sense the flow of his profound energy, only the numbness that overwhelmed his spiritual perception.
In his dilated pupils, Yun Che whispered with a smile: "Young Sect Master Zhai, you have my thanks."
He kicked out, flipping Zhai Liancheng over, then grabbed his straightened ankle bone, launched himself into the air, and swung the thunder-wreathed Zhai Liancheng like a flail, smashing him down toward the stunned Wan Zhongyue.
The figure in his vision rapidly enlarged. Wan Zhongshan had been watching the spectacle with full mockery a second ago, and this sudden turn left him utterly unable to react.
Wan Zhongyue instinctively tried to retreat, but the pressure bearing down on him was as heavy as ten thousand mountains. He could only raise his arms subconsciously, watching Zhai Liancheng's head rapidly approach...
Boom!!!
Zhai Liancheng's head smashed heavily into Wan Zhongyue's head.
It felt as if two star rivers had exploded inside both their skulls at the same time. The sound of bones cracking was so clear it almost tore eardrums.
Wan Zhongyue spun off like a top, spinning faster than a tornado, flying straight out of the battlefield with a spray of blood.
"Liancheng!"
"Yue'er!"
Zhai Kexie and Wan Wei cried out in alarm simultaneously. Wan Wei twisted his body mid-air, catching the spinning, falling Wan Zhongyue... The moment he caught him, Wan Zhongyue had already fallen unconscious.
Cracks had split open in his skull, blood streaming from all seven orifices.
Wan Wei's blood surged upward... As the Young Sect Master of Ten Thousand Ren Sect, Wan Zhongyue was undoubtedly his generation's strongest.
A third-rank Divine Lord, struck down by a single blow... this grievously!
"Bi... Big Brother!"
Wan Zhongshan was scared out of his wits—but the next instant, a chill ran through his entire body.
Zhai Liancheng, who had just smashed Wan Zhongyue away, was hurtling straight toward him, his head aimed directly at Wan Zhongshan's chest.
Boom!
A roar like a mountain collapsing.
This was the most terrifying headbutt Wan Zhongshan had ever seen in his life, and it was hitting him.
His chest caved in, his back bulging out.
Half of Zhai Liancheng's head was buried in his chest.
Wan Zhongshan's body bent backwards like a shrimp, a jet of blood over a hundred feet long shooting from his mouth as he flew backward.
"...?!" Mo Cangying's mouth hung open, his outstretched hand frozen in midair, almost forgetting how to retract it.
The Zhai Liancheng in his hand, under the Heavenly Dao Calamity Thunder, was as stiff as an iron rod.
Yun Che's figure flickered again, appearing before another Ten Thousand Ren Sect disciple. He swung Zhai Liancheng upward from below, smashing his once-handsome face straight into the disciple's crotch.
"Waaaahhh!"
The scream was heart-wrenching. The Ten Thousand Ren Sect disciple collapsed to his knees, convulsing all over, unable to stand.
Yun Che flickered again, wielding Zhai Liancheng in his arm like a club, smashing him into one Ten Thousand Ren Sect disciple after another.
Boom!
Crash!!
Boom!!
...
By the time the tenth boom fell, five of the ten Ten Thousand Ren Sect genius disciples had been smashed out of the battlefield, four were severely injured and unconscious, and one was kneeling and unable to rise.
Yun Che finally stopped, dragging Zhai Liancheng along the ground as if unwilling to let go of his divine hammer.
"Tsk, truly worthy of the renowned Young Sect Master of Rock Mystery Sect." The surroundings were silent as a ghostly prison, and Yun Che's faint, calm voice was clear enough to shake souls: "Just a few moves and he's already taken care of the Ten Thousand Ren Sect. Such a great favor—how is the Helian Imperial Clan supposed to repay it?"