Chapter 2084: Thunderclap
Meng Jianxi's brows sank heavily: "Meng Jianyuan, my tolerance has its limits as well. If you continue like this again..."
"Jianxi Divine Son," Yun Che spoke calmly, "if I were you, having worked diligently in the Weaving Dream Divine Kingdom for a hundred years and finally securing the title of Divine Son, then one day a Meng Jianyuan suddenly descended from heaven—without any achievements, inferior to you in every way, yet about to be enfeoffed as a Divine Son equal to you... I would certainly be unwilling as well."
"Since you are unwilling, then remonstrate with the Divine Venerable, say directly that Meng Jianyuan is unworthy. You can find a hundred reasons why the Weaving Dream Divine Kingdom does not need a second Divine Son, and you can also find a hundred reasons why Meng Jianyuan is unworthy of being a Divine Son... truly, honestly, and openly. No one would think you wrong, let alone think you unseemly."
Yun Che narrowed his eyes slightly: "After all, as a Divine Son, one should have a defensive stance, as well as appropriate opinions, confidence, and ambition."
"But unfortunately..." Yun Che shook his head, his face full of disappointment and regret: "On one hand, you have your people united to pressure your Father God, and secretly arranged a bunch of extremely lowly means to try to brand a shameful mark on me, so that my day of enfeoffment becomes a day of disgrace—that's truly malicious to the extreme. Yet on the other hand, you're shouting about unity and mutual dependence, fully displaying your broad-mindedness and cultivation."
"Why bother?" Yun Che's gaze carried undisguised mockery: "You could have been an honest and outspoken Weaving Dream Divine Son, so why do you have to make yourself so hypocritical and ugly?"
"Oh, right!" Yun Che suddenly leaned in a little, the contempt in his eyes piercing Meng Jianxi's pupils like steel needles: "I suddenly thought of a rather unpleasant saying: some people could be clean, but insist on being whores; and after being whores, they still want to erect a memorial archway... Does Jianxi Divine Son have any insight into this saying?"
Almost everyone present felt their hearts skip a beat... These words were not merely a direct tearing of face without leaving any leeway; they were a complete and utter insult to the face.
Not to mention such a grand occasion with the Divine Venerable and all the Dream Lords present, and countless people watching—even in the darkest corner, who would dare to say such crude and venomous words to the Weaving Dream Divine Son?
"Outrageous! Absolutely outrageous!" Meng Cangji growled low. At this moment, he undoubtedly had a perfectly normal reason to be angry. He stared at Yun Che, his soul pressure oppressive to the heavens: "Meng Jianyuan, do you know what great crime it is to insult and slander my Weaving Dream Divine Son like this?"
"Ridiculous!" Yun Che sneered in response: "If Jianxi Divine Son hadn't done it, then indeed it would be insult and slander. But if he did do it, then I am merely stating a most truthful fact—how is that insult or slander? If you insist it is an insult, then isn't Jianxi Divine Son insulting himself?"
"Meng Jianyuan." Meng Jianxi's voice was low, but his expression remained relatively calm: "You have successfully angered me."
"You say I am inconsistent in word and deed, that I secretly employed means—where is your evidence? Without evidence, it's just your filthy conjectures... or even deliberate slander. Do you know that this does not harm me, but rather yourself?"
Even if Yun Che tore everything apart completely, even if everyone under his guidance fully believed... he would never be able to produce real evidence.
"Evidence? Simple." Yun Che casually pointed at An Zhiming, who had been standing there all along: "Just cast 'Dreamfall' on him."
"..." Meng Jianxi's expression didn't change, but the edges of his eyeballs instantly burst into countless fine red cracks.
"Shouyuan."
At Yun Che's soft call, Meng Shouyuan's figure appeared behind him like a ghost.
Yun Che pointed at the gloomy-faced An Zhiming: "Dreamfall him."
"Yes!" Meng Shouyuan obeyed without a moment's hesitation, then released his soul power, directly enveloping An Zhiming.
"Stop!"
With a loud roar, Meng Shouyuan's Dreamfall power was completely blocked. Meng Xuanji withdrew his arm and said in a deep voice: "Meng Jianyuan, you have lost your memory and completely forgotten that 'Dreamfall' is a forbidden power of my Weaving Dream Divine Kingdom, not to be used except for major matters!"
"Forbidden?" Yun Che gave a contemptuous smile: "I've only heard that the greatest taboo of Dreamfall power is that it must never be used against one's own clan. He, An Zhiming, comes from an affiliated national domain, and does not even bear the surname 'Meng'. He can hardly be considered 'same clan'."
"Besides, this act is to prove the innocence of Jianxi Divine Son. What, is the innocence of Jianxi Divine Son not considered a major matter in your words?"
Meng Xuanji's face stiffened slightly, and he said sternly: "Once a person is Dreamfalled, it is equivalent to exposing everything before others, leaving no secrets or dignity! Although An Zhiming is not from the Divine Kingdom, he is still one of the subjects ruled by the Divine Kingdom! How can our great Weaving Dream Divine Kingdom trample on the dignity of an innocent junior in front of so many people? Wouldn't that make all the world laugh at us?"
"Oh, so in the eyes of Xuanji Dream Lord, the innocence of Jianxi Divine Son is far less important than the dignity of a subject from an affiliated nation? Ha ha, hahahaha!"
Yun Che threw his head back and laughed: "Jianxi Divine Son, did you hear that? This Xuanji Dream Lord would rather sacrifice your 'innocence' in order to protect the dignity of a small nation's prince. You really are a pathetic and laughable Divine Son..."
"..." Meng Jianxi slowly gritted his teeth, the cracks in his eyes spreading rapidly.
Yun Che's voice suddenly stopped. He looked at An Zhiming, then suddenly had a revelation: "Oh~~ Xuanji Dream Lord, I understand. Logically speaking, the lord of a Dream Hall, no matter how foolish, would not say such ridiculous words. Unless..."
He pointed at An Zhiming: "Could it be that this person who calls himself An Zhiming is actually your illegitimate son, Xuanji Hall Lord!"
"You!!" Meng Xuanji's eyes bulged, and the blood in his entire body almost reversed instantly.
"Pfft... pfft..." Dian Jiuzhi held back again and again, but still kept snorting from the corners of his mouth.
Yun Che said with a look of understanding: "If not for this reason, I really can't think of any other reason that could make a Dream Hall Lord utter such an incredibly stupid joke. Shouyuan, what do you think?"
Meng Shouyuan lightly echoed: "What the young master says is very true."
"Jianyuan Imperial Prince!" An Zhiming suddenly shouted at this moment, also timely breaking the predicament of Meng Jianxi and Meng Xuanji: "What Xuanji Dream Lord said is correct. Although I am a lowly person, I also have dignity. Anyone with dignity would not easily accept being 'Dreamfalled' in front of so many people for a fabricated reason."
"Unless..."
He gritted his teeth secretly and suddenly stepped forward. A silver spear appeared in his hand, its profound light flashing: "I have dared to come forward this time precisely to challenge Jianyuan Imperial Prince. If Jianyuan Imperial Prince wants me to willingly accept Dreamfall, then defeat me in honorable combat... Of course, if Jianyuan Imperial Prince dares not, and insists on forcibly imposing Dreamfall..."
His eyes quickly turned bloodshot, as if stained with blood: "I, An Zhiming, would rather die on the spot than accept!"
Yun Che glanced sideways at him... He was being forced to trade his own life for the lives of his entire clan.
How pitiful.
"Fine." Facing An Zhiming's almost desperate gaze, Yun Che slowly nodded: "I will grant your wish."
Seeing that he directly agreed, An Zhiming's aura clearly relaxed a little.
And Meng Cangji, Meng Xuanji, and the others, who had been looking extremely grim, now had a strange light flash in their eyes.
Especially Meng Jianze, who was so excited he almost stood up.
These people he selected on Meng Jianxi's orders, though not from the Weaving Dream Divine Kingdom, were all top-tier in talent. Among them, An Zhiming was the best.
He was fully convinced that among all the affiliated national domains of the Weaving Dream Divine Kingdom, no one at the third-rank Divine Lord level could match An Zhiming.
And "Meng Jianyuan," in their understanding, had drifted outside for a hundred years, with no resource supply, no foundation support, and certainly no experts to solidify his foundation after each breakthrough. The profound arts and techniques he cultivated were surely of low quality... Perhaps he was even inferior to an ordinary third-rank Divine Lord of the common realm. How could he compare with An Zhiming?
"However..." Yun Che's tone suddenly shifted. Just when everyone thought he was about to find some excuse, he instead pointed behind An Zhiming: "You arranged nine people. If one after another jumps out, it's too troublesome. Why not all come together?"
"Though I am not yet the Weaving Dream Divine Son, my time is equally precious!"
These words undoubtedly caused an uproar.
Meng Jinghai sneered directly: "Meng Jianyuan, have you gone mad?"
While everyone was either shocked or sneering, Meng Kongchan's eyes blazed with intense light. He suddenly raised his hand, and with several overlapping cries of alarm, the eight third-rank Divine Lords that Yun Che had pointed to earlier were all brought into the arena by an irresistible force, standing side by side with the stunned An Zhiming.
"Yuan'er," Meng Kongchan said calmly, "I will ask you only once: are you sure you want to fight all nine of them at the same time?"
"Of course." Yun Che turned around, responding without a moment's hesitation: "As a man, one should speak truthfully and act accordingly, a promise is a promise! Otherwise, how is one any different from those hypocritical and ugly types?"
Crack... Meng Jianxi clearly heard the sound of his teeth cracking.
"Good!" Meng Kongchan slowly nodded: "All nine of you attack together, and you must use full force. If you win, there will be only rewards, no punishment. But if you dare not use full force... you will be severely punished without leniency!"
The words of a Divine Venerable carried the weight of ten thousand jun!
This also made the already astonished crowd even more confused.
"We obey the Divine Venerable's command!" An Zhiming shouted loudly in response. Seeming eager to end this quickly, his spear was already swirling with profound light, pointing straight at Yun Che: "Jianyuan Imperial Prince, please enlighten me!"
As his voice fell, the profound light on the spear transformed into thunder, and his entire being shot toward Yun Che like lightning skimming the ground.
The power he erupted was clearly the limit of the third-rank Divine Lord realm... undoubtedly full force.
At such close range, with a flash of thunderous light that erupted in an instant, it seemed to everyone that the relaxed Yun Che had no way to dodge.
And indeed, that was the case.
Crack!
After the loud sound of thunder splitting the air, the sound of thunder suddenly stopped.
Yun Che remained rooted to the spot, not moving an inch, and even the expression on his face hadn't changed at all.
Only his right hand was raised, his index finger extended forward... And the silver spear carrying An Zhiming's full power had frozen right before Yun Che's fingertip.
Even the thunderous light on the spear had completely vanished.
An Zhiming maintained a charging posture, yet was frozen as if encased in ice... His face rapidly drained of color, his pupils dilated violently, as if he had encountered the most extreme terror in the world.
The scene was dead silent. Then, amid a flurry of noise, countless people stood up or soared into the air, repeatedly widening their eyes as if they could not believe what they were seeing no matter what.
"How... how is... this..." Meng Jianze muttered in a daze, his words stammering.
Meng Cangji, Meng Xuanji, Meng Jinghai, Meng Kongdu... even all the Dream Hall Lords rose from their seats, showing similar expressions of shock.
"..." Dian Jiuzhi, who had maintained a look of watching a show, was also instantly covered in astonishment.
The corner of Yun Che's mouth twitched, as if he smiled slightly. Then... his figure suddenly turned illusory.
Bam!
An Zhiming's figure was sent flying sideways, and the silver spear in his hand had already fallen into Yun Che's fingers. Stepping on Moon-Breaking Shadow Flick, in eight pairs of terrified, dilated pupils, all that passed was a faint, illusory ice shadow.
Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam!
Eight instantaneous movements, eight spear shadows. Before An Zhiming's flying body had even hit the ground, the other eight profound practitioners had all been sent flying to different heights, accompanied by piercing screams.
Yun Che's figure finally stopped. Behind him, eight spear shadows that had yet to fade formed an exceptionally dazzling dragon silhouette.
He turned, and with a casual sweep of the spear, he stirred up a massive storm that engulfed all nine profound practitioners who were falling, then rolled them all before him.
Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam!...
A series of crashing sounds rang out at Yun Che's feet, also violently impacting the endlessly palpitating hearts of everyone.
Countless mouths gaped wide. Meng Jianze was dumbfounded. Even the Dream Hall Lords had their gazes frozen, lost in spirit for a long time.
The cracked red marks in Meng Jianxi's eyes had long disappeared, replaced by pupils that had dilated to almost cover his entire eyeballs.
Dian Jiuzhi had somehow already stood up, staring fixedly at Yun Che... at this man whose cultivation was only at the third-rank Divine Lord realm.
As the acknowledged first Divine Son of the Six Divine Kingdoms, he considered his profound way talent after awakening the Great Desolate Divine Vein to be unmatched in the world. But... when he was at the third-rank Divine Lord realm, he could easily defeat opponents of the same level, but there was absolutely no way he could defeat nine profound practitioners of the same level in such a short instant.
It was unheard of.
"..." Meng Kongchan's chest rose and fell visibly several times.
And the strange light flashing deep in his pupils was scorching enough to burn the soul.
Brother Huafuchen did not deceive me!
This is not just a huge surprise—it's a fucking huge surprise!!
"Hahahaha!" Meng Kongchan laughed loudly, laughing especially freely in front of everyone: "Good! Very good. No wonder my Yuan'er, even after drifting for a hundred years without enjoying half a bit of the Divine Kingdom's resources, still has such outstanding talent!"
"Such talent is not merely outstanding..." the Lord of Chenmeng Valley murmured, then quickly shut his mouth when he came to his senses.
In this situation, praising one side would likely drag one into factional strife. For neutrals, silence was the wisest choice.
But at this point, the scales in the hearts of these neutrals who never involved themselves in factions had gradually tilted toward "Meng Jianyuan"... And before this ceremony, no one believed that the returning "Meng Jianyuan" was even worthy of being compared with Meng Jianxi.
An Zhiming collapsed to his knees, his eyes vacant, unable to stand for a long time.
Bam!
With a heavy sound, his beloved accompanying spear fell into the ground before him.
Yun Che's low voice came to his ears: "It seems you've messed up the mission. The consequences are bound to be tragic. How pitiful..."
"Before you pick up this spear again, think carefully about who harmed you, and even more clearly, who can save you in this situation!"
An Zhiming's empty eyes trembled slightly, then trembled more and more violently.
Suddenly, he propped himself up with his hands, knelt heavily, and let out a great roar that seemed to tear his throat: "I beg the Divine Venerable, beg Jianyuan Divine Son to save me... save the Anmeng Imperial Clan!"
This sudden roar almost split his throat, jarring everyone's ears.
Meng Jianze's face changed drastically.
Meng Kongchan turned his head, first glanced at Yun Che, then said calmly: "Save you? What do you mean?"
An Zhiming suddenly raised his hand, pointing straight at Meng Jianze: "It was him! It was Jianze Imperial Prince! He threatened me with the lives of my father and sister, demanding that at today's enfeoffment ceremony, I take the initiative to provoke and challenge Jianyuan Divine Son, then defeat him in the most humiliating way, so that he would have no face..."
"You shut up!"
Meng Jianze jumped up, his face like a pig's liver: "An Zhiming! How dare you slander me in front of Father God!"
With no way back, An Zhiming faced Meng Jianze directly, his gaze fierce, every word filled with a heart-wrenching sorrow: "I, An Zhiming, swear by my own life and lifetime glory—if there is a single false word, let me..."
"Still daring to slander! You deserve to die a thousand deaths!"
Meng Jianze's entire face was already black like dried blood. He suddenly flew forward, his hand forming a claw, charging at An Zhiming like a rampaging beast.
For a son of a Divine Venerable, even killing a prince of a small country in public was hardly a matter of no consequence.
Yun Che, closest to An Zhiming, flashed and stood in front of him... But before Meng Jianze's power could even reach Yun Che, a sword light appeared before him out of thin air.
"Wah!"
With a miserable cry, Meng Jianze flew backward dozens of times faster than he had charged, crashing heavily to the ground, his whole body convulsing, unable to stand up.
No one looked at Meng Jianze's miserable state; instead, they all turned their shocked gazes to the sky.
Because the one who had struck was actually...
Hua Qingying!
Among everyone present, the one least likely to act!
Yun Che immediately turned and bowed deeply to Hua Qingying: "Thank you, Aunt, for saving me."
In an instant, the entire place was so quiet that a pin drop could be heard, leaving only Meng Jianze's pitiful screams.
What did they just hear?
Meng Jianyuan actually called Sword Immortal Hua Qingying...
Aunt?