Chapter 218: Swift Decisive Victory
Although Mu Tianbei's words were an "invitation," his tone was full of arrogance and forcefulness, carrying the implication that his invitation to join the Tianqiang Leihuo Fort was a show of respect for Yun Che, and that Yun Che should be grateful and tearfully accept. His disdain for the Cangfeng Mystic Palace was even more pronounced. Sensing the rising anger from Qin Wushang beside him, Yun Che smiled slightly and replied, "Thank you, Fort Master Mu, for your kind regard, but I believe you already know that I, Yun Che, am a disciple of the Cangfeng Mystic Palace. I have not yet considered leaving, so I must decline your gracious invitation."
Mu Tianbei's expression did not change as he said, "Nephew Yun, it's naturally a good thing to have such persistence, but before making your decision, you must think carefully. The Cangfeng Mystic Palace is nothing more than a place for ordinary mortals to cultivate the profound. Among the various profound cultivation forces of the empire, it can't even be considered mid-tier. If it weren't for the prestige of the imperial family, it wouldn't even deserve to be at the bottom! In terms of foundation, resources, and techniques, it is worlds apart from my Tianqiang Leihuo Fort! A pearl like you, in such a trivial Cangfeng Mystic Palace, not only will you fail to make much progress, but in the end, you might even be assimilated into an ordinary mortal."
Qin Wushang said angrily, "Mu Tianbei! Watch your words!"
"Palace Master Qin, which of my words was wrong?" Mu Tianbei finally glanced at Qin Wushang and sneered. "In all these years, has the Cangfeng Mystic Palace ever produced a single disciple that anyone remembers?"
Yun Che slowly exhaled, his gaze calm as he looked at Mu Tianbei and said with extreme composure, "Fort Master Mu, do you know why the Cangfeng Mystic Palace has existed for so long and yet remains merely a 'mid-to-upper tier' mystic palace, never able to reach the heights of your so-called 'famous sects'?"
Mu Tianbei was slightly taken aback; to him, the answer was naturally too simple. He was about to reply offhandedly, but Yun Che did not give him the chance, immediately adding with a smile, "Because, when it comes to you famous sects, every single one of them, while placing the continuation and prosperity of the sect as the top priority, also naturally steps on everyone else... But the Cangfeng Mystic Palace never does! It always teaches its disciples 'conviction' and 'respect'! Fort Master Mu, do you think there was even a trace of 'respect' for the Cangfeng Mystic Palace in your words just now?"
The muscles on Mu Tianbei's face twitched, then his eyes darkened as he said in a low voice, "Yun Che, my invitation for you to join the Tianqiang Leihuo Fort is out of regard for your talent. Don't refuse a toast only to drink a forfeit!"
Yun Che looked straight at him, smiling without backing down. "In my dealings, I have never liked being forced. So today, not only am I refusing the toast, but I will also say that your Tianqiang Leihuo Fort is nothing but a fart in my eyes!"
Mu Tianbei's face turned the color of pig liver. As the fort master of the Tianqiang Leihuo Fort, with such a noble status, to be insulted to his face by a junior—this was an unprecedented first for him. He flew into a rage. That a junior would dare to speak to him, a sect master, with such rude and even insulting words... He frowned, his face darkening. "Nephew Yun, what did you just say? I don't think I heard you clearly..."
Yun Che smiled and said, "I said, a fort master who doesn't know what respect means or how to speak like a human being—the sect he leads, no matter how powerful, is probably just a chaotic third-rate place. It's better not to join." Facing Mu Tianbei's intimidating gaze, Yun Che repeated calmly with a smile, "This time, Fort Master Mu, did you hear clearly?"
It was as if a ball of air had exploded in his chest. Mu Tianbei's fury reached his peak, the muscles on his face trembling. Although the Tianqiang Leihuo Fort was not as powerful as the Four Great Sects, no one had ever dared to provoke it; they were always eager to curry favor. But now, a junior was calmly and brazenly mocking him, the dignified fort master, to his face. His eyes turned vicious as he said in a low voice, "Good... very good..."
"We're even," Yun Che said with utmost calm. "You look down on my Cangfeng Mystic Palace, and I look down on your Tianqiang Leihuo Fort. That makes us even. If you have nothing else, Fort Master Mu, you can leave. Never mention me joining the Tianqiang Leihuo Fort again. In my eyes, the Cangfeng Mystic Palace is a million times better than your fort. Even if you, a fort master, come personally, or even if your entire sect kneels before me, I will never agree."
In a few words, Yun Che unceremoniously returned Mu Tianbei's contempt and mockery of the Cangfeng Mystic Palace several times over. To be honest, Yun Che didn't have much attachment to the Cangfeng Mystic Palace; even if he were expelled, he wouldn't care. This fearless counterattack was not for the Cangfeng Mystic Palace, but for Cang Yue.
If this weren't the Tian Jian Villa, where wanton violence was forbidden, Mu Tianbei would have directly struck down Yun Che. He laughed out of extreme anger, staring at Yun Che with a deadly glare. "What an arrogant junior! You've truly opened my eyes! I originally felt pity for your talent and wanted to have Yan'er go easy on you tomorrow, but it seems you don't want your life! Let's see if you still have the ability to stand before me and be arrogant at this time tomorrow... Let's go!"
Mu Tianbei gave a heavy snort and left with a flick of his sleeve. Mu Xiongyi and Mu Xiongyan followed behind him. As they left the courtyard, Mu Xiongyan turned to look at Yun Che, a venomous smile appearing on his face.
Yun Che's sarcastic counterattack naturally made the angry Qin Wushang feel greatly relieved. But aside from gratitude, he felt more worry. He sighed and said, "Yun Che, you were too impulsive just now. You could have simply refused him; there was no need to offend him. Like this, tomorrow's match... ah..."
"Rest assured, Palace Master Qin," Yun Che said with a faint smile. "In this ranking battle, I have only one true opponent. Before I meet that opponent, I will not lose. As for tomorrow's Mu Xiongyan, not only does he pose no threat to me, he doesn't even have the qualifications to make me use my full strength."
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A night passed, and a new day began. A new match was also about to commence. In the early morning, the area around the Sword Discussion Platform was already filled with people, quietly awaiting the start of the Round of 16. At least so far, the proceedings of this Cangfeng Ranking Battle had been fairly standard. If there was anything unusual, it was the emergence of Yun Che as a super dark horse.
As for the final outcome of the ranking battle, it had already been decided in everyone's minds since the first day's profound measurement ceremony... First place would inevitably belong to Ling Yun, while second, third, and fourth would be contested among the Bing Yun Fairy Palace, the Xiao Sect, and the Fen Tian Gate. The other sects had no qualifications to contend for those spots.
The Round of 16 was destined to be far more intense and tense than yesterday's Round of 32.
First match of the Round of 16: Yun Che of the Cangfeng Imperial Clan — versus — Mu Xiongyan of the Tianqiang Leihuo Fort.
"Yan'er, cripple him!" Before Mu Xiongyan went on stage, Mu Tianbei instructed in a low voice. A night had passed, but his anger had not subsided. Since becoming fort master, Yun Che was the first person daring to speak insultingly to him, enough to make him hate him to the bone.
"Rest assured, Father. I'll make sure he never stands up again for the rest of his life." Mu Xiongyan grinned and said lightly.
On the Sword Discussion Platform, Yun Che and Mu Xiongyan stood facing each other. Mu Xiongyan's eyes were half-closed, with a slight sneer, his relaxed demeanor making it seem as if Yun Che was nothing more than prey in his hands. Yun Che, meanwhile, was completely calm.
Qin Wushang had told him in detail the night before: the Tianqiang Leihuo Fort was divided into the Tianqiang Sect and the Leihuo Sect. The Leihuo Sect could transform profound energy into thunderflame and detonate it, causing extremely massive damage. At the same time, the Leihuo Sect had always passed down the ability to create and control various high-level fire devices. Every disciple of the Leihuo Sect had a dozen or even dozens of dangerous fire devices hidden on them, extremely perilous and difficult to guard against.
As for transforming profound energy into thunderflame, Yun Che didn't take it too seriously. However, he couldn't gauge the true power of the fire devices on Mu Xiongyan. His countless life-and-death escape experiences had taught him that uncertain things were often the source of danger. When facing Mu Xiongyan, the safest approach was to completely eliminate any potential danger in the shortest possible time.
Therefore, to him, this was destined to be a match that would be decided in an instant.
"Match start!!"
As Ling Wugou's voice fell, Mu Xiongyan raised his hands, spreading his ten fingers. In an instant, ten purple-red thunder spheres condensed at his fingertips, emitting a terrifying crackling sound. He looked at Yun Che and sneered ferociously, "Yun Che, prepare to howl under my thunderflame! I'll make you remember forever the price of insulting my Tianqiang Leihuo Fort!"
Yun Che did not reply. He gripped his heavy sword, and with a flicker of his figure, he charged at Mu Xiongyan like a gust of wind.
Mu Xiongyan waved his hands, and the ten thunderflame orbs formed from profound energy shot toward Yun Che along different trajectories. Yun Che did not dodge or evade, but charged straight at them. This sight made Mu Xiongyan sneer:
"Seeking death... Explode!!"
Boom boom boom...
The ten thunderflame orbs exploded simultaneously, and the raging thunderflame light instantly engulfed Yun Che's figure. Before Mu Xiongyan could even let out a laugh, he suddenly noticed that at the moment the orbs exploded, Yun Che's figure had vanished from there.
An afterimage!?
The next moment, he suddenly sensed a shadow flicker from the corner of his eye. Yun Che had already closed in to his side, less than two steps away. If it were anyone else, even if they could react quickly enough to defend, they would surely be flustered. But Mu Xiongyan was not panicked; instead, he sneered darkly. Without turning, he suddenly burst forth with profound energy, and three crimson thunderflame arrows shot out from his shoulder, flying straight at Yun Che's face.
"Ah—"
Exclamations rang out around the Sword Discussion Platform, and Cang Yue even screamed in tension. At such a close range and with such an unexpected head-on shot, even an immortal might not be able to dodge those three thunderflame arrows.
Swoosh!!
In the blink of an eye, the three thunderflame arrows reached Yun Che's eyes and passed straight through his face...
Still an afterimage!!
Mu Xiongyan's eyes widened. Before he could recover from his shock, a scorching hot wave of air crashed down from above...
"Phoenix Wing Firmament!!!"
Boom!!
Yun Che descended from above like a fierce eagle, his scorching and violent sword striking heavily against Mu Xiongyan's back. A massive ball of fire exploded overwhelmingly with a thunderous roar...
Up to this point in the ranking battle, Yun Che had used Star God Remnant Shadow for the first time—the second-level continuous triple afterimage was truly ghostly and unfathomable. Likewise, it was also the first time he used a Phoenix Flame Technique... All of this was for a swift decisive victory, to directly avoid all possible unstable factors.
In the towering flames, Mu Xiongyan's protective profound energy shattered like thin ice. He spat out a large mouthful of blood and was sent flying violently, then slammed into the profound energy barrier and bounced back to the ground. The flames on his body did not extinguish but burned fiercely, consuming his clothes and flesh, as well as the dozens of fire devices hidden on his body...
Bang bang bang boom boom boom...
The fire devices, when exposed to flame, all exploded wildly on Mu Xiongyan's body, tearing his flesh apart, leaving him bloody and mangled. His screams were as piercing as a demon's. Yun Che put away his heavy sword and looked at him with pity, murmuring to himself: "These fire devices meant for me, you can enjoy them yourself!"
[At home, need to spend more time with parents, updates will be sparse --]