# Chapter 221: Annihilation
Blue Profound Flame and Red Profound Flame were not merely different in power, but different in realm entirely. Profound force defenses at the Spirit Xuan Realm could greatly resist high-powered Red Flames, but when faced with low-powered Blue Flames, they would often be burned through like thin paper, easily destroyed.
As the Blue Flame storm rapidly spread, Yun Che also retreated step by step, gradually being forced to the inner edge of the profound force barrier. Fen Juebi let out a loud laugh, and his body suddenly became ethereal. Within the surging Blue Profound Flame, a large number of figures of him suddenly appeared, as if he had spawned numerous doppelgangers within this blue sea of fire.
Of course, these "doppelgangers" were merely conjured by him using Blue Profound Flame, but since they were extremely similar to his true body, it was difficult to distinguish reality from illusion, enough to easily confuse the opponent's vision and leave them dazzled and unable to strike. The "doppelgangers" multiplied from a few to a dozen, then to several dozen, all chaotically moving within the blue sea of fire, sweeping up countless trails of blue light. Under the cover and interference of these doppelgangers, his true body slashed at Yun Che from different angles, blade after blade, causing Yun Che to be in constant danger as he retreated step by step.
"This is the Burning Heaven Sect's core movement profound art, 'Burning Shadow Illusory Body'? It's absolutely terrifying! Especially under the condition of a restricted battle zone, it's simply despair-inducing."
"As expected of the Burning Heaven Sect. Such astonishing and exquisite profound arts are something our sects could never hope to reach."
Looking at the current situation, Yun Che had basically been forced into a dead end. It was estimated that he wouldn't last more than a few breaths. Fen Juebi's easy victory was already a foregone conclusion. Fen Juecheng smiled faintly and said, "Tch. Second brother's Burning Shadow Illusory Body has actually reached this level. Even I, as his elder brother, am quite surprised."
"The reason Juebi's profound strength hasn't increased for three months is precisely because he was cultivating his Profound Flame and Burning Shadow Illusory Body. Otherwise, he would definitely have reached the ninth level of the Spirit Xuan Realm. Before we set out, when the sect master mentioned this to me, I didn't take it seriously. Unexpectedly, he has already reached such a level. I'm afraid even Jin'er might not be his match. I really misjudged him. It seems my previous worries were unnecessary."
Fen Moli nodded in satisfaction, and the expression on his face became exceptionally relaxed. With Fen Juebi unleashing Blue Profound Flame and executing Burning Shadow Illusory Body to such a degree, there was simply no way he could lose this battle.
Bang!
With a slight sound, Yun Che's back touched the transparent profound force barrier. He had reached the point of no retreat, and the Blue Profound Flame was less than a zhang away from him. The terrifying high temperature was gradually melting the hard platform stone beneath his feet.
"Oh dear, this stage is really too small. The cat-and-mouse game has only just begun, and it's already about to end. How boring. What's even more boring is that you haven't even let out a single scream. You're really not cooperating."
Within the blue sea of fire, dozens of flame shadows flickered and exchanged positions. A mocking voice came from one of the shadows, impossible to tell which: "Since you refuse to cry out yourself, I'll help you along. Give me a good desperate howl, hahahaha..."
"Burning Heaven Slash!!"
The already blazing blue flame instantly went berserk. As Fen Juebi swung the Ghost Flame Blade in his hand, it raised a huge wave of fire several zhang high, surging toward Yun Che, who had been forced into the corner edge.
Fen Juebi laughed wildly. He seemed to have already seen the next second, when Yun Che's entire body would be engulfed by the blue Burning Heaven Flame. Especially his fair-skinned face; the Blue Flame would give it "special attention," burning it pitch black and disfigured beyond recognition.
Everything was within his expectations and control. Everything was so perfect. If there had to be one flaw, it was that until now, he had not seen a trace of fear on Yun Che's face. Even when forced into a dead end, his expression was abnormally calm. This somewhat diminished his "sense of accomplishment."
But just as the Blue Flame was about to swallow Yun Che, his expression finally ceased to be calm. However, what appeared was not the terror and despair Fen Juebi wanted to see, but rather... a sneer of contempt.
"This really is a cat-and-mouse game. But it seems you've gotten confused about who is the mouse."
The contemptuous voice pierced through the scorching airwaves and entered Fen Juebi's ears. At this moment, Yun Che suddenly stepped forward, swung his heavy sword, and lashed out fiercely.
Rip!!
With the swing of the heavy sword, the space twisted slightly, and the air crazily erupted. A sound like tearing cloth rang out. The terrifying Profound Flame that had been rushing toward Yun Che was actually cut apart by the heavy sword, then rapidly dissipated like a broken illusion.
Yun Che, who had been retreating step by step, now wore a cold smile and began to advance step by step. His heavy sword swung continuously. With rumbling eruptions of profound force, the seemingly extremely terrifying Blue Profound Flame was extinguished piece by piece like fragile bubbles. It didn't even have the ability to struggle or resist. Wherever Yun Che's footsteps landed, the Blue Flame there was shattered and dispersed.
"Wh... what?!"
Everyone was dumbfounded. The six members of the Burning Heaven Sect all stood up from their seats, eyes wide, faces full of disbelief, as if they had seen ghosts.
"This... this is impossible!"
Fen Juebi's wild laughter and the contempt and arrogance on his face vanished simultaneously, replaced by a face full of shock and slight terror. His pride, his hidden trump card, the Blue Profound Flame that had stunned the entire audience, was being effortlessly annihilated by Yun Che with casual movements. He was annihilating not only Fen Juebi's power but also his pride, his dignity, and his once immensely inflated confidence.
"It must be that my Blue Flame is newly formed and not yet truly mature, so he can destroy it. That must be it... that must be it!"
Fen Juebi frantically comforted himself. A sinister smile once again appeared on his face, but this time it was somewhat stiff and ugly. "Yun Che, do you think that just because you can destroy my Burning Heaven Flame, you can defeat me? Hahahaha! These Burning Heaven Flames are merely the lowest-level Profound Flames under my command..."
"Why don't you try breaking my Burning Heaven Dragon Flame!"
Fen Juebi bit his tongue and spat out several drops of blood essence, splashing them onto the Ghost Flame Blade in his hand. The Ghost Flame Blade immediately blazed with intense Blue Flame. Fen Juebi raised the Ghost Flame Blade with both hands and let out a fierce roar. In an instant, his body suddenly erupted with a pillar of blue flame a full ten zhang high. Even the surrounding burning Blue Flame was forcibly sucked back, gathering onto his body. Then, the Blue Flame on his body no longer rose but rapidly descended and shrank, yet the profound force aura became more and more terrifying.
"He actually doesn't hesitate to damage his own blood essence to activate the Dragon Flame! It looks like he's going all out." Fen Juecheng frowned, his expression dark and gloomy.
"This is also his inevitable choice. I never imagined that Yun Che had been deliberately showing weakness all along. Juebi's Profound Flame has already reached the blue level, yet it poses no threat to him at all. What kind of freak is this... However, once the Dragon Flame is unleashed, he is basically dead. Even if he doesn't die, he will be severely injured. There's a good chance Juebi will be expelled from this ranking battle because of this." Fen Moli said with a heavy face.
"Hmph! Being expelled from the ranking battle is better than losing!" Fen Juecheng gritted his teeth. He now desperately wished for Yun Che to die immediately. Before, he had only harbored killing intent toward Yun Che but never considered him an enemy, because in his eyes, Yun Che wasn't even qualified. But as Yun Che repeatedly displayed stronger and stronger strength, by now, he couldn't help but tremble with fear. At just seventeen, he was already like this. When he fully matured, who knew what astonishing height he would reach.
Fen Moli opened his mouth but didn't deny it. That's right. Under these circumstances, killing Yun Che and being expelled from the ranking battle, even facing punishment from the Tian Wei Sword Domain, was better than losing. Because only Fen Juebi himself would be punished. The Burning Heaven Sect would at most pay some compensation. But if they lost, the entire Burning Heaven Sect would be disgraced!
"Damn it!" Chu Yuefeng stood up with a "whoosh." He knew very well what Fen Juebi was about to do, and he knew even better how terrifying the power of the Burning Heaven Sect's "Dragon Flame" was. He transmitted a low voice to Ling Wugou: "Prepare to save Yun Che immediately! Don't let him die under the Dragon Flame."
Ling Wugou on the Sword Discussion Platform had a heavy expression. He gave an almost imperceptible nod. His profound force surged, and his green robes billowed as he prepared to strike.
"Yun Che... die!!"
Fen Juebi knew better than anyone what consequences this strike could lead to, which is why his roar was especially ferocious. As his arms swung down violently, the Blue Flame over his entire body transformed into a purple dragon of fire, a full chi thick and several zhang long, flying out from the Ghost Flame Blade. It carried an utterly terrifying heat and momentum as it charged toward Yun Che.
"Flame Dragon... it's the Burning Heaven Sect's forbidden ultimate technique—Burning Heaven Dragon!"
"I heard this move must be activated with blood essence. Every time it's used, one's profound strength drops by at least half a rank! But its power is enough to kill immortals and slay gods!"
"Has Fen Juebi gone mad?! Actually damaging his own blood essence to use this move! With this move's power, Yun Che could very well die right on the stage!"
"It's not surprising that Fen Juebi would do this, because the Burning Heaven Sect simply cannot afford to lose this match... Sigh. Yun Che is such a genius. It would be such a pity for him to fall here. We can only hope that Elder Ling will step in at the right time to save Yun Che."
The surrounding discussions turned Cang Yue's face pale. She covered her lips with her hands, her beautiful eyes wide open. In extreme terror and worry, she couldn't make a single sound.
The soaring Burning Heaven Dragon Flame came straight at him, setting off alarm bells in Yun Che's mind... He was completely unafraid of flames, but the violent impact force carried by this dragon flame was absolutely not to be underestimated. He furrowed his brow, quickly stepped back, surged his profound force, and swung his heavy sword with all his might.
Boom!!
The storm of power collided with the dragon flame from a distance. The dragon flame came to a momentary halt, then charged toward him again. An immense oppressive aura enveloped his entire body.
This was actually so troublesome... Yun Che's mind stirred. His swung heavy sword quickly lifted upward, and the profound force throughout his body surged like a flood bursting through a dam, rushing into his arms.
"Falling Moon and Sinking Star!!"
Boom!!!!
A thunderous roar sent flames flying everywhere. The platform stones within a dozen zhang instantly turned to powder. Even the profound force barrier trembled slightly. Under this incomparably powerful, berserk strike, the dragon flame was sent tumbling far away. At the same time, the Blue Flame on its body rapidly scattered. In the blink of an eye, the dragon flame that had been a full chi thick was now only half a chi thick... But the next instant, the dragon flame, its power largely dispersed, shot toward Yun Che again. Its speed was like lightning. Before Yun Che could even withdraw his heavy sword, the dragon flame had already slammed into his chest.
The sight of a single sword strike blasting away most of the power of such a terrifying dragon flame struck the onlookers, especially the Burning Heaven Sect members, like a thunderbolt from a clear sky. But despite that, the remaining power of the dragon flame was now approaching Yun Che's chest, and he had no way to block further.
Everyone held their breath. Ling Wugou's entire body tensed, about to charge into the profound force barrier, when he noticed Yun Che's hands suddenly release the Overlord Giant Sword and swiftly close together, grabbing at the "neck" position of the dragon flame.
Ling Wugou was greatly alarmed and shouted, "Let go!! Do you want to lose your hands?!"
The terrifying heat and flame power carried by the Blue Flame Dragon was simply unimaginable. Even striking it with power couldn't break it. Directly touching it with one's body was practically suicide.
Yun Che acted as if he hadn't heard. His hands firmly gripped the neck of the dragon flame. Under "Evil Soul," his profound force, the flame manipulation power of the Evil God Seed, the Phoenix Flame Force, the Dragon God Force, and the formidable physical strength granted by the Great Dao Pagoda Art all surged up at once...
There was no flame explosion. No dragon flame explosion. Nor was there any scene of Yun Che's hands being instantly scorched by the dragon flame... At this moment, the scene abruptly froze still. The soaring dragon flame was thus fixed in Yun Che's hands.
Then, the dragon flame suddenly twisted in agony like a viper whose throat had been seized. But no matter how it struggled and thrashed, it couldn't escape Yun Che's tightly clenched hands. Amidst its struggles, the power of the dragon flame rapidly dissipated. It grew smaller and smaller, from a dragon flame quickly shrinking into a small fire snake, then shrinking further into a thin earthworm... until it completely vanished in Yun Che's hands, without a trace left behind.
Sweat covered Yun Che's forehead, but his face was utterly calm. He slowly released his hands. Neither his palms nor his wrists bore any sign of being burned.
Everyone on the Sword Discussion Platform had stood up at some unknown time. Every single person had dazed eyes, silent for a long time, as if all sound in this world had been completely sucked away.
[Just discovered that Zongheng has a "send red envelopes to readers" event, so I quickly scraped together all my resources to wrap up some red envelopes... Minimum 100, maximum 1000. Those who draw it will have great luck in the Year of the Sheep; those who don't will still have good fortune in the Year of the Sheep!]