# Chapter 372: One Word: Misery
As the Thirteenth Prince of the Shenhuang Empire, Feng Xichen had spent his entire life surrounded by luxury and the fearful flattery of others. He had never suffered any humiliation, much less the extreme disgrace of having his head stomped into the ground by someone's foot. His mind buzzed, and he struggled desperately, but the weight pressing down on his head and body felt like a mountain of ten thousand jun. Even if he weren't injured, let alone in his current state, he could never break free.
He exerted all his strength, but his body could only twitch slightly, unable to escape in the slightest. From the area where his head had been stomped into the ground, continuous choked, hoarse whimpers seeped out.
The Black and Red Elders had their entire bodies' blood boiling and profound energy in chaos from Yun Che's single Celestial Wolf Strike. Seeing Feng Xichen's miserable state, they almost popped their eyes out. No longer caring to stabilize their own energy, they scrambled toward Yun Che, roaring: "Release the Prince! Otherwise... otherwise our Fenghuang God Sect will certainly exterminate your nine generations and make you wish you were dead!"
Threats like these—Yun Che had heard them tens of thousands of times over two lifetimes. He stepped on Feng Xichen's head, pressing the full weight of Dragon Gate down on it, and laughed wildly: "Fine! Then I'll wait for your Fenghuang God Sect to come exterminate my nine generations! But whether your Fenghuang God Sect can succeed, I don't know. Since you've already said those words, this poor wretch under my foot is dead for sure today! Tsk tsk, I originally only wanted one of his hands and one of his feet, but you insist on making me take his life. So in your Shenhuang Empire, a prince's life is just something to be toyed with!"
As his voice fell, Yun Che's expression suddenly turned cold. He swung Dragon Gate, and a terrifying aura instantly gathered around the sword blade, ready to smash down.
"Stop... stop!!"
Using the mighty Fenghuang God Sect as a threat had not only failed to have any effect but had been directly used by Yun Che as justification to kill Feng Xichen. Yun Che's utterly unhesitating movement nearly made the Black and Red Elders kneel on the spot. Only now did they finally realize that against Yun Che, a "madman" who acted without regard for consequences, intimidation, threats, and warnings were completely useless. Even with Feng Xichen's status as a prince, he would still kill him without hesitation!!
The two of them were no match for Yun Che, and Feng Xichen's life was held in his grasp. The Black and Red Elders dared not cause any more trouble. Though they wished they could tear Yun Che to pieces, they had to forcefully suppress the anger on their faces. The Black-clad Elder took a deep breath, restrained his expression, and ground his teeth as he said: "Yun Che! Today... today we admit defeat! Release the Prince immediately... as long as you release the Prince, we will absolutely not make a move against you today. We will leave immediately!"
"Hahahaha!" Yun Che laughed as if he had heard the world's biggest joke, throwing his head back. Sarcastically, he said: "Your words are no different from passing gas! As if I'm terrified of you making a move against me!" He extended his finger and beckoned to them: "I'm not releasing him. Why don't you make a move against me? Come on... come on!"
"You!" The Black-clad Elder's face turned hideously ugly, nearly spitting out a mouthful of old blood on the spot. The Red-clad Elder gritted his teeth and stepped forward: "Yun Che, don't push things too far..." He had only said half a sentence when he saw Yun Che's expression instantly darken. His heart skipped a beat, and he immediately dared not say another word with any threatening implication. His face and tone softened at an incredible speed: "Today's matter was indeed our offense first. As long as... as long as you release our Prince and let us leave, the events of today can be considered settled and not pursued further. Oh no, it can be considered as never having happened! And we won't speak of it to anyone..." He swept his gaze around and continued: "I believe no one present will spread word of this either... otherwise, our Fenghuang God Sect will exterminate their entire clan."
Although the words "Fenghuang God Sect" seemed to have no deterrent effect on Yun Che, to everyone else, they were no less than a divine threat! As soon as the Red-clad Elder's words left his mouth, everyone's expressions changed drastically. They fell silent as cicadas in winter, wishing they could immediately nod and declare their determination never to spread word to anyone.
Coming from the mouth of a Fenghuang God Sect member, these words could already be described as the utmost groveling. In history, no person from Cang Feng Kingdom had ever made a Fenghuang God Sect member assume such a begging posture.
"Oh?" Yun Che slanted his eyes, his gaze extremely contemptuous. He drawled: "Your words are an insult to my intelligence. You followed this worthless prince to my Cang Feng to flaunt your might, but got beaten like dogs by a junior from my Cang Feng Kingdom. If this gets out... tsk tsk, you'll drag the entire Fenghuang God Sect into losing face. The once-invincible Fenghuang God Sect will become a laughingstock for all nations. With such consequences, this worthless prince naturally won't die, but you two old things will suffer lingchi at the very least. You two are the ones in this world who most don't want this to get out. You probably wish you could kill everyone present to silence them, and now you're using this as a bargaining chip? Do you take me for an idiot?"
Yun Che's words struck the Black and Red Elders' vital point, making their entire bodies tremble violently. At the same time, it awakened everyone present. They suddenly understood why Yun Che dared to be so overbearing in front of the three Fenghuang God Sect members. As the strongest of the Seven Heavenly Xuan Nations, the Shenhuang Empire had always been a hegemon. Not one of the other six nations dared to challenge its edge. Even if the other six united, they could never be a match for the Shenhuang Empire. And the Fenghuang God Sect was the overlord of the Shenhuang Empire.
No one had ever defied the authority of the Fenghuang God Sect. No one had ever had the ability to trample its dignity.
But today, three King Xuan realm experts of the Fenghuang God Sect, including a genuine prince, had been defeated single-handedly by a mere seventeen-year-old youth in the weakest Cang Feng Kingdom. Even the prince's head was stomped underfoot. If this got out, it would be the greatest disgrace in the history of the Fenghuang God Sect. Even the Fenghuang God Sect's deterrent power across the Heavenly Xuan Continent would be greatly affected. As the creator of this disgrace, Feng Xichen, as a prince, would at most receive some punishment, but the Black and Red Elders would most likely be executed. So, just as Yun Che said, even if they couldn't retaliate against Yun Che using the Fenghuang God Sect's power, they absolutely did not want these matters to be known by the sect and the world.
Yun Che seemed to have been certain of this from the very beginning.
The Black and Red Elders' faces turned bright red. The Red-clad Elder trembled all over and pointed at Yun Che: "Yun Che, don't go too far!"
"*I'm* going too far?" Yun Che smiled coldly, his expression sinister. "I don't know you. We have no grudges. Yet on my wedding day, you came uninvited. Not only did you mock and insult me, disrupt my wedding ceremony, but you also tried to kill me! Now you turn around and say I'm going too far? Hah, your words are not only utterly ridiculous but also make me very unhappy... and whoever makes me unhappy, I always make them *even more* unhappy!!"
With a furious shout, Yun Che's Dragon Gate suddenly swung down and heavily struck Feng Xichen's body.
Boom!!
The violent power of the heavy sword exploded on Feng Xichen's body. The clear sound of bones breaking and a pained roar from underground spread far. Under this blow, over a dozen bones in Feng Xichen's body were broken, more than ten meridians were shattered, and blood vessels burst in patches all over. His entire body was like a leaking blood bag, blood flowing everywhere.
"Prince! Yun Che!! You..."
"What about me?" Yun Che squinted, raising his heavy sword again. "Do you still want to say I'm going too far? No problem, go ahead. I just wonder if this poor wretch under my foot can survive my next strike."
"You... you... you..." The Black and Red Elders felt cold all over, their faces bloodlessly pale. Looking at the half-dead Feng Xichen, they couldn't even speak a complete sentence.
Cang Wanhe quickly stepped forward and said: "Yun Che, the Shenhuang Prince is still young, so he acts impulsively. But in the end, no serious consequences have occurred. No matter what his faults, he is ultimately a guest from afar. Now that he has been taught a lesson, and they have promised to forget today's events... if you truly kill the Shenhuang Prince, it will benefit neither side. How about you release him?"
Yun Che, of course, wasn't truly set on killing Feng Xichen. Otherwise, he would have done so already. By severely injuring Feng Xichen, they might, to save face and avoid severe punishment, try to conceal the matter, swallowing the humiliation and injuries. But if he actually killed Feng Xichen, that would be an entirely different concept. Yun Che was very clear that he was no match for the Fenghuang God Sect in his current state.
He needed to vent his anger, but he couldn't kill. And the best way to save face was naturally Cang Wanhe. He knew Cang Wanhe would step in at the right time.
Since it was Cang Wanhe speaking, Yun Che, whose demeanor had been arrogantly wild, immediately showed a respectful expression. After listening seriously, he only considered for a few seconds before saying deferentially: "Though I am filled with indignation, since it is His Majesty's command, Yun Che naturally obeys."
With that, Yun Che moved his foot off Feng Xichen's head, then kicked the head-buried prince toward the Black and Red Elders. The two hurried forward and caught Feng Xichen, whose body was covered in blood.
"Hmph! You disrupted my wedding and tried to kill me. I originally intended to kill you all here, but since His Majesty pleads for you, I will let you off this once! Are you not going to thank the Cang Feng Emperor for his mercy?!"
Though Cang Wanhe was emperor, core figures from major sects always showed him surface respect while their eyes betrayed contempt. Some couldn't even be bothered with pretense. But today, Yun Che—who had thoroughly humiliated the Fenghuang God Sect and shaken the heroes of Cang Feng—was respectful to him and directly "followed his words." For the first time in his years of reign, Cang Wanhe tasted the feeling of overwhelming face, even unconsciously straightening his spine. In his heart, boundless gratitude toward Yun Che surged. He understood very well that Yun Che's simple attitude would allow him, more than twenty years after ascending the throne, to truly become the emperor commanding Cang Feng!
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