Chapter 435: End of the Six Nations (Part 2)
Yun Che leaped into the air and landed on the Phoenix Platform. This time, no one laughed at him for not knowing how to perform Mystic Void Crossing, no one mocked him for coming from the Cang Feng Kingdom, and no one sneered at his Earth Xuan Realm. Every face was solemn, especially among the Kuishui Kingdom spectators, whose expressions were tense to the extreme.
All eyes were fixed on Yun Che. Even the four Sacred Grounds representatives, who had been too lazy to watch the previous battles, raised their heads to look at him... They wanted to know whether this man, who was only at the Earth Xuan Realm yet possessed bizarre combat power, was just a brief flash in the pan, or... whether he could truly unleash the strength of a mid-stage King Xuan from the Earth Xuan Realm.
The ten Kuishui Kingdom combatants stepped onto the platform and quickly arranged into formation, their faces grim as if facing a great enemy. Kuishui Kingdom was a coastal nation, with most of its practitioners cultivating water-based Profound Arts, and their weapons were generally sabers or swords. Before the match even began, they had all drawn their weapons, and faint blue Profound Force rippled across their bodies like watery waves.
Yun Che also drew his Long Que, stabbing its tip into the ground. Instantly, a heavy clang rang out, and the entire Phoenix Platform shook noticeably. The hearts of the ten Kuishui Xuan practitioners trembled along with it as their gazes fell upon Long Que, now filled with dread.
Just a tap on the ground... just how terrifyingly heavy must that greatsword of his be!
"Seven Nations Ranking Battle, fourth match: Cang Feng Kingdom versus Kuishui Kingdom — begin!"
The moment Feng Feiyan's voice fell, all ten Kuishui Xuan practitioners moved simultaneously. Water ripples surged, sword light glistened, and they converged from different directions to surround and assault Yun Che directly... The instant surge of blue Profound Light proved they were going all out from the very start!
Clearly, the scene of Yun Che sweeping away the Canglan Kingdom had left them thoroughly intimidated. They dared not hold back at all.
"Reverse Current Sword Array!!"
The core Xuan practitioner of Kuishui Kingdom charged at the forefront. As his Heavenly Xuan Sword danced swiftly, a blindingly dazzling sword radiance flowed like rippling water, following an incredibly strange and unpredictable trajectory straight toward Yun Che's lower body. Yun Che did not move. His left arm suddenly extended, and he activated the Ice God Divine Art. A starlike chill sparkled in his palm.
Ding!!
The surging water-based Profound Force sword light was instantly frozen solid. The terrifying cold spread from the frozen sword light to the sword, then to his body, making his entire arm feel as if thousands of steel needles were stabbing into it.
"Ahh!!" The core Kuishui Xuan practitioner cried out in alarm, hastily retreating and desperately circulating his Profound Force to barely suppress the cold in his arm. When he looked back at Yun Che, his eyes were full of terror.
"What... what kind of Profound Art is that?"
"It even froze the sword light!"
Crack!!
The energy sword light of the Kuishui Xuan practitioner shattered like a block of ice, scattering into a heap of frozen fragments. Yun Che spread his arms wide, his entire body flashing with blue light. With a flicker of three points of cold radiance, three huge Ice God Trees rose from the Phoenix Platform, growing rapidly. In the blink of an eye, they spread countless icy crystalline branches and snow-white leaves, weaving into a dense ice net that completely covered the entire Phoenix Platform...
"Whoa..." A chorus of exclamations rose from the audience.
Feng Xichen's eyes widened, and he almost bounced half his butt off his seat in excitement... This was clearly the same move used back in the Cang Feng Kingdom by that other young woman whose strength reached the King Xuan Realm — a move that had directly sealed off the two protectors accompanying him. He vividly remembered that this terrifying ice-based Profound Art could even freeze Phoenix Flame! He never expected that Yun Che could also use this ice-based Profound Art!
Under the three great trees, all ten Kuishui Xuan practitioners were undoubtedly sealed within. Those strips and patches of magnificently beautiful icy crystal branches and leaves were like chains of terror from the underworld, firmly binding and suppressing every part of their bodies. All ten stared wide-eyed, frantically circulating their Profound Force, but not a single one could break free in the slightest. Instead, under the disastrous cold, their bodies grew increasingly stiff and frozen, their blood nearly congealing.
Yun Che's expression was blank. He swung his heavy sword in a wide arc, and Long Que traced a massive curve, carrying a faint dragon's roar.
Boom!!!!
The overbearing heavy sword force swept across like a hurricane. The three Ice God Trees shattered into pieces under the impact, and the flying ice crystals shone like scattered stars across the sky, incredibly gorgeous. The Kuishui Xuan practitioners, sealed and frozen within, were also sent flying along with the ice crystals when the Ice God Trees shattered, landing over a hundred zhang away.
After landing, not one of the ten could stand. Their bodies were covered with a thin layer of frost, their faces deathly pale, their lips blue and purple. They curled up and shivered for a good while before barely suppressing the terrifying cold and regaining the strength to stand. Aside from that, they were not seriously injured.
Yun Che had brutally crushed Canglan because of their unbridled insults and disgusting faces. As for Kuishui, since there was no enmity, he naturally showed a bit more mercy.
"Cang Feng Kingdom wins." Feng Feiyan cast a cold glance at Yun Che and announced the result.
The Kuishui Kingdom audience was completely silent. The accompanying Xuan practitioners silently left their seats to help support the Kuishui Xuan practitioners who had been swept off the Phoenix Platform. Yun Che's four-second sweep of Canglan was no illusion, nor was it an unrepeatable flash in the pan... In just four seconds again, the ten Kuishui Xuan practitioners were also all thrown off the Phoenix Platform. They were just luckier, as no one was seriously injured, and with Canglan's fate as a precursor, their morale wasn't completely shattered.
Yun Che's second match ended in another overwhelming victory. This time, no one dared to question Yun Che's formidable strength any longer... Even though he came from the Cang Feng Kingdom and was only at the seemingly pathetic Earth Xuan Realm.
"Ice Profound Force? Why would he cultivate an ice-based Profound Art?" Feng Hengkong stared at Yun Che, a question creasing his brow. Most people present did not know about the enmity between Yun Che and the Fenghuang God Sect, but Feng Hengkong knew that Yun Che possessed the Phoenix Bloodline... Possessing the Phoenix Bloodline yet cultivating an ice-based Profound Art, and being able to unleash such astonishing power — that could not help but secretly astonish and puzzle him.
"Looks like we have quite an interesting fellow this time." In the preparation area, a Phoenix disciple turned his head to look at Yun Che and said with a grin.
"Senior Brother Feibai, if you were to blast ten trash from the six kingdoms off the Phoenix Platform, how fast would you be?" another Phoenix disciple asked casually.
Feng Feibai twisted his mouth and held up four fingers: "About four seconds as well. But that doesn't mean I acknowledge his strength is on the same level as mine. His weapon is a heavy sword, which is naturally suited for group combat."
"Hahaha, of course. Although his strength is surprising, how could it compare to Senior Brother Feibai?"
"However, to be honest, the strength he has shown so far is probably not his full strength. So if I were to face him, I really wouldn't dare claim I could definitely win. But for him to beat me, heh, absolutely impossible." Feng Feibai said arrogantly.
"Haha, naturally. But for this kid to earn such an evaluation from Senior Brother Feibai, he hasn't lived his life in vain."
"In that case, it seems our walkover opponent this time is actually the Cang Feng Kingdom. That's something nobody could have predicted beforehand." Another Phoenix disciple shrugged. "But the question is, who among us will go up? Cang Feng only has one person, we can't all go up, can we? I wouldn't have the face for that."
"We can just draw lots if it comes to that, or rock-paper-scissors." Another Phoenix disciple said indifferently.
Although this Seven Nations Ranking Battle had adopted the group battle format to shorten the schedule, and the final challenge against the Shenhuang Empire could have the Shenhuang Empire send ten people... but Cang Feng only had Yun Che. As the insurmountable, lofty, and eternally undefeated hegemon of seven nations, how could the Shenhuang Empire fight ten against one?
The Seven Nations Ranking Battle continued. The man who had initially been ridiculed became the most dazzling focus of the entire competition.
Jialuo Kingdom versus Heisha Kingdom — Heisha Kingdom wins.
Tianxiang Kingdom versus Kuishui Kingdom — Kuishui Kingdom wins.
Canglan Kingdom versus Jialuo Kingdom — Jialuo Kingdom wins by a narrow margin.
Cang Feng Kingdom versus Jialuo Kingdom — Cang Feng Kingdom wins.
....
Tianxiang Kingdom versus Cang Feng Kingdom... Tianxiang Kingdom conceded directly.
....
Cang Feng Kingdom versus Heisha Kingdom — Cang Feng Kingdom wins!
Each team battle naturally took longer than individual matches. Excluding the challenge against the Shenhuang Empire, there were fifteen matches today. The Shenhuang Empire had estimated each match would take two to three quarters of an hour, so even with the compressed schedule, a full day would still be somewhat tight.
But by four o'clock in the afternoon, the fifteenth match had already concluded.
Because every match Yun Che participated in ended in the blink of an eye. In five matches, the total combat time did not exceed thirty seconds. The fourth match's Tianxiang Kingdom, knowing they had no chance of winning, simply surrendered outright to avoid casualties among their nation's young Xuan geniuses.
The Profound Force levels of the five kingdoms — Canglan, Kuishui, Jialuo, Tianxiang, and Heisha — were indeed far beyond that of the Cang Feng Kingdom. The younger generation of the Cang Feng Kingdom would be utterly crushed by these five kingdoms. But Yun Che's strength was such that even if it were twenty or thirty of the best young Xuan practitioners from the Cang Feng Kingdom, he could still crush them with ease.
At the same age, the level he stood on was no longer that of the six kingdoms, but that of the seven-nation hegemon... the Fenghuang God Sect!
No one could have predicted the direction this competition would take. With Yun Che's complete defeat of Heisha Kingdom, the final match of the Six Nations battle came to a close. And this Seven Nations Ranking Battle, at a speed no one had anticipated, entered its final phase.
The challenge against the Shenhuang Empire!