Chapter 555: Showing Off Before an Expert
"You all... just wait!"
Jiu Fangyu's injuries were too severe, and could no longer be delayed. He glared fiercely at Yun Che and Su Xiangnan, then lifted Jiu Fangyu and left the arena. He was shocked that Yun Che could heavily injure Jiu Fangyu with a single blow, and also understood clearly that Yun Che had deliberately struck ruthlessly. If this had been any other occasion, he would have personally struck to cripple Yun Che regardless of his status... but with the Little Demon Empress present and the eyes of the world's heroes upon them, he had no choice but to endure.
The entire great hall was still shrouded in an eerie atmosphere. Everyone—those who had previously mocked, laughed, scorned, jeered, and sneered—now looked at Yun Che with completely changed expressions.
Su Zhizhan also looked astonished, so shocked that he forgot the pain in his body. He muttered in a daze, "This... what is going on..."
"It seems we have all thoroughly misjudged this Yun Che," Su Xiangnan said, his gaze turning strange. "Jiu Fangyu was overconfident and completely off guard, but even so, to be able to severely injure him with one strike... Zhizhan, his strength might very well be no less than yours!"
Su Zhizhan: "...Could it be that he is using some treasured artifact to conceal his Profound Rank?"
"No!" Su Xiangnan shook his head decisively. "When not using Profound Force, it is indeed possible to use a treasured artifact to conceal or suppress Profound Force aura, but when Profound Force is released, it cannot be hidden in any way. That strike he used to attack Jiu Fangyu just now—the Profound Force aura was still at the peak of the Heavenly Xuan Realm. There is absolutely no mistake!"
The elders, who had been flustered and confused earlier when Yun Qinghong made Yun Che participate in the battle, were now all stunned and tongue-tied. The younger disciples had their eyes wide open, so shocked they couldn't speak. They finally began to understand why Yun Qinghong had let Yun Che represent the Yun Family.
"What's the deal with this kid's strength?" Helian Ba clutched his chest and said through gritted teeth, filled with resentment. He had been looking forward to watching Jiu Fangyu viciously torment Su Zhizhan to vent his hatred, but Yun Che had inexplicably undone it with a single pill. With such trash-like strength, he had defeated Jiu Fangyu in one blow...
"Hmph, Jiu Fangyu was just too overconfident and had almost no defensive Profound Force on his body, which is why he was heavily injured in one blow. This kid's strength is indeed somewhat unusual, but if Jiu Fangyu had taken him seriously and fought with full force, Yun Che would never have been his match," Helian Peng said with a gloomy gaze.
"I thought this match was already over, but unexpectedly, you actually defeated Jiu Fangyu. That is a pleasant surprise for me," Huai Wang said, looking at Yun Che with a faint smile. "Profound Force at the Heavenly Xuan Realm, yet strength likely comparable to a mid-stage Overlord Emperor. Such an exaggerated level leap is truly unheard of. No wonder the Yun Family head wanted to take you as his adopted son."
"A surprise?" Yun Che chuckled. "I'm afraid that when the time comes, that surprise... will become a shock."
"Hahahaha!" Huai Wang laughed loudly. "Something that can shock me does not exist in this world."
"Heh..." Yun Che's lips slowly curled upward. "Prince Huai Wang, you must not be too absolute in your words, because the thing that can shock you might suddenly come... If I remember correctly, you still have five people who have not fought yet. Who is next!"
The word "arrogant" was now clearly written on Yun Che's face, and the key point was that his arrogance was directed at the esteemed Prince Huai Wang. Huai Wang smiled, a smile that was very intriguing. "Young people with extraordinary talent are often accompanied by arrogance. I understand that very well. It seems that defeating the young master of the Jiufang Family in a single exchange has boosted your confidence considerably. Do you truly believe that if Jiu Fangyu had not been overly complacent because of your Profound Qi level, he would have been so easily defeated by you?"
Yun Che's expression did not change; he wore a look that clearly indicated he couldn't be bothered to argue. He directly faced the western seats and said unhurriedly, "Who is next from your side!"
After Yun Che shouted, there was no response from the western seats. Xiao Donglai, Chiyang Yanwu, Hui Ye, Yuan Que, and Hui Ran—these were the five strong warriors from the western seats who had not yet fought, but none of them made a move. In particular, Hui Ye, Yuan Que, and Hui Ran barely even glanced at Yun Che with half an eye, obviously not taking him seriously at all... even though he had just crippled Jiu Fangyu in one blow.
Yun Che laughed. "Prince Huai Wang, it seems your side is full of turtles pulling their heads in. In that case, why don't you just concede directly? Our Yun Family is quite covetous of those dozens of catties of Purple Vein Divine Crystals."
As soon as Yun Che said this, many people in the great hall burst out laughing. Even a fool could clearly see that none of the remaining five were willing to fight Yun Che. Hui Ye, Yuan Que, and Hui Ran—the top three of the renowned Huan Yao Seven Sons—would never deign to fight Yun Che. As for Xiao Donglai and Chiyang Yanwu, if they fought Yun Che and won... defeating someone at the Heavenly Xuan Realm was hardly a glorious achievement. But if they were to reach a stalemate, or even lose... that would become the laughingstock of the entire Yaohuang City.
Just based on the fact that he had taken advantage of Jiu Fangyu's overconfidence to cripple him in one blow, it showed that the latter possibility was not impossible!
Even some of the highly respected elders almost couldn't help but spurt out a laugh.
Someone from the Xiao Family seating suddenly stood up with a "whoosh" and pointed at Yun Che, sneering. "Yun Che, do you know how much you look like a clown right now? Heh, is it that after defeating Jiu Fangyu, you suddenly think you're invincible under heaven and can look down on everyone? How ridiculous! Do you truly believe you defeated Jiu Fangyu with your own strength? Jiu Fangyu's defeat was entirely his own doing. If he had been even slightly more serious and attacked casually, whether you would still be alive right now is unknown. He wasn't defeated by you at all—he was defeated by himself."
The person who stood up was the young master of the Xiao Family, Xiao Donglai. As his voice fell, a gust of wind howled, and as the wind sound just began, a phantom suddenly flashed out and appeared in front of Yun Che. The speed was so fast that many people cried out in surprise.
"Xiao Donglai of the Xiao Family!" Xiao Donglai extended his hand toward Yun Che, a ball of faint green Profound Light swirling in his palm. "Among the twelve of us, my strength is basically the weakest, but to defeat an ignorant wild brat like you, two fingers are enough."
Yun Che looked at him askance and said lazily, "So much nonsense."
Xiao Donglai squinted his eyes and gave a cold laugh. "Go ahead and take out your weapon obediently. Watch me shatter your weapon and your dreams together!"
"No need," Yun Che said, crossing his arms over his chest with great disdain. "You look even weaker than that Jiu Fangyu just now. Jiu Fangyu wasn't even worthy of me using my weapon. As for you... heh, it's even less necessary."
"You!!"
Everyone had seen Yun Che's arrogance when facing Huai Wang and knew he was someone who was recklessly arrogant beyond bounds, but now facing him directly, Xiao Donglai was still nearly bursting with rage. His voice trembled as he said, "Fine... very well! You brought this upon yourself!"
Whoosh!!
A sound like a crane's cry echoed through every corner of the hall, and the entire arena was instantly swept by fierce winds. Faint green Profound Light flickered on Xiao Donglai's body, and behind him, the image of a celestial horse appeared indistinctly. At that moment, he heard Huai Wang's Profound Condensation Sound Transmission in his ear: "Fight with all your strength, don't be overconfident!"
Xiao Donglai's breath caught slightly, and the Profound Light on his body instantly surged, conjuring a nearly solid storm vortex around him. Facing Yun Che, who had not taken out a weapon, he naturally would not use his weapon either. He faced his palm toward Yun Che and said contemptuously, "Come, let me see how long you can struggle in my Tiangang Storm!"
At the same time, Yun Che heard Yun Qinghong's voice in his ear: "The Xiao Family is the Celestial Horse Clan. Their Wind Profound Force is not extremely strong for attacks, but when used for speed, they are the best among the Twelve Clans! Their displacement, instant movement, and afterimage techniques are all unpredictably mysterious. Be careful!"
Sss!!
Just as Yun Qinghong finished his sound transmission, a violent wind roar sounded fiercely in his ears. Xiao Donglai disappeared from in front of him... replaced by over a dozen half-real, half-illusory afterimages, simultaneously real and unreal! Each afterimage was surrounded by wind whirls that could grind even solid rock into powder.
"Waaaah... What kind of move is this!"
"This is the Xiao Family's Tiangang Afterimage! The Xiao Family's body movement techniques are truly unparalleled in the world. In terms of speed and body movement alone, there is no force in the entire Huan Yao Realm that can compare to the Xiao Family."
"Xiao Donglai used Tiangang Afterimage right from the start. Is he planning to instantly defeat Yun Che?"
"Over a dozen afterimages... all identical... How is this to be dealt with!!"
Yun Che stood still in place, not moving a muscle, as if he had been scared stupid. The dozen or so wind whirls quickly approached. Just as they were less than a zhang away from Yun Che, the rightmost afterimage suddenly accelerated and swept toward Yun Che like lightning...
Shred!!
The air was fiercely torn apart, and the afterimage was also torn... but what Xiao Donglai had torn was merely the air and an afterimage. After a brief moment of stupefaction, he quickly performed an instant movement, while his heart twitched... His Xiao Family was the foremost expert in afterimages in the entire Huan Yao Realm, yet the afterimage attack he had launched at the very start, which had drawn gasps from the entire audience, had actually damn well hit the other party's afterimage!!
This was an utter humiliation.
When he turned around, Yun Che was already charging toward him. As he rushed forward, his figure suddenly flickered. Xiao Donglai's vision blurred, and he saw that Yun Che in front of him had turned into four figures, charging at him from the front, above, left, and right. His eyes darkened and he sneered inwardly: Just now you fooled me with an afterimage because I wasn't prepared, but you dare to play with afterimages in front of our Xiao Family... you're seeking death!!
As a family focused on body movement techniques, the Xiao Family was naturally extremely adept at countering various body movement techniques... especially countering afterimage techniques. The entire arena was surging with wind. With the help of this Wind Profound Force, he could easily distinguish between true body and false shadow. But in the next instant, Xiao Donglai's pupils suddenly dilated, because according to the feedback from the Wind Profound Force...
All four Yun Che were actually real bodies!!
This... How is this possible!
Xiao Donglai was momentarily at a loss and no longer dared to recklessly defend. Instead, he retreated backwards at extreme speed. In terms of speed, he had always been confident that among the younger generation, no one could compare to him. However, as he retreated rapidly, he was shocked to find that Yun Che's figure was drawing closer and closer. After the other three figures disappeared, Yun Che's true body was less than three feet away from him...
The Xiao Family's speed and body movement techniques were indeed unparalleled in the Huan Yao Realm.
But, in terms of instant movement and afterimages, what could compare to Star God Remnant Shadow?
In terms of speed, what could compare to Phantom Lightning Extreme?
The Xiao Family's greatest advantage was, in front of Yun Che, nothing but showing off before an expert!
Watching Yun Che draw closer and closer, Xiao Donglai's eyes bulged as if he had seen a ghost in broad daylight. Fortunately, his reaction was still quick. He surged his Profound Force throughout his body and thrust both hands forward violently. Two enormous wind whirls, like twisting dragons dancing in the air, roared toward Yun Che.
Almost at the same time, Yun Che pushed his palms forward, his whole body shimmering with a dreamlike ice-blue Profound Light... As his Profound Force had advanced to the Heavenly Xuan Realm, the Ice God Divine Art, which had previously been limited by his Profound Force level, had automatically broken through to the stage of "Ice God Mystic Seal." He was now only half a step away from the sixth stage, "Ice God Heart Seal."
Kakakakakacha...
The raging winds touched the Ice God's radiance, and instantly, crisp and ear-shattering sounds of ice condensation rang out. After one breath, the pale green wind whirls turned pale blue. After two breaths, the wind whirls were completely frozen, utterly still, transformed into two tornado-shaped ice sculptures.
In the great hall, pairs of eyes widened or bulged, as if seeing the most unbelievable sight in the world.
"This kid is actually practicing Ice Profound Art... But b-b-but... what kind of Profound Art is this, that it can even seal Wind Profound Force!! Th-this..."
Mu Yubai had long since stood up, too shocked to form coherent words. The Mu Family's family Profound Art was an Ice Profound Art passed down for ten thousand years. As the young master of the Mu Family, he was naturally an expert in Ice Profound Force. When Ice Profound Force was cultivated to the extreme, it could freeze all things in heaven and earth... But this was the first time he had seen someone actually freeze the Profound Force released by another person!!
If that day he had seen Xia Qingyue use the Ice God Divine Art to freeze even the Phoenix Flame, he might have been scared out of his wits. [End of Chapter]