**Chapter 556: A Great Defeat of Xiao Donglai**
Inside the Yaohuang Hall were people of extremely extensive knowledge. The strongest experts of the entire Yaohuang Realm were gathered here, yet no one had ever seen a profound skill being frozen like this. They were all stunned into speechlessness. Some directly stood up in shock, repeatedly checking if they were hallucinating.
Bang bang bang!!
As Yun Che charged forward, the frozen storm shattered like the most ordinary brittle ice. Xiao Donglai, already panicked, watched Yun Che rapidly approaching. With a flick of his hands, he grabbed a long spear and swept up a massive whirlwind. With a loud roar, he viciously thrust at Yun Che. On the tip of the spear, the imposing shadow of a heavenly horse spread its wings and let out a long cry.
Ssshhh!!
The long spear pierced straight through Yun Che's figure, but only tore through an afterimage. Xiao Donglai was greatly shocked—with his extremely keen spiritual sense and perception honed through cultivating wind profound force, he had not sensed at all when Yun Che had shifted his body. Fortunately, his reactions were not slow; he withdrew his profound force at the fastest speed to protect his entire body.
Boom!!!
Like a heavy hammer of ten thousand jun smashing into his back, Xiao Donglai's back immediately sank deeply. The full-powered protective profound force he had erected trembled violently, nearly shattering completely... In that instant, he understood why Jiufang Yu had collapsed and bled from all seven orifices after just one hit from Yun Che. If he himself had not immediately defended with all his strength, this terrifying strike would have definitely severely injured him directly—let alone Jiufang Yu, who had disdained to defend and was struck right in the heart.
In the thunderous explosion, Xiao Donglai flew out like a cannonball. He spun dozens of times in the air before barely balancing his body with wind profound force, landing at the edge of the arena. Upon landing, he stumbled and fell to one knee, his face turning exceptionally pale. With a gulp in his throat, he forcibly swallowed the surging blood that had rushed to his mouth.
Before he could even stand up, wind howled in front of him. He looked up and saw Yun Che's cold eyes... less than thirty meters away.
Facing Yun Che now, Xiao Donglai dared not show any trace of contempt or arrogance. Clenching his teeth, he endured his internal injuries to gather profound force and gripped his long spear tightly. But before he could fully stand, a flash of profound light appeared at his feet. An Ice God tree sprouted from the ground, growing rapidly. In one breath, it soared to the sky, reaching the top of the hall.
Ice God Fourth Realm—Ice God Tree!
The spreading icy branches and snowy leaves of the Ice God tree tightly entangled Xiao Donglai. He struggled for only an instant before being completely frozen solid. No matter how he surged his profound force, he could not move an inch. It was as if a chilling cold from an icy hell poured madly into his body, making him feel that all the blood in his body was rapidly freezing.
"Farewell!"
Yun Che's lips curled slightly. With a soft murmur, his outstretched hand slowly opened...
Crack!!
The Ice God tree exploded with a bang, scattering ice crystals that danced in the air. The temperature of the entire hall plummeted. Even those seated at the farthest edges of the hall shuddered violently. Amid the dreamlike ice crystal fragments, the completely frozen Xiao Donglai flew out like a discarded corpse without any struggle. He remained motionless until he hit the ground.
The hall fell silent once more. Those who had been dumbfounded earlier by Yun Che's one-strike defeat of Jiufang Yu were now dumbfounded again—or rather, completely stunned.
Earlier, when he severely injured Jiufang Yu in one hit, they could explain it away by saying Jiufang Yu was overconfident and didn't defend or guard, and that Yun Che's specialty was just brute force. Ninety-nine percent of them believed that in a direct confrontation, Yun Che could not possibly be Jiufang Yu's match... after all, Jiufang Yu came from a Guardian Clan with ten thousand years of heritage. In terms of foundation and profound arts, Yun Che simply couldn't compare.
But the battle between Yun Che and Xiao Donglai was a genuine direct confrontation! Moreover, Xiao Donglai started with the Xiao Clan's most threatening afterimage attack, but was countered by Yun Che's own afterimage. His full-power storm attack was directly frozen by Yun Che. In panic, he even drew his weapon, yet was still easily defeated by Yun Che. Even the speed for which the Xiao Clan was renowned as peerless in the Huan Yao Realm was instantly surpassed by Yun Che!
In this battle, not only did they engage in direct combat, but Xiao Donglai had exerted all his advantages, yet was thoroughly defeated by Yun Che... a complete and utter defeat!
Countless people were shocked, countless were dazed, countless stared wide-eyed, and even more couldn't believe their own eyes.
In the Mu Clan seating area, Mu Feiyan had stood up... and even he didn't know when he had risen. Watching Yun Che leisurely walk back from the edge of the arena, his beard twitched violently as he said, dumbfounded, "This kid... is extraordinary, truly extraordinary."
"What profound art is he using? There actually exists such an astonishing ice profound art in this world, and I have never even heard of it!" Mu Yuqing exclaimed in shock.
Mu Yubai shook his head: "Hah, our Mu Clan has always prided itself on having unmatched ice profound arts, but compared to this kid's... just the fact that it can freeze profound force itself makes our clan's profound arts seem utterly inadequate. Hiss... at the Heavenly Xuan Realm comparable to a mid-stage Overlord Emperor, this speed, this movement technique, and this deadly ice profound art, plus he healed... this kid has way too many secrets! No way! Even if I have to risk my life, I'm going to become sworn brothers with him!"
"Big brother... is actually... so powerful." Xiao Yun's mouth hung wide open.
"Husband, this... is this really our son?" Mu Yurou gripped Yun Qinghong's hand. From initial tension, to shock, to almost losing emotional control in excitement, she spoke incoherently. This son, whom heaven had returned to them, had given them one enormous surprise after another, making her feel as if she were in a dream. The deep gratification and pride made her unable to hold back her tears.
"Yes... he is our son." Yun Qinghong nodded heavily, his trembling eyes shining with deep excitement and pride.
The many elders of the Yun Clan were all flushed red. Even the three Supreme Elders—Yun Jiang, Yun Xi, and Yun He—kept nodding. As for those Yun Clan disciples who had previously sneered secretly and often privately mocked Yun Che's profound force, they were now so ashamed they wished they could find a crack in the ground to crawl into.
Xiao Donglai was carried back to his seat by the Xiao Clan members. When the Xiao Clan members looked at Yun Che now, their gazes were mostly not angry, but shocked and incredulous. Yun Che had thoroughly crushed Xiao Donglai in the speed that the Xiao Clan prided itself on, and even in movement technique. In their shock, they couldn't even utter a single word of anger or accusation.
The Jiufang Clan members, who had been grumbling and discontented due to Jiufang Yu's defeat, were now all silent. They could no longer say that Jiufang Yu had lost because of underestimating his opponent. Jiufang Yu and Xiao Donglai were evenly matched in strength. Since Yun Che defeated Xiao Donglai in five exchanges, even if Jiufang Yu had fought with all his strength... he would similarly have suffered a crushing defeat at Yun Che's hands!
They had completely misjudged Yun Che's strength.
No! It was that Yun Che's strength fundamentally defied all understanding!
At the Overlord Xuan Realm, being able to challenge one level higher was already a peerless genius. The Yun Clan's incomparably powerful Arcane Firmament Force, at the Overlord Xuan Realm, at its absolute limit, could only allow one to exert strength two levels above their own. This was the Overlord Emperor Realm, where the gap between each level was as vast as a chasm. It was not like the Spirit Xuan Realm, Earth Xuan Realm, or Heavenly Xuan Realm, where the gaps were not so enormous and could be easily crossed with extremely high talent...
An early-stage Overlord Emperor matching a mid-stage Overlord Emperor was already like a myth. Throughout the history of the Huan Yao Realm, fewer than five such cases existed in total.
And a Throne being comparable to an Overlord Emperor had never been heard of or seen.
As for a Heavenly Xuan Realm comparable to the Overlord Xuan Realm... and even mid-stage Overlord Xuan, it was unheard of since ancient times. If not for witnessing it with their own eyes today, even if the most respected person in the world said it, absolutely no one would believe it.
But such a person now stood before them, using the profound force of the tenth level of the Heavenly Xuan Realm to directly defeat Xiao Donglai, who was at the fourth level of the Overlord Xuan Realm... and it took only five exchanges!
No one could imagine how Yun Che, with the profound force of the Heavenly Xuan Realm, could unleash such exaggerated combat power. Such an inconceivable leap in levels could only be described as "defying the heavens." To achieve cross-level combat, at the very least, one must possess formidable talent... Could a person's talent truly be so powerful?!
Huai Wang's face stiffened. Defeating Xiao Donglai head-on was an entirely different concept from heavily injuring the defenseless Jiufang Yu in one hit. Furthermore, Yun Che's profound force could not be faked—everyone could clearly see his strength. Even Huai Wang himself was now completely filled with shock deep inside.
Hui Ran, who had been keeping his head down and eyes lowered, finally lifted his head to glance at Yun Che, then gave a light snort: "Hmph, seems a bit interesting."
"This guy's strength is a bit exaggerated. From the looks of it, Chiyang Yanwu might not necessarily be his match either." Yuanque Commandery Prince, ranked second among the Huan Yao Seven Sons, squinted his eyes and said with a faint smile.
Huiye Commandery Prince beside him looked gloomy. After staring straight at Yun Che for a while, he suddenly let out a cold laugh: "This king rather hopes Chiyang Yanwu also falls to his hands. That way, this king can personally intervene... and cripple him!"
"Oh?" Yuanque Commandery Prince turned his head: "Speaking of which, this kid Yun Che apparently ruined your big plan a month ago. It is indeed a rather good opportunity. Heh, I thought we wouldn't have a chance to take the stage, but unexpectedly this game has suddenly become interesting. Hope this kid doesn't get burned to ashes by Chiyang Yanwu's flames, otherwise wouldn't that ruin your Huiye's fun?"
"Don't worry." Huiye Commandery Prince laughed sinisterly: "If he falls into Chiyang Yanwu's hands, it probably won't be any more comfortable than falling into mine. That woman's methods are vicious. Although this will deprive me of the pleasure of personally acting, at least it saves some effort and won't dirty my hands!"