Chapter 557: Chiyang Yanwu
"If nothing unexpected happens, Che'er's next opponent should be the daughter of the Chiyang family," Mu Yurou said softly, with worry evident on her face.
"Don't worry." Yun Qinghong patted Mu Yurou's hand reassuringly. "Although the Chiyang girl's strength far surpasses that of Jiufang Yu and Xiao Donglai, what we just saw was definitely not Che'er's full strength. He hasn't even used a weapon yet."
"Father, do you know what kind of weapon big brother uses? I've never seen him use a weapon before. I always thought he wasn't skilled with any kind of blade or staff," Xiao Yun asked.
Yun Qinghong shook his head. Recalling the heavy crashing sounds that came from Yun Che's training room, he said in a low voice, "Your big brother is not unskilled with weapons. If I'm not mistaken, the weapon he excels at should be some kind of heavy weapon."
"A heavy weapon?" Xiao Yun's eyes widened.
"The fact that your big brother hasn't used a weapon until now isn't because he's being overconfident; it's because using the weapon he excels at comes with a massive consumption of energy." Yun Qinghong looked at Yun Che on the arena and said calmly, "He's clearly trying to minimize his energy expenditure as much as possible to deal with the current situation. When he feels his opponent is strong enough to threaten him, he will naturally use his weapon."
Just then, a fiery red figure stood in front of Yun Che.
It was a young woman with a beautiful face and a tall, slender figure. She had a head of flamboyant red hair, and even her wheat-colored skin had a faint reddish tinge. This was Chiyang Yanwu of the Chiyang Clan.
The moment Chiyang Yanwu stepped onto the arena, a wave of male cheers rang out in the great hall. Her features were pretty but not exceptionally stunning, but her attire was wild and extremely provocative. She wore a tight, fiery red leather top and a pair of tight low-rise leather shorts that barely hugged her buttocks. The contours of her chest, her arms, her midriff, and her thighs were all completely exposed, causing countless young men to stare wide-eyed and drool.
Chiyang Yanwu was clearly long accustomed to such looks and sounds. She held her head high, as haughty as a cat, as proud as a peacock.
As a member of the True Dragon Clan, the Chiyang Clan possessed a natural nobility and pride in their bloodline and race. Among the Twelve Guardian Clans, the overall strength of the Chiyang Clan was second only to the Helian and Su Clans, ranking third. Chiyang Yanwu, as the strongest of the younger generation in the Chiyang Clan, as a woman, and as the only daughter of Clan Head Chiyang Bailie, had absolute reason to be proud—whether in terms of status, race, or strength. Even facing Yun Che, who had easily defeated Jiufang Yu and Xiao Donglai, her arrogance—or rather, her haughtiness—showed no sign of restraint.
"Two useless men, utterly disgracing our Guardian Clans." Chiyang Yanwu's fiery red brows arched upward. Although this was said as if to herself, her voice was certainly loud enough for Jiufang Yu and Xiao Donglai to hear clearly. She pulled out the fiery red long whip coiled around her waist, flicked it, and a shower of sparks flew as a deafening crack rang out. "You, you're called Yun Che, right? If you don't want to lose too shamefully, just take out your weapon obediently. I, this princess, am not interested in bullying a man with bare hands."
Every single word Chiyang Yanwu shouted was steeped in deep arrogance. From her, Yun Che could smell the aura of a True Dragon. As the supreme of all beasts, whether human or demon, even those stronger than a dragon would instinctively feel a sense of intimidation under such an aura... but Yun Che absolutely did not, because he carried the bloodline of the Primordial Azure Dragon. If one were to compare dragon auras alone, the Chiyang Fire Dragon didn't even have the qualifications to be compared with the Primordial Azure Dragon.
Facing the arrogant Chiyang Yanwu, Yun Che did not take out his weapon. Instead, he crossed his arms over his chest and said unhurriedly, "I'm the exact opposite. I prefer bullying women with weapons using my bare hands."
"Hehehehe..." Yun Che's attitude made Chiyang Yanwu laugh directly, a crisp and piercing laugh. She flicked her whip and said contemptuously, "Yun Che, do you think that just because you beat two useless men, you can act arrogant in front of me, Chiyang Yanwu? In my entire life, no one of the same level has ever been able to beat me. When you end up looking pathetic later, don't blame me for not warning you!"
Yun Che curved his lips and said, "What a fine young lady, yet so arrogant, looking down on others with half-closed eyes. It seems your family hasn't properly disciplined you. Fine, I'll discipline you on behalf of your family today, at least to teach you to be a bit more restrained when you speak to others in the future!"
"Discipline me? In all of Yaohuang City, there's no man qualified to discipline me, Chiyang Yanwu." Chiyang Yanwu narrowed her phoenix eyes. "As for you, daring to speak to me like this, just watch me beat you to your knees today begging for mercy!"
"The Chiyang girl's temperament really is as rumored," Yun Qinghong said blandly.
"She's the only daughter of Chiyang Bailie and the strongest of the younger generation in the Chiyang Clan. In all of Yaohuang City, no one of her age, male or female, can defeat her. Add to that the nature of a young girl, it's normal that she looks down on everyone," Mu Yurou said softly, though her eyes still held worry.
"Such a temperament will inevitably lead to a great loss sooner or later," Yun Qinghong said calmly. After his words fell, he furrowed his brows slightly and sent a sound transmission to Yun Che: "Che'er, do not underestimate your opponent. The Chiyang Yanwu before you carries the bloodline of a True Dragon, with an innate powerful physique and Dragon Flame power. The whip in her hand is called the 'Dragon Fiend Blazing Sun Whip.' It looks light and agile, but it is an Overlord Xuan Artifact, one of the three supreme artifacts of the Chiyang Clan. Even without infusing it with profound energy, it can crush mountains and split rocks, swinging out sky-filling Dragon Flame... Be extremely careful not to let it touch you!"
Yun Che nodded slightly in response to Yun Qinghong's transmission. In his field of vision, Chiyang Yanwu had already leaped into the air, her body ablaze with deep purple Dragon Flame. The Dragon Flame shot into the sky, reaching the top of the great hall in an instant, like a blinding purple curtain of fire pulled down from the hall.
Although Chiyang Yanwu's words and demeanor were arrogant, she was almost going all out from the very start. Clearly, she did not dare to underestimate or be overconfident against Yun Che, who had won consecutive victories over Jiufang Yu and Xiao Donglai. Her starting stance also made the Chiyang Clan members sigh in relief... Though Chiyang Yanwu was usually very proud, she had enough capital for her pride. Since she was going all out, there was no reason for her to lose to Yun Che... and what's more, she held in her hand the Dragon Fiend Blazing Sun Whip, enough to terrify even high-level Overlord Emperors!
"Yun Che, open your dog eyes wide and see the gap between us clearly!"
Whoosh!!!
Chiyang Yanwu swung the Dragon Fiend Blazing Sun Whip, and dozens of flames shot out, turning into rapidly whirling purple Flame Dragons. Accompanied by a dragon roar that shook heaven and earth, they roared toward Yun Che. Her figure followed close behind the Dragon Flame, the entire Dragon Fiend Blazing Sun Whip now burning with profound, deep purple flames.
Wherever the Flame Dragons passed, space twisted violently. The tens of thousands of people behind Yun Che all felt a scorching wave of heat wash over them, almost burning their internal organs, causing them to cry out in alarm.
If it felt like this from such a distance, one could imagine how terrifying those Dragon Flames were.
Yun Che's hair and clothing were lifted by the searing heat wave, but he did not retreat a single step. He swung both arms, his whole body glowing with blue light as he released the Ice God Divine Art to its fullest.
Crack crack crack crack crack crack...
The sound of ice condensing rang out harshly. More than twenty Flame Dragons were frozen at an extremely fast rate when they were within five zhang of Yun Che. As the blue light spread, the ice spread at an alarming speed, transforming the purple Flame Dragons into blue ice dragons.
"Holy crap! Even... even the Dragon Flames can be frozen!" Mu Yubai, who witnessed this scene, jumped up directly. Even he reacted like this, so one could imagine how shocked the other members of the Mu family must have been.
This was naturally the first time Chiyang Yanwu had seen such a situation in her life. She was slightly stunned, her expression changing a little before she let out a sharp cry. The Dragon Flame burning on her body flared up again, and the silhouette of a red Flame Dragon flashed clearly behind her. Instantly, among the whirling Dragon Flames, three broke through the ice forcefully and blasted straight toward Yun Che.
Boom!
It was as if three pieces of celestial meteorite had crashed down. The great hall trembled, flames shot into the sky. Amidst the explosive blaze, Yun Che leaped high into the air. Just as he stabilized himself, a red figure flickered before him, and the Dragon Fiend Blazing Sun Whip swung a sky full of whip shadows, which carried scattered purple flames like a violent storm, descending upon Yun Che.
Yun Che's gaze sharpened. He instantly shifted position using Star God Remnant Shadow, causing all the whip shadows to strike empty air. With a wave of his hand, an ice lotus pierced through the layers of Dragon Flame whip shadows and exploded on Chiyang Yanwu's chest.
Shing!!
Chiyang Yanwu did a backflip, completely off balance, but she forcefully lashed out with the Dragon Fiend Blazing Sun Whip. The whip, originally nine feet long, suddenly extended to nine zhang in length and struck fiercely at Yun Che, who had a look of surprise on his face.
Crack!!!!
The whip in Chiyang Yanwu's hand was the Dragon Fiend Blazing Sun Whip, and with that strike, it was enough to shave off an entire mountain. The sound when it hit Yun Che's body was so deafening that everyone's heart gave a violent jump. Without a doubt, Yun Che was sent flying by that single lash.
"Che'er!" Mu Yurou stood up suddenly, letting out a panicked cry. The Chiyang family's Dragon Fiend Blazing Sun Whip—she knew very well how terrifying its power was.
Yun Qinghong quickly reached out and pulled her back, his brows also furrowed tightly.
Watching Yun Che being sent flying, a cheer arose in the great hall. The Chiyang Clan members all had faint smiles on their faces. They had been shocked earlier when the Chiyang Dragon Flames were extensively frozen by Yun Che, but now, no matter how powerful or bizarre his ice profound energy was, taking that lash would at least cost him half his life. Although Yun Che's appearance had caused a small twist up to now, it was time for this match to come to a complete end.
But their smiles had barely appeared when they immediately froze on their faces.
Yun Che, who had been sent flying, did not tumble and fall to the ground disgracefully as they had expected. Instead, he spun in the air and landed slowly and leisurely. The strike had hit the right side of his back, where his clothes had been completely torn. On his back—pale skin even fairer than a woman's—a red mark one foot long was clearly visible. He reached back, touched the red welt, and sucked in air through his teeth, grimacing: "Tsk... That hurts! Ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch... That really hurts!"
The previous cheers disappeared without a trace. Everyone was dumbfounded, especially the Chiyang Clan members, whose mouths were wide open, their jaws nearly hitting the floor.