Chapter 562: The Heaven-Defying Sword Emerges
The Flame Demon was several zhang tall, with a flaming body and limbs, and even clearly visible facial features. It was condensed from the crimson-black demonic flame released by Huiye Commandery Prince, but its aura was so intense and terrifying that it clearly surpassed that ball of demonic flame by several times. When the Flame Demon pounced, Yun Che experienced a brief moment of suffocation.
Yun Che's knowledge was extensive, but this was the first time he had seen such a technique... It was almost as bizarre as the Sword Spirit Avatar of Tian Jian Villa!
The Flame Demon's arms swung down from above, the wind they carried howling like ghosts and demons wailing.
"Falling Moon and Sinking Star!!"
With no time to think, Yun Che erupted with profound force and punched toward the Flame Demon.
Boom!
Amidst the roar, a massive vortex of profound force churned in the air. The Flame Demon was sent tumbling backward more than a dozen somersaults, while Yun Che plummeted like a cannonball, slamming heavily into the ground before bouncing dozens of zhang away. When he landed, a trace of bright red blood already stained the corner of his mouth.
The horror of the Flame Demon far exceeded Yun Che's expectations. He wiped his mouth and was about to stand when a ghostly wail suddenly sounded above him. The Flame Demon had already reappeared directly overhead, its pupils blazing like ghost fire as it descended toward him.
"Stop!!"
From the Yun family seating, a thunderous roar erupted. Yun Qinghong flew out, grabbing toward Yun Che in the arena. But before he could enter the arena, Huai Wang, who had been prepared, appeared in front of Yun Qinghong in an instant. Their bodies collided, and they separated.
"Yun Qinghong, are you trying to break the competition rules?" Huai Wang's voice was stern, a cold sneer hidden in the depths of his eyes.
If this were merely a competition, Yun Qinghong would never act impulsively. But Huai Wang and Huiye clearly had murderous intent toward Yun Che. Yun Che had been injured and knocked down by the Flame Demon's heavy blow, and now the Flame Demon was pouncing with full force again—clearly intent on killing him! How could Yun Qinghong not intervene? He knew full well how terrifying that Flame Demon was... It was a demonic profound skill powered by the Black Obsidian Demon Sword, far surpassing Huiye's own strength. Although strictly speaking, this was cheating on Huiye's part, powerful weapons and armor were also part of one's own strength, which was one of the universally recognized principles of the profound world.
"Get out of my way!" Lightning crackled around Yun Qinghong. With Yun Che's life hanging in the balance, he didn't care about competition rules. He had to protect Yun Che at all costs and then surrender immediately...
Just as Yun Qinghong was about to forcefully blast Huai Wang away, a phoenix cry, piercingly loud, rang out from the arena, and a crimson flame shot into the sky.
"Phoenix Wing Firmament!!"
Phoenix wings tinged with gold spread open, and a nearly tangible phoenix shadow appeared over Yun Che. The phoenix shadow propelled Yun Che into the sky, crossing space in an instant, and slammed violently into the Flame Demon.
Boom!!!!!!!!
Phoenix flames exploded violently, and the sky above the great hall seemed to suddenly birth a sun, illuminating the entire hall in a blazing red. In the midst of this sun-like radiance seemingly born from the heavens, Yun Che and the Flame Demon were blasted apart in a raging storm of profound force.
The tumbling Flame Demon rolled like a ball, scattering flames everywhere, but it wasn't completely dispersed. Huiye Commandery Prince waved his Black Obsidian Demon Sword, and the tumbling Flame Demon abruptly stopped, then quickly flew back, hovering above Huiye Commandery Prince.
Bam!
Yun Che landed, sliding backward for a long distance before bracing himself with his hands on the ground to steady himself. The clothes on his chest were completely torn, and more than a dozen cuts of varying depth marked his chest.
Huai Wang's brows furrowed deeply. He said coldly, "Yun Qinghong, you really have a good son!"
He had underestimated Yun Che time and again, and after forming murderous intent toward him, he realized he had still underestimated him. He knew better than anyone how terrifying that Flame Demon was, yet he never expected Yun Che to blast open the fully-powered Flame Demon head-on.
A mere twenty years old, clearly only at the Heavenly Xuan Realm... yet his strength was terrifying to this degree!
For such a young man, his future achievements would be unimaginable. If he were an enemy, he must be completely eradicated before he could grow!
And now that he had blasted away the Flame Demon, Yun Qinghong could make him surrender immediately... Then, killing Yun Che today would be impossible!
Yun Qinghong's movements halted. Watching the blasted Flame Demon, he let out an involuntary exclamation: "Well done!"
"Che'er, surrender immediately! He can summon three such Flame Demons at once! Since he's using the Black Obsidian Demon Sword, surrendering is no disgrace at all... Otherwise, his next attack will surely be a full-force attempt to kill you."
"... " The sound transmission from Yun Qinghong reached his ears, but Yun Che didn't respond. He slowly stood up, as if he hadn't heard it at all.
"Hmph, not bad. This prince knew you still had some tricks up your sleeve. I didn't expect you to shake off my Flame Demon. You've surprised this prince once again."
Huiye Commandery Prince was shocked inwardly but not flustered. The smile on his face remained as judgmental as ever. "Then, what about this?"
With Huiye Commandery Prince's low laugh, the Black Obsidian Demon Sword flashed with blood-red light. Waves of flame surged before him, and amidst ghostly howls, two more Flame Demons—identical to the previous one—slowly condensed!
Not only identical in appearance, but also equally intense and terrifying in aura.
Together with the one above, there were now three Flame Demons!
"Th-three Flame Demons!" Shouts of alarm erupted widely.
"If Yun Che is smart, he'll surrender immediately. Having reached this point, he's already enough to make a name for himself. If he dares to stiffen his neck and shout about 'fighting to the last moment' at a time like this... he's asking for death!"
The top experts in Yaohuang City could all sense Huiye Commandery Prince's murderous intent toward Yun Che. For Yun Che to survive, surrendering now was his only chance! Otherwise, once the three Flame Demons moved, Yun Che would surely die. Voices calling for Yun Che to surrender immediately rose from the seating sections.
But Yun Che turned a deaf ear. Facing the three Flame Demons, he slowly extended his hand...
"Hong'er, come out!"
With a low murmur, a sword appeared out of thin air before Yun Che. It plummeted downward and, with a thunderous crash, embedded itself deeply into the Black Mysterious Jade floor below. Immediately, the sound of cracking spread densely, and countless fissures radiated wildly from under Yun Che's feet in all directions.
"Wahh..."
Shocked cries came from all around. What astonished them was not the sheer size of the sword, but that it had pierced through the Black Mysterious Jade floor—thousands of times harder and tougher than ordinary stone—with nothing but its own weight falling from the air!
"S-such a huge sword!"
"This sword... it cracked the floor! This is the Yaohuang Great Hall! How heavy must that sword be?"
"I've never seen such a huge sword before. It actually cracked the floor of the Yaohuang Great Hall... But the sword seems to have no aura of a high-level profound artifact. Among the famous profound artifacts, there doesn't seem to be a giant sword like this."
"That's big brother's weapon? It's too... too big." Xiao Yun exclaimed, staring blankly at the sword tip buried straight into the ground.
"Tch, finally willing to reveal your weapon." Huiye Commandery Prince said with a grin. The cracks beneath the sword tip forced him to be inwardly shocked, but his smile turned even more mocking. "Heh, no wonder you refused to use your weapon before. This sword—you can't fully control it at all, can you!"
Yun Che said nothing. He gripped the hilt of the Heaven-Defying Demon-Slaying Sword with both hands and, amidst a grating sound, slowly pulled it out of the ground, holding it horizontally before him. In that instant, the noisy hall suddenly quieted down. Everyone's eyes focused on Yun Che, their expressions shifting drastically. Even some of the top experts of the Illusion Demon Realm were momentarily stunned.
The aura of Yun Che's body hadn't changed, and the abnormally large vermilion great sword was utterly devoid of aura, like a dead sword. But when Yun Che held that vermilion great sword in his hands, everyone clearly felt that Yun Che had completely changed—his aura, his demeanor, even his eyes... completely transformed.
The vermilion great sword was nine feet long, and at its widest, two feet across. Such a giant sword was much larger than Yun Che's own body. Even a nine-foot-tall giant would look distinctly awkward holding it. But in Yun Che's hands, the overall harmony was so perfect that no awkwardness could be sensed. Instead, one felt that this sword was meant to be in his hands—an indescribable perfect fit, as if the sword was born for Yun Che, and Yun Che existed for this sword.
His profound force aura had not changed one bit, but facing Yun Che with the heavy sword in hand, everyone felt a suffocating pressure that penetrated deep into their souls. Especially Huiye Commandery Prince, who was directly confronted—the smile on his face froze, and his chest felt as if a ten-thousand-jun iron plate was pressing down, making it almost impossible to breathe.
Yun Qinghong and Huai Wang, standing at the edge of the arena, stared straight at Yun Che. One forgot to send a transmission urging Huiye to kill Yun Che immediately; the other forgot to order Yun Che to surrender. These two unparalleled figures of their generation, their eyes filled only with shock.
The inexplicable pressure caused intense unease in Huiye Commandery Prince's heart, but looking at the three Flame Demons before him, his unease quickly dissipated. With a low roar, "You think pulling out some unknown sword can turn the tide? Go... die!!"
Huiye Commandery Prince suddenly thrust his sword forward, unleashing a vast wave of flames rolling like crimson-black smoke that blotted out the sky, surging toward Yun Che. The three Flame Demons also moved at the same time, following the demonic flames, and with an aura that made space itself tremble, they all pounced on Yun Che.
Facing the overwhelming demonic flames and the three terrifying Flame Demons charging together, Yun Che did not retreat a single step. He calmly grasped the Heaven-Defying Demon-Slaying Sword in both hands.
He had not used the Heaven-Defying Demon-Slaying Sword earlier, not out of arrogance, but as Yun Qinghong had guessed—to avoid excessive consumption. When he first obtained this Heaven-Defying Sword, it weighed two hundred thousand jin; later it devoured Dragon Gate, increasing its weight further. In three months, though he had barely adapted to its weight and could handle it with sufficient skill, every swing drained a considerable amount of energy.
In this fierce battle, his subsequent opponents would only grow stronger, so he had to minimize consumption as much as possible.
Now, his opponent was Huiye. In terms of pure profound force depth, without opening the "Purgatory" realm gate, Yun Che was completely suppressed by Huiye. And opening "Purgatory" would incur even greater consumption. So, the time for the Heaven-Defying Sword had come.