Chapter 639: A Shocking Great Event (Part 1)
Although Xiao Yun had been granted the title of prince and had his own mansion, he still usually resided at the Yun family. His marriage was naturally a major affair for the Yun family as well. Once the wedding date was set, the Yun household immediately began bustling with activity both inside and out, and a flood of invitations flew out like snowflakes to all corners of the Phantom Demon Realm.
Compared to the family's busyness, Yun Che was quite at leisure, just as before. He was surrounded by a large group of younger clan members, with a flurry of female voices encircling him unceasingly... that's right, all of them were young maidens.
"Young Master, I heard that your Purple Cloud Art has already reached the seventh level—is that true? But you've only been cultivating Purple Cloud Art for less than two months."
"Of course not," Yun Che said with a beaming smile. "I made another breakthrough last night. I'm now at the eighth level."
As he spoke, Yun Che extended his palm and raised it slightly. Instantly, a clap of thunder sounded from above. In just a moment, a large expanse of thunderclouds had gathered overhead, and even from a thousand zhang away, one could feel an intensely dense and terrifying power of lightning.
"Waaah!" The maidens all cried out in surprise. The girl who had spoken earlier widened her eyes and exclaimed, "Wow! It's really the Eighth Level of Purple Cloud Art, 'Extinction Thundercloud'! Young Master is simply too amazing!"
"Young Master, that day Xiao Wan said that when you were guiding her in cultivating Purple Cloud Art, you once released red lightning. Is that true?" A girl in purple robes asked with trembling light in her eyes.
Yun Che smiled faintly, turned his palm over, and immediately a sharp crackling sound of lightning echoed. A cluster of deep purple lightning appeared in his palm. Then, at an extremely fast speed, the purple lightning transformed into red lightning. The red lightning not only surged in momentum, but its crackling became even more violent. Just looking at it caused a strong sense of palpitation.
"Wow!" As expected, the red lightning once again drew cries of admiration from the maidens. A petite girl timidly said, "Young Master, isn't it true that for lightning profound force to turn red, one must activate it with essence blood? Young Master doing this... is it alright?"
"No, I haven't used even a bit of essence blood," Yun Che shook his head. "Red lightning is a higher level of lightning profound force compared to purple lightning. Its generation has nothing to do with the realm of Purple Cloud Art or the affinity of one's profound veins with lightning power. Rather, it requires a deeper understanding of the laws of lightning. If one thoroughly understands the laws of lightning profound force at this level, they can release more powerful red lightning using their profound force—it merely consumes more energy, without any side effects. But if one's understanding of the laws hasn't reached that level and they forcibly use stronger red lightning, they can only resort to sacrificing essence blood to forcibly activate it... It's not necessary to consume essence blood to release red lightning."
"So that's how it is... But it seems like no one in our Yun family has ever been able to directly release red lightning without consuming essence blood. Could it be that Young Master is the first person in our Yun family's history to reach this level?"
"It must be! Young Master truly deserves to be recognized as the most extraordinary genius in the entire Phantom Demon Realm! Since Young Master can freely release red lightning, then can Young Master also release our Yun family's forbidden domain, the 'Nether Thunder Prison Array,' without using essence blood?"
"Well, I'm not sure about that, because I haven't tried it yet." Yun Che said "haven't tried," not that he hadn't comprehended it.
"Young Master, the elders say that when you fought Head-on with Prince Huai, you seriously injured him. They say your strength might already rival that of the family head, and now with Purple Cloud Art, perhaps you're even stronger than the family head. Is that true?" A maiden asked with adoration.
"Haha, injuring Prince Huai that day was just a clever trick, and it wasn't a serious injury. I only blasted him away. It was Little Demon Queen who seriously injured Prince Huai. My current strength is still far behind my father's," Yun Che said truthfully.
"Hehe, Young Master is being modest again."
"Young Master has such high talent, is good-looking, possesses incredible medical skills, saved the entire Yun family, made such a great contribution to the Phantom Demon Realm, and doesn't put on any airs... and is so humble... Does a person as perfect as Young Master really exist in this world?" A girl murmured with sparkling eyes.
Yun Che: "..."
In the distance, a group of young Yun family men appeared to be diligently training, but they kept glancing at Yun Che from time to time, their eyes red with envy. However, all they could do was watch from afar... Not to mention that he was the young family head; just one of the many halos surrounding him was enough to dazzle them so much that they couldn't even muster jealousy.
What was most infuriating was that this young family head was too approachable. Even when dealing with the lowest-ranking clan members, he showed no arrogance at all. This caused the female disciples of the Yun family—especially those who were confident in their looks—to flutter around him like a flock of butterflies all day long. Even their private conversations seldom strayed from the topic of the "Young Master."
"Young Master, yesterday you promised to personally guide me in cultivating Purple Cloud Art... Have you already forgotten?" A cute girl in a light purple long dress asked with hopeful eyes.
"Of course not. I remember the appointed time is in an hour and a half. Make sure to come to my courtyard then," Yun Che said with a smile.
"I... of course I won't forget." The purple-clad girl's face flushed with excitement.
The surrounding maidens all showed envious looks. A tall girl suddenly whispered slyly, "Man'er, you need to be careful. Xiao Wan secretly told me that when Young Master was guiding her in training, he 'accidentally' touched her butt and chest several times! Your chest is even bigger than Xiao Wan's, so be careful..."
"Ah!! Don't say that!" The girl called Xiao Wan rushed over with a red face and forcefully covered the tall girl's mouth.
"Ahem," Yun Che, without a change in expression or heartbeat, declared with righteous dignity, "One-on-one guidance inevitably involves some physical contact. I swear on my master's honor... it was absolutely unintentional!"
Mo Li: "Go to hell!"
"Right, right! Young Master must have been unintentional... But when guiding Man'er one-on-one, make sure to be 'unintentional' many more times... Hehehe!"
"You bad people! Don't... don't talk about Young Master like that!" The purple-clad girl called Man'er stomped her foot forcefully. The blush on her face had spread to her neck, but her expression and eyes didn't show panic; instead, there seemed to be a hint of... anticipation?
The maidens burst into laughter again. But suddenly, their laughter cooled down. The maidens in front of Yun Che suddenly all showed expressions of panic. He raised an eyebrow, about to turn around, when a girl cried out, "Little... Little Demon Queen."
Yun Che turned around and saw that familiar petite gray figure. As always, she was quiet and soundless, devoid of any aura, giving people an instinctive sense of dread... And yet, her face was so beautiful it seemed like a celestial being who had descended from heaven.
The originally lively and even ambiguous atmosphere instantly froze due to the sudden arrival of Little Demon Queen.
"All of you, withdraw. I have matters to discuss privately with Young Family Head Yun." Little Demon Queen spoke coldly, her pitch-black eyes devoid of any emotional fluctuation.
"Yes..." No one dared to defy Little Demon Queen's orders. The Yun family maidens all bowed before carefully withdrawing, and even the nearby Yun family disciples obediently retreated.
In the blink of an eye, the vast Yun family training grounds were left with only Yun Che and Little Demon Queen.
"Hmph, surrounded by a flock of twittering swallows, Young Family Head Yun is certainly enjoying himself!" Little Demon Queen's cold voice carried a tone of sarcasm.
"So there's a saying: 'When life is good, enjoy it to the fullest.' I don't know how much longer I'll live in this life, nor what I'll be like in my next life. So since I'm still alive in this life, I'll do whatever makes me happy... I'm not like you. You know you only have three years left to live, and your great revenge has already been avenged, yet you don't even try to properly..."
"Enough!" Little Demon Queen cut him off. "How I think and what I do doesn't require your presumptuous speculation or interference... Let me ask you: you used to come and pay your respects to me every day, why have there been no signs of you for the past month? Could it be just because I told you to 'get lost' a month ago?"
"Of course not." Yun Che looked into Little Demon Queen's eyes and said with a light smile, "I just wanted to see how long it would take before you couldn't bear it anymore and came to see me on your own."
"You..." Little Demon Queen's aura became momentarily disordered, whether from rising anger or because some part of her heart had been struck. She turned away, avoiding Yun Che's gaze. "How laughably arrogant! I merely came to visit the Yun family head and happened to see you here... It seems I shouldn't have come to the Yun family today. Hmph!"
Little Demon Queen gave a furious snort, flicked her wide gray sleeve, and turned to leave.
"Ah." Yun Che let out a faint sigh and said in a low voice, "Perhaps I am indeed flattering myself and being presumptuous. Since you're so unwilling to see me, then fine. Anyway, in another month, even if you wanted to see me, it would be nearly impossible."
Little Demon Queen's steps halted. She turned around, her brows slightly furrowed. "What do you mean?"
"Because in a month, my father's body will be fully recovered. It's also time for me to return to the Tian Xuan Continent." Yun Che smiled. "Although I am a member of the Yun family and my roots are here, I grew up on the Tian Xuan Continent. That is where I truly belong. Moreover, the greatest cancer in the Phantom Demon Realm has now been excised, and no one can bully my family anymore... But over on the Tian Xuan Continent, there are more people I need to protect and more matters I need to handle. Since traveling back and forth is extremely difficult... after I return to the Tian Xuan Continent, I don't know when I'll come back. And even if I do, I probably won't be able to stay for long before I have to leave again."
"By then, even if you wanted to see me, it might truly be impossible." Yun Che looked up slightly, a melancholy expression on his face.
"..." Little Demon Queen was silent for a moment, her gaze seeming somewhat dazed. After a long while, she said in a low, cold voice, "You have to go?"
"Mm, I have to go. I've already been away from the Tian Xuan Continent for nearly three years. Moreover, they must have thought I was dead back then. These three years, I don't know how much they've worried and grieved for me. And in three years, many things I couldn't have predicted might have happened. If not for my father's injuries, I would have returned two months ago."
He suddenly changed his tone and said with a grin, "You... wouldn't be reluctant to see me go, would you?"
"..." Little Demon Queen's chest rose and fell slightly. She turned around again and said coldly, "Where you want to go is your own freedom. What does it have to do with me? That remark I made just now... was merely a necessary gesture of retention from a Little Demon Queen toward a subject! If in the future the Phantom Demon Realm loses someone like you, who is always taking credit while being disrespectful to me, I will only be glad for the peace and quiet... Even if you return within these three years, before I die, you'd better not come see me!"
Little Demon Queen's voice was utterly cold and heartless, causing Yun Che to be slightly startled. Watching her about to leave again, he silently shook his head, then suddenly said loudly, "Little Demon Queen, are you really going to speak such insincere words in front of me forever?"
"Don't deny it yet!" Before Little Demon Queen could speak, Yun Che quickly took a few steps closer, his voice becoming unusually calm. "If you still remember that I saved your life in Jinwu Thunder Flame Valley, and that I helped you avenge your great enmity, then agree to one very small request of mine... That is, no matter what I say next, whether it's right or wrong, whether you agree or not, whether you become agitated or angry, you must hear me out. You cannot speak, cannot interrupt, and certainly cannot leave midway."
Little Demon Queen stopped in her tracks. She turned her face to look at Yun Che. "Fine. Since you are about to leave the Phantom Demon Realm soon, and perhaps we will never see each other again, I will stand here and listen to everything you have to say... Speak!"
Yun Che's figure flashed forward, stopping just three steps away from her. He slowly took a deep breath, looked straight into her calm, dead-pool-like eyes, and said each word with weight: "Little Demon Queen... Huan Caiyi! Do you think that in everyone's eyes, you must be incredibly cold, heartless, ruthless, almost devoid of emotion—maybe even you yourself think so? But unfortunately, in my eyes, you are not..."
"I have seen far too many cold-blooded and heartless people, more than you have seen in your entire life! And a truly cold-blooded, heartless person would regard familial affection as worthless. They would never sacrifice their own life to obtain the power of revenge for the sake of their loved ones' vengeance. They would never instinctively step in front of me when I was about to suffer a fatal attack. They would never be satisfied with just destroying a single Prince Huai's mansion while merely intimidating the other rebels. And they would certainly never willingly sacrifice their own life to desperately shoulder the heaviest burden of the Phantom Demon Realm!"
"All the cold-bloodedness and heartlessness you display to the outside world is merely a coat you show to others and to yourself! Beneath that coat, I am confident I see you clearly... Ahem, I'm talking about your disposition, not your body—don't misunderstand..."
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