Chapter 700: And Then?
The four Phoenix Grand Elders struck simultaneously. Under the surging Phoenix Flame Force, the air was instantly dyed a deep crimson, rolling like magma freshly erupted from the depths of a volcano.
The cold smile remained on Yun Che’s face. As the four Phoenix Elders charged at him, he also moved, his own flame profound aura blazing a fiery red as he rushed headlong toward the Phoenix Elders... but not toward any single one. Instead, he charged at all of them!
Each of the four Phoenix Elders saw a Yun Che hurtling toward them with a shockingly wild aura!
This sight drew a chorus of hushed exclamations from the surrounding Phoenix disciples, but the Phoenix Elders’ faces remained calm, some even letting out disdainful snorts. “Hmph, playing with afterimages...”
Afterimage clones could indeed cause an opponent to be momentarily disoriented in close-quarters combat, forcing them onto the defensive or even allowing a surprise victory. However, the higher one’s profound strength realm and the richer their combat experience, the sharper their spiritual perception became. They could instantly identify the real body based on its aura. Thus, at the Overlord Emperor level, unless one used a relatively unique afterimage technique or had mastered it to perfection, such tactics were practically useless... and could even backfire.
But in the next instant, their expressions changed almost simultaneously...
Because their spiritual perception detected four Yun Che... and all four had identical auras! And each was overwhelmingly powerful...
They were all real bodies!!
Boom!!
The roar of four bursts of Phoenix Flame Force overlapped. The sky-reaching flames briefly tinged the heavens red, forcing some weaker Phoenix disciples to hastily retreat. Amid the fierce Phoenix flames, all four Yun Che rapidly faded into nothingness... The four figures they had attacked—the four “Yun Che”—were clearly all illusions!
And in that same instant, as the four Grand Elders’ power erupted, a fifth streak of flame shot out from an utterly unexpected, unguarded position. Its speed was like a shooting star in the dark night. By the time Feng Hengkong and the other Phoenix Elders sensed the existence of this fifth “afterimage,” it had already flashed past their heads.
Feng Hengkong took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down. “Enough! Put him down, and I promise to let you leave. No one will stop you.”
“Oh?” Yun Che said with a sly grin. “The Phoenix Sect Master ordered my Cang Feng Kingdom to flow with rivers of blood with a single command, yet now you’re suddenly so merciful? You’re even directly forgiving my ‘great crime’ of destroying your Phoenix God Statue?”
“Hmph!” Feng Hengkong said in a low voice. “My son’s life is far more valuable than yours! Before I change my mind, put him down and get lost!”
Yun Che still wore a cold smile, showing no intention of releasing Feng Xiluo. He said unhurriedly, “Feng Hengkong, it seems your character is not only far more nauseating than I imagined, but your brain is also incredibly stupid. That someone like you could become the Phoenix Sect Master... I suppose the people of this world truly overestimate this Fenghuang God Sect. Think with your pig-brained head—I traveled ten thousand miles to come here. Do you think I’d leave empty-handed?”
Yun Che’s words nearly made every Phoenix disciple explode with rage. The vicious gazes fixed on him were almost enough to tear him into the finest shreds. Feng Hengkong’s imperial composure and bearing were being shredded by Yun Che’s heavily sarcastic and insulting remarks, delivered right in front of all the Phoenix disciples. Feng Feilie hastily signaled Feng Hengkong, who was on the verge of a complete eruption, and personally stepped forward to say in a deep voice, “Very well... Yun Che, you managed to take the Fourteenth Prince hostage right in front of all of us. The Fenghuang God Sect admits defeat! Whatever conditions you have, state them directly!”
“Excellent.” Yun Che nodded with considerable satisfaction. He said unhurriedly, “Given the heinous crimes your Fenghuang God Sect has committed, I would love nothing more than to kill everyone in your sect except for Xue’er. But unfortunately, I also happen to be the Imperial Consort of the Cangfeng Imperial Clan. There are some things I must consider for the sake of my Empress wife. Moreover, Xue’er once saved my life. So today, I can refrain from killing and instead give your Fenghuang God Sect a chance.”
One man, standing on the ground of the Fenghuang God Sect, saying he would slaughter their entire sect and then graciously give them “a chance”—the people of the Fenghuang God Sect didn’t know whether to be furious or laugh. But the Fourteenth Prince’s life was in his hands, so none of them dared to make a sound...
Was there anything more infuriating in this world?
They were about to find out... there damn well was!
“If you want me to spare your Fenghuang God Sect, it’s simple. You only need to agree to three conditions.” Surrounded by the Fenghuang God Sect in the very center, Yun Che infused his profound energy into his voice. His calm, unremarkable words carried clearly to every corner of Shenhuang City. “First: within thirty days, all Shenhuang troops must withdraw from my Cang Feng Kingdom’s borders—every single person, not even a strand of hair left behind! Furthermore, they are not to invade even half a step for a hundred years!”
“Second,” Yun Che continued without waiting for any response from the Fenghuang God Sect, “You, Feng Hengkong, will personally draft an edict, apologize to my Cang Feng Kingdom, and announce it to the world!”
“Third: compensate my Cang Feng Kingdom with ten billion Purple Mysterious Coins!”
Ordering the Shenhuang troops to withdraw—that condition was not unexpected. Almost everyone had vaguely guessed that was probably the purpose of Yun Che’s arrival. But they never imagined it was only one of the conditions. By the time Yun Che finished stating the second condition, the Phoenix Elders were nearly fuming with rage... Their Shenhuang Kingdom apologizing to the insignificant Cang Feng Kingdom? That was simply the biggest joke in the world.
And when Yun Che finished stating the third condition, almost every Phoenix disciple present nearly fainted from fury.
Compensation... ten billion Purple Mysterious Coins.
Converted to Yellow Mysterious Coins, that was a full ten trillion!
The first condition protected Cang Feng, the second demanded that the Shenhuang Kingdom lose all its dignity, and the third forced the Shenhuang Kingdom to pay a massive price... As far as the Fenghuang God Sect was concerned, this was nothing short of the world’s greatest absurdity! Feng Xiluo was indeed a noble prince of Shenhuang, but even if Yun Che were holding the Crown Prince Feng Ximing hostage, the Fenghuang God Sect would never stoop to apologizing to the tiny Cang Feng, let alone agree to the third condition.
Did Yun Che think he was holding the Fenghuang God Sect’s own Phoenix God hostage?!
Feng Hengkong laughed in extreme fury. “Yun Che, you’re just holding my son hostage, and you think I really wouldn’t dare do anything to you? I already gave you a chance and offered you a path to life, but you insist on seeking death...”
“No, no, no!” Yun Che coldly interrupted him. “It was I who gave you a chance! But it seems you’re not too willing to accept the opportunity I graced you with—the greatest mercy of my entire life. Tsk... For Xue’er’s sake, I’ll kindly advise you one last time: you’d better seize this chance. Because if you’re ungrateful and stubbornly refuse to see reason, later on... there won’t be such ‘favorable’ conditions anymore.”
When Yun Che spoke his last sentence, his face twisted into a smile as terrifying as a viper and as sinister as a demon.
“Hahahaha!” Feng Hengkong burst into laughter, but his laugh was dark and furious. He flung his arm, his eyes as sharp as an eagle’s, and began walking step by step straight toward Yun Che. “My Fenghuang God Sect has stood proudly in Tian Xuan Continent for five thousand years, never fearing anyone, never being blackmailed by anyone! Whoever dares to offend my Shenhuang—whether it’s the man, his clan, or his nation—I can uproot them root and branch in the blink of an eye! Let’s see if you truly have the guts to kill my son!!”
Boom!!
The moment Feng Hengkong’s resounding words fell, a ball of blazing fiery light exploded from Yun Che’s body.
Feng Hengkong’s steps froze. His pupils contracted. His entire body went rigid at first, then began to tremble violently... In his ears rang a scream that seemed to pierce the very heavens.
Within the flames, Feng Xiluo’s body shattered into countless fragments, scattering away. He didn’t even have time to make a sound before death, and even the fragments of his corpse quickly turned to ashes in the fire. Yun Che withdrew his arm and shook his right hand vigorously in front of him, his face full of disgust. Then he smiled at Feng Hengkong and said calmly, “And then?”