Chapter 720: Ruthless
In terms of mindset and scheming, Feng Tianwei naturally far surpassed Feng Hengkong.
But the prerequisite for a psychological battle is that the opponent is unaware of your true situation; otherwise, it is already lost before it begins.
Feng Tianwei was in such a situation, but he did not realize it. Because even within the Fenghuang God Sect, only a handful of people knew that the Phoenix God was dead.
"Conditions? Hmph, as expected of the Great Sect Master of the Phoenix Sect, truly clever and straightforward, far better than this useless son of yours who inherited the position of Sect Master. I was never as ruthless as this before; instead, I gave you chance after chance. Every time I came, the first thing I did was to initiate negotiations with your Fenghuang God Sect, and I listed the negotiation terms clearly. Unfortunately, you repeatedly failed to appreciate the face I gave you!"
"And now, it is you who are taking the initiative to negotiate with me." Yun Che narrowed his eyes, his mocking gaze piercing like a bayonet straight at Feng Hengkong: "Feng Hengkong, I truly feel wronged for those Phoenix Sect disciples, princes, elders, and supreme elders who were forced to their deaths by your stupidity!!"
"You!" Feng Hengkong gritted his teeth so hard he almost spat blood. By now, he could not help but bitterly admit... that he, the dignified Phoenix Sect Master and Divine Emperor of the Shenhuang Empire, had been utterly and completely defeated in front of Yun Che.
From the very first day, Yun Che appeared in the guise of a weakling and proposed a condition that he knew full well they would never accept, treating it as a joke... Then, step by step, he revealed his strength. With each revelation, he would propose conditions even more unacceptable to them, making them mistakenly believe that was the limit of his power...
He indeed took the initiative to negotiate and propose conditions every day. But each time, the conditions he proposed were deliberately made impossible for them to accept! And when they were forced to the point where they had no choice but to accept, he would put forward conditions even more unacceptable than before...
His revenge was not just about making them die or suffer... but also to make them tremble, fear, humiliate, and regret...
And all of this, just as Yun Che intended, was heavily pressing down on Feng Hengkong's soul.
Although these were all deliberately orchestrated by Yun Che, the loss of dignity, the collapse of Phoenix City, the death of the Fourth Prince, the death of the Fifth Elder, the deaths of Feng Tianqing and Feng Tianyu... all occurred because he repeatedly refused Yun Che's demands!!
And now, facing the threat of extermination, they had no choice but to take the initiative to beg for negotiations!
All the previous deaths had become completely meaningless!
This hatred, regret, and fear had caused Feng Hengkong's heart to convulse in pain so many times it was on the verge of shattering.
Feng Hengkong knew that this was Yun Che's cruel revenge against him, and he had completely succeeded. At the very least, Feng Hengkong was now suffering a humiliation and pain a million times worse than death.
In front of Yun Che, he had lost completely, even in terms of profound strength, he was far inferior. Even when Feng Tianwei faced him directly, his back was covered in cold sweat. And he, the Phoenix Sect Master... no longer even had the qualification to stand before him.
"What conditions did Yun Che propose earlier?" Feng Tianwei turned sideways and asked Feng Hengkong in a low voice.
Feng Hengkong pressed his hand against his chest and did his best to stay calm: "He demanded that we withdraw our troops within a set time, pay compensation of thirty billion Purple Mysterious Coins, and apologize to the Cang Feng Empire. The apology edict was to be hung on the city wall for at least ten years. And..." Feng Hengkong gritted his teeth sharply: "And he demanded that we cede the entire Chiqiong Domain to Cang Feng, and have Ximing's profound skills abolished, and serve as a hostage in the Cangfeng Imperial City for a full fifty years!!"
"..." Feng Tianwei's brows locked tightly. Compensation, apology, ceding territory, hostage... every single item was a humiliation never before seen in the history of the Shenhuang Empire, and each condition trampled on its five thousand years of dignity!
"Grandfather, although Ximing may not have great abilities, at least in terms of status, I am the Crown Prince of Shenhuang! Even if I die ten thousand times, I will never accept this humiliation! And our Shenhuang Empire absolutely cannot endure such humiliation!" Feng Ximing cried out in a trembling voice. There was no doubt that he was terrified that under such immense pressure, Feng Tianwei might actually agree to Yun Che's conditions. He was the Crown Prince of Shenhuang, but if his profound skills were abolished and he was sent to the Cangfeng Imperial City, then for the next fifty years, he would spend every moment in unimaginable humiliation.
Even if he could return to Shenhuang alive after fifty years, as a cripple, he would no longer be the Crown Prince. When people saw him, they would only think of the humiliating history branded on his back.
"Yun Che, if these are the conditions you propose..." Feng Tianwei's brows slanted into a "V" shape: "Do you think there is any possibility of my Fenghuang God Sect agreeing to them!!"
"Oh no, no, not at all." Just as Feng Tianwei was about to release the pressure and anger he had been condensing, Yun Che's smiling denial came to his ears, startling him slightly. Contrary to Feng Tianwei's hardened expression, Yun Che's demeanor was relaxed: "Those were only yesterday's conditions. Your son should know very well that today's conditions could never be the same as yesterday's!"
"Hiss..." Feng Hengkong's lips trembled. The memories of the past three days hung over his heart like a nightmare, heavy and dark. Each day was more terrifying than the last, and the accumulated pain, resentment, roaring, regret, and humiliation...
Thinking back to the first day's Yun Che... he was as merciful as the most compassionate living Buddha from legends.
"What do you mean?" Feng Tianwei's brows sank even deeper.
"Father..." Feng Hengkong opened his mouth, but for a long time, he could not produce a sound. Finally, he raised his hand, condensed the memories of these days into profound power, and transmitted them into Feng Tianwei's heart.
Instantly, everything Feng Hengkong had experienced in front of Yun Che during these days was clearly and without omission displayed in Feng Tianwei's mind. His expression did not change, but his gaze was violently shaken...
He was not shocked by Yun Che's cunning.
But by a cunning and means more murderous than a demon, more venomous than a snake.
His age... was he really only twenty-two years old?!
" Heh, Great Sect Master, you don't need to be nervous. Although I, Yun Che, am not a kind person, I believe I have shown you Fenghuang God Sect the greatest mercy of my life!" Yun Che said with a light laugh. This sentence would be taken as a joke by anyone in the Fenghuang God Sect, but only he himself knew that his words were not an exaggeration in the slightest: "The opportunities were wasted by your own arrogance and stupidity. You cannot blame anyone else. However, since the Great Sect Master has personally appeared and taken the initiative to step back, as a junior, I naturally have to give some face. So, compared to yesterday, I will only make slight changes in three places today."
After reading the memory fragments transmitted by Feng Hengkong, Feng Tianwei fully understood that Yun Che was not just difficult to deal with... At this moment, he was practically negotiating with a true demon. He slightly raised his head and said in an extremely calm tone: "Go ahead. Which three places?"
"First, the compensation is changed to fifty billion Purple Mysterious Coins! It must be delivered to the Cangfeng Imperial Clan within thirty days, not a single coin less!!"
"Fif... fifty billion!" The Phoenix Elders, who had been utterly unable to accept the initial one hundred billion Yun Che proposed, all had their faces twitching. Feng Ximing gritted his teeth and roared: "Yun Che, stop dreaming!"
"...Go on." Feng Tianwei said in a low voice.
"Second..." Yun Che's gaze swept over Feng Ximing, causing his whole body to tense: "Yesterday, I proposed that this Crown Prince of yours come as a guest to my Cangfeng Imperial Clan. I didn't expect that it would scare the esteemed Crown Prince into wetting himself in terror, which is truly pitiful to behold. If he were to arrive at my Cangfeng Imperial City and go mad from fright, that would be most unfortunate."
"Yun Che, you!!" Feng Ximing's face was black, wishing he could tear Yun Che into pieces with his teeth.
"So, it's better if this Crown Prince of Shenhuang does not set foot on the soil of my Cang Feng. However, there must still be someone who goes as a guest to the Cangfeng Imperial City..." Amidst the terrified gazes of everyone, Yun Che's eyes fell upon Feng Hengkong: "Let the current Phoenix Sect Master do the honors instead."
"Abolish all of Feng Hengkong's profound skills, accompany me back to the Cangfeng Imperial City, and kneel before the tomb of my father, Cang Wanhe, for a hundred years!"
"Not a single day less!!"
These words of Yun Che undoubtedly struck like a thunderbolt in the hearts of everyone in the Fenghuang God Sect, causing their faces to change drastically and their chests to nearly burst with anger. Even Feng Tianwei's fingers made a loud sound like metal cracking as the bones misaligned.
Before they could roar out in anger, Yun Che's voice continued: "Third, starting from this year, for the next two hundred years, your Shenhuang Empire shall pay tribute to my Cangfeng Imperial Clan annually: at least one billion Purple Mysterious Coins, thirty thousand catties of Purple Crystal, five hundred thousand catties of Mysterious Iron and Mysterious Stones, five thousand weapons forged with Phoenix Flame, and five thousand suits of armor forged with Phoenix Flame!"
"And every ten years, the quantity increases by twenty percent."
"Only more, never less!!"
~!#¥%&...
Even if Feng Tianwei had millennia of cultivation and restraint, at this moment, he wished he could point at Yun Che's nose and curse him out.
The faces of everyone in the Fenghuang God Sect had turned livid black, more awful than if they had swallowed fifty thousand catties of dog shit. Even though Feng Tianwei used all his strength to suppress his anger, his voice could no longer remain calm and instead trembled violently: "Yun... Che! I have voluntarily made concessions to you because you once saved Xue’er. Do not... go too far..."
He could not find any words to fully describe his emotions at this moment... The words "going too far" could not even express a tenth of his anger at Yun Che!!
"Going too far?" Yun Che's brows lowered, and his smile turned ice-cold: "A full fifty million lives in my Cang Feng Empire have perished because of you! Countless people have been displaced and fallen into hell... Not even a measly fifty billion Purple Mysterious Coins, nor five hundred billion, nor five trillion, can bring back even a single one of those lives!!"
"Is the compensation of fifty billion in any way excessive!!"
"The late emperor of Cang Feng, also my father and the father of my wife Cang Yue, Cang Wanhe, always treated your Shenhuang with reverence and respect, never harboring any enmity or even disrespect. Yet you brutally killed him... He was also an emperor of a nation. My father was cruelly murdered by you, while that Feng Hengkong, who deserves ten thousand deaths, I have not even demanded his life, only that he atone for a mere hundred years. Is that in any way excessive!!"
"Since the founding of my Cang Feng Empire a thousand years ago, we have paid tribute to your Shenhuang Empire for generations, a full thousand years, never missing a single year! Now that your Shenhuang has trampled my Cang Feng to this extent, I only ask that you reverse the tribute for a paltry two hundred years... How is that in any way excessive!?"
"Feng Tianwei, you explain to me: is it that I am bullying your Shenhuang too much, or is it that your Shenhuang has bullied my Cang Feng too much!!"
With these last words, Yun Che's voice shook the entire Phoenix City, raising dust and sand, and vibrating ears and souls.
"Yun Che, there is no need for you to bandy words with me." Feng Tianwei's gaze was stern, veins bulging on his forehead: "The compensation of fifty billion Purple Mysterious Coins, my Shenhuang can give to the Cangfeng Imperial Clan without a single coin missing, and even the Chiqiong Domain, I can cede to your Cang Feng! But this is the last bottom line my Shenhuang can tolerate. As for the rest..."
"You need not waste your breath with such useless nonsense." Yun Che sneered mercilessly: "You just need to tell me whether you agree or not. You have no right to bargain."
"Not even the slightest bit!!"
Yun Che's words were like thunder, leaving no room for compromise.
"Great Sect Master, whether it is our Shenhuang Empire or the Fenghuang God Sect, we absolutely cannot endure such trampling and humiliation!" the Fourth Phoenix Elder shouted.
"We have the protection of Lord Phoenix God. If he truly intends to destroy Phoenix City, Lord Phoenix God will surely appear. Every word of this beast is nothing but daydreams!"
"Yun Che, prepare to face the judgment and wrath of Lord Phoenix God!!"
"All of you, shut up!" Feng Tianwei waved his hand abruptly, sending a surge of air exploding violently. In the perception of the Phoenix Elders and disciples, the Phoenix God was still alive, so although they were extremely angry, they could still be somewhat confident because of the "Ancestral Phoenix God." However, the spiritual pressure on Feng Tianwei, Feng Hengkong, and Feng Ximing was undoubtedly millions of times greater.
Only they knew that what they were facing was possibly a true cataclysmic disaster.
If it came to that point, the destruction of Phoenix City would be the least of it. The chain reaction caused by the revelation that the Phoenix God was dead would be the most terrifying.
Therefore, no matter what, they absolutely could not allow Yun Che to lower the domain of destruction.
But how could they possibly agree to the conditions he proposed!!
"Very well, truly excellent." Feng Tianwei glared at Yun Che, his whole body trembling slightly. At this point, the only thing he could rely on was to use the "Ancestral Phoenix God" to intimidate Yun Che: "What if I refuse to agree?"
"Then that is truly excellent!!" Without any hesitation or disappointment, Yun Che's face instead revealed an excited expression, as if he wished Feng Tianwei would reply exactly that: "Then let this Phoenix City disappear from the world forever!!"
"Hahahaha!" Feng Tianwei threw back his head and laughed wildly: "Your flame domain, I indeed have no ability to neutralize it. But do you truly believe that with such little power of yours, you can destroy this Phoenix City? I said before, although the Ancestral Phoenix God of our sect rarely appears in the mortal world, if you dare to lower that domain, and it concerns the safety of Phoenix City, Lord Phoenix God will surely appear! With Lord Phoenix God's power, in an instant, this domain of destruction and you will be completely erased from this world!"
"Excellent! Then I will now bring this domain of destruction down and let me see what the so-called Ancestral Phoenix God of your Fenghuang God Sect looks like!!"
Feng Tianwei never dreamed that under his invocation of the "Ancestral Phoenix God," Yun Che would not show even the slightest hesitation or intimidation. Instead, his aura surged violently, flames erupted around his body, and he made as if to directly lower the domain.
"Sto... stop!!!!" Feng Hengkong roared with all his might, his voice hoarse and savage. Yun Che's actions nearly scared the souls out of the three of them.
Rumble...
The sound of violent profound energy disturbances rolled down from above. The red-golden domain slowly churned like a sea of lava covering the sky. The already scorching air temperature rose again, and an aura of doomsday heavily shrouded the entire Phoenix City.
Under Feng Hengkong's terrified roar, Yun Che's arm movements paused. The domain of destruction swayed but was not lowered. Yun Che looked down, sneering: "What's wrong, Phoenix Sect Master? You have the great Phoenix God protecting you. If I lower this domain, not only will it not harm Phoenix City, but I will be seeking my own death. Could it be that the Phoenix Sect Master is concerned for my life?"
Not only Yun Che's voice, but also his eyes and aura were clearly and unwaveringly confident. At this point, Feng Tianwei finally began to vaguely sense that Yun Che might already know the truth that the Phoenix God was dead...
Otherwise, how could he be so decisive and calm in the face of the "Ancestral Phoenix God," which had absolute deterrent power over the Four Sacred Grounds!
If that were truly the case, then he no longer had any chips left to use against Yun Che.
"Yun Che," Feng Tianwei closed his eyes, his voice becoming long and low: "Must you be so ruthless?"
"Ruthless?" In response, Yun Che's cold sneer returned: "If I had returned a single day later, there would no longer be a Cang Feng Empire on the Tian Xuan Continent! Anyone in this world can say those words to me, but you, Shenhuang... do not have the qualification!"
Feng Tianwei: "..."
Rumble...
The purgatory in the sky churned more and more violently, and waves of scorching and chaotic heat continuously blasted down from above. Especially at the edges of the domain, the boiling red-golden flames had already begun to slowly descend. Yun Che looked up, narrowed his eyes, and said in a low voice: "This domain of destruction, I have only used it twice in my entire life. Both times, it was bestowed upon your Fenghuang God Sect. Feng Tianwei, you should be able to feel it by now that the power I have left can no longer maintain this state for much longer. In at most sixty more breaths, it will completely escape my control. By then, even if I wanted to recall it, it would be impossible."
"In other words, I can at most grant you sixty more breaths of time... to choose between survival and destruction!"
The heat of the air had reached a level where an ordinary person would be annihilated upon contact. But Feng Tianwei, Feng Hengkong, and Feng Ximing all felt as if they had fallen into an ice cave. The Phoenix Elders also began to sense that something was wrong, and all their gazes focused on Feng Tianwei, not daring to say another word.
"Grandfather..." Feng Ximing looked at Feng Tianwei's back, his face pale and bloodless. He could never have imagined that Yun Che, whom he had not even bothered to notice three years ago, would, in just three years, hold the power of life and death over the Fenghuang God Sect.
"Father..." Feng Hengkong weakly called out, then slowly extended his right hand, his palm silently pressing onto the location of his profound vein's core...
Just as he was about to release his profound power, an extremely familiar aura heavily touched his soul, causing him to lift his head as if struck by lightning.
At almost the same moment, Feng Tianwei, Feng Ximing... everyone's gazes converged on the same spot.
Yun Che's expression also froze at that moment...
................
"Brother Yun... is... that... you..."
A dreamlike young girl's voice came from behind him, as soft as clouds, and like the gentle weeping of the wind.