# Chapter 722: Cruel
"Xue'er, can't you see what he's doing?!" Feng Tianwei's face was ashen. Earlier, facing the crisis brought by Yun Che, he had remained expressionless throughout, but the scenes unfolding since Feng Xue'er's arrival had made his entire body tremble from the inside out. He raised his finger, pointing angrily at Yun Che: "If you don't believe me, you can ask him yourself!"
"They aren't lying to you." The moment Feng Tianwei's voice fell, Yun Che spoke with extreme calm: "In the past few days, I have killed four of your imperial brothers and many of your clan members... including the flame domain above us, which is also meant to destroy Phoenix City."
"No, I still don't believe it." Feng Xue'er shook her head, then suddenly turned to Feng Hengkong: "Emperor Father, what exactly happened? Did you do something to hurt Brother Yun?"
Feng Xue'er's words made Feng Hengkong's chest tighten, both panicked and pained: "Xue'er... you... what kind of love potion has he fed you?! He killed your brothers and wants to destroy our entire clan—our enmity with him is irreconcilable! Even he has admitted it himself! Why... are you still protecting him?!"
"Would you rather believe an enemy who killed your brothers and wants to destroy our entire clan, than believe your own Emperor Father?!"
Hearing Yun Che's own admission, Feng Xue'er did not show the expected fear, nor did she move half a step away from Yun Che. Instead, her first reaction was to question her own biological father. This was undoubtedly a huge blow to Feng Hengkong... and to everyone in the Fenghuang God Sect—unbelievable, incomprehensible.
"Emperor Father is the person Xue'er is closest to, and of course Xue'er will always believe every word you say." Feng Xue'er shook her head sorrowfully: "But Xue'er also believes that Brother Yun is absolutely not the 'madman' or 'demon' that Emperor Father speaks of. Emperor Father, have you forgotten? That year, Brother Yun left his own life behind in the Primordial Mystic Ark to save Xue'er's. Brother Yun is so kind, and cherishes Xue'er's life so much—how could he deliberately kill Xue'er's brothers and clansmen?"
"Moreover, Brother Yun, like Xue'er, not only inherits the Phoenix God's bloodline but also the Phoenix God's soul. Those with evil souls cannot receive the Phoenix Soul's inheritance. There must be a very good reason for Brother Yun to do such a thing... otherwise, Brother Yun could never... absolutely could never act like this!"
"..." Feng Hengkong opened his mouth but remained silent for a long time. The reason Yun Che treated the Fenghuang God Sect this way—he naturally understood it better than anyone.
All the Fenghuang God Sect members present, and even everyone in Shenhuang City, also knew it perfectly well.
Perhaps in the entire Shenhuang Kingdom, only Feng Xue'er was unaware.
Yun Che's admission did not frighten Feng Xue'er, but everyone's sudden silence made her heart grow flustered. She tightly grasped Yun Che's arm with both hands, her eyes trembling with panicked starlight: "Brother Yun, Xue'er would rather believe every lie in the world than believe that Brother Yun is an evil person. I know there must be a reason for all this... Brother Yun, what happened? Tell Xue'er, please..."
Yun Che looked at Feng Xue'er, his gaze unconsciously softening whenever facing her, beyond his control. He let out a slow, heavy breath and said softly: "I... ultimately cannot overcome my own selfishness."
With a muttered soliloquy, Yun Che raised his hand and pointed at Feng Xue'er's brow. This movement startled Feng Hengkong, who cried out: "Yun Che, what are you doing?!"
Yun Che's finger touched Feng Xue'er's brow. A large part of his memories from returning to Tian Xuan Continent up to the present day were transmitted into Feng Xue'er's heart and soul.
Yun Che withdrew his hand, while Feng Xue'er stood there completely stunned. The scenes and sounds Yun Che had witnessed upon his return appeared one by one in her mind: the endless desolation and desolation, the cities burned to ashes, the Shenhuang army surging like a tidal wave toward Cangfeng Imperial City, the rivers of blood, the endless corpses... She also felt all the emotions Yun Che had experienced at that time—shock, fear, rage, hatred, vows of vengeance...
Feng Xue'er's delicate body began to tremble. Her eyes lost focus in an instant, her entire body went limp, tears streamed down her cheeks... as if she had suddenly lost her soul.
When Yun Che pressed his finger to Feng Xue'er's brow, Feng Hengkong's heart was already in turmoil. Now, seeing Feng Xue'er's reaction, he was even more alarmed: "Xue'er, what's wrong with you?!"
"Why did you do this?! Why?! Why?! Why?!!"
Before Feng Hengkong's words faded, Feng Xue'er's voice struck his heart like steel needles. Her voice was anguished, even hysterical in a way never seen before. The face that had always been filled with laughter was now covered in tear stains... Unlike the tears of surprise and joy when she first met Yun Che, every teardrop now carried heart-wrenching pain.
"Xue'er, don't be angry or sad. Emperor Father had his reasons. All his decisions were made for the Shenhuang Kingdom and our entire clan!" Feng Ximing quickly said.
"Why did you do something like this?! Why?!"
Five consecutive "whys," each word painfully piercing to the soul. She had firmly believed Yun Che had a reason for attacking the Fenghuang God Sect, but she never imagined the reason would be so cruel. Even more, she could not believe that her father—whom she had always been closest to, respected, and relied on—would have done such a thing.
On one side was her father, and on the other, her Brother Yun... Having grown up in a fairytale-like world, she had never borne such cruel and twisted reality.
"Xue'er, I..."
"Brother Yun saved my life with his own life... why did you do this?!" Feng Xue'er cried and shouted: "You just promised me that you would treat the Cang Feng Kingdom well, and treat and repay everyone connected to Brother Yun well... Why is the truth like this?! Why did you kill so many people in the Cang Feng Kingdom?! Why did you kill Brother Yun's Emperor Father?! Why?! Why?!!"
Feng Xue'er's voice grew more piercing with each word. The trembling and pain in her voice made everyone's hearts clench tightly, unable to breathe.
Feng Hengkong's whole body trembled, his heart aching as if cut by thousands of steel blades. He barely managed to lift his head, yet still dared not meet Feng Xue'er's gaze. Just as he was about to speak, he suddenly saw... a streak of crimson blood slowly trickling down from the corner of Feng Xue'er's lips, starkly shocking against her porcelain-jade face.
Feng Hengkong was horrified: "Xue'er, what's wrong?!"
Feng Tianwei, Feng Ximing... and Yun Che also saw the bloodstain at Feng Xue'er's mouth at this moment, all greatly alarmed. Yun Che quickly supported Feng Xue'er's waist and said urgently: "Xue'er..."
The moment he touched Feng Xue'er's body, he realized her qi was in extreme chaos, and her inner breath was in complete disarray... dozens of profound qi flows were attacking her heart meridian in the confusion.
"Xue'er!!" Feng Hengkong, shocked and anxious, could no longer care about anything else and was about to leap into the air. At that moment, the space began to tremble abnormally. Dozens of overlapping rumbles came from above and all directions. The previously extremely oppressive air began to churn restlessly, and many Fenghuang disciples with lower profound strength were directly knocked to the ground.
"Don't come near!" Feng Tianwei moved swiftly, pulling Feng Hengkong down from the air. He looked up at the sky, veins bulging all over his body...
"Damn it!" Feng Ximing's face was filled with terror: "Grandfather, what do we do now..."
The destruction domain in the sky was in turmoil, and the edges were even sinking at a considerable speed... Clearly, the entire domain was on the verge of losing control.
If it fell, it would be the beginning of annihilation for the Fenghuang God Sect.
"Brother Yun..." For Feng Xue'er at this moment, nothing in the world was warmer comfort than Yun Che's arms. But her panicked, lost heart made her afraid to face Yun Che's gaze. She leaned on his shoulder, closed her eyes, and said softly: "Please spare Emperor Father and the others this once... okay? Xue'er knows she has no face to say this to Brother Yun... but they are, after all, my Emperor Father, my clan... and the place I will protect in the future..."
"Xue'er promises Brother Yun that she will use everything she has to make it up to Brother Yun and the Cang Feng Kingdom... okay..."
"Okay!!" Yun Che answered without a moment of hesitation.
Feng Xue'er raised her head, tears crystallizing into the most beautiful light in the world.
Yun Che released Feng Xue'er and raised both hands simultaneously. The little profound force he had left pushed the operating principles of the Golden Crow World-Incinerating Record to their limit... Above, the turmoil of the Yellow Springs Ashes domain continued, but it began to slowly contract toward the center.
Such a situation, such a state—if it were anyone else, even with the same Golden Crow bloodline and profound art level as Yun Che, it would be absolutely impossible to fully withdraw such a massive destruction domain, which had been summoned with full force, using only residual profound force. But Yun Che possessed the Evil God Fire Seed, giving him an overwhelmingly powerful control over flames. Under his command, the turmoil of the destruction domain eased, and the world-destroying aura quickly weakened.
The temperature of the air also dropped rapidly.
The Fenghuang profound practitioners, who had felt as if they were on the edge of an abyss, now breathed a long sigh of relief. Undoubtedly, once this domain was withdrawn, Yun Che would not be able to release it a second time. Moreover, because he had released this domain, he was now at the end of his strength, completely powerless—completely harmless.
At the same time... this was undoubtedly the best time to kill Yun Che!!
Because now, he didn't even have the strength to flee!
The flame domain grew smaller and smaller, and the air temperature dropped faster and faster. Unbeknownst to them, the wind stirred by the trembling air began to feel slightly cool... They only then realized that their bodies were completely drenched in sweat, from head to toe, every corner of their clothing soaking wet.
Feng Tianwei watched the sky motionlessly, but inside, he breathed a heavy sigh of relief—a relief greater than any he had ever felt in his life. Because for the Fenghuang God Sect, this was truly a post-disaster survival.
As the flame domain contracted to within thirty meters, Feng Tianwei's gaze shifted from the domain to Yun Che. A murderous intent flickered deep in his pupils.
"Grandfather!" Feng Ximing's lowered voice came from behind Feng Tianwei.
"There's no need for you to say a word!" Feng Tianwei snorted coldly, and suddenly swung his arm. A streak of flame profound light shot out from his fingertip, tearing through space with a sharp screech, heading straight for Yun Che, who was still contracting the flame domain.
He was absolutely certain that in his current state, Yun Che had no possible way to dodge, let alone the fact that he was still fully focused on controlling the domain... This beam of profound light was enough to completely sever Yun Che's head from his neck.