Chapter 973: Strong Confrontation
Boom!!
A figure fell from the air like a meteor, crashing onto the ground with such force that the earth trembled violently and snow flew everywhere.
It was a tall young man, over eight feet in stature, with a muscular build and thick, ink-black eyebrows. His arrival carried a heavy, suffocating pressure. He landed beside Liu Hang but didn't even glance at Yun Che and the others, instead bending down directly to examine his injuries.
"Cousin..." Liu Hang's voice was already choked with tears. Gone was his earlier fear and trembling; he twisted around and pointed at Yun Che: "It's him! He's Yun Che! He's the one who injured me like this!"
"Mu... Mu... Mu Yizhou!" Mu Xiaolan's face lost all color. When she had recognized Liu Hang, she had realized how serious the problem was. She never expected this big trouble to appear before her so quickly, leaving her no time to react at all.
"Ah! He... he is..." Feng Mo stood frozen in shock. The chief disciple of the Ice Phoenix First Palace... to a disciple who had just entered the Cold Snow Hall, this existence was like a towering mountain.
Yun Che: "..."
This burly man with an imposing aura was none other than Liu Hang's cousin, the one he had mentioned... the chief disciple of the Ice Phoenix First Palace—Mu Yizhou!
Mu Yizhou extended his hand, pressing his palm over Liu Hang's leg from a distance. A flash of icy blue light descended, soothing Liu Hang's injuries. He glanced at Liu Hang's shoulder, his brows furrowing even deeper as he said in a low voice: "To strike so ruthlessly, hmph."
"That Yun Che... he's simply a madman!" Liu Hang sobbed indignantly. "Not only did he injure me like this, he also..."
"Enough!" Mu Yizhou said heavily. "Look at yourself now—isn't this shameful enough already!"
"No, cousin, you don't understand!" Liu Hang said frantically. "Yun Che didn't just injure me like this... he also didn't put you in your place at all! I told him your name and status, but not only did he not let me go, he... he almost crippled me, and he even said... 'Mu Yizhou, what the hell is he?'"
"What!?" Mu Yizhou's face instantly darkened. Whether the other party knew of his identity before injuring Liu Hang was a completely different matter.
"That's right, he... he really said that." Di Kui quickly chimed in from the side. "Senior Brother Yizhou, it doesn't matter that we suffer this humiliation, but he not only disregards Senior Brother Yizhou, but also insults you like this. Senior Brother Yizhou absolutely must not let him off!"
"You... you really said that?" Mu Xiaolan's heart pounded with fear as she timidly asked Yun Che.
Yun Che crossed his arms and snorted disdainfully, too lazy to answer. He turned to Feng Mo behind him and said, "Feng Mo, leave here first."
Even though Feng Mo's face had already turned pale with terror, he shook his head with unusual firmness. At that moment, Mu Yizhou slowly straightened up. His gaze, though calm, turned into a heavy, tangible force that made Feng Mu and Mu Xiaolan's hearts stop, causing them both to take an instinctive step back.
This was the condescending gaze and intimidation of an absolute strong toward the weak. Although Mu Xiaolan was also an Ice Phoenix Palace disciple, she had been granted special permission to enter the Ice Phoenix Palace—she was on an entirely different level from chief disciples like Mu Yizhou.
"Yun Che?" Mu Yizhou narrowed his eyes, his gaze dangerous yet mocking. "I've been hearing that name quite a bit recently. I heard that on his very first day in the Ice Phoenix Realm, relying on Palace Master Ice Cloud's favor, he was arrogant enough to offend Palace Master Feng Shu. And now, he's actually daring to be arrogant right in front of me, Mu Yizhou!"
Mu Xiaolan said urgently, "Senior Brother Yizhou, it's not what you think! Junior Brother Liu Hang was the one who first..."
"No need to explain!" Mu Yizhou cut her off rudely. He knew full well what kind of person Liu Hang was. But regardless of the reason, a cultivator with mere Lord Xuan Realm power, and from the lower realms at that, had dared to defy his name and injure Liu Hang like this—since he had entered the Ice Phoenix Palace, no one had ever dared to treat him with such disregard. How could he just let this go?
"All I see is my cousin covered in wounds. Don't you think you should give me an explanation?"
"You've got it backwards," Yun Che said calmly, meeting Mu Yizhou's terrifying gaze. "Your cousin Liu Hang maliciously seized resources from other disciples in the Cold Snow Hall and even injured them. I caught him red-handed. As a disciple of the Ice Phoenix Palace, I naturally had to act. Liu Hang's current state is well-deserved—he has no one to blame. As his cousin, if you felt ashamed of your lack of discipline and sincerely apologized to the junior brother he bullied, offered compensation, and then took Liu Hang away to be strictly disciplined, I might still respect you as a senior brother. But instead of feeling any shame, you come here aggressive and demanding an explanation from us?"
Yun Che gave a cold laugh. "Ah, of course. If you, his cousin, weren't backing him up, how would Liu Hang dare to run rampant in the Cold Snow Hall? Birds of a feather flock together, after all. If the chief disciple of the Ice Phoenix First Palace is really nothing more than this, then that's truly pathetic."
Yun Che's words made Mu Yizhou pause in surprise. Meanwhile, Mu Xiaolan's heart nearly leaped out of her chest. She quickly pulled Yun Che back, stepping in front of him and saying frantically, "Senior Brother Yizhou, Yun Che... he, he, he only recently arrived in the Ice Phoenix Realm and knows nothing at all! He doesn't even know who you are! And... and he has a problem with his head! Please don’t take him seriously! As for today’s matter, I, I, I will immediately report it to our master and will surely give you and Junior Brother Liu Hang an explanation!"
"Hmph, didn't I make myself clear enough? Liu Hang brought this on himself! I went through all this trouble to discipline him—he should be thanking me, not demanding compensation! Why should I give him any explanation?" Yun Che said coldly.
"You... shut up!" Mu Xiaolan wished she could kick him flying on the spot. When cultivators from the lower realms came to the God Realm, they were all extremely restrained and cautious with every step—but Yun Che... was even worse.
Opposite them stood the chief disciple of the Ice Phoenix First Palace! Being the chief disciple of an Ice Phoenix Palace within the Ice Phoenix God Sect was enough to dominate the entire Yin Xue Realm; he would surely become a powerhouse renowned across the realm in the future. Even the emperors of Yin Xue's various domains and nations would treat him with utmost respect.
Could it be... that he really was brain-damaged? Mu Xiaolan groaned inwardly in pain.
"Giggle, giggle, giggle..."
A rather unrestrained female laugh came from above, and a woman’s figure slowly descended with the laughter: "A kid from the lower realms actually dares to be so insolent in front of big brother—he really must have a screw loose, giggle, giggle."
Hearing this voice, Liu Hang’s face lit up with joy again, and he shouted loudly, "Cousin!"
"Luo... Luoqiu Senior Sister," Mu Xiaolan’s mind went blank once more.
The woman landed lightly beside Mu Yizhou. She looked to be in her early thirties, dressed in the white robes of the Ice Phoenix Palace, tall and slender, with a bright and striking face. The slightly upturned corners of her eyes carried a deep arrogance and haughtiness.
Mu Yizhou glanced at her sideways: "What are you doing here?"
"I saw big brother rushing into the teleportation formation in such a hurry, I thought something serious had happened. Since I had nothing better to do, I came along to see. I never imagined I’d witness such an interesting scene."
Mu Luoqiu bent down and examined Liu Hang’s injuries. Her brows immediately furrowed: "Injured this badly—such vicious hands. Little Hang, don’t worry. Whoever hurt you will end up at least ten times worse off."
"Cousin, you... must not let him off," Liu Hang said loudly in pain.
Mu Luoqiu stood up, her gaze instantly turning into two icy cold beams that swept toward Mu Xiaolan and Yun Che: "Not only did you lay poison hands on someone from our Liu family, but you also dared to spout nonsense in front of my big brother. The thirty-six palaces—you’re really getting more and more impressive."
"Thirty-six palaces?" Mu Yizhou gave a cold laugh. "Since a few hundred years ago, there have only been thirty-five. Our Ice Phoenix Palace isn’t a place where just any stray cat or dog can come in. As for the so-called thirty-six palaces... huh, looking at it now, it’s nothing but a joke that brings shame to the Ice Phoenix Palace!"
"How... how can you say that!" These words weren’t just aimed at Yun Che—they targeted the entire thirty-six palaces, and even implicated Mu Bingyun. Mu Xiaolan’s face flushed red with anger.
"Did I say something wrong?" Mu Yizhou laughed even more contemptuously. "Your so-called thirty-six palaces originally had only one disciple, and that was already bad enough. Now you’ve added a lowly fool from the lower realms, whose cultivation is a joke and who doesn’t know his place—courting death. Isn’t that a disgrace to our Ice Phoenix Palace?"
"Big brother can’t say that either," Mu Luoqiu said with a light laugh. "This kid Yun is indeed only at the Lord Xuan Realm, as the rumors say, but he managed to injure Little Hang like this—he does have some skill. Oh? I recall the rumors said his cultivation was at mid-stage Lord Xuan Realm... looks like the rumors were wrong."
"Hmph!" Whether it was mid-stage or late-stage Lord Xuan made no difference to them. Mu Yizhou lifted his gaze, his slow tone carrying a chilling menace: "Mu Xiaolan, this matter has nothing to do with you. You can leave right now. As for Yun Che... heh, rest assured, since he’s a personally accepted disciple of Palace Master Ice Cloud, out of respect for her, I’ll leave him half a breath of life."
"No!" Mu Xiaolan quickly stepped in front of Yun Che, pleading: "Senior Brother Yizhou, Yun Che is just a newcomer who really doesn’t understand anything. You’re a highly respected senior brother of the Ice Phoenix Palace—please, be magnanimous and don’t stoop to his level. I... I’ll have him apologize to you and Junior Brother Liu Hang right now."
"Heh, too late!" Mu Yizhou sneered, his hand already clenching slowly. "Just for those words he said to me, he won’t leave here intact today!"
"Wait... wait!" Feng Mo clutched his arm and staggered forward: "Both senior brothers and sisters, this whole matter started because of me! Senior Brother Yun Che only accidentally injured Senior Brother Liu Hang because of me! If you want to vent your anger, take it out on me! It has nothing to do with Senior Brother Yun Che..."
"What do you think you are?" Mu Luoqiu’s gaze shifted. "Who gave you the right to speak here?"
Feng Mo froze, stammering and unable to speak.
"Get out of the way." Yun Che pushed Mu Xiaolan aside with one hand and faced Mu Yizhou and Mu Luoqiu directly: "You want to leave me half a breath? I’m afraid you don’t have the ability!"
"Yun Che! You absolute idiot!" Mu Xiaolan was almost in tears. "Senior Brother Yizhou is at level ten of the Divine Soul Realm, Senior Sister Luoqiu at level eight of the Divine Soul Realm! If they come after you, it’ll be... it’ll be... what do we do, what do we do!"
"Heh, truly a complete fool." Mu Yizhou couldn’t even be bothered to laugh anymore. He tilted his head and said, "Luoqiu, handle him. A Lord Xuan Realm fool from the lower realms... he’ll only dirty my hands."
"Big brother is so inconsiderate," Mu Luoqiu turned her face away and said lazily. "We girls are even more afraid of dirtying our hands. Can’t you be a little thoughtful?"
"Tch, I don’t have all your hang-ups. My hands aren’t afraid of getting dirty at all." At this moment, Yun Che let out a strange, cold laugh. His profound aura exploded in an instant, releasing a crimson radiance. His entire body turned into a streak of swift, overwhelming light, charging straight at Mu Yizhou and Mu Luoqiu.