by Mars Gravity
“Out of the way!”
Duke Huai descended from the air and slapped his palm on Duke Hui Ye’s chest. Under the incomparably deep and thick profound energy, the flames on his body began to recede like a breaking tide and swiftly disappeared. After the phoenix flames had been completely extinguished, one-third of Duke Hui Ye’s body had been charred black and his hair and eyebrows had been completely burned away. His wounds were numerous beyond count and many of those wounds were deep enough to expose bone… and all of these were only external injuries. What caused Duke Huai to be truly enraged was that at least thirty percent of Hui Ye’s meridians had been ruined and at least half of his bones were broken. For him to make a complete recovery, even with the vast resources Duke Huai Palace had, it would still take many months.
The profound armor that Duke Hui Ye had always worn on his person had disappeared, and all that was left was the faint aura of the profound armor that had been scattered all around. Duke Huai himself was incomparably clear about how resilient this profound armor was, and he was even more clear that if not for the protection of this profound armor, even if Hui Ye had not died under that previous sword strike, he would still have been completely crippled.
“Too bad huh. This guy was actually wearing such an incredible life-preserving charm, or else I would have at the very least shaved off half his life,” Yun Che said softly to himself in regret, emoting a heavy and rough gasp.
Within the great hall, nearly everyone present had unwittingly rose to their feet with stunned expressions on every single one of their faces. The silence lasted for a long time and it was as if all the sound present in this world had been completely removed.
In a single instant, he had destroyed three flame devils and had followed that up by heavily injuring Duke Hui Ye with a single stroke of his sword. The conclusion that seemed to be foregone had been completely turned upon its head once that vermilion greatsword had appeared. In the span of a few short breaths, a complete reversal that no one had ever dreamed of had happened…
Duke Hui Ye laid on the ground with half his face charred black and the other half pale as a sheet. Even though he had been heavily injured, it was not to the point where he had lost consciousness. Both his eyes were opened and they had widened to an extreme degree; it was as though his soul had left his body due to the shock and trauma.
The reactions of everyone in Duke Huai Palace and all of those seated in the east wing were largely the same. They could scarcely believe their own eyes, because once Hui Ye had revealed the Obsidian Devil Sword, they were completely sure that Yun Che was going to admit defeat, or even die. No one had expected that this would actually be the result.
Shock and amazement was writ large on Yun Qinghong’s face and it was only after a while that he came to his senses. But he still was not able to fathom the commotion that was currently occurring in his mind. He looked toward the Yun Family’s seats and without exception, from the lowest of disciples to the grandest of elders, every single one of them had a dazed expression. Even the three Grand Elders, Yun Jiang, Yun He and Yun Xi had risen up from their seats and stood there for a good long while.
Yun Qinghong began to faintly laugh, and his gaze grew indistinct for a moment. He could hardly believe that this young man, who had time and again shocked the entire audience and stunned all the heroes of the realm, was actually his own biological son. His previous worries and interference had been completely unnecessary. When he recalled Yun Che’s confident demeanor and unwavering gaze, he lightly nodded his head and said to himself, “Che’er, your true limit, where exactly does it lie…”
The Yun Che who had not used his heavy sword was dominated by Duke Hui Ye but once that heavy sword had appeared, in the blink of an eye, it was Duke Hui Ye who had lost miserably and suffered serious wounds. For a profound practitioner, training in one type of weapon was a must, and once a practitioner held his or her preferred weapon, that person’s ability would also rise, but not to an overly exaggerated extent. Someone who was at the fifth level of the Tyrant Profound Realm could still easily defeat an opponent who was one level lower than him with bare fists, even if that opponent had a weapon equipped.
But Yun Che was definitely not the same. The Yun Che who had no heavy sword in his hand versus the Yun Che who did, it was not only a difference in strength at this point… it was practically a difference in entire levels! With Dragon Fault in Yun Che’s hands, he would have already surpassed Duke Hui Ye, so when he used the Heaven Smiting Devil Slayer Sword which was far stronger, the result was already predetermined.
But at the same time, the energy consumed in the process of wielding the Heaven Smiting Devil Slayer Sword was far greater than that of Dragon Fault. While he had heavily wounded Duke Hui Ye, Yun Che’s breathing had become noticeably rougher.
“Father, he… what sort of person is he?” Su Zhizhan exclaimed in astonishment. The scenario that unfolded in those few short breaths had fiercely impacted his very soul and completely overturned his world.
Su Xiangnan shook his head and replied in a voice that was also rather baffled, “Your father wants to know this answer even more than you do.” And when he thought of how Yun Qinghong almost forcibly intervened, he continued, “And I’m afraid that even Yun Qinghong did not know that he was actually this strong!”
Someone able to cause these peerless experts who came from all over the Illusory Demon Realm to experience shock and marvel time and again; Yun Che was definitely the first person who had ever done so. The kind of shock he created with a profound strength that was just at the Sky Profound Realm could not help but cause calamitous waves to rage about in the hearts of all these peerless experts, and the impact he created the moment he had heavily injured Duke Hui Ye far surpassed any of the previous shock he had caused.
“Who is next?!!”
His vermilion greatsword dug into the ground and Yun Che supported himself by leaning on the sword with one hand. His forehead was filled with sweat but his voice was still thunderous as it rang clear. At this point, not a single person dared to mock him or take him lightly and all eyes were glued to his figure. Even the Little Demon Empress, who was seated on her throne, had been reduced to a supporting role under his dazzling brilliance.
For the first time in his life, Duke Huai had been driven to vexation by a young person. Duke Hui Ye’s injuries were completely secondary, because even his confidence, dignity, and arrogance had been completely shattered by Yun Che. From this day forth, if Yun Che managed to survive, his name would shake all of Illusory Demon Realm while Duke Huai’s son would be reduced to a mere stepping stone on Yun Che’s path to glory!
This person, he definitely must die…
Duke Huai inclined his head and shot a fierce gaze towards Duke Zhong. Duke Zhong’s expression had long ago turned sour and he lowered his head. He sent a silent sound transmission to his own son, Duke Yuan Que, “Yun Che has already revealed an opening. It is clear that using that sword consumes a large amount of energy and he should not have too much strength left! Use any and all means that you have at your disposal to kill him…. no matter what the cost!”
Chapter 564: Duke Yuan Que
He defeated Jiufang Yu, defeated Xiao Donglai, defeated Chiyang Yanwu… and now, he had won once again, defeating Duke Hui Ye. In every single match, all those who were present were convinced of Yun Che’s imminent defeat. To be able to enter this Demon Imperial Hall, every person present had to first be at the summit of Illusory Demon Realm and every single one of them had an extremely high status and authority, especially those seniors who had already lived for a few hundred years, or even a few thousand years. All of them possessed great discernment and all of them had been through extensive experiences. But in the end, they made the wrong judgement again and again, and each time this happened, they went pale with shock.
Perhaps, in the entire history of the Illusory Demon Realm, Yun Che was the first person to accomplish such a thing.
Duke Hui Ye had fal
len in defeat, so the opponent Yun Che should face next was Duke Yuan Que; the person that no one thought would even have the opportunity to take the stage.
“Father, Big Brother looks like he has exhausted a large amount of energy. The Under Heaven Family has a special Profound Recovering Pellet. I will immediately go get one from them,” Xiao Yun said as he stood up.
Yun Qinghong extended his arm and grabbed him while gently shaking his head, “The competition that takes place during a Demon Imperial/Emperor Ceremony has historically never allowed the use of any medical pellets.”
“Then… then what can we do now?” Xiao Yun’s expression turned anxious. Even though Yun Che still stood up straight as an arrow, anyone could see the sweat drenching his face. Moreover, his face was flushed red and his breathing was exceptionally rough. He had just won a big victory over Duke Hui Ye, but it was clear that he exhausted a lot of energy as well.
Yun Qinghong furrowed his brows in concentration; he knew that Xiao Yun was worried that Yun Che’s remaining strength was insufficient and that he would unwittingly be ensnared by his next opponent’s evil scheme. He gently said, “Relax, even though your big brother’s words and actions appear extremely arrogant, he is definitely not a reckless person. This is especially so in matters concerning his own life and death. The fact that he has chosen to remain in the arena shows that he still has an ace up his sleeve.”
A person descended from the air in front of Yun Che. He was dressed in wine-red battle attire and his face contained seven parts arrogance and three parts dignity. Facing the Yun Che who had seriously injured Duke Hui Ye, his heart could not help but quicken slightly, even though Yun Che had clearly exhausted a large amount of profound energy.
“Duke Yuan Que?” Yun Che’s brows jumped, and even though he faced a member of the Illusory Demon Seven Scions whose ranking surpassed Duke Hui Ye, his face did not show a single trace of anxiety. It was almost as if he was not aware that his profound energy had been depleted.
“Indeed, it is this duke!” Duke Yuan Que’s finger brushed across the spatial ring he was wearing and a silver-colored long spear appeared in his hand. His arm swept out and fire began to spread on the body of his spear, “Prepare to die!”
If you were to compare the arrogance and haughtiness of Duke Hui Ye and Duke Yuan Que, as both of them were Dukes and ranked within the top three of the Illusory Demon Seven Scions, Duke Yuan Que was definitely not inferior to Duke Hui Ye. In fact, if he had headed out to battle before Duke Hui Ye, he would likely have been even more arrogant in front of Yun Che than Duke Hui Ye had been. But after Hui Ye’s miserable defeat, it was impossible for him to not be deeply shocked, so there was no way he could still have the mood to display his arrogance.
But even more importantly, he did not dare waste any more time, as he did not want to give Yun Che time to recover… when comparing their strengths, even though he was superior to Duke Hui Ye, it was only by half a level. Duke Hui Ye’s miserable defeat and serious wounds made it so that he could not help but feel apprehensive now that he was facing Yun Che. Duke Hui Ye had already been reduced to Yun Che’s stepping stone on his path to glory… If, by chance, he was defeated as well, then he, too, would become yet another stepping stone for Yun Che.
As a duke of the Illusory Demon Royal Family, how could he tolerate such a thing happening to him?
Therefore, when Duke Yuan Que attacked, he did so with all of his might.
Duke Yuan Que let out a huge yell and flames flared up all around his body. An aura that felt as boundless as the ocean welled up and rushed forth without restraint. The fierceness of this aura caused countless powerful currents to form and surge violently within the great hall. These currents impacted the air and caused the space within the hall to violently reverberate.
All the profound practitioners within the great hall felt a dull pressure on their chests, as if a heavy iron plate had been laid on top of them, and they were unable to breathe for quite a while. Those who had a comparatively weaker profound strength had to hurriedly erect profound energy barriers as their eyes were filled shock and terror.
“What… What a fearsome aura.”
“He is indeed worthy to be ranked number two amongst the Illusory Demon Seven Scions. Just based on this profound energy aura alone, he is definitely superior to Duke Hui Ye.”
“Such a fearsome strength, Yun Che should… he should not be able to win again, right?”
The aura that Duke Yuan Que exuded as he unleashed his full power caused the hearts of all of the younger generation to tremble and be filled with fear. It caused the seniors who had great strength to be fiercely moved. However, not a single person dared to loudly assert that Yun Che was doomed to lose… Even in this case, where it was obvious that Yun Che had very clearly exhausted a lot of his profound strength.
Because Yun Che had caused them to be completely dumbfounded four times in a row, coupled with the two sword moves he had used to defeat Duke Hui Ye, this brought about a shock to their system which was simply too intense.
Yun Che was the one who was closest to Duke Yuan Que, so naturally he was the one who experienced the full weight of the pressure caused by Duke Yuan Que’s aura. However, the Yun Che that Duke Yuan Que was staring wore a calm expression on his face and he hardly seemed moved at all. Furthermore, the scarlet greatsword in front of Yun Che did not exude any aura at all, but it made Duke Yuan Que feel as if he was facing an unmoving and majestic mountain, whose peaks were too high to reach.
This feeling was caused an extremely unbearable feeling to manifest in Duke Yuan Que’s heart. He gave low yell and he took a step forward.
The incomparably hard and durable black profound stone was actually directly crushed underfoot. This single step seemed to step on the entire audience’s heart and it caused every single one of them to feel a jolt in their hearts.
“Purgatory Helix!”
Duke Yuan Que thrust his spear out and a column of spear energy that was thicker than three meters shot out, and it burned fiercely and carried a scorching hot storm which rent the air as it rushed towards Yun Che. Wherever this beam of spear energy passed, it would cause layer upon layer of cuts to appear on the black profound stone floor as it shaved off an inch of the black stone. If this were just ordinary earth, there would have been huge, deep trenches carved into the ground long ago .
Facing this spear thrust which exuded such a terrifying aura, Yun Che’s gaze grew concentrated and he grabbed up the Heaven Smiting Sword with both hands. The sword blade carried a tyrannical aura that it did not display before as it smashed down with a loud bang. This stroke of the sword, which did not look the least bit elegant, brought along a world-shaking energy explosion, and chaotic energy waves swept out and engulfed the arena as the floor beneath Yun Che’s feet instantly broke apart.
Booom…
The giant sword collided directly with the spear thrust and in an instant, all the sound in the world seemed to have been completely devoured and an extremely gigantic profound energy storm violently burst apart. A large area of the floor of Demon Imperial Hall broke apart and jade fragments swirled in the air.
Cries of alarm soon rang out and blanketed the area as the surrounding profound practitioners hurriedly shielded themselves with profound energy. There were a few people who received a heavy impact and were thrown out of their seats. There were also those who had weaker profound strengths, and this impact caused them internal injuries and they vomited blood on the spot.
The Little Demon Empress stood up as her brows sank, and with a flick of her voluminous grey sleeve, she immediately erected a wall of crimson flames taller than thirty-five meters that surrounded the arena. In the instance that the flames began to burn, the profound energy storm that was raging across the great hall was firmly confined within the circle of flames, and not even a trace of energy leaked out anymore.
The audience who were seated close to and around the arena recovered their calm, and once they turned back toward t
he arena, their gazes were filled with terror.
When Duke Yuan Que attacked, he had done so at full force. Even though his name had shaken the heavens for many years, the power that he displayed when he attacked was still beyond the imaginations of anyone who had witnessed it for the first time. This was especially so for the strong individuals from outside the Demon Imperial City, as they could scarcely believe this power had come from such a young person.
But even facing such an attack as this one… Yun Che could actually still met it!
Duke Yuan Que personally witnessed his own spear energy beam being destroyed with just one sword stroke from Yun Che… Only one sword stroke. Yun Che was still standing at his original position and his feet had not even retreated half a step. Before Duke Yuan Que even had the time to be shocked, a figure suddenly blurred into existence in front of him, and that vermillion greatsword had abruptly cleaved down right in front of him.
Duke Yuan Que’s pupils shrunk and the silver spear in his hand fiercely shot out, but before the spear could complete its movement, the spear slash had already collided with the Heaven Smiting Sword.
Scree!
To no one’s surprise, Duke Yuan Que’s spear beam was shattered by the Heaven Smiting Sword like so much thin glass, and it did not even create any resistance as the sword sailed through it with a loud explosion. Duke Yuan Que desperately poured all the profound energy in his body into the silver spear as he gritted his teeth and blocked the onrushing Heaving Smiting Sword.
Boom!!!
With a giant ring, the Heaven Smiting Sword heavily smashed into the horizontal section of the silver spear that was being held by Duke Yuan Que, and the silver spear immediately bent to a great degree. An incomparably violent heavy sword energy traveled from the silver spear directly into Duke Yuan Que’s body… In that instant, Duke Yuan Que’s gaze darkened, his entire body shook, and he felt as if all the bones in his body were going to shatter into fragments. He felt as if he was not receiving a blow from a sword, but instead a thirty thousand meter tall mountain had fiercely smashed into his body. He had been smashed with such force that he could only endure it for that instant and in the next moment, he fiercely shot through the air.