Chapter 143: Sweeping Across

“K-Kuiyang Senior Brother!”

The other three disciples were terrified by this sudden scene. None of them expected Yun Che to attack so abruptly, and with such ghostly speed that they had no chance to react. What stunned them even more was that Kuiyang, who possessed True Profound Realm strength, was severely injured by a single strike. The large spray of blood mist was shocking, and after falling to the ground, he convulsed all over, unable to stand up for a long time.

“How dare he… how dare he ambush Senior Brother Kuiyang! Everyone, let’s go, cripple him!!” Han Feng’s face was distorted with rage. He drew a long sword and charged forward with another disciple. One sword aimed for Yun Che’s chest, the other for his skull.

“Brother-in-law, be careful!”

Xia Yuanba had barely cried out in alarm when he heard a "crack." Han Feng’s long sword was directly kicked broken by Yun Che’s foot, and the other disciple’s long sword was snatched away by Yun Che with his bare hands. Then, he delivered two simultaneous punches, landing squarely on both of their chests.

*Crunch!*

Both their chests caved in simultaneously, their ribs snapping in unison. They flew backward with screams and slammed heavily against the wall, just like Kuiyang.

The remaining disciple had been about to make a move, but Yun Che had taken down the other two like dead dogs in just an instant, making his eyes shrink and his body tremble with fear. How could he dare to move forward? He let out a shriek and frantically ran towards the door like a terrified mouse. Yun Che turned, his eyes cold, and suddenly extended his left hand. A fiery dragon shot out from his palm, instantly coiling around the fleeing disciple. As Yun Che retracted his arm, the disciple was flung back by the fire dragon amidst his terrified screams, slamming violently against the wall like the other three.

“Bro... Brother-in-law...” Xia Yuanba, standing in the corner, was utterly stunned. He knew the profound strength of these four individuals very well. Kuiyang was at the first level of the True Profound Realm, Han Feng at the ninth level of the Initial Profound Realm, and the other two were both at the eighth level of the Initial Profound Realm. To him, their strength was something he could only look up to and yearn for. Even though he had suffered much bullying here, he dared not resist, nor was he capable of resisting. He even hesitated to tell Yun Che, fearing that Yun Che would impulsively stand up for him... How could Yun Che possibly defeat these four people?

But to his astonishment, his brother-in-law had become so powerful. These four people were like mere trash in front of him, easily beaten like dead dogs with a casual flick of his hand.

“Yun Che, you... you... you’re finished!!” Han Feng propped himself up against the cracked wall, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth. Although Yun Che's terrifying strength still left him shaken, he forced a sneer onto his lips. “How dare you... injure our Outer Palace disciples... Instructor Qi is Senior Brother Kuiyang's uncle! You injured Senior Brother Kuiyang... Instructor Qi won't let you off! Just wait to have your legs broken, then get out of the Blue Wind Profound Palace!”

Yun Che’s killing intent remained unbridled, making the entire training room as cold as winter, causing the four people sprawled on the ground to tremble uncontrollably. He completely ignored Han Feng’s words and slowly walked towards Kuiyang, who was still spitting up large mouthfuls of blood. Seeing Yun Che approach, fear flickered across Kuiyang’s face, but he quickly suppressed it. He forced a smile and said, “Yun Che, if you kneel down and apologize now, I might consider letting you off... otherwise... my uncle... will definitely make your life worse than death...”

Yun Che squinted at him and said in a low voice, “The one you used to kick Yuanba earlier was your right foot, wasn’t it?”

As soon as his words fell, before anyone could react, Yun Che suddenly raised his foot and mercilessly stomped on Kuiyang’s right ankle.

“CRACK!!” “Aargh!”

Amidst a pig-like shriek of agony, Kuiyang’s right ankle was brutally snapped by Yun Che. Yun Che slowly withdrew his foot, his expression utterly serene, as if he had merely snapped a common withered blade of grass. He watched indifferently as Kuiyang writhed and howled in pain on the ground, dragging his broken right foot. Then, he turned his face towards the other three disciples.

When Yun Che’s gaze swept over them, Han Feng and the other two instantly turned pale. They had initially thought Yun Che was incredibly audacious to injure someone here, and that mentioning Kuiyang’s relationship with Instructor Qi would surely intimidate him. But they never expected Yun Che’s strength to be not only terrifying beyond expectation but also his actions so ruthless and decisive. If he could snap Kuiyang’s foot without hesitation... then to cripple them, or even take their lives, he certainly wouldn't bat an eye.

Han Feng no longer dared to utter a single harsh word, trembling all over with fear. As Yun Che walked towards him, his body went limp from trembling, and he collapsed, pleading in terror, “Yun... Yun Che, I... I know I was wrong, spare me... don't kill me... don't kill me... spare me...” He suddenly remembered the condition Yun Che had mentioned earlier and frantically pulled out all the pills he had on him. Then, he desperately kowtowed towards Xia Yuanba, “Junior Brother Yuanba, I was wrong... I shouldn't have treated you like that... I'm an animal, I'm a bastard, I deserve to die... Please, you must forgive me. I'll never dare again, never again...”

Han Feng kowtowed more than a dozen times, making loud thudding sounds on the floor. The other two disciples also hastily knelt down, pulled out all their pills, and prostrated themselves, banging their heads on the ground like pounding garlic.

Yun Che smirked, his gaze returning to Kuiyang. He said coldly, “Where are yours? Or do you not want your hands either?”

Knowing that Yun Che could snap his ankle without hesitation and that breaking his hands would be effortless, Kuiyang, though in agony as if plunged into an abyss, managed to keep his consciousness clear. He scrambled and crawled towards Xia Yuanba, banging his head repeatedly on the floor, then stretched out trembling hands and handed over all his pills.

Yun Che walked over and collected all the pills they had handed over. He said indifferently, “Given that you’ve been somewhat obedient, I’ll spare your four dog lives for now. If you ever dare to bully Xia Yuanba again, I’ll make you regret ever being born into this world.”

“We wouldn’t dare, never again! From now on, we’ll treat Yuanba like our own father... never again!” Han Feng said in terror.

“Then, regarding today’s incident, do you know what to say?” Yun Che’s eyes narrowed, filled with killing intent.

“Yes... it was... we got injured during a sparring session... It has nothing to do with Junior Brother Yuanba or Junior Brother Yun Che...” Han Feng stammered, trembling.

“Hmph!” Yun Che let out a cold snort and said flatly, “Lastly, don’t let me hear anything I don’t want to hear outside. Otherwise, I’ll take your lives at any time.”

Han Feng and the other three were struck dumb with terror. They dared not doubt his words, given the terrifying strength and ruthless methods he had just displayed.

“However, even if you do spread the word, it won’t matter,” Yun Che sneered contemptuously. “Do you know why Palace Chief Qin let me directly enter the Inner Palace? Do you really think he’d break a thousand-year precedent just for a seemingly mismatched challenge? I’ll tell you the truth: the relationship between me and Palace Chief Qin is something you couldn’t dream of. If any rumors really do spread, I won’t be punished. Instead, you are very likely to simply vanish from this world, leaving no trace... Yuanba, let’s go.”

After saying that, Yun Che turned and walked out of the training room with heavy steps, leaving the four severely injured individuals trembling with terror.

Of course, Yun Che’s final words were a fabrication, but he believed they would be enough to create a significant deterrent for these four. Otherwise, if the four spread what happened today, he wouldn’t care for himself, but he feared it would affect Xia Yuanba’s future at the Blue Wind Profound Palace.

Xia Yuanba walked behind Yun Che, head bowed, like a child who had made a mistake. Yun Che led him under a large tree before stopping and turning to face him.

“Um... Brother-in-law, I... I... I was wrong,” Xia Yuanba mumbled softly, his head still lowered.

“Sigh...” Yun Che let out a long sigh and handed all the pills he had taken from Kuiyang and the other three to Xia Yuanba. “Keep these. Although they’re not high-grade pills, they’re perfectly suitable for you right now.”

Yun Che himself had many pills refined with the Sky Poison Pearl, but most of them were higher grade and special, unsuitable for Xia Yuanba's use.

Xia Yuanba took them, then nervously pulled his head back and stammered, “Brother-in-law, I know I was wrong. Please don’t be angry with me. I... I didn’t mean to lie to you. I was afraid of distracting you and potentially delaying your scheduled challenge two months from now, I...”

Yun Che shook his head, patted Xia Yuanba’s arm, and said slowly, “Yuanba, I’m not at all surprised that you’ve been bullied here, because your profound strength is too weak. Perhaps letting you stay at the Blue Wind Profound Palace was a mistake, given how drastically your profound realm disconnects from this sacred land of profound cultivation. However, I won’t make you leave the Blue Wind Profound Palace because of this. On the contrary, I hope you can persevere and continue to stay here. Yuanba, in this world, the only people who truly won’t be bullied are the strong. If you’re strong enough, no one will dare to bully you, nor will anyone be capable of bullying you. Those four pieces of trash dared to treat you that way precisely because they were stronger than you, much stronger. If you don’t want to be bullied anymore, then become strong—become stronger than them, stronger than anyone.”

“I know!” Xia Yuanba clenched his fists. “I’ll definitely follow your example, Brother-in-law, and work hard!”

“That’s not the main point,” Yun Che shook his head, then said solemnly, “What I want you to understand more is that a person can be weak in profound strength, or even soft, and can be looked down upon. But they absolutely cannot lose their dignity and spirit! I’m not angry that you hid these things from me... I know you were thinking of me, afraid of causing trouble for me. I’m only angry... why did you let yourself be bullied without fighting back or resisting? Even if you knew you were no match for them!”

“I... I didn’t dare... Brother-in-law, I know I was wrong. I won’t be like this again,” Xia Yuanba said, lowering his head even further, his face filled with shame.

Yun Che let out a long breath and sighed helplessly inwardly. He knew Xia Yuanba’s temperament all too well. Although he possessed an overly rugged physique, his nature was honest and kind, and he still carried a touch of the weakness common to an ungrown youth. After all, he was still less than sixteen years old this year.

And changing his inherent nature with just a few words was even more impossible.

“Yuanba, let me see your profound veins.”

“Huh? Oh.”

Once one’s profound strength reached the True Profound Realm, it was possible to use profound energy to internally examine another’s body, given their permission. Yun Che stood in front of Xia Yuanba, placed his hand on his chest, and slowly closed his eyes. After a moment, he removed his hand from Xia Yuanba’s chest, his expression calm, yet his mind was filled with shock.

This was because Xia Yuanba’s profound veins were truly too peculiar. They were more than twice as thick as an ordinary person’s, and their color was a strange grayish-black. Moreover, the location of his profound openings was completely different from a normal person’s, making it seem almost like an anomalous mutation.

How could Yuanba’s profound veins be like this? Could this be the “Tyrant Emperor Profound Veins” that Jasmine mentioned before?

This profound vein had such a domineering name, but why was it so weak?