Chapter 183: Phoenix Shattered

The fire of the Blazing Star Lotus gradually extinguished. Over two hundred Rock Dragon Warriors, along with their weapons, were burned to a charred black, then crumbled and fell. Silence returned to the surroundings, broken only by Yun Che's heavy gasps and the faint drip-drip of sweat and blood hitting the ground.

With a *boom*, the heavy sword fell to the ground. Yun Che struggled to straighten up, allowing the Little Fairy to lean back against his shoulder. "Are you alright?" he asked. "Were you hurt?"

The Little Fairy was completely unharmed; she hadn't even been touched, let alone injured. Seeing Yun Che's pale face, she knew clearly that if he hadn't been protecting her, he wouldn't have sustained any injuries, and the two hundred-plus Rock Dragon Warriors wouldn't have nearly pushed him to desperation.

"Your... hand..." The Little Fairy moved her lips and spoke with difficulty.

Excruciating pain shot through his left arm; though he could still barely hold the Little Fairy, it was impossible for him to wield the heavy sword. He shook his head, smiling reassuringly. "It's nothing," he said. "Those blades are made of rock, very dull. It's just a flesh wound."

"Let me go... otherwise... you'll die!" The Little Fairy's voice was weak and cold. Although her body was crippled and her aura weak, her sight and hearing were not impaired. The sound of three blades cutting into bone had just resounded in her ears; how could she not have heard it clearly?

Yun Che took a Medium Heavenly Return Pill, then grabbed a handful of ointment and applied it to the wound on his left arm. If it weren't for the radical transformation brought about by the Great Way of the Buddha, his arm would likely have been severed into several pieces by those three blades. Hearing the Little Fairy's words, he shook his head. "Unless I die, I will never give up on you," he said. "Don't think of yourself as a burden, because in this place, you are my greatest motivation and my sole pillar of will. Besides, haven't we already made it through? This first trial, we should have already..."

Yun Che's words were cut short. Around him, a vast group—double the number of the previous wave—of Rock Dragon Warriors materialized in a flickering yellow light.

Dragon God Trial, First Stage, Ninth Wave... Five hundred twelve Rock Dragon Warriors!!

Yun Che's voice broke off, unable to utter another word. He reached down and gripped the hilt of his heavy sword, pulling it back up from where it had sunk into the ground.

In his sight were twice as many Rock Dragon Warriors as before, more than all eight previous waves combined. If this wasn't an illusion, then it was a true nightmare.

Among these Rock Dragon Warriors, those in front wielded swords, blades, and spears, while those at the back no longer carried meteor hammers. Instead, they clearly held unusually heavy longbows!

Rock Dragon Archers!

Bows and arrows, with a greater attack range and a much greater threat than meteor hammers!

"...Little Fairy, can you tell me... your name now?" Yun Che held the Little Fairy and, supporting himself with his heavy sword, stood up. He looked at the vast, swiftly approaching horde of Rock Dragon Warriors and asked softly.

The sounds around them informed the Little Fairy of their current predicament. For countless years, she had never revealed her name to outsiders, let alone a junior. But now, listening to Yun Che's voice, she couldn't muster the strength to refuse, no matter what. Amidst the ground-shaking footsteps, her weak voice slowly emerged:

"Chu... Yue... Chan..."

"Chu Yue Chan..." Yun Che murmured, then smiled. "'Chu'—charming and delicate; 'Yue'—the most beautiful bright moon in the sky; 'Chan'—a beautiful woman. A charming beauty of the moon. There's absolutely no name in this world more fitting for you. I've always called you Little Fairy, and it truly wasn't wrong at all... So from now on, I'll just keep calling you Little Fairy."

Chu Yue Chan: "..."

"At this point, I can no longer tell if this is a trial or an insurmountable trap." Yun Che raised his heavy sword, pointing it at the Rock Dragon Warriors who had stepped within five *zhang*. "But neither you nor I can die here for nothing," he continued. "I won't die, and I certainly won't allow you to die... So, you must powerfully... give me strength!!"

"Haaah!!!!"

With a mighty roar, Yun Che's aura instantly turned wild, his eyes grew fierce, and his blood surged wildly through his veins. His spirit, will, belief, and soul all seemed to ignite. In both his lives, he had faced countless perils and many desperate situations. The desperate lineup before him made his heart pound, but the pounding was entirely because of the Little Fairy. Setting aside the need to protect her, a hint of excitement actually ignited within him.

It was a kind of excitement that, after countless perilous and desperate experiences, had gradually twisted itself into his soul...

"Come on then... However many come, I'll kill them all!!"

Yun Che let out a low roar. His body, which should have been exhausted after releasing the Blazing Star Lotus, somehow surged with a new surge of violent power. He didn't retreat; instead, he held the Little Fairy tightly and plunged headfirst into the vast horde of Rock Dragon Warriors.

*Bang*!!

With one swing of his sword, four Rock Dragon Warriors were swept away.

*Boom*!!

With another swing, five more Rock Dragon Warriors were smashed into ten pieces, even knocking down a swathe of those behind them.

Though he should have been exhausted, his sword swings were now even faster and more ferocious. His heavy sword was like a constantly rotating reaper's scythe, wildly harvesting the lives of the Rock Dragon Warriors, one after another.

Jasmine, inside the Sky Poison Pearl, felt a surge of surprise. She knew Yun Che's physical state most intimately. Earlier, he could barely hold his heavy sword steady, so how could he suddenly erupt with power far exceeding his previous limits? She frowned deeply, carefully sensing Yun Che's current state, and the astonishment on her small face grew.

This power, surprisingly, was being forcefully extracted from his life force through sheer willpower!!

Jasmine couldn't comprehend how he managed this. To extract power from one's life force required an immense amount of willpower and obsession. But she knew very well that the consequences of doing this were extremely severe... because Yun Che's actions at this moment were clearly a frantic overdraft of his own life!! The most direct consequence would be a drastic reduction and damage to his lifespan. After today, he would fall gravely ill; at best, he would suffer from full-body weakness, unable to leave his bed for months; at worst, his entire bodily functions would fail, permanently beyond recovery.

At this moment, Yun Che was like a raging lion charging into a flock of sheep. Wherever he charged, piles of shattered corpses were left behind.

The sound of tearing air filled the sky as a volley of arrows arrived simultaneously, forming a widespread rain of arrows.

*Thud*...

Three arrows struck Yun Che's right shoulder.

*Thud thud thud*...

Three more arrows struck Yun Che's back in quick succession, one of them nearly hitting his vital heart area.

In this desperate situation, facing over five hundred Rock Dragon Warriors, Yun Che made the most correct and most insane choice: to focus most of his will on offense, while his defense was mostly limited to protecting the Little Fairy. The faster he killed, the less pressure he would face. Weaving through the enemy ranks, he hacked and slashed almost madly, sweeping away the Rock Dragon Warriors like a fierce wind scattering leaves. Roars, impacts, and explosions deafened the air.

In less than two minutes, Yun Che had already been struck by twelve arrows, pierced by twelve spears, and cut by nine swords and thirteen blades. His back, shoulders, and chest were riddled with one bloodied hole after another. With his strenuous movements, these holes were a gruesome sight, no longer just bleeding, but continuously spurting blood. His entire clothes were already completely soaked in blood.

The greatest threat to Yun Che were undoubtedly the Rock Dragon Archers at the back. Most of Yun Che's injuries were sustained while dodging potentially fatal arrows. These Rock Dragon Archers also had to be eliminated. But the Rock Dragon Warriors were layered so thickly that they suppressed him, preventing him from reaching the archers. Among the profound arts he possessed, only Sky Wolf Slash could deal long-range damage... But Sky Wolf Slash consumed too much energy; if he truly used it, he would completely exhaust himself.

He had to deal with these Rock Dragon Archers; otherwise, if his injuries worsened, he would die before he finished off the other Rock Dragon Warriors...

His gaze locked onto the outer Rock Dragon Archers. Yun Che's eyes grew darker and deeper, and a ring of burning flames slowly rose from his body's surface. Suddenly, his gaze flashed. All the flames on his body surged onto his heavy sword, then were flung far away with a swing of the sword.

*Chirp*~~

With a clear phoenix cry, a massive flaming phoenix shot forth from Yun Che's heavy sword. It passed through the bodies of several Rock Dragon Warriors, landing among the Rock Dragon Archers twenty *zhang* away, then exploded with a *boom*. In the sky-piercing blaze, over a dozen Rock Dragon Archers were blasted far away, their bodies disintegrating in mid-air.

"He actually... actually integrated the incomplete fragment of the Phoenix Chant of the World into the main formula of the Sky Wolf Hell God Art... deriving a profound art that combines a heavy sword with Phoenix flames!" Jasmine, inside the Sky Poison Pearl, blurted out in astonishment, then murmured, "To be able to combine these two divine arts that ordinary people might never comprehend in a lifetime, and do so in such a desperate situation, and succeed on the first try... What kind of monstrous comprehension is this!!"

This was Yun Che's first self-created profound art. Looking at the dozen or so blasted-away Rock Dragon Archers, he murmured the name of this profound art...

"Phoenix Break!"

Compared to the large-scale, indiscriminate burning attack of the Blazing Star Lotus, Phoenix Break had a much smaller range but allowed for targeted long-range attacks, and its consumption was significantly lower. Yun Che's lips curved into a grin. A surge of power, coming from an unknown source, once again welled up in his body. His flaming heavy sword, as it swung, flung out one low-crying flaming phoenix after another. These flaming phoenixes tore through the bodies of the close-range Rock Dragon Warriors, flew towards the distant Rock Dragon Archers, and annihilated the already dwindling number of archers.

His injuries grew heavier and heavier. Unconsciously, the blood flowing from him neared one-third of his total blood volume. His clothes were soaked through, and the Little Fairy's clothes were also largely stained red. Yet his expression was eerily calm, his movements still ferocious, as if he felt no pain at all, or was unaware of the terrible injuries he had sustained.

He was pushing his life force to the limit, and pushing his own boundaries. Where his limit lay... perhaps even he didn't know.