Chapter 185: Life and Death (Part 1)

BOOM!

Before today, Yun Che had never encountered a weapon heavier or more formidable than the heavy sword in his hand. But when his heavy sword collided with the Rock Dragon General's heavy sword, he felt as if he had been struck by a colossal mountain falling from the sky. His right arm instantly lost all sensation, the heavy sword flew far away, and he himself slid backward along the ground like an arrow, leaving a trace over sixty meters long on the earth.

Thud! The heavy sword fell from high above, coincidentally landing right by his feet and plunging deep into the hard ground. However, a two-inch-long gash had appeared in the middle of its blade.

After Yun Che's body stopped, he remained motionless for a long time. His right arm was twisted backward at a horrifying angle; it was unclear if it was an extremely severe dislocation or had been directly shattered.

"Yun Che... Yun Che!!" The Little Fairy's heart clenched as she called out with all her might. When Yun Che had slid backward, he had used his back to cushion the ground, protecting her firmly against his chest and preventing her from suffering even the slightest injury. But Yun Che's injuries were incredibly severe. Such injuries would have already been fatal to anyone else.

She knew even more clearly that Yun Che's renewed severe injuries were still because of her. If it weren't to protect her, he could have used his speed to contend with the Rock Dragon General. Although he had no chance of victory, at least he wouldn't have ended up so miserably in an instant.

"I'm... fi...ne..." Yun Che's upper body slowly rose, his voice hoarse and difficult. By the time his upper body was finally upright, the Rock Dragon General was already less than thirty paces away. His right arm was still bent unnaturally against his body; he could no longer feel its presence, only a piercing pain in his shoulder.

"Let me go... If you don't want to die, let me go now!" Yun Che's wretched state made Chu Yuechan's eyes tremble violently. She couldn't understand why this man was so desperately trying to protect her... truly without reservation! Selfishness is human nature, and cherishing life is human instinct. She couldn't comprehend why this mysterious young man would so persistently protect her remaining life, even at the cost of his own life and opportunities.

"I... will not!" Yun Che gritted his teeth, each word heavy with determination.

"If you don't let go of me... I'll bite off my tongue and commit suicide!" Chu Yuechan's words made Yun Che's pupils constrict. He turned his head to look at the resolute Chu Yuechan, and after his mouth twitched, he suddenly let out an enraged roar: "Shut up!"

This roar stunned Chu Yuechan. She, who stood at the pinnacle of profound strength and looked down upon the world, had never been roared at like that before.

Yun Che trembled all over, staring at Chu Yuechan, his voice firm and clear: "Little Fairy, listen carefully. You are not some Half-Step Emperor Profound Realm supreme expert right now, nor are you the lofty Ice Palace Fairy who looks down on all beings. You are just a frail woman who cannot protect herself! As a weak woman, the only thing you need to do right now is rely on a man who can protect you!"

"I can see that you repel men, and even have a bone-deep disdain for them... Yes, in the Azure Wind Empire, it's likely no man your age can compare to you. In the future, you might even become the Azure Wind Empire's strongest practitioner. But this absolutely does not mean you can scorn all men! Because no matter how powerful a woman is, there will always be times when she must rely on a man. This is also why, even though there are women in the world, men still exist! If a woman lives her entire life without a man she can rely on, a man willing to protect her at all costs, then even if she stands at the pinnacle of the world, she is merely a failed woman! She doesn't even deserve to be called a truly complete woman..."

"In terms of strength, I am a thousand times weaker than you, but right now, I am your reliance! You can want to seek death, want to commit suicide, want to give up, but I will not. Because I am a man, and a man, when protecting someone, will only fall at the moment of death."

Yun Che slowly stood up. Without an arm to maintain balance, he found it extraordinarily difficult to rise. "You want to die, but I refuse to let that happen... The reason I chose a heavy sword was to protect the people I wish to protect. And the first person my heavy sword will protect is not my family, nor my beloved, nor my friends, but you... If I can't even protect the very first person I intend to protect, how can I be worthy of continuing to wield a heavy sword?"

"Today, I will stake my life and all my pride and dignity to make you, who scorns men, understand... what... a true man is!!"

"Urgh ahhhhhh..." Yun Che's eyes widened to their fullest, and amidst a hoarse roar, he violently swung the right half of his body, flinging his dislocated right arm forward, then forcefully snapping it back into its socket. Although this process was momentary, the pain it brought was unimaginable. Yun Che didn't even flinch. His right arm, which had just been reset and shouldn't be moved violently, nonetheless stretched forward and grasped the hilt of the heavy sword. Looking at the Rock Dragon General, now within arm's reach, he began to laugh, a chillingly eerie and mournful laugh.

"Burning... Heart!!" As these two heavy words escaped his lips, his eyes suddenly became covered with a faint crimson hue. The second realm of the Evil God's Profound Veins — Burning Heart — a realm he dared not activate even in his peak condition, was forcibly activated by him in his most weakened state.

Inside the Sky Poison Pearl, Yun Che's actions struck Jasmine with alarm. She opened her lips, but immediately, she forcibly swallowed back the words of prevention that almost escaped. Sensing Yun Che's current state, she was momentarily stunned, her gaze becoming hazy. Before her eyes, the figure that haunted her dreams faintly emerged, and then, in her blurred vision, slowly overlapped with Yun Che's current image...

His temperament, it was so similar to her elder brother's... To protect those he needed to protect, and to protect his own pride and dignity... He knew what he was doing, and he knew the consequences... But, he wouldn't hesitate, and no one could stop him...

With the activation of the Evil God's second realm, "Burning Heart," a violently turbulent yet extremely unstable aura suddenly surged from his body, which should have been completely exhausted. Yun Che snatched the heavy sword from the ground, then with a roar, swung it towards the approaching Rock Dragon General. Red phoenix flames blazed from the sword's blade.

"Phoenix Break!!" This Phoenix Break technique didn't unleash a fiery phoenix, but the entire heavy sword itself! Flames raged furiously around the heavy sword, transforming it into a massive steel phoenix that charged towards the Rock Dragon General with scorching winds and unstoppable power. Behind it, phoenix flames also ignited on Yun Che's body, and a pair of magnificent yet illusory phoenix wings spread out from his back.

"Phoenix Wing Sky Dance!!" One sword, one person, one after another! Bang! The heavy sword slammed into the Rock Dragon General's chest, and flames erupted. The immense fiery power caused the incredibly formidable Rock Dragon General's upper body to reel significantly backward. Yun Che's body followed closely, striking its leaning upper body with a "boom." The enormous impact force knocked its already unbalanced body to the ground.

Yun Che flipped in the air, one arm tightly embracing Chu Yuechan, the other grabbing the heavy sword that flew back to him. Locking onto the Rock Dragon General's position, his eyes emitted an incredibly savage light. The heavy sword was raised high...

"Sky... Wolf... Slash!!" "Haa!" The airflow in the surrounding area surged chaotically. The silhouette of a howling azure wolf appeared behind Yun Che. Then, as he swung his heavy sword, this azure wolf silhouette charged forward with power capable of shattering the heavens and rending the earth.

Boom boom boom boom... A massive chasm spread forward with the impact of the wolf silhouette. It instantly struck the fallen body of the Rock Dragon General, sending it flying high into the air. The incomparably dominant power propelled it straight for a hundred meters. It crashed heavily against the mountain wall behind, and as the wall shuddered, its body slid straight down the wall. Then, it was completely buried by a large amount of falling debris from the mountain wall, with only its dark gray heavy sword remaining visible.

Witnessing everything that had just occurred, Chu Yuechan's gaze was dazed, and she had almost lost the ability to think.

"Did he... succeed...?" As she uttered these words, Chu Yuechan felt as if she were in a dream. Despite such severe injuries, despite having been exhausted multiple times, he had suddenly unleashed such astonishing power again... He was like a monster, his body an endless, bottomless pit with no limits.

But her only answer was the deafening sound of the heavy sword hitting the ground. Chu Yuechan struggled to raise her head, and the moment she saw Yun Che's face, her pupils instantly dilated to their fullest extent.

Yun Che's eyes were closed at this moment, with two streams of blood flowing down from the slits. Not just his eyes, but his mouth, nostrils, and ears were all bleeding.

Crackle... Crackle... The sounds of cracking were faint but frequent. These cracking sounds came from Yun Che's flesh, blood vessels, and even his bones. The skin on his face, limbs, and body... rapidly spread with crack after crack, as thin streams of blood vied to gush out. In just a few breaths, his entire face was covered in fine lines, appearing like cracked earth... Beneath his clothes, his body was likewise covered in countless cracks; beneath his flesh, his blood vessels and bones were also fractured.

Activating "Burning Heart" in a normal state was already fraught with danger. Activating it in such an incredibly weakened state, he had already anticipated this outcome. The three consecutive moves after activating "Burning Heart" had drained all his strength and conviction. Perhaps, it would also be the incomparably brilliant final radiance of his life.

Thud... Yun Che's left arm released, and the Little Fairy fell to the ground. Yun Che also fell straight down, motionless, not even having time to say a single word to Chu Yuechan.

"Yun Che... Yun Che... Yun Che!!" Chu Yuechan cried out loudly, moving her only functional right hand, wanting to reach Yun Che. But as weak as she was, the half-step distance to Yun Che was an insurmountable gap, no matter how hard she tried. Looking at the motionless Yun Che, bleeding from every pore, Chu Yuechan felt waves of sharp pain in her heart... A pain she had never felt before, and a deep fear—a profound fear of Yun Che's death.

Unconsciously, she found her vision completely blurred, a fact that left her stunned... Because she was actually crying. She, who for decades had not known what tears were, who had never imagined she would cry one day, was actually weeping for a man nearly a generation younger than herself. What was unfamiliar was not just the uncontrollable tears, but also a heartbreak more unbearable than a thousand arrows piercing her heart, and that profound fear.

Before today, she had absolutely no idea what tears were, what heartache was, or what fear was... But at this moment, they surged forth like a tidal wave, unstoppable, unceasing.

"Yun Che... Yun Che!" she called out repeatedly, her voice weak and mournful.

BOOM!! Her cries received no response from Yun Che. From the direction of the mountain wall, however, came the sound of shattered rocks being pushed aside. The Rock Dragon General, previously buried beneath the rubble, rose back to its feet amidst the scattering stones.