Chapter 187: Dragon Tower

Yun Che sprang to his feet with a kip-up. He looked at his hands, feeling the power surge through his body, and it felt like a dream.

Yun Che's sudden movement undoubtedly startled Chu Yuechan. She looked at him and spoke in a weak voice, "Yun Che... you..."

Three hours had passed since Yun Che had fallen unconscious and the Ice Soul Barrier was activated. Given Chu Yuechan's current state, she had been desperately fighting to stay awake, refusing to succumb to unconsciousness, all while anxiously awaiting Yun Che's reawakening and return to his feet. What she could never have imagined was that not only had he risen again, but in those short three hours, his injuries were completely healed, his strength fully restored, and he was utterly transformed.

"I'm alright now," Yun Che said with a smile, lowering his hands. He looked at the ice-blue barrier that firmly separated them from the Rock Dragon Warriors and Commanders outside. "Did this barrier protect us?" he whispered.

"Hmph, what a silly question!" Jasmine retorted snappily. "If it weren't for this barrier, you wouldn't just have failed to break through; you'd have died a hundred times over by now!"

"This is an Ice Soul Barrier. It can hold for two more hours," Chu Yuechan said, looking at Yun Che, still in disbelief. "Are you... truly alright?"

Yun Che smiled slightly without speaking. He released his profound energy, expelling all the bloodstains from his body. Instantly, there was no longer a single trace of blood on his face, hands, or the exposed skin where his clothes were torn. His skin was as smooth as jade, subtly gleaming, with not even a hint of a scar.

This sight made Chu Yuechan's gaze waver. Yun Che crouched down, channeled a stream of profound energy into Chu Yuechan's body to protect her heart meridian, and said with a relaxed expression, "Wait for me here. We'll be leaving very soon."

With that, Yun Che grabbed the heavy sword from the ground and charged out of the Ice Soul Barrier. The Ice Soul Barrier was a protective barrier, not an isolating one; it allowed exit but prevented entry.

The breakthrough to the second stage of the Great Way of the Buddha caused Yun Che's physical strength to skyrocket. The Overlord's Colossal Sword, weighing three thousand nine hundred jin, felt incredibly light in his hand, almost as if it weighed nothing. It was far easier than a normal profound practitioner wielding a light sword. The moment he exited the Ice Soul Barrier, his heavy sword swept out. Amidst a series of explosions, the Rock Dragon Warriors instantly shattered into pieces like crushed beans, completely pulverized.

At this moment, the power of his single sword strike was incomparable to before. More than twenty Rock Dragon Warriors were shattered by a single sweep of his sword. Then he twisted his body, leaped high, let out a low roar, and brought his sword down on the Rock Dragon Commander.

Previously, a single sword strike from the Rock Dragon Commander had nearly killed him. This time, he wanted to test whether his transformed self had the power to directly confront it.

Boom! The two heavy swords collided violently with a deafening crash. The ground beneath their feet instantly split open with two intersecting fissures. The Rock Dragon Commander's body leaned back, while Yun Che was sent flying backward, sliding a considerable distance upon landing before barely stopping, his arm tingling.

Another inch-long chip appeared on the blade of the Overlord's Colossal Sword.

The Overlord's Colossal Sword and the greatsword in the Rock Dragon Commander's hand had clashed twice, and both times large chips had been knocked out of the Overlord's blade. This was the difference in quality.

Yun Che's brows furrowed slightly. Although his strength had greatly increased, the Rock Dragon Commander's profound energy was, after all, at the fifth level of the Spirit Profound Realm, and the sword in its hand was an extremely rare Sky Profound heavy sword. His idea of directly clashing with it was still too naive.

However, there was no hint of worry in Yun Che's expression. Possessing the Heavenly Wolf Hell God's Tome, the opponents he feared least were those who wielded heavy swords, as he was extremely familiar with such weapons. His gaze fell upon the oddly shaped heavy sword in the Rock Dragon Commander's hand, a strange glint flickering in his eyes.

There were fewer than ten Sky Profound artifacts in the entire Azure Cloud Empire! As for Sky Profound heavy swords, they simply shouldn't exist.

Yet, here was one right before him!

Although their current location was a trial realm, the fact that he could die and achieve breakthroughs here proved that everything was real, not an illusion like the Phoenix Secret Realm. This meant the Sky Profound heavy sword before him should also be real!

With this thought, Yun Che lifted his head, raised his heavy sword, and charged towards the Rock Dragon Commander like lightning. This time, he didn't clash directly with the Rock Dragon Commander's attack. Instead, as its heavy sword approached, he used Star God's Broken Shadow to instantly displace himself, appearing to its left, and brought his heavy sword down with full force.

The Rock Dragon Commander's physical strength, power, and weapon were all extremely formidable. However, it had one significant weakness: its speed. He had clearly discovered this when he was half-dead before his breakthrough.

With a "boom," the heavy sword slammed fiercely onto the Rock Dragon Commander's right shoulder. The golden armor on its shoulder instantly caved in, but its body only tilted slightly to the left, without even losing balance. The sword in its hand immediately swept horizontally towards him.

Yun Che leaped far back, avoiding the Rock Dragon Commander's counterattack, and then grimaced. "This guy's body is really tough; even a heavy sword can't damage it. No wonder it didn't die under the combined attacks of my Phoenix Break, Sky Dance, and Heavenly Wolf Slash while in Burning Heart state."

"I refuse to believe you can endure this so calmly forever!"

Yun Che's eyes flashed, and he charged forward again. Using Star God's Broken Shadow, he moved and flashed rapidly around the Rock Dragon Commander, leaving behind one after another afterimage. Every attack from the Rock Dragon Commander was incredibly formidable, but all of them landed on Yun Che's afterimages. Meanwhile, Yun Che's heavy sword struck its body precisely again and again.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom...

After being struck hard by Yun Che's heavy sword more than a dozen times, the golden armor on the Rock Dragon Commander was already full of dents, but its body was essentially unharmed. The Rock Dragon Commander half-turned and swept its heavy sword horizontally towards Yun Che. This time, Yun Che didn't leap back to avoid it. Instead, he suddenly warped vertically, instantly appearing two zhang (approximately 6.6 meters) in the air with flames igniting around him, then plummeting like a blazing meteor.

"Phoenix Wing Sky Dome!"

Boom!!! For this strike, Yun Che chose the Rock Dragon Commander's head as his target. With an explosive roar, a ball of flames burst open centered on its head. The Rock Dragon Commander's helmet shattered instantly, and it let out a pained roar. Its body finally lost balance for the first time, stumbling backward. In this state, to maintain balance, its left hand subconsciously released its grip on the heavy sword.

And Yun Che had been waiting for this very moment: when one of its hands released the heavy sword, leaving it wielding the sword with only one hand.

Another weakness of heavy swords was the wrist! Because heavy swords were too cumbersome, they were always wielded with both hands. Only with a two-handed grip could a heavy sword unleash its maximum power. But precisely because they were so heavy, the heavy sword would easily fly out of hand when the wrist received a heavy blow — especially when held with only one hand!

Staring intently at the Rock Dragon Commander's right wrist, the instant Yun Che landed, he shot forward like lightning. The profound energy around his body suddenly became incredibly violent.

"Falling Moon Sinking Star!!"

Just as the Rock Dragon Commander finally stabilized its body, Yun Che's heavy sword, carrying ten times the ferocity of its power, struck precisely and heavily on the Rock Dragon Commander's wrist that gripped the heavy sword.

Bang!! Amidst the deafening collision, the Rock Dragon Commander let out another pained shriek. Its entire arm was flung upward by the impact, the armor covering it completely shattering. The oddly shaped heavy sword flew from its grasp, just as Yun Che had predicted. After flying dozens of zhang, it fell heavily. Upon landing, accompanied by a heavy thud like a mountain collapsing, the ground cracked open with a fissure several zhang long.

Yun Che dashed forward, arriving before the heavy sword that had flown from the Rock Dragon Commander's grasp. He grasped the dragon-bone-like hilt with both hands, taking it into his own grip.

Although he had anticipated that this heavy sword might be even heavier than the Overlord's Colossal Sword, he was still secretly astonished when he took hold of it. Its weight was more than double that of the Overlord's Colossal Sword, at least eight thousand jin! If his Great Way of the Buddha hadn't broken through, even if he could lift it, he wouldn't be able to wield it as freely as the Overlord's Colossal Sword.

Although both were heavy swords, the feeling Yun Che had while holding this one was completely different from wielding the Overlord's Colossal Sword. His entire aura had undergone an earth-shattering change. He was like a tiger poised to strike, claws bared, ready to unleash world-shaking power at any moment.

As his profound energy flowed into the heavy sword, its name appeared in his mind's sea...

"Dragon Fault... A fine sword, a fine name!" Yun Che murmured, a faint smile on his lips. Although there was only one realm's difference between a Sky Profound sword and an Earth Profound sword, their weight, might, and aura were worlds apart. And the Rock Dragon Commander, having lost Dragon Fault, had its aura diminish by more than half. It was like a tiger whose claws and teeth had been pulled, making Yun Che no longer feel any sense of threat.

He turned his gaze to the Rock Dragon Commander and said in a cold, low voice, "I'll use the sword you gave me to send you to your grave!"

As his voice fell, he charged towards the Rock Dragon Commander. With a whistling storm, the heavy sword Dragon Fault displayed its keen edge for the first time in Yun Che's hand. Amidst a roar, Dragon Fault squarely sliced into the Rock Dragon Commander's body. A grating "hiss" sound could be heard as the thick golden armor shattered like thin paper. The Rock Dragon Commander let out a low growl and stumbled back several steps, a mark more than two chi (approximately 0.6 meters) long and an inch deep left on its tough body.

The effect of this sword strike made Yun Che smile with satisfaction. Before the Rock Dragon Commander could regain its footing, he leaped high, Phoenix flames igniting around his entire body once more. His gaze locked onto the Rock Dragon Commander's head, and he uttered a cold voice, "Let me see if your head can withstand the power of this Sky Profound heavy sword!"

"Phoenix Wing Sky Dome!"

Whoosh! Yun Che's body, enveloped in flames, tore through the air, colliding with the Rock Dragon Commander's head in mid-air. With a "boom," flames exploded. The combined power of Phoenix flames and Dragon Fault simultaneously erupted, and the Rock Dragon Commander's thick helmet and tough head simultaneously exploded in an instant, scattering fragments everywhere.

Yun Che descended, landing steadily on the ground, holding Dragon Fault horizontally before his eyes. His eyes radiated incredibly excited light. Behind him, the Rock Dragon Commander, its head ruptured, slowly toppled backward, then crashed to the ground with a dull "boom," kicking up a cloud of dust.