Chapter 1909: Nine Heavens Dark Jade Shattering Cry

"Po Yun!!" Huo Rulie's roar froze Huo Poyun's hand just as it was about to touch the barrier, startling Yan Wancang and Yan Juehai as well. He had called out "Po Yun," not "Great Realm King."

Huo Rulie's face was crimson, and his fiery long hair trembled slightly with his heavy breathing... Upon closer inspection, a few strands of white had appeared among his hair, unnoticed until now.

"How long will you remain so willful? How long will you remain so foolish?!!"

His voice was hoarse, each word a furious roar. It was as if he had forgotten that the man before him was no longer just his disciple, but the Flame God Realm King to whom he owed deference.

"Sect Master Huo!" Yan Wancang and Yan Juehai exclaimed simultaneously, attempting to intercede.

"Silence!" Huo Rulie waved his arm and strode forward several steps, coming within arm's reach of Huo Poyun. "Po Yun, you have always been the greatest pride of my life. In a sense, you were even a gift from the heavens to me."

"Though you were only my disciple, your place in my heart was no less than Ye'er's. When you returned from the Heaven Smiting Divine Realm, bearing the power of a Divine Master, I laughed wildly in front of you. But when my back was turned to everyone else... I wept bitterly for three days and three nights! And I don't know how many times I proudly declared to others that I would have no regrets even if I died now."

Huo Poyun's hand remained suspended in the air, motionless.

"The Flame God Realm ascended to the upper star realms because of you. The vast Star Gods honored you and revered you as their king. But... ever since Yun Che returned, what have you become?! What have you done?!"

"Do you still have any shred of dignity as a Golden Crow successor? Do you still remember that your every word and action concerns the fate of the entire Flame God Realm?! Do you know that your foolishness has nearly doomed the Flame God Realm more than once?!"

"Sect Master Huo!!" Yan Wancang's voice, like a blazing flame, finally drowned out Huo Rulie's furious shouts. He then let out a heavy sigh, saying, "He is the Great Realm King... that's enough."

"Great Realm King..." Huo Rulie gave a bitter laugh. "No, he is merely an incompetent disciple after all. Entrusting the Flame God Realm to him was not the greatest pride of my life, but... my greatest mistake."

"The Flame God Realm's continued existence is merely due to Emperor Yun's consideration of past connections... or perhaps, his disdain to even bother."

Yan Wancang and Yan Juehai closed their eyes simultaneously, their faces etched with pain.

They knew that Huo Rulie had finally, completely unleashed the words he had suppressed in his heart for the past two years... regardless of the consequences.

Huo Poyun's arm slowly lowered, and then he turned around.

As his eyes turned to them, what they saw reflected was not anger, but a calm that was almost unfamiliar to them.

"Master, Sect Master Yan, Sect Master Jue." He spoke, his voice gentle. "I, your unworthy junior and incompetent Realm King, must have caused you great pain and disappointment these past years."

His demeanor and words at that moment left the furious Huo Rulie stunned. "Po Yun, you..."

"Even the most childish of children eventually grow up." Huo Poyun gave a self-deprecating smile. "I've long lost the right and the face to continue being childish. My ridiculous obsession with Yun Che... no, with Emperor Yun, should have been let go a long time ago."

Huo Poyun's words made the eyes of the three sect masters tremble simultaneously. Yan Wancang excitedly said, "Great Realm King, you really... really..."

"Yes." Huo Poyun nodded, a smile on his face. "After cultivating the Nine Suns Heavenly Fury to perfection, my Golden Crow Burning World Record found it difficult to advance further. My purpose in entering this forbidden barrier was merely to observe the 'Nine Heavens Dark Jade Shattering Cry'."

"Although it is a forbidden flame that incinerates oneself and the world, it ultimately belongs to the Golden Crow Burning World Record, to the Golden Crow divine power. As an inheritor of the Golden Crow's power and will, if I cannot cultivate it, it means that what I bear will always be an incomplete Golden Crow Burning World Record."

"Nine Heavens Dark Jade Shattering Cry?" Yun Che's brow furrowed.

The Golden Crow Burning World Record he had initially cultivated came from the lingering spirit of the Golden Crow in the Golden Crow Lightning Flame Valley of the Illusory Demon Realm.

Later, in the Snow Song Realm, Mu Xuanyin had won the complete Golden Crow Burning World Record for him from Huo Rulie.

However, that complete Golden Crow Burning World Record did not contain this "Nine Heavens Dark Jade Shattering Cry"; he had never even heard of it. And this name, these seven characters, exuded a profound sense of resolve and tragedy.

"And certainly not to prove anything to Emperor Yun." Huo Poyun's smile deepened, tinged with even more self-mockery. "If one day I truly shatter like dark jade, it can only be for the sake of the Flame God Realm."

"So, Master, two Sect Masters, please do not worry."

The turbulent flames of anger on Huo Rulie's body dissipated. He looked at Huo Poyun, his lips trembling violently, unable to speak for a long time.

"Good, good!" Yan Wancang nodded with immense earnestness, a mist of tears blurring in his eyes. "The three of us have always believed that in the end... you would not disappoint us."

"It's just that my past foolish actions are already done, and there's no turning back. Should Emperor Yun ever inflict punishment, I will prostrate myself and beg for forgiveness, and I will never again act on impulse. If it can safeguard the Flame God Realm, I would not hesitate to cripple myself."

"However," he said, shaking his head with a faint smile and a calm tone, "as Master said, given Emperor Yun's current stature, he probably wouldn't even deign to look down on me."

"Po Yun, it's truly wonderful that you can think this way." Huo Rulie finally spoke, his lips still trembling. "Those harsh words I just uttered were spoken in a fit of anger... You are the greatest pride of my life, and that has never changed."

"I understand, and Master's recent teachings were entirely correct." Huo Poyun looked at Huo Rulie and said with utmost sincerity, "When I have cultivated the Nine Heavens Dark Jade Shattering Cry to completion and emerge from this place, I hope my progress will once again make Master laugh heartily."

Yun Che did not continue watching, nor did he inquire further about the so-called "Nine Heavens Dark Jade Shattering Cry." He turned around. "Wuxin, let's go."

As they moved further away, Yun Che's speed increased, and they quickly left the Burning God Fire Realm.

For a long time, he said nothing.

"Father, are you... not feeling well?" Yun Wuxin asked softly.

She knew a little about Huo Poyun.

Yun Che looked ahead, speaking almost to himself. "When people gain something, they often lose something too."

"Then... what is the 'loss' that is troubling you now, Father?" Yun Wuxin asked.

"In this life, I am destined to have no friends."

Speaking these words, Yun Che showed no great sense of loss or regret, only a touch of melancholy.

"Why? Is it because... Father stands too high?"

Yun Che smiled faintly and slowly said, "When you consider someone a friend, if they fall into a low point, you will be anxious and sad for them, and you will spare no effort or power to help them."

"When they rise, you will be happy for them and share in their glory. But if they rise too high, higher and higher, you will instead feel lost and sad... until one day, they reach a height where you have to look up just to see them. They may still treat you as before, willing to go through fire and water for you, but you can no longer truly see them as a friend. Even their help will make you uncomfortable."

"Why...?" She hadn't experienced what her father spoke of this time, so she naturally couldn't understand.

"Because true friends require equality," Yun Che said.

Yun Wuxin moved her lips, still not understanding.

"The person just now... his name is Huo Poyun. He was once an aloof genius, and precisely because he was so aloof and so talented, he never had a friend. And I was the first person he truly regarded as a friend."

"But I rose too fast, too high... I also overshadowed his most prized Golden Crow flames, and 'took away' the woman he first fell in love with..."

Friends... power... a beloved woman...

"Although I noticed the change in his thoughts at that time, I didn't realize the series of heavy blows I had unintentionally dealt him... It's only natural that he would resent me."

Yun Wuxin said, "But if he once genuinely considered you a friend, how could he truly resent you because of that... that sense of disparity that arose within him?"

Yun Che said with a sigh of melancholy, "Human emotions are complex; there are a thousand kinds of complexity for a thousand kinds of people. Some find it hard to even see themselves clearly, let alone others."

Huo Poyun resented him, yet when Yun Che descended into devilhood and was hunted by the world, he risked immense repercussions to save him... and didn't want Yun Che to know.

Yun Wuxin thought for a moment and said, "But doesn't Father have Uncle Xia and Uncle Xiao? Doesn't Father consider them friends?"

"They are different," Yun Che said. "Yuanba and I grew up together, and Xiao Yun and I share parents. What we have is essentially familial affection."

"Now that I have become Emperor Yun, there is no one left in this world who can stand as my equal, and it is no longer possible for me to have true friends."

"It's alright," Yun Wuxin giggled. "Father has so many women he can barely handle them all; how would he have time to make friends?"

Yun Wuxin's words instantly brought a smile to Yun Che's face, dispelling some of the dullness in his heart. He gently pinched his daughter's ear. "You're getting more impudent by the day. If your mother finds out, she'll probably start lecturing me again."

"No way," Yun Wuxin said with a beautiful smile and a hint of mischief. "I'm always innocent and well-behaved in front of Mother, hehe."

Amid their playful banter, they sped rapidly eastward.

Eastern Divine Region, Snow Song Realm.

For Yun Wuxin, who had lived in the Ice Phoenix Sacred Palace for many years, the Snow Song Realm, with its omnipresent wind and snow, undoubtedly made her feel a strong sense of affinity, and she continuously let out joyful exclamations along the way.

As they approached the Ice Phoenix Divine Sect, she suddenly grew nervous.

This was because within the Ice Phoenix Divine Sect, there was not only the awe-inspiring Mu Xuanyin, but also someone very special to her and her mother.

"Father, if I meet Ancestor Bingyun, what should I call her?" she asked seriously, a little anxious.

"As for that question..." Yun Che mused. "Your mother calls her Grand-Ancestor Master, so you should also call her Grand-Ancestor Master."

"But your mother also became sisters with her older sister. I used to call her Senior, but now she's my sister-in-law, which makes her your aunt."

Yun Wuxin looked perplexed.

"So, Grand-Ancestor Master... Senior... Icecloud Immortal Lord... Aunt... Never mind, just call her whatever you like. Or, you could try calling her 'Fairy Sister'."

"No!" Yun Wuxin immediately rejected. "I can't be disrespectful as a junior! Father, you're full of bad ideas."

"Hahahaha." Yun Che burst into laughter, though he didn't think it was a bad idea at all.

"Aunt Caizhi said that Aunt Xuanyin is the most powerful person in this world apart from Father, is that true?" Yun Wuxin asked again.

"On the profound way, that is indeed true," Yun Che nodded. "Also, she is the only person in this world who can get within ten miles of me without being detected."

"Oh? Father sounds quite troubled." Yun Wuxin blinked her eyes, her face full of mischief. "Are you worried Aunt Xuanyin might accidentally see you doing something bad?"

"That's not the main issue," Yun Che gently exhaled. "The biggest problem is that she's not only very good at it, but she also seems to enjoy secretly peeking..."

He suddenly remembered something mid-sentence, and his expression quickly straightened as he corrected himself, "Ahem, she really likes to secretly protect me. Perhaps it's because I used to cause her too much worry, so even now, she might occasionally use this method to quietly observe and eliminate potential dangers around us."

As he spoke, his gaze subtly darted up, down, left, and right...

"Oh?" Yun Wuxin laughed. "So Aunt Xuanyin has such a cute side too."

"Once my master, now my wife; to have Xuanyin is the greatest blessing of my life," Yun Che sighed with a smile, gazing at the vast expanse of white snow ahead.

Yun Wuxin leaned her lips close to her father's ear and whispered in the softest voice, "Is Aunt Xuanyin really secretly watching us?"

"Just in case," Yun Che replied in an equally quiet voice.

Yun Wuxin looked amused.