Chapter 2002: Sweeping (Part 2)

A powerful and resolute fighting intent emanated from Mo Cangying, but Yun Che offered no response.

"Oh, isn't this the one who injured—" As Zhai Liancheng spoke, he suddenly realized his mistake and quickly rephrased, "Isn't this the boy toy raised by the Eldest Princess? What's his name... Yun Che, right? It seems you've been quite comfortable acting as a lackey for the Imperial Family lately."

The name "Yun Che" immediately fixated the gazes of Ximen Boyun and Ximen Borong on him. At that moment, a near-frantic telepathic message from Ximen Qi rang in Zhai Liancheng's ear: "Young Sect Master Zhai, torture him... torture him brutally! Trample him! Crush his bones! Smash his head! Uh... don't even let him have a chance to beg for mercy or surrender!"

This showed how much resentment Ximen Qi had accumulated over the past month.

Zhai Liancheng calmly replied telepathically, "Don't worry, Young Master Qi. Since he dared to enter, he's my plaything. I can shape him however I wish. Just wait and enjoy the show, Young Master Qi."

Yun Che remained silent, only his brow subtly furrowed a little as his gaze calmly swept over Zhai Liancheng's body.

"Zhai Liancheng, your tongue is as foul as ever," Mo Cangying said coldly.

Zhai Liancheng's expression grew even more contemptuous. "Speaking of foulness, who could possibly compare to the Helian Imperial Family?"

"What's the point of exchanging barbs when battle is at hand?" Zhai Kexie's gaze turned towards the Helian Imperial Family's section. "The time has come. Eldest Princess Helian, are you only sending two people to fight?"

The Mystic Practitioners from the Helian Imperial Family and Helian Heavenly Manor were restless and caught between a rock and a hard place. "Crown Prince, are we really... not going?"

They dared not meet the gazes directed at them from all around... which were undoubtedly filled with disdain and mockery.

"Hmph!" Helian Linglang lowered her brows and said in a deep voice, "Choose for yourselves: be a temporary coward, or be a sinner despised for generations, dragging your family down with you."

These words instantly extinguished the last vestiges of hesitation and backbone in those few Mystic Practitioners.

Ku Xuan remained motionless, not even offering a word of advice. As the saying goes, no sorrow is greater than a heart that has died. For an imperial dynasty to fall to such a state, he was not even very surprised.

The Three Great Sects had strict, even brutal, laws of survival, competition, and elimination. They would stop at nothing to advance further, and their increasing power through generations could be said to be only natural. The Helian Imperial Family, on the other hand... generation after generation of rulers lived in comfortable complacency, content with their small corner. With such rulers, their territories and subjects naturally followed suit.

Over the years, he had even hoped that Mo Cangying would leave the Imperial Family and join one of the Three Great Sects. If the next generation of the Helian Imperial Family fell into Helian Linglang's hands, it would surely be even more pitiful. Or perhaps, the Helian Imperial Family would have no next generation at all. It was hard to imagine the humiliation and torment Helian Lingzhu must be feeling at this moment, and any response she gave would only be met with ridicule and pity.

So Mo Cangying raised his head and spoke, "Let's begin! What use are spineless curs? Helian's pride... the two of us are enough."

"Pride? Hahahaha!" Wan Chongyue burst out laughing.

Helian Linglang raised her head, her anger and humiliation turning into venomous malice. *Mo Cangying... I'll kill you sooner or later!*

"Hmph!"

Zhai Kexie said no more. He pointed a finger, and a withered yellow mystic light shot down, imprinted itself on the ground, then formed a battle arena with a hundred-mile diameter. For God Lords and God Monarchs, especially in a group battle, this arena was extremely small, forcing all Mystic Practitioners to advance with no retreat.

"The three factions will battle, and ranking will be based on the order of complete defeat." "Falling unconscious, surrendering, or being knocked out of the arena are all considered defeat... Injuries are unavoidable and will not be pursued... No malicious killing blows are allowed... If a surrender is declared, the opponent may not attack again... No one outside the arena may interfere with the battle!" Zhai Kexie read out a series of fairly standard battle rules. The last sentence became abruptly solemn: "The Lord Knights will witness the entire process. Whether inside or outside the arena, anyone who dares to defy the rules will face sanctions from the Pure Land! You must... conduct yourselves wisely."

His figure flickered, moving away from above the arena, and he shouted, "The first battle of the Qilin God Assembly, a three-way clash between Ten Thousand Blades Sect, Helian Imperial Family, and Rocky Mountain Sect, begins!"

As the command to begin battle fell, none of the twenty-two Mystic Practitioners in the arena moved. Outside the arena, some were angry at their inaction, some sighed in regret, and some gloated. They all clearly saw that the Helian Imperial Family was finished... not just for this Qilin God Assembly, but that it had no future. After today, the four major powers controlling the Qilin Abyss Realm would no longer be one dynasty and three sects, but three sects and one alliance.

"What a strange formation." Hua Caili's eyes were full of curiosity and confusion. "And that person... he's the most isolated and has the weakest aura, but he doesn't seem nervous or scared at all."

"Oh, that's right. He's only a God Monarch, and there are so many God Lords around him; being nervous wouldn't help him anyway."

"Although a bit foolish, he's a rare good person. He'll definitely get injured under the aura of the God Lords, what a pity."

She muttered to herself, but no one replied. For Sword Immortal Hua Qingying, such a scene was undoubtedly not even worth a child's game, completely unworthy of her attention.

Rocky Mountain Sect and Ten Thousand Blades Sect stood on opposite sides, no one making a move. After all, it had been agreed... to clear out the small fry first. It was a pity that only two small fries had shown up, which was somewhat disappointing for them.

"Young Sect Master Zhai, you or me?" Wan Chongyue asked, looking utterly uninterested.

In a three-way melee, whether they fought amongst themselves or two sides ganged up on one, these were just basic strategies and did not violate the rules.

Zhai Liancheng smiled faintly, then stepped forward, slowly but surely approaching Yun Che and Mo Cangying.

Mo Cangying abruptly stepped forward, his body surging with fierce energy, shielding Yun Che behind him... Zhai Liancheng, a Rank Four God Lord, could severely wound Yun Che in an instant if he suddenly attacked.

"Only two people, and you actually had the guts to show up, tsk tsk tsk," Zhai Liancheng said, approaching step by step, his face full of mock pity. His gaze swept past Yun Che, finally resting on Mo Cangying. "Brother Cangying, back then, my father, out of great appreciation for your talent, personally deigned to invite you to join my Rocky Mountain Sect. How unyielding you were then."

"And now, look at the Helian Imperial Family you've pledged allegiance to, and look at your current predicament. Even the Eldest Princess you've constantly fawned over is a plaything for a boy toy. What a pity, what a shame."

Mo Cangying's expression was grim, but he showed no anger. In his eyes, the Helian Imperial Family was rotten to its core, but for Helian Lingzhu, he was resolute and without regret. Among the young Mystic Practitioners of this generation in Qilin Abyss Realm, Zhai Liancheng and Mo Cangying were the foremost. This time, facing Mo Cangying, once his greatest rival, Zhai Liancheng was like a judge, able to toy with his opponent's destiny, to decide whether he would suffer a miserable defeat after humiliation, or be granted a dignified battle. This feeling of complete control over his former greatest rival was simply too good.

"Only two people, how pathetic. And if you're directly wiped out, wouldn't that be even more pitiful, so pathetic that you wouldn't have an ounce of face left? How about..." He was now within thirty paces of the two, smiling broadly. "You two try begging me? If you beg well, perhaps I, your Young Master, will show some mercy and help you clear out a few opponents from the Ten Thousand Blades Sect, so you don't look too bad."

"Hahahaha!" Laughter erupted simultaneously from Rocky Mountain Sect and Ten Thousand Blades Sect.

Mo Cangying's wrist turned, and withered yellow mystic light was about to burst forth, but he heard Yun Che's cheerful voice from behind him:

"Alright. Since Young Sect Master Zhai has said so, then we can only... graciously accept."

A slight smile played on his lips, and his figure shimmered subtly.

*Whoosh!!*

A phantom blur flickered past the corner of Mo Cangying's eye... and in Zhai Liancheng's pupils, Yun Che's faintly smiling face abruptly appeared. He was merely inches away. Zhai Liancheng had no time to react, or even for his expression to solidify, before a crimson bolt of lightning abruptly exploded on his chest.

*Boom-crack!*

The Heavenly Dao Tribulation Lightning struck him, and ten thousand bolts of lightning, like rampaging devils, surged through every meridian in Zhai Liancheng's body, searing his eyes blood-red. This sudden burst of mystic energy forced Mo Cangying back, even dispersing the mystic light he had gathered in his palm... His eyes widened, his face filled with horror.

"Ah..."

"Wh...at!?"

"What happened—"

Exclamations of shock erupted across the entire arena, and everyone's varied expressions instantly turned to terror. Because the mystic energy erupting from Yun Che... a God Monarch's aura, actually released a pressure that abruptly suffocated a host of God Lords.

Under the impact of the Heavenly Dao Tribulation Lightning, Zhai Liancheng's features were instantly contorted, his limbs twisted wide, his long hair... and indeed all his body hair, stood up like steel needles. He could no longer feel the existence of his body, nor the circulation of mystic energy; only a tingling numbness completely saturated his spiritual senses. In his wide-open pupils, Yun Che smiled and whispered, "Young Sect Master Zhai, I'll trouble you."

He kicked out, knocking Zhai Liancheng over, then grabbed his stiffened ankle, shot up, and swung the lightning-enshrouded Zhai Liancheng, smashing him towards Wan Chongyue, who was standing dumbfounded on the spot. The figure in his sight rapidly expanded. Wan Chongyue had just been watching with full mockery a moment ago, but this sudden change left him no time to react at all. Wan Chongyue instinctively wanted to retreat, but the oppressive force covering him was as heavy as ten thousand mountains. He could only subconsciously raise his arms, watching wide-eyed as Zhai Liancheng's head rapidly approached...

*BOOM!!!*

Zhai Liancheng's head smashed violently against Wan Chongyue's head. It was as if two star rivers exploded simultaneously within their heads, and the sound of cracking skulls was so clear it almost tore eardrums. Wan Chongyue spun out like a crooked top, flying at a speed more astonishing than a sandstorm tornado, straight out of the arena, trailing large splatters of blood foam.

"Liancheng!"

"Yue'er!!"

Zhai Kexie and Wan Wei cried out in alarm simultaneously. Wan Wei distorted his figure and flew up, reaching for the spinning, falling Wan Chongyue... By the time he caught him, Wan Chongyue had already fallen unconscious. His skull had cracked in several places, and blood gushed from his seven orifices. Blood surged through Wan Wei's entire body... Wan Chongyue, as the Young Master of Ten Thousand Blades Sect, was undoubtedly the strongest of his generation in the sect. A Rank Three God Lord's cultivation, yet he was severely wounded by a single blow... to this extent!

"B-Big Brother!"

Wan Chongshan was terrified out of his wits... but the next instant, a chill ran through his entire body. Zhai Liancheng, who had just blasted Wan Chongyue away, was now charging straight at him, his head striking directly into Wan Chongshan's chest.

*Rumble—*

A roar, like a mountain collapsing. This was the most terrifying headbutt Wan Chongshan had ever witnessed in his life, and it had landed on him. His chest caved in, and his back bulged out. Half of Zhai Liancheng's head had smashed into his chest. Wan Chongshan's body bent like a shrimp, and a blood arrow, dozens of feet long, sprayed from his mouth as he flew backward.

Mo Cangying's mouth hung open, his outstretched palm frozen mid-air, having almost forgotten how to retract it. Zhai Liancheng, in his hand, was stiff as a board under the Heavenly Dao Tribulation Lightning.

Yun Che's figure flickered again, appearing before the next Ten Thousand Blades Sect disciple. Zhai Liancheng was lifted from below, his formerly handsome face smashing directly into the disciple's groin.

"Uwaaaahhhhh!"

The scream was heartbreaking. The Ten Thousand Blades Sect disciple collapsed to his knees, his entire body convulsing wildly, unable to stand again.

Yun Che's figure flickered again. Zhai Liancheng, in his hand, swung with his arm, smashing into one Ten Thousand Blades Sect disciple after another.

*Boom!!*

*Boom!!!*

As the tenth booming sound fell, ten genius disciples of the Ten Thousand Blades Sect were already accounted for: five had been smashed out of the arena, four were severely injured and unconscious, and one remained kneeling, unable to rise.

Yun Che's figure finally stopped, Zhai Liancheng dragged on the ground in his hand, like a divine hammer of heavenly might he was reluctant to let go of.

"Tsk, truly worthy of the renowned Young Sect Master of Rocky Mountain Sect." The surroundings were as silent as a ghost realm, and Yun Che's rather faint voice was clear enough to shake souls: "You took care of the Ten Thousand Blades Sect in just a few moves. Such a great favor, how could the Helian Imperial Family ever repay you?"