Chapter 210: Establishing Authority

As "Yun Che's" name was called, Cang Yue reacted even faster than Yun Che himself. She immediately grabbed his hand, her voice a mix of nervousness and excitement: "Junior Brother Yun, it's your turn."

"Brother-in-law, go for it! Knock down all your opponents and show those who mocked us!" Xia Yuanba clenched his fists.

"I'll be right back," Yun Che casually tossed out before leaving his seat and walking onto the battle stage.

Battle Stage Number 15 instantly became the center of attention.

"Look! The kid from the Azure Wind Imperial Family is up!""Tsk, tsk, that Fu Yan Jie is damn lucky to face this guy in his first match. Why don't I have such good fortune?""I remember Fu Yan Jie is Spirit Profound Realm Level 2. He'll probably take him down in three moves... Ahhh! Why wasn't I assigned to Group 15? Otherwise, even if I lost all eleven other matches, I could at least enjoy beating up this kid from the Azure Wind Imperial Family."A wave of laughter erupted around them.

Yun Che paid no attention to the surrounding jeers. He silently observed his opponent. His first opponent was burly and strong, wielding a massive eight-foot long saber. However, these weren't what Yun Che focused on. What caught his attention was the faint sneer at the corner of the man's mouth and the constantly flickering brutality in his eyes.

"Hmph..." Yun Che's brow twitched slightly, a subtle sneer playing on his lips.

"Match start!!"As soon as the referee's voice fell, Fu Yan Jie savagely swung his massive saber, creating a whistling blade wind. He glared at Yun Che, sneering as he spoke in a low voice, "Yun Che, it's your bad luck to meet me. Just lie down obediently!"

With a cold chuckle, Fu Yan Jie didn't wait for Yun Che to draw his weapon. He rushed forward. Despite his robust build and the enormous saber he wielded, his speed was not slow at all. He let out a low roar, swinging the huge saber, imbued with profound energy, fiercely towards Yun Che's left arm.

At the Burning Heaven Clan's seats, Fen Juebi chuckled, "Big Brother, just wait and watch the show. We've already instructed this person specifically: he won't give Yun Che any chance to surrender. Instead, he'll quickly sever one of Yun Che's arms, then conveniently slash his face."

"Excellent," Fen Juecheng murmured, a cold smile forming on his lips.

The oncoming blade wind was vicious, showing no mercy. Yun Che subtly shifted his body to the side, dodging the blow, but Fu Yan Jie's saber instantly swept upwards... clearly aiming for Yun Che's face.

Yun Che's gaze hardened, then he erupted in fury... Severing his arm could be forgiven, losing half his life could be endured, but trying to ruin his face?! This was utterly intolerable.

A fierce glint flashed in Yun Che's eyes. He ducked, evading the saber, then instead of retreating, he advanced like lightning, his elbow striking hard into Fu Yan Jie's abdomen.

"Holy crap! This guy's asking for death!""Is that kid crazy? Fu Yan Jie could just swing down without even opening his eyes and kill him instantly. He's still too young; not only is his profound energy low, but his combat experience is also terribly lacking."

However, the next scene left everyone stunned... After Yun Che's forceful lunge and attack on Fu Yan Jie's abdomen, Fu Yan Jie's saber, held aloft, didn't follow through and drop. Instead, it froze in place. Even after Yun Che leisurely straightened up and took two steps back, Fu Yan Jie's arm still hadn't fallen.

Clang...

Fu Yan Jie's saber clattered to the ground.

"Ugh... ugh..." hoarse sounds escaped his lips. Fu Yan Jie's eyes were wide with a grotesque bulge, almost popping out of their sockets. He slowly knelt, clutching his abdomen in agony, curled up like a shrimp. His entire body trembled violently, cold sweat poured down his forehead like rain, and blood mixed with white foam streamed from his mouth.

Although Yun Che's elbow strike hadn't pushed Fu Yan Jie back a single step, the immense power had dispersed into countless violent surges within his body, instantly incapacitating him with excruciating pain. If this weren't a competition venue, and Yun Che didn't want to risk disqualification, he would have completely crippled Fu Yan Jie just for trying to ruin his face.

Yun Che looked down at the writhing Fu Yan Jie at his feet and coldly said in a low voice, "I have no grudge against you, so you had no reason to attack me so viciously. It seems you were used as a weapon. I can't guess who put you up to this right now, but I'll find out soon enough. Go back and tell that person that I accept their provocation, but I doubt they can bear the consequences."

Fu Yan Jie remained curled on the ground, unable to utter a single coherent word.

"Fu Yan Jie is down for ten breaths! Yun Che of the Azure Wind Imperial Family wins!"

Yun Che unhurriedly walked off the battle stage. Fu Yan Jie remained curled up, unable to stand for a long time. After a considerable while, two of his embarrassed sect-mates came up and dragged him away.

The sect disciples who had been expecting a one-sided show were left dumbfounded, exchanging bewildered glances.

"What happened? Fu Yan Jie actually lost?""It must be that Yun Che's strike coincidentally hit Fu Yan Jie's dantian pressure point, completely sapping his strength... that must be it, right?""Hmm, that seems to be the only explanation. But for Fu Yan Jie to lose to someone in the True Profound Realm is truly humiliating."

Yun Che walked down slowly, his eyes half-closed, concentrating his senses and impassively perceiving the surrounding auras. Before long, he detected a faint trace of killing intent... The killing intent was extremely subtle, but Yun Che was too familiar and sensitive to such things. He instantly turned his head, his gaze meeting that of the person emitting the killing intent... A moment later, he retracted his gaze and returned to his seat.

Fen Juecheng... ha, so it was him. Yun Che let out a cold laugh, and recalling the events of the previous night, everything instantly became clear to him.

With only a momentary exchange of glances, Fen Juecheng could not possibly possess Yun Che's terrifying spiritual perception, so he naturally didn't realize Yun Che knew he was secretly playing dirty. The outcome of this battle caused Fen Juecheng's expression to darken once more: "It seems we underestimated this Yun Che."

"Hmph," Fen Juebi scoffed disdainfully. "No matter what, he's just a ridiculous True Profound Realm practitioner. Fu Yan Jie clearly lost because he was too careless and unlucky. If all goes as expected, Yun Che's next opponent will be Fu Yan Jie's twin brother. His profound energy is a level higher than Fu Yan Jie's, and he absolutely won't give Yun Che any chance for luck again."

The first round of the ranking tournament's group stage was in full swing. As Cang Yue had mentioned, the pace of the group stage was fast. In just an hour and a half, an average of over thirty matches had already taken place on each battle stage. Some ended swiftly, while others were prolonged struggles. When facing members of the Four Major Sects, most opponents would directly concede. Especially when encountering super bosses like Ling Yun, Xiao Kuanglei, Yan Jin, and Shui Wushuang, opponents would typically surrender without even attempting to fight... Otherwise, if the opponent accidentally struck too hard and caused a severe injury, it would undoubtedly affect their performance in other matches. It was better to simply concede and preserve one's strength.

"Group 15, Match 35: Yun Che of the Azure Wind Imperial Family — versus — Fu Yinjie of Qiongyun Sect, Southern Realm!"

Yun Che's second match arrived, and the identity of his opponent made him pause in surprise.

Hmm? What a coincidence, it's the Qiongyun Sect from the Southern Realm again? And this name sounds quite familiar too.

Yun Che stepped onto the battle stage, speechless as he looked at his opponent. He was also burly and strong, identical to Fu Yan Jie, whom he had just defeated, except for his clothes. Even his weapon was a giant saber.

"I'm Fu Yinjie! You just severely injured my twin brother, so I'm going to cripple you!" Fu Yinjie roared furiously, raising his large saber. His not-too-large eyes were filled with fierce malice.

"Haha, not only are these twin brothers in the same group, but they've both encountered the same opponent. How interesting!""Fu Yinjie, quickly beat that kid up to avenge your brother! His match was utterly pathetic.""If you lose too, then both of you brothers should just find a block of tofu to smash your heads against and die, hahahaha."

Yun Che's gaze swept indifferently over his surroundings, taking in Fen Juecheng's gloomy sneer, the mocking faces of some self-important sect disciples, and the fierce, contemptuous look in Fu Yinjie's eyes. A slight movement at the corner of his mouth, Yun Che smirked.

Heh... Do they really think I, Yun Che, am a soft persimmon to be easily squashed?Do they even have the right to comment on me with such disdain? To mock me?

"Match start!""I'll cripple you!!" As soon as the referee's voice ceased, Fu Yinjie raised his massive saber and roared, charging towards Yun Che. To outsiders, this fury seemed normal, as Yun Che had caused Fu Yan Jie to lose face badly and sustain significant injuries. However, Yun Che knew exactly what truly fueled his "rage."

"You? With that?"Yun Che scoffed with a disdainful smile. Amidst the exclamations of many onlookers, he directly met Fu Yinjie's huge saber empty-handed, his hand instantly colliding with the back of the blade.

CLANG!!With a deafening shattering sound, Fu Yinjie's saber, infused with profound energy, instantly shattered into several pieces. Before Fu Yinjie could even cry out, Yun Che's right foot flew up and kicked him in the chest.

With a loud "thud," Fu Yinjie's profound energy defense was pierced like flimsy paper. Six of his ribs snapped, and his robust body was sent flying back dozens of feet like a cannonball, slamming heavily into the profound energy barrier behind him, causing the entire barrier to faintly tremor.

Fu Yinjie's body slid down the profound energy barrier and lay limply on the ground, unconscious.

Breaking a saber bare-handed, defeating an enemy in a single blow—everything happened in an instant. All eyes watching the scene went silent, even the referee hadn't had time to react.

"Hmph!" Yun Che let out a faint cold snort, not even sparing a glance for Fu Yinjie, and impassively walked off the battle stage.

The referee, as if waking from a dream, hastily announced, "Yun Che of the Azure Wind Imperial Family wins!"