Chapter 223: Change

The forbidden art "Dragon of Burning Heaven," unleashed by Fen Juebi, was incredibly blocked by Yun Che. With his bare hands, using just his palms, he forcefully extinguished the terrifying "Dragon of Burning Heaven."

As a forbidden technique of the Burning Heaven Clan, activated by consuming vital blood, the "Dragon of Burning Heaven" appeared extremely rarely; most disciples might never activate it in their lifetime. While there had been instances where opponents managed to withstand the "Dragon of Burning Heaven," it was always an incredibly difficult struggle. To withstand it in this manner... had never happened before!

Before Yun Che, the "Dragon of Burning Heaven" was like an arrogant young snake, easily strangled to death by his bare hands. The entire process didn't inflict even the slightest injury on Yun Che.

Fen Juebi fell to his knees with a thud, his face ashen, eyes wide in extreme shock, as if his soul had left his body. The other six members of the Burning Heaven Clan, including the nearly centenarian Fen Moli, reacted similarly. They simply couldn't believe their eyes, nor could they accept that the mightiest Dragon of Burning Heaven had been countered in such a manner, with the opponent completely unharmed... This was something even a strong practitioner at the early stage of the Sky Profound Realm would find almost impossible!

That incredibly dense, rampant blue profound flame could instantly melt even refined steel!

Ling Yuefeng's face was also filled with astonishment. Ling Wugou, who had been ready to rush into the profound energy barrier, also froze, forgetting to lower the profound energy he had raised. He stared at Yun Che with an expression of extreme shock... as if looking at a monster from beyond the heavens.

The shock Yun Che caused in that instant far surpassed all previous moments combined.

Observing Fen Juebi collapse to the ground, his confidence shattered by extreme shock and disbelief, Yun Che coldly smiled. Extending his arms, he re-gripped the Overlord's Colossal Sword and swung it violently at Fen Juebi.

Whoosh!!

The power of the heavy sword erupted. In his current state, Fen Juebi had almost no power to resist. With a muffled groan, he was sent tumbling over a dozen times by the impact, then lay prostrate like a dead dog, his body twitching, unable to get up for a long time.

Only then did Ling Wugou snap out of his daze. He withdrew his profound energy, steadied his breathing, and calmly announced: "Fen Juebi has been down for more than ten breaths. Yun Che of the Blue Wind Imperial Family wins! He advances to tomorrow's Top Four battles!"

Ling Wugou's voice also awakened the stunned crowd. Instantly, a cacophony of noise filled the entire Tournament Arena.

From the very beginning of this ranking tournament, Yun Che had been creating one legend after another. Just when almost everyone thought it was impossible for him to advance further, another even more astonishing legend, carrying immense spiritual impact, unfolded before them.

Yun Che defeated Fen Juebi, and it was a complete victory!

Fen Moli slumped back into his seat, the old flesh on his face trembling. Fen Juebi had lost, and lost utterly, signifying that the Burning Heaven Clan was now practically guaranteed to drop out of the top four in the ranking tournament for the first time. Even if Shui Wushuang of the Frozen Cloud Asgard and Xia Qingyue both lost in this round, or Xiao Kuanglei of the Xiao Sect lost, giving them a chance to contend for fourth place, Fen Juebi was simply no match for either Shui Wushuang or Xiao Kuanglei. Fen Moli harbored no illusion about this.

Furthermore, with Fen Juebi having burned his vital blood and his profound energy significantly depleted, there was even less hope.

This was arguably the Burning Heaven Clan's greatest disgrace in several centuries.

However, this couldn't be entirely blamed on Fen Juebi. Based on Yun Che's feat of extinguishing the Dragon of Burning Heaven with his bare hands, even Fen Jin would not have been Yun Che's match.

"How... how did he do that?"

"I don't know... He must have forcibly neutralized the flaming dragon's power with profound energy."

"That was a forbidden move of the Burning Heaven Clan! To completely neutralize such a technique, even an early-stage Sky Profound Realm practitioner might not be able to do it."

"Yun Che has clearly been hiding his strength all along. We don't even know how much power he's still concealing... True Profound Realm Level Ten... just thinking about it is enough to drive one mad."

"Fen Juebi has lost, and the Burning Heaven Clan is now destined to fall out of the top four this time, while the Blue Wind Imperial Family has actually made it to the semifinals! Could it be that in the future, the Burning Heaven Clan will lose its place among the Four Great Sects, to be replaced by the Blue Wind Imperial Family?"

"With Yun Che's presence, the vast Blue Wind Imperial Family can't help but shake the world and revive its prestige this time! Who knows where the Blue Wind Imperial Family found such a monstrous talent? Alas, why doesn't our sect produce such a disciple!"

The discussions throughout the arena were endless. Yun Che once again became the center of attention, while the once illustrious Burning Heaven Clan was relegated to being a mere backdrop and loser, no longer receiving admiration and praise, but rather looks of pity mixed with regret...

Under the gaze of the crowd, Yun Che did not immediately leave the arena. Instead, he gave a slight nod to Ling Wugou: "Elder Ling, thank you."

Ling Wugou paused, then nodded slightly, a silent exclamation of admiration in his heart... In that situation, he could still be distracted enough to notice I was preparing to "save" him? Did he still have strength left when facing the "Dragon of Burning Heaven" just now?

Yun Che turned to the side, preparing to leave the center of the arena. Just then, Fen Juebi, whom he had his back to, suddenly leaped up from the ground. With hateful eyes and a ferocious expression, like a despairing demon, he charged at Yun Che, his Ghost Flame Blade blazing with blue flames, stabbing directly at Yun Che's back.

"I'll kill you!!"

Fen Juebi was not someone with such poor mental fortitude that he couldn't accept defeat. But this loss was different because he was defeated by an opponent he had considered insignificant before the match. Moreover, it was a match crucial to the honor of the Burning Heaven Clan, one he absolutely could not lose. Fen Moli's earlier words, along with the consequences and disgrace of defeat, jabbed at his nerves and soul like steel needles, stripping him of all reason. He only wanted to tear Yun Che to shreds in a fit of madness...

Fen Juebi's actions immediately drew scornful boos from the crowd. Yun Che paused, muttered "courting death" under his breath, and spun around, mercilessly bringing his heavy sword down on Fen Juebi.

In a direct confrontation, Fen Juebi was no match for Yun Che to begin with. Even more so now, severely injured from burning his vital blood and extremely weakened, the power he unleashed was effortlessly shattered by Yun Che's heavy sword. Following that, he felt as if a colossal, ten-thousand-pound hammer had struck his chest.

Boom!!

Fen Juebi's world roared. He spat out a stream of blood, his chest became a bloody mess, and his entire body flew backward like a tattered rag doll caught in a storm...

"Juebi!! How dare you, junior!"

An enraged roar echoed through the arena. Fen Moli shot into the air, crossing dozens of meters in an instant. He breached the profound energy barrier and landed in front of Fen Juebi. After quickly checking his injuries, he whirled around, glaring at Yun Che: "Junior! Your heart is so vicious! The match was already over, yet you maliciously attacked and severely injured my Burning Heaven Clan Master's son!!"

The name of the Burning Heaven Clan's Grand Elder was renowned throughout the land, his prestige almost on par with the Clan Master, Fen Duanhun. Few present dared to provoke him; even the leaders of major sects would tremble at his roar. But Yun Che was certainly not among them. He coolly sneered, "Are you blind? He clearly launched a sneak attack first. Should I just stand here and wait for him to attack me without fighting back?"

"You junior are courting death!" Fen Moli's beard bristled with rage. No one had dared speak to him like that in decades, let alone a mere junior. Combined with the Burning Heaven Clan's defeat and the inevitable disgrace that would follow, all stemming from this person before him, his fury erupted like a volcano... He wanted to kill Yun Che even more than Fen Juebi did, to vent his hatred.

Taking his hand off Fen Juebi, Fen Moli suddenly soared into the air, his right hand shaped like an eagle's claw, reaching directly for Yun Che's crown.

This sudden turn of events elicited gasps from the entire audience. It was no surprise that Fen Moli would fly into the arena to check Fen Juebi's injuries; it was entirely reasonable. But no one had expected him to suddenly attack Yun Che... And judging by the stance of his attack, it was clearly a lethal move, intended to kill Yun Che!!

A centenarian elder, the Grand Elder of the Burning Heaven Clan, a peak expert with half-step Emperor Profound Realm strength, had actually attacked a mere seventeen-year-old junior. This was happening within the Heavenly Sword Villa, with an Elder of the Heavenly Sword Sovereign Family present. Fen Moli's action clearly indicated he had lost all reason in his fury, bordering on madness.

"Elder Fen, stop!" Ling Wugou cried out in alarm, quickly moving forward to stop Fen Moli. However, the gap between late-stage Sky Profound Realm and half-step Emperor Profound Realm was ultimately too vast. Before he could get close, he was forcibly pushed back by the wild profound energy unleashed by Fen Moli. He could only watch helplessly as Fen Moli's palm bore down on Yun Che... This claw strike was powerful enough to crush Yun Che's entire head.

Yun Che had also never imagined that Fen Moli would be so shameless as to attack him. Yun Che had previously experienced the power of a half-step Emperor Profound Realm practitioner from Chu Yuechan. Fen Moli, however, had been at this realm for over thirty years, his profound energy far deeper than Chu Yuechan's. As that claw strike descended, the terrifying profound energy aura made Yun Che feel as if the entire sky was collapsing upon him. The boundless suppression of that mighty aura made it impossible for him to even dodge, let alone move a single finger.

Though startled, Yun Che remained composed. He took a deep breath, pouring all his strength into activating the Star God Shattered Shadow...

Rip!!

A dreadful sound, as if space itself was torn by Fen Moli's grip, echoed. Fen Moli's right hand closed on Yun Che's crown, but grasped only a dissipating afterimage.

Fen Moli's movement froze for an instant, then he became even more enraged... He, a dignified peak expert at the half-step Emperor Profound Realm, had launched a surprise attack on a junior... and actually missed! He hadn't even perceived when Yun Che vanished.

He had no time to be astonished by Yun Che's elusive movement profound art. His anger reignited, he re-locked onto Yun Che's position, and with a low growl, purple profound flames erupted from his body, filling the sky. These purple flames transformed into dozens of monstrous purple flaming dragons, charging menacingly towards Yun Che. Each flaming dragon was infinitely more powerful than the Dragon of Burning Heaven unleashed by Fen Juebi.

"Stop!"

"Stop!!!!"

Everything happened in a flash of lightning. People were only now reacting. Two loud shouts rang out from different directions: one from Qin Wushang, the other from Ling Yuefeng. They both stood up, ready to rush towards the arena. But at that moment, an icy blue figure, emanating a bone-chilling cold, flew towards the arena before them...

Crackle, crackle, crackle...

The deafening sound of ice solidifying echoed. In a brief instant, the sky-filling purple flames were completely frozen. The astonishing high temperature rapidly dropped, quickly turning icy cold. At that moment, a figure of ethereal beauty, bathed in blue light, descended from above, hovering before Yun Che without touching the ground. As she descended, all ice crystals shattered, and with them, all purple flames vanished.

Ling Yuefeng's body, already poised to fly, abruptly halted. He stared at the graceful figure in the arena, his eyes wide with disbelief: "How could it be... her..."

"Little..." Yun Che exclaimed in surprise, but then the next two words became very soft: "...fairy."

Fen Moli's previous attack had indeed severely startled Yun Che. He had no chance of resisting a half-step Emperor Profound Realm power; once struck, he would be instantly annihilated, leaving no trace. If not for her appearance, he would have been forced to use Jasmine's power. But doing so would undoubtedly expose his greatest trump card nakedly before everyone.

Chu Yuechan, with her back to him, seemed not to hear his voice, showing no reaction. Her eyes, like cold crystals, fixed icily on Fen Moli.

Chu Yuechan stood up, her beautiful eyes filled with astonishment. Fen Moli's attack was naturally despicable and shameless. She had expected many indignant experts to intervene, especially those from the Heavenly Sword Villa, and even she herself had felt an urge to stop him. However, she had firmly believed that if there was one person in the entire arena who would not intervene, it would be her older sister, Chu Yuechan, due to her extremely cold and indifferent nature, which would absolutely prevent her from interfering in anyone else's affairs.

But what she had never expected was that Chu Yuechan would be the first to act!

Not only did she intervene, but she also directly shielded Yun Che, confronting the Burning Heaven Clan's Grand Elder, Fen Moli!