Chapter 245: Burning Phoenix Blood

Although the earth-shattering "Heaven Wolf Slash" caused only minor injuries to Xia Qingyue, it shattered her 'Ice Body Jade Bone' state. Her Frozen Cloud Arts could no longer be elevated to the seventh realm within a short period. However, this attack did not push Yun Che to his limit. Before Xia Qingyue could regain her composure, Yun Che charged forward again, launching a Phoenix Break from over ten feet away.

Chu Yueli suddenly stood up and said to Xia Qingyue, who was directly in front of her, "Qingyue, don't hold back anymore. Immediately activate your domain to defeat him! This guy could cause all sorts of unexpected trouble at any moment!"

Chu Yueli had initially harbored no worries about this battle, not even the slightest bit. While there was a significant gap in their overall strengths, and Xia Qingyue had maintained a dominant stance throughout, as the fight progressed, Xia Qingyue's aura grew weaker. Yun Che, despite being repeatedly thwarted, not only avoided serious injury but his momentum remained undiminished. Now, he had miraculously escaped an attack that Xia Qingyue intended to be decisive, even managing to injure her instead. This left Chu Yueli profoundly alarmed.

The outcome of this battle wasn't particularly important for Xia Qingyue personally, but it was crucial for Frozen Cloud Asgard. A victory would break historical precedents, propelling Frozen Cloud Asgard to the absolute pinnacle of the Azure Cloud Empire for the first time. Having already defeated Ling Yun and reached this point, Xia Qingyue absolutely could not afford to lose.

With a flick of her Ice Phoenix Jade Silk, Xia Qingyue blocked all of Yun Che's Phoenix Breaks. While defending, she also noticed a clear decline in Yun Che's strength. The Heaven Wolf Slash had indeed significantly drained Yun Che. Combined with the continuous boost from his Burning Heart state, the burden on his profound veins and body was now incredibly severe. He was gritting his teeth and forcibly enduring, but he was rapidly approaching his breaking point.

Yun Che quickly rushed towards Xia Qingyue. Before he could get close, a blue light suddenly flashed before his eyes, and the world around him instantly turned a deep azure.

An intensely cold sensation suddenly assailed him from all directions, causing Yun Che's steps to halt abruptly.

The spectators erupted in gasps. "A domain! It's the one from yesterday!" exclaimed one. "Another domain... This is practically cheating! Forget the younger generation; even across the entire Azure Cloud Empire, those capable of using a domain can be counted on two hands!" another chimed in. "I never expected Yun Che to possess such terrifying strength. He doesn't seem any weaker than Ling Yun was yesterday! At the very least, he injured Xia Qingyue," a voice mused. "But unfortunately, no matter if he were ten times stronger, he'd be utterly helpless against a domain." "Alas, we truly are old," lamented an elder. "We thought Ling Yun was the absolute limit for young people, but who would have thought this boy, still only in the True Profound Realm, could shock us so much? The aura he unleashed just now was no less potent than Ling Yun's. If he reaches Ling Yun's age, he will surely surpass him by far. And this girl named Xia Qingyue... she has completely overturned my understanding." "Yun Che has reached a point where he can shake the world and astound everyone," another agreed. "It's just a pity that in this world, besides him, there is also Xia Qingyue. Her domain, unleashed beyond the confines of ordinary rules, is simply impossible to resist for anyone below the Sky Profound Realm."

Frigid winds swept across the area, and snowflakes began to drift down from above. The ground was quickly covered in a layer of frost, and a thick layer of ice rapidly solidified on Yun Che's body with cracking sounds, soon encasing half of him.

This Frozen Cloud Domain was slightly smaller than the one from yesterday. After all, Xia Qingyue had previously used the seventh realm of the Frozen Cloud Arts and had sustained an injury from Yun Che's Heaven Wolf Slash, incurring significant expenditure. The moment the Frozen Cloud Domain activated, Yun Che felt as though countless steel needles were piercing his entire body. His torso and limbs rapidly grew numb under the extreme cold. Forget sprinting, even moving his feet became incredibly difficult.

He now truly understood why Ling Yun had suddenly become utterly defenseless under the Frozen Cloud Domain yesterday, surrendering immediately after being expelled from it without even a final struggle. This kind of power, domains, frequently appeared in battles above the Sky Profound Realm, but it absolutely should not have appeared at the level he and Xia Qingyue were currently at. Once present, the suppression it exerted was beyond mere overwhelming force.

Frigid energy wildly poured into his body, rendering him so numb that his senses rapidly faded. Yun Che took a sharp breath, intending to ignite his Phoenix Flame, but before the flames could even fully manifest, the terrifying cold extinguished them at their source.

In contrast to Yun Che, the Frozen Cloud Domain was the most advantageous environment for Xia Qingyue. Within it, all her attacks would be maximized. It was no exaggeration to say that if the Frozen Cloud Domain could not be broken, then within it, Xia Qingyue would be its absolute master, dictating the outcome of the battle and, if she wished, effortlessly controlling Yun Che's life and death.

As the Frozen Cloud Domain expanded, Xia Qingyue's body swayed slightly. After pausing for a moment to steady her breath, she looked at Yun Che, who stood rooted, teeth clenched, unable to take a single step forward. She then grasped her Ice Phoenix Jade Silk and slowly walked toward him, uttering a very soft "I'm sorry..."

As her voice faded, the Ice Phoenix Jade Silk swayed lightly, brushing towards Yun Che's shoulder.

Just as the Ice Phoenix Jade Silk was about to touch Yun Che, the Phoenix Mark, which had been hidden on his forehead, suddenly appeared, emitting an intensely dazzling golden light. This sudden change made Xia Qingyue pause her movement, instinctively retracting her Ice Phoenix Jade Silk. In the next instant, three points of golden-yellow fiery light surged forth from the glittering Phoenix Mark.

These were three drops of Phoenix blood that Yun Che had expelled from his body.

Staring at the three golden-yellow drops of blood, Yun Che clenched his jaw and let out an incredibly low growl: "Phoenix blood... burn... to your heart's content!!"

Usually, the Phoenix Flame he ignited drew its power from his Phoenix blood. This time, however, he had forced the Phoenix blood out of his body to directly burn these three drops.

He fully understood the consequences of this action. Once the divine power within these three drops of Phoenix blood was exhausted, he didn't know how long it would take for them to recover. Until their Phoenix divine power was restored, he would only be able to ignite ordinary profound flame, not Phoenix Flame. However, this was the only method he could conceive of to potentially break the Frozen Cloud Domain.

The moment the three drops of Phoenix blood appeared, an immense and peerless aura of might enveloped the entire Sword Discourse Arena. Even peak Sky Profound and even Monarch Profound Realm experts felt a heavy sense of oppression. Although they were just three drops of blood, they contained true divine power, an oppressive force originating from the Phoenix divine beast. Xia Qingyue, being closest, felt the most intense pressure. At the same time, she perceived a potentially fatal danger, a crisis that made her retreat without hesitation at maximum speed.

Rumble!

Amidst Yun Che's low roar, the three drops of Phoenix blood ignited simultaneously. From three tiny specks of fire, they expanded in an instant into an enormous conflagration, over ten feet high. The Frozen Cloud Domain's chill was bone-piercing, but how could it possibly impede the ferocious burning of a divine beast's blood?

Regardless of the type of flame, combustion requires a medium. The Phoenix Flame Yun Che usually released used profound energy as its combustion medium. However, the medium for the divine power released by the Phoenix blood... was this very Frozen Cloud Domain!

The Frozen Cloud Domain's attribute was extreme cold, arguably the least likely thing in the world to burn. Yet, under the divine power of the Phoenix blood, it burned and spread with astonishing speed, like the purest kerosene. Before people could recover from their astonishment at the flames' appearance, a fiery red inferno filled every corner of the Frozen Cloud Domain, transforming a serene azure realm into a crimson purgatory of fire.

Although these flames didn't directly touch the surrounding spectators, the extremely hot thermal waves reached them, causing them to gasp for breath and feel as though their entire bodies were aflame. Their clothes and hair then spontaneously combusted, sending them into panicked shouts and a chaotic scramble to flee. It was only when a dozen or so experts from Heavenly Sword Villa leaped forward to block the heat that the situation was finally brought under control.

"Wha... wha... what is happening...?" Chu Yueli stood up, her beautiful eyes filled with profound shock.

"Could it be... could it be that this domain was actually... broken by Yun Che's fire?"

"Using fire... to burn away the Frozen Cloud Domain? How is that possible...?"

As the flames spread, the Frozen Cloud Domain vanished, completely and utterly. Even the last traces of blue light and frigid cold were completely consumed by the fire. Having consumed the Frozen Cloud Domain, and thus losing its combustion medium, the Phoenix Flame also extinguished. However, the three drops of Phoenix blood floating before Yun Che had lost their original golden luster, becoming dull and turbid, like the fluid of an ordinary profound beast.

Thud...

Yun Che collapsed onto one knee, sweat pouring from his body as he gasped for breath. Controlling the burning of these three drops of Phoenix blood had almost completely depleted his remaining strength. At that moment, the three drops of Phoenix blood flew back to the fiery mark on Yun Che's forehead, re-entering his bloodline and settling into a long period of dormancy.

For at least the next three months, Yun Che would be unable to ignite his Phoenix Flame.

At the same time, this action made it highly likely that his Phoenix blood would be exposed. Others might not notice, but Ling Kun was present! This formidable individual from the Sacred Land possessed knowledge far beyond what any expert from the Azure Cloud Continent could comprehend.

He was well aware of such a cost. But he had no regrets.

The Frozen Cloud Domain had vanished, completely and utterly.

The entire Sword Discourse Arena fell into a deathly silence, like a ghost purgatory, broken only by gasps and the sounds of people swallowing. Everyone had risen to their feet, staring blankly at the two on the stage, extreme shock clearly etched across their distorted faces.

"Phoenix blood?" Ling Kun lowered his gaze, muttering softly, a flicker of surprise on his face. "Didn't Phoenix blood go extinct long ago? The Phoenix divine lineage of the current Divine Phoenix Sect has been passed down from their ancestors... The fact that his Phoenix blood can separate from his bloodline proves it's incredibly pure Phoenix blood."

"The Phoenix flame techniques he uses are also completely different from those of the Divine Phoenix Sect."

"Hmph! How interesting. I wonder what the Divine Phoenix Sect's reaction will be when they learn of this."

Ling Kun's gaze indifferently swept across the arena, a faint sneer playing on his lips. "With so many people present, someone is bound to divulge this information to the Divine Phoenix Sect... This youth has decent aptitude, barely enough to qualify as a bottom-tier disciple even in my Heavenly Might Sword Domain. He also seems to have had some fortuitous encounter, but unfortunately... he is destined for a short life. I fear he won't live to see the day he enters my Heavenly Might Sword Domain."