Chapter 294: Rapid Progress

Winter yielded to spring, and with the first hint of warmth in the breeze, another year quietly passed.

Spring turned to autumn, and leaves withered yellow. Sixteen full months had passed since Yun Che's fall.

Even the brightest light gradually dims with the passage of time. Though Yun Che's brilliance was fleeting, his enduring influence persisted. While not as fervent as it once was, the name "Yun Che" still resonated in various corners of the Azure Wind Empire. For young profound practitioners without sectarian backgrounds who harbored grand aspirations, he became a symbol of spiritual belief.

Heavenly Sword Villa.

At four in the morning, just as dawn was breaking, a young man in light sword attire walked onto the Sword Platform, guided by the dim light. The moment his foot touched the first stone slab, a long sword, emanating an otherworldly glow, descended from the sky into his hand, dancing wildly with his arm.

Ling Jie was now a seventeen-year-old youth, his face less naive, more resolute, and his gaze as sharp as a sword. His profound strength had reached the ninth level of the Spirit Profound Realm, just a step away from its peak. His sword intent and sword heart were also becoming increasingly refined.

The Heavenly Wild Goose Sword swept out dazzling streams of light in his hands. As he wielded it, the surrounding airflow became greatly disturbed, and the trajectories of the flying swords above the Sword Platform significantly changed. His talent was widely acknowledged to surpass Ling Yun's, and he also worked harder than Ling Yun. After the ranking tournament, he had not left Heavenly Sword Villa, starting and ending each day with sword practice. In terms of strength, he was steadily closing in on Ling Yun.

In contrast, Ling Yun had been plagued by inner demons during this period, making very little progress.

The majority of his inner demons stemmed from Xia Qingyue, with a smaller part originating from Yun Che.

Amidst the whistling sword energy, the sky above the Sword Platform grew increasingly bright. Finally, the first ray of sunlight pierced through from the east. At that moment, the Heavenly Wild Goose Sword transformed into a dazzling streak of light, soaring through the air, creating a vacuum zone tens of feet wide among the swarm of flying swords before swiftly descending back into his scabbard.

"Phew!" Ling Jie let out a long breath and collapsed to the ground. Wiping sweat from his forehead, he stared blankly at the Xing Tian Sword, which pierced the clouds. After a long pause, he exhaled deeply and mumbled to himself, "Boss, you don't have a sect, yet you became so powerful. You must have put in unimaginable effort. I heard that before the ranking tournament, you even stayed in the dangerous Death Wilds for half a year... Sigh. After the ranking tournament, I originally planned to sneak out and find you. Even if you were being hunted by the Burning Heaven Clan, I could escape with you. That kind of experience would be exciting, thrilling, and stimulating, and it would truly help me grow. I never imagined that right after I acknowledged you as my boss, I wouldn't even get the chance to train with you... Phew! Heaven is truly unfair."

Ling Jie turned his head, looking towards Azure Wind Imperial City in the west, and murmured, "I wonder how Princess Sister is doing now..."

Azure Wind Imperial City, Moon Embracing Palace.

"Your Royal Highness, a message has arrived from the Burning Heaven Clan. Young Clan Master Fen Juecheng has set the wedding date with Your Royal Highness. Seven days from now, at eight forty-five in the morning, Young Clan Master Fen Juecheng will come to Moon Embracing Palace to marry the princess. The Third Prince has already begun preparations." Cang Yue stood silently by the lotus pond in the courtyard, her beautiful eyes fixed on the wilting lotus petals. Beside her, a palace maid respectfully reported.

After the maid finished speaking, Cang Yue's expression remained calm. She nodded and said indifferently, "I understand. You may leave... Wait! Does my imperial father know about the wedding date being set?"

"Replying to Your Highness, His Majesty has not yet woken up, so he does not know."

"Don't disturb imperial father. Let him rest well. Tell him when he wakes up," Cang Yue said softly.

"Yes, this servant takes her leave."

As the palace maid withdrew, a hearty laugh rang out. "Hahahaha! Imperial Sister, congratulations!"

Cang Yue turned around, looking at the casually approaching Third Prince Cang Shuo with a half-smile. "You seem happier about my marriage to Fen Juecheng than I am."

"Of course," Cang Shuo said with a smile. "Juecheng is undoubtedly a dragon among men; few in the Azure Wind Empire can compare to him. And Imperial Sister, with your unparalleled beauty and noble status, you two are a perfect match made in heaven. Juecheng is my closest friend, and you are my only imperial sister, so naturally, I am delighted by your union. Hahahaha."

Cang Yue's lips curved slightly, and she smiled as she said, "Since you are so happy, then I will leave all the wedding arrangements on my side to Imperial Brother. I'm sure Imperial Brother will handle it with great pleasure."

Since her return from Heavenly Sword Villa, Cang Yue's personality had undergone a profound change, a change clearly perceptible to those around her. Yun Che's demise seemed not to have impacted her significantly. After returning to the palace, she spent most of her time with Cang Wanhe, and her demeanor transformed as if she were a different person. She no longer retreated, evaded, or compromised, but became incredibly firm and decisive. In Cang Wanhe's name, amidst the imperial turmoil stirred by Cang Lin and Cang Suo, she forcefully stabilized most of the neutral factions. Although she was powerless to stop the conflicts between Cang Lin and Cang Shuo or the ambitions of the Xiao Sect and Burning Heaven Clan, she largely prevented the escalation of imperial strife, which was an extraordinary accomplishment. Over a year of relentless effort had hardened Cang Yue's character, and her eyes now even held a chilling glint that could make one's heart tremble.

"Of course, no problem!" Cang Shuo readily agreed. Cang Yue's marriage to Fen Juecheng was entirely beneficial to him, with no downsides. He had been waiting for this day for far too long.

"In that case, I'll trouble Imperial Brother with everything... Also, please remind Fen Juecheng multiple times that on the day he comes to the imperial palace to escort the bride, the betrothal gifts must include a 'Soul-Burning Flower.' If I don't see a 'Soul-Burning Flower,' he shouldn't even think about me returning to the Burning Heaven Clan with him." Cang Yue's slender eyebrows furrowed, and she spoke with determination.

"Imperial Sister, you can rest completely assured on that point. Given Juecheng's devotion to you, let alone a mere 'Soul-Burning Flower,' he wouldn't hesitate to pluck stars from the sky for you," Cang Shuo said cheerfully. He seemed to be in a particularly good mood today.

"I hope everything is as you say. I'm going to see imperial father now. If you're interested in this Moon Embracing Palace, feel free to look around."

After speaking, Cang Yue simply ignored Cang Shuo and walked straight out.

Stepping out of Moon Embracing Palace, Cang Yue's pace slowed. She looked up at the sky, her hand over her chest. All the forced sharpness in her eyes vanished, becoming hazy like mist. Softly, she murmured to herself, "Junior Brother Yun, I'm sorry to have left you alone for so long... Please wait for me a few more days, alright?... In seven more days, I can join you..."

Below the Sword Platform at Heavenly Sword Villa, an intense battle was drawing to a close.

Boom! Bang! Clink! Clang! Slash...

Collisions, roars, slashes... Within this confined space, the sounds were deafening.

Yun Che's heavy sword swung wide and powerful; each sweep generated an astonishing profound energy storm. The azure profound aura was ever-changing and incredibly sharp, with an attack intensity no less than Yun Che's heavy sword. After thousands of clashes, Yun Che was covered in wounds but fought with increasing ferocity, like a beast whose savage nature had been ignited.

Yun Canghai watched Yun Che's battle with the profound aura, nodding continuously, his eyes filled with awe.

During his sixteen months here, Yun Che's profound cultivation had advanced by leaps and bounds.

Currently, his profound strength had reached the sixth level of the Earth Profound Realm!

Previously, it took Ling Yun two years to break through from the first to the third level of the Earth Profound Realm. This speed was unsurpassed among his peers, save for Xia Qingyue.

However, Yun Che had gone from the first to the sixth level of the Earth Profound Realm in less than a year!

If Ling Yun knew this, he would probably be so ashamed he'd commit suicide on the spot.

In terms of cultivation speed, Yun Che was more than ten times faster than Ling Yun!

Of course, the fundamental reason for this was the flesh and blood of the Flame Dragon. For profound practitioners in the Azure Wind Empire, even the highest-tier ones, dragon meat from a Monarch Profound Dragon was a treasure of heaven and earth, incredibly difficult to obtain even a small piece. Yet for Yun Che, it was a living meal, consumed for over a year.

During this period, Yun Che's improvements weren't limited to his profound strength alone. Since witnessing Yun Canghai's profound aura, Yun Che spent at least six hours every day battling it. His combat prowess rapidly increased through these almost frenzied sparring sessions.

With two lifetimes, Yun Che naturally possessed abundant combat experience, but no matter how rich, it couldn't compare to Yun Canghai, who had lived for hundreds of years. In terms of strength, Yun Canghai might not be Jasmine's equal, but in terms of seniority and experience, Jasmine was far inferior to him. Some of the guidance he gave Yun Che proved immensely beneficial.

When Yun Che first sparred with the profound aura, Yun Canghai could easily defeat him even by suppressing the aura's power to one-tenth. But in less than a month, Yun Che was able to hold his ground against a profound aura with one-tenth of its power. So, Yun Canghai gradually increased the aura's strength: to two-tenths, then three-tenths... four-tenths... five-tenths... And now, Yun Che was facing a profound aura that retained sixty percent of its full power!

Sixty percent of his profound aura's power was equivalent in strength to the late stages of the Sky Profound Realm! Yet now, Yun Che had fought it to a stalemate, enduring thousands of exchanges without being defeated.

"Haa!" With a powerful shout, Yun Che leaped into the air, manifesting into four identical figures in mid-air... That's right! Four figures. His Star God's Broken Shadow, through countless battles and countless uses, had successfully broken through to the third stage, allowing him to create three illusory clones!

The afterimages created by the Star God's Broken Shadow were so realistic that not only human perception and sight but even the profound aura itself couldn't distinguish between real and fake. Its actions momentarily faltered. Seizing this tiny opening, Yun Che narrowed his eyes and forcibly activated the third stage of the Evil God Arts, "Purgatory."

Two crimson lights covered Yun Che's eyes, and his profound energy aura instantly became incredibly wild... Forcibly activating Purgatory during the ranking tournament, even for a brief moment, had nearly cost him his life and left him unconscious for several days. In his current state, forcibly activating Purgatory naturally wouldn't have such severe consequences again, but it was still extremely uncomfortable. However, if it was only for a few breaths, he could barely endure it.

"Heavenly Wolf Slash!" A roaring azure wolf emerged, its terrifying power completely enveloping the profound aura, sealing off all its escape routes. A colossal wolf shadow surged from the Dragon Fault, striking the profound aura fiercely and deforming it completely. After barely sustaining for a breath, the profound aura drifted away like a leaf caught in a hurricane, then transformed into a green light and returned to Yun Canghai's arm.

Clang!! Dragon Fault clattered to the ground, and Yun Che himself fell backward, gasping for air, sweat pouring down his face. The prolonged intense battle had nearly depleted all his strength, and combined with the immense burden of activating "Purgatory," he now barely had the energy to breathe, not wanting to move even a pinky finger.

"This little monster's future achievements are simply unimaginable!" Yun Canghai muttered to himself. His profound aura, even with sixty percent of its power retained, had been defeated so quickly!

Back then, Yun Che had claimed he would kill him within two years. At the time, Yun Canghai found it laughable. Now, it seemed... Yun Che's words weren't exaggerated in the slightest!