Chapter 362: Double Domain

"What!?"

Yun Che's sudden transformation sent a jolt through Ling Tianya. His aura, which had been less than ten percent of its peak, suddenly surged the moment flames ignited, instantly reaching—no, even surpassing—his previous state!

Ling Tianya's knowledge and experience in the path of cultivation were unparalleled, yet Yun Che constantly displayed one inexplicable phenomenon after another.

This was the second time Yun Che directly burned his Phoenix blood, fully exhausting the power of three drops. The price for this was being unable to use Phoenix Flames for the next two to three months. He clenched his fists, and two crimson flames burned clearly in his eyes. "Qingyue," he exclaimed, "the power I have can only last for twenty breaths... I need the help of your Ice Cloud Domain... I must utterly defeat him within twenty breaths!!"

To utterly defeat the Sword Master within twenty breaths would sound like an utterly ridiculous joke to anyone. Xia Qingyue's eyes flickered slightly. Just as she was about to speak, Yun Che let out a roar and shot into the sky. Dragon Fault unleashed several Phoenix Flames, accompanied by dragon roars and phoenix cries that shook the heavens.

Xia Qingyue sighed softly in her heart, saying no more. She soared into the air, and the Ice Phoenix Qionghua Silk unfurled, unleashing countless ice flowers. Phoenix Flames and Ice Edict, one on the left and one on the right, simultaneously blasted towards Ling Tianya.

Ling Tianya's body suddenly felt as if half were in lava and half in an ice prison. With a swing of his azure sword, he unleashed vast sword energy, cleaving both the Phoenix Flames and Ice Edict. Yun Che and Xia Qingyue also closed in on him at that moment.

"Qingyue!" Yun Che low-roared.

Dozens of ice ropes materialized from thin air, locking down all of Ling Tianya's escape routes. Xia Qingyue's icy hair fluttered, and blue light burst from her entire body as thousands of ice spirits scattered, instantly transforming the surrounding hundred-zhang space into an icy blue world.

The Ice Cloud Domain... activated!

The air suddenly turned bitterly cold. The Sword Master's movements immediately faltered, and his sword momentum weakened significantly. However, while the Ice Cloud Domain was enough to restrict the Sword Master, it wasn't a threat. Ling Tianya indifferently raised his azure sword, and with a piercing sound, a long crack appeared in the icy blue domain.

"The Divine Heavenly Sword Arts can easily cleave through various types of domains," Ling Tianya stated. "Unless you can suppress me with profound energy, using a domain in front of me is useless and will only accelerate your profound energy consumption for nothing." Ling Tianya spoke indifferently. The moment his voice fell, he suddenly felt an incredibly strange aura. His movements paused, and he sharply turned his head to look at Yun Che.

In Yun Che's eyes, a strange cerulean light blossomed. Behind him, a hazy cerulean image flickered—a majestic and imposing shadow roaring to the sky, baring its fangs and claws. Though blurry, it exuded an aura of dominance over the universe... It was a cerulean dragon shadow!

A majestic and domineering dragon's roar came from the horizon, shaking souls and spreading throughout the world. Three feet above Yun Che's head, a pair of cerulean eyes, as deep as the sky and as dazzling as stars, suddenly opened.

Looking at these cerulean eyes, Ling Tianya's entire body stiffened. He froze in place, his pupils slowly dilating until they almost filled his entire eye sockets.

The surrounding light dimmed, turning completely black. He seemed to hear thousands of thunders crashing down, and also a dragon's roar that made heaven and earth tremble. His mind became chaotic; he forgot where he was and what he was doing. Gradually, nightmarish scenes began to appear before his eyes...

He saw himself defeated by Yun Che, his profound energy destroyed, all his meridians severed, and every bone broken. From a proud Sword Master who stood above all, he became a cripple worse than a beggar, unable even to seek death. Then, due to Ling Tianya's pursuit, Yun Che's wrath extended to the entire Heavenly Sword Villa. He killed all of Ling Tianya's descendants, slaughtered all Heavenly Sword disciples, caused terrible fates for all the beautiful female disciples, destroyed all the swords on the Sword Forging Platform, and set the entire Heavenly Sword Villa ablaze. The once prosperous Heavenly Sword Villa, the pinnacle of the Azure Wind Empire, was transformed into the most tragic hell on earth. And as a cripple, Ling Tianya could only watch all of this unfold in endless despair.

At this point, Yun Che appeared before him, sneering. Then, Yun Che suddenly flew into the sky and transformed into a colossal, monstrously huge dragon that filled the heavens. It was ten thousand zhang long, its head alone the size of a mountain. An indescribably vast and terrifying aura pressed down, overwhelming everything. Under this immense pressure, he felt as insignificant as a grain of sand in the universe.

Ling Tianya's entire body trembled uncontrollably, as if seized by a fit. As the Sword Master, this was the first time in his life he felt fear toward anyone, a fear deeply imprinted on his soul, impossible to erase for a lifetime. Under this fear, his limbs grew weak and his entire body trembled. He even felt an impulse to kneel before Yun Che and beg for mercy...

The Dragon Soul Domain was a power that did not belong to this plane, so even Ling Tianya was utterly unable to resist it. His profound energy rapidly weakened, his pupils contracted, and his entire body clearly trembled violently. However, even in Yun Che's peak condition, the Dragon Soul Domain could only last for about five breaths. In his current state, three breaths was the limit.

But those short three breaths were enough to plunge Ling Tianya into the abyss of nightmares!

Three breaths passed, and the Dragon Soul Domain vanished. Ling Tianya's spiritual power was incredibly strong after all; almost instantly, his eyes regained clarity. But Yun Che's Dragon Fault was already less than a foot from his chest, and his body, during those three breaths, had been completely frozen by the Ice Cloud Domain, leaving him unable to move.

Under the dual domains, Ling Tianya's spirit, strength, and defense all crumbled.

"Falling Moon Sinking Star!!"

Boom!!

A fierce sword strike slammed heavily into Ling Tianya's chest.

With a loud bang, the ice layer on Ling Tianya's chest immediately shattered, and he was sent flying like a cannonball. Given Ling Tianya's formidable profound energy, even a solid sword strike from Yun Che would normally make him uncomfortable but not severely injure him. However, under the Dragon Soul Domain, his spirit and profound energy had completely scattered, and the strength of his protective profound energy was less than thirty percent of its usual level. Even as he tried to circulate his profound energy at maximum speed, under the continuous freezing of the Ice Cloud Domain, his entire body was stiff and numb, and the circulation of his profound energy became incredibly slow. Yun Che's "Falling Moon Sinking Star" directly displaced his internal organs.

"Phoenix Wing Heaven's Vault!!"

The Phoenix Flames on Yun Che's body burned fiercely, and Phoenix wings vaguely appeared behind him. He soared into the sky as a reddish light streak, instantly catching up to the retreating Ling Tianya, and Dragon Fault slammed down fiercely...

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom...

The heavy sword continuously hammered Ling Tianya's body, each strike heavier than the last, and each falling strike brought forth earth-shattering roars. The surrounding crowd stood dumbfounded. Even having seen and heard it with their own eyes and ears, they still couldn't believe that such power was unleashed by a sword. The sheer momentum was like divine lightning from the Nine Heavens shaking the world!

It was unimaginable how terrifying the power contained within each of those sword strikes was.

Under the continuous freezing of the Ice Cloud Domain and the relentless bombardment of Dragon Fault, Ling Tianya couldn't even turn over or counterattack. His last remaining profound energy that sustained him was gradually nearing collapse. Yun Che's madly unleashed power was also gradually approaching exhaustion. He took a deep breath, staring at Ling Tianya, who was covered in blood with both arms broken. Dragon Fault was raised high, and the shadow of the Heaven Wailing Wolf appeared behind him...

"Heaven Wolf Slash!!"

"Boss!!"

Just as the Heaven Wolf Slash was about to strike, Ling Jie's hoarse shouts faintly reached his ears. His movements paused slightly, and he immediately withdrew sixty percent of the Heaven Wolf Slash's power.

Bang!!!!

The cerulean wolf shadow struck Ling Tianya's chest, and a burst of blood violently exploded on his chest. Watching that bloom of blood, Yun Che's sword-gripping hands slowly lowered. An irresistible sense of heavy exhaustion assaulted his mind. He let out a long breath and fell weakly.

The Ice Cloud Domain disappeared. A faint shadow flitted, and the falling Yun Che was gently cradled by Xia Qingyue's palm, slowly descending to the ground. On the other side, Ling Tianya also hit the ground heavily. Ling Jie cried out, quickly ran over, and knelt beside him.

This was within the Azure Wind Imperial City, where the crowd was already incredibly dense. Those drawn to this place already numbered over a hundred thousand. But at this moment, such a massive crowd was utterly silent. Everyone stared blankly at the completely destroyed land, almost losing their ability to think...

The Sword Master... the unrivaled number one in Azure Wind... had... lost!

Anyone could see that under the dozen or so continuous sword strikes from Yun Che, Ling Tianya had clearly suffered incredibly severe injuries. Especially the last blow, his chest had completely burst open, and it was possible that even his internal organs were thoroughly destroyed.

This young man, who had only risen to prominence last year, had grown at an unimaginable speed in less than two years, creating one legend after another. First place in the Heavenly Profound Ranking Tournament... disrupting the Burning Heaven Clan Young Master's marriage procession... annihilating the Burning Heaven Clan...

And now, he had actually severely wounded Ling Tianya!!

To defeat the number one person in Azure Wind clearly meant that he was now qualified enough to replace Ling Tianya and become the new number one in Azure Wind!

And he was only nineteen years old this year!!

"How are you?" Xia Qingyue supported Yun Che, feeling his body limp and almost entirely devoid of strength.

All the power Yun Che had suddenly erupted with came from Phoenix Flames. Now, his Phoenix Flames were completely extinguished, and the three drops of Phoenix blood, their power burnt out, had entered a dormant state lasting two to three months. He himself was completely exhausted as a result. Coupled with previously activating the Soul Domain, his spirit had become hazy. No exaggeration, at this moment, any Elementary Profound Realm practitioner could kill Yun Che.

"I'm fine... just a little tired," Yun Che said, calming his breathing and panting heavily. The Dragon Soul Domain, a heaven-defying power that completely suppressed everything on the level of realms and laws, allowed him to forcefully achieve such a result when facing the Sword Master, whom he originally could not have defeated.

Ling Tianya's injuries were extremely severe; he could only barely stand with Ling Jie's support. Since his rise to fame, this was his only defeat, yet he was defeated by a young man whose strength was far inferior to his own. Compared to his physical wounds, the blow to his spirit was far more devastating...

Furthermore, the terrifying Dragon Soul Domain had planted an eternal, unremovable mental demon within his soul.