Chapter 371

Feng Xichen distinctly felt his Phoenix Domain being torn to shreds in an instant, like a piece of tattered cloth. In less than ten breaths, he even lost all connection with his Phoenix Flames. His Phoenix Flames, which he regarded as his pride, glory, and even his life, and which made him almost invincible among those of the same level, were utterly crushed in a flash by a "bastard" who was only at the Earth Profound Realm.

The eyes of everyone present widened like brass bells, each person so shocked they almost lost consciousness. They had only heard rumors of Yun Che's strength — rumors of him single-handedly destroying the Burning Heaven Clan and severely injuring Ling Tianni all described Yun Che's power. However, a thousand such rumors could not compare to the shock of witnessing it firsthand. Feng Xichen had unleashed true King Profound strength, and he possessed not only a Phoenix bloodline but also the royal bloodline of the Divine Phoenix Sect. His power was so immense that no one present even dared to estimate it.

Yet, his Phoenix Flames, and even his domain, were easily crushed by Yun Che.

If the Phoenix Flames from the Phoenix imperial family fared so poorly against Yun Che, the profound flames of the Burning Heaven Clan were even more predictably useless!

Xiao Juetian's forehead was slick with sweat, his spine chilled, and cold air seemed to seep through his teeth. Witnessing Yun Che's terrifying power, he felt both dread and relief — relief that he hadn't stubbornly chosen to fight to the death, but had instead swallowed his pride and compromised. Destroying the Burning Heaven Clan was, at most, an act of extreme viciousness. But daring to challenge a prince of the Divine Phoenix Empire... this was undoubtedly a madman who completely disregarded consequences!

A lunatic with such terrifying power, who feared even the Divine Phoenix Empire not at all—anyone who provoked him would surely be inviting their own destruction!

At this moment, Xiao Juetian made a firm decision. From now on, even if Yun Che trampled the entire Xiao Clan's dignity underfoot, he would greet him with a smile and never dare to offend him in the slightest.

The Blazing Star Flames continued to spread. After devouring Feng Xichen's Phoenix Domain, they rapidly advanced towards him.

Feng Xichen instantly recognized that these flames from Yun Che were Phoenix Flames. However, despite being Phoenix Flames, the intense heat and overwhelming oppressive force of Yun Che's flames caused Feng Xichen's body and bloodline to tremble simultaneously. His body was extremely receptive to Phoenix Flames, yet Yun Che's Phoenix Flames had only just approached, not even touching his body, and his protective profound energy was already significantly distorted and warped. A painful burning sensation, as if his flesh were being torn, emanated from his skin.

At this moment, Feng Xichen was on the verge of a mental breakdown.

"Impossible... impossible! You're just a bastard, a lowly bastard only at the Earth Profound Realm! How could you possibly defeat this King's royal Phoenix bloodline! Die for this King!!"

Feng Xichen's clothes billowed, and a cluster of crimson flames violently ignited from his body. But before these flames could fully erupt, Yun Che's Blazing Star Flames surged forth like a furious tide, engulfing Feng Xichen.

In just five breaths, the Phoenix Flames Feng Xichen had desperately reignited were suppressed until they completely extinguished. Even his protective profound energy rapidly dissolved. Feng Xichen was instantly terrified, feeling the crisis of death for the first time in his life. He cried out, his entire body surging with power, retreating at top speed, and desperately trying to escape the range of the Blazing Star Flames. But before he could even catch his breath, Yun Che's figure appeared before him like a phantom, the Dragon Fault already in his hand, striking directly at Feng Xichen's chest.

The two Divine Phoenix Sect guardians, one black-robed and one red-robed, were already dumbfounded after Feng Xichen's Phoenix Flames were utterly defeated. Seeing Feng Xichen's predicament now, they both paled with alarm and roared, "Stop!!"

Amidst their roars, both charged out like lightning. But just as they moved, a sudden chill enveloped their bodies, causing their movements to stiffen. A white figure flickered; Xia Qingyue, her face veiled by ice mist, with ice spirits swirling around her, stood before them. She spoke calmly and coldly, "Are you trying to gang up on him, or are you old men bullying the young?"

Seeing a young girl, clearly not yet twenty, blocking their path, the two old men snorted disdainfully, "You little girl, how dare you try to stop us! You seek death!"

Before his words faded, the red-robed elder blasted out a palm, unleashing a massive sheet of Phoenix Flames towards Xia Qingyue, intending to blast her away. But before the Phoenix Flames even neared Xia Qingyue, they suddenly froze, then rapidly dissipated, finally turning into scattered ice shards that rained down.

Both the black-robed and red-robed elders were deeply shaken, unable to believe their eyes. At the same time, a chilling aura, as if from hell itself, suddenly assailed them, causing their bodies to stiffen abruptly. As ice spirits swirled around Xia Qingyue, the ground between the two elders suddenly cracked open. A massive ice crystal tree burst from the earth, growing rapidly, and in an instant, it spread countless icy leaves, weaving a dense net of ice that trapped the black-robed and red-robed elders within.

The intensity of the cold that enveloped their bodies far exceeded their imagination. They quickly ignited their Phoenix Flames, attempting to resist. But amidst the icy branches and snowy leaves, their flames rapidly extinguished as soon as they ignited; some flames were even directly frozen into pure energy ice crystals.

When ice profound energy was powerful enough, it could indeed negate Phoenix Flames. Profound flames could indeed be frozen, but they had never heard of Phoenix Flames being frozen! The two, trapped within the icy branches and snowy leaves, struggled with all their might. Yet, even with their combined strength, they were utterly unable to escape. Instead, their bodies grew increasingly rigid from the cold, their blood almost congealing. They looked at Xia Qingyue, bathed in ice spirits before them, like an ice fairy descended from the heavens, and their shock was beyond measure.

How could such individuals appear in the tiny Azure Cloud Nation, the weakest of the Seven Profound Nations?! Yun Che alone defied all common sense. And this girl, who seemed clearly to be around Yun Che's age, was terrifying to this extent as well!! Had Azure Cloud been secretly hiding its strength for centuries?

The successive shocks before them made this absurd thought involuntarily surface in their minds.

On the other side, Yun Che's Dragon Fault had solidly struck Feng Xichen.

Yun Che's greatest strength lay not in his Phoenix Flames, but in his heavy sword. But Feng Xichen clearly didn't know this. Had he fully dodged, he could have completely avoided Yun Che's attack. However, even though he had been utterly defeated by Yun Che's Phoenix Flames, he naively believed that Yun Che's strongest asset *was* his Phoenix Flames. After all, in terms of profound energy, Yun Che was only at the Earth Profound Realm. He simply couldn't believe that someone at the Earth Profound Realm like Yun Che could surpass him in strength. His face grim, he raised his jade fan horizontally, profound energy surging, and struck towards Yun Che's heavy sword.

Ling Tianni, a Level 6 King Profound expert with a century of profound accumulation, had gone to great lengths to avoid a head-on clash with Yun Che's heavy sword. Yet, Feng Xichen, only a Level 2 King Profound expert, chose to meet it head-on! The moment Dragon Fault struck the jade fan, a shattering sound rang out. The jade fan, which contained thousands of precious fire crystals, was directly smashed into pieces. Dragon Fault continued forward, striking Feng Xichen's chest.

*Bang!!!*

Feng Xichen's protective profound energy instantly shattered. At the same time, a flash of light suddenly emanated from his body, and a phoenix cry along with a burst of fiery light shot skyward. Intricate and complex crimson patterns clearly appeared on Feng Xichen's chest, then rapidly vanished. The violent force of Dragon Fault instantly diminished by seventy percent. Concurrently, a powerful counter-force rebounded, sending Yun Che flying far back.

"It's the Divine Phoenix Sect's protective King's artifact... the Phoenix Treasure Robe!" Ling Yun in the crowd whispered, "The Divine Phoenix Sect has a total of twelve such Phoenix Treasure Robes... I didn't expect one to be on him!"

Although seventy percent of the force was negated, Feng Xichen still felt as if his chest had been struck by a million-jin heavy hammer. He violently spat out a stream of blood, flew backward, scattering blood in mid-air, his entire chest a bloody mess.

The black-robed and red-robed elders, struggling within the Ice Serenity Tree, nearly had their eyeballs pop out of their sockets. They, of course, knew perfectly well that Feng Xichen possessed a Phoenix Treasure Robe. His protective profound energy at the King Profound Realm, combined with the renowned Phoenix Treasure Robe, yet he was still sent flying and spitting blood... They simply couldn't believe what terrifying power was contained within Yun Che's single sword strike!!

This was the Yun Che they had believed to be a bastard with wild blood, someone they had never even bothered to look at twice?!

How could he possess such astonishing power!! What kind of monster was this!!

"Your Highness!!"

*Crack!!*

Both roared in unison, their bodies blazing with flames, finally melting away the restraints of the Ice Serenity Tree. Disregarding everything else, they quickly rushed to Feng Xichen and helped him up from the ground.

Feng Xichen's eyes were vacant, and his body felt utterly weak. Protected by the Phoenix Treasure Robe, his physical injuries were not severe, but the mental blow he had suffered was a thousand times worse than his wounds. He was a dignified prince of the Divine Phoenix Empire, a figure who could dominate the entire Profound Sky Continent. In this small Azure Cloud Nation, he could walk around arrogantly, not even putting the Azure Cloud Emperor in his eyes, capable of single-handedly crushing a large sect at will. No one who saw him dared to offend him in the slightest.

His arrival in Azure Cloud Nation should have been a show of might, where everyone he saw was like an ant...

Yet, in this small Azure Cloud Nation, he was beaten helplessly, utterly humiliated, by someone younger than him, with a profound energy level far below his own... someone he had mocked and even called a "bastard." This thoroughly disgraced him as a Divine Phoenix Prince and brought utter shame to the entire Divine Phoenix Sect.

"Go... Go!!" Feng Xichen snarled through gritted teeth, not even turning his head. Having lost all face and dignity, he simply couldn't bear to stay any longer.

The black-robed and red-robed elders said nothing more. They simultaneously glanced back at Yun Che and Xia Qingyue, then prepared to take Feng Xichen and leave.

"Hold on!"

Just as their steps began, Yun Che's cold voice suddenly came from behind them. "Trying to leave? Heh! Did I give you permission?! You trespassed without an invitation, not only disrupting my wedding ceremony but also insulting my bloodline and even attempting to kill me. And now you think you can just walk away? Do you take this place for an amusement park where you can come and go as you please?!"

As Yun Che's words left his mouth, Cang Wanhe and the others were greatly alarmed. With Feng Xichen and his companions about to leave, they had originally breathed a huge sigh of relief, wishing they would depart immediately; this was the best outcome they could have hoped for. But unexpectedly, just as they were about to leave, Yun Che intended to stop them.

The black-robed and red-robed elders halted. The black-robed elder turned around and sneered. "Yun Che! Do you truly believe that my Divine Phoenix Sect is someone you can afford to provoke?"

"Divine Phoenix Sect?" Yun Che also sneered. "I don't care if you're the Divine Phoenix Sect or some 'Wild Hen Ghost Gate,' if you provoke me, I will make you pay a price you'll never forget! Whether I can afford to provoke the Divine Phoenix Sect, I don't know, and I don't need to know right now. Because right now, it's enough that I can afford to provoke the three of you!!"

"You want to leave? Fine!" Yun Che extended his hand, pointing at Feng Xichen. "Leave behind his right hand and right leg, and then you can freely scram!"