Chapter 374: 惨就一个字

Feng Xichen, the Thirteenth Prince of the Divine Phoenix Empire, had lived a life of luxury, feared and flattered by others. He had never experienced any humiliation, let alone the utter disgrace of having his head trampled into the ground. His mind buzzed, and he struggled desperately, but the weight pressing down on his head and body felt like an immense mountain. Even if he hadn't been injured, he wouldn't have been able to break free.

Despite his utmost efforts, his body only twitched violently, unable to escape even slightly. From where his head was pressed into the ground, a continuous stream of muffled, hoarse whimpers emanated.

The Black and Red Elders, their bodies reeling and profound energy in disarray from Yun Che's Heaven Wolf Slash, nearly had their eyes pop out at the sight of Feng Xichen's plight. Disregarding their own recovery, they scrambled towards Yun Che, roaring, "Release His Highness! Otherwise, our Phoenix Divine Sect will surely exterminate your nine generations and make your life worse than death!"

Yun Che had heard such threats countless times in his two lives. Pressing the full weight of the Dragon Fault onto Feng Xichen's head, he laughed wildly. "Fine! I'll wait for your Phoenix Divine Sect to exterminate my nine generations! Whether you succeed or not, I don't know, but since you've uttered those words, this pathetic wretch beneath my foot must die today. Tsk, I only wanted an arm and a leg from him, but you forced me to take his life. So, in your Divine Phoenix Empire, a prince's life is just a plaything!"

As his voice faded, Yun Che's expression instantly turned cold. He raised the Dragon Fault, a terrifying aura coalescing around the sword, ready to strike down.

"Stop!"

Threatening with the mighty Phoenix Divine Sect had not only failed but had been directly used by Yun Che as a reason to kill Feng Xichen. Yun Che's unhesitating action stunned the Black and Red Elders, almost making them kneel on the spot. It was then that they finally realized that faced with Yun Che, a "madman" who disregarded consequences, deterrence, threats, and intimidation were utterly useless. Even with Prince Feng Xichen's royal status, Yun Che would still take his life without hesitation!

The two elders were no match for Yun Che, and Feng Xichen's life was in his grasp. The Black and Red Elders dared not act rashly. Although they wished they could tear Yun Che to shreds, they had to suppress their anger. The black-robed elder took a deep breath, composed his expression, and gritted his teeth, saying, "Yun Che, we admit defeat today. Release His Highness immediately. As long as you let him go, we will absolutely not attack you again today, and we will leave at once!"

"Hahahaha!" Yun Che threw his head back and laughed as if he had heard the funniest joke. He scoffed, "What you're saying is utterly ridiculous! As if I'm afraid of you attacking me!" He hooked a finger at the two elders. "I won't release him. Go on, attack me then! Come on!"

"You!" The black-robed elder's face twisted grotesquely, almost making him vomit blood. The red-robed elder gritted his teeth and took a step forward, saying, "Yun Che, don't be so extreme in your actions..." He stopped mid-sentence as he saw Yun Che's face immediately darken. His heart sank, and he instantly dared not utter another word of threat. His expression and tone softened rapidly. "Today's events, it is true that we were the first to offend. As long as you release our prince and allow us to leave, we can let bygones be bygones regarding today's matter... oh no, we can pretend it never happened and won't mention it to anyone." He glanced around the gathered crowd. "And the people present, I believe none of them will spread this. Otherwise, our Phoenix Divine Sect will surely exterminate their entire clan."

Although the name "Phoenix Divine Sect" seemed to hold no deterrent effect over Yun Che, for everyone else, it was a threat nothing short of divine! As soon as the red-robed elder spoke, everyone's faces changed dramatically, and they became as silent as cicadas in winter, wishing they could nod vigorously on the spot to show their absolute resolve not to spread the news to anyone.

For such words to come from the mouths of Phoenix Divine Sect members, they sounded utterly subservient. In history, no one from the Azure Cloud Nation had ever managed to make Phoenix Divine Sect members display such a pleading demeanor.

"Is that so?" Yun Che cast a contemptuous glance, slowly saying, "What you're saying is an insult to my intelligence. You followed this damn prince to my Azure Cloud Nation, swaggering about, only to be utterly humiliated by a junior from my country. If this news gets out, tsk tsk, you'll drag the entire Phoenix Divine Sect's reputation through the mud. The once arrogant Phoenix Divine Sect will become a laughing stock for all nations. As for the consequences, this damn prince certainly won't die, but you two old geezers? Being sliced into a thousand pieces would be getting off lightly. You two are arguably the people in this world who least want this matter to spread. You probably wish you could silence everyone present, and yet you're trying to use this as leverage? Are you taking me for an idiot?"

Yun Che's words struck at the core of the Black and Red Elders' vulnerability, causing their bodies to tremble violently. At the same time, it enlightened some of the onlookers. They suddenly understood why Yun Che dared to be so arrogant in front of the three from the Phoenix Divine Sect. As the strongest of the Seven Profound Nations, the Divine Phoenix Empire had always been a hegemonic power, with none of the other six nations daring to challenge its might. Even if the other six nations united, they would certainly not be a match for the Divine Phoenix Empire. And the Phoenix Divine Sect was the overlord of the Divine Phoenix Empire.

No one had ever dared to defy the might of the Phoenix Divine Sect, nor had anyone ever been able to trample upon its dignity.

Yet today, three King Profound practitioners of the Phoenix Divine Sect, including a true prince, had been single-handedly defeated by a mere seventeen-year-old in the weakest nation, the Azure Cloud Nation. Even the prince's head had been trampled underfoot. If this news spread, it would be the greatest humiliation in the Phoenix Divine Sect's history! It could even significantly impact the Phoenix Divine Sect's deterrent power across the Profound Sky Continent. The architect of this humiliation, Feng Xichen, as a prince, would at most receive some punishment. However, the Black and Red Elders would very likely be subjected to extreme penalties. Therefore, just as Yun Che said, even if they couldn't retaliate against Yun Che with the Phoenix Divine Sect's power, they were absolutely unwilling for these events to be known by their sect and the world.

Yun Che seemed to have been certain of this from the very beginning.

The Black and Red Elders' faces turned beet red. The red-robed elder trembled, pointing at Yun Che. "Yun Che, don't go too far!"

"I'm going too far!?" Yun Che sneered coldly. "I don't know you, and we have no grievances. Yet, you came uninvited on my wedding day, not only mocking and humiliating me and disrupting my wedding ceremony but also attempting to kill me. And now you dare to say I'm going too far? Ha, those four words of yours are not only ridiculous, but they also annoy me. And people who annoy me, I always make them even more annoyed!"

With a fierce shout, Yun Che's Dragon Fault suddenly slammed down hard onto Feng Xichen's body.

*Boom!*

The violent force of the heavy sword exploded on Feng Xichen's body. The distinct sound of bones cracking and a painful shriek from beneath the ground instantly echoed far and wide. With that single strike, Feng Xichen suffered over a dozen broken bones, ruptured meridians, and countless burst blood vessels. His entire body was like a leaking blood bag, soaked in blood.

"Your Highness! You—!"

"What about me?" Yun Che narrowed his eyes and raised the heavy sword again. "Do you still want to say I'm going too far? It doesn't matter, you can say whatever you want. I just don't know if this poor wretch beneath my foot can survive my next strike."

"You—you—you..." The Black and Red Elders felt a chill spread through their bodies, their faces devoid of color. Staring at the half-dead Feng Xichen, they couldn't utter a complete sentence for a long time.

Cang Wanhe quickly stepped forward at this moment and said, "Yun Che, the Divine Phoenix Prince is still young, and thus acts impulsively. However, ultimately, no severe consequences have resulted. Whatever his faults, he is a guest from afar and has now learned his lesson. They have also promised to forget today's events. If you truly kill the Divine Phoenix Prince, it will benefit neither party. Why don't you release him?"

Yun Che, of course, didn't genuinely intend to kill Feng Xichen; otherwise, he would have done so already. Severely injuring Feng Xichen meant that for the sake of their reputation and to avoid severe punishment, they might try their best to conceal the matter, swallowing all the humiliation and heavy injuries. However, if he truly killed Feng Xichen, that would be a completely different scenario. Yun Che was very aware that he was currently no match for the Phoenix Divine Sect.

He needed to vent his anger, but he couldn't kill the prince. The best setup, naturally, was through Cang Wanhe. He knew Cang Wanhe would intervene at the right moment.

When Cang Wanhe spoke, Yun Che, who had been arrogant moments before, immediately adopted a respectful demeanor. After listening attentively, he only took a few seconds to respectfully say, "Although my heart is filled with resentment, since it is His Majesty's command, Yun Che will naturally comply."

Having said this, Yun Che removed his foot from Feng Xichen's head. Then, with a swift kick, he sent the prince, whose head had been embedded in the ground, flying towards the Black and Red Elders. The two rushed forward and caught the blood-soaked Feng Xichen.

"Hmph. You disrupted my wedding and tried to kill me. I originally intended to slay all of you here, but since His Majesty has pleaded on your behalf, I will spare you. Now, quickly thank my Azure Cloud Emperor for his grace!"

Although Cang Wanhe was an emperor, the core figures of major sects had always treated him with only superficial respect, their eyes showing disdain; some even bothered with no pretense at all. But today, Yun Che, who had thoroughly defeated the Phoenix Divine Sect and shocked the Azure Cloud's heroes, treated him with utmost respect and directly "obeyed" his words. For the first time in his many years on the throne, Cang Wanhe experienced an overwhelming sense of prestige, even involuntarily straightening his back. Endless gratitude immediately welled up in his heart for Yun Che. He understood clearly that Yun Che's simple attitude would allow him, Cang Wanhe, to truly become the commanding emperor of Azure Cloud after more than twenty years on the throne!