Chapter 381: Ice Cloud Male Disciple

The Frozen Cloud Asgard was home to several Frozen Cloud Secret Realms. Its mysterious Grand Palace Mistress had long cultivated in one of these realms. Yun Che and Xia Qingyue followed Gong Yuxian downwards until they arrived before an ice chamber.

"Senior Martial Aunt, Yun Che has arrived," Gong Yuxian respectfully announced at the entrance to the ice chamber.

A slightly aged female voice then emerged from within: "Come in."

As the voice faded, the tightly shut ice chamber door slowly opened, and countless ice crystals drifted out from within the ice chamber, lingering in the air.

In the center of the ice chamber, a woman with a face as serene as water and half-white hair sat upon a blue ice jade. The ice jade slowly emitted a cold mist, shrouding her entire body in a hazy, icy veil. As Gong Yuxian and the two others entered, her closed eyes opened, revealing a gaze that was both calm and vast, settling directly on Yun Che.

She was the previous Palace Mistress of the Frozen Cloud Asgard and now its Grand Palace Mistress — Feng Qianhui.

"Disciple Gong Yuxian greets Senior Martial Aunt."

"Disciple Xia Qingyue greets Grand Palace Mistress."

The aged woman raised a hand and said lightly, "No need for formalities. Sit down... You are Yun Che?"

The person before him was clearly another figure at the pinnacle of the Azure Wind Profound Realm. From her, Yun Che even felt an oppressive aura almost on par with Ling Tianni's. He took a step forward and bowed, "Junior Yun Che greets Senior."

Feng Qianhui's gaze swept over Yun Che, and she nodded slowly. Suddenly, her eyes flickered, and she swung her arm, causing dozens of ice crystals to condense in the air and fly towards Yun Che's chest.

Yun Che showed no surprise at Feng Qianhui's sudden move. He remained still, chest slightly puffed out, not even activating his protective profound energy, but instead met the attack directly with his body.

Bang, bang, bang, bang...

All the ice crystals landed squarely on Yun Che, but shattered instantly upon contact, dispersing into fragments. Yun Che, however, showed no signs of injury whatsoever.

A deep astonishment flashed in Feng Qianhui's eyes. Although the ice crystals just now only carried half of her strength, even a Sky Profound expert would find it extremely difficult to withstand. Yet, the young man before her, only at the Earth Profound Realm, had not even used profound energy defense, relying solely on his physical body to endure the attack without a scratch. For this alone, it would be impossible to find a second person like him in the entire Azure Wind Continent.

However, Feng Qianhui's test was far from over. As all the ice crystals fell, she extended both hands, her hair floated up, and ice spirits danced around her body. A majestic surge of Frozen Cloud energy was unleashed, making the already small ice chamber feel as if it had instantly plunged into an icy abyss.

As Feng Qianhui rapidly changed her hand seals, seven enormous ice lotuses blossomed around Yun Che, vying with each other. Though also ice lotuses, these Frozen Cloud Lotuses from Feng Qianhui were incomparable to those Xia Qingyue had once summoned. The Frozen Cloud energy contained within each lotus was enough to completely freeze a ten-mile lake.

A glint appeared in Yun Che's eyes. Without waiting for the seven ice lotuses to transform, he instantly grasped the Heaven Smiting Sword, activated Burning Heart, and moved with Star God's Broken Shadow. In the blink of an eye, the Heaven Smiting Sword unleashed seven incomparably domineering strikes.

As the seventh strike fell, the Heaven Smiting Sword also vanished from his hand.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

Deafening explosions instantly filled the entire ice chamber. The freshly bloomed ice lotuses, before they could even unleash their Frozen Cloud might, exploded like a string of firecrackers. They transformed into tiny ice crystals fluttering everywhere, which were then swept to the edges of the chamber by the still-dissipating heavy sword storm, coating the walls in a thick layer of ice.

Feng Qianhui's arms froze in mid-air, a look of profound shock flashing in her eyes. Hearing about it was nothing compared to witnessing it firsthand. Two rounds of testing were enough for her to realize just how terrifying Yun Che's strength truly was. Moreover, his profound energy realm was indeed an unbelievably low Earth Profound Realm.

"Good!" Feng Qianhui exclaimed in admiration. "It seems your title as the 'Foremost in Azure Wind' is no exaggeration. You are truly the greatest genius in Azure Wind's history."

Yun Che humbly replied, "Senior, you flatter me. This junior is still young and his foundation is shallow, absolutely incomparable to a figure of your caliber. The so-called 'Foremost in Azure Wind' is merely a jest; this junior is truly unworthy of such praise."

Feng Qianhui said, "I've heard you annihilated the Burning Heaven Clan, gravely wounded the Divine Emperor's Prince, acted without restraint, and displayed boundless arrogance. Why be coy in front of me? ...Sit down."

Yun Che sat down opposite Feng Qianhui as instructed.

"My given name is Feng Qianhui; you may call me Granny Qianhui. With your current strength and renown, you could easily disregard my request to see you. There is hardly anyone in the entire Azure Wind Continent who qualifies to make you travel for a meeting. So why did you come all this way to this extremely northern land to meet me?" Feng Qianhui looked at Yun Che as she spoke, her expression showing that this was not a casual question.

Yun Che's attitude towards the Frozen Cloud Asgard would determine her next decision.

"Well..." Yun Che glanced sideways at Gong Yuxian and Xia Qingyue. "Senior, do you want to hear the truth?"

"Of course, the truth."

"Very well, this junior will speak frankly," Yun Che said straightforwardly, puffing out his chest. "The reason is actually very simple: Qingyue is a disciple of the Frozen Cloud Asgard, and Qingyue is also my wife. I was afraid that if I didn't come, it might put my wife Qingyue in a difficult position, so I came."

Xia Qingyue: "..."

"Yun Che, do not spout nonsense in front of the Grand Palace Mistress!" Gong Yuxian said with a cold, furrowed brow.

"It's fine," Feng Qianhui said, smiling faintly as she looked into Yun Che's eyes. "He is not speaking nonsense; what he just said should be what he truly thinks. Yun Che, I heard that you annihilated the entire Burning Heaven Clan in a fit of rage because your family was abducted by them, and that you came to see me simply to avoid putting Qingyue in a difficult spot. It seems you value loyalty and affection more than power... Very good. Do you know why I've always wanted to meet you?"

"Please enlighten me, Senior." Yun Che could roughly guess sixty or seventy percent of the reason but wasn't entirely certain. Before today, he had never heard any rumors about the Frozen Cloud Asgard's Grand Palace Mistress, not even her name. She clearly no longer interfered in worldly affairs, but now she suddenly wished to see him. Obviously, it must be due to a significant matter concerning the Frozen Cloud Asgard, something Gong Yuxian could not decide on her own.

Feng Qianhui slowly said, "I am fully aware of your matter with my palace's disciple, Chu Yuechan. Since you were united with Yuechan, you naturally came to know a great secret of the Frozen Cloud Arts. For two years now, you have possessed my Frozen Cloud Asgard's core profound art... the Frozen Cloud Arts. Do you deny this?"

"Indeed, I possess the Frozen Cloud Arts. However, I have never used them in front of anyone, nor have I ever told anyone about this," Yun Che admitted frankly.

Feng Qianhui continued, "A sect's profound art is its soul and a forbidden secret that absolutely cannot be transmitted to outsiders! Whether it's leaking a sect's profound art or secretly learning another sect's, both are among the greatest taboos in the Profound Realm! In any sect, when a disciple is expelled, the first thing to do is to abolish their sect's profound art. Yuechan grew up in the Frozen Cloud Asgard and was the leader of the Seven Fairies of Frozen Cloud; even so, she had no choice but to cripple her profound art before leaving the Ice Palace... Yet, you are not a disciple of my Frozen Cloud Asgard, but you possess the Frozen Cloud Arts, which are our sect's profound art. This is why I wanted to see you. Although I believe you won't transmit it to others, and you may not even value our mere Frozen Cloud Arts, for my Frozen Cloud Asgard, this is a matter that absolutely cannot be ignored!"

Yun Che pondered for a moment, then asked, "Senior, what do you wish for me to do?"

"You have two choices," Feng Qianhui said solemnly. "The first choice is to allow me to abolish your Frozen Cloud Arts. Water and fire are opposing elements; you possess the Phoenix bloodline, so ice-elemental profound arts are inherently ill-suited for you. They might even cause a burden and damage to your profound veins due to elemental conflict. Therefore, abolishing the Frozen Cloud Arts should not be an unacceptable matter for you."

As for merely abolishing the Frozen Cloud Arts, Yun Che truly had no reluctance. As the Frozen Cloud Asgard's profound art, it was undoubtedly an incredibly powerful profound art in the eyes of ordinary people. However, compared to the Evil God, Vanishing God, Heaven Wolf, and Phoenix arts that Yun Che possessed, it was far too weak. In combat, Yun Che never used it; for the same profound energy expenditure, the Phoenix Flame's power far surpassed that of the Frozen Cloud Arts. When he occasionally used it, it was only to conceal his aura with the Frozen Cloud Barrier.

But this Frozen Cloud Art came from Chu Yuechan! It was bestowed upon him by Chu Yuechan using her virgin yin essence, and it had even become an unbreakable link between him and Chu Yuechan. With Chu Yuechan's whereabouts unknown, it had become the only trace she left within his body.

Therefore, he absolutely refused to have the Frozen Cloud Arts abolished.

"I wish to hear the second choice," Yun Che said decisively, without much thought.

Feng Qianhui looked deeply at Yun Che and said, "The second choice is to join my Frozen Cloud Asgard and become a disciple of the Frozen Cloud Asgard."

Feng Qianhui's words were utterly astonishing; none of the three had expected her to say such a thing. Before Yun Che could respond, Gong Yuxian had already stood up, exclaiming, "Senior Martial Aunt, this..."

"No need for further words," Feng Qianhui said calmly, raising a hand to stop Gong Yuxian from speaking. "I have my reasons."

Gong Yuxian opened her mouth but said nothing more. Beside her, Xia Qingyue also showed a look of astonishment.

"This... as far as I know, since its inception, the Frozen Cloud Asgard has always only accepted female disciples, never male ones. Senior, could it be that you... intend to make an exception because of this junior?" Yun Che asked, quite unsteadily.

"The reason my palace has always only accepted female disciples is that the female physique is more yin-aligned, making it more suitable for cultivating the Frozen Cloud Arts," Feng Qianhui slowly continued. "Additionally, while the notion that romantic love hinders Frozen Cloud Arts cultivation is false, the secret of the Frozen Cloud Arts being transmissible through a maiden's primordial yin is the primary reason for not accepting male disciples. However, without harming the core principles of the sect, the sect rules can be slightly adapted. You are Qingyue's husband in name, and you possess the Frozen Cloud Arts inherited from Yuechan, thus already having a great destiny and connection with my Frozen Cloud Asgard. With the strength and renown you currently possess, if you were to join my Frozen Cloud Asgard, it would greatly enhance the influence of my Ice Palace. After weighing the options, if you are unwilling to abolish the Frozen Cloud Arts, I can make an exception and accept you as the first male disciple in the Frozen Cloud Asgard's history."