Chapter 440: Dragon Gate, Phoenix God

The aura of a Profound King sword and a Profound King spear—these two Profound King artifacts alone caused a massive disruption in the airflow throughout the entire Phoenix Stage. Feng Xiluo glanced sideways at Yun Che's Dragon Fault, his eyebrows raising slightly. The Phoenix God Spear in his hand had a history of over three thousand years, having endured countless battles and refinements. It had long since developed its own spirit, and only the strongest of the Phoenix Divine Sect's younger generation were deemed worthy of possessing it. When the Phoenix God Spear was wielded, all other spears trembled.

However, at this moment on the Phoenix Stage, the aura of Dragon Fault remarkably stood on par with that of the Phoenix God Spear, matching it equally! His proud Phoenix God Spear was actually unable to suppress a Profound King heavy sword wielded by an Azure Cloud profound practitioner!

But his attention quickly shifted away from Dragon Fault. It mattered not to him that Yun Che held a King Sword no weaker than the Phoenix God Spear; even if it were a Tyrant Sword, he wouldn't be concerned. He casually held his spear with one hand and extended the other towards Yun Che, leaving himself wide open, his disdain for Yun Che completely unconcealed. "Make your move," he sneered. "I wouldn't deign to attack a presumptuous mongrel like you first."

"Oh really? I'm just the opposite."

Yun Che scoffed, stepping forward. Phoenix flames vigorously erupted around him, rapidly spreading to Dragon Fault. An astonishing aura, like a volcanic eruption, suddenly burst forth as he thrust his sword directly at Feng Xiluo's face. Relying on the Heavenly Profound Cosmic Pellet to forcefully boost his profound energy, Yun Che's overall strength at this moment far surpassed what it was when he first fought Feng Chihuo. And for every level his profound energy increased, his power amplified several times more than that of an average profound practitioner. Therefore, even when facing Feng Xiluo, whose strength was comparable to or even surpassed Feng Chihuo's, Yun Che remained fearless.

"A decent aura, I suppose. But... it's utterly useless."

Facing Yun Che's astonishingly powerful flaming heavy sword attack, Feng Xiluo maintained a faint smile and a composed demeanor. His right hand, gripping the Phoenix God Spear, remained across his body, showing no sign of attacking. He simply extended his left hand unhurriedly, and a lightning-fast, sharp Phoenix flame beam shot out to meet the attack.

*Screech!*

The Phoenix flames on Dragon Fault collided with Feng Xiluo's fire beam mid-air. Instantly, an extremely piercing tearing sound echoed, and wisps of green smoke rose between the two fiery lights. Following this, the Phoenix flames on Dragon Fault were ripped apart as if they were a sheet of paper, instantly torn in two.

Cold sneers appeared on the faces of the Divine Phoenix Nation's profound practitioners and Phoenix disciples, mocking Yun Che's overestimation of his abilities. Ling Jie and Hua Minghai's hearts immediately leapt into their throats. Yun Che's sword strike had an absolutely powerful aura, but Feng Xiluo was a terrifying Eighth Level Monarch! Yun Che's formidable strength was utterly no threat in the face of Feng Xiluo's absolutely overwhelming power. To describe it as unable to withstand a single blow would not be an exaggeration.

"Heh, trash is just tr—" Feng Xiluo was full of disdain, but his sneer had barely formed before it froze on his face. While the Phoenix flames had indeed been easily torn apart by him, behind them, a mountain-like impact force suddenly surged forward. This force was so immense that it instantly made him hold his breath.

The Phoenix flames Yun Che released were merely ordinary Phoenix fire, not utilizing the Phoenix Ode to the World Canon. Feng Xiluo, possessing the Phoenix bloodline and having cultivated the Phoenix Ode to the World Canon, naturally found it easy to control ordinary Phoenix flames. However, it was absolutely impossible for him to tear through the heavy sword's incomparably violent power!

Feng Xiluo was slightly startled. The Phoenix flames in his hand immediately erupted with full force, but the might of Yun Che's heavy sword far exceeded his expectations. His arm sank, and his body was directly pushed backward. His gaze sharpened, and he swung his right arm. The Phoenix God Spear, which he had initially held still with overconfidence, burst forth with a sky-reaching murderous aura, like a fierce flaming beast, smashing heavily towards Dragon Fault.

*Boom!*

The Phoenix God Spear and Dragon Fault violently collided. Countless Phoenix fire beams sprayed outwards, scattering into crimson fire snakes dancing across the sky. An immense force exploded between the two, like the sudden eruption of a small volcano. Feng Xiluo's gaze darkened. His subsequent force erupted, causing the Phoenix flames on the Phoenix God Spear to immediately surge several times in power, directly sending Yun Che flying into the air.

*Bang!*

Yun Che spun once in mid-air and landed steadily about sixty feet away. Feng Xiluo, too, recoiled under the impact, his upper body arching back, and he took a heavy step backward. Although it was only one step, for him, it was an utter humiliation.

Ling Jie and Hua Minghai immediately breathed a long sigh of relief. Although the outcome seemed to show one knocked back and the other only forced to take a step back by a hurried spear strike, Yun Che was still far from Feng Xiluo's level. However, not being severely injured and defeated in a single exchange, and even making the Phoenix Divine Sect's number one genius retreat a step, was quite comforting.

"Not bad, quite impressive," Feng Xiluo said, holding his Phoenix God Spear horizontally and slowly nodding, his face showing the appreciation of a strong person towards a weaker one. "I didn't expect you to be a little stronger than I anticipated. Although I only used a third of my strength, you did force me to block with the Phoenix God Spear, so that's commendable."

Yun Che merely maintained a calm expression, not even bothering to smile.

"Very well. Since I've already brought out the Phoenix God Spear, I'll let you properly experience its power. Though both are King artifacts, an artifact is, after all, inanimate. How much power it can unleash ultimately depends on its master. Hold tightly to your King Sword and try to let me play for a while longer; don't let it slip from your grasp in just a few moves." Feng Xiluo held the Phoenix God Spear horizontally across his chest, a faint, judging smile on his face. The invisible aura emanating from the Phoenix God Spear subtly warped the surrounding space.

Yun Che's lips twitched in a smile that wasn't quite a smile. Feng Xiluo was undeniably a genius, and moreover, the top genius within a premier sect like the Phoenix Divine Sect. However, "genius" often coexists with "arrogance," and this holds true at any level. Especially for those who grew up amidst praise and others' admiration, never encountering a rival among their peers, even if they appeared humble on the surface, their hearts had long since grown accustomed to habitually disregarding everyone.

This included Yun Che himself.

What differed for Yun Che was that, despite his pride, he would never deliberately belittle any opponent.

"Alright then, let the game begin... make sure you're ready!"

Feng Xiluo swept his Phoenix God Spear, and his entire body instantly erupted with Phoenix flames, sending a scorching wave of air surging in all directions. The Phoenix God Spear, enveloped in flames, trembled incessantly and emitted cries like a phoenix, as if it had come to life.

The Phoenix Stage beneath Feng Xiluo's feet suddenly cracked.

This time, Feng Xiluo initiated the attack. He thrust his long spear, unleashing a storm of flames that rushed towards Yun Che like a tsunami. The cracked jade stones beneath his feet were swept up by the flame storm and pulverized into dust in mid-air.

"Oh dear, it seems His Royal Highness is getting a little serious now. It looks like being forced to use the Phoenix God Spear earlier displeased him greatly," a Phoenix disciple commented.

"Pah! His Royal Highness was just careless. If he had put even a bit more strength into his earlier attack, would a kid like Yun Che have been worthy of making His Royal Highness use the Phoenix God Spear? But it does seem that His Royal Highness is truly displeased. This Yun Che kid... hehe, he's finished. I can't even imagine how miserable he's going to be."

The airflow above the entire Phoenix Stage became utterly chaotic, and the terrifying aura caused the space itself to visibly expand. Facing this incredibly powerful strike, a deep solemnity appeared on Yun Che's face. He activated "Burning Heart," bringing forth blazing Phoenix flames, and fearlessly met the attack head-on. Violent profound energy surged into Dragon Fault, and with a "Falling Moon Sinking Star" strike, he fiercely slammed into the flame storm.

"Courting death!" Seeing that Yun Che didn't defend or retreat but instead actively met the attack, the same two words popped into the minds of all the Divine Phoenix profound practitioners.

*Boom boom boom boom!*

Successive profound energy explosions roared madly, and the splashing Phoenix flames danced wildly across the sky like a sudden downpour driven by a fierce wind. The surface of the Phoenix Stage beneath their feet violently cracked, and fine fissures spread rapidly like a spiderweb, with the longest one extending directly to the edge of the stage.

The Phoenix Stage was the Phoenix Divine Sect's internal competition ground and was naturally incredibly sturdy. It wasn't paved with ordinary stone but with exceptionally hard jade. During the previous Six Nations War, no matter how fierce the battles, the jade on the Phoenix Stage had not been damaged in the slightest. Yet now, with the collision of their two artifacts, such a large area of the Phoenix Stage had cracked apart.

"This... what kind of power is this?!"

All the profound practitioners from the five nations trembled with fear. They had personally experienced the hardness of the Phoenix Stage; their full-strength strikes barely left a small dent on it. Just what terrifying power was erupting on the stage now?!

After one final energy explosion, the two separated amidst flying flames and shattered jade, then landed near the edge of the Phoenix Stage. Feng Xiluo landed steadily, and Yun Che... also landed steadily.

"Wh-what?!"

Everyone was dumbfounded. The Divine Phoenix Empire's people had their eyes bulging out, simply unable to believe what they were seeing.

Everyone had clearly witnessed the terrifying power of Feng Xiluo's previous spear strike, which had even cracked the incredibly hard Phoenix Stage.

But Yun Che had actually blocked it... and completely so!

Throughout its five-thousand-year history, the Phoenix Divine Sect, with the Phoenix Ode to the World Canon as its core and foundation, had derived numerous cultivation methods and profound arts. What Feng Xiluo cultivated was the immensely powerful "Absolute Flame Phoenix God Spear," and his last move was the formidable "Phoenix Dance of the Eight Desolations" from that technique.

He had been secretly vexed about being forced to use the Phoenix God Spear by Yun Che's previous attack, so he had intended to directly crush Yun Che with a "Phoenix Dance of the Eight Desolations." He never could have imagined that Yun Che would completely block it.

Yun Che, standing opposite him, not only remained perfectly steady but also had a calm expression, showing no sign of injury, and even his breathing was not disordered in the slightest. At that moment, his figure suddenly flickered, giving no chance to breathe as he abruptly appeared in front of Feng Xiluo, sweeping his sword towards his waist. The surging profound energy storm caused Feng Xiluo's phoenix robe to billow around him.

"Phoenix Sweeps Heavenly Gate!" Feng Xiluo's face darkened, and his Phoenix God Spear whistled out, bringing with it sky-rushing waves of fire.

*Bang!*

The Phoenix God Spear fiercely struck Dragon Fault. A fierce dragon's roar and a sharp phoenix cry simultaneously rang out, and the Phoenix flames of both combatants were torn into thousands of chaotic, dancing tongues of fire. The burning air hissed.

*Boom boom boom boom boom boom boom boom boom...*

The flames shot higher and higher, engulfing more than half of the Phoenix Stage in countless tongues of fire. The two individuals, with their two King artifacts, were like two ferocious giant sharks furiously tearing at each other in a sea of fire, colliding violently and densely. Each collision caused the Phoenix Stage to tremble intensely.

Even the entire arena was faintly trembling.

The Divine Phoenix profound practitioners' expressions changed, as did those of the six nations' profound practitioners. Even the grandmasters of the Phoenix Divine Sect wore solemn expressions.

Yun Che, facing Feng Xiluo, who was now using the Phoenix God Spear... was still not losing ground!

Throughout the entire venue, almost everyone simply couldn't believe what their eyes were seeing.

Especially the profound practitioners from the six nations, their souls were constantly trembling deeply. Those terrifying collisions, the incredibly horrifying power, the continuously cracking Phoenix Stage... was this truly a battle between two young people?

Feng Xiluo's power was understandable, as he possessed the royal bloodline of the Phoenix Divine Sect and was hailed as the sect's foremost genius of this generation. But Yun Che originated from Azure Cloud, and he was even three years younger than Feng Xiluo. How on earth did he cultivate to be so powerful?!

The profound practitioners from the five nations who had previously fought Yun Che were all stunned. They had initially held grudges against Yun Che for sweeping them aside so quickly and even injuring them, but now, seeing Yun Che's true strength, they realized that he had completely held back against them. If Yun Che had wanted to kill them all, it would have taken no effort whatsoever.