Chapter 442: Phoenix Flame Scorching the Sky

"He... he's not dead!!"

"Not only is he not dead, he doesn't even seem to be seriously injured."

"Such a powerful attack, it even shaved a layer off the Phoenix Platform, yet he didn't die... How is this possible?!"

The entire arena practically erupted. This was undoubtedly the most incredible and unbelievable scene they had ever witnessed in their lives.

Even the four individuals from the Sacred Grounds clearly showed a hint of shock on their faces.

"Ah... ah... ah..." Ling Jie's mouth hung open, unable to close for a long time. Yun Che wasn't dead, and evidently wasn't even seriously injured. But his initial feeling wasn't surprise; it was the same shock, even terror, as everyone else. Every single person had watched him get sucked into the center of that terrifying Phoenix Moon, then subjected to the concentrated bombardment of thousands of spear lights... Under such circumstances, how could he still be alive?!

"Oh my god... this freak... an absolute freak!!" Hua Minghai, who had "seen the world" and claimed to be one of the most powerful figures on the entire Profound Sky Continent, was so stunned his eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

Amidst the flames, Yun Che looked directly at Feng Xiluo and took a step forward. This step made Feng Xiluo, who was still in shock, feel his heart lurch. This time, facing Yun Che, he was genuinely alarmed. He finally began to understand that he had severely underestimated Yun Che's strength, and at the same time, it was clear that Yun Che had been hiding his true power.

"Beyond ridiculous boasting, you're nothing special," Yun Che said, squinting his eyes in mockery.

At this moment, the jade on the top layer of the Phoenix Platform was completely shattered, and the ground beneath Yun Che's feet had been reduced to fine sand. The two stood ten zhang apart, their gazes locked, and the atmosphere became incredibly tense. Yun Che's face was calm, but a subtle sneer played on his lips, while Feng Xiluo's brows were tightly furrowed, his eyes flickering with uncertainty.

Then, Feng Xiluo's brows slowly relaxed. His expression suddenly became calm, and a somewhat sinister smile spread across his lips.

"Very good... truly excellent," Feng Xiluo said, his eyes sinking, murderous intent slowly settling within them. As he spoke, phoenix flames reignited on his body, surging upwards at an incredibly fast pace. His bones began to crackle and pop, and an increasingly powerful aura erupted from him. "I never imagined that you, a mongrel accidentally leaked from my Divine Phoenix Sect, could be this powerful, making me completely misjudge your strength.

"But a mongrel is ultimately just a mongrel. Your level merely qualifies you to force me to use my full power. However, as a mongrel, you can be proud on your way to the underworld!"

The phoenix flames continued to burn, and Feng Xiluo's aura continued to expand, far surpassing its previous intensity within a few breaths.

He was not wrong; he had indeed not used his full power before.

However, he was somewhat losing control, and his words, filled with insults, revealed his inner turmoil and fury. He was a prince of the Divine Phoenix Empire, the strongest of the younger generation in the world's foremost sect, destined to become the supreme ruler of the entire Profound Sky Continent! Yet, in plain sight, he had been forced to use his full power by an unknown individual whose profound strength was only at the Earth Profound Realm and who was even younger than him.

Now, he disregarded everything, unleashing all his profound energy without reservation and activating the World Ode of the Phoenix to its fullest. Unless he destroyed Yun Che so completely that not even a speck of dust remained, he would never be able to swallow his pride.

"His Royal Highness is finally going to use his full power... damn it! He was actually forced to use his full power by Yun Che!" a Phoenix disciple in the waiting area said fiercely, his face still showing lingering shock.

"His Royal Highness must be absolutely furious now! If Yun Che doesn't die this time, I swear I'll die!" another Phoenix disciple gritted his teeth. Not just Feng Xiluo, but they too felt deep shock and humiliation.

The phoenix flames on Feng Xiluo continued to rise, and his aura continued to escalate. Under the immense pressure of his energy field, the area around him almost became its own distinct space, everything within it completely pushed away by an overwhelmingly powerful force.

Bang!!

With a dull roar, the phoenix flames swayed violently and finally stopped surging. Feng Xiluo was completely enveloped in blazing phoenix fire, holding the Phoenix God Spear. His gaze was sinister, a cold sneer played on his lips, his phoenix robe billowed, and his black hair danced wildly. Around his body, streams of phoenix flame-light hissed like lightning. Behind him, a pair of crimson phoenix wings slowly unfurled! These wings, bathed in flame, looked not like an illusion but like real phoenix wings!

At this moment, Feng Xiluo appeared as if a fire demon god had descended upon the world.

"Oh? Is this the legendary... fourth realm of the World Ode of the Phoenix, also known as its highest realm, 'Wind Spirit Body'?" Ye Xinghan asked with interest as he watched Feng Xiluo's transformation. As he spoke, his hands were already reaching under the clothes of two alluring women, completely disregarding the surrounding gazes.

"Precisely," Ling Kun nodded. "This realm allows one to activate the phoenix bloodline, making a rudimentary phoenix form appear on the body. The corresponding phoenix flame art, 'Phoenix Flame Blazes the Heavens,' is the Divine Phoenix Sect's strongest signature technique."

"An eighth-level Monarch, activating the World Ode of the Phoenix to this realm, with an aura that subtly surpasses even a ninth-level Monarch. This World Ode of the Phoenix truly has some depth," Ye Xinghan remarked, narrowing his eyes.

"Oh my, what you're saying, dear Xinghan, I simply don't understand."

No sooner had Ye Xinghan finished speaking than Ji Qianrou's voice, which instantly gave him goosebumps, drifted into his ear: "This little prince, relying on the World Ode of the Phoenix, manages to boost his strength by at most two levels, and that earns him praise from you, dear Xinghan. But Yun Che... with just a casual move, displays power spanning over a dozen levels. How come I haven't heard you praising him to the heavens?"

Ji Qianrou's words startled both Ye Xinghan and Ling Kun, and even Venerable Gu Cang's eyebrow twitched slightly. With Yun Che's increasingly astonishing performance, they had subconsciously forgotten... Yun Che's profound strength was only at the mere tenth level of the Earth Profound Realm!!

Strength at the Earth Profound Realm, forcing Feng Xiluo, an eighth-level Monarch, to use his full power...

What secret was truly hidden within this Yun Che?!

Feng Xiluo, like a Fire God descended to the world, radiated an aura of arrogance that made the hearts of all young profound practitioners in the arena tremble. Their terrified gazes were as if they were looking up at a supreme deity. They had also not expected that Feng Xiluo, whose strength was already terrifying to such an extent, had not yet used his full power.

At this moment, Feng Xiluo's aura was clearly more than double what it had been before!

"This is the highest realm of my Divine Phoenix Sect's World Ode of the Phoenix." Feng Xiluo extended his palm toward Yun Che, phoenix flames hissing in his open hand. "Too bad you're just a mongrel, unqualified to learn this invincible profound art, a divine gift. Now, you may struggle all you want, because after today, you'll no longer have the chance to struggle."

Looking at the phoenix flames on Feng Xiluo and listening to his arrogant words, Yun Che's gaze was like he was looking at a complete idiot. "You seem to have said similar things several times already. Does it feel good to slap yourself in the face every time? Idiot!"

Yun Che's words were like a salt-crusted knife relentlessly stabbing Feng Xiluo's already bleeding wound. The final two words, "idiot," made his rage explode instantly. From childhood, everyone had treated him with utmost respect. Even Feng Hengkong had always praised him and taken pride in him. With his extraordinary talent, he was arrogant and uninhibited even when facing Crown Prince Feng Ximing. Who dared call him an "idiot"?

Feng Xiluo, incensed, laughed coldly and sinisterly. "Little mongrel, on the brink of death, yet you still dare to provoke my wrath. Originally, I planned to grant you a swift death, but now... I've changed my mind. I will make you... wish you were dead in the phoenix flames!!"

"You... with your phoenix bloodline, originating five thousand years ago and diluted and impure after hundreds of generations of transmission, dare to speak of phoenix fire in front of me?" Yun Che scoffed quietly.

His words were not mere bravado. Back in the Imperial Palace of Cangfeng, facing the two elders, Hei and Chi, who had accompanied Feng Xichen, he had suppressed their phoenix flames, despite them channeling the World Ode of the Phoenix, using only the most ordinary phoenix flame. This was because the Divine Phoenix Sect's phoenix bloodline had been passed down through generations. Although the sect generally practiced internal marriage to maintain the purity of the bloodline, rarely intermarrying with outsiders unless they possessed exceptionally high talent or status, the bloodline inevitably became somewhat diluted and mixed with each successive generation.

But Yun Che's phoenix blood was a direct and purest bestowal from the Phoenix Spirit itself!!

Therefore, in terms of the purity of the phoenix bloodline alone, Yun Che was entirely Feng Xiluo's ancestor! An ancestor who predated him by hundreds of generations.

"I'll show you what true... Phoenix Flame is!!"

Yun Che let out a low growl, and phoenix flames ignited on his body. This time, however, it was no longer just simple phoenix flame. His World Ode of the Phoenix also activated, directly ascending to the fourth realm. Instantly, the phoenix flame's aura surged, and the temperature sharply increased. The already turbulent flames immediately danced wildly, as if they had completely boiled over.

Behind Yun Che, a pair of phoenix wings also appeared. The color of these fiery wings was even deeper than Feng Xiluo's.

"The World Ode of the Phoenix!!"

Feng Hengkong and the others instantly shot up from their seats, their faces filled with shock... and fury!

The phoenix bloodline was a core element of the Divine Phoenix Sect; the World Ode of the Phoenix was another core.

Yun Che was not from the Divine Phoenix Sect, yet he possessed its phoenix bloodline, which was already a violation of their greatest taboo. Now... he even possessed the World Ode of the Phoenix!!

In the Divine Phoenix Sect's five-thousand-year history, while there had occasionally been instances of bloodline leakage, this was the first time that even the World Ode of the Phoenix had appeared on an outsider.

No wonder even Feng Hengkong was so utterly stunned.

Feng Xiluo's expression rapidly changed, turning into a grimace of fury. "Little mongrel! Not only do you possess my sect's phoenix bloodline, but you also secretly learned my sect's World Ode of the Phoenix... Today, you must die!!"

Maintaining the fourth realm of the World Ode of the Phoenix incurred tremendous consumption. Seeing Yun Che similarly activate the World Ode of the Phoenix, a strong sense of unease immediately rose in Feng Xiluo's heart. He let out a low roar, his phoenix wings suddenly unfurled, and the phoenix flames behind him surged skyward, creating a heaven-obscuring sea of fire. The entire arena's sky was dyed a fiery red.

"Die... Phoenix Flame Blazes the Heavens!!"

As if a towering, bottomless volcano was about to erupt upon him, Yun Che's expression remained calm. He extended his palm, and the phoenix flames on his body also erupted with fierce intensity...

"Phoenix Flame Blazes the Heavens!!"

The same fourth realm of the World Ode of the Phoenix, the same Phoenix Flame art. Two overwhelming seas of phoenix fire violently collided on the now seemingly minuscule Phoenix Platform.

The entire Phoenix World trembled violently. In an instant, towering waves of fire exploded, surging hundreds of zhang high. The Phoenix Platform was completely engulfed, and the faces of all three million profound practitioners in the audience were bathed in pure crimson. Even the sky completely changed color, as if the very firmament had ignited.

It was like a solar eclipse suddenly descending upon the world.

Yun Che and Feng Xiluo's figures were completely swallowed. Within the waves of fire, the two were less than a zhang apart, their gazes piercing through the flames, clashing intensely.

"You, a mongrel, dare to compete with this Prince in phoenix flame!? In less than ten breaths... you'll be completely burned to ashes!!" Feng Xiluo roared with a grimace.

Yun Che's face was composed, his voice deep and mocking. "Even if I stand here motionless, your phoenix fire wouldn't be able to harm a single hair on my head, but I disdain doing that... because I will defeat you honorably using phoenix flames! I want you to know..."

"Who the real mongrel is!!"