Chapter 445: Coming to the Battle

As the Grand Elder of the Divine Phoenix Sect, a peerless figure preeminent in the world, Feng Feiyan’s face showed a hint of confusion. Though he had lived for several centuries, this was the first time he had encountered such a scene. He was utterly bewildered on how to respond, and while furious, he had completely lost the courage to rashly attack Yun Che. It would be easy for him to kill Yun Che, but if he were to act amidst the barrage of questions from the crowd, it would undoubtedly incite the wrath of the six nations’ profound realms. The entire Heavenly Profound Continent, and even the people of the Divine Phoenix Empire, would hold them in contempt and disdain.

The Divine Phoenix Empire being questioned by the six nations was unprecedented!

Divine Phoenix Crown Prince Feng Ximing rose. With his formidable profound energy, his low voice instantly quelled the uproar and spread throughout the arena. “Rest assured, although our Divine Phoenix Empire has never lost a ranking tournament, we are certainly not sore losers! Not a single one of our Phoenix disciples fears injury! Our Divine Phoenix Sect’s questioning is not about Yun Che injuring our sect’s prince, but about his bloodline and his profound art!”

“He claims to be from the Azure Cloud Nation, but his bloodline is the Phoenix bloodline of our Divine Phoenix Sect! The profound art he just used is the World Ode of the Phoenix, renowned throughout the world, belonging to our Divine Phoenix Sect!”

“The leakage of bloodline is a grave taboo for our Divine Phoenix Sect, one we have never tolerated for five millennia! The leakage of a profound art is an even greater taboo among taboos! Which of your sects would tolerate its core profound art appearing on an outsider? What is wrong with the Grand Elder questioning Yun Che?”

Feng Ximing’s resonant shouts made everyone’s ears throb, and the Divine Phoenix Crown Prince’s authority deeply awed the crowd, causing the arena’s clamor to subside. Yun Che looked up and sneered, “Heh! You still have the gall to claim that my Phoenix bloodline comes from you! You keep claiming I’m an illegitimate descendant whose bloodline leaked from your Divine Phoenix Sect… Then why is it that the one who inherited your imperial family’s bloodline, and possesses the strongest bloodline talent in your entire sect, was defeated by me in a pure Phoenix flame contest?! Who truly deserves to be called a bastard?! If I am an illegitimate bloodline that leaked from you, then what does that make all of you?!”

Yun Che’s words left Feng Ximing speechless for a long time. Just as he managed to compose his thoughts and was about to speak, having barely managed to utter “You,” a calm yet authoritative voice echoed from above, immediately silencing him.

This voice belonged to Feng Hengkong.

“Silence, everyone. Stop talking.”

Feng Hengkong repositioned himself in mid-air, turned his body, and returned to his seat. His expression was incredibly calm, unnervingly so, without a hint of anger. Even his voice was as still as stagnant water. “Let’s not debate the matter of bloodline and profound art for now. This is, after all, the ranking tournament arena. Heroes from all over the world and friends from the Sacred Grounds are here for the ranking tournament, not to watch us deal with internal affairs. Any other matters can be discussed after the ranking tournament.”

As soon as Feng Hengkong spoke, the entire arena fell silent. He turned his gaze to Yun Che and said indifferently, “Yun Che, setting everything else aside, your defeat of Feng Xiluo was indeed impressive. However, you’ve made a mistake. You only defeated Feng Xiluo, but you have not defeated our Divine Phoenix Sect!”

The moment Feng Hengkong’s voice fell, nine crimson figures shot into the air, hovering around Yun Che. Blazing Phoenix flames enveloped each of them.

*Gasp!*

The arena immediately erupted in noise!

Everyone suddenly realized that while Yun Che had indeed defeated Feng Xiluo, he had only defeated Feng Xiluo! The Divine Phoenix Sect’s participating team consisted of ten individuals in total!

Aside from Feng Xiluo, there were still nine others!

Yun Che had barely defeated Feng Xiluo, and his profound energy was largely depleted. For the nine Phoenix disciples to challenge him now was clearly unfair, even somewhat shameless… yet it did not violate the ranking tournament rules in any way.

Under normal circumstances, the Divine Phoenix Sect would absolutely not do something that would degrade themselves in this manner. Before facing Yun Che, they had only sent Feng Xiluo to fight.

But now, with things having come to this point, and Feng Xiluo utterly defeated, their face was completely lost. They could not afford to lose the ranking tournament as well! Moreover… this was the most opportune moment to kill Yun Che!

“Oh no!” Hua Minghai’s face instantly changed. He gritted his teeth and said, “This Phoenix Emperor… he clearly intends to kill Boss Yun in this manner!”

“What?!” Ling Jie exclaimed, startled.

“Feng Xiluo was defeated, and the other nine Divine Phoenix Sect members continuing to fight is entirely in accordance with the rules. It gives no one cause for criticism. And before, when the entire arena was speaking out for Boss Yun, most were shouting that severe injuries, or even death, in the ranking tournament should not be pursued… This Emperor is essentially using our previous shouts to turn the tables, allowing these nine individuals to ‘justifiably’ kill Yun Che!”

“Damn it… this… this dog emperor!!” Ling Jie’s eyes widened, and he shouted urgently, “Boss, surrender quickly!”

“Surrender, my foot!” Hua Minghai slapped Ling Jie’s head, gritting his teeth. “Boss Yun’s temper is harder than profound iron; even if he faces certain death, he won’t surrender!”

“Don’t panic yet!” Hua Minghai took a deep breath. “Boss Yun doesn’t seem like he came here to die today. He might have anticipated such a situation… perhaps he has a countermeasure!”

Ling Jie nodded, only able to grit his teeth and watch with wide eyes. Although he desperately wanted to rush forward and fight alongside Yun Che in the name of an Azure Cloud profound practitioner, with his profound strength, even a hundred of him would be completely useless.

What Hua Minghai said was precisely what Feng Hengkong was thinking. Although it seemed utterly incredible, the vague suppression of realm he felt from Yun Che’s Phoenix flames, and the excessive power of Yun Che’s Phoenix profound energy, made him vaguely begin to sense… that perhaps Yun Che’s bloodline truly did not originate from their Divine Phoenix Sect!

Yun Che had defeated the strongest among the younger generation, Feng Xiluo, and held the upper hand in every aspect. It was estimated that even many Phoenix disciples present were beginning to doubt that Yun Che’s bloodline had truly leaked from the Divine Phoenix Sect. Otherwise, how could he be stronger than the strongest Divine Phoenix Prince in a pure Phoenix flame contest? Moreover, a long time ago, the Phoenix God of their sect had clearly stated that another Phoenix lineage indeed existed on the Heavenly Profound Continent!

Feng Hengkong was now completely certain that Yun Che’s participation in this ranking tournament was to leverage its influence and public attention to prove, before the world, that his bloodline did not originate from the Divine Phoenix Sect. If they didn’t eliminate him quickly, and he truly produced irrefutable evidence, then the Divine Phoenix Sect would have no reason to oppose and control him, at least not openly. And secretly… with the world-shaking influence he had caused today, it would be even more difficult to act against him!

Given the current enmity between the Divine Phoenix Sect and Yun Che, they were destined not to be friends but enemies. With his terrifying talent, if he were an enemy in the future, no one would doubt that he would be a huge threat to the Divine Phoenix Sect. Beyond this, their Divine Phoenix Sect had dominated the seven nations for five millennia, always priding themselves on possessing the sole divine bloodline and divine profound art. How could they allow another Phoenix sect to emerge?!

Therefore, regardless of where Yun Che’s bloodline truly came from, and no matter what… he had to die today! Killing him on the ranking tournament grounds, even if everyone, including those from the Sacred Grounds, knew they were intentionally killing Yun Che, no one could say anything… because it completely conformed to the ranking tournament rules that had been shouted earlier.

Each of the nine Phoenix disciples had faces filled with murderous aura. Feng Xiluo’s crushing defeat had naturally humiliated them all. These nine individuals were by no means ordinary Phoenix disciples; they were the Divine Phoenix Sect’s nine greatest prodigies, second only to Feng Xiluo among the younger generation. While their individual abilities could not compare to Feng Xiluo’s, with eight at the sixth level of the Sovereign Profound Realm and one at the fifth level, their combined strength would undoubtedly far surpass a single Feng Xiluo!

Yun Che had barely defeated Feng Xiluo, and his profound energy was largely depleted. There was no chance for him to defeat the combined forces of these nine genius profound practitioners from the Divine Phoenix Sect.

“Yun Che, you merely defeated our Fourteenth Prince. To think you can defeat our Divine Phoenix Sect is a pipe dream,” said the Phoenix disciple directly in front of Yun Che, holding a flame sword.

“Ten against one, and you still have the gall to speak so self-righteously?” Yun Che stood up, leaning on his sword, a look of mockery on his face.

“What a joke!” The Phoenix disciple to the right sneered through gritted teeth. “Do you truly believe that just because you defeated our Prince, your Azure Cloud Nation can surpass our Divine Phoenix Sect? You are nothing but an anomaly of the Azure Cloud Nation… an anomaly rarely seen in ten thousand years! Yet, our Divine Phoenix Sect is full of powerhouses capable of crushing your entire nation!”

“That’s right!” another Phoenix disciple behind him interjected. “It’s pitiful that the Azure Cloud Nation only sent you to participate in this ranking tournament, because throughout the entire Azure Cloud Nation, besides you, I doubt anyone else capable enough to make an appearance can be found. Heh, a deserted Azure Cloud Nation, it’s laughable to even think about. And yet, you delusionally dream of defeating our Divine Phoenix Empire!”

Just then, an unusual crashing sound suddenly came from outside, followed by a Phoenix disciple’s startled cry: “Who dares trespass on my… Ah!!”

“Get out of the way!!”

*BOOM!!*

A furious, deafening voice echoed from outside. This sound made Yun Che, who had been frowning, suddenly freeze. Immediately, explosions of profound energy and the screams of Phoenix disciples erupted simultaneously. As people subconsciously looked toward the source of the sound, a section of the wall at the high edge of the arena suddenly exploded. A tall figure flew out of the shattered opening, and a thunderous voice reverberated throughout the arena:

“Who said Cangfeng has no one?!”

“Azure Cloud profound practitioner Xia Yuanba… is here to participate in the battle!!”

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Yun Che's Current Attributes:

**Physique:*** Evil God Profound Veins (Peerless Profound Veins)* Dragon God Bloodline (Powerful Physique)* Dragon God's Marrow (Powerful Recovery, Thickens Dragon Blood)* Phoenix Bloodline (Can ignite Phoenix Flames, cultivates World Ode of the Phoenix)* Evil God Fire Seed (Immune to Fire, comprehends Fire Laws)* Evil God Water Seed (Immune to Water, comprehends Water Laws)

**Profound Arts:***(Power rankings: S > A > B > C > D > E > F. 'N/A' means no specific value or not applicable.)*

1. **Evil God's Art:** * Attribute: Amplification * Trait: Profound Energy Rampage * Realm: Barely Third Stage * **Profound Skills:** * Falling Moon Sinking Star (Evil Soul): Power: A, Range: F, Consumption: Medium * Cloud Sealing Sun Locking (Burning Heart): Power: N/A, Range: F, Consumption: Medium * Destroying Sky Sundering Earth (Purgatory): Power: S, Range: A, Consumption: Huge * Moon Reversing Star Returning (Sky Shattering): Power: N/A, Range: N/A, Consumption: Small

2. **Grand Way of the Buddha:** * Attribute: Sacred Body * Trait: Primordial Body * Realm: Third Stage

3. **World Ode of the Phoenix:** * Attribute: Flame Annihilation * Trait: World-Burning Fire * Realm: Sixth Stage * **Profound Skills:** * Phoenix Fire Lotus: Power: D, Range: E, Consumption: Very Small * Phoenix Arrow: Power: C, Range: D, Consumption: Small * Blazing Flame Burning Fields: Power: B, Range: C, Consumption: Medium * Wind Flame Blazing Heavens: Power: A, Range: B, Consumption: Medium * Phoenix Wing Sky Dance (Complete): Power: S, Range: C, Consumption: Large * Star Burning Demonic Lotus (Complete): Power: S, Range: D-S, Consumption: Medium-Huge

4. **Heavenly Wolf Hell God Art:** * Attribute: Strong Attack * Trait: Strongest Heavy Sword * Realm: First Stage * **Profound Skill:** * Heavenly Wolf Slash: Power: S, Range: D, Consumption: Large

5. **Ice Phoenix God Art:** * Attribute: Ice Sealing * Trait: Absolute Zero * Realm: Fourth Stage

6. **(Hidden) Star God Art:** * Attribute: Annihilation * Trait: Profound Energy Compression * Realm: N/A * **Profound Skills:** * Line of Sky: Power: S, Range: F, Consumption: Small * Star God Exterminating Slash: Power: SS, Range: D, Consumption: Medium

**Other:*** Overlord's Fury: Power: C, Range: E, Consumption: Small* Phoenix Sky Break: Power: A, Range: D, Consumption: Medium* Dragon Soul Domain: Power: SS, Range: E-C, Consumption: Huge