Chapter 515: Windstorm Approaches

The battle between the two on stage was drawing to a close. Amidst a jarring ripping sound, the orange profound armor was shattered, followed by a miserable shriek. A figure flew down from the Sacred Cloud Platform, crashing heavily onto the ground.

On the platform, Yun Xiao, holding the Thunderclap Sword, slowly walked to the edge of the Sacred Cloud Platform. Although slightly breathless, his expression remained calm, and there was a hint of imposing aura between his brows. "Brother Yun Han, thank you for the match."

The defeated Yun family disciple gnashed his teeth in unwillingness, stood up from the ground, and silently departed.

Now, the audience below the stage included not only young disciples but also members of the Elder Council and three other families. These young disciples had been competing before the clan competition officially began, naturally hoping to display their skills before their elders. However, no one expected Yun Xiao to be the first to truly shine.

Even more surprisingly, Yun Xiao, who usually suffered bullying without ever retaliating, had been concealing such immense strength.

"Hmph! That kid..." Below the stage, Yun Hao's face showed his displeasure as he watched Yun Xiao, whom he usually mocked in various ways, steal the spotlight. He glanced at the elders' seating area, sneered, then stomped his feet on the ground, leaping onto the Sacred Cloud Platform. Crossing his arms leisurely, he said, "Yun Xiao, you performed quite well today. Come on, let's have a match."

Yun Xiao's brow furrowed, and his expression grew serious.

Both Yun Hao and Yun Xiao were at the Half-Step Emperor realm. However, Yun Hao had been at this realm for four years, while Yun Xiao had only reached it a year ago. Furthermore, Yun Hao possessed profound armor, and Yun Xiao had already fought two consecutive matches, depleting much of his profound energy. If they were to fight, it would be a completely one-sided affair; Yun Xiao stood no chance of winning.

"Heh heh, isn't your third son clearly bullying him?" an elder from the back row of the elder's seats commented to the person beside him.

Yun Hao's father was one of the thirty-six core elders of the Yun family, though lower in rank. Yun Hao was indeed the son of an elder. Hearing the remark, Yun Hao's father merely hummed faintly and said, "They are all young people; when they spar, it's about strength and weakness, not bullying. If one lacks strength and is bullied, they have no one to blame. And besides..." He lowered his voice, "Today is the day Yun Qinghong steps down. It would be better for his illegitimate son to be eliminated early."

Yun Xiao had never fought Yun Hao before, and his heart was filled with apprehension. At that moment, a soft voice suddenly whispered into his ear: "Yun Hao is frivolous and eager for success. To show off, he'll surely want to defeat you in the shortest possible time. Therefore, his opening move will likely be one of the three strongest killing moves of the Purple Cloud Art. Use the Lightning Entanglement Art, which I've had you diligently practice... Whether you can achieve a surprising victory will depend on your mastery of the Lightning Entanglement Art!"

Yun Xiao's gaze shifted towards Yun Qinghong, whose face was calm and bore a slight smile. From beginning to end, no one realized that this clan master, who had been supposedly crippled for decades, had used such profound profound energy transmission.

The apprehension in Yun Xiao's expression vanished, replaced by a cold, resolute gaze. His arm moved slowly, bringing the Thunderclap Sword to a slanted position across his body.

Yun Hao drew his weapon and said with a smile, "Yun Xiao, you've just fought two matches. Of course, I wouldn't want to take advantage of you. If I can't defeat you within five moves, then I'll concede... But if you can't even withstand five of my moves, heh heh, then you can't blame me."

The contempt in Yun Hao's words was clear even to a fool, and this was with Yun Qinghong present. A wave of suppressed laughter immediately rippled around the Sacred Cloud Platform, and various gazes of amusement and pity turned towards Yun Xiao.

In contrast, Yun Xiao's face was calm, his gaze fixed intently on the sword in Yun Hao's hand, as if he hadn't even heard what Yun Hao had just said.

Failing to achieve the desired reaction, Yun Hao felt quite displeased. He gritted his teeth slightly and sneered inwardly, *This good-for-nothing, he's really putting on an act. Watch me send you rolling off with one move!*

Yun Hao's arm moved, and his body suddenly lunged forward, reaching Yun Xiao in an instant. A mass of lightning profound energy, secretly built up for a long time, suddenly unleashed from his body, then violently exploded from his sword tip, forming five terrifying, monstrous lightning pythons.

"Wow! He's starting with Purple Fiend Thunder Armor right away!!"

"It seems Yun Hao wants to blast that kid off the stage with one move."

"If Yun Xiao tries to resist, he'll surely be blasted off the stage. If he tries to block head-on... heh, he might even lose half his life."

Faced with Yun Hao's sudden release of the Purple Fiend Thunder Armor, Yun Xiao neither dodged nor retreated. Only his eyes widened suddenly, the explosive lightning profound energy clearly reflected in his pupils. He raised his Thunderclap Sword, creating a dazzling purple sword shadow... The five streams of lightning profound energy, imbued with terrifying power, did not explode upon contact with his sword shadow. Instead, they were skillfully guided away by a soft, flowing profound energy, scattering backwards past Yun Xiao's body. Even Yun Hao's sword was heavily tugged by an inexplicable force, causing the profound energy about to be released a second time from its blade to dissipate.

Yun Hao, who had intended to send Yun Xiao flying with a single move, instantly paled in shock. But before he could fully react, Yun Xiao's sword glow had fiercely struck him directly in the chest.

"Shocking Thunder Sword!"

Yun Hao had used one of the Purple Cloud Art's strongest killing moves right at the start, which was precisely when his profound energy defense was at its weakest. Under the Shocking Thunder Sword attack, his protective profound energy was directly torn apart. Yun Hao grunted, flying backward, then landed headfirst, smashing into a wooden chair below the stage with a "CRACK," shattering it to pieces.

Yun Hao lay sprawled on the ground like a dead dog, unable to get up for a long time... This was in full view of everyone, with the Elder Council and the three other guardian families present. It was an utterly humiliating spectacle.

The surroundings immediately fell silent, and all the Yun family disciples were completely dumbfounded. Yun Hao's profound energy was stronger than Yun Xiao's, and he also had profound armor. Moreover, Yun Xiao was in a state of exhaustion from his previous battles. They had assumed Yun Xiao would likely be defeated by Yun Hao in one move, but to their astonishment, it was Yun Hao who was defeated in a single move!

After their initial shock, the elders present showed various expressions. They could see that what Yun Xiao had just used was the Lightning Entanglement Art, the most difficult technique to master within the Purple Cloud Art. Its comprehension and cultivation were extremely challenging, and even if one achieved some success, it was difficult to wield effectively in actual combat. Consequently, many Yun family disciples simply gave up on practicing it, and some elders even advised their descendants against it. Yet, they had just witnessed Yun Xiao execute this move, and he did so with exceptional grace, catching Yun Hao completely off guard and securing a surprising victory.

Yun Qinghong nodded to Yun Xiao, a slight smile appearing on his face.

Yun Hao finally scrambled to his feet, his lips twitching, his face the color of a pig's liver. Feeling the various strange gazes from around him, he clenched his fists and suddenly let out a furious roar: "Yun Xiao, that was just a test... Let's fight again!!"

As his roar subsided, he was about to rush back onto the Sacred Cloud Platform when his father let out a cold snort: "Step down! You've already lost, and it was a crushing defeat!"

His father's reprimand froze Yun Hao in place, his face flushing crimson. He gnashed his teeth and said, "Father, I was just careless earlier, I didn't even use half my strength. Yun Xiao doesn't even have profound armor, how could he be my opponent, he..."

"Shut up!" Yun Hao's father thundered, his face grim. "You yourself know Yun Xiao doesn't have profound armor, he's younger than you, and he had already fought two matches, yet he blasted you down with one move! Haven't you lost enough face already?! Get down here, now!"

Yun Hao flinched. He cast a resentful glance at Yun Xiao, then gritted his teeth and stepped down. However, he clearly sensed a change in Yun Xiao. When he had glared at Yun Xiao just now, he noticed that Yun Xiao remained as calm as ever, his eyes even holding a hint of intimidation, a complete departure from his usual timidity.

It was as if... he had suddenly become fearless.

"What a beautiful execution of the Lightning Entanglement Art," a voice of praise resonated. The speaker was none other than Invincible Under Heaven. He slowly nodded and said, "I've heard the Yun family's Lightning Entanglement Art is difficult to cultivate and master. I never imagined a junior from the Yun family could wield it so proficiently. He truly lives up to the name of Yun family's Young Clan Master."

"Of course! Look whose nephew he is; how could he be anything less?" Mu Yubai interjected impolitely.

"Heh..." Helian Peng, with his triangular eyes, sneered with a forced smile. "The young disciples of the Yun family this generation certainly have some skill, heh heh, not bad at all. It's just a pity they still seem a tiny bit inferior compared to our Helian family."

At these words, all the elders present showed subtle anger. For ten millennia, the twelve guardian families had been led by the Yun family, with the Helian family second. After being suppressed by the Yun family for ten thousand years, the Helian family had finally managed to surpass them, naturally feeling immensely triumphant. Over the years, they had often scoffed at and shown arrogance towards the Yun family. Yun Waitian smiled faintly and said, "Brother Helian, your words are mistaken. While Yun Xiao's strength is decent, it is far from enough to represent the overall strength of our Yun family's young disciples. Even if he possessed profound armor, he still wouldn't!"

"Xinyue, show our esteemed guests what the true strength of the Yun family's younger generation looks like!"

"Yes, Father."

Yun Xinyue rose from his seat and ascended into the air. Instead of landing on the Sacred Cloud Platform, he hovered, and with a gentle tone, said, "Young Clan Master, you have already fought several consecutive matches. It would be unfair to engage in a direct confrontation. I shall spar with you using only my profound armor."

Yun Xinyue pushed out his left arm, and a cyan profound armor shot out like a meteor. As it neared Yun Xiao, it transformed into a ring with a three-foot diameter. Simultaneously, a dazzling violet lightning glow erupted, completely engulfing the original cyan.

Invincible Under Heaven, Helian Peng, and others all simultaneously focused on Yun Xinyue's cyan profound armor... Cyan profound armor was a gifted profound armor possessed only by the Yun family's supreme geniuses. Even the Demon King Yun Canghai of yesteryear and Yun Qinghong, who once shook Demon Imperial City, also possessed cyan profound armor.

Yun Xiao had always held Yun Xinyue in great respect and was well aware of the significant power gap between them. Facing Yun Xinyue's profound armor attack, he dared not be careless in the slightest and swung his sword upwards.

The profound armor, now a violet lightning ring, spun rapidly, unleashing circles of monstrous and rampant electric arcs. Wherever it went, thunder roared deafeningly, and space twisted. Even space itself was almost torn apart by the frighteningly dense lightning profound energy. Under this terrifying profound energy, Yun Xiao was pushed back by a powerful and oppressive aura before he could even get close. Even his Thunderclap Sword trembled from the impact, almost slipping from his grasp.

After a brief rotation, the profound armor suddenly flew towards Yun Xiao, releasing more than a dozen electric arcs. With a "CLANG," the Thunderclap Sword in Yun Xiao's hand was easily knocked away. Yun Xiao's arm became completely numb from the vibration and electric shock, and his body was sent flying backward, stumbling to the edge of the Sacred Cloud Platform.

Yun Xinyue waved his arm, and the profound armor immediately flew back to him.

Without personally intervening, Yun Xinyue had defeated Yun Xiao with extreme ease using only his profound armor. Yet, he showed no trace of pride. Instead, he gave a slight nod towards Yun Xiao and said, "Young Clan Master, I hope I haven't offended you."

Yun Xiao quickly waved his hand, sincerely saying, "As expected of Brother Xinyue, you are truly amazing."

The Yun family disciples erupted in cheers, and the name "Yun Xinyue" immediately resounded throughout half of the Yun family's skies. The spotlight Yun Xiao had gained from his three consecutive victories was completely overshadowed by Yun Xinyue's brilliance. All thirty-six core elders of the Yun family also nodded, their faces showing expressions of approval and hope. Yet, facing these cheers and praises, Yun Xinyue remained completely calm, devoid of arrogance or conceit, and peacefully returned to his seat.

His talent, strength, and temperament were truly perfect! It was no wonder he was called the hope for the Yun family's resurgence.

Yun Che's eyes were half-closed. He didn't shift his gaze from Yun Xinyue until the latter had returned to his seat. Then, he thoughtfully looked towards Yun Qinghong, their eyes meeting by chance. In each other's gaze, they both subtly perceived something. After that brief eye contact, they simultaneously looked away... Without any verbal exchange, they clearly understood the meaning in each other's eyes.

Perhaps this was a form of telepathic understanding between father and son.

Hmm... My mother was hospitalized, which delayed me for many days. She was actually discharged yesterday, but I couldn't get into the right state all day...