Chapter 567: 暴走

Behind Prince Yuanque, a colossal flaming dragon's shadow materialized in the firelight. The dragon's shadow was engulfed in raging flames, its face contorted in a ferocious grimace. It roared to the sky, its dragon's cry filled with boundless fury and despair, as if enduring torment in the deepest inferno.

All who heard the dragon's roar felt their vital energy surge uncontrollably within them, threatening to burst forth. At that moment, the amplification of Prince Yuanque's aura finally ceased, leaving the entire arena trembling under his terrifying presence for a long time.

"What… what… what kind of power is this? Prince Yuanque's aura suddenly increased by another fold… no, more than a fold!" Everyone stared at Prince Yuanque in inexplicable horror. Over ninety-nine percent of them had never heard of the Duke of Zhong's Manor possessing such an ability.

"What… what's going on?" Xiao Yun stood up, crying out in alarm. The terrifying aura filled his heart with dread.

"This is a special profound skill born from the fusion of the Demon Emperor's bloodline and the Blazing Dragon bloodline, which has appeared multiple times in the history of Demon Emperor City," Yun Qinghong said with a solemn expression. "It uses the power of the Golden Crow bloodline to ignite the Blazing Dragon bloodline, concentrating all power for a short burst. This allows one to unleash power far beyond their normal capabilities for a certain period. Prince Yuanque's current power is more than twice his usual full strength, and he can simultaneously wield both Dragon Imprisonment Spears, which he normally can only control one of."

"Then… what do we do? Big Brother will be in danger," Xiao Yun said anxiously.

Yun Qinghong remained silent, his brows tightly furrowed.

This special profound skill, born from the fusion of the Golden Crow bloodline and the Blazing Sun bloodline, was known by very few even within Demon Emperor City. Although there were quite a few members of the Illusory Demon Royal Family who possessed a mix of these two bloodlines, this profound skill manifested itself extremely rarely. This was because using the Golden Crow bloodline to ignite the Blazing Dragon bloodline was inherently a forbidden technique. While it could drastically increase one's power in a short period, it came with extremely severe consequences: for at least the next three months, the user would remain in a state of extreme weakness, and there was a high possibility of irreversible damage to their profound veins and body from the excessive strain.

Therefore, this ability was generally only activated in moments of desperation.

As a member of the Illusory Demon Royal Family, standing at the pinnacle of the Illusory Demon Realm with their status and power revered by all, how could they ever experience a moment of desperation in their lives? Thus, while this ability was easy to manifest, most who possessed both the bloodline and the capacity never used it throughout their lives.

Prince Yuanque, however, had unleashed this forbidden power. While it seemed somewhat deranged, Yun Qinghong was not entirely surprised. As a Prince of noble status, looking down upon the world, and the second-ranked peerless genius among the Seven Children of the Illusory Demon, how could he tolerate defeat in front of all the heroes of the realm? How could he allow himself to become a stepping stone for someone who was utterly unknown just yesterday?

"How… how could… I lose to you, I, the Prince!!"

Prince Yuanque held a silver spear in his right hand and a black spear in his left. Dragon scales shimmered across his body, his muscles bulged, and the dragon shadow behind him roared ferociously. His expression also seemed exceptionally pained. Grabbing both spears, he let out a great roar and charged at Yun Che.

A scorching storm surged forth. Yun Che swung his sword…

"Overlord's Wrath!"

Boom!

Even both of Prince Yuanque's spears combined could not compare to the immense size of the Heaven Punishing Sword. The Heaven Punishing Sword slammed down onto the silver and black spears with a thunderous crash. With the point of impact as the center, the surrounding profound jade ground shattered, and spiderweb cracks rapidly spread outwards.

Prince Yuanque before them seemed like an entirely different person. In their previous clash, his spear had been bent by Yun Che's sword, and he had been sent flying. But now, wielding both spears simultaneously, the spear shafts showed no sign of bending under the impact, and his body did not retreat an inch. The vermilion Heaven Punishing Sword was firmly suppressed, and Yun Che's feet sank deep into the ground. The black profound jade beneath him shattered layer by layer, crushing further as his feet sank deeper and deeper…

This was Yun Che's most advantageous head-on clash, yet he was firmly suppressed by Prince Yuanque!

Bang!!

The two suddenly separated. The moment Yun Che's body floated into the air, he lunged forward, swinging his sword towards Prince Yuanque's head. Just as Prince Yuanque's twin spears attacked, Yun Che flickered, his true body appearing behind Prince Yuanque with the Star God Broken Shadow, and he slammed his heavy sword onto his back.

Bang!!

The ground cracked as Prince Yuanque was violently knocked to the ground. But the next instant, he abruptly sprang to his feet, thrusting his black spear and sweeping his silver spear horizontally, directly attacking Yun Che. His eyes gleamed with the ferocious light of a hungry wolf.

Yun Che paused slightly. He knew perfectly well the power of that sword strike; an early-stage Tyrant Profound Realm practitioner would lose half their life if they took such a hit. Yet, Prince Yuanque clearly hadn't sustained much damage and immediately retaliated… evidently, his vital energy hadn't even been significantly disrupted.

The surge in profound energy… was clearly accompanied by a significant increase in his defensive capabilities.

Yun Che held his sword horizontally, meeting the attack.

Clang!!!

The spears and sword collided, producing a deafening metallic clang that seemed to rip through the sky. Yun Che leaned back, sliding backward for dozens of feet across the ground. The moment he regained his balance, Prince Yuanque roared and charged forward, sweeping his twin spears with their furious aura with full force.

Bang! Boom! Clang! Boom…

The twin spears and heavy sword clashed wildly. With each repeated bombardment of two formidable powers, the ground and the hall's ceiling continuously shattered, sending jade fragments flying. The immense impact sounds were like divine thunder rumbling down from the heavens, causing people's vital energy to churn simply from the deafening noise.

Rumbbble…

As the profound energy storms intensified, the entire Demon Emperor Hall trembled violently. Increasingly long cracks appeared on the hall's ceiling, as if it could collapse at any moment.

Yun Che's profound energy attribute was "Rampage," and the weapon he used ensured his attacks were always incomparably fierce and unyielding. Prince Yuanque, on the other hand, was burning his bloodline, his wildly expanding power desperately seeking an outlet. Every one of his strikes was as furious as a tsunami. Each clash of sword and spear between the two was like two mountains colliding.

The scene in the arena left everyone in the hall utterly dumbfounded, and some younger disciples turned pale from the impact of the sound waves. They were absolutely certain that if not for the barrier enchantment set up by the Little Demon Empress, the overflowing power would have been enough to instantly shatter their internal organs, causing them to bleed from all seven orifices and die on the spot.

"This… is this really a battle between the younger generation?" An elder asked, his face full of horror. The duel was right before his eyes, yet he couldn't believe what he was seeing. And this person was a grandmaster-level figure who dominated the southeastern region of the Illusory Demon Realm.

"Prince Yuanque's profound energy suddenly increased so much; he must have used some secret art… But even so, Yun Che can still withstand it! This is simply unbelievable."

"Prince Yuanque is at the sixth level of the Tyrant Profound Realm, while Yun Che is only at the tenth level of the Sky Profound Realm—a whole major realm lower than me. Yet, I couldn't even take one of these attacks… How did he cultivate such power?!"

"However, Yun Che seems to be continuously on the defensive. Although they are locked in a stalemate, Yun Che is the one constantly retreating. If he makes even a slight mistake, he might…"

Boom!!

Boom!!

Boom!!

In the blink of an eye, Yun Che and Prince Yuanque had exchanged hundreds of blows. They were sometimes on the ground, sometimes in mid-air, clashing violently like two enraged savage beasts. Each collision shook the heavens and shattered the earth, causing tremors across all directions.

Prince Yuanque's power, like that of all profound practitioners, was profound energy.

What no one could have imagined was that only half of Yun Che's power came from profound energy—and that was profound energy significantly amplified by the Evil God's profound veins. The other half came from his physical body!

Prince Yuanque, after his profound energy rampaged, was indeed terrifying. In their exchanges, Yun Che, though not defeated, was consistently on the defensive. However, Yun Che's expression remained calm, while Prince Yuanque grew increasingly terrified.

He had willingly endured extremely severe side effects to activate this secret art, letting his power rampage. He had assumed this would effortlessly and quickly defeat Yun Che, making killing him a simple task. To his surprise, even with his power rampaging to such an extent, he could only slightly suppress Yun Che. He gritted his teeth, attacking desperately, unleashing his full power with every strike, trying to blast Yun Che into pieces. But all his efforts were blocked by Yun Che. No matter what ultimate moves he unleashed, no matter how he roared to shake the heavens, he simply could not break through that vermilion greatsword.

This rampaging power state was a concentrated burst of profound energy and could not last for long. Furthermore, during this process, his body and profound veins were under immense strain. The contortion of his face and his pained expression were definitely not faked.

By this point, he was already starting to feel his profound energy deplete, his entire body was wracked with pain, and even his mind was experiencing constant slight dizziness… Yet, Yun Che, despite being continually suppressed, remained composed and unhurried.

"Aghhh!" Prince Yuanque roared in pain and agitation, his wide eyes bloodshot. He swept both spears simultaneously, intent on smashing Yun Che's body into several pieces. But the sword wind howled, and his spear attacks and aura were still firmly blocked. Yun Che parried the twin spears with his heavy sword, his chest heaving violently, but his gaze was as calm as water. He looked at Prince Yuanque, who was now panting like an ox and whose eyes were bloodshot, and suddenly displayed a faint smile: "What? Is that all you've got?"

Prince Yuanque's profound energy burst, impressive enough to astonish any profound practitioner, but it didn't even register in Yun Che's eyes. This was because profound energy rampage was a state Yun Che was intimately familiar with, from Evil Soul, to Burning Heart, to Purgatory.

To double one's profound energy in a short period was considered defying the heavens in the eyes of the world.

But Yun Che, even in the lowest-tier Evil Soul state of the Evil God's power, could achieve a two to threefold increase.

Prince Yuanque's profound energy rampage was not only short-lived but also came with massive side effects.

As for Yun Che, he could now maintain the Burning Heart state anytime, anywhere, without any pressure. Even the Purgatory state could now last for a considerable duration, and as long as he didn't overuse it, the only side effect was an increased consumption of energy.

Thus, a profound energy rampage in front of Yun Che… well, Yun Che found it rather unimpressive.

At the same time, Yun Che was acutely aware of the consequences of profound energy rampages. He vividly remembered the burden on his body and profound veins, and the sensation of his body almost shattering, after forcibly activating Evil Soul, Burning Heart, and Purgatory in the past.

Now, with the Dragon God's body, the Phoenix bloodline, the tempering of the power of heaven and earth, and the baptism of a spatial storm, he could withstand loads far exceeding his current profound energy level without any pressure. But for Prince Yuanque… he probably couldn't last more than a hundred breaths.

Indeed, by this point, Prince Yuanque's power and mental state were beginning to unravel.

"Impossible… Impossible! In my current state… how can I still not defeat you?!"

Yun Che's words and his confident expression pierced Prince Yuanque's mind like thousands of steel needles. He let out a furious roar, swept both spears, and knocked Yun Che far away. Flames wildly flickered across his body, the dragon shadow behind him shimmered in and out of existence, and then he let out a hoarse and utterly tormented dragon's cry.

Bang, bang, bang…

Veins bulged all over Prince Yuanque's body, dragon scales grotesquely swelled, parts of his skin burst apart inch by inch, and blood splattered.

"He's really going all out," Yun Che murmured, holding the Heaven Punishing Sword diagonally in front of him, looking at Prince Yuanque's current state. Although his gaze was calm, his heart was far from at ease. Having endured over a hundred full-force bombardments from Prince Yuanque, his own consumption was also exceptionally immense. Coupled with the exhaustion from his previous four consecutive battles, his profound energy and physical strength were now less than thirty percent.

And after this, there was still Hui Ran, who was far more terrifying than Prince Yuanque!

It seemed he couldn't continue like this; he had to finish him quickly.

Yun Che had originally intended to focus on defense, waiting for Prince Yuanque to collapse under the strain before counterattacking to defeat him. This would relatively reduce his own consumption and conserve his strength. However, seeing Prince Yuanque still desperately fighting, he had to reconsider.

"Ultimate… Sky Dragon Cleave!!"

Prince Yuanque desperately poured all his strength into his twin spears. The black and silver long spears conjured two profound energy storms that intertwined, carrying an aura of world destruction, instantly engulfing the entire arena. Within the "confined" space of the arena, Yun Che had no retreat whatsoever.

This was essentially Prince Yuanque's desperate, final struggle on the verge of despair. As the surging waves of aura rushed towards him, a crimson glint flashed in Yun Che's eyes.

"Pur… gatory!"

Prince Yuanque's terrifying attack captured everyone's gaze and soul. Everyone stared with wide eyes, preparing to see how Yun Che would respond. But at that moment, everyone suddenly felt Yun Che's aura surge dramatically.

"Wh-wh-wh… what?!" Su Xiangnan, the dignified head of the Su family, stammered out a cry of shock as he looked at Yun Che.

The ferocity of this duel had infinitely exceeded everyone's expectations. That Yun Che could still hold on while Prince Yuanque used a forbidden technique was, in everyone's eyes, a miracle among miracles. He was gradually suppressed by Prince Yuanque, and everyone in the west seats worried that he might collapse at any moment, shattered by a single spear strike from Prince Yuanque.

But… they could never have imagined that, under these circumstances, Yun Che's aura would suddenly surge dramatically… a true, substantial surge! The magnitude of this surge far surpassed Prince Yuanque's, completely overshadowing Prince Yuanque's amplified power aura in just a brief instant.