Chapter 571: Moving the Stone to Hurt One's Own Foot

"Prince Huai, what is the meaning of this?!" Yan Zijing stood up and shouted.

"Were my words not clear enough?" Prince Huai smiled faintly and said nonchalantly, "Yun Che is merely an adopted son of Yun Qinghong, not a true member of the Yun family. Everyone present here is perfectly aware of this. An adopted son, in the end, is just an outsider. What right does he have to represent the Yun family in battle... especially here in the Demon Imperial Hall, and for such an important matter concerning the guardian family's fate!"

"Yun Che's strength is indeed astonishing and remarkable, as everyone here has witnessed. He ultimately defeated my son, Huiran. Although there was a significant element of luck involved, a defeat is a defeat, and our Prince Huai's manor will never deny it. However, the one who defeated my son Huiran, and our last six participants, was Yun Che, not the Yun family! In essence, he had no right whatsoever to even participate in this duel! The six matches he took part in were indeed splendid sparring sessions, but they were nothing more than that. They had absolutely no bearing on this duel that determines the Yun family's fate!!"

Prince Huai's words were like buckets of cold water, chilling the Western Seating area's occupants to the bone and filling them with bitter resentment. When Yun Che first entered the arena, most people had thought of this point. Even several Yun family elders had used this reason to ask Yun Qinghong to replace Yun Che with their most outstanding young disciple. However, due to Yun Qinghong's insistence, Yun Che still took the stage, and no one from the Eastern Seating area raised any objections... How could someone with strength as low as the Sky Profound Realm possibly represent the Yun family in battle? They were too busy relishing the spectacle to point out that he wasn't a Yun family disciple and therefore unqualified to fight.

After that, with each match, everyone was profoundly astonished by Yun Che, and almost everyone subconsciously overlooked this issue.

Now that Prince Huai had suddenly brought it up, the people in the Western Seating area, especially those from the Yun family, who had been in a state of extreme excitement and joy, felt as if they had been struck in a vital point... Although it was clear Prince Huai was trying to renege, his reason was so solid it was beyond refutation. While Yun Che bore the Yun surname, he was not a Yun family disciple, much less Yun Qinghong's biological son; he was merely a recently adopted "foster son." He genuinely had no qualifications to represent the Yun family in battle.

The Demon Imperial Hall holds these contests every hundred years. Each time, the various princely manors and twelve families compete, and conflicts and ideological clashes between families and manors are often resolved through such matches. Naturally, only members of the princely manors and guardian families are permitted to participate in these disputes between manors and guardian families. Outsiders are strictly forbidden from interfering, and given the power and status of these manors and families, outsiders simply lack the ability or qualification to intervene.

Moreover, this was an unprecedentedly important matter concerning the Yun family's very existence.

Thus, Prince Huai's words had truly hit a critical nerve.

"Prince Huai, you are clearly trying to renege!" Su Xiangnan sharply retorted, "Yun Che is Yun Qinghong's adopted son. If he's an adopted son, then he's considered part of the Yun family. Why can't he represent the Yun family in battle?!"

Su Xiangnan's words were resounding, but his argument sounded weak to anyone listening. As expected, Prince Huai chuckled faintly, "Heh, what a ridiculous joke. According to Patriarch Su, in the future, if there are any disputes that need to be resolved through profound strength contests, can I just randomly find some peerless experts, adopt them as sons, and have them represent my Prince Huai's manor in battle? Heh heh, what would be the point of the rankings of our princely manors and guardian families then? What would be the point of us dedicating ourselves to cultivating the next generation? Wouldn't it simply come down to who has more adopted sons, or who can find more powerful adopted sons?"

"Patriarch Su, you actually agree that an outsider can represent a guardian family or a princely manor in battle! Where do you place the dignity of our princely manors and guardian families?!"

"You..." Su Xiangnan's face darkened, but he was left speechless.

"Prince Huai, if you claim Yun Che was unqualified, why didn't you say so, why didn't you stop him when he entered the arena?!" Mu Yubai asked with a cold face.

"Why should I have stopped him?" Prince Huai retorted, "Allowing an outsider to represent the Yun family in battle is such a ridiculous and foolish act. The Yun family made this decision out of their own foolishness, and they must bear the consequences themselves. I had no obligation to warn or stop them."

Mu Yubai's face was as black as charcoal, filled with silent resentment, yet he was utterly unable to retort. Everyone in the Western Seating area gritted their teeth. Today, they had experienced the sensation of going from hell to heaven, and then suddenly plummeting back to hell from heaven. All they felt was sighs, vexation, and despair. In contrast, on the Eastern Seating side, all their previous grim expressions had vanished. Each person looked relaxed, their eyes showing disdain, even a hint of pity.

"Patriarch..." Yun Waitian and Yun Duanshui turned to look at Yun Qinghong. Everyone in the Western Seating area also looked at Yun Qinghong in unison.

Yun Qinghong had remained silent. At this moment, Yun Che, who had taken dozens of deep breaths and whose vital energy had finally stabilized, put away the Heaven Smiting Sword. He walked to stand between Yun Waitian and Yun Duanshui, who were protecting him, and faced Prince Huai directly, saying without a change in expression, "Your Highness Prince Huai is indeed correct. Without the Yun family bloodline, merely being an adopted son truly does not qualify one to represent the esteemed Yun family. But Prince Huai, what makes you so certain that I am not a son of the Yun family?"

Yun Che's words made Prince Huai's eyes narrow, then he burst into laughter. Many on the Eastern Seating side also laughed aloud. The moment Yun Che spoke, they immediately guessed his intention... Clearly, in this predicament, he was shamelessly going to claim he was a Yun family member, and perhaps even concoct a story and produce some so-called "evidence" later.

If it had been any other family, such a tactic might indeed have caused them trouble, but this was the Yun family.

The Yun family possessed a unique way in this world to prove their bloodline: Profound Vein Aura!

Profound Vein Aura is a power of the bloodline. Only those with Yun family blood can possess Profound Vein Aura, and it is unparalleled in the world! Moreover, this bloodline power can only be passed down from male to male, not through females. Therefore, a son of the Yun family must possess Profound Vein Aura.

Conversely, anyone who can use the power of Profound Vein Aura must also be a member of the Yun family. This has been common knowledge in the Illusory Demon Realm for ten thousand years.

Therefore, to determine if someone is a Yun family member, one only needs to see if they can activate their Profound Vein Aura. If they can, they are certainly a Yun family member, without a doubt. If they cannot, they are definitely not from the Yun family, equally without a doubt!

So, in the eyes of Prince Huai and others, Yun Che's attempt to insist he was a Yun family member was simply a joke.

"What? Are you going to tell this Prince that you are actually a Yun family member? Heh heh heh heh..." Prince Huai's laugh was full of amusement. "Then, which Yun family elder's son might you be? Or could it be that you are Yun Qinghong's illegitimate son from outside, and this 'adopted son' title is just a cover? Hahahaha!"

Having spoken, Prince Huai burst into loud laughter, and the various patriarchs in the Eastern Seating area also wore mocking expressions.

Yun Che also smiled. "Your Highness Prince Huai, you've actually hit the nail on the head. I am a son of the Yun family, possessing the purest Yun family bloodline! Yun Qinghong is my biological father!"

These words didn't shock everyone present, but they did make many people burst out laughing. Mu Yubai slapped his forehead and muttered in annoyance, "Oh dear, this boy, he's making a huge fool of himself now. In this world, the Yun family bloodline is the one thing you absolutely cannot fake."

The most intense reaction, however, came from Mu Yurou. Listening to Yun Che's words, she suddenly grasped Yun Qinghong's hand, tears streaming uncontrollably from her eyes.

"Hahahaha..." Prince Huai laughed for a long time before finally stopping. His gaze, piercing through his narrow eyes, fixed on Yun Che, and a sudden surge of delight filled his heart... Both of his sons had been defeated by Yun Che, and his plans had been completely thwarted because of Yun Che, even backfiring immensely. Instead of humiliating and trampling his opponents, he had inadvertently bolstered their momentum. He harbored murderous intent towards Yun Che, but Hui Ye, Yuan Que, and Hui Ran had all failed to kill him. His hatred for Yun Che was like a volcano that had been churning for a thousand years. And now, he had finally found an opportunity to thoroughly humiliate Yun Che, an opportunity that the boy had willingly presented.

"Very well, since you claim to be a son of the Yun family, and Yun Qinghong's son at that, why don't you display your Profound Vein Aura for this Prince and everyone present to see?"

"Profound Vein Aura?" Yun Che's brow twitched slightly.

"What? Judging by your expression, could it be that you don't even know what Profound Vein Aura is? Profound Vein Aura is the Yun family's unique bloodline power, exclusive in this world. Any true son of the Yun family is guaranteed to inherit Profound Vein Aura. If you can display your Profound Vein Aura, then your identity as a Yun family son cannot be denied by anyone, and your right to represent the Yun family in battle will be unquestionable. Whether it's not expelling the Yun family or offering the Violet Veined Divine Crystal, this Prince will have no objection whatsoever. But if you cannot use your Profound Vein Aura..."

Prince Huai's eyes narrowed into two even thinner slits, his gaze and voice turning exceptionally cold and sinister. "If you cannot use your Profound Vein Aura, then, to impersonate a member of a guardian family, and the son of a guardian family's patriarch, in front of the Little Demon Empress and all the heroes of the realm, do you know what a grave crime that is?!"

"I'm not interested in knowing that," Yun Che took a step forward and slowly extended his arm. "I just want to remind Your Highness Prince Huai one thing: please do not forget what you just said!"

Yun Che pulled up his sleeve, revealing his left arm. "Indeed, Profound Vein Aura is the best proof of my identity as a Yun family member. It cannot be faked, not even imitated! Your Highness Prince Huai, you better open your eyes wide... Watch closely!!"

As Yun Che's voice fell, under everyone's gaze, his "Purgatory" silently activated. On his arm, a cyan sword-shaped mark suddenly appeared.

The moment this mark appeared, all the Yun family members' bodies trembled violently. "That... that's..."

With a thought from Yun Che, a wisp of deep cyan light shot out from the mark, floating before him. Following his intention, it rapidly transformed into the shape of the Heaven Smiting Sword, and a unique aura, exclusive to Profound Vein Aura, quickly emanated and spread throughout the entire Demon Imperial Hall.

"Profound... Profound Vein Aura!!" Yun Waitian and Yun Duanshui, standing behind Yun Che, simultaneously cried out in astonishment.

Prince Huai's expression, the instant the Profound Vein Aura appeared, became incredibly stiff. His pupils contracted sharply, as if suddenly pricked by needles.