Chapter 662: Scared out of their wits

All the disdain from Ye Qingsheng and Ye Ziyi turned into chilling dread. They were not fools. Although the opponent's profound energy aura was indeed only at the third level of the Sovereign Profound Realm, they clearly understood what level of profound energy was required to achieve what had just happened.

They had always paid little attention to the Seven Nations Ranking Tournament. To the Sacred Grounds, the Seven Nations were merely low-level entities. Even the mighty Divine Phoenix Empire would not have been given a second thought if not for the deterrence of the Phoenix God. As for the tournament itself, they considered it nothing more than a childish game played by slightly stronger weaklings. They knew the name "Yun Che" only because the Divine Phoenix Empire had been defeated for the first time in the Seven Nations Ranking Tournament, and because Ye Xinghan had returned from the Divine Phoenix Empire gnashing his teeth at the mention of "Yun Che."

Now, they vaguely recalled... three years ago, when Yun Che single-handedly defeated the ten strongest young experts of the Divine Phoenix Nation, his profound energy realm was only at the Earth Profound Realm. At the time, almost everyone in the Sun Moon Divine Hall had dismissed it as unbelievable, even a joke.

Yet, the ten Divine Phoenix disciples he defeated were all at the mid-stage... or even late-stage Sovereign Profound Realm.

If that rumor were true... if a Yun Che at the Earth Profound Realm could defeat late-stage Sovereign Profound Realm practitioners, then what about Yun Che, whose profound energy was now at the Sovereign Profound Realm?

The scene that had just unfolded was an immense shock to Ye Qingsheng and Ye Ziyi. Their minds were violently shaken and unable to settle. Facing this young man, whose profound energy aura was only at the third level of the Sovereign Profound Realm, a growing sense of dread began to emerge.

Ye Qingsheng could no longer force a smile. He could only pray that what had just happened was an unrepeatable "coincidence." Gritting his teeth, he waved an arm: "All of you, attack together... take him down!!"

At Ye Qingsheng's command, profound energy simultaneously erupted from the nine black-clad Sovereigns. They let out low roars and charged at Yun Che from various directions, each with ferocious eyes and holding nothing back. Nine powerful profound energy auras created crisscrossing spatial ripples. Their comrade had been instantly obliterated by this young man, who was half a major realm weaker than them, which might be explained as a peculiar "accident." But with nine of them attacking simultaneously, such an "accident"... could not possibly happen again, no matter what.

Nine Sovereigns of level eight or higher besieging a single level three Sovereign – before today, they would have found such a notion utterly ridiculous. Yun Che's current profound energy realm was indeed the Sovereign Profound Realm, but his actual power could never be measured by conventional profound energy levels. Although they were all in the Sovereign Profound Realm, the power of a Sovereign was, to him now... only fit to be described as "pitifully weak."

Faced with the siege of the nine Sovereigns, Yun Che did not move an inch, not even a ripple disturbed his gaze. He simply raised his arm, and a blue light gleamed in his palm. As he waved his arm, nine points of ice spirit suddenly shot forth. The ice spirits were incredibly fast, leaving nine persistent icy-blue trails in the air. The nine Sovereigns didn't even have time to see the blue light before they were all struck in the chest by the ice spirits.

Crack, crack, crack...

The icy-blue glows were as small as fireflies, but the moment the ice spirits touched the nine Sovereigns, their entire bodies were instantly enveloped in blue light, transforming into ice sculptures... completely, from the inside out!

There were no screams, no fear, let alone any movements of resistance. Only the sound of nine layers of ice forming, overlapping. The next instant, the nine ice sculptures simultaneously crashed to the ground from the air.

Thump, thump, thump, thump...

The ice sculptures shattered instantly upon impact. Some crumbled into dust, others broke into several pieces, even the lightest were split at the waist, their bodies covered in dozens of cracks. The one who had been flying highest was reduced to a pile of ice shards. Yet, on the debris-strewn ground, not a single trace of blood could be seen. This was because even their blood had been completely frozen solid in that instant.

"Wha... wha... what?!" Ye Qingsheng and Ye Ziyi simultaneously took a step back. The pupils of these two mighty Tyrant Sovereigns constricted, and their legs trembled visibly.

Nine high-level Sovereigns, instantly frozen. What was most terrifying was that when their frozen bodies fell, they shattered completely, just like ordinary ice blocks dropped on hard ground!

As high-level Sovereigns, with protective profound energy from the Sovereign Profound Realm, their bodies should absolutely not have shattered, even if they fell from a thousand-foot abyss. Even if frozen, their protective profound energy should still have been present... and even if they died in that instant, their profound energy should not have completely dissipated immediately.

But the scene before their eyes was so terrifying that they simply couldn't believe what they were seeing. They began to wonder if it was an illusion that didn't exist at all... or a nightmare.

Unless... unless in that instant, not only their bodies but also their profound energy had been completely frozen.

But how could power of that magnitude possibly appear in someone only in their twenties, whose profound energy aura was merely at the Sovereign Profound Realm!

"Ah..." Behind Yun Che, the Ice Cloud maidens instinctively raised their hands to cover their mouths in gasps of astonishment. The Seven Fairies of Ice Cloud were all stunned as well. The scene before them was a thousand times more shocking than when he had instantly obliterated a ninth-level Sovereign just moments ago.

This was power they had never witnessed, power that completely defied their understanding!

Instantly obliterating a ninth-level Sovereign was something Ye Qingsheng and Ye Ziyi might still manage, but instantly obliterating nine late-stage Sovereigns was absolutely impossible for them, even if they combined their strength. Furthermore, they had detected no profound energy fluctuations during Yun Che's recent move; throughout the entire process, Yun Che had simply waved his hand with immense casualness. It was as if it was merely a flick of his wrist.

Both men held their breath completely, and the chill within them instantly intensified dozens of times. At that moment, Yun Che's gaze fell directly upon them, and an intense murderous aura locked onto them firmly: "It's your turn now."

Locked by Yun Che's killing intent, their entire bodies suddenly went cold, feeling as if a python had coiled tightly around them, its venomous fangs poised at their throats.

A never-before-felt sense of terror spread throughout their bodies. If they had been unsure of the power gap between themselves and Yun Che before, then being locked by his killing intent... the indescribable bone-chilling cold, the uncontrollable trembling of their souls, and the oppressive sensation that made their profound energy difficult to circulate as it recoiled in fear, all made them realize in horror that this young man's profound energy not only vastly surpassed the Sovereign Profound Realm but was also nearly a whole level stronger than their own mid-stage Tyrant Sovereign power!

They had only ever felt such a powerful aura from an Emperor.

Yun Che, before them... he who could effortlessly kill nine late-stage Sovereigns... definitely had the ability to kill the two of them as well!

Ye Qingsheng subtly shifted his feet backward... a gesture of someone ready to flee at any moment. At this point, he could no longer maintain his arrogance, no matter what. Forcing himself not to show fear, he growled, "Yun Che! You... do you know who we are...?"

"I don't know who you are," Yun Che replied, each word landing like a colossal boulder slamming into their chests. "But I do know... you'll both be dead men soon!"

Whoosh!

Before Yun Che's voice had fully faded, his figure blurred, and his true body appeared like a specter before Ye Ziyi. His speed was simply too great; no one could react in time. Even as he materialized before the two Tyrant Sovereigns, their gazes were still fixed on the afterimage he had left behind, which hadn't yet vanished.

"Agh!" The sudden appearance of Yun Che's figure startled the already tense Ye Qingsheng, who let out a strange cry and shot backward. Meanwhile, Yun Che's right hand had clamped firmly onto Ye Ziyi's throat, lifting him completely off the ground as he raised his arm.

Ye Ziyi's eyes were wide, bulging severely, and his entire face turned blood-red. The hand gripping his throat was so fierce and tight that he couldn't even let out a single groan of pain. Furthermore, his profound energy was completely suppressed and sealed by an utterly dominant force, preventing him from exerting even the slightest power to resist. He hung limply from Yun Che's palm, like a rigid corpse.

Ye Qingsheng retreated in horror, and the women of Ice Cloud Asgard all turned deathly pale. Ye Qingsheng and Ye Ziyi were two incredibly powerful Tyrant Sovereigns. They were the ones who had driven the entire Ice Cloud Asgard into despair. To them, these men were more terrifying and powerful than devils, beings that could not possibly be resisted or defeated.

Yet, such formidable individuals were now being held by Yun Che, gripped by the throat, with only involuntary muscle spasms showing any sign of life, no resistance whatsoever. Even his hands hung limply... he didn't even have the strength to raise them!

Without absolute suppression of power, how could this mighty Tyrant Sovereign be utterly incapable of resistance?

Ye Ziyi's pupils slowly dilated, and his eyes, on the verge of bursting, were filled with terror, despair, and desperate pleas. But Yun Che showed not a trace of pity. As his fingers tightened slightly, Ye Ziyi's throat bones silently pulverized. Yun Che murmured, "My Ice Cloud Asgard had no grievance with you, yet you acted with such malice... Although you are just a lackey... your death won't absolve your crimes! Die...!!"

As the word "Die" fell, a fiery gleam flashed in Yun Che's eyes. Blazing Golden Crow flames ignited from his hand, instantly spreading over Ye Ziyi's entire body, turning him into a living torch. Ye Ziyi, consumed by the Golden Crow flames, writhed in such agony that even his pupils convulsed. All his fear and pleas transformed into ultimate pain and despair.

The flames surged high in Yun Che's hand, then rapidly receded after a few breaths. As the flames died down and the last ember flickered out, Ye Ziyi's body had completely vanished... leaving not even a speck of ash.

Ice Cloud Divine Hall fell silent, the air growing hot. But Ye Qingsheng felt as cold as if he were in a frozen hell. He had watched helplessly as Ye Ziyi was burned to ashes in Yun Che's hand in mere moments, without even a fraction of a second of resistance. His body went limp as Ye Ziyi's vanished. As Yun Che's gaze slowly turned to him, he let out a shrill cry, scrambling along the wall and tumbling out, fleeing like a terrified stray dog.