Chapter 674: Overbearing Power of the Sky

To accurately determine a profound practitioner's cultivation level, one's own profound energy must be superior to the target's. Yet, Yun Che precisely stated the profound energy levels of all four Profound Emperors, even Ye Guying, who was nearing the late stages of the Sovereign Profound Realm.

Given Yun Che's Profound King Realm aura, this feat should be utterly impossible. The only logical explanation, then, is the presence of an incredibly powerful profound practitioner nearby, one whose cultivation even surpasses Ye Guying's.

What was previously a minor suspicion instantly amplified manifold with Yun Che's declaration. It now seemed almost certain that Yun Che had a formidable "backer." Furthermore, this backer's strength must far exceed their expectations, as this individual could accurately discern their profound energy levels while remaining completely undetectable to them. Such flawless concealment implied not just superior profound energy, but likely a vastly superior cultivation level.

Could it be... a late-stage Sovereign Profound Realm practitioner?

Impossible... Beyond the Four Sacred Grounds, no other high-level Sovereign Profound practitioners should exist in this world!

Observing Yun Che's calm, fearless expression and irksome sneer, their initial thought that he was merely bluffing largely dissipated.

Ye Guying quickly masked a flicker of surprise and calmly smiled. "Regardless of whether we intend to kill you today... your reaction suggests you've long known of our arrival?"

"Heh," Yun Che scoffed with disdain, his gaze turning utterly contemptuous as he stared at the powerful Ninth Elder of the Sun Moon Divine Hall as if he were an idiot. "To utter something so insulting to your own intelligence—and it comes from an elder of the Sun Moon Divine Hall! When I killed Ye Ziyi, I deliberately used his Death Soul Imprint to transmit the entire scene of his demise back to your Young Master, Ye Xinghan. My sole intention was for Ye Xinghan to immediately bring people to hunt me down... and now you're questioning whether I knew you would arrive? Hahahahaha! The intelligence of a Sun Moon Divine Hall elder... it's truly a joke!"

Yun Che's words made Ye Guying's pupils constrict, yet his expression remained unperturbed, devoid of anger. He merely offered a faint smile. "So, when you killed Ye Ziyi, you had already detected his Death Soul Imprint, and you intentionally used it to inform the Young Master that you were his killer?"

"What else?" Yun Che's lips curled in a sneer. "Did none of you bother to consider why both Ye Ziyi and Ye Qingsheng died, yet you never received Ye Qingsheng's death mark?"

A subtle shift occurred in the expressions of everyone from the Sun Moon Divine Hall. Earlier, on the Sun Moon Divine Ark, Ye Guying had cautiously voiced this very doubt, even proposing that the opponent might have intentionally preserved Ye Ziyi's Death Soul Imprint to lure them. After all, if someone could erase Ye Qingsheng's Death Soul Imprint, they certainly wouldn't have missed Ye Ziyi's. Yet, at the time, they had dismissed the idea, attributing Ye Qingsheng's missing imprint to natural dissipation. To intentionally provoke and "lure" the Sun Moon Divine Hall was unthinkable—unless one was actively courting death!

But now, hearing these words from Yun Che himself, they couldn't help but feel a jolt of alarm, and an unsettling, unbidden sense of unease began to stir. Nevertheless, Ye Juanyun stepped forward, sneering mockingly, "So what? Yun Che, in our eyes, you're nothing but a pathetic frog in a well. How could you possibly comprehend the true vastness of the sky or the depth of the earth? Do you truly believe that your 'master' can stand against our Sun Moon Divine Hall? Hahahahaha..." Ye Juanyun burst into uproarious laughter. "How utterly naive and absurd! You could never even begin to imagine the power of our Sun Moon Divine Hall, nor are you worthy of knowing it! Your arrogance and your supposed powerful backing are, to us, nothing more than a colossal joke!"

"Oh?" Yun Che slightly lowered his brows. "You actually know about my master?"

"Tsk tsk, anyone who dares to act so presumptuously before our Sun Moon Divine Hall either dies a terrible death or lives a life worse than death," Ye Shi sneered, resting his hand on his chin. "Young Yun, not even one master, or a hundred masters, will be able to save your life today!"

"Oh, really?" Yun Che smiled faintly, his voice subtly shifting from arrogant to a deeper tone. "My master usually resides in his own minor realm, and I rarely dare to disturb his peaceful cultivation, nor do I wish to rely on his power. However," Yun Che's eyes turned chillingly cold, "the Ice Cloud Asgard had no grievance with you, yet you inflicted such a heinous tragedy upon it, not only driving it to despair but also causing the deaths of two successive palace masters... This grievance, this hatred, is irreconcilable! If I cannot exact vengeance for this, I am unworthy of being the new Palace Master of Ice Cloud Asgard!!"

"Today, I shall borrow my master's strength, and with the blood of Ye Xinghan... with the blood of all of you, I will honor the spirits of the two Palace Masters in the heavens!" Yun Che raised his left hand. "You will soon discover who the true frog in the well is! When my master deigns to appear, you would do well to control yourselves... lest you soil this pristine land of ice and snow by soiling your trousers out of fright!"

Yun Che's voice was sharp and stern, each word steeped in fury and hatred. The moment his declaration ended, Ye Xinghan's expression darkened. Just as he was about to speak, a flash of light emanated from Yun Che, and then... he vanished instantly, completely without a trace—neither his form nor his aura remained!

Ye Guying and the others were utterly stunned. They could not conceive of a profound practitioner below the Sovereign Profound Realm escaping under their watchful eyes. Yet, despite their immense power at the Sovereign Profound Realm and the vast range of their spiritual perception, they could detect no trace of Yun Che. He had simply, completely vanished before them in an instant!

"What... what just happened?" Ye Shi swept his gaze around, asking in a deep voice. In their understanding, this was utterly impossible! Not to mention a mere Profound King, even a Sovereign Profound practitioner of their own level could not disappear so completely and instantaneously from their sight.

Ye Guying's brows furrowed deeply. He suddenly recalled Yun Che's earlier statement: "My master usually resides in his own minor realm, and I rarely dare to disturb his peaceful cultivation..." His heart jolted. A minor realm of his own? Could his master truly be the legendary figure capable of creating a personal minor realm? Had Yun Che vanished by entering this "minor realm" where his master resided?

Amidst their shock, a flash of light suddenly erupted before them, and Yun Che's figure reappeared. The re-emerged Yun Che did not meet their gaze; instead, his head was half-bowed, his aura significantly suppressed. All traces of his previous arrogance and haughtiness had vanished, replaced by an air of caution and deep reverence.

"Yun Che, where is your master?!" Ye Shi roared. "Don't tell us your so-called master heard the words 'Sun Moon Divine Hall' and ran away in fear, soiling his trousers, haha..."

Ye Shi's boisterous laughter abruptly ceased, his face instantly contorted in shock.

"Alas..."

A long, ancient sigh, laden with an ineffable weight and a sense of profound antiquity, echoed forth. Accompanying this sigh was an immeasurable, boundless pressure that defied description. This immense aura seemed to surge from the very edges of the cosmos, instantly filling the entire sky and earth.

It felt as though the heavens themselves had inverted above them. The entire world fell into an absolute, deathly silence.

The four Profound Emperors of the Sun Moon Divine Hall—Ye Shi, Ye Xiaoran, Ye Juanyun, and the strongest among them, Ye Guying—were instantly choked by this descending pressure. Their chests felt as if a colossal mountain range had settled upon them. Breathing became impossible; even their heartbeats nearly ceased. Their bodies stiffened completely, yet every cell within them vibrated with an uncontrollable, violent tremor that they could not suppress.

With great difficulty, they lifted their heads, their pupils constricted in fear, to gaze at the figure that had suddenly materialized in mid-air. He wore a voluminous black robe that billowed and swayed in the whispering cold wind, obscuring most of his face, preventing them from discerning his true features. Underneath that utterly terrifying pressure, even they, powerful as they were, dared not let their eyes linger on his half-hidden face. Even the black robe he wore seemed to carry the oppressive weight of a mountain.

In this world, an aura is the one thing that cannot be faked. And the aura emanating from this black-robed figure was so overwhelmingly powerful that they found it indescribable, unimaginable even. They were mighty Sovereign Profound practitioners, standing at the apex of the world; there should be no aura in existence capable of making them tremble. Yet, beneath this overwhelming presence, they felt as insignificant as grains of sand before a vast ocean. In their stunned minds, they could barely believe this aura belonged to a human; it felt, instead, like the heaven-shaking might of a true god from ancient myths!

What was even more terrifying was that this aura, though immeasurable and boundless, was not violent or chaotic; instead, it was perfectly stable and ripple-free. This implied that it was merely the black-robed figure's natural, passive emanation of power, not a deliberate, full-force release of profound energy!

"Master!" Yun Che dropped to one knee, his head bowed low. The very same Yun Che who had been so brazenly arrogant even before the Sun Moon Divine Hall now spoke with profound reverence... and even a touch of apprehension.

Ye Xinghan's face contorted horribly, and none of the four elders could manage a single laugh. They exchanged glances, each seeing profound shock and unease reflected in the other's eyes. An aura capable of instilling such deep fear and trembling even in Profound Emperors—based on this alone, the strength of this individual undoubtedly surpassed even the Heavenly Sovereigns of their Sun Moon Divine Hall!

This was... Yun Che's enigmatic master?

How could such a demonic, god-like entity possibly exist in this world?!