Chapter 714: Battle Emperor

"Heh, a century has passed since I last saw the light of day. I never imagined that this young upstart would become so incredibly arrogant." Feng Tianyu's slightly altered expression quickly returned to normal. He wasn't angered by Yun Che's words; instead, he slowly shook his head, letting out a sigh of pity.

"Ignorant junior, the name of our Divine Sect's Grand Elder is not one you are fit to utter," Feng Tianqing said in a deep voice.

Both men's expressions remained as calm as before, but their hearts were undeniably stirred. They had repeatedly confirmed that Yun Che's profound energy aura was indeed only at the third level of the Sovereign Profound Realm. Although they had already learned this from Feng Hengkong, seeing it with their own eyes still shocked them. To kill several of their princes and elders with just Sovereign Profound power, forcing the Phoenix Divine Sect's most senior generation to intervene—this was beyond belief. Could such a person truly exist in this world?

"Oh? I don't understand what you mean," Yun Che sneered. "Raising a son like Feng Hengkong, who is worse than a pig or dog, utterly devoid of conscience, and deserving of divine retribution—I feel shame and sorrow on behalf of your Grand Elder, Feng Tianwei. I'm not fit to utter his name? Ha, I'd feel like my mouth was dirty just saying his full name. Ptooey!"

"Insolence!"

In the five millennia of the Phoenix Divine Sect's existence, no one had ever dared to insult the Grand Elder's name in such a manner! Even the Four Sacred Grounds would never presume to do so! Feng Tianyu and Feng Tianqing, whose minds and souls had been tempered for hundreds of years, were utterly enraged by Yun Che's words. They had already witnessed Yun Che's arrogance the moment they met him, but they never expected him to be so outrageously audacious!

"Young upstart, you have incredible gall, daring to insult our Divine Sect's Grand Elder!" Feng Tianyu roared in fury.

"Grand Elders, there's no need to get angry with him," Feng Hengkong suddenly interjected in a deep voice. "This scoundrel possesses an extraordinary temperament. Three years ago, his profound energy was only at the Earth Profound Realm, yet he remained incredibly calm when facing our Divine Sect alone. Although he appears calm now, it's impossible for him not to fear the two Grand Elders. His words are clearly an attempt to deliberately provoke you, so he can seize an opportunity to escape when you are enraged!"

"This boy is incredibly cunning, and his various schemes are hard to guard against. There's absolutely no need for the two Grand Elders to waste words on him… just kill him directly!"

The moment Feng Hengkong finished speaking, Feng Tianyu shot into the air, a flaming halberd appearing out of thin air and thrusting directly towards Yun Che: "Arrogant scoundrel, prepare to die!"

The Emperor's strike unleashed an aura that instantly sent tens of thousands of Phoenix disciples sprawling to the ground below, while sand and dust raged for dozens of miles around.

Yun Che's figure flickered, effortlessly evading the attack with a Star God's Broken Shadow, causing Feng Tianyu's strike to hit nothing but an afterimage. Profound light flared around Yun Che, and under the effect of the Vanishing Shadow Gaggle, he shot like a bolt of lightning towards the southeast.

"Feng Hengkong, it seems you still aren't planning to behave today, and you've even called out two old geezers. Hahahahaha… you better not regret this!"

As a third-level Emperor, his attack, aimed at a Sovereign, had been completely evaded. The flaming halberd, imbued with the Emperor's scorching power, had only pierced an afterimage. Feng Tianyu was instantly a mix of shock and rage. He swiftly turned, his body engulfed in Phoenix flames, and pursued Yun Che: "Let's see where you can run! Today, I will personally burn you to ashes!"

Feng Tianqing soared into the air, just about to join the chase, when Feng Tianyu's voice echoed from a distance: "Tianqing, stay in the sect. This scoundrel isn't worthy of both of us acting together!"

Feng Tianqing immediately withdrew his profound energy. He watched Yun Che and Feng Tianyu disappear into the distance, a look of astonishment on his face: "It seems what you said wasn't an exaggeration. A mere Sovereign can display such speed! It's almost on par with Tianyu's!"

"The movement profound art he used is very likely the Vanishing Shadow Gaggle from the God Stealing Clan. The Vanishing Shadow Gaggle is recognized as the number one movement profound art in the Azure Cloud Continent," Feng Hengkong said bitterly.

"However, there's no way he can escape Tianyu's grasp," Feng Tianqing said plainly. "While his speed might rival Tianyu's, in terms of profound energy reserves, he and Tianyu are worlds apart. Tianyu might find it difficult to catch him quickly, but given enough time, Yun Che's profound energy will inevitably deplete rapidly. Then, hmph, we'll see how arrogant he can be."

With the Vanishing Shadow Gaggle activated, Yun Che sped through the air, Phoenix City quickly passing beneath him. Two miles behind him, Feng Tianyu's body was ablaze with Phoenix flames, creating scorching gusts wherever he went. His eyes were fixed on Yun Che's retreating figure, but his heart grew increasingly alarmed. Although he never lost sight of his target, he was already using his full strength, yet he couldn't close the distance between himself and Yun Che. He had pursued for a long time, but they remained two miles apart.

A dignified third-level Emperor, at full speed, couldn't even catch up to a third-level Sovereign!

If someone had told him such a thing, he would have dismissed it as a preposterous joke. Yet, it was happening to him right now!

With such speed, it was no wonder Feng Hengkong had been pushed to this extent.

The clouds above were violently torn open by two furious energy waves. Before long, the two figures, one behind the other, had flown out of Phoenix City's range, heading directly southeast.

When they were a hundred miles away from Phoenix City, Feng Tianyu's gaze suddenly sharpened. Yun Che's figure in his line of sight was gradually getting larger. The distance between them was closing, and at a rather rapid pace.

Feng Tianyu's brow twitched, and a look of delight appeared on his face. While Yun Che's speed was astonishing, how could his endurance compare to an Emperor's? His flames surged, and his speed subtly increased by another fraction. Just as he was about to shout, he suddenly saw Yun Che's figure rapidly approaching in front of him.

Yun Che had actually stopped mid-air and turned to face him.

"Heh, giving up, are we?" Feng Tianyu sneered. He hadn't ignored Feng Hengkong's previous words and had no intention of stopping to toy with his prey. He extended his right arm, and the flames on his body instantly expanded, forming eight thick pillars of fire that shot directly towards Yun Che.

This was the devouring fire of an Emperor. The moment the eight Phoenix flames surged forward, the space around Yun Che twisted into countless vortexes. All elements, sounds, and even light were completely annihilated by the Emperor's fire.

Yun Che's expression was calm, his gaze icy and composed. He floated in mid-air with no intention of evading. Phoenix flames also blazed around him. He crossed his arms over his chest, then abruptly swung them open.

Instantly, eight identical Phoenix flames roared out from his body, carrying a profound and scorching light even more intense than Feng Tianyu's, and surged towards the eight incoming Phoenix flames.

The sixteen Phoenix flames, like sixteen monstrous, dancing fire pythons, collided in mid-air.

With a deafening roar, dozens of massive cracks instantly ripped through the earth. Sand and dust erupted like a fountain, soaring a hundred zhang high. The towering blaze reached several hundred zhang in height, painting the entire sky a vivid crimson for several breaths.

As the firelight dissipated, the relatively flat ground beneath Yun Che and Feng Tianyu had been transformed into a massive crater, with scattered embers everywhere in the air. Seeing Yun Che completely unharmed, Feng Tianyu's expression finally shifted. Although that had merely been a casual wave of his Phoenix flames, it was profound energy at the Emperor level! Even if Yun Che truly was as formidable as Feng Hengkong described, he should have at least been severely burned.

But he never dreamed that the Phoenix flames he unleashed would be completely nullified by Yun Che!

Feng Tianyu did not resume his attack. His hawk-like eyes fixed on Yun Che. "The Sect Master told me your profound energy is only at the third level of the Sovereign Profound Realm, yet your strength is comparable to a Half-Step Emperor! I didn't believe it then, but now it seems the Sect Master's assessment wasn't exaggerated."

"To unleash power comparable to a Half-Step Emperor with Sovereign Profound energy—not just me, but perhaps no one with such extraordinary talent has ever appeared in the history of the Azure Cloud Continent. In terms of innate ability, calling you the greatest talent in the Azure Cloud Continent's history would be no exaggeration." Feng Tianyu's words were praise, but the killing intent in his eyes grew increasingly heavy. "Yet you chose to come to my Phoenix Divine Sect to seek death! It seems I must personally kill a true genius today!"

"Oh, then I truly appreciate you personally taking action," Yun Che said with a sarcastic look.

"Since you know my name, you should also have a general idea of my strength. It seems you're not entirely foolish, knowing that any further escape would only be a futile struggle!" Feng Tianyu raised his palm, and a cluster of profoundly deep Phoenix flames condensed within it. "Since I entered the Emperor Profound Realm, I have never struck down anyone under three hundred years old. With your talent, dying by my hand is not unjust!"

"Unfortunately, you are far more foolish than I anticipated," Yun Che chuckled faintly. "Do you really think I was running away? Heh, I was merely leading you to a suitable place to be your grave! If I truly wanted to escape, with your speed, you wouldn't even be qualified to eat my dust."

"On the verge of death, and still spewing such arrogance. Die!"

Feng Tianyu roared, flipping his palm to launch a "Phoenix Arrow" at Yun Che. This time, he used a full fifty percent of his profound energy, the unleashing Phoenix flames creating a fiery storm accompanied by a thunderous roar.

Yun Che's expression turned serious. Jasmine had already informed him that Feng Tianyu's profound energy was at the mid-third level of the Emperor Profound Realm. Aside from his clash with Prince Huai in the Illusory Demon Realm and his daily sparring with Yun Qinghong, this was his first true encounter with an Emperor! And one who was a mortal enemy determined to kill him!

Jasmine had clearly told him before that if he unleashed his full power, he could roughly reach the strength of a third-level Emperor Profound practitioner. However, due to his bloodline, physique, profound art, and killing moves being incomparable to any profound practitioner on the Azure Cloud Continent, he could be considered invincible among those of the same profound realm level. In other words, while his profound energy strength could reach the third level of the Emperor Profound Realm, no one at that same level would be his match.

Furthermore, Feng Tianyu was using Phoenix flames, which significantly reduced the threat they posed to Yun Che!

Therefore, he was confident he had no reason to lose to Feng Tianyu!

"Hades!"

With a low roar, Yun Che activated the Hades Domain, and the profound light around his body, along with the glow in his eyes, instantly turned crimson. The profound energy aura he released exploded outwards, expanding wildly in an instant.

A profound energy storm surged towards him, as violent as a sledgehammer striking him directly. Feeling the change in Yun Che's profound energy, Feng Tianyu's face drastically changed. His pupils contracted to the size of needlepoints: "Wh-what?!"

Because this was a profound energy aura almost equal to his own in intensity!