Chapter 726: Phoenix Soul Awakening of Xueer

The flames struck Feng Tianwei's chest, instantly suffocating him. The profound energy surging through his body receded like a fast-ebbing tide, greatly startling him. He quickly tried to gather his energy, but no matter how he attempted to summon his profound energy, he couldn't release even a trace of power. In just a single breath, even the phoenix flames on his body completely extinguished.

This unprecedented phenomenon caused Feng Tianwei to blanch in horror. His body was also rapidly and forcefully pushed away by the crimson light surging from the front. In his ears, he heard the startled cries of Feng Hengkong and others. Not only him, but everyone from the Phoenix Divine Sect around him was forcibly pushed back by this sudden burst and spread of flames, further and further away.

If Feng Tianwei himself couldn't muster a shred of resistance, then others stood no chance.

Above Phoenix City, a massive, enchanting lotus of flames bloomed in the sky, unfurling layer upon layer of fiery petals. By the time these fiery petals had bloomed to a hundred layers, all the Phoenix Divine Sect members who had previously surrounded Yun Che had been pushed several miles away. The heart of this giant fiery lotus lay at the feet of Feng Xue'er and Yun Che.

When the overly dense firelight finally stopped pervading his entire vision, Feng Tianwei quickly looked up towards Feng Xue'er's position. When his gaze fell upon the almost tangible phoenix shadow behind Feng Xue'er, his entire body instantly froze. His soul trembled uncontrollably, making him almost want to kneel and prostrate himself in worship.

“Phoenix... Phoenix Soul... Awakened?”

The enchanting fiery lotus stopped blooming further and harmed no one; it merely forced everyone away.

Outside the fiery lotus, everyone's gazes were so fervent they seemed to burn, their faces etched with shock. But beyond the shock, there was deep excitement, ecstasy, and disbelief.

The fiery lotus that had pushed everyone away had begun to retract. However, their attention was no longer on Yun Che; instead, they stared blankly at Feng Xue'er, at the phoenix shadow behind her, and felt the aura emanating from her—an aura distinctly similar to that of their ancestral Phoenix God!

“Xue'er, your Phoenix Soul... it has awakened!?” Feng Hengkong exclaimed, extending his hands in immense excitement. None of the Phoenix Elders were less excited; some were almost at a loss for words, and some even had tears in their eyes.

Outsiders wouldn't grasp the concept of a Phoenix Soul awakening, but for the Phoenix Divine Sect, these four words were like a divine decree!

Feng Hengkong and Feng Tianwei both clearly remembered that the Phoenix God, before its passing, had personally stated that with Feng Xue'er's talent, the Phoenix Soul it had bequeathed to her would awaken a century later. Once Feng Xue'er's Phoenix Soul awakened and fully integrated with her Phoenix God body, her phoenix profound energy would skyrocket overnight. Moreover, over the next ten years, it would grow at a speed incomprehensible to mortals, eventually reaching the height of a Phoenix God!

Thus becoming the Phoenix Divine Sect's second Phoenix God!

And through continuous cultivation, there was even the possibility of surpassing the Phoenix God!

Therefore, after the Phoenix God's demise, Feng Xue'er represented the future of the Phoenix Divine Sect!

Before Feng Xue'er fully matured, the news of the Phoenix God's death absolutely could not be leaked; he would spare no effort to preserve the Phoenix Divine Sect. And once Feng Xue'er's Phoenix Soul and body awakened after a century of endurance, establishing her as the second Phoenix God, the Phoenix Divine Sect would no longer need to fear any power—not even the Four Sacred Grounds.

But Feng Hengkong and Feng Tianwei had never dreamed, nor dared to hope, that Feng Xue'er's Phoenix Soul had already awakened!

The aura of power that should only belong to their ancestral Phoenix God, along with the fully materialized phoenix shadow, were the best proof!

Furthermore, her phoenix profound energy had clearly undergone a monumental growth! Feng Tianwei, a Level Six Monarch, had almost no power to resist beneath the flames she unleashed! And that was not merely suppression by the Phoenix God's aura, but also suppression by absolute power!

For them, this was a dream-like, immense surprise.

Thus, they wouldn't need to endure for another century. In just ten short years, Feng Xue'er's phoenix profound energy would rapidly and fully grow through the integration of her bloodline and soul, gaining the divine power to rival their ancestral Phoenix God. Then, the Phoenix Divine Sect would face no more crises!

A century versus a decade was not merely a tenfold difference in time for the Phoenix Divine Sect; it represented a world of difference concerning the fate of their entire sect!

“Xue'er, your three years of unconsciousness... was it truly because your Phoenix Soul was awakening?” Feng Tianwei asked, his voice trembling. Even he, known for his resolute ruthlessness, had forgotten his intent to kill Yun Che at this moment. Feng Xue'er had been unconscious for three long years, her entire body enveloped in strange phoenix flames that even he couldn't approach. During this time, they had countless suspicions and conjectures, but they had absolutely dared not imagine that it was her Phoenix Soul awakening.

“Yes...” Standing at the heart of the Blazing Star Fire Lotus, bathed in the glow of the phoenix shadow, Feng Xue'er appeared like a divine fire fairy from a celestial scripture, beautiful and ethereal. Her long hair had turned fiery crimson as she released the power of her Phoenix Soul, and her eyes, demeanor, and aura had undergone tremendous changes. “Do you know... why my Phoenix Soul awakened so quickly?”

Why did it awaken so fast? Undoubtedly, everyone in the Phoenix Divine Sect wanted to know the answer. If this was a miracle bestowed by heaven, there must still be a reason for its occurrence.

“It's because of Big Brother Yun.” Feng Xue'er looked at Yun Che with her luminous eyes and said softly, “Three years ago, Big Brother Yun not only saved my life, but he also bestowed upon me the fifth and sixth stages of the Phoenix World Scripture. This allowed the phoenix power within my body to sublimate and integrate, completing the Phoenix Flame Law that supports the Phoenix Soul. Consequently, the Phoenix Soul bestowed upon me by the Phoenix God was able to awaken a century ahead of schedule...”

“My life was saved by Big Brother Yun, and the Phoenix Soul I awakened was bestowed by Big Brother Yun. Big Brother Yun's great kindness to me and to our entire clan is so immense that it can never be repaid. Yet you have repeatedly tried to harm and kill Big Brother Yun!”

Feng Xue'er was angry; it was the first time in anyone's life present that they had seen her in such a state. She slowly extended her hand, and the phoenix shadow behind her spread its magnificent wings. An earth-shattering phoenix aura descended from the sky, enveloping the entire Phoenix City and everyone within it. Facing the awakened Phoenix Soul, even those with profound energy far surpassing Feng Xue'er would tremble and submit under this Phoenix God's pressure. Not only would they be unable to resist physically, but they wouldn't even be able to form the thought of resistance. Once she fully became the Phoenix God, her desire to completely seal someone's phoenix profound energy, or even abolish their bloodline and life, would be but a single thought.

“I swear in the name of the Phoenix God...” This pure-hearted maiden spoke words that seemed too heavy for her, enunciating each one: “Within the sect, should anyone dare to harm Big Brother Yun again... no matter who it is, I will never forgive them. If Big Brother Yun dies... I will immediately sever my Phoenix Soul and Phoenix Blood!”

“Xue'er!!” Feng Xue'er's words greatly alarmed Feng Hengkong. He knew, with absolute certainty, that if Feng Xue'er died, the Phoenix Divine Sect would truly be utterly finished, losing even its future and its hope. At the same time, she was his only and most cherished daughter, the greatest pride of his life. He would rather die ten thousand times over than see her suffer the slightest harm.

The resolve in Feng Xue'er's voice was chillingly clear. With her words, Feng Tianwei, no matter what, dared not make another move against Yun Che. Especially now that her Phoenix Soul had awakened, her words were an unchallengeable divine decree to everyone in the Phoenix Divine Sect.

“Alright... Grandfather promises Xue'er that as long as Yun Che does not actively provoke us in the future, no one in our entire clan will lay a hand on him or those around him!” Feng Tianwei said, calming his mind and using an extremely sincere tone. “All the things he has done—destroying the Phoenix God Statue, killing Xichen and Xiluo... everything can be written off and will no longer be pursued. Regarding the Blue Wind Nation, we will immediately order our troops to withdraw, and can even provide some compensation and appeasement to Blue Wind. Is this... acceptable?”

Yun Che had completely retracted the Golden Crow domain. He and Feng Xue'er stood together at the center of the fiery lotus, silently sensing the aura emanating from her. Although both inherited the most primal Phoenix blood and Phoenix Soul, he could feel that the purity of the phoenix bloodline within Feng Xue'er was at least several hundred times greater than his own. It was likely that the bloodlines of everyone in the Phoenix Divine Sect combined would not equal hers alone. The difference in Phoenix Soul wasn't overly exaggerated, only about double his. However, under a phoenix bloodline several hundred times purer than his, the phoenix pressure released was, in comparison to him, an overwhelming suppression on a different level.

If he hadn't possessed the Dragon God's Soul, he feared even he would be unable to resist kneeling under this phoenix pressure.

Clearly, the ancestral Phoenix God of the Phoenix Divine Sect had valued and cherished Feng Xue'er immensely, bequeathing its entire essence to her almost without reservation.

Yun Che, who had been watching Feng Xue'er, turned his gaze cold after hearing Feng Tianwei's words, then let out a low, cold laugh. His gaze, sharp as a cold blade, shot directly at Feng Tianwei: “Feng Tianwei, it seems you've completely misunderstood something! You tried to kill me, and indeed, you deserve divine retribution. But if I were to kill you, that would be perfectly justified! You trampled upon my Blue Wind Nation's land, and for that, you deserve divine punishment and utter annihilation. Even if the entire Divine Phoenix Empire were emptied to compensate Blue Wind, it would still be perfectly justified! It's truly brazen of you to speak of not attacking me and retreating your troops as if it were a favor!”

“Yun Che, don't push your luck!” Feng Tianwei's expression instantly darkened.

“Who exactly is pushing their luck?” Yun Che asked, his face full of cold mockery. “Do you truly believe you could have killed me just now if Xue'er hadn't intervened? Do you truly think I'm so naive and idiotic as to put myself in a death trap without any backup plans, all for the sake of forgiving you?”

“If I truly wanted to leave, Feng Tianwei, even ten of you wouldn't be able to touch a single hair on my head!” Yun Che's gaze, fixed on Feng Tianwei and Feng Hengkong, turned dangerous and sinister. “And if I truly wanted to destroy your entire clan, I wouldn't even need to act myself... I'd just need to tell certain people about something you're desperately trying to conceal. Who knows, I might even gain a massive benefit from it.”

“...You!” Yun Che's words caused Feng Hengkong and Feng Tianwei's expressions to change abruptly—his earlier certainty was indeed due to knowing this secret! He and Feng Xue'er both possessed the Phoenix God's Soul... perhaps that was why he knew this secret.

“Now do you realize... how much face I've already given you?!” Yun Che extended a finger, pointing directly at Feng Hengkong's face. “The two times you tried to ambush and kill me before, for Xue'er's sake, I can temporarily forget. However, every single one of the conditions I previously set must be met, not one less, not one bit less! Don't you dare... push your luck again!”

The same five words were thrown back at them by Yun Che, amplified many times over.