Chapter 961: Not So Much

As Li Mingcheng approached, Yun Che remained completely still, his hands clasped behind his back, showing no sign of defense or counterattack. The crowd found this unsurprising; they had all felt the icy power Li Mingcheng unleashed, and given Yun Che's strength, it seemed impossible for him to struggle against Li Mingcheng's freezing grip.

Victory or defeat would be decided in an instant.

To everyone present, this match was nothing but a pointless joke.

As Li Mingcheng looked at Yun Che, whose movements were seemingly "sealed" by his icy aura, and recalled Yun Che's previous insolence, a sinister expression crossed his face. The profound energy in his palm, aimed at Yun Che, suddenly intensified, clearly intending to inflict severe injury with a single strike.

"You brought this upon yourself!" Li Mingcheng muttered, and his palm, condensed with icy profound energy, viciously struck Yun Che's chest.

A deafening explosion echoed in the seemingly frozen space. When Li Mingcheng's palm connected with Yun Che's body, it passed straight through, dissipating only a phantom image. Caught completely off guard, Li Mingcheng stumbled violently forward, nearly collapsing to the ground. He quickly withdrew his power and steadied himself, a flicker of shock appearing in his eyes.

"First move," Yun Che's voice said from less than three zhang to Li Mingcheng's right.

This scene caught everyone completely off guard. While Li Mingcheng's attack was indeed unhurried and seemingly easy to evade, they had all clearly felt the icy aura he unleashed. Given Yun Che's strength, it should have been utterly impossible for him to break free...

Could it be that Li Mingcheng hadn't actually frozen him in place?

"Huh? What happened?" Mu Xiaolan, who had expected Yun Che to be instantly wounded by Li Mingcheng, raised her eyes, her lips slightly parted in surprise.

"Oh... what a peculiar movement technique. This young man is indeed extraordinary," Mu Sushan murmured.

No one had a clearer sense than he did of whether Li Mingcheng had used icy profound energy to contain Yun Che. Moments before, the air within several zhang around Yun Che had completely ceased to flow; everything was locked by the cold, and Yun Che was at the very center of this icy blockade. Yet, within this icy seal, he had instantly performed a displacement. Li Mingcheng's freezing effect seemed to be nonexistent.

Li Mingcheng felt a mix of shock and doubt internally, and his face showed extreme embarrassment. However, when he turned around, his expression had morphed into one of arrogant pride, his eyes reflecting the condescending approval of a strong person towards a weaker one. "Heh heh, kid, not bad at all. That was just a little greeting; we have five whole moves to play with. It would be too boring if it ended so quickly. With your mere Mid-level Sovereign Profound Realm cultivation, I was even worried you wouldn't be able to dodge that last one. It seems you haven't disappointed me yet. Come on, let's continue."

As soon as Li Mingcheng uttered these words, the surrounding crowd immediately showed expressions of understanding.

"Ah, so that's it; he was just toying with him. No wonder," someone remarked.

"Isn't it obvious? The icy aura just now must not have touched Yun Che at all. Otherwise, forget dodging, he would have been instantly frozen and severely injured."

"Li Mingcheng is actually toying with such a weak opponent. Do they have a grudge?"

"Li Mingcheng should have been first in the assessment. But Yun Che beat him by cheating, so of course he's unhappy about it. This Yun Che is also quite bold; a mere person from the lower realms dares to cheat immediately upon arriving at the Divine Ice Phoenix Sect. It seems he's accustomed to being despicable and shameless in the lower realms."

"But this time, he's definitely going to fail completely. However, I heard he was brought back from the lower realms by an Ice Phoenix Palace Master... but being so weak and still daring to cheat in the Hanxue Hall assessment, that Ice Phoenix Palace Master probably wouldn't bother wasting effort to protect him, would she?"

"Heh heh, he's starting to get a little flustered," Mu Sushan remarked with a mysterious smile.

"Ugh! He must be panicking, yet he's still pretending to be so calm... I'm a hundred times more panicked than he is!" Mu Xiaolan exclaimed, exasperated, thinking Mu Sushan was referring to Yun Che.

Mu Sushan glanced at Mu Xiaolan and said, "It seems that although you and the Ice Cloud Palace Master brought him back from the lower realms, you don't know him as well as you think."

"Of course I know him!" Mu Xiaolan retorted, utterly exasperated. "He's always been like this: clearly so weak, yet always pretending to be fearless. Not only does he have a foul mouth, but he also loves to show off, brag, and bully girls... He's simply despicable, shameless, vulgar, and brazen! It was bad enough that he was like this on his own planet, but to be the same in the Snow Song Realm... He caused such huge trouble for Master as soon as he arrived! I don't even know what to do next... It's making me furious, absolutely furious!"

Mu Xiaolan suddenly started mumbling to herself, leaving Mu Sushan momentarily speechless.

Although Li Mingcheng forced himself to act as if he had merely been toying with Yun Che, he knew the true situation perfectly well. Escaping his icy seal in an instant was absolutely impossible for someone at the Sovereign Profound Realm. He had already begun to feel a subtle unease.

"Yun Che, next, let's see how you struggle!" Li Mingcheng muttered. Two streams of cold air rapidly converged between his hands. Then, with a shift of his feet, he suddenly attacked, unleashing two currents of icy profound energy that instantly transformed into two massive icy whirlpools, hurtling towards Yun Che from left and right.

A collective gasp swept through the onlookers. The previous icy seal had been colorless and intangible; they had only sensed its aura. But these two icy whirlpools had already materialized, and the terrifying cold energy, originating from the Divine Path, made even those with slightly weaker profound energy, standing far away, feel a sudden chill throughout their bodies.

"Ah, ah, ah... Is Li Mingcheng trying to... kill Yun Che?" a profound practitioner who had just passed the assessment exclaimed in shock.

The icy pressure released by the two whirlpools heavily suppressed Yun Che. Li Mingcheng's attack this time held almost nothing back; even an early-stage Divine Origin Realm profound practitioner would find it difficult to move under such suppression. Li Mingcheng's face showed a hint of ferocity. With a change of hand gesture, the speed of the icy whirlpools suddenly accelerated, simultaneously bombarding Yun Che.

Bang!! The icy energy exploded, sending countless ice fragments flying wildly. Yet, in the space ravaged by the frigid energy and ice, only a fading afterimage slowly dissipated.

Li Mingcheng's pupils contracted slightly, but he reacted instantly. The two still-potent icy whirlpools suddenly merged, then burst apart with a slightly ferocious roar from him. The power, whose range he had deliberately suppressed, was violently unleashed, and a terrifying icy storm instantly engulfed the surrounding thousand zhang of space.

"Let's see where you'll run now!!"

"Waaah!" The profound practitioners watching immediately cried out in alarm, retreating in a desperate rush while attempting to defend themselves.

Mu Sushan's brows furrowed deeply, and he quickly extended his palm... but then, he lowered it again, his gaze fixed on the space directly in front of Li Mingcheng.

The ice dispersed, but the air remained filled with astonishing cold. Yun Che stood only thirty zhang in front of Li Mingcheng, and beneath the cold energy strong enough to freeze the blood of even a newly ascended Divine Profound Realm practitioner, his face was utterly calm. He said with complete indifference, "That's the third move."

Li Mingcheng was stunned into silence.

The entire world seemed to freeze, falling into utter silence.

Everyone standing there was a powerful practitioner who had entered the Divine Path. Under the icy storm that Li Mingcheng had suddenly unleashed, even they had to retreat at full speed while defending with all their might. He had covered such a vast area with the icy storm precisely to ensure Yun Che had nowhere to escape.

Yet, looking at Yun Che, he had clearly remained not far from Li Mingcheng the entire time, having not escaped the range of the icy storm at all.

Yet he was completely unharmed!

"Ah? What... what's going on?" Mu Xiaolan was stunned yet again.

A look of surprise also flashed in Mu Sushan's eyes.

He suddenly realized that he seemed to have still underestimated this person from the lower realms, who exuded an immense peculiarity.

All the spectators were dumbfounded. This time, even if they were fools, they wouldn't believe that Li Mingcheng was still "toying" with Yun Che.

"Yun Che, you... you clearly used some kind of protective profound artifact!" Li Mingcheng roared, pointing at Yun Che. He simply could not accept that someone with only Level 5 Sovereign Profound Realm strength could be completely unharmed by his power!

"You lost to me in the assessment and accused me of cheating. Now you can't hurt me in a fight, so you claim I used a protective profound artifact." Yun Che's lips curved slightly, revealing undisguised mockery. "That's all you amount to."

"You..." Li Mingcheng's chest heaved, almost to the point of bursting. He forced a cold laugh and said in a deep voice, "It seems I hit a nerve. You instantly dodged all three of my attacks just now, clearly by using some kind of spatial profound artifact. You only possess a meager Sovereign Profound Realm profound energy, yet you can remain unharmed under my icy aura. Aside from relying on a protective profound artifact, there's absolutely no other possibility. And the fact that you've always refused to face me directly, preferring to rely on profound artifacts for evasion and protection, is the best proof!"

"Since that's the case," Yun Che slowly raised his hand. "This time, you can attack all you want; I absolutely will not dodge."

No sooner had Yun Che's words fallen than Li Mingcheng let out a low roar and lunged straight at Yun Che, as if afraid he would change his mind. Ice spirits swirled around his open five fingers as he fiercely clawed towards Yun Che's chest.

This time, Yun Che did not retreat. Instead, he stepped half a step forward, throwing a punch with his right arm directly at Li Mingcheng.

"You're asking for death!" Watching Yun Che actually choose to meet him head-on, Li Mingcheng's eyes blazed. His entire body's profound energy surged even more dramatically, and his entire arm was enveloped by a mass of materialized ice, determined to reclaim all the frustration from the previous three moves with a single strike!

Bang!! With a resounding crash, their arms collided directly under everyone's watchful eyes. The space subtly trembled. The ferocity on Li Mingcheng's face instantly transformed into terror and disbelief, because what he felt was not the anticipated overwhelming crush, but rather as if he had been violently struck by a mountain ten thousand zhang high.

The next instant, amidst the exploding profound energy storm, both men were sent flying backward simultaneously. Yun Che executed a spin in the air and landed perfectly steadily on the ground, while Li Mingcheng stumbled, almost kneeling. He looked up at Yun Che, his pupils showing intense contraction, and his entire right arm was trembling slightly, completely numb.

"Is this your true strength?" Yun Che casually shook his wrist, sneering, "Given how arrogant you were before, I thought you were much more powerful. Turns out you're nothing special."

"If I cheated in the assessment, then what does that make you?"

The turn of events completely exceeded everyone's expectations. They had initially viewed this match as a joke and a spectacle, believing the only possible outcome was for Yun Che, the "cheater," to be exposed. They thought that with his mere Level 5 Sovereign Profound Realm profound energy, he would hardly have the strength to even struggle against Li Mingcheng.

But they hadn't expected that it wasn't Yun Che who was being toyed with; instead, it seemed to be Li Mingcheng!

Especially just now, every one of them had seen it clearly: it was a genuine, straightforward, head-on collision. The astonishing power fluctuations proved that Li Mingcheng had very likely used his full strength, yet he not only failed to defeat Yun Che but seemed to be at a slight disadvantage!

"F-fake... right?" a profound practitioner stammered, his face filled with terror.

"He... he's really only Level 5 Sovereign Profound Realm? Th-this... this can't be possible, can it?"

"Li Mingcheng is at the peak of Divine Origin Realm Level 3; how could something like this happen!"