Chapter 978: Flying Snow and Cold Elegance

The immense profound energy erupting from Yun Che, vastly exceeding the limits of the Sovereign Profound Realm, genuinely startled Mu Yizhou and Mu Luoqiu. Yet, in the eyes of two late-stage Divine Spirit Realm experts, this level of power remained utterly trivial.

"You're courting death!"

Confronted by Yun Che's apparent death wish, Mu Yizhou didn't even bother to move. With his right hand behind his back, he casually extended his left, and a surge of chilling energy instantly engulfed all areas around Yun Che.

Though it was just a casual flick of Mu Yizhou's hand, this was frigid energy from the Divine Spirit Realm. Even a profound practitioner at level ten of the Divine Origin Realm would be instantly frozen upon contact.

Under the cold energy, the air currents in the surrounding space came to a complete halt. However, Yun Che charged straight through the frigid air, not only unaffected by its sealing power but without even a momentary pause.

Wh-what?

This scene caught Mu Yizhou, Mu Luoqiu, and Mu Xiaolan entirely by surprise. Given that Yun Che was several levels beneath them, Mu Yizhou and Mu Luoqiu certainly weren't paying close attention. As Yun Che abruptly closed in, Mu Yizhou, after a brief moment of shock, quickly lunged at him. Mu Luoqiu also instinctively thrust out her palm, sending a surge of icy air hurtling forward.

Yun Che, already incredibly fast, suddenly boosted his speed severalfold when he was just four zhang away. Simultaneously, Mu Yizhou and Mu Luoqiu's vision blurred as Yun Che instantly fragmented into five identical true images.

Boom! Boom!

Two loud bangs echoed, sending snow soaring a hundred zhang high. The astonishing air currents pushed Mu Xiaolan and Feng Mo far back. Within the swirling air, all five afterimages of Yun Che shattered and vanished without a trace.

Mu Yizhou stood stunned for half a breath, then sharply spun around... Less than twenty zhang behind him, Yun Che stood completely unharmed, a faint mocking smile on his face, holding a person's head in his hand.

The person he held was none other than Liu Hang, whom they had been protecting just moments ago!

Mu Luoqiu also spun around like lightning at that moment. Both stood frozen, their expressions turning incredibly grim.

Mu Xiaolan and Feng Mo were utterly dumbfounded as well.

Two of the Ice Phoenix Palace's top disciples, absolute powerhouses at the late Divine Spirit Realm, had Liu Hang snatched by Yun Che right from under their noses—and from directly in front of them, no less!

"Ah... ah... ah..." Liu Hang was held by Yun Che, his head clutched, pupils dilated, appearing completely disoriented.

"You just called me the joke and disgrace of the Ice Phoenix Palace. So, what does that make you, who had someone snatched by me, a joke and disgrace, in mere moments?" Yun Che's lips curved into a merciless sneer. "Stinking piles of dog shit?"

"Yun Che, you are eroding my last shred of mercy!" Startled and thoroughly enraged, Mu Yizhou stepped forward, glaring at Yun Che. "So what if you snatched him? If you dare to touch him again..." he threatened fiercely.

Crack!

"Arghhhhh!"

The sound of shattering bone was followed by Liu Hang's terrified shriek. His skull audibly cracked under Yun Che's fingers, and more than a dozen streams of blood gushed down from the crown of his head.

"Ah, ah... ah, ah... ahhhhh!" Clearly feeling his skull being crushed, it was a fear no less than plummeting into hell. Liu Hang shrieked desperately, like a fiend instantly scared witless, his body convulsing uncontrollably from extreme terror, as if boneless.

"Xiao Hang!" Mu Luoqiu gasped in alarm, and Mu Yizhou's steps froze. They never dreamed Yun Che would actually strike, let alone inflict such a vicious blow by crushing Liu Hang's skull—an official disciple of the Snowfall Hall, and right in front of them.

"I touched him, so what are you going to do to me?" Blood seeped between Yun Che's fingers. Liu Hang's skull was already cracked; a little more pressure would be enough to crush his entire head.

Despite such a vicious act, Yun Che was smiling. That sinister grin sent a shiver down the spines of both Mu Yizhou and Mu Luoqiu.

"Yun Che... you... you dare!" Mu Yizhou's voice trembled, and his body quivered slightly. In all his years within the Ice Phoenix Palace, indeed, in his entire life, he had never encountered anyone so utterly ruthless and uncompromising.

"What is there to not dare?" Yun Che continued to smile. "I've already thoroughly offended you, and you yourself said you wouldn't let me go. In that case, I might as well kill him and at least get some extra leverage."

"Cousin... no... don't... don't come any closer..." Liu Hang was utterly terrified. "He... he'll do it... he's insane... don't come any closer... please don't!"

"Yun Che... no, no, Senior Brother Yun... please let me go... just let me go, I'll never dare again... I promise... I promise my cousins won't trouble you... I promise! Cousins, save me... save me!"

"Brother, what do we do? He... he..." Mu Luoqiu was completely at a loss.

Mu Yizhou gritted his teeth, trapped between a rock and a hard place. Yun Che's terrifying gaze and uncompromising methods made both of them realize that any rash move could genuinely provoke him to kill Liu Hang.

"Mu Yizhou," Yun Che, still holding Liu Hang's head, actually took a step towards Mu Yizhou and Mu Luoqiu. "I was originally disciplining this trash who bullies fellow disciples on your behalf. If you had just thanked me, and I had called you Senior Brother, how harmonious and wonderful that would have been. But you insisted on arrogantly showing off. You say I'm courting death? Heh, Mu Yizhou, I absolutely have the guts to kill Liu Hang, but you... do you have the guts to kill me?"

"You..." Mu Yizhou nearly ground his teeth to dust, momentarily speechless and cornered by this "lower realm trash" whom he had previously dismissed entirely.

Because he genuinely lacked the courage to kill Yun Che—even if Yun Che were to actually kill Liu Hang.

Although Yun Che's profound strength was low and he came from the lower realm, the entire sect knew that Mu Bingyun herself had personally brought him back. To date, Yun Che was the only person she had ever brought back from the lower realm. Three months prior, in the main Snowfall Hall, she had personally defended Yun Che, even going so far as to angrily rebuke Mu Fengshu on his behalf, clearly demonstrating his importance to her.

And what kind of person was Mu Bingyun? She was the Great Realm King's younger sister, a peerless expert at the mid-Divine Sovereign Realm a millennium ago, and the foremost among the thirty-six palace masters. In terms of prestige, status, and strength, none could surpass her; she was arguably the second most powerful individual in the entire Snow Song Realm, second only to the Great Realm King.

For the past millennium, Mu Bingyun had been in decline, rarely appearing and constantly at risk of succumbing to poison. However, the entire sect now knew she had miraculously recovered and would soon regain the imposing power she wielded a millennium ago as the Ice Cloud Palace Master. Her only direct disciples were Mu Xiaolan and Yun Che. While Mu Yizhou might dare to discipline Yun Che under her protection, even with ten times the courage, he would never dare to truly harm him fatally.

Yun Che's palm was clamped tightly onto Liu Hang's skull like an iron hook. The sneer on his lips looked like a demon's grin to anyone who saw it.

In the eyes of all his adversaries, he had always been a ruthless individual. Yet today, neither Liu Hang nor Mu Yizhou bore him any deep-seated grudge. His attitude, however, was brazen and overbearing, and his actions vicious and merciless—because he was "emboldened," and also because he was venting.

He had followed Mu Bingyun to the Snow Song Realm precisely to enter the Heaven Profound Realm with the Snow Song Realm King after thirty months, thereby getting a chance to see Jasmine. But a voice from Heaven Profound mercilessly crushed this hope, and the words "Divine Tribulation Realm" were an incredibly cruel joke to him. For the past three months, while forcing himself to consume Jadefall Ice Soul Pills and cultivating desperately, he had also been harboring intense resentment.

And Liu Hang, unfortunately, became the target of his pent-up frustration.

And the one who had forced him to break his promise was none other than the Snow Song Realm King!

He had saved the life of the Snow Song Realm King's own sister, yet she could no longer take him to the Heaven Profound Realm as previously promised. Overwhelmed with stifled frustration, he had no reason not to act with such boldness!

"This corner, usually so quiet that even the falling snow is exceptionally careful, is quite lively today. Yet, isn't an unexpected encounter here also a wonderful surprise?"

Just as the scene spiraled completely out of control, an incredibly gentle voice, like a spring breeze melting snow, softly drifted over. For a moment, even the falling snow seemed to slow its descent, and the suffocatingly tense atmosphere felt as if an invisible, gentle breeze had swept through, silently easing the tension.

"That voice... ah!" Mu Xiaolan whispered, then gasped in surprise, covering her lips in delight.

A tall, slender figure slowly emerged from the swirling snow. Dressed in white like pristine snow, his face resembled radiant jade, flawlessly handsome. He walked with light steps, as if treading on clouds. Wherever he went, the falling snow quietly parted, seemingly unwilling to disturb him.

He seemed to step out of a painting, a light smile gracing his lips, crafting a beauty that made the swirling snow pale in comparison. Even other men would find themselves momentarily lost in his presence.

Even Yun Che's gaze briefly and uncontrollably lingered on this figure—an appearance so perfect it would make any man envious (almost second only to himself), an elegance like falling blossoms and snow, and an intangible aura that entirely transcended the realm of mortals, as if he were born to stand among the clouds, admired by all.

"Ah! Han Yi... Senior Brother... it's really Senior Brother Han Yi! Ah!"

Mu Luoqiu, who had just been tense and enraged, let out an exaggerated shriek, excitedly covering her face with her hands. Her eyes, brimming with delight, shone so brightly they almost seemed to emit light—like a mortal girl who had suddenly encountered her prince charming. She completely forgot her current predicament, even the fact that Liu Hang's life was still in Yun Che's grasp.

Senior Brother Han Yi?

Mu Hanyi!?

The Mu Hanyi that Mu Xiaolan worshipped, the most outstanding disciple of the Ice Phoenix Divine Hall and indeed the entire Ice Phoenix Divine Sect, the one most likely to become one of the Realm King's direct disciples!?