Chapter 568 – Victory Round
Crack… crack…
In the enormous Demon Imperial Hall, there were more than ten thousand strong practitioners from all over the world, but besides the sound of the shattered jade falling from the wall, there weren’t any other traces of sound at all… not even the sound of breathing. Everyone in the Demon Imperial Hall had already stood up with their eyes widened, mouths opened, and it was uncertain just how many jaws had almost dropped onto the ground.
Even the Little Demon Empress had already stood up from her throne, and was staring blatantly at the Hui Ran who was smashed into the wall.
Closest to the arena, standing on its edge, the eyes of Duke Huai, who had already built up his power in preparation to stop Yun Qinghong from rescuing Yun Che, bulged out, and the corners of his mouth, eyebrows, and chin, were all twitching as if they were cramping… For someone who was able to make the Little Demon Empress hesitate to mobilize against, able to make more than sixty percent of the Guardian Families and Duke Palaces abandon the Demon Emperor’s bloodline and turn to him, his manipulative manner and temperament were as imagined. But at this moment, his mind became completely chaotic and his face became crooked watching this scene.
The strength of this round of battle displayed an extreme disparity… the gap was even wider than in any of the other rounds. Hui Ran’s strength was already far stronger than Yun Che’s strength, and on top of that, Yun Che had fought five battles in a row, and his profound energy was greatly exhausted. The focus of the audience wasn’t on who would win the battle at all, but whether or not Yun Che could survive to the end…
The whole process of the two fighting hand to hand only lasted an instant…
That instant was so short that no one had been able to react yet…
And one of them was knocked away fiercely, flew directly out of the arena, and was smashed into the east wall of the Demon Imperial Hall.
According to the rules, falling outside the arena, also meant the end of this battle!
The one who was blown away instantly wasn’t Yun Che, but was the one whose strength was abnormally high, who could stomp Yun Che completely, the Hui Ran whom no one thought had any chance of losing!!
The scene that they saw, was no different from a dying little blade of grass suddenly knocking over a tall tree that had been rooted in the ground for ten thousand years… It was as mind blowing as the heavens and earth suddenly turning upside down.
“Big Brother… won…” Xiao Yun mumbled, as though he had lost his soul, then followed with an uncontrollably loud yell, “Big Brother won… Big Brother won!! Our Yun Family won!”
Xiao Yun’s loud, excited yelling brought everyone back from shock. At that instant, countless exclamations assembled into an earthshaking, loud soundwave.
“Yun Che won… It’s true… Yun Che won!!”
“Th-th-th… this is the most incredible thing that I have seen all my life!”
“Hui Ran lost… lost in only one move! Ahhhh… I cannot believe my own eyes, am I dreaming?!”
“This is impossible… Impossible! Who can tell me what happened, this is definitely impossible!!”
“Hui Ran was the last person from Duke Huai’s side. Yun Che won… that means, the end result is the Yun Family’s victory!!”
“Father… Hui Ran lost, and Yun Che won… We… actually… we won!” Su Zhizhan stuttered, his voice swayed, as if he was sleep talking.
“That’s… right.” Su Xiangnan nodded slowly, and his voice shivered heavily, “I believe no matter who it is, it would be impossible for anyone to expect this result. This Yun Che… what kind of god is he?”
The dignified Su Family Patriarch actually used the word “god” to describe Yun Che, but at this moment, it didn’t sound exaggerated or unsuitable at all to anyone in the Su Family.
“Unbelievable… unbelievable… it really is unbelievable.” Mu Feiyan said the word “unbelievable” three times in a row. This Mu Family Patriarch, who had lived for more than several hundred years, exhibited the emotion of “amazement” in his eyes, voice, and expression. He was just criticizing Yun Che earlier for being too young and rash, not knowing when to fight or yield, but he then realized that Yun Che knew exactly what he was doing. After he had reached a hundred years of age, he rarely misjudged anyone, but when it came to Yun Che, he kept underestimating over and over again…
Mu Yubai opened his mouth, and mumbled in a low voice, “This boy, where did this little monster come from…”
He had always been serious about being sworn brothers with Yun Che, but at this moment, he felt diffident in his heart. At first, he lowered himself at all costs and asked Yun Che himself to become sworn brothers. Half of it was because of his gratitude to him, and the other half was naturally because of his top medical skills which had cured Yun Qinghong and Mu Yurou… If he got a brother like this, then it wouldn’t just be him getting a few more lives, it would benefit the entire Mu Family.
The reason why he was so adamant on getting what he wanted and was a bit forceful back then, was because he was, after all, the Mu Family’s young patriarch, and would soon become a true Patriarch of the Mu Family. He thought for sure that his background and ability was absolutely worthy enough. But now, after seeing Yun Che’s incredibly shocking skills, temperament, and boldness, on top of his medical skills that could amaze everyone under heaven… this Yun Che, who had all of these qualities, was only twenty-two years old!
Him at the same age would be beaten by Yun Che instantly by who knows how many city blocks.
Since he had accomplished this kind of achievement at the mere age of twenty-two, it made his future accomplishments even more unimaginable.
If someone said he would become the number one of the Illusory Demon Realm in the future, probably none of the people here who had witnessed everything today would doubt it.
Therefore, under Yun Che’s overly bright radiance, this dignified Mu Family’s young patriarch became unconfident about lowering himself and taking the initiative to ask to become sworn brothers…
“Such a character has actually appeared in our Demon Illusory Realm.” Greatest Ambition Under Heaven said in an impressed voice, “But unfortunately, he is Yun Qinghong’s adopted son. If he were their biological son, the Yun Family wouldn’t have any worries in the future… Firstly, Father originally thought that you overexaggerated, but in truth, Yun Che was even more impressive than you had described. This boy’s achievements in the future will definitely shake the heavens. On top of that, he is the savior of our Under Heaven Clan… You all should make friends with him more later on.”
All the brothers of the Under Heaven Clan were nodding their heads. Everyone’s eyes were still filled with deep shock and astonishment.
Yun Qinghong stood tall. The Yun Family’s elders who were behind him were already so riled up that they didn’t bother to take note of their image, and started yelling with the young disciples until they almost lost their voices. He didn’t yell, and didn’t rush into the arena. He gazed at Yun Che as tears welled up in his tiger eyes. He knew clearly… Everyone knew clearly, this result, wasn’t just as simple as an unimaginable miracle. He saved the Yun Family from its fate, saved all of the Guardian Families and Duke Palaces who were loyal to the Little Demon Empress, and most importantly, he saved the momentum and dignity of the Demon Emperor’s bloodline.
He even gave Duke Huai’s people, who were originally incredibly cocky, a severe, heavy strike.
“Che’er, Father is proud of you!” Yun Qinghong said while smiling. He didn’t even look at Duke Huai… because there was no question that Duke Huai’s face must have looked extremely awful.
Duke Huai’s face awful-looking right then was not only awful, it was so crooked that it was hard to tell his facial features apart. The faces of Duke Zhong, other masters of various great Duke Palaces, and patriarchs from the east wing, all darkened to the color of a pot’s bottom. They stood there, gazing at each other, but none of them were able to say a word.
“Ahhhh!!”
Bang!!
The east wall of the hall suddenly exploded in a beast-like roar. Hui Ran jumped out with disheveled hair and a face full of blood, and rushed directly towards Yun Che with bloodshot eyes, “Bastard… this duke will kill you!!”
Even though Hui Ran looked extremely beaten down, his momentum was still incredibly shocking. After taking two sword attacks from Yun Che under the state of Dragon Soul Domain, not only did his profound energy not collapse, judging from the surface, he didn’t seem to have suffered from any serious injuries… Yun Che felt slightly cold in his heart. This Hui Ran’s strength was indeed unusual.
A profound storm with a raging aura struck. The Yun Family’s Great Elder Yun Waitian flew up, and immediately went in front of Yun Che to protect him. He roared furiously, “Hui Ran, what do you think you’re doing?!!”
At present, the entire Yun Family treated Yun Che like their precious treasure, how could they possibly let him get hurt?
No matter how strong Hui Ran was, it was impossible for him to be Yun Waitian’s match. Under the imposing aura of Yun Waitian, he was forced away immediately. Hui Ran was even angrier, as he roared furiously, “This bastard tricked me! With this duke’s ability, how is it possible for me to lose to this kind of trash… Yun Che, do you dare to fight this duke fairly?!”
Yun Family’s Second Elder Yun Duanshui also flew in front of Yun Che to protect him. He looked at Hui Ran, laughed coldly and said, “Hui Ran, a loss is a loss. No one here is blind. We all clearly saw everything. You are a dignified duke after all, and you can’t afford to lose? Hmph, aren’t you afraid of making your entire Duke Huai Palace the whole world’s laughingstock?”
“Shut up!” Hui Ran pointed his finger at Yun Che, and his whole body was shivering. This extremely arrogant person had never lost in his entire life. But today, under everyone’s eyes, he was blasted out of the arena by someone who was far weaker than himself, who had already exhausted most of his profound energy. He had never been humiliated like this ever in his whole life. “How could this duke possibly lose! Just now, it was clearly…”
“Enough!”
Duke Huai’s face was as calm as the surface of water. He scolded Hui Ran harshly, “Are you trying to humiliate our Duke Palace even more!? Back down immediately!”
“Father…” Duke Hui Ran’s face was cramping. Everyone’s gazes were like knives on his back. He held his fists tightly in reconciliation, looked at Yun Che viciously, and gnashed his teeth while he turned around to walk out of the arena. As soon as he got back to his seat, he spat out a mouthful of blood violently… Yun Che’s heavy sword wasn’t so easy to bear.
“Very well!” The Little Demon Empress walked down slowly. That face which seemed to always be cold revealed some relief in a moment of extreme rarity, “What a remarkable competition. Yun Che was only in the Sky Profound Realm, but he alone fought six battles in a row, and won consecutively against our Demon Imperial City’s six geniuses. It was eye-opening, even to this empress, very impressive!”
“According from the rules that were set before the competition, if the Yun Family loses, they will lose the title of Guardian Family. The Yun Family was originally on the edge of the cliff, but Yun Che turned the tide himself, and turned defeat into victory. Looks like even the heavens are on the Yun Family’s side!”
The Little Demon Empress’ gaze slanted, swept across the east wing, and at last landed on Duke Huai, “Duke Huai, do you have anything else to say about this result?”
Before Duke Huai even spoken yet, Yun Che already said loudly, “Before Duke Huai says anything, may I remind Duke Huai… the wager that both of our sides had agreed to. Duke Huai, please don’t forget about it! If you win, our Yun Family leaves the Guardian Families. And if we win… heh! You all can shut up about our Yun Family’s business now. And… Helian, Chiyang, Nangong, Bai, Xiao, Lin, each of these families must submit two and a half kilograms of Purple Veined Divine Crystals to our Yun Family within a month! And you, Duke Huai, must turn in ten kilograms of Purple Veined Divine Crystals to our Yun Family within a month!”
The corners of Yun Che’s mouth arched, “Regarding this, we have the Little Demon Empress and everyone here as witnesses. You, Duke Huai, and the seven families agreed that easily… Duke Huai, I believe that you, as a dignified duke, wouldn’t go back on your words with everyone watching, right?”
After Yun Che finished speaking, the faces of everyone from the seven families all became the color of pig liver. This two and a half kilograms of Purple Veined Divine Crystal was their lifeline, and even the Guardian Families that were on the peak of the Demon Illusory Realm would have to accumulate for hundreds of years to reach that amount. The reason that they followed Duke Huai’s lead and agreed to it, and let everyone witness, was because they were extremely sure that their side would absolutely not lose. This “bargaining chip” were merely there as a decoration.
And now, they lost…
If they really submitted two and a half kilograms of Purple Veined Divine Crystals, then it would be the same as destroying the hundred years of the family’s progress. As for the Yun Family who had gathered a few dozen kilograms of Purple Veined Divine Crystal, it would be hard for them to not ascend. They absolutely could not accept this… but unfortunately this was the Demon Empress’ Grand Ceremony, where all the strong practitioners from the Illusory Demon Realm gathered. Ten thousand strong Illusory Demon practitioners were the most solid witnesses in the whole world. If they went back on their words, then it would essentially mean peeling off the skin of their faces in front of all the people under heaven, ruining the family’s prestige and reputation, and being despised and humiliated by everyone.
But at this moment, Duke Huai was not panicking at all; instead he smiled lightly, “Of course this duke did not forget. This competition was brought up originally by me. No matter win or loss, this duke would naturally accept calmly. We would definitely not be a sore loser, would definitely not go back on what we had promised, and shame our Duke Huai Palace. I believe all of the Guardian Families are like this as well.”
“But, you seemed to have completely misunderstood something.” Duke Huai’s eyes narrowed in half, and said without a hurry, “This competition was about the fate of the Yun Family. The people qualified to represent each side for the battle must be under the age of thirty-five, and they must also be from the Guardian Families and Illusory Demon Duke Palaces.”
After Duke Huai spoke, the expressions of the people in the west wing changed, and the eyes of the people in the east wing all brightened up. Duke Huai said with a smile, “Yun Qinghong, if this duke remembered correctly, this Yun Che is only a son that you adopted from somewhere else? Since he is only an adopted son, then that means he does not have the Yun Family’s bloodline… Since he does not have the Yun Family’s bloodline, then how is he qualified to represent the Yun Family for the battle!”