Chapter 699 – Rebuking Divine Phoenix
Even though Feng Hengkong inwardly sighed in relief while facing Yun Che’s mocking taunts, he still couldn’t suppress the fury that was welling up in his heart, causing his killing intent to multiply. He didn’t have the ability to change the fact that the Phoenix God Sculpture had been reduced to rubble, and this insult had already been thrown at his face. As the current Divine Phoenix Emperor, his humiliation would be recorded in the records of the Divine Phoenix Nation, and he would never be able to wipe it away.
“Yun Che… Good… your are very good indeed!” Feng Hengkong could no longer be bothered with what method Yun Che used to travel from Floating Cloud City to Divine Phoenix City within the span of a day. Instead, he rasped out these words in a low voice, “Three years ago, you somehow managed to survive by the skin of your teeth… but I would have never expected that you will be so eager to throw your life away!!”
The elders and princes of the Divine Phoenix Sect had all assembled, and the addition of all the other Phoenix disciples who were also rushing towards their location at the fastest speed possible formed a giant crowd of enemies that firmly surrounded Yun Che.
This was the first time in the history of the Divine Phoenix Sect that the entire sect had been put on full alert. It was also the first time they had assembled in such an enormous battle formation.
“It’s actually you!” The Divine Phoenix Empire’s Crown Prince, Feng Ximing, stared at Yun Che in disbelief as his eyes glowed with an intense hatred that practically exploded outwards. He was one of the first people to find out that Yun Che was still alive. Because of what had happened with Feng Xue’er, his hatred for Yun Che even surpassed that of Feng Hengkong… however, the majority of this hatred had nothing to do with the Divine Phoenix Sect. Instead, it was born of an insane jealousy which had given birth to this boundless killing intent!
“You presumptuous and insolent cur! Three years ago, our sect let bygones be bygones and showed you mercy, but to think that you would actually dare to… actually dare to destroy our sect’s great gate and our Phoenix God Sculpture!” The new great elder, Feng Feilie, pointed a finger at Yun Che as his whole body trembled in anger, “Even if you were to die tens of thousands of times, you would never be able to redeem yourself of this sin!!”
“Hahahaha!” Yun Che tilted his head back as he roared in laughter, but subsequently, both his expression and his voice abruptly turned dark and cold, “You bunch of mangy old dogs from the Divine Phoenix Sect, do you still have any face to criticize me!? My Blue Wind Nation never had any quarrel with your Divine Phoenix Nation, and for a thousand years, we had also paid a tribute to your Divine Phoenix Nation We had never failed to do this even once, so what crime did we commit against you!? Yet in the last three years, without cause or reason, you have trampled over my Blue Wind Nation, destroying its cities, killing its people, and causing mountains of bodies and rivers of blood to appear in my nation. Countless of innocent people died in your hands, and even more of them were rendered homeless and destitute! Even the old, the women and the children were not spared. In three short years, you have turned a peaceful and harmonious nation into a hell that is filled with terror!
“Your actions are simply the ones which have infuriated both the gods and men, and your crimes are too innumerable to count!
“I have merely destroyed your decrepit old gate and your worn-down statue, yet even dying tens of thousands of times would not be enough to redeem myself? If that is so, then in order to make up for the crimes committed by you people which have infuriated both the gods and men, shouldn’t your entire clan, down to its very roots, have its bones scattered to the winds hundreds of thousands of times?”
“How dare you!” Feng Feiran roared in anger, “This basic law of survival in this world has always been the survival of the fittest! It is only just and proper for our Divine Phoenix Empire to swallow the weak and expand its territory! For five thousand years, our Divine Phoenix Empire has been under the protection of the Phoenix God. Since the time of our ancestor, our nation has been blessed by a divine spirit! It is not something your tiny and pitiful Blue Wind Nation can compare to! This Phoenix God Sculpture represented the prestige and the divine might of our ultimate ancestor, yet you dared to destroy it, profaning and trampling on the dignity of the divine spirit. Even if all the people in your tiny Blue Wind Nation died as compensation for this heinous crime, it would still not be enough!”
“Divine spirit? Hah!” Yun Che gave a low and cold chuckle, “To think that you would still have the face to mention the Phoenix Divine Spirit? History has indeed been established by the law of the survival of the fittest, but the wars of humanity have always been governed by one basic principle: innocents should never be harmed!. Yet you have burned Blue Wind Nation to cinders and wantonly slaughtered its innocent people. To top it all off, you even used the Phoenix flames bestowed upon you by the very same Phoenix Divine Spirit that you keep on talking about!
“The Phoenix is a sacred beast from the Primordial Era, and the Phoenix flames are a kind of profound fire that has been deemed ‘sacred flames’! Yet all of you, the inheritors of the Phoenix’s bloodline and power, have used the Phoenix flames to commit vicious acts of evil which even an animal would not stoop to! All of you have stained the originally pure and sacred flames of the divine spirit with the blood of countless innocents and your dirty deeds… So who exactly has profaned and trampled on the dignity of the divine spirit!?”
Feng Feilie roared, “You!”
“The Phoenix bloodline within my body came from the other Phoenix Divine Spirit!!” Yun Che’s cold gaze landed upon every single face he saw with a mixture of hate, fury and contempt, “And it had also existed for at least as long as your ancestor’s Phoenix God! But do you know why no other Phoenix Sect emerged as well? That is because… many years ago, when someone who had inherited the flames was fighting with his enemies, he let his Phoenix flames go out of control, burning down an entire city, and causing the deaths of many innocent people. In its fury, the other Phoenix Divine Spirit inflicted the other clan who had inherited the Phoenix bloodline with a terrible curse; a curse that restricted their profound strength to the Elementary Profound Realm forever! Furthermore, this curse was inherited from one generation to the next, never dying out!”
Yun Che’s words caused a huge change in the expressions of the disciples of the Divine Phoenix Sect who were present; some of them even displayed shock and fear on their faces.
“It was only that one incident in which the out of control Phoenix Flames burned down a city by mistake, yet that entire clan had to suffer a curse that lasted for a thousand years. That clan could only cower in a desolate corner of the land to repent for their sins for generations, without daring to show their faces again! And what about the lot of you!? The sins you have committed are ten thousand times worse than theirs! Yet you still have the nerve to talk about how you are protected by the Phoenix Divine Spirit! Pah!
“I destroyed this Phoenix God Sculpture, but the lot of you have already lost the right to be called a Phoenix clan! Allowing the sacred sculpture of the Phoenix to reside in your sin-stained and dirty lands will only tarnish the prestige and holiness of the Phoenix!”
Yun Che extended a finger and pointed at the sect master of the Divine Phoenix Sect, “Feng Hengkong! If the Phoenix Divine Spirit is truly still in this world and witnessed the vicious, evil and extremely dirty deeds that you have committed, it would personally exterminate your entire clan… if not, it is unworthy to be called a spirit of the Phoenix!”
“Silence!” Feng Hengkong roared furiously as blood rushed to his head. Three years prior, he had already experienced the might of Yun Che’s tongue, and today, nearly the entire Divine Phoenix Sect had mobilized and surrounded Yun Che, yet they were all still furiously rebuked by him; at this moment, they were losing the upper hand! Furthermore, Yun Che’s voice was as loud as thunder, and he could be clearly heard throughout the entire Divine Phoenix City; every word he spoke had viciously besmirched the prestige and glory of the Divine Phoenix Sect. Feng Hengkong continued to roar in fury, “Yun Che, you have destroyed our Divine Phoenix Sculpture without any justifiable reason and offended our ancestor and the Phoenix God, yet you still dare to label us as unrighteous?! Every action taken by my Divine Phoenix Sect has been done with the approval of our ancestor’s Phoenix God! Do not even try to slander our good name and demonize us in public…”
“Hahahahaha!” Before Feng Hengkong could finish speaking, he was immediately cut off by the wild laughter that spilled out of Yun Che’s mouth. At the same time, the look in Yun Che’s eyes grew even more contemptuous and disdainful, “Feng Hengkong, even though I have nothing but loathing for you, I had always thought that the reason you were able to become the Divine Phoenix Sect’s Sect Master was because you were solemn and upright. I thought you are at least someone who would not besmirch the reputation of the Phoenix. But I would have never thought that you, the one who represents the bloodline, power, status and five thousand years of glory bestowed by the Phoenix Divine Spirit, would not only be unrepentant for your crimes which soar to the heavens, you would even throw this dirty water that is stained with the blood of countless innocents onto the head of the Phoenix Divine Spirit as well!!”
“You…” Feng Hengkong said as his body violently trembled.
“How can you face the bloodline that burns within your body!? How can you face the Phoenix Divine Spirit?! Is there even a shred of humanity or conscience left within your soul?! And after you have passed on… where will you find the nerve to face your ancestors?!”
“Xue’er’s heart is as pure as driven snow, and she has the soul of an angel! Yet she has you, a vicious, evil and ungrateful person as a father, someone who is even lower than the lowest of animals! Not only are you unworthy to possess the bloodline of the Phoenix, you are not even worthy to be the Divine Phoenix Emperor, and you are even less worthy to be Xue’er’s father!!”
Yun Che’s every word caused Feng Hengkong to go completely berserk with anger, leaving his heart completely devoid of any feelings of mercy. Every single one of Yun Che’s words were needle-sharp and laced with venom as they directly struck at Feng Hengkong’s vulnerable spots. Every muscle in Feng Hengkong’s face twitched with fury, and due to his extreme rage, the profound energy in his body produced a backlash against him, causing blood to spurt out of his mouth.
“Even though your death is at hand, you still dare to slander us and speak so impudently!” At Feng Hengkong’s side, Feng Ximing furiously yelled in response, “Royal father, this little animal has destroyed our Divine Phoenix Sculpture, and afterwards, he has even slandered our Divine Phoenix Sect. Even if he had saved Xue’er’s life before, there is still no reason for us to forgive him! Let us just proceed to capture and execute him right here and now!!”
“That is right! Royal father and the gathered elders do not need to waste their time talking to him! Just kill him… and rip his body to shreds!!”
The one who spoke was the Fourteenth Prince, Feng Xiluo! The moment he had seen Yun Che, both his eyes widened, his teeth ground together, and his gaze became filled with hatred! Three years ago, he had fought a duel with Yun Che during the Seven Nations Ranking Tournament, and because he could not accept the humiliation of defeat, he burned his own blood essence in an effort to beat Yun Che. But not only was he still miserably defeated, the loss of blood essence caused his profound strength to plummet from the eighth stage of the Emperor Profound Realm to the seventh stage of the Emperor Profound Realm. And what made it even worse was that his innate talent had been irreparably damaged due to his actions.
Despite three years having gone by with him using countless amounts of spirit medicine and purple crystals, he had only managed to barely force his way back into the initial stages of the eighth stage of the Emperor Profound Realm. Even then, he had not regained the strength that he had three years prior. Furthermore, his talent was no longer ranked as the best amongst the young generation, and he no longer had the exalted status that he had once held amongst the princes; his fall had been dramatic and sudden.
Throughout the entire process, not once had Feng Xiluo blamed his own impulsive stupidity, instead his mind had conspired to shift all of the blame to Yun Che, causing him to hate Yun Che to the very bone. Now that he saw that Yun Che was in the pink of health, he was filled with so much anger and hatred that he had nearly shattered a tooth in rage. If not for the fact that he knew that he was definitely no match for the current Yun Che, he would have rushed towards him like a rabid dog in a bid to rip him to pieces.
Feng Hengkong’s breath had grown hot as his chest rose and fell urgently and dramatically; anyone could well imagine the damage Yun Che’s scolding had inflicted on him. He extended a hand and said in a quavering voice, “Kill him at once!”
“Directly smash him to death… do not leave his corpse intact!!”
This was a direct order to kill personally given by Feng Hengkong in front the gates of Phoenix City! The words ‘do not leave his corpse intact’ evidently displayed the extreme wrath and murderous intent that swelled in his heart.
After the elimination order had been given, Yun Che’s front, back and sides were completely blocked off. One person shot out from each direction to confront Yun Che, and each and every single one of them was an elder of the Divine Phoenix Sect! In the great assembly that had just been held, Feng Hengkong stated that Feng Huwei had died in Yun Che’s hands, so it clearly indicated that his power had already reached that of a mid stage Overlord… or perhaps even a late stage Overlord! As such, the four elders that confronted Yun Che did not let their guards down; they took action together in order to destroy Yun Che in an instant!
Behind them, there were still many elders and disciples of the Divine Phoenix Sect waiting in the wings…. No matter what happened today, even if Yun Che had ten thousand lives, he could forget about leaving this place alive today.