Chapter 162 – Three Strikes
Jasmine’s words truly caused Yun Che to be shocked. Qin Wuyou had told him before that although the Blue Wind Profound Palace was incredibly dignified on the surface and was the dream of countless profound practitioners, those large sects had always looked down upon the Blue Wind Profound Palace. Yun Che usually thought that these words were somewhat exaggerated because the Blue Wind Profound Palace was after all, established by the Imperial Family and was Blue Wind Empire’s largest profound palace. Many could not even enter it in their dreams and among them included a compilation of a countless number of Blue Wind Empire’s younger generation’s finest profound practitioners. So even if it was inferior them, it should not go so far as to make them feel contempt.
But the one before him who hailed from the Heavenly Sword Villa, was only fifteen, was obviously just an inexperienced youngster, yet his profound strength immediately surpassed every disciple within the Blue Wind Profound Palace… and even left them a few dozen blocks behind.
It was from this Ling Jie’s body, that Yun Che distinctly sensed how terrifying the Heavenly Sword Villa was for the first time, and was thus able to imagine what kind of shocking strength those equally famous sects possessed. No wonder the incredibly dignified Blue Wind Profound Palace could never enter the top one hundred. A fifteen year old youngster from the Heavenly Sword Villa had already surpassed every disciple within the Blue Wind Profound Palace; this kind of disparity could be said to be as different as heaven and earth. Even saying that the Blue Wind Profound Palace simply had no qualifications to compete with Heavenly Sword Villa was not the least bit exaggerated or excessive.
It was also no wonder that this kid had said that he was “so weak”. Turns out that in this kid’s eyes… his profound strength could only be described as weak.
Yun Che had always challenged those of a higher rank; his opponents were always older than him and he had never been defeated before. So when he suddenly heard that this fifteen year old kid wanted to fight him, he was completely at ease and he felt like teaching him a lesson was no different than teaching his own son a lesson. Never would he have expected that this kid was genuinely a character at the level of a freak… Third level of the Spirit Profound Realm at the age of fifteen. What the meow! What’s the point of fighting this!
But Yun Che had already said the words, and he was certainly unwilling to take them back. Besides, the Ling Jie in front of him already had both hands at his waist. Seething with rage, he pointed at him and said: “Okay! You’re the one who said it! Hmph, hmph! Someone who’s only at the third level of the True Profound Realm actually dares to compete with me; see if I don’t beat you into a pig head and make Princess Sis ignore you!”
After saying those words, Ling Jie waved his right hand, and a seven foot long sword horizontally appeared in front of him.
With sword in hand, Ling Jie’s aura immediately changed tremendously. The immature aura suddenly disappeared without a trace as his body emitted an incomparably sharp and piercing aura; it was as if his entire person had become a sharp sword and stopped following the norm; but once it does, it would pierce the skies.
The sword in his hand appeared very ordinary, but held in his hands, it gave off an incomparably harmonious feeling; as if it and him were a single entity, an undivided portion of his body.
This sword force and sword intent shocked Yun Che’s heart. He was only fifteen, and he had such a sword force and sword intent; this Ling Jie’s innate talent, was simply universally shocking. Perhaps, this also had something to do with his pure heart that was completely devoid of filth.
Ling Jie pointed at Yun Che with his sword, and said complacently: “Reveal your weapon; I want to let you know what a true powerful man is, and how only a genius like me can be fit for Princess Sis.”
“Little Jie, stop messing around!” Ling Yun hurriedly took a step forward, and said to Yun Che: “This little brother, Little Jie acts impulsively and does whatever he wants to do; you don’t have to lower yourself to his level. This is an important place in the imperial palace and if you fight here, you are treating the imperial family with disrespect, so let’s just forget about this.”
With Ling Yun’s ability, how would he not be able to identify Yun Che’s profound strength. Ling Yun’s words appeared to be berating Ling Jie, but Yun Che understood that Ling Yun was trying to uphold his face. The two were separated by an entire realm; if they actually started fighting, he would definitely lose devastatingly in a short while. Regarding Ling Yun’s kindness, Yun Che smiled appreciatively, and said: “What Brother Ling said is correct. However, as a man, a promise must be kept; just now I agreed to compete with Ling Jie, so I cannot take even a half step backwards.”
Even though he knew he definitely wouldn’t be able to defeat this Ling Jie, what was most prevalent on Yun Che’s body was pride. Since he had agreed, how would he be willing to retreat after knowing he was not as good as the other; furthermore, this situation had arisen over Lan Xueruo, and in front of the woman he must protect, how would he be willing to admit that he was inferior to another man… And this guy was even younger than him!
Ling Jie had originally been very discontent because of Ling Yun’s words, but after hearing this, his eyes lit up, and promptly parroted: “Right right right right right! We’re all adult males; a promise made must be kept. Quickly reveal your weapon, and let Princess Sis see which one of us is more powerful!”
Yun Che shot a glance at him, and said lightly: “However, Brother Ling Yun did say something very true; this is an important place in the imperial palace, and not a place fit for us to cross hands. We should switch to a relatively ‘gentler’ method… Mn, how about we do this. It looks like you use a sword; coincidentally, I also use a sword. What do you think about a three strike showdown? A three strike showdown with all your strength; it’s not very troublesome, and it will definitely reveal a clear victor. Little Brother Ling Jie, do you dare?”
Just the phrase “do you dare”, directly incited Ling Jie’s haughtiness: “Hmph hmph, facing someone at the True Profound Realm who’s so weak that I can’t even see you, why wouldn’t I dare! Three strike showdown? That’s completely unnecessary! I’ll beat you till you’re on your knees with one strike!”
“Tch!” Yun Che curled his lip disdainfully: “Boasting but not afraid that you’ll twist your tongue… so I, your brother, will have to teach you a lesson; since you incessantly claim that you’re an adult, you must take responsibility for your words. You hoot that one strike will be able to beat me to the ground. But what if not only does one strike not beat me up, and all three strikes are blocked by me instead?
Ling Jie stared wide for a moment, then started laughing wildly: “Hahahaha, how could that be possible! You’re so weak; if I can’t beat you down in one strike, my name will be read backwards! And if you block all three of my strikes, my… m-m-m-my name won’t be Ling Jie.”
The corner of Yun Che’s mouth stretched, and he said with a disdainful expression: “Hmph, there really isn’t any importance to it. Little Ling Jie, do you dare to make a bet with me? If you strike three times, and I am unable to receive it, then I will not obstruct you at all if your Princess Sis agrees to marry you. If I completely block all three of your strikes, hmm… You must be my little brother. Not only will you have to call me Boss, you must also listen to all the commands from your Boss! What do you think? Do you dare! If you dare, let us compete. If you’re only a boastful person with no guts, tsk tsk, then let’s just forget about this; I’m too lazy to compete with you anyway.”
This results of a win or loss from this “bet” were obviously not equivalent; if Ling Jie lost, he would have to become Yun Che’s little brother, but if Yun Che lost… If one thought even a little about the pleasant thoughts going through Ling Jie’s mind, one would realize that they were simply empty words. And Yun Che’s final few words goaded him to the extreme. But to Ling Jie, who rarely left the Heavenly Sword Villa, it was incomparably effective. Without thinking, he agreed: “What don’t I dare to do! If I lose to you, being your son wouldn’t be a problem, let alone being your little brother.”
“Cough cough…” Ling Yun was a little perturbed now. He walked next to Yun Che, and used a voice that only he could hear: “Little brother, you might be unaware of this situation to some extent. Even though Little Jie is young, his profound strength is at the Spirit Profound Realm. This battle, is not very fair for you, so… Please be cautious and reconsider.”
“I thank Brother Ling for the warning.” Yun Che smiled appreciatively at him.
His ordinary response shocked Ling Yun slightly. This response signified that Yun Che obviously already knew Ling Jie’s level of profound strength, but still wanted to make this kind of gamble with him. Ling Yun’s eyebrows moved a little, and he didn’t speak anymore.
“Let’s begin.”
Yun Che stood in front of Ling Jie. Just as he spoke, the Overlord’s Colossal Sword appeared out of thin air. Both his hands grasped the hilt, and the sword body sunk downwards, slamming on the floor with a “boom”. The surrounding ground up to three steps from the collision instantly shattered.
At the same time, an aura as heavy as a mountain emitted from the Overlord’s Colossal Sword and Yun Che’s body, flooding the entire Blue Cloud Hall as everyone’s breathing became sluggish.
“Heavy sword!?” Ling Yun was shocked as Yun Che flashed the weapon, and taking in account Yun Che’s age and profound strength, he suddenly spoke out: “Could it be, you’re the Profound Palace genius Yun Che that everyone in the imperial city has been talking about?”
“That’s right.” Yun Che nodded: “I’m Yun Che. Brother Ling Yun actually knows my name, I’m extremely honored.”
“Haha, Little Brother Yun, you’re being too modest.” Ling Yun smiled warmly: “After Little Jie and I arrived at the imperial city, everywhere we went, we heard people discussing you. We heard that you can control a heavy sword that weighs several thousand kilograms, and can defeat an opponent that is seven levels higher than you; it really makes one feel shocked, and we wanted to find an opportunity to personally meet you the entire time. I’d have never that I would encounter Little Brother Yun here, it’s truly fortunate.”
“Oooh, so it turns out you’re Yun Che!” This Ling Jie had obviously heard some rumors regarding Yun Che in the imperial city with Ling Yun. He disdainfully twisted his mouth: “You’re only at the True Profound Realm, yet others are actually calling you a genius. Isn’t it a bit too cheap to call you a genius… This young master will immediately let you know what it means to be a true genius… Take this!”
Ling Jie gave a low growl, took a step forward, raised the longsword, and cut downwards… This was an extremely simple strike; even a little kid that only knows how to wave a sword would be able to execute it. But even this type of extremely simple movement, brought about an astonishing sword force when Ling Jie cut downwards. The plain undecorated sword trembled with an unimaginably high frequency, and an unceasingly surging enormous power crashed towards Yun Che’s chest.
Yun Che proposing to strike against each other three times, was clearly trying to use the advantages of the heavy sword against the shortcomings of the light sword. Because if it was a showdown, under the same conditions, the light sword would not be able to compete with the heavy sword at all. In addition, the Great Way of the Buddha bestowed one thousand nine hundred fifty kilograms of strength to the user; in this form of competition, even if he were facing against someone an entire realm above him, he should be able to withstand three strikes at the very least.
But when an astonishing sword force charged over, Yun Che’s expression changed a little.
Ling Jie was very young, a little competitive, and didn’t scheme much… He practically didn’t scheme at all, so it was very easy to guess at his thoughts. Yun Che could predict that his first strike wouldn’t be too serious, at most fifty or sixty percent of his strength, so he would definitely hold back on his first strike too; he wouldn’t use any profound techniques, and only around seventy percent of his strength.
Indeed, Ling Jie’s first strike didn’t contain any power, and judging from his appearance, he probably hadn’t even used forty percent of his power, let alone fifty or sixty percent. But the force of that one casual strike was like a rolling wave and was impossible to resist.
“Haah!!”
Yun Che, who had originally planned on using seventy percent of his strength, suddenly, did not dare to hold back even a little. With a low growl, he opened Evil Soul and the profound strength in his body began to revolve. Brandishing the heavy sword, he struck out with one hundred percent of his strength. As the heavy sword traveled, it brought about a whistling sound akin to a hurricane.
Bang!!!!
The heavy sword and the light sword collided without even a trace of flair, and the power of the enormous heavy sword and surging sword force instantly exploded outwards. A storm of profound energy instantly formed between the two, then simultaneously blew both of them outwards.
Ling Jie took a few steps back, and looked at Yun Che with an expression of shock: “Ah? You actually… You actually blocked it? Oh… You appear to be a bit more powerful than I’d expected. It looks like I’ll have to be a bit more serious now.”
Yun Che had been blown back almost ten meters. His expression was tranquil, but raging waves tossed about in his heart… What Jasmine had said was correct. This brat was definitely not a simple third ranker of the Spirit Profound Realm; although he was young, his attainment of the sword could already be regarded as that of a great master! He would definitely be able to easily fight those several levels above him.
To receive three strikes with a profound strength an entire realm lower than him, even with the advantage of a heavy sword, was going to be incomparably difficult.