“...” Nanhuang Chanyi was clearly surprised by his words. Her voice turned a bit cooler after hearing his reply. “Lecher.”

Yun Che stopped examining Nanhuang Chanyi through his spiritual perception. Instead, he openly stared at her before saying, “I don’t sense any panic, shock, anger, or even killing intent from you. You don’t care about what’s going on at all… You are capable of feeling emotions, aren’t you?”

“Another person who said the same thing might’ve died for their transgression already,” said Nanhuang Chanyi. Her voice was still as soft as smoke and devoid of emotion.

“...” Yun Che frowned slightly before asking, “I must admit that my curiosity is growing. Why have you chosen me?”

“No, it is the other way around,” she replied, “why have you chosen me?”

“Instinct.”

His reply seemed to draw a smile on her face, “How can a man’s instinct compare to that of a woman’s?”

Yun Che looked away and stopped asking questions.

Boom!

There was a loud impact and a cry of pain, and the ninth partic.i.p.ant of the Southern Phoenix Divine Country was defeated in five moves. No one was surprised by this result in the slightest… A level nine Divine King was nothing more but a weakling and a filler. The enemy sects didn’t even need to set them up to beat them.

The Southern Phoenix profound pract.i.tioner hit the ground hard, unconscious. A pool of blood spread swiftly beneath their body. It was clear that they had suffered a most insidious blow.

If this was in the past, the Southern Phoenix Divine Country would’ve erupted in anger and denounced their opponent for the malicious attack. This time though, all they could do was grit their teeth, swallow the blood that threatened to pour out of their throats, and carry the partic.i.p.ant away for treatment.

All they asked now was for the Central Ruins Battle to end as quickly as possible and perform reparations as best they could later… They absolutely, absolutely couldn’t afford to offend Beihan Chu.

After all, considering Beihan Chu’s current status, offending him was the same as offending the Nine Lights Heavenly Palace!

Northern Chill City might be strong, but they didn’t have enough power to sign their death sentence. However, the Nine Lights Heavenly Palace could!

The fight was still ongoing, and the noises and cheers hadn’t stopped even once throughout the Central Ruins Battle. The Southern Phoenix Divine Country was the only one that looked as silent as the dead.

Northern Chill City still had six remaining partic.i.p.ants, while the East Ruins Sect and the West Ruins Sect had four… whereas the Southern Phoenix Divine Country was down to their last partic.i.p.ant already.

“Jiang’er,” Nanhuang Mofeng said solemnly, “we’ve lost nine battles, and we only have one partic.i.p.ant left… do you understand what this means?”

“I understand!” Nanhuang Jian nodded back with equal solemnity. “I will win this last battle no matter the cost. As a prince of the Southern Phoenix Divine Country, I will not allow our sect to leave a winless record in the Central Ruins Battle even if I have to stake my life for it!”

The Central Ruins Battle was still ongoing.

The East Ruins Sect lost against Northern Chill City, and Northern Chill City lost against the West Ruins Sect.

It was the Southern Phoenix Divine Country’s turn to enter the battlefield again… their last chance to redeem themselves.

All eyes were trained on the Southern Phoenix Divine Country immediately, the ident.i.ty of their last combatant was all but certain. It could only be the former Southern Phoenix Crown Prince and the strongest expert of their battle formation, Nanhuang Jian.

The reason the Southern Phoenix Divine Country hadn’t sent in Nanhuang Jian all this time was for this final battle of honor.

They wouldn’t allow the eternal shame that was a winless streak to happen no matter what!

Meanwhile, Northern Chill City, East Ruins Sect, and West Ruins Sect were all watching the Southern Phoenix Divine Country with varying levels of scorn. Beihan Chu hadn’t said a word since the start of the battle just how an impartial supervisor and witness should act, but everyone knew that he was the driving force behind the three realm king sects’ unusual behavior.

Right now, the man standing on the battlefield was the new sect master of the King Prayer Sect, Qi Hanshan. In the West Ruins Realm, his sect was second only to the West Ruins Sect. Qi Hanshan was almost three thousand years old, and he had been a level ten Divine King for five hundred years. Naturally, his profound strength and experience as a peak Divine King didn’t leave much room for wishful thinking.

The Northern Chill profound pract.i.tioner who fought Qi Hanshan earlier had “lost” the battle in just a couple of exchanges, so the latter was practically at full strength. Everyone knew that the realm kings sects were conspiring to eliminate the Southern Phoenix Divine Country’s last hope and pride, to force them into leaving a mark of eternal shame in the Central Ruins Realm.

Qi Hanshan stared at Nanhuang Jian with a smile of ridicule and provocation.

“Jian’er,” Nanhuang Mofeng said in a low tone, “This isn’t about our result in this Central Ruins Battle. This is about defending the Southern Phoenix Divine Country’s final pride. Now go and show your strength to the world!”

“Yes!” Nanhuang Jian replied simply before clenching his fists until the joints popped. His muscles bulged bigger and bigger, and his aggression was in full display even though he wasn’t on the battlefield yet.

“Wait!”

A calm voice suddenly interrupted Nanhuan Jian right before he was about to leap onto the stage.

Nanhuang Chanyi stood up and said slowly, “Yun Che, you’ll enter the battlefield as the Southern Phoenix battle formation’s last representative!”

Her words stunned everyone present. Nanhuang Mofeng turned around and exclaimed in shock, “What did you say!?”

Nanhuang Chanyi had kept her silence since the start of the Central Ruins Battle, and everyone thought it was because she was both aware and ashamed of the terrible mistake she had committed earlier.

No one had expected her to stand up at the last moment and spout such… ridiculous words.

“Chanyi… enough!” Nanhuang Mofeng said with an ugly expression.

“Big brother, please return to your seat,” Nanhuang Chanyi said. “Enter the battlefield, Yun Che!”

Yun Che rose to his feet.

“Absolutely disgraceful!” Nanhuang Mofeng shouted at Nanhuang Chanyi. His hair was standing, and his eyes were round with anger. The anger he had been bottling up until now erupted completely. “Haven’t you caused enough trouble already! It’s already a disgrace to bring a level five Divine King into our battle formation, and now you’re going to make him fight in our last match of this Central Ruins Battle!?”

While pointing a finger at Yun Che, Nanhuang Mofeng growled, “Are you trying to turn us into a laughingstock for the entire world and strip us of our last dignity!?”

“I know what I’m doing,” Nanhuang Chanyi replied.

Nanhuang Mofeng turned his back toward her furiously and ordered Nanhuang Jian, “Ignore her! Jian’er, enter the battlefield!”

“Uncle Feng, I am the highest decision maker at this Central Ruins Battle,” said Nanhuang Chanyi with a tinge of icy pressure. “My word is law on this battlefield! Not even father may interfere with my decision, much less you!”

Nanhuang Mofeng shot her a sideways glance before replying in a heavy tone, “You are the decision maker of nothing from the moment you drove the Southern Phoenix Divine Country to a dead end for your own selfish wishes!”

“Maybe there’s hope yet for you if you go to Beihan Chu and beg him for his mercy later, but right now you’re nothing more than a sinner!”

Inside the barrier, no one dared to say a word.

The onlookers noticed what was going on inside the barrier and laughed even harder at them… They were already on their last legs, and they chose this moment to argue with each other?

“I’m still the one royal father chose to lead this battle even if I’m a sinner,” said Nanhuang Chanyi. “Yun Che must be the one to enter this fight!”

Nanhuang Mofeng didn’t relent in the slightest, “Do you seriously think that anyone will listen to you after everything you’ve pulled!?”

“Chanyi.” the Southern Phoenix Divine Sovereign spoke up suddenly. “Are you sure you want to do this?”

“Yes,” Nanhuang Chanyi replied softly. No one could see through the jeweled ta.s.sels and figure out what kind of eyes and expression she was making.

“Mm,” the Southern Phoenix Divine Sovereign nodded in acknowledgement, “Jian’er, return to your seat. Yun Che, you will fight on behalf of the Southern Phoenix.”

“Royal father?” Nanhuang Jian froze. He couldn’t believe his own ears.

“Your Majesty, you…” Nanhuang Mofeng said urgently, “Are you just going to watch us become a laughingstock for the entire world!”

“I said that I’d let Chanyi decide everything. I’ll not go back on my own words,” the Southern Phoenix Divine Sovereign replied.

“Which is more important, a royal decree or the pride of our country!?” Nanhuang Mofeng was shaking with anger. “She’s the reason we fell into this state in the first place! She’s bringing nothing but shame to herself by sending Yun Che into battle… why are you still allowing her to continue on this fool’s path?”

“Bringing shame to myself?” Nanhuang Chanyi interrupted, “How do you know Yun Che can’t win?”

“You think he can… win?” Nanhuang Mofeng would be laughing if he wasn’t so angry, “Were you possessed by a devil or something??”

“Uncle Feng, let’s make a bet, shall we?” Nanhuang Chanyi said, “What will you do if Yun Che wins this battle?”

“Heh!” A level five Divine King of unknown origin beating the famous peak Divine King Qi Hanshan? Nanhuang Mofeng felt like she was mocking his intelligence and experience, “I’ll forfeit my life if he wins!”

“That is too much,” Nanhuang Chanyi said. “Uncle Feng is perfectly loyal to the Southern Phoenix, so that’s an unacceptable outcome no matter the severity of your mistake. If Yun Che wins, I want you to kowtow to me three times as punishment for your crime of disobedience and disrespect.”

“If Yun Che loses,” Nanhuang Chanyi continued before Nanhuang Mofeng could reply, “I will personally head to Nine Lights Heavenly Palace and save the Southern Phoenix Divine Country from danger myself.”

“Will you take this bet?”

“Hmph, where is she getting that confidence from?” Qianye Ying’er said with a hmph.

“That is a good question,” Yun Che replied indifferently.

“...” Qianye Ying’er narrowed her eyes while staring at Nanhuang Chanyi… A certain possibility had entered her mind.

She just hadn’t expected it to show up in a middle star realm.

“Alright, you better not forget about this!” There was no way Nanhuang Mofeng was going to turn down a bet like this. “I’ll follow your bet! If this boy loses, you’ll head to Nine Lights Heavenly Palace and atone for today’s sin!”

“Yun Che, go,” Nanhuang Chanyi finally said to Yun Che.

“What will happen to me if I lose?” Yun Che asked curiously.

“You won’t die,” Nanhuang Chanyi replied.

“Interesting,” Yun Che said with a fleeting smile. He suddenly felt a bit of curiosity toward Nanhuang Chanyi. He suddenly felt like knowing the face behind the jeweled ta.s.sels.

“Chanyi, you…”

Nanhuang Jian still wanted to say something, but Yun Che had already leaped onto the battlefield before he could say anything. He stared Qi Hanshan of the Western Ruins Realm directly in the eye.

The barrier impeded sound, not vision, so no one knew what the people of the Southern Phoenix Divine Country were actually arguing about. Everyone was stunned when they noticed that their last representative wasn’t Nanhuang Jian, and eyeb.a.l.l.s clattered to the ground when they sensed Yun Che’s aura. Some even spat out a mouthful of saliva in disbelief.

Even Beihan Chu, the supervisor and witness who hadn’t moved from his seat or shown much expression since the start of the battle was leaning forward. He looked as if he couldn’t believe his own senses.

“Yun Che.” Yun Che reported his name indifferently.

“...” Qi Hanshan was absolutely speechless for a couple of breaths. Then, a tremor spread from his lips to his entire face.

A very, very long silence later, an uproar broke out across the entire Central Ruins Battlefield. The phrase “level five Divine King” only made the uproar louder.

Almost everyone on the Southern Phoenix Divine Country’s side were bowing their heads deeply. They didn’t even need to listen to know what kind of noise was tearing the Central Ruins Battlefield apart.

The crowd must think that the Southern Phoenix Divine Country had gone insane… Even they thought that the Southern Phoenix Divine Sovereign and Nanhuang Chanyi had gone insane.