“Hmm?” The Nine Lights Heavenly Sovereign’s eyes grew more focused, “Well, I suppose it’s only natural for the ancestral shrine to have a good defensive barrier.”

“No… it’s not a barrier!” The confidence and arrogance in the Desolate Heaven Dragon Chief’s voice had clearly been replaced by deep shock.

“?” The Nine Lights Heavenly Sovereign abruptly looked sideways.

On the ground, every member of the Yun Clan—especially Yun Ting and the elders—were staring at the ancestral shrine in shock as well.

Everyone’s gaze was set on Yun Che. Carrying Yun Shang gently with his left arm, he slowly raised his right hand before making a sudden grab at the dragon claw behind him.

Buzz!

A rapidly expanding whirlpool of power appeared in the way of the giant dragon claw. The moment they made contact, the dragon’s claws immediately started twisting into horrific shapes.

“Ugh!” The Desolate Heaven Dragon Chief’s pupils contracted, but he reacted quickly and created devilish lightning around the dragon claw, growling… However, it lasted for only an instant before Yun Che balled his hand into a fist.

Crack!!

The claws were infused with the draconic might of a Divine Sovereign, but they broke all at the same time before being torn right off at the joints.

“Ah!!”

The dragon claw image dissipated on the spot as the Desolate Heaven Dragon Chief groaned heavily. He swayed unsteadily as blood flew off his right arm!

The image might just have been a manifestation of his power, but it was ultimately tied to his life force.

He clutched his right arm and stared at Yun Che in shock. The Nine Lights Heavenly Sovereign was no longer smiling either.

“Ah…” A raspy groan escaped Yun Ting’s throat as he stared at the ancestral shrine like someone had cast a petrification spell on him. The lightning spear he was holding slipped through his grasp and hit the ground with a clang.

Yun Xiang had just gotten back up to his feet before he was stunned by what he was seeing.

“Who are you?” The Desolate Heaven Dragon Chief asked. Even now, his right arm was still hurting.

What stunned him more than anything was the fact that the power that had broken his dragon claw was clearly that of a Divine King!

“He’s not a member of the Heavenly Handle Yun Clan,” the Nine Lights Heavenly Sovereign said. Every Heavenly Handle Yun clansman possessed a unique lightning aura, but it was completely absent from Yun Che’s body.

Moreover, he would’ve been famous throughout Thousand Desolation Realm if he really did serve the Heavenly Handle Yun Clan.

“Leave,” said Yun Che with his back still facing toward the crowd.

Yun Shang’s internal injuries were extremely severe, and her profound veins were in complete shambles. Even with the Divine Miracle of Life, it would take a considerable amount of time to heal her fully. He didn’t wish to be disturbed during this time.

There was no one in the entire Thousand Desolation Realm who dared to utter that word to them. Both of their eyes chilled at the same time as the Nine Lights Heaven Sovereign said, “Fellow cultivator, you’re not a member of the Heavenly Handle Yun Clan, you absolutely have the right to stay out of this. So please, don’t make a foolish decision and throw away your life.”

It was clear that Yun Che’s display of power had shaken them quite a bit. Even someone as powerful as the Nine Lights Heavenly Sovereign didn’t wish to fight him if possible.

“Stay out of this and leave this place now, and this chief can pretend that that transgression has never happened,” the Desolate Heaven Dragon Chief declared. “You won’t get a second chance after this!”

Yun Che gave Yun Shang a gentle push and sent her flying toward Qianye Ying’er.

But Qianye Ying’er frowned and pointed a finger at Yun Shang, causing the girl to land very not gently beside her feet.

She had never liked being touched regardless of gender.

“Protect her, and I’ll restore you back to Divine Master in three days’ time,” Yun Che said.

“Heh,” Qianye Ying’er smiled coldly at him before replying, “Your time with the girl was less than the time I slept with you, and this is the treatment she gets? How disillusioning.”

Yun Che turned around and slowly floated into the sky. He stared coldly at the Nine Lights Heaven Sovereign and the Desolate Heaven Dragon Chief.

The air, no, s.p.a.ce itself suddenly froze without warning. The sudden change in atmosphere even caused the two sides who were engaged in battle to stop fighting, their attention now drawn toward the sky.

The Yun clansmen especially were exchanging glances with each other. Some of them looked surprised, and even more looked confused and disbelieving.

“So, you definitely want to fight against us and the Desolate Heaven Dragon Chief, is that correct?”

The Nine Lights Heavenly Sovereign asked for confirmation again. The young man in front of him was eerily young, and his profound aura was definitely that of a level ten Divine King.

“This is your last chance,” Yun Che said darkly, “leave, or die!”

Ever since Yun Che returned to the Heavenly Handle Yun Clan and saw what had happened to Yun Shang, he had been holding in an evil mood that seared at the walls of his heart. It was because no life besides Yun Shang was precious to him, and no one’s life or death was more important than Yun Shang’s safety.

Therefore, if the Nine Lights Heavenly Palace and the Desolate Heaven Dragon Clan chose to back off now, he really wouldn’t do anything to stop them. He would simply return to Yun Shang and continue healing her.

“Hehe.” The Desolate Heaven Dragon Chief shook his wrist and sneered as if he had heard a funny joke. He said, “I admit that your ability to destroy my image is impressive, but in the end... you’re just another suicidal fool who has overestimated his abilities.”

“Hidden Sword,” the Nine Lights Heavenly Sovereign ordered, “go test him.”

A man carrying a dark sword aura responded to his master’s call by flying into the sky and summoning a hundred-meter long sword projection. He stabbed his weapon directly at Yun Che.

There were nine palaces in the Nine Lights Heavenly Palace, and Venerable Hidden Sword was the palace master of the Hidden Sword Palace. Yun Che had known his name for a long time—he was Beihan Chu’s master and the Hidden Heaven Sword’s original master.

Yun Che was only at the fifth level of the Divine King Realm back then. There was almost no way he could’ve defeated Venerable Hidden Sword.

But Yun Che’s growth rate was terrifying to say the least. Half a year of progress was worth almost nothing to another profound pract.i.tioner at this level, but to Yun Che… it was enough time to enter a whole new level of power!

Yun Che didn’t move a muscle or look away despite facing Venerable Hidden Sword’s black sword projection, not even when the attack had almost reached him.

“Hmm?” Both the people of the Nine Lights Heavenly Palace and the Desolate Heaven Dragon Clan were astonished by his lack of response… is he an idiot? They thought to themselves.

Venerable Hidden Sword was a level eight Divine Sovereign, and his sword projection was powerful to say the least. It cut s.p.a.ce as easily as it would’ve cut water, and it took only an instant to strike Yun Che square on.

However, the sound of flesh being penetrated and aura explosion didn’t enter their ears… instead, they heard the sound of something breaking.

The dark sword wave actually crumbled, no, disintegrated on its own the moment it made contact with Yun Che’s body!

It was because the sword projection was clearly disintegrating into black dust, not crumbling to pieces!

Bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang...

The hundred-meter sword projection had disintegrated in a ridiculous fas.h.i.+on like a black stream hitting a giant rock that had existed for millennia. Venerable Hidden Sword came to a screeching stop as his pupils widened to the point where they almost filled up the entire eye… It was too short a time for his sword wave to disintegrate completely, but it was less than thirty meters long now.

“You…” Venerable Hidden Sword uttered. It was the most shocking and unbelievable scene he had ever seen in his life.

Yun Che finally lowered his gaze to look at Venerable Hidden Sword before lifting his right hand. He then flicked a finger at the dark sword wave pressing against his chest.

Pfft!

The dark sword wave instantly fired back toward Venerable Hidden Sword. It chopped off his arm, penetrated his chest and… punched through like his body was made of paper.

The dark sword projection was as weak as a piece of rotten wood before Yun Che. However, Yun Che had turned it into something as deadly as a demonic blade from h.e.l.l with the mere flick of a finger.

“Uu… ah…” Venerable Hidden Sword’s body turned stiff as he looked down at the hole where his chest used to be. His eyes lost their color rapidly… He never thought that the sword projection he created with his own power could penetrate his body this easily.

This… this had to be a joke. Something this scary simply couldn’t be allowed to exist.

Although the sword projection had been created from Venerable Hidden Sword’s sword intent, it was ultimately manifested into reality using darkness profound energy.

Yun Che feared no darkness profound energy because he possessed the Heretic G.o.d’s darkness seed. As the Eternal Calamity of Darkness continued to grow, this immunity was slowly but steadily growing toward complete suppression!

If he successfully cultivated the Eternal Calamity of Darkness to the fullest, then complete suppression wouldn’t be the end of his growth. He could achieve “complete control” over any darkness profound energy and terrify even the heavenly laws!

He still had a ways to go of course, but his unique advantage over the profound pract.i.tioners of the Northern Divine Region was becoming incredibly obvious, even though it had been less than a year since he started cultivating the Eternal Calamity of Darkness.

The experts before him were top notch even among the upper star realms, but none of them could make him feel threatened or pressured anymore.

“Hi… Hidden Sword!” the Nine Lights Heavenly Sovereign blurted out in utter shock.

But Venerable Hidden Sword didn’t respond to his cry. The man was still staring blankly at his wound… All Divine Sovereigns could recover from penetration wounds easily, but Venerable Hidden Sword couldn’t feel his body at all. The last thing he felt was his internal organs dissolving into dust in the darkness...

Bang!

The dark sword projection vanished, and fountains of blood burst out of the front and back of Venerable Hidden Sword’s body. Then, he started falling amidst the rain of blood.

“Hidden Sword!”

“Ma… Master!”

The profound pract.i.tioners of the Nine Lights Heavenly Palace roared in shock and fright as they pounced towards the falling Divine Sovereign. Another bolt of emotion thundered through their veins the moment they made contact with Venerable Hidden Sword’s body.

It was because his body was completely lifeless and cold.

The death of any Divine Sovereign was considered big news even among the upper star realms, much less a level eight Divine Sovereign! It was one thing to beat a Divine Sovereign, and another to kill one due to how lively and powerful they were.

However, a perfectly unharmed Venerable Hidden Sword had just died in just a couple of breaths’ time.

If someone kept a list of the fastest deaths or most bizarre ways to die that ever happened to a Divine Sovereign in Thousand Desolation Realm, then Venerable Hidden Sword might’ve just broken both records.

“He… he’s dead,” a palace master looked up and said shakily.

“Wh… what!?” Both the Nine Lights Heavenly Sovereign and the Desolate Heaven Dragon Chief blurted at the same time.

On the Heavenly Handle Yun Clan’s side, everyone from Clan Chief Yun Ting to the lowliest of disciples felt like someone had swung a hammer at their faces. They were so shocked that they could faint on the spot… that’s right, their enemy had died, but instead of joy all they could feel was shock.

“Is… is… is… is he really Yun Che!?”

“He’s actually… this… powerful?”

“But Venerable Hidden Sword… was a level eight Divine Sovereign just like Lord Yun Xiang… Aaah…”

Thump!

Yun Xiang collapsed to his knees even though he had just climbed back to his feet. He couldn’t stop trembling all over as he stared at Yun Che floating in the sky like a stiff-faced grim reaper.

“You… you… you…” No traces of arrogance or smile remained on the Nine Lights Heavenly Sovereign’s face. Even the weakest person present could hear the fear in his voice.

As peak Divine Sovereigns, both the Nine Lights Heavenly Sovereign and the Desolate Heaven Dragon Chief had the ability to defeat the Hidden Sword Palace Master in just a short time, but they could never have manipulated his sword projection like it was their own, or killed him this easily.

“You’re a half-step… Divine… Master!” The Desolate Heaven Dragon Chief blurted as his eyes widened.

The simple words jolted through everyone’s souls like a bolt of divine thunder.

Level ten was the pinnacle of Divine Sovereign Realm, but it definitely wasn’t the closest cultivation realm to Divine Master Realm. It was because there existed a special limbo between the two realms known as the “half-step Divine Master Realm”. It was a t.i.tle reserved for profound pract.i.tioners who were searching for that final step to become a Divine Master!

It was a realm that neither the Nine Lights Heavenly Sovereign nor the Desolate Heaven Dragon Chief even dared to dream of.

Although a half-step Divine Master was technically still a Divine Sovereign, anything that had the words “Divine Master” in it naturally generated respect and pressure in anyone who was below that level.

“So what if he’s a half-step Divine Master!” The Nine Lights Heavenly Sovereign’s expression darkened when he met Yun Che’s terrifying gaze, “If we work together, we have nothing to fear from him!”

“...That’s right!” The Nine Lights Heavenly Sovereign’s words reminded the Desolate Heaven Dragon Chief that they weren’t the only factions who had shown up today. Even if Yun Che really was a half-step Divine Master, he was incapable of threatening the “mastermind” who supported their actions today.

“Attack!”

The Desolate Heaven Dragon Chief roared and exploded in darkness. His already imposing figure instantly transformed into a gigantic dragon over ten thousand meters tall.

Behind him, the rest of the Desolate Heaven Dragons revealed their true forms as well… Their stamina would deplete quicker, but they would be able to unleash their full power like this. No one was hesitating at a time where even their chief had revealed his true form.

Dragons and devilish lightning covered the sky completely and shrouded the earth in darkness for a time. The sheer display of power almost caused the Yun clansmen to kneel on the ground in fear.

The Desolate Heaven Dragon Chief looked down on Yun Che with black eyes that looked like an all-consuming abyss. He said, “A dragon should never be provoked into rage, but this chief can give you one last chance to repent.”

Yun Che slowly looked up. The light of a soul erupted from his body, and an azure dragon opened its pitch black eyes.

The roar of a dark dragon G.o.d spread his judgment throughout the blue sky.

“Get down from there!!”