Chapter 74: Explode!

The lightning strike that was destined to strike, yet struck empty, also caused his plan to kill Yun Che in a single blow to fail. Lu Zhan Nan was taken aback in his heart. Quickly turning around, without a moment's pause, his long sword swept out, directly targeting Yun Che.

Just as guns have their tactics, swords naturally have theirs. The tactics of firearms are unparalleled in their might, while sword techniques are sharp and preeminent. Lu Zhan Nan's sword techniques surged forward, generating a force like winds and clouds whirling, the sword flashing like flowing light, shooting toward Yun Che's chest.

Yun Che remained expressionless, his body shifting slightly backward with effortless ease, easily avoiding Lu Zhan Nan's second sword strike. Only then did a "shing" sound echo as the sword technique's force, like a silver shark breaking through ice, carved a deep trench into the palace floor.

This strike's power caused many disciples to inhale sharply in surprise.

"Lu Zhan Nan fought without holding back, and both his strikes targeted vital points... he has clearly turned killing!"

"Only this Lu Zhan Nan would dare to kill in the New Moon Pavilion. But if so, then Yun Che might truly meet his end here."

The palace's chairperson, Qin Wu Hu, sat calmly on his seat, his gaze steadily fixed on the battling Yun Che and Lu Zhan Nan. Though the Deputy, Shi Kong Han kept signaling to him, hoping he would, as the head of the mansion, halt this unfair battle on an unequal footing, Qin Wu Hu seemed to see none of Shi Kong Han's gestures, showing no intention to stop it, leaving Shi Kong Han to fume in frustration.

Qin Wu Hu stared at Yun Che, his heart churning for a long time... this young person indeed had only the mystical power of the Nascent Soul level. Yet in the instant he struck, the mystical power's fluctuations were far greater than expected. What could be the reason? Was he concealing his strength? Impossible. If I, at this age, could misjudge even a junior's power, then all these decades would have been in vain.

With such age and condition, defeating the Iron Banner Army, his strength was sufficient to stir the New Moon City. If he were to defeat this Lu Zhan Nan... then this confrontation, which I have witnessed with my own eyes, might mark the beginning of a future emperor's rise!

He had displayed such arrogance from the start, even appearing overly proud, looking down on others. But was his nature truly like that? When facing the Iron Banner Army, he had shown a completely different attitude. And arrogant people are usually restless and volatile, yet his aura and gaze remained calm, calm to the point that it should not have appeared on a sixteen-year-old youth. For someone with such aura and gaze, how could they be arrogant...

The only possible explanation was that all his arrogant postures from the beginning were deliberate... even his provocations and offenses against the Seven Great Sects were intentional!

Having decided to enter the New Moon Mansion, yet deliberately provoking the Seven Great Sects, what purpose could he have in mind?

Qin Wu Hu's spirit continued to churn, yet his gaze remained firmly fixed on Yun Che, projecting an admiration that could not be concealed.

At this moment, Yun Che had been drawn into Lu Zhan Nan's sword shadows.

Lu Zhan Nan's sword grew faster and faster. Though he held only one sword, he wielded countless sword shadows, so many that one could not distinguish the real from the illusory. Amidst this terrifying density of sword shadows, Yun Che's figure continuously shifted and wavered, the sword like a storm, yet leaving not a single wound on Yun Che.

This undoubtedly meant that Yun Che's movement speed... was faster than Lu Zhan Nan's sword!!

The disciples in the hall had all gone silent, their eyes wide with shock. When Lu Zhan Nan entered the arena, everyone assumed Yun Che would finally be defeated. In Lu Zhan Nan's hands, Yun Che's most likely outcome was instant defeat. Lu Zhan Nan had not disappointed anyone; every strike after entering the arena was nothing short of dazzling... yet so far, he had already unleashed nearly a hundred strikes without touching Yun Che's sleeve.

In the instant Lu Zhan Nan's next strike was unleashed, Yun Che's body would immediately shift, allowing Lu Zhan Nan's sword to strike only his illusory form. This was Yun Che's "Star God Fragmented Shadow," a technique of minimal range that could be freely released under the condition of the fifty-four mystical gates being fully open, with low mystical power consumption. Of course, all this required one necessary precondition... Yun Che must have sufficient sharp perception, able to discern the cutting trajectory of Lu Zhan Nan's strike in that instant.

The disciples in the hall remained silent for a long time. They were not expecting Yun Che's defeat, but another shock. After staring intently, Shi Kong Han suddenly muttered to himself: "How remarkable... he is indeed perceiving through the flow of energy! But for a cultivator in the early stages of mystical cultivation, the eyes are the primary means of perception. To achieve judgment and perception through mystical energy and energy flow, one must accumulate at least ten years of combat experience... at least after twenty-five years of age. Among the young disciples present, none could achieve this. Yun Che was only sixteen, yet he had reached this step! And he did so with such ease, even in the midst of sword shadows, remained unperturbed, not a single flaw!"

"Xiao Lie... what method did someone use to cultivate this twisted grandson?!"

Amidst the sword lights aimed at his body, Yun Che, in rapid evasion, felt his face and arms sting from the sharp aura carried by the sword. At that moment, a voice from his brain, warning from Jade, echoed: "Quick battle, quick decision. Your first activation of the Evil Soul was already too strained. You should feel the burden on your body and mystical vessels. With your current state, the Evil Soul can only last another thirty seconds. Beyond that, your mystical vessels may suffer serious damage."

Yun Che's heart suddenly stirred.

"You this useless one, only knows how to dodge?!" Lu Zhan Nan growled, having struck over a hundred times without touching Yun Che's hair, his heart growing more agitated, his anger rising.

In his anger, Lu Zhan Nan's mystical power surged wildly, his sword techniques growing more violent. Amidst the sweeping sword shadows, a fierce wind swept through the hall, the marble floor being cut and shattered by the sword energy, then blown into fragments, scattering everywhere!

It seemed that Lu Zhan Nan's words had some effect. As his next sword tilt down, Yun Che did not choose his strange evasive maneuvers but suddenly stepped forward, meeting Lu Zhan Nan's sword blade with force.

Yun Che's move made Lu Zhan Nan elated, whispering in his heart: "Fool, come to die!"

"Shing!!!"

Lu Zhan Nan's long sword violently sliced across Yun Che's left arm, a clear-cut strike. But when he saw the blood mark on his own arm, Lu Zhan Nan was not pleased but surprised... a single strike infused with the mystical power of the seventh level of Nascent Soul cultivation had only left a single wound on Yun Che. Not even his entire arm could be severed, not even his bones!

Yun Che's protective mystical power was only at the Nascent Soul level!

And despite the effort to withstand his strike, Yun Che's right fist, infused with all his might, slammed into Lu Zhan Nan's chest. "BANG!!!"

Could a mystical power at the Nascent Soul level actually break through the protective mystical power of a seventh-level cultivator?

Lu Zhan Nan had originally looked down on Yun Che's strike, but immediately, his expression changed drastically.

His protective mystical power at his chest had only lasted less than half a breath before breaking, Lu Zhan Nan felt as if a thousand-pound hammer had struck him squarely in the chest, his internal organs violently churning, retreating seven or eight steps, nearly falling to the ground.

Impossible! He had only the mystical power of the Nascent Soul level! Even if his mystical power was thicker than others of the same level, at most it could counter third or fourth level, yet he was a whole level higher! How could he not break through Yun Che's protective mystical power, and how could Yun Che's strike leave him so humiliated?

In his heart chaos, his killing intent surged, preparing to unleash the ultimate technique of the Seven Kill Sword School, he suddenly saw Yun Che extend his right hand, his face displaying a strange smile.

"Explosion!!" Yun Che's fingers suddenly clenched into five fingers, a deep, low voice echoing the word he spoke.

In the moment everyone was puzzled by his action and the word he spoke, a "huff" sound came from Lu Zhan Nan's chest, followed by a piercing scream echoing through the entire hall.

"Aaah!!!"

A ball of flames suddenly erupted from Lu Zhan Nan's chest, the area where Yun Che had struck him, engulfing his flesh, bones, and even nearby internal organs into the raging flames. Lu Zhan Nan rolled in pain on the ground, desperately slapping at the flames, trying to extinguish them. But these flames were ignited by the mystical power Yun Che had infused into his chest. Unless he tore open his own chest, there was no way to put them out.

For someone nicknamed "Cold-Blooded" to scream in such agony, one can imagine the immense pain he endured. Fire burning from within is beyond what ordinary people can withstand, let alone flames burning from within the body. Everyone in the hall had palaces changing color, some turning ashen, others turning pale, some trembling all over.

"It's fire... a fire mystical technique! He actually knows fire mystical techniques!!"

"My God! This is the advanced level of fire mystical techniques, the ability to ignite mystical power at a distance! Yun Che not only knows fire mystical techniques but has already reached this level... he was only sixteen! How is this possible?!"

"Of course! That's why before, Yan Ming had been so humiliated. It wasn't a simple mistake by Yan Ming, but Yun Che also knew fire mystical techniques, and clearly far superior to Yan Ming! Yan Ming playing with fire in front of him was essentially slapping his own face!" Looking at the flames erupting from Lu Zhan Nan's chest, many realized this in shock.

Meanwhile, the previously defeated Yan Ming stood like a statue. Remote ignition of mystical power, a capability he only gained when his sect's mystical technique reached the sixth level. Before thirty, he couldn't even imagine it, yet Yun Che had achieved it, and displayed it openly before everyone. At that moment, he fully understood his defeat was entirely justified. Playing with fire in front of a twisted individual capable of remote ignition of mystical power... it was merely a slap on the face, a self-inflicted humiliation!

If Lu Zhan Nan had not bitten his lip and immediately gathered strength to regain his "position" after being struck by Yun Che, but instead used his own strength to expel the mystical power Yun Che had infused into his body, there would have been no such result. Yet Lu Zhan Nan, even after being struck by Yun Che's punch, still stubbornly refused to accept his strength and could not anticipate such a powerful fire control ability.

Yun Che walked over to him, his gaze filled with compassion, calmly saying: "As I said earlier, I have no interest in knowing your name. With the strength of the seventh level of Nascent Soul, yet unable to withstand me, a mere Nascent Soul level, I have no need to understand such a waste."

He then sneered lightly, his finger flicking, and the flames like a nightmare on Lu Zhan Nan's chest finally extinguished.

To someone he disliked, Yun Che had no problem stepping on someone else's head. Especially since this Lu Zhan Nan had developed a killing intent toward him. If this had not occurred in the main hall of the New Moon Mansion, under the eyes of everyone, he would not have so easily extinguished the flames on Lu Zhan Nan's body.

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[Some words, which should have been said a long time ago, but I never knew how to fully express my feelings in the form of language, so I kept silent and delayed them until now. And today, I must say them, or else it will truly be too late.]

[Ten thousand, we created a miracle. Fourty thousand monthly votes, first across the site, and breaking the record of the highest monthly votes since the introduction of the monthly vote system by the platform. Of course, this has a lot to do with the platform's monthly vote system reform, but it must be said that this is a very proud achievement. This achievement far exceeded the best possible outcome I could imagine in early October. This is my pride, it is the pride and miracle given to me by you all, because the achievement was not created by me, but by you.]

[To claim the October monthly vote crown, your passion and efforts have left me amazed and humbled. Within a month of opening the book, this short month's donations exceeded the total donations of the first four books by the previous author, Fire Star! We won the monthly vote championship. To claim this championship, everyone contributed much, much, book reviews, forum posts, YY's various organizations, calls, mobilizations... many people donated, but in this world, there are not that many wealthy individuals. Some students donated a month's or even several months' living expenses to contribute a few more monthly votes. This is a genuine, regret-free, and unrewarded contribution, with only one reason: pure support for this unambitious Fire Star... After completing this chapter, I looked again at last month's monthly vote numbers, several times self-deprecating about how could I be so fortunate...]

[Truly... thank you all...]