Chapter 764 – The Approaching Devil Sword Conference
“Big Brother Fen, the medicine is ready… but I’m going to say this first! This time you better not throw it away petulantly, because if you do, I’m really going to get angry with you!”
Xiao Lingxi pushed the door open as she strode into the room. The medicine in her hand was still boiling so the first thing she did was place the medicine on the little table in front of the door. When she looked at Fen Juechen she discovered that he had already changed his clothes and was standing… Even though his aura was rather weak and his face was pale, he still stood very straight.
Xiao Lingxi’s eyes lit up and she crowed with joy, “Big Brother Fen, it seems like you’re already able to stand up, that’s great!”
No one would have thought that it was possible for Fen Juechen’s heart to have gone through such a tumultuous change in the short period between Xiao Lingxi’s departure and return. Xiao Lingxi’s figure appeared once more in his sight, and nervousness, an emotion that would not have appeared in front of anyone else, crept across the face of the usually calm Fen Juechen as he stuttered, “Xiao Lingxi, I…”
“You’re not allowed to address me like that anymore!” Xiao Lingxi said in a serious tone, “Don’t forget, right now you’ve already become my elder brother, so you need to call me sister, or… you can just call me Lingxi if you like. The three words Xiao Lingxi are far too distant.”
“Hm… these clothes really fit you very well, it is practically as if they were measured and made just for you.” Xiao Lingxi said with a smile as her eyes roamed across Fen Juechen’s body, “But that’s to be expected, because your figure has always been very similar to that of Little Che’s. When I think about it, besides your figure, there are many other similarities that you share with him.”
“I am similar to… Yun Che?” Fen Juechen said in a daze.
Xiao Lingxi raised eyes which were filled with astonishment. This was because Fen Juechen did not give off a bone-chilling, icy-cold murderous aura at the mention of the name “Yun Che”. She gave a light nod of her head, “Yes, you really resemble him in many ways. For example, normally Little Che is a very gentle and warm person, but when he goes up against people who want to harm those who are important to him, he becomes very extreme, just like Big Brother Fen who has been consumed with the desire for vengeance. Also, he has an extremely strong ego. He is very obsessive about things that he wants to do, and he will always bear the burden for every single thing… these are the areas where the both of you are alike.”
Fen Juechen, “…”
“Actually, Little Che recently told me that he did not regret doing what he did four years ago. Yet at the same time, he had always felt some remorse when it came to you. He said that given your personality, not killing you all those years ago was actually far crueler than the alternative. And now, even when he had the chance to kill you, he was unable to bring himself to do the actual deed. If there is any way he can make it up to you, he will definitely do all that he can to make it so.”
“…” Fen Juechen’s arms began to tremble violently.
“Big Brother Fen, I know that asking you to set aside your desire for vengeance is a very selfish thing indeed. After all, you lost all of your relatives. But… but you are clearly such a good person, and Little Che is also such a good person as well. The past can’t be changed anymore, so does it mean that one of you has to die before this matter can reach its ultimate resolution? Is there truly not a slight… not a slight possibility that this does not need to come to pass?”
Fen Juechen raised his arm, and it was as if his gaze penetrated his flesh, and that he was looking at his ice-cold blood which was far darker than a normal person’s, “In order to kill Yun Che, I have paid an enormous price to attain the power that I have today. If I just give up like this… what is the worth of this power that I have given up everything to attain…?”
“Oh, it’s really simple.” Xiao Lingxi said in a soft voice, “Great power need not only be used for vengeance, it can also be used to protect the people that you desire to protect.”
“Pro…tect…”
“That’s right!” Xiao Lingxi said as a faint smile bloomed across her face, “Like Big Brother Fen, Little Che has always been diligently pursuing strength, but the reason he is chasing after strength is not to be able to be victorious in battle, it is so that he can protect the people that he wants to protect, and keep them from coming to any harm. This is also why he chose the heavy sword as his weapon, it is also for the sake of ‘protecting’. So Big Brother Fen can use his own power to protect the ones that he wants to protect… Besides, Big Brother Fen is already so powerful, the ones who are being protected by Big Brother Fen will definitely feel very safe and happy.”
Xiao Lingxi slowly raised her eyes and her starry pupils expanded to form two delicate moons, “And I don’t know if I can also have the privilege of being someone that Big Brother Fen wants to protect? Heh… if that’s possible, then not only will I have Little Che’s protection, but I will also have Big Brother Fen watching over me. Just the thought of this makes me feel like I’m the most fortunate person in the entire world.”
Protect…
My power does not only need to be used for vengeance, it can also be used to… protect her…
Fen Juechen placed a hand on his chest and the evil and icy-cold power that resided in his body, the power that caused even him to feel fear and disgust, suddenly felt rather warm…
“If… I kill Yun Che, will you still be willing to accept my protection?” Fen Juechen mumbled.
Xiao Lingxi did not shake her head, but she did not nod her head either. She merely replied in a soft but resolute tone, “If Little Che is no longer around, then I won’t tarry on this earth for much longer either.”
Fen Juechen, “…!!”
Xiao Lingxi closed her eyes and said in a very soft voice, “Little Che is the person who grew up together with me and he is also the person that treats me the best. In my entire life, almost every single happy thing that has happened to me has occurred because of him. So to me, Little Che is like half of my life. In fact, he is the more important half, so if he isn’t around… then I will never be able to experience happiness ever again.”
“Three years ago, when I received the news of his death, I desired to accompany him as well… but I still had my dear father, so I could not leave him to fend for himself. But right now, Xiao Yun has returned, so now that he is around to accompany father, if anything ever happens to Little Che, I can have peace of mind when I go to accompany him.”
“…” Fen Juechen’s breathing had become rough and heavy, his hand tightened strongly and it seemed as if he was going to rip the flesh off his chest. He recalled the time that he had spent in Floating Cloud City, and during that period, he had seen Lingxi everyday, but he had never seen her smile even once. Her face had been etched with a sorrow and despondency which seemed like it could never be erased.
During the times he had visited Floating Cloud City after Yun Che had returned alive, he no longer saw the sorrow on her face anymore. Instead it had been replaced by a gentle happiness and a warm smile, as if her life had already been completely fulfilled, and she no longer had any regrets in this life.
“Okay… I promise you that from now on, I… will no longer try to kill him.”
The words that had come from his mouth resounded in their souls like peals of heavenly thunder. Xiao Lingxi’s head jerked up violently and her eyes began trembling violently as well, “Big Brother Fen, you… what did you just say? You just… what you said… is… is it true?”
Fen Juechen had thought that saying these words would cause him incomparable pain, but the moment the words had left his lips, it felt as if a huge burden had been lifted off his chest instead. Lingxi’s face was filled with astonished joy and disbelief, a deep sense of satisfaction appeared in her heart.
What was going on…
Why was it like this…
The tens of thousands of lives that were lost when my entire clan died… the absolutely irreconcilable grievance and hatred that I had for him… the hell that I have endured over the past few years…
In the end… all of these things cannot be compared to her smiling face?
Why do I not feel any discontentment or pain…
Just why…
“I will no longer try to kill Yun Che, and even if he stands before me, I will no longer take any action against him… and I won’t do so ever again.” Fen Juechen’s voice did not waver this time, and it was instead filled with sincerity and resoluteness.
“I… I…” Every word sounded like a celestial chorus which had descended from the heavens. Xiao Lingxi’s eyes instantly grew misty as a trail of tears steadily trickled down her face.
“Big Brother Fen… thank you… thank… thank you…” She pressed her lips together with force, she could not stop the joyous tears that were streaming crazily down her face, and her entire body was wracked by sobs.
The corner of Fen Juechen’s mouth crooked slightly… If he was looking at a mirror, he would be able to see that a small smile was playing across his face… and he had thought that he would never be able to smile again.
Lingxi… From this day forth, as long as I am still breathing, anyone can forget about harming a hair on your head ever again… I will not allow anyone to do so!
Number One Under Heaven hovered in the air above the room, his face filled with shock, and a long time passed before he regained his senses.
“Whether it comes to appearance, profound strength or status, she is a far cry from the Little Demon Empress, but Brother Yun had kept pining for her day and night when he was in the Demon Imperial City, could it be… could it be that…”
“Not only does she possess an unmatched intellect, but she also has a soul that shines like a precious diamond.” Number One Under Heaven mused to himself.
————————————————————
Time continued to pass, and within the blink of an eye, two months had passed. It was finally approaching the day that the Devil Sword Conference would be convened.
“Whoosh!!”
Yun Che breathed a great sigh of relief as he returned to his ice pavilion. With a backwards flip, he planted himself on his ice bed… because today, his “grand scheme” had finally come to complete fruition. Aside from the few young disciples who had just been admitted into Frozen Cloud Asgard and could not endure the strength of the medicine, all the other Frozen Cloud disciples had been given a boost in profound strength through his skillful use of the Overlord Pellet… Furthermore, every single person’s power had increased by at least one great realm.
In this short span of time, he had forcefully dragged his sect to a whole new level. This entire undertaking had been equivalent to a few thousand years of accumulation and expansion by any other sect. In the history of the Profound Sky Continent, it was definitely an event that had never ever happened before.
What was even more terrifying was that in the process of increasing the profound strength of the Frozen Cloud disciples, Yun Che had also conveniently opened up all of their profound entrances, so their profound cultivation would be many times faster than it had been from now on… Right now, every single Frozen Cloud disciple had attained the Heavenly God’s Spiritual Veins that other sects could only dream about attaining once every few thousand years or so… so Yun Che’s actions were practically begging for the punishment of heaven.
The process of raising the profound strength of all the Frozen Cloud disciples also counted as a rather rigorous cultivation for him as well, so in these last two months, his profound strength had undergone some growth as well. Ten days before, he had finally managed to break in the sixth level of the Emperor Profound Realm.
“Big Brother Yun, can I come in?”
Feng Xue’er’s tender, graceful and lovable voice came from outside his door and just by hearing that sweet voice, Yun Che felt as if all of the aches and pains on his body had simply vanished. He got up with a “swish” as he replied, “Xue’er, hurry up and come inside.”
Today, Feng Xue’er still wore a set of snowy clothes, she was as beautiful as a divine maiden, as graceful and pretty as a fairy. She was enveloped in Yun Che’s embrace, and with a soft cry, she practically melted into his bosom… During these five months that they had lived together, she had practically become used to his frivolous ways.
“Big Brother Yun, Royal Father just sent me a sound transmission to inform me that the Devil Sword Conference would be officially convening in four days time and that he has already arrived at the Supreme Ocean Palace. He also told me that the majority of the invited powers have already reached the Supreme Ocean Palace as well. When is Big Brother Yun going?” Feng Xue’er softly asked as she was embraced by him.
“Ah? There’s still four days?” Yun Che was slightly shocked as he raised his head and silently calculated the time before nodding his head and replying, “It is not strange that they would all arrive early. After all, the ones who have been invited are all the peak powers that exist within the Profound Sky Continent. The leaders of the Four Great Sacred Grounds will all be in attendance as well. This kind of spectacle has probably only happened a few times in the history of the Profound Sky Continent. Furthermore, the attraction this time is rather enticing, the secret of the Divine Profound huh… heh heh.”
“Then when are we going to make our move?” Feng Xue’er asked. If they were going to fly to the Supreme Ocean Palace from their current location, even given their speed, it would still take them at least ten days. However, with the Primordial Profound Ark, this problem was clearly no longer a problem.
“Hmm…” Yun Che pondered the question for a while before replying, “Then let’s leave tomorrow morning. I still have some other things to do at that place, so it will be good to arrive a bit earlier as well.
“Let’s go and inform all the Junior and Senior Masters first.”
Yun Che and Feng Xue’er arrived at the Frozen End Divine Hall. Murong Qianxue and the others were all within the hall, and every single person was surrounded by a hazy layer of ice crystals and mist. At Yun Che’s arrival, the ice crystals and mist immediately vanished and all of them stood up as they paid their respects towards Yun Che.
“Greetings, Asgard Master.”
Yun Che did a quick examination of the aura of the six people in front of him. His brows knitted together as he asked in an astonished and confounded voice, “To think that not a single one of you was able to make a breakthrough? That is exceedingly strange, all of you have outstanding innate talent, all of your profound entrances have been opened and your profound strength has already reached the Tyrant Profound Realm. You should be able to handle higher-level laws of nature… so why haven’t any of you been able to comprehend the Frozen End Divine Art despite laboring at it for so long… it truly is strange.”
When he had begun cultivating the Frozen End Divine Art, he had only needed a few minutes to comprehend it, and he had only needed a day and a night for his comprehension to deepen. But Murong Qianxue and the others had the Frozen Cloud Art and the Frozen Heart Art as their foundation, moreover, all of them had the Heavenly God’s Spiritual Veins as well, but in the end not a single person could comprehend the Frozen End Divine Art… none of the six of them could make the first step into understanding the Frozen End Divine Art, much less beginning to cultivate it.
“Asgard Master, even though we have tried to forcefully understand the profound art, in the end we cannot circulate our profound energy in accordance with it. Furthermore, the laws of nature that are contained within flit in and out of our minds and they are exceedingly hard to grasp… many years ago, when we tried to cultivate the Frozen End Divine Art, the results were the same. Despite undergoing an enormous breakthrough in our profound strength, the results are still the same.” Mu Lanyi said as she furrowed her crescent brows together.
“It seems as if we are destined to never be able to learn the Frozen End Divine Art.” Murong Qianxue said with a soft sigh, “However, this isn’t because we are slow or lacking in talent. In the thousand year history of the Frozen Cloud Asgard, there have only been three people who were able to cultivate the Frozen End Divine Art. The first person was the Frozen Cloud Ancestor, and the other two people are the Asgard Master and Xia Qingyue.”
Yun Che raised a hand to his jaw and just as he was about to lapse into deep thought, Jasmine’s voice resounded in his heart, “It’s better if you just saved your strength and stopped trying. Even if you gave them another ten thousand years, they would still not be able to cultivate the Frozen End Divine Art.”
“Eh? Why?” Yun Che said in shock.
