EFB Chapter 83: Another Fierce Battle
Chapter 83: Another Fierce Battle
Ye Liuyun's figure drifted in like a real cloud, landing precisely between Ye Tian and the dilapidated palace of the Cold Palace.
He was dressed in pristine white, a stark contrast to the surrounding bloodshed and devastation. His eyes, which had seen through the ways of the world, now held an unprecedented solemnity as he gazed at the young man before him.
"Ye Tian," Ye Liuyun's voice was calm, yet carried an undeniable authority, "You have already killed the Crown Prince and the Empress. Now you want to go all out and turn this Cold Palace into a sea of blood? Stop now. The Qing Kingdom cannot withstand your further devastation."
Hong Sixiang followed closely behind, his old face clouded with gloom, his high-pitched voice trembling slightly: "Your Highness Prince Qin, His Majesty has decreed that you surrender immediately! If you dare to commit any further acts of violence, you will be making an enemy of the entire Qing Kingdom!"
Ye Tian slowly raised his eyes, his gaze completely calm, as if Ye Liuyun and Hong Sixiang, these two figures who stood at the pinnacle of martial prowess in the world, were no different from the Imperial Guards from before.
"So what if we're enemies?" he said calmly, his tone filled with an arrogant disdain for everything. "When they joined forces to destroy my mother back then, did they ever consider that she was also a citizen of the Qing Kingdom? Today, I'm merely settling a blood debt, it's only right and proper."
Ye Liuyun shook his head slightly: "When will this cycle of revenge end? Ye Qingmei's matter is complicated and cannot be explained in a few words. But if you insist on doing so, I have no choice but to stop you."
"Stop me?" Ye Tian's lips curled into a mocking smile. "With your power?"
"With these old bones of mine and your astonishing cultivation, let's settle this once and for all!" Before Ye Liuyun finished speaking, his aura suddenly changed. He still stood there, but it was as if he had transformed into countless clouds, formless and intangible, yet omnipresent.
"Flowing Clouds Dispersing Technique!"
Ye Liuyun moved. He made no earth-shattering display, no overwhelming pressure; he simply flicked his sleeve. Yet, the air before him seemed to transform into a tangible sea of clouds, layer upon layer, surging endlessly, seemingly gentle, yet containing a terrifying power capable of annihilating everything. Within those clouds, countless palm shadows, finger shadows, and fist shadows flickered, unpredictable and ever-changing, making it impossible to discern their true attack trajectory.
This is Ye Liuyun's signature move that has made him famous for decades—the Flowing Cloud Scattered Hand! It transforms the body into clouds and the mind into form, scattering without form and gathering with substance. It is one of the most elusive and unpredictable martial arts in the world, and also one of the most difficult to deal with.
Faced with this dreamlike yet deadly attack, Ye Tian's eyes flashed with admiration, but more than anything, they showed disdain.
"Fancy and overly complicated!"
He let out a low shout, neither dodging nor parrying, but simply threw out a punch!
This punch, devoid of any technique, condensed the domineering and unparalleled true energy of his Grandmaster realm, like a volcanic eruption or the collapse of the heavens and earth! Before the fist even arrived, a blazing and violent fist wind had already torn apart the layers of clouds that Ye Liuyun had laid out, heading straight for the heart of the matter!
"boom--!"
The clouds dispersed, the wind stopped.
Ye Liuyun's seemingly flawless Flowing Cloud Scattered Hand was actually shattered by Ye Tian's pure and extreme power with a single punch! Ye Liuyun's figure appeared in mid-air, drifting back several feet, and for the first time, a look of horror appeared on his face.
"What domineering true energy!" he exclaimed inwardly. He could feel that the power contained in Ye Tian's punch far surpassed that of any grandmaster he had ever seen, and even exceeded that of Ye Qingmei back then in terms of pure power!
"Again!" Ye Tian's fighting spirit surged. He needed a thoroughly enjoyable battle to vent his killing intent and test his current strength. He took a step forward, the ground cracking inch by inch, and he charged towards Ye Liuyun like a cannonball.
The two instantly engaged in a fierce battle.
Ye Liuyun's movements were incredibly graceful, sometimes like wisps of smoke, sometimes like raging waves and swirling snow. Every attack he made came from an unbelievable angle; his palm strikes and finger strikes were like a persistent, incurable infection, extremely difficult to shake off once they landed on him. The already dilapidated buildings surrounding the Cold Palace were further devastated by the aftershocks of their battle, collapsing and crumbling as if swept away by a whirlwind, with wood chips and rubble flying everywhere.
Ye Tian, on the other hand, had a completely different style. He was powerful and unrestrained, with every punch and kick carrying the terrifying force to shatter mountains and break peaks. His speed was extreme, and his strength was abnormally strong. No matter how elusive Ye Liuyun's movements were, he could always strike first after being caught off guard, using brute force to overcome skill and forcing Ye Liuyun to take his attacks head-on.
"Bang bang bang—!"
The dull thuds of impact echoed incessantly, each strike sending chills down Hong Sixiang's spine. He could clearly feel that the energy contained in each blow was enough to easily obliterate him, a ninth-rank expert, into dust!
"Is this really a thirteen-year-old boy?" Hong Sixiang felt that his understanding was being completely overturned.
Ye Liuyun grew increasingly alarmed as the fight progressed. He discovered that Ye Tian's true energy seemed inexhaustible, and its recovery speed was astonishingly fast. Although his Flowing Cloud Scattered Hand technique was exquisite, it gradually became less effective under the suppression of Ye Tian's unreasonable and absolute power. Each direct confrontation caused his blood and qi to surge, and his meridians to ache.
"This kid's body is harder than diamond!" Ye Liuyun thought to himself, feeling extremely distressed.
After dozens more moves, Ye Tian seized a tiny opening when Ye Liuyun took a breath. A fierce glint flashed in his eyes, and his right leg, like a steel whip, swept out with the force of thunder!
"Not good!" Ye Liuyun felt a strong sense of alarm and tried to dodge, but it was too late. He could only cross his arms, gather all his strength, and block in front of him.
"Snap—!"
A sickening cracking sound of bone breaking rang out!
Ye Liuyun felt an irresistible force coming from his arms. His protective true energy was instantly shattered, and the bones in his arms broke! He was hit head-on by a battering ram, spitting out blood. His body flew backward like a kite with a broken string, crashing heavily into the main wall of the Cold Palace and sinking deep into it, amidst billowing smoke and dust.
"Plop," Ye Liuyun struggled to slide off the rubble, his face ashen, his arms hanging limply at his sides, clearly having lost the strength to fight any longer. He looked at Ye Tian slowly approaching, his eyes filled with disbelief, bitterness, and a hint of relief?
He was defeated, defeated so thoroughly and so quickly.
Just then, a series of hurried footsteps and exclamations came from afar. Emperor Qing, surrounded by countless imperial guards and eunuchs, finally arrived at the now-ruined Cold Palace! Hong Sixiang also rushed forward to greet him, protecting Emperor Qing.
When Emperor Qing saw the scene before him—the corpses of the Imperial Guards scattered everywhere, Ye Zhong, who was seriously injured and on the verge of death, and Ye Liuyun, the Sword Saint, who was severely injured by Ye Tian and almost crippled!
His mind went blank for a moment with a "buzz"!
Ye Liuyun, that's Ye Liuyun, a contemporary of his father, who dominated the world for decades and firmly held the position of one of the Four Grandmasters! He actually... he actually lost like that? Lost to a thirteen-year-old boy?!
This was the first time Emperor Qing had witnessed Ye Tian's true fighting power! That kind of ruthless, devastating force, that terrifying strength that could easily defeat even a Grandmaster, made him tremble from the depths of his soul!
"Gulp." Emperor Qing swallowed hard, feeling his legs go weak and making him unsteady. He instinctively took a step back, but then felt a surge of warm fluid unexpectedly flow through his lower abdomen.
Standing beside him, Hong Sixiang was in no better shape. As a peak ninth-rank master and one of the most deeply hidden grandmasters in the palace, he naturally understood the terror of Ye Tian's attack. Ye Liuyun's strength was comparable to his, and in some aspects even surpassed it. For Ye Tian to so easily injure Ye Liuyun, didn't that mean...
Hong Sixiang felt a chill run from his feet to his head, and his legs went weak. Just like Emperor Qing, he felt an unspeakable loss of control. This usually gloomy, dignified, and unfathomable chief eunuch was so frightened by witnessing Ye Liuyun's crushing defeat and Ye Tian's demonic power that he lost control on the spot!
Emperor Qing and Hong Sixiang were both ashen-faced and trembling. They watched as the young man walked step by step out of the ruins, his body stained with blood, but his eyes colder than ten thousand years of ice. For a moment, they were speechless.
Fear, like the deepest nightmare, completely engulfed them.
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Emperor Qing and Hong Sixiang were terrified, watching helplessly as Ye Tian emerged from the ruins step by step. His cold eyes swept over them without pausing, heading straight for the depths of the Cold Palace, where the deposed Empress Guo was imprisoned.
There, only one name remained on his revenge list.
"Stop him! Stop him!" Emperor Qing's voice was distorted with extreme fear. He pointed at Ye Tian and screamed at Hong Sixiang, who was equally pale beside him, "Hong Sixiang! You, you stop this wicked child for me!"
He no longer cared about Ye Liuyun's serious injuries; all his hopes were pinned on Hong Sixiang.
Upon hearing this, Hong Sixiang's face turned deathly pale, and cold sweat poured down his back. He was to deal with the monster who had so easily defeated Ye Liuyun? Wasn't that sending him to his death? But he dared not disobey the emperor's orders.
"This old servant obeys!" Hong Sixiang squeezed out these words through clenched teeth, his heart filled with despair, but even more so with a resolute, blind loyalty. He bit his tongue sharply, forcibly suppressing the fear in his heart, and the peak ninth-grade internal energy that had been accumulating within him for decades suddenly erupted! His usually hunched body seemed to straighten slightly at this moment, his withered palms turned black, his nails grew an inch long, gleaming with a cold, poisonous light, and emanating an extremely chilling aura.
"You wicked creature! Cease your rampage!"
At this moment, Hong Sixiang let out a sharp shriek, his entire body transforming into a gray shadow, like a predatory owl, his claws hooked, tearing through the air with a piercing shriek, aiming straight for Ye Tian's face! This attack of his was the culmination of his life's work, its unpredictable moves and insidious power enough to make any ninth-rank expert tremble in fear, even if he wasn't a grandmaster. It was a top-tier killing technique kept secret in the palace, infinitely close to the threshold of a grandmaster.
However, Ye Tian didn't even glance at him.
Faced with Hong Sixiang's desperate attack, Ye Tian merely frowned impatiently, as if shooing away an annoying fly, and casually raised his hand and waved it away.
There was no earth-shattering force, no dazzling moves, just a simple swing.
"Bang—!"
A dull, yet terrifyingly powerful, impact resounded.
Hong Sixiang's ghostly figure suddenly froze in mid-air. His poisonous claws, capable of piercing through metal, shattered inch by inch as they came into contact with Ye Tian's casually swung palm wind, as if they had hit an invisible wall of energy! Immediately afterward, an overwhelming force rebounded back, and he felt as if his chest had been struck by a ten-thousand-pound hammer, and his protective true energy instantly dissipated.
"puff--!"
A mouthful of blood mixed with fragments of internal organs gushed from Hong Sixiang's mouth. He was sent flying backward at an even greater speed than when he arrived, crashing through several palace pillars before finally crashing heavily to the ground not far from Emperor Qing's feet. His bones were broken in many places, his breath was weak, and he lay convulsing on the ground. Although he was not dead, he had suffered a life-threatening injury and had completely lost the ability to fight again.