Chapter 262: Shock and Awe

Haha, what an arrogant little fool, actually boasting so shamelessly that you can take on two of us at once. Even if I were to strike alone, it would be more than enough to annihilate you.

Hearing this, the pale-faced middle-aged man was momentarily stunned, and then burst into hearty laughter, as if he had just heard the funniest joke in the entire world.

It was no wonder he reacted this way. In his eyes, Yang Yan's strength was at best at the peak of the Spirit Communication Realm. Although he had heard some rumors about this fellow's recent exploits within the Flying Cloud Empire—most notably slaying Sun Tianyang, the master of the Kunyang Sect who possessed the strength of the second layer of the Spirit Sea Realm—he was not impressed.

Though inwardly astonished that someone of Yang Yan's age could achieve such a feat, he certainly did not believe that trash like Sun Tianyang could compare to him.

Firstly, there was a gap in their actual strength. Sun Tianyang was merely at the second layer of the Spirit Sea Realm, whereas he himself had reached the peak of the fourth layer. The gap between them was immense, if not a world apart.

Moreover, Sun Tianyang was merely the master of a minor sect like the Kunyang Sect; his status and standing were naturally looked down upon by an elder of the Profound Heaven Palace like himself.

As for the martial arts techniques and cultivation methods practiced by the two, he refused to believe that a small sect like the Kunyang Sect could ever rival his own.

Therefore, upon hearing that Yang Yan intended to take on two opponents single-handedly, his heart was naturally filled with utter disdain and contempt.

"Yang Yan, can you truly handle this?"

At this moment, Xie Xuantian, standing behind Yang Yan, asked with a hint of doubt in his voice.

Although, as the master of the Cyan Profound Sect, he could be said to have witnessed Yang Yan's growth step by step, and the continuous miracles Yang Yan created had constantly refreshed his understanding, the current situation was unprecedentedly tricky. Either of the two opponents before them possessed strength more than enough to crush him. If it were a single opponent, Xie Xuantian would have some confidence in Yang Yan, but taking on two at once seemed far too far-fetched in his view.

"Rest assured, Sect Master. You know my temperament; I would never risk my life to put on a brave front."

Smiling faintly at Xie Xuantian, Yang Yan's gaze instantly turned completely icy as he slowly stared at the pale-faced man and the burly man in red.

"Lu Wu, did you hear what this brat just said? He actually wants to fight both of us alone! He is utterly and boundlessly arrogant. Just watch from the sidelines; I will deal with this kid personally."

The pale-aged middle-aged man spoke to the red-robed man beside him with an amused expression.

"Cang Bai, this mission was personally assigned by the sect master. Do not let your momentary impulse ruin the important business at hand," the middle-aged man named Lu Wu cautioned him.

"Alright, alright. I've always loathed your cautious and nagging personality. Isn't he just a little brat? Just give me five minutes!"

Cang Bai waved his hand impatiently at Lu Wu, his cold gaze locking onto Yang Yan not far away.

"Brat, achieving this level of cultivation at your age truly earns you the title of a genius. However, your luck is quite poor, daring to offend our Profound Heaven Palace. Your path as a genius will thus be cut short by my arrival. If you surrender without a fight..."

"Have you finished spouting your nonsense? If you're done talking, then let's begin!"

Yet, facing Cang Bai's endless chatter, Yang Yan waved his hand with extreme impatience and spoke in a remarkably flat tone.

Hearing Yang Yan's indifferent words, Cang Bai's pale complexion suddenly twisted into an extremely chilling expression.

Ever since he attained the status of an elder in the Profound Heaven Palace, no one in the cultivation world of the Flying Cloud Empire had ever dared to speak to him in such a manner.

Furthermore, the person standing before him right now was merely a youth of seventeen or eighteen years. What qualifications did he have to treat him thus?

At this thought, an overwhelming blaze of anger surged within Cang Bai's heart, bringing with it an almost irresistible impulse to grab Yang Yan and tear him into pieces.

"Good boy, since you are courting death, you have no one to blame but me. Even after you die, I will ensure that every single one of your family members and loved ones is tortured to death, so that even in death you will understand the consequence of offending me!"

As his voice faded, Cang Bai's figure abruptly moved. Wild and fierce golden attribute spiritual energy surged out from within his body, condensing into a golden long spear within his palm. With a flick of his wrist, the spear hummed, and his figure violently charged straight toward Yang Yan.

Meanwhile, Yang Yan's expression had turned exceedingly cold at Cang Bai's prior words. Centered around him, the surrounding space began to permeate with a faint, chilling murderous intent. Seeing this, Xie Xuantian understood that Yang Yan had truly begun to rage.

One had to know that family and friends were Yang Yan's inverse scales and bottom line; the so-called inverse scales of a dragon meant death to anyone who touched them. Anyone daring to harbor ill intentions toward his family and friends would never be forgiven by Yang Yan!

Just as this thought crossed Yang Yan's mind, Cang Bai, holding the glittering golden spear, had already shot toward Yang Yan's throat like a bolt of lightning. The air along the path was completely split open, and an incomparably sharp and fierce aura assaulted the senses, making one dare not underestimate it.

The golden spear in his hand was entirely condensed from the majestic spiritual energy within his body—evidently a secret technique mastered by the Profound Heaven Palace. Judging from the fluctuations emanating from the spear, its lethality was by no means inferior to Yang Yan's Moonlit Frost Blade.

Inwardly, Yang Yan was somewhat astonished. The three major sects of the empire's cultivation world were indeed no pushovers. First, Xu Chao of the Wind and Cloud Pavilion utilized a divine artifact fusion skill, and now this fellow Cang Bai possessed the bizarre offensive method of condensing a lethal weapon using spiritual energy alone. It seemed that no other faction in the Flying Cloud Empire could truly compare to the heritage of the three major sects.

However, although Yang Yan had previously slain Xu Chao and obtained his artifact fusion skill, the Douwu Technique, he had not yet successfully practiced it due to his hurried journey.

Besides, martial techniques of that nature were obviously extremely difficult to master; it was impossible to successfully cultivate them within a mere dozen days.

Once successfully cultivated, however, it could boost Yang Yan's strength by nearly twenty percent. If he further combined this with his blood-related cultivation technique that enhanced power, Yang Yan reckoned he would be able to fight evenly with a powerhouse at the seventh layer of the Spirit Sea Realm!

A powerhouse at the seventh layer of the Spirit Sea Realm—an existence of that caliber stood at the very apex of the pyramid even among the empire's three major factions.

Such high-level powerhouses were figures that even the three major sects could not casually dispatch; they were the backbone and pillar of their respective sects.

Moreover, nearly ninety-nine percent of those who reached that level of cultivation were well over a hundred years old; otherwise, achieving such a feat would be utterly impossible.

Yet the age at which Yang Yan was approaching that level was a mere seventeen or eighteen years, shortening the time they spent on cultivation by more than a dozenfold.

Presently, although Yang Yan had not yet mastered that artifact fusion skill, dealing with the two opponents before him might present some trouble, but he still held a seventy percent chance of victory—a remarkable feat for taking on two opponents at once.

The golden spear violently thrust forward, Cang Bai's garments flapping violently in the wind. With his long hair flying, he looked like a divine martial deity descending from the heavens. The spear carried an unmatched, ferocious, and magnificent momentum, shooting fiercely toward Yang Yan's throat.

Seeing this, a faint sneer curled the corners of Yang Yan's mouth. The Moonlit Frost Blade materialized in his hand, and as the majestic water attribute spiritual energy within his sea of qi surged violently, the entire longsword transformed into a bizarre, transparent light blue, emitting terrifying energy fluctuations.

Without the slightest hesitation, Yang Yan thrust his longsword straight out, meeting the tip of the golden spear head-on like the collision of needle points and wheat awns.

Clang!

Accompanied by a crisp, resonant explosion echoing across the battlefield, a ring of terrifying colorless translucent and golden spiritual energy shockwaves suddenly expanded and swept outward, stirring up endless spiritual energy storms in mid-air.

At this very moment, the energy in the space formed two distinct boundaries—colorless and golden. Centered around the tip of the Moonlit Frost Blade and the spearhead of the golden spear, they formed a concave arc.

Seeing that Yang Yan was actually able to block his attack, Cang Bai's expression shifted slightly. His spiritual energy surged once more, pouring endlessly into the golden spear from his arms like a series of golden dragons. As the endless golden attribute spiritual energy poured in, the golden spear emitted a buzzing tremor. Under the influence of such formidable force, the Moonlit Frost Blade actually began to bend.

A trace of sneering mockery appeared on Cang Bai's face at this sight; the strength Yang Yan currently displayed was simply not enough to be feared.

However, just as this thought crossed his mind, he abruptly noticed the faint smile hanging on Yang Yan's face. His heart skipped a beat, and an extremely ominous feeling welled up within him.

Just as he was about to retreat, Yang Yan let out a cold laugh. The majestic water attribute spiritual energy in his sea of qi spun endlessly like a whirlpool, transforming into rippling, concentric waves of shock force that continuously propagated through the Moonlit Frost Blade toward the golden spear.

As the transparent water attribute spiritual energy spread, Cang Bai suddenly realized that wave after wave of tremendous force was continuously transmitting from the spear in his hand, rushing through the meridians of his arms to impact his entire body.

These spiritual energy fluctuations seemed exceedingly bizarre, rolling on endlessly like surging ocean tides, wave after wave, leaving him no time to mobilize the spiritual energy within his body for defense. Under the impact of this bizarre vibrational force, his internal organs churned strangely, and he could no longer suppress a mouthful of fresh blood spraying out.

Seeing that after just a single round of exchange Cang Bai was forced to retreat while vomiting blood, neither Lu Wu in the distance nor Xie Xuantian of the Cyan Profound Sect could do anything except gape in speechlessness.

The shocks Yang Yan brought them were simply too numerous. Who would have thought that after just one round, Cang Bai—whose strength reached the fourth layer of the Spirit Sea Realm—would be forced back by Yang Yan?

At this very moment, a sense of deep desolation and frustration rose within Xie Xuantian's heart.

He had always considered his cultivation talent to be quite exceptional. After half a lifetime of bitter cultivation, he had finally attained his current achievements, yet he was still suppressed so heavily by the massive mountain of the Profound Heaven Palace that he could barely breathe.

He understood in his heart that if this continued, the Cyan Profound Sect passed down through generations would likely perish in his hands.

Because human desires were ultimately infinite. Once the tripartite equilibrium within the empire was broken and a single faction dominated, they would inevitably turn their attention to suppressing or even annexing the stronger subordinate sects.

The ultimate victor in the tripartite struggle would never allow anyone to threaten their absolute ruling position in the cultivation world of the Flying Cloud Empire.

Consequently, over the past fifty or sixty years, Xie Xuantian had remained in seclusion, attempting to break through to higher realms, all so that when that day arrived, he could muster enough strength to use as a bargaining chip.

Yet today, Yang Yan had dealt him a devastating blow.

He had bitterly cultivated to reach his present state, whereas Yang Yan, at only seventeen or eighteen years of age, was already capable of surpassing him. The former's cultivation talent could be described as heaven-shaking and earth-shattering without the slightest exaggeration.

At the same time, however, a sense of secret fortune arose within his heart. Although his cultivation could not match Yang Yan's, his own eye for talent was quite good. Long ago, he had recognized that Yang Yan was no ordinary pond fish, and thus he had gambled the entire Cyan Profound Sect as his stake. He was betting that Yang Yan could emerge victorious and grow strong enough before the two major sects wiped them out.

Looking at it now, Yang Yan already possessed such qualifications. After all, someone capable of rivaling a peak fourth-layer Spirit Sea Realm powerhouse at the age of eighteen—if anyone called such a person a nobody in the future, they would likely be scolded as brain-damaged.

Meanwhile, the person experiencing the deepest shock was none other than Cang Bai himself.

During their initial exchange, although he felt that the opponent's spiritual energy was exceptionally fierce and violent, he had never imagined that Yang Yan had actually comprehended this kind of vibrational force. Though he had been forced to retreat while vomiting blood, his body had not sustained any severe injuries, and it was primarily due to his failure to anticipate Yang Yan's vibrational force in advance, catching him off guard and causing him to lose face in public.

However, his own miscalculation did not diminish his boundless hatred for Yang Yan, and he had already decided that this humiliation must be paid for with Yang Yan's life!