Chapter 524 - The Gathering of Immortal State Warriors
The dust had already fallen. Therefore most people were going about their lives inside their homes. The enormous size of The Dragon Plaza also muffled the voice, otherwise, the entire city not far from The Dragon Plaza would have heard the sound of Xie Yan’s voice.
“Who is that? Who dares to address the Overseer by his name?”
“You are courting death! How dare you challenge the Dragon Hall!”
“Where are the guards? Where are the Hacking Blades? Seize that man this instance!”
Xie Yan’s voice startled everyone inside The Dragon Plaza.
“Clank!”
Someone cracked open the window and saw a man in a black outfit floating in the air. He stood on top of the world against a backdrop of the gleaming sea where the moon was slowly rising from. The sight gave people the illusion that Xie Yan was an immortal who resided on the moon.
“He is...”
The man who opened the window was shocked by what he saw.
His peers who were standing beside him exclaimed in disbelief.
“Dragon Lord?”
The crowd inside the building started to seize with excitement as soon as they heard the name.
“Dragon Lord is back? Really?”
“Look for yourself! I will be damned if that isn’t Dragon Lord!”
“Yes, indeed he is! Brothers and sisters, our true master, has finally returned!”
Many people exclaimed in elation.
Many more people kneeled on the ground and kowtowed to Xie Yan as tears streaked across their cheeks.
There were over a hundred guards inside The Dragon Plaza, and every one of them looked up into the sky at the man in the black outfit with strong emotions. That man had dominated Singapore for hundreds of years, so his authority could not be so easily replaced by Wu Guanchao, who had only been in power for a few months.
“Dra... Dragon Lord”
Guo Shoukang was stupefied by the revelation. He stammered while gaping at the incredible turn of events.
“Dad, you were wrong.”
Guo Nuannuan gave her dad a long glance then shook her head disappointedly. She had nothing else to say to a father who would willingly trade his daughter as a commodity in exchange for safety and wealth.
“Even if he is indeed Dragon Lord, it doesn’t mean Overseer Wu is defeated. Overseer Wu has many supporters.”
Guo Shoukang’s face darkened and refuted.
Guo Nuannuan shook her head and remained silent. Then she cast a sidelong glance at the young man beside her and thought to herself: “No one would be able to defeat him, not even Immortal State Warriors.”
Suddenly, a few grandmasters broke through the window from inside the building and knelt before the Dragon Lord.
“Welcome back, Dragon Lord.”
Among them were half a dozen Grandmasters, a dozen or so Internal Force users. They formed the backbone of the organization
Chen Fan nodded slightly after he saw this group of men.
It was evident that Wu Guanchao was having a hard time reining in these powerful warriors. Otherwise, he would not have to rely on a foreigner such as Leng Jianfeng to run the organization.
“Wu Guanchao, what are you waiting for, come out now!”
Xie Yan linked his hands behind his back and glared at the building.
Xie Yan’s appearance alone was enough to re-install loyalty into the hearts of defectors. He had already killed Wu Guanchao’s most trusted assistant, and by then, he was fighting by himself.
“Hehe, I had never thought that you would survive the Valley of No Return.”
A flash of light appeared on top of The Dragon Plaza, lighting up the dark gloomy night sky. A man with a sullen face appeared in the sky. His body was surrounded by cracking lightning that spat out sparks from time to time. He must be an expert in the Thunder Art.
This middle-aged man was Wu Guanchao, the incredibly talented heir of the Wu family.
“Wu Guanchao, what is the meaning of this? I have treated your family well, haven’t I? Why did you use such violence against the Xie Family?”
Xie Yan asked.
“Humph! Xie Yan! You have robbed the Wu family of its wealth and power, and gravely injured me. How could I forget such a crime! This is only the beginning of your suffering.”
Wu Guanchao said derisively.
“Don’t waste your breath then, come meet your death!”
Xie Yan shook his head slightly and started the sword art.
The Ebony sword strapped on his back suddenly shot out a ray of dark light toward Wu Guanchao.
Xie Yan was still new to the Sword Cultivation, and neither did he have time to finish creating his flying sword using his blood such as Lin Langya did. Therefore, he had resorted to using the wood blade as the vessel for his power. Although the blade was made out of wood, it was created by Chen Fan himself and was as deadly as the Feathered Wing.
“Clank!”
Lightning flashed in the air; it was dark and incandescent at the same time.
Wu Guanchao’s pulled a taut face and punched at his opponent. His fist sent a tremor through the air and stirred up countless white flashes of lightning around his knuckles. It rammed into the flying sword with incredible speed.
“Bang!”
The impact shook Xie Yan’s body a little, but Wu Guanchao was winded by the attack and had to back away a few dozen meters.
Everyone could already tell who the winner was going to be after only one round of attacks.
“Impossible! Why are you so much stronger in just one and a half years?” Wu Guanchao was taken aback by his defeat.
He was convinced that Xie Yan had been fighting against Chen Fan and without spending any time on his cultivation. Therefore, Xie Yan’s increase in power had caught him by surprise.
“Now die!”
With an impassive expression on his stone-cold face, Xie Yan started another art and summoned three blades. These blades quickly gained a corporeal form and flew toward their target with a high pitch whistle.
“Shooshooooshooo.”
Each of the Blade auras were a few meters in length, and the combined force of these three blades was as potent as that of three Lin Langya.
This was one technique in the Sword Art of Nine Abandonments called the Art of Multiplying Blade Auras. At its highest level, one could form nine-blade auras from one blade. However, it was incredibly difficult for each such a high level of attainment. The Exalted Cultivator had created his version of the art by using nine blades, instead of just one.
“Kaboom!”
Wu Guanchao’s solemn face darkened as the lightning surrounding him became agitated.
Deadly lightning force sizzled about his body, waiting for his command. Every attack he hurled at his opponent carried an immeasurable amount of electric energy that could zap a living being into smithereens.
Wu Guanchao practiced the Art of Five Thunder Fists, which originated from the Heavenly Master Sect. Rumor had it that an unnamed Heavenly Master had blended martial arts with Thunder Art and created the unique Art of Five Thunder Fists. It required the cultivator to follow Dharma Spell and Martial Arts dual cultivation, but the benefit was that the cultivator could use the thunder spell as he fought an intense physical battle. There was no need to pause and cast any spell since the physical attacks naturally carried the power of the spells. No one knew when or how Wu Guanchao had learned this advanced art.
“Bang, bang, bang!”
Wu Guanchao unleashed three counter-attacks at each of the three-blade aura. His body shook violently after each impact, and after the third impact, Wu Guanchao was winded. However, the defense didn’t seem to stop the blade auras, as the three deadly energies plunged at Wu Guanchao as soon as they regained their course and speed.
“Damn it! What happened while he was gone? I thought he used sound wave attacks, and since when did he learn to use flying swords? I am no match against him unless I can reach the level of Heavenly Thunder.”
Wu Guanchao exclaimed in his mind.
The Art of Five Thunder Fists has five levels: Heaven, Earth, Clouds, Water, and Martial. He had reached the second last level, the Earth Thunder. He was told that once he reached Heaven Thunder, he could tap into the power of heaven and become invincible.
“This is the life and death moment; I have to give it a try.”
Wu Guanchao gritted his teeth as he gained more resolve.
The wind came up, shoveling a massive dark cloud toward inland from the sea, a storm was coming. Even as Wu Guanchao punched heavily at one Blade Aura, knocking it to the side, he started an art and summoned lightning that zig-zagged from the dark clouds to the ground.
“Break!”
Wu Guanchao took the brunt force of the lightning strike, forcing his mind to accept the pain as nature’s unrelenting power charged up his energy. Then he punched.
“Boom!”
Caring the deadly force of a lightning bolt, his fist roared like a dragon as it went across the battlefield toward Xie Yan.
Xie Yan’s face tightened a little as he adjusted his tactics. He merged the three-blade auras into one, making it as deadly as the blade that injured Chen Fan’s body.
“Go”
With a wave of a hand, the blade aura clashed into the thunder fist.
“Shit!”
Many grandmasters of the Dragon Hall were stunned when they saw Wu Guanchao’s thunder art. Only the Heavenly Master could have unleashed so much energy while using the Thunder Seal.
“I hope the Dragon Lord can make it.”
Guo Nuannuan said nervously.
“Don’t worry; he will be fine. He should be able to handle an early-stage Immortal State Warrior.” Chen Fan linked his hands behind his back and said lightly.
His attention was not on the battle, instead, he landed his gaze on the roiling sea in the distance.
The calm sea had suddenly become violent with rough waves that gnawed at the shoreline.
“Who is that?”
Guo Shoukang gave Chen Fan a fretful glance and then quickly shifted his eyes toward the battle.
“Kaboom!”
An ear-deafening blare had announced the outcome of the battle between Xie Yan and Wu Guanchao.
Xie Yan stood formidably in the air, loose folds of his shirt flapped against the wind. Meanwhile, Wu Guanchao’s body was scorched, and the Blade Qi had also left a deep gash on his shoulder.
It was obvious that the Dragon Lord had won this round.
“Hail to the mighty Dragon Lord!”
Many members of the Dragon Hall shouted at the top of their lungs.
“Your energy is spent; accept your death now!”
Xie Yan started the sword art once again.
A dark light shot out from the ebony blade and lit up the light drizzle that had started to fall.
Wu Guanchao’s face changed colors, and then he burst out laughing.
“Are you really that naive to think that I will be fighting alone? We have lived long enough to know the importance of prudence, haven’t we?”
“You mean...”
Xie Yan’s face paled a little.
Suddenly, a dark shadow appeared in the distant sea. The shadow was over a dozen meters long and was in the shape of a large python. A white-haired elder sat on top of the python and he was flanked by a long-haired woman.
“It has been a while, Brother Xie.”
The white-haired elder cracked a smile.
“Daxin, King of Gong Tau and Sohabi, the Sea God’s prophet?”
A cold light came up in Xie Yan’s eyes.
A deadly silence suddenly fell over The Dragon Plaza. Both the King of Gong Tau and the Prophet of the Sea God showed up. They were both as ancient as the Dragon Lord.
Xie Yan was in grave danger if he had to take on three of them at the same time.