Chapter 607: Thousands of Arrows Piercing the Heart
A ferocious tiger is disadvantaged in the plains, the Azure Dragon is disadvantaged in shallow waters. One day, the waters of the dragon will order the rivers to flow in reverse. When the wind and clouds come back again, the Azure Dragon will burst out of the sea.
“Heaven Ranked Martial Technique! This is a Heaven Ranked Martial Technique!”
The cultivators in the spectator stands all cried out in unison. They all got to their feet, their gazes full of shock. They had not expected Xiao Chen to go so far as to use a Heaven Ranked Martial Technique when he was only a half-step Martial Monarch. His move completely surpassed everyone’s expectations.
Shen Manjun, who was originally prepared to make a move, had a stunned expression on her august countenance. She muttered, “This child…what kind of fortuitous encounter did he have exactly?”
The pitch-black Lunar Shadow Saber exploded out with an extremely long saber light. The light solidified, infused with the boundless Dragon Might.
Riding on the Azure Dragon, the silent Xiao Chen soared into the air. As the dragon roared and the crowds watched, he swung out the ginormous saber light.
“Bang! Bang!”
Return of the Azure Dragon versus Inextinguishable Divine Light. Saber light versus sword light. Dragon Might versus Divine Might.
Inconceivably violent energy instantly burst forth. The surrounding shattered space collapsed like fallen leaves; the entire Wind Cloud Arena filled with spatial cracks in various directions.
The two weapon lights pushed against each other intensely. The dragon roar and divine sound became azure and golden light rings that propagated like ripples in all directions.
Dragon and divine clashed. A vast sound echoed throughout the lands, torturing the cultivators with lower cultivations. They all either circulated their Essence to protect their eyes or worked together in groups to resist the two energies.
“Ka ca! Ka ca!”
The two solid weapon lights cracked and shattered into several thousand beams of light.
The twelve Martial Monarch elders below changed their expressions drastically. They all executed their best moves, flickering around and fending off these beams.
A great explosion of light burst forth. In that instant, the night sky filled with thousands of purple and red beams; it looked as beautiful as fireworks.
However, the cultivators below all paled. They quickly erected Essence shields to protect themselves, knowing that this beautiful thing could easily take the life of a Martial Saint.
In the brilliant night sky, within the eye of the storm, Xiao Chen and Chu Chaoyun paled. Their weapons pushed against each other, neither giving way.
Blood leaked out of the corner of Chu Chaoyun’s lips. Grasping his sword with both hands, he pressed on Xiao Chen’s saber, forcing Xiao Chen to move back in the air.
Chu Chaoyun’s lips curled up in a gentle smile. “It must be excruciating to forcefully execute a Heaven Ranked Martial Technique. If you stop now, you might be able to save yourself. My state of light already turned into the will of light. You will definitely collapse before I do. Even if you persist, all you will taste is defeat.”
The aftereffects of executing Return of the Azure Dragon had started to show at this point. Xiao Chen’s entire body looked like someone had gone at him with knives. Thousands of tiny bleeding wounds covered his skin.
Chu Chaoyun’s strength had surpassed Xiao Chen’s expectations. Unexpectedly, Return of the Azure Dragon failed to defeat his opponent immediately. Chu Chaoyun’s words seemed hypnotic. I might as well concede defeat and forget about this pain that feels like thousands of arrows piercing the heart.
No, I cannot! My opponent forcefully raised his state of light to the will of light. How can the pain he is enduring be any less than mine?
As long as I have my saber in my hands, I will never concede. Xiao Chen clenched his teeth and suffered in silence.
The Azure Dragon below Xiao Chen felt his will. It roared loudly, and its diminishing aura soared once more. It stopped Xiao Chen from moving back, and an unexpected burst of power passed through his saber.
Never concede defeat, even when trapped on a beach with no water, mocked by the world with cold eyes, humiliated by the young and old alike. Never give up the pride in your heart, for you are a dragon of men.
However, a worm will be a worm. No matter how strong it gets, it will never be a dragon. When the tide rises, the dragon will eventually soar into the sky!
Xiao Chen rejoiced in his heart. Never conceding defeat…so this is the true meaning of Return of the Azure Dragon. Only by comprehending the true essence of this move could he bring out the greatest might of Return of the Azure Dragon. Otherwise, he would just be scratching the surface.
An extremely long saber light formed on the Lunar Shadow Saber again. A move within a move, a saber within a saber. Xiao Chen laughed softly and said, “Chu Chaoyun, you are the one who will be defeated.”
With a spurt of comprehension, The wind and clouds rose again!
The saber light that regathered was at least thrice as strong as the initial one. Its aura was overwhelming, vast, and without end. Chu Chaoyun’s consistently carefree expression suddenly changed.
“Bang!”
Xiao Chen pressed forward, holding his saber with both hands. The Azure Dragon roared, and the golden light on Chu Chaoyun’s sword broke like withered branches falling off a tree. The shattered golden light fell to the ground like rain.
The spread of the shards of golden light was simply too great. The twelve Martial Monarch elders could not block them all. Some of the golden light fell towards the spectator stands. The cultivators below immediately leaped away, fleeing in all directions.
“Rumble…!” The shards dug out deep pits where they landed in the spectator stands outside the Wind Cloud Platform; the scene was shocking.
“I will defeat you!” Xiao Chen shouted, and the saber light flew towards the falling Chu Chaoyun.
“Bang!”
Chu Chaoyun could not dodge in time. He vomited a mouthful of blood and drifted towards the ground like so much loose cotton. The light around his body turned into several ten thousand beams of golden light, quickly leaving his body.
This was Chu Chaoyun’s final light creating a sea of brilliance in the night sky. He was like a fallen deity, his long hair fluttering in the wind, his handsome face filled with incomprehensible loneliness.
As Chu Chaoyun fell, the Divine Might disappeared; the light left him entirely. The deity-like Chu Chaoyun finally became an ordinary mortal.
Chu Chaoyun gazed at Xiao Chen. Golden flames blazed fiercely in the depths of his eyes. However, at the last moment, he gave up on further resistance. The golden flames in his eyes vanished as he continued to drift down.
The moment Chu Chaoyun released the Heavenly Flame, it would expose his true identity. Furthermore, he only had a tenth of the Heavenly Flame; it might not suffice to defeat Xiao Chen, whose aura was flourishing at the moment.
The story has only just begun, but the conclusion was set by Fate long ago. It’s simply that the process is different from what I expected.
The twelve Martial Monarchs worked together and shattered the remaining golden light, creating a lot of sparks. Chu Chaoyun closed his eyes as he vanished into the spark-filled night scene.
Xiao Chen’s golden dragon quickly rushed over to Chu Chaoyun’s golden dragon and took a chunk out of it. After it swallowed, Xiao Chen’s golden dragon finally reached thirty meters.
The thirty-meter golden dragon was radiant. Layers of golden scales quickly grew on the body of the dragon, and horns appeared on its head. It looked like it had come to life.
“Xiu! Xiu! Xiu!”
The four Dragon Veins sealed below the Wind Cloud Arena each sent out a strand of golden Dragon Qi towards the thirty-meter-long golden dragon.
At the same time, an uncontrolled crack opened in the seals suppressing the Dragon Veins in the five great nations. They each sent out a strand of golden Dragon Qi, which passed through space, heading for the golden dragon above Xiao Chen.
When the nine strands of golden Dragon Qi entered Xiao Chen’s golden dragon, it became extremely resplendent, becoming as dazzling as the sun in the night scene.
A dragon roar resounded, and a King Dragon’s Dragon Might flooded the Wind Cloud Arena. The weaker cultivators below felt a certain fear in their hearts pervade their bodies.
When the crowd saw the golden Dragon Might spreading out without pause, they all cried out, “Golden scales covering its body, and horns growing on its head. Subduing the nine dragons, wresting away the Luck of even the various Royal Courts. It indeed is a King Grade True Dragon!”
Everyone gazed at the white-robed bladesman in the night sky, a King Grade True Dragon. This was a talent that could surpass the Thunder Emperor. The Sky Dome Realm’s main character of this age was finally born.
All the other geniuses, Bai Qi, Sima Lingxuan, Yue Chenxi, Xuanyuan Zhantian, Liu Xiaoyun, Gong Yangyu, and many others, revealed gloomy expressions.
If this were not the age of geniuses, they would have been a main character. Unfortunately, in this big world, when comparing oneself to a talent like Xiao Chen, even stronger geniuses would pale in comparison.
The number of geniuses was like the boundless sea stretching over the horizon, unlimited and uncountable. Heroes filled the land like stars filled the sky. This was the best age as well as the worst age, for there could only be one main character in every age.
The aftereffects of executing Return of the Azure Dragon had already manifested completely. Xiao Chen, who was in the air, felt incredible pain throughout his body. His bones gave off cracking sounds, and his skin ruptured. His countenance was very frightening.
“Endure a little more. With the true dragon, all your injuries will immediately heal.” Within the Lunar Shadow Saber, Ao Jiao clenched her tiny hands tightly. Her pretty face was full of anxiety, but she still said something to encourage Xiao Chen.
Back when Xiao Chen was outside Dragon Sealing City, he had asked Ao Jiao if he could execute Return of the Azure Dragon one more time before advancing to Martial Monarch.
The answer Ao Jiao gave back then: Yes.
However, the prerequisite was that it had to be the last move of Xiao Chen’s last match. With the thirty-meter true dragon, no matter how serious his injuries, he would be able to recover instantly. This had been so for the Thunder Emperor in the past as well.
Still if Xiao Chen failed, not only he would be injured by his opponent, but after forcefully executing Return of the Azure Dragon three times in his life, even a stronger body would end up shattering.
At this moment, outsiders could only see Xiao Chen’s splendor and glory. They did not see the price that he paid or the effort he had put in.
When Xiao Chen was young, he had frequently suffered from mockery and cold glances. When he was outside White Water City, the Noble Clans of the Great Qin Nation set bounties on him. He cultivated bitterly while on Qingyun Peak and went through the many tests of the Ancient Desolate Tower. He immersed himself in endless massacre in the Deep Sea Battlefield. Finally, in this last match, he bet his life on this killing move.
Xiao Chen was the White Robed Bladesman that would never concede defeat. He hid his pride in his heart and took things step by step. He experienced the bitterness and pain of the world, enduring boundless loneliness.
After lagging behind everyone else by sixteen years, Xiao Chen finally climbed to the top of the Sky Dome Realm!
The thirty-meter-long King Grade True Dragon with two horns and a body full of golden scales roared. Then, it turned into a beam of light and entered Xiao Chen’s sea of consciousness through his forehead.
“Hua!”
Suddenly, countless streams of golden light flowed within Xiao Chen’s body, quickly repairing his injuries. With the aid of the golden light, all his external and internal injuries, including the hidden ones, were instantly healed.
This sense of extreme comfort was indescribable. Xiao Chen felt reborn. All the scars and wounds on his skin vanished. His face glowed with health once more, with no trace of tiredness or fatigue.
The most important thing was that, with the healing of this golden light, Xiao Chen felt his physical body grow stronger again. He now reached the peak of the Firmament Body Tempering Art’s fifth layer. Mysteriously, he gained new comprehensions on the Martial Techniques that he knew.
Finally, all this golden light gathered in the Qi whirlpool at Xiao Chen’s dantian. His cultivation advanced rapidly from Small Perfection half-step Martial Monarch to the peak of Great Perfect half-step Martial Monarch. He was only a step shy of reaching Consummation.
In an instant, the true dragon brought Xiao Chen many benefits, increasing his cultivation by an amount equivalent to at least two years of effort.