Chapter 1001: Ao Jiao Awakens
The night scene parted, and the star shattered. The Lunar Astral Star in the Astral Banner suddenly burst into pieces.
“Bang!”
After Fu Hongyao’s life Secret Treasure broke, she vomited a mouthful of blood. Her complexion turned pallid; she appeared very pitiful.
Darkness covered the sky, and a figure of light appeared. Xiao Chen struck Fu Hongyao’s face with his fist, sending her flying off the platform. After she hit the ground, she could not get up again.
Fu Hongyao held her face with one hand, extremely embarrassed. She had never met such a ruthless man before even after living for this long. She said through clenched teeth, “The mountains and rivers will eventually meet. Xiao Chen, you better not run into me again.”
Two down! Xiao Chen thought to himself. Then, he swung his hand back, and the Lunar Shadow Saber appeared in his grip once again. He showed no intent to pursue Fu Hongyao. Instead, he charged over to the nearest person, Xing Jue. At that place, a black wind blew, filled with ghostly howls.
The huge ax continued to dance around on Xing Jue’s fingers. When he saw Xiao Chen charging over, he laughed boldly and said, “You’ve come at a good time. Let’s see who will be sending whom flying this time!”
The huge twirling ax suddenly stopped. Then Xing Jue grasped it firmly with one hand. The storm that was brewing covered his entire body like battle armor of violent winds.
Peach blossoms bloomed, the summer sun rose, the autumn wind blew, and the winter snow drifted. Flawless Four Seasons, Cycle of Seasons.
As Xiao Chen charged over, mysterious phenomena appeared around him. By the time he reached Xing Jue, he already materialized all four seasons and attacked with the Cycle of Seasons.
“Bang!”
A loud sound filled the vast platform, shattering it entirely at this moment. Xing Jue’s black storm armor dispersed in an instant. Then, the momentum of Xiao Chen’s charge knocked Xing Jue high into the air.
Xiao Chen continued soaring into the air without losing any momentum. Then, he started attacking furiously.
The two in the air seemed to move in slow motion. Everyone clearly saw every move the two made. They fought in a thoroughly berserk and violent way, just using absolute strength to match blow for blow.
In only ten moves, space was rippling like waves spreading on water, forming a spatial storm howling back and forth.
Everyone was astonished when then saw this. If this spatial storm swept up an ordinary Martial Sage, that Martial Sage would surely die.
“Bang!”
In another move, Xiao Chen knocked away the huge ax in Xing Jue’s hand. Then, he used the back of his saber to send Xing Jue’s stout body hurtling back like a sandbag.
Three down!
The moment Xiao Chen thought that, Di Wuque, who was on the Deities’ Nation image above, suddenly opened his eyes.
The Deities’ Nation below his feet suddenly turned solid. It carried a boundless divine light as it pressed down, preparing to crush Xiao Chen to death in one move.
A loud rumbling sound came from the solid Deities’ Nation image as it encased the entire area of the platform. It plunged down in an instant, moving at lightning speed.
As the Deities’ Nation descended, Xiao Chen appeared very small. The entire Tianwu Plaza shook intensely.
However, it was clear that Di Wuque paid an enormous price for this attack. After the Deities’ Nation image landed, it completely disappeared; he would not be able to summon it out again.
Di Wuque hovered in the air, radiating a dazzling light. His white hair fluttered wildly in the wind.
As he looked at the platform, which had been reduced to rubble, he smiled coldly to himself. Due to this carefully prepared strike, he could not summon out the Deities’ Nation for at least three years.
This Primordial Emperor Treasure could even severely injure a quasi-Emperor, what more a great grandmaster-level Martial Sage. Even if Xiao Chen did not die, he would at least be crippled.
“My apologies, my attack was too heavy, and I accidentally ruined this Martial God Palace’s platform,” Di Wuque said to the elders seated in the distance in an indifferent voice, performing a cupped-fist salute. “This King conferral ceremony should be ended here.”
It was going to end like that?
All the cultivators present felt dissatisfied. They had seen Xiao Chen defeat three people in succession and thought that he stood a chance at victory. However, Di Wuque’s lightning-quick attack extinguished the newly lit hope in everyone’s hearts.
The Deities’ Nation was a Primordial Emperor Treasure. It was a very powerful supreme treasure that had been passed down through countless generations. Few in the world could match it.
Di Wuque drained all his Mental Energy, paying the price of not being able to summon out the image of the Emperor Grade Secret Treasure for three years. When the Deities’ Nation image was solidified, its peak strike could even severely injure a quasi-Emperor.
However, that was just in theory. In a true battle, a quasi-Emperor would not give Di Wuque so much time to prepare.
In other words, Di Wuque only had such an opportunity because Xie Zixuan, Fu Hongyao, and Xing Jue delayed Xiao Chen. Otherwise, in one-on-one combat, it would be hard to say who would win.
“It ended?” The black-clad old man hosting the ceremony looked at the Azure Dragon King insignia in his hand and muttered, “The price is really huge.”
The platform had turned into rubble, and Xiao Chen had stripped the insignia off Xia Houjue, whom the three Holy Masters had high hopes for. Now, the black-clad old man did not know where the insignia had landed.
The price paid for the sake of preventing a certain name from appearing again was too high.
“Di Wuque’s final strike was too exaggerated. Xiao Chen’s loss was not undeserved.”
“Undeserved or not, this is too unfortunate. Xiao Chen fought very hard along the way, fighting until now. Many outstanding talents all fell to his saber. However, he lost at the very final one. This is disappointing.”
“In the end, a miracle could not appear.”
“Even though Xiao Chen bore the brunt of the attack, I believe that with his strong physical body, he is not dead. However, he probably already lost all his combat prowess.”
Discussions were conducted in low voices. At the very final step, Xiao Chen fell at Di Wuque’s feet. The crowd felt that this was both unexpected and within reason.
At the VIP seats, Shui Lingling silently wiped away a tear at a corner of her eyes. On this path to be conferred King, Xiao Chen had met with so much difficulty. In the end, this was the result. Even if he survived by some fluke, he would be extremely disheartened.
The Asura Race’s Lan Shaobai opened his mouth in a somewhat awkward manner, wanting to say something. In the end, he did not say anything.
The people who were on good terms with Xiao Chen all showed upset expressions, all of them sighing endlessly.
“Hahaha! Unexpectedly, after I made my way back with much difficulty, I see such a scene. In the end, I, Xia Houjue, have the last laugh in this King conferral ceremony!”
Everyone saw a miserable figure covered in wounds quickly descending from the air. It was Xia Houjue, whom Xiao Chen tossed far away.
Xia Houjue had rushed all the way back in spite of his injuries. He did not even take the time to change his clothes.
However, the moment he returned, he saw the scene of Xiao Chen being crushed by the Deities’ Nation. He instantly felt extremely happy. Sometimes, happiness came so simply.
The black-clad old man was similarly happy as well. He quickly headed for the rubble to search for the White Tiger King’s insignia.
Just at this moment, a small beam of golden light came from the boundless rubble of the platform.
In the next instant, more beams of golden light shot out like spring bamboo after the rain. In the blink of an eye, ten thousand beams of golden light soared into the sky. They were so dazzling that no one could look at them directly.
Shock appeared on Xia Houjue’s face. “What’s going on?”
The expression of Di Wuque, who was preparing to leave, changed slightly. Doubt flickered in his eyes as he paused in the air, hovering there.
“Boom!”
A multitude of golden figures emerged from the rubble, radiating bright light.
These golden figures all looked different, holding different weapons in their hands. The only similarity was the King’s Might on them. When the might of these hundreds of figures merged, it inspired fear in everyone’s hearts.
“That startled me. It turned out that it is only the group of King sculptures.”
Seeing the situation, Xia Houjue heaved a sigh of relief. He had thought that Xiao Chen returned.
“That’s not right!”
Di Wuque’s expression changed drastically. He saw Xiao Chen standing amid the hundreds of sculptures with his eyes closed. His body gave off a bright light, the wounds on his body recovering at a visible pace.
Xiao Chen had already taken off the Sea Monarch Headscarf on his head. The King’s Might flooding out of his body was even richer and more puissant than that from the hundreds of King sculptures around.
Azure Dragon King, the king of all kings!
The tiny Azure Dragon in Xiao Chen’s dantian roared. Dragon Might and Holy Might converged to form a supreme King’s Might.
Under the pressure of this King’s Might, all the golden sculptures prostrated themselves, forming a golden road in the air, forming the road of a King.
Xia Houjue’s face turned crazy, his eyes wide with incomparable shock as he quickly thought, Xiao Chen is currently an empty shell. That scene of Di Wuque injuring him was definitely not an illusion. Even if Xiao Chen were a quasi-Emperor, he would not have any combat prowess left.
Although I am severely injured and did not take time to recover as I rushed back, I should still be more than enough to deal with this fellow’s bluff.
With this thought, a look of disdain flashed in Xia Houjue’s eyes. He laughed loudly and said, “Xiao Chen, you are great. At the crucial moment, you actually completely awakened the Dragon Might of the Azure Dragon Martial Spirit. Unfortunately, the one being conferred King is me, Xia Houjue!”
Xia Houjue’s figure flashed, carrying a boundless might. A strong wind higher than the sky, wider than the earth, more ferocious than the river, vaster than the sea gathered behind him.
He arrived before Xiao Chen in the blink of an eye. Then, he ferociously jabbed his finger towards Xiao Chen’s forehead.
In the time it took for a spark to fly, Xiao Chen raised his right hand and grabbed Xia Houjue’s wrist.
“Boom!”
A bolt of Divine Lightning roared in the sky. What kind of lightning was this? Just the thunder from it alone shook the entire Tianwu City violently.
Buildings collapsed, and the eardrums of low-level cultivators shattered, causing many there to faint.
A lightning bolt tore through the clouds. A gigantic Roc made of lightning appeared together with the Divine Lightning in the sky.
When the Roc spread its wings, strong winds blew, seeming to push even the Martial God Palace hidden in the clouds.
“This is the Thunder Emperor Sang Mu’s will of thunder. How come Xiao Chen is using it?!”
Everyone in the entire plaza was shocked as their complexions paled. Their voices trembled before this lightning Roc, their eyes filled with confusion.
Why was it that Xiao Chen could bring out the form of the Thunder Emperor’s will?
Hey, Ao Jiao, you don’t need to cause such a commotion, right?!
Hehe, I just woke up and am not very familiar with my own strength yet. On the other hand, after not seeing for you a long time, your body now contains many strange things.
Please, I was left with no other choice but to let you occupy my body. Can you not simply peek at it?
Alright, alright. Just focus on recovering. Leave the rest to me. Hey! Because I was focused on our conversation, I nearly forgot that I’m still holding a person. I’ll toss him away first.
“Whoosh!”
On the King’s road made of prostrate golden sculptures, “Xiao Chen” made a casual tossing motion. Xia Houjue, who had long charred from electrocution, turned into a meteor as he flew far away and crashed who knew where.
As if he never noticed that person at all, “Xiao Chen” looked around and fixed his gaze on Di Wuque, whose Mental Energy was drained. His mouth curled up in a mischievous smile that only Ao Jiao had.
Chills ran down Di Wuque’s spine. He felt that there was something wrong with Xiao Chen, like a change had taken place in him. However, he could not put his finger on what exactly it was.
However, when Di Wuque saw the strange smile on the face of “Xiao Chen,” he knew he had to leave. He was currently in an extremely weak state and not a match for him.