Chapter 1106: Grief
In everyone’s eyes, as they looked at Xiao Chen, aside from marveling at his strength, there was also pity. For those with malicious hearts, there was also a merciless mockery as they took joy in his misfortune.
If Xiao Chen did not become a Martial Emperor in time, he would have only twenty years to live. He would not be able to live to fifty and would die early, becoming a has-been meteor.
This was the premature death of the Azure Dragon. No matter how strong one’s mental state was, this thought would grieve anyone’s heart.
In these twenty-odd years of life, I have fought many battles along the way. It was difficult, but I made it to the peak of my generation. However, I perish in an undeserved catastrophe.
I can defeat the many outstanding talents, sweeping through the younger generation of the Kunlun Continent, beating the Heavenly Starry Ocean’s outstanding talents in one move.
So what of it? If I don’t advance to Martial Emperor in five years, I will be like a meteor. The light that I have now, no matter how dazzling, just made everyone feel pity.
All anyone shows is just sympathy.
Suddenly, thousands upon thousands of flowers appeared in the parched air; all of them were blood-red multiflora roses.
The scarlet multiflora roses were replete with grief. Every single petal contained the grief of the Azure Dragon King, spreading the Azure Dragon King’s dissatisfaction.
A scarlet waning moon slowly rose from behind Xiao Chen as everyone watched. Red light met their eyes, filling them with grief.
No matter who it was, the heat and frustration in their body were all swept away. Now, a strange melancholy surged up in their heart.
In the end, everyone felt Xiao Chen’s grief, sensed his dissatisfaction. Under his cold and unparalleled mask, the Azure Dragon King also had a heart that could be hurt.
The sound of gushing water appeared beside Xiao Chen. That was the river of time that his mind simulated. He was on a small boat flowing along the river with the scarlet moonlight.
As times passed and ten thousand years elapsed, Xiao Chen’s face changed right before everyone. It seemed like he had been through many cycles of changes. Only the scarlet moonlight on him never changed. The river could not wash this grief off his body.
When did man first see the moon at the riverside? When did the moon by the river first shine its light on man? Many generations of men passed, but the moon by the river remained the same.
A figure of white accompanied by millions of scarlet multiflora roses. Under the illumination of the scarlet moonlight, Xiao Chen appeared especially sorrowful.
Thousand Year Death. I have a palm strike that speaks only of sorrow and not joy!
Following the grief in his heart, Xiao Chen used it to throw a palm strike at the bright, dazzling Chu Yang in midair mocking him with cold eyes.
My heart may be filled with sorrow, but I do not begrudge anyone. I do not draw my saber not to belittle you, but because there is really no need to.
The grief from this palm strike was endless and came in cycles. Even after thousands of years, the river could not wash away this grief.
Chu Yang’s mental state crumbled in an instant. Before he could regain his senses, the light of the sun and the Sun Bird behind him immediately shattered from the power of this one palm strike.
The force of the palm strike was not spent yet; it sent Chu Yang hurtling through the air. He crashed heavily into one of the jade pavilions in the sky, alarming all the people inside and making them scatter in all directions.
Then, the jade pavilion immediately exploded. Something that was like a small mountain just a short while ago crumbled, burying the heavily injured and fainted Chu Yang.
This collapse preserved Chu Yang’s final bit of pride, preventing people from seeing his tattered clothes and messy hair, a sorry state like a beggar.
A heavy cloud of grief spread and lingered in the air, reverberating in everyone’s hearts.
The Azure Dragon King Xiao Chen’s dissatisfaction, grief, and pain—this palm strike displayed all of these. Everyone could clearly sense his feelings as though their own.
Xiao Chen withdrew his move and resumed his upright posture with his hands behind his back. The blood moon disappeared, and the aura of grief slowly followed.
“Pu tong!” Chu Yang arduously climbed out of the rubble on the ground. As he looked at Xiao Chen, who was still standing in the highest arena, his eyes filled with shock.
The might of that earlier palm strike was indeed very horrifying. However, even with that, it should not have been able to injure Chu Yang severely.
The most important thing was that the palm strike contained the state of grief, which made Chu Yang’s mental state crumble in an instant; hence the loss of all his fighting spirit. The moment Xiao Chen attacked, Chu Yang’s defenses weakened significantly.
At this moment, Chu Yang could not say anything about this. He was convinced of this loss. However, he would definitely not leave this lying.
He, Chu Yang, was the strongest of the Cyclic Astral Palace’s younger generation. Since his debut, he had never been defeated in the Heavenly Starry Ocean. If not for Di Xinhan’s Heavenly Spiritual Body giving Di Xinhan a shockingly strong physical body, it would be hard for Chu Yang to find a true opponent.
However, Chu Yang lost so clearly today; this was truly unacceptable.
The many old men of the Cyclic Astral Palace flew down together with Fu Hongyao, coming to check on his wounds.
“There is no need. I’m fine. Let’s go.” Chu Yang raised his hand and wiped the blood off his lips as he walked out of the rubble. He glanced at Xiao Chen, who was in the arena, and said coldly, “Xiao Chen, today’s matter is definitely not over yet. I, Chu Yang, will not admit defeat so easily.”
After Chu Yang spoke, he mounted one of the Cyclic Astral Palace’s Sun Birds and quickly left Bright Moon City, loath to remain any longer.
Defeated. Furthermore with just one move. The final hope of all the Heavenly Starry Ocean cultivators shattered. Until now, Xiao Chen did not even draw his saber. Such a result was truly unacceptable.
Originally, the Four Seas Hero Gathering should have been a venue for the various outstanding talents to display their skills, presenting their strength in excellent and exciting battles to spread their name throughout the Heavenly Starry Ocean.
The Holy Scions should have gone on only afterwards and put on even more exciting battles, showing the elegance of the various Holy Lands.
However, today, the Four Seas Hero Gathering with its tens of thousands of years of history became Xiao Chen’s stage alone.
This Four Seas Hero Gathering should have been rife with exciting battles filled with dreams. However, Xiao Chen defeated all his challengers in one move, beating the many Holy Scions and ruining their reputation.
“Ye Chen, are you not going up?”
In the Northern Sea Alliance’s jade pavilion, Ye Chen remained silent all the while as he watched the competition.
When someone asked Ye Chen about fighting, he simply smiled and shook his head. “Never mind. Without Brother Xiao, I would not even be a quasi-Emperor now. Furthermore, given my skills, I am definitely not Xiao Chen’s match.”
“This gathering can be considered ruined due to Xiao Chen. Those judges of the Lunar Palace are probably not happy.”
Ye Chen sighed and said, “Who would have thought that he alone can suppress all the outstanding talents of the entire Heavenly Starry Ocean? Furthermore, he did so in such a wretched manner.”
Just as everyone discussed in low voices, a clear voice came from the palace where the Lunar Palace’s judges sat. This person’s voice contained a great might.
“Azure Dragon King Xiao Chen, we ten judges have unanimously decided that no one else in this Four Seas Hero Gathering can surpass your elegance. Even if we look back to all the Four Seas Hero Gatherings of the past ten thousand years, only the Azure Emperor can compare to you. Hence, the Dragon’s Gate’s mountain tablet belongs to none other than you.”
A rectangular embroidered box floated down from the sky.
Xiao Chen stretched out his hand to catch it. After he opened the exquisitely embroidered box, he saw a palm-sized stone tablet lying inside. The words Dragon’s Gate written in cursive exuded a grand aura.
With only two glances, Xiao Chen felt like he had plunged into a deep, boundless abyss. The stone tablet overflowed with vast and endless overwhelming power that made anyone who felt it feel extremely insignificant.
Strong pressure emerged in the depths of Xiao Chen’s heart. Endless dragon roars resonated beside his ears as a savage battlefield filled with blood and fire appeared before his eyes.
An imposing figure stood tall, holding a saber. This person led many Dragon’s Gate disciples and swept through everywhere. Together with another thirteen azure-clad experts, the imposing figure fought with many horrifying enemies.
Among the enemies were strong Deity Race Martial Emperors, the Four Dragon Kings under the Sea Monarch, and the many Holy Lands of the Heavenly Starry Ocean, as well as the even more horrifying Deep Abyss Demon Monarchs.
Kill! Kill! Kill!
Shouts to kill resounded. Xiao Chen’s eyes turned scarlet as he thought to himself, Oh no!
Xiao Chen hastily withdrew his consciousness and closed the embroidered box. Then, he performed a cupped-fist salute and said, “Many thanks to the seniors of the Lunar Palace for granting this little one’s wish.”
He knew that this stone tablet was definitely the right one. This was the Dragon’s Gate’s mountain tablet that the Azure Emperor personally forged. Although it was currently only palm-sized, once placed on the ground, it would show its true size.
“You are here for the Dragon’s Gate’s mountain tablet. Since you obtained it already, please leave. The Four Seas Hero Gathering still needs to continue.”
A stern but calm voice rang out, inviting Xiao Chen out. This voice also contained a trace of unhappiness.
Xiao Chen heaved the embroidered box on his back and performed another cupped-fist salute. Then he glanced at the Lunar Palace in the sky where it felt like someone was looking at him. Now, he somewhat understood why that old woman would remain in the Meditation Moon Palace for ten thousand years.
The cursive on the Meditation Moon Palace’s signboard was the same as the one on the Dragon’s Gate’s mountain tablet.
Why did the Azure Emperor make the Meditation Moon Palace’s signboard? What kind of history did they have? Perhaps only that old woman would know.
Xiao Chen shook his head, not wanting to think about this anymore. Before everyone’s watching eyes, he left.
Long Fei and Qi Wuxue, who were on small arenas, found this boring, so they followed Xiao Chen and left.
Most of the eyes on the departing Xiao Chen showed respect. He had defeated all the outstanding talents with one move each. The name Azure Dragon King now gained respect, a respect for the strong; he had earned this respect with a clear conscience.
However, there were several gazes that appeared complicated as well; others could not figure out what they were thinking.
After the judges spoke, Yue Bingyun glanced once at Xiao Chen’s figure before turning to leave.
The Young Treasure Master, Yi Ling, showed a faint smile on his lips. He thought for a while before saying indifferently, “The past and the present resemble each other shockingly. Unfortunately, you have to advance to Martial Emperor in a limited amount of time. To you, that is a barrier that you can never cross. You are fated not to become the next Azure Emperor. The future of the Heavenly Starry Ocean is still in my grasp. I’ll let you hang on to the Heaven Subduing Rock first.”
The Young Palace Master of the Eastern Sea Divine Dragon Palace showed a sullen expression and did not say much. He only whispered something into the ears of the old man beside him, and the old man left to follow his orders.
If Xiao Chen were here, he would find this old man familiar. This was the leader of the four old men who had chased him in Despair City that day.
Back then, Xiao Chen heavily injured this old man. Now, his injuries were already all healed. His strength even seemed to have improved further.
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Outside Bright Moon City, Xiao Chen landed on the surface of the sea and met with Long Fei and Qi Wuxue.
“Congratulations, Brother Xiao, for gaining what you wished.” The two proffered congratulations with cupped-fist salutes.