~~~
The blot of darkness stretches beyond the horizon, yet moves with incredible swiftness, immediately filling the hole left by Xiao Nan’s technique. There is no telling what is inside that inky blackness or what happens to those consumed by it. Faced with such a sight, even the strongest of hearts may quiver in fear.
Feng Zhuo of the Eternal Flame Clan, son of Lord Feng Shang, former Champion of the Crimson Cloud Tournament, and holder of several impressive-sounding titles he cares little for, advances softly. His eyes are alight with Eternal Flame. His Qi burns around him like a small bonfire as the shadow looms over him and tries to wrap him in its embrace.
[Eternal Garment]
The shadow falls on Feng Zhuo but burns before it can make contact. Golden flames mold themselves over Feng Zhuo’s robes and take the shape of golden armor that covers his entire body, except for his face. It would be rude to deprive those in the shadows of his charming smile.
Miles away, Xiao Nan is still destroying as much of the shadow as he can by repeatedly using that wide-scale technique of his. Feng Zhuo is impressed by his control. Xiao Nan could be making the range of his attacks far greater, but he’s trying to bait a reaction. He wants to know what it will take for those inside the shadow to take action.
His Uncle or Feng Zhi would have probably done the same. Destruction is a little too strong in both of them. However, Feng Zhuo takes more after his father. His flames are not for burning or cleansing.
That wouldn’t be entertaining at all.
[Flaming Eternity]
Flickering embers rise from Feng Zhuo’s golden armor and take the shape of eagles. The birds whistle and beat their wings before diving into the shadow. Almost immediately, they are smothered. However, their flames do not go out entirely. The embers that remain shape themselves into more eagles and continue their path. They spread inside the shadow, growing in number no matter how often they are destroyed. Feng Zhuo’s smile grows as he feels his creations finally make contact with individuals inside the shadow. His Qi resonates, beginning to glimpse inside the blot.
That, apparently, is a step too far.
“Enough!”
A shadowy hand emerges from the blot and wraps around his throat before pushing him all the way back to Cloudburst City. The Eternal Flame does not forgive the offense. The limb burns, forcing his opponent to let go. However, his foe has accomplished his objective.
“I wondered how long that’d take,” Feng Zhuo says, rubbing his neck. “You people from the other side are remarkably patient.”
“You are remarkably arrogant.”
His foe’s body is cloaked in darkness, but now that he has left the safety of the gigantic shadow, it begins to fade away like smoke drifting in the wind. The thing under it looks very little like a human. It is a monster with horns and ugly orange skin, a real man-eating ogre right out of an old tale.
“You are not our match, yet you dared to put yourself in our way and attack us,” the ogre says, baring its black teeth at Feng Zhuo. “You used your flames to attempt to analyze us. You are approaching this as a fight you can win, as though your survival were guaranteed. What gives you the right to show such disrespect?!”
Shadows swirl around the ogre’s hand and shape themselves into a massive spear. As this happens, Feng Zhuo notes that the blot has decided to bifurcate so as to avoid Cloudburst City, rejoining only once it is past the city limits. It seems it has decided to grant them this stage.
Feng Zhuo smiles.
“What gives me the right? If I thought about such things before doing something, I’d never get anything done,” Feng Zhuo says. The golden flames around him grow in intensity. “You say I’m not your match, yet I do not feel you are stronger than me. There are probably stronger people than you inside that shadow, so why is it that you are the one here? Do you still want to hide the scope of your strength? Or could it be that there are not as many of you as that massive shadow makes it seem?”
In the blink of an eye, the ogre appears in front of Feng Zhuo and brings his spear down.
“Rude,” Feng Zhuo says as he blocks the ogre’s spear with the bracers of his golden armor. “Isn’t it customary to give one’s name before a battle? How will I be able to boast of my victory if I cannot name my vanquished foe?”
The ogre growls. His muscles bulge, and his size increases. His body looms over Feng Zhuo as he pours more strength into his spear.
“Arrogance! Is there no end to it?”
“No,” Feng Zhuo says. Golden flames burst around him and knock back the ogre. “Fire is remarkably upfront about its nature. When it cooks your food. When it burns your forests. When it keeps your body warm. When it kills you. It does not exalt itself. It does not apologize. Fire remains fire. You stand in front of Feng Zhuo of the Eternal Flame Clan, son of Feng Shang, grandson of Feng Zhang. Be grateful.”
The ogre glares at him with golden eyes. Its orange skin seems to grow darker.
“I am the Savage Shadow,” he says.
Their ensuing clash destroys much of Cloudburst City. Feng Zhuo feels a little bad about it since he knows Xiao Nan wanted to try to protect the city, but that was never an option. When cultivators of their level battle seriously, one or two cities being destroyed is the least one can expect.
The ogre spins his spear above his head before bringing it down. Spectral flame shines on the tip of the spear. Feng Zhuo matches the strength of the attack with a kick. The impact clears out the clouds above them, allowing the beautiful blue sky to finally be seen. Savage Shadow grits his teeth in anger while Feng Zhuo smirks confidently.
Golden flames erupt under Feng Zhuo’s feet as he twists on his heel. His foot accelerates and kicks the spear away. Then, Feng Zhuo plants it on the ogre’s chest and lets the flames run loose.
[Majestic Sublimation]
A hundred miniature but potent explosions go off at once on the base of Feng Zhuo’s foot and blow the ogre away. On the outside, Feng Zhuo smiles confidently, but his mind is hard at work. Savage Shadow is not on a higher level than him, but, annoying as it is to admit it, the ogre is physically stronger. Feng Zhuo has been compensating with the Eternal Flame to make Savage Shadow believe otherwise, but kicking and blocking that spear hurt.
However, that’s not the most important thing. Had the forces of the Temple arrived with an abundance of cultivators, it would have been a simple matter to dispatch a group strong enough to immediately overwhelm him. That has not happened, which means he is probably correct in assuming there aren’t that many of them. The big blot is a ruse to make them appear far larger than they are. They are trying to hide their full strength until they reach the palace.
However, even if they reach the palace, how would they…?
Savage Shadow roars. Feng Zhuo rises into the sky, and the ogre chases after him, attacking with a thrust of his spear. Feng Zhuo flies out of reach. However, the spear lengthens, managing to strike Feng Zhuo. His golden armor protects him, but he can feel his skin bruising. Despite the pain, he maintains a confident smile.
It annoys people.
Savage Shadow throws his spear at him like a javelin. It shines with purple light and multiplies. In less than the blink of an eye, there are hundreds of them. The Eternal Flame within Feng Zhuo wants to explode, but that thing is always too violent for its own good.
Feng Zhuo makes it fly instead.
Fiery eagles soar across the sky. They crash into the spears and incinerate them. Savage Shadow advances. The eagles crash into his body, their embers left flickering in the wind, yet he does not stop. It is not that the Eternal Flame isn’t hurting him. His body is a dense armor of Qi. Anything the flames eat is simply replenished by his aura. As soon as he is within range, the ogre swings his spear again. Feng Zhuo moves to block.
Savage Shadow lets go of the spear and punches him in the face.
Feng Zhuo's nose breaks. It is the second time that has happened this week. Savage Shadow’s knee then strikes him in the torso. Despite Feng Zhuo’s golden armor, Savage Shadow’s pure brute strength knocks the wind out of him and cracks his ribs. The bastard has realized close combat favors him.
Feng Zhou moves to dodge the next blow. It is hard due to Savage Shadow’s size. The ogre outmasses him thrice over, maybe more. His fists are larger than his head and made larger still by the ghostly flames that burn around them.
However, Feng Zhuo is never going to lose in a contest of flames. Golden flames ignite around his own limbs, matching Savage Shadow blow for blow. The orange ogre smirks. With every hit he takes, his size shrinks, and his aura diminishes. However, that protects him from damage. Meanwhile, his own punches resonate through Feng Zhuo’s armor.
“You should have never stood in our way,” Savage Shadow says as he prepares to smash his fist into Feng Zhuo’s face once more.
“That’s no good,” Feng Zhuo says before the fist strikes his face.
“It’s too late to regret it!” Savage Shadow shouts. He’s about to deliver another blow, but stops when Feng Zhuo’s laugh reaches his ears.
“That’s not what I meant,” Feng Zhuo says, smiling despite it all. “You are angry when you lose and only become bold when you believe yourself to be winning? That’s pathetic.”
Savage Shadow roars and draws his fist back.
He can’t move.
Embers. The sparks left flickering in the air due to Feng Zhuo’s attacks never faded away. They became thread so thin that Savage Shadow could not see as they wrapped around him. Now, he tries to break them, but they hold him too tightly.
That’s not the only thing he missed.
The heat and light above his head make him look up. The light he assumed came from the sun actually came from Feng Zhuo’s golden flames gathering above them. The flame spreads its fiery wings and cries as it dives down at blinding speed.
[Phoenix Arrow]
Savage Shadow cannot move. He can only try to block, but it is too late. He has allowed too much of his Qi to burn while fighting Feng Zhuo. The golden phoenix pierces through his Qi and breaks right through his body, unleashing a golden explosion in the sky.
Feng Zhuo lands in Cloudburst City barely a second after Savage Shadow’s burnt body does. The ogre is alive, barely, but he will not be getting up anytime soon.
“That was nicely done.”
Feng Zhuo goes still as he hears someone speak behind him. A resigned smile appears on his face. He can feel the power radiating from the person.
Emperor Realm, Level Two.
“That’s a little too much for someone like me,” Feng Zhuo says as he turns around. His new foe has yet to turn into a giant monster. He’s a handsome man with short brown hair who wears a lion pelt over his robes.
“Did you know the Temple of the Thousand Shadows prefers to work in pairs?” the disciple asks him. He points to the burnt body of Savage Shadow. “That one is my partner.”
Feng Zhuo looks at the burnt Savage Shadow, then at the Emperor in front of him.
“You are quite mismatched,” Feng Zhuo says. The brow-haired man laughs.
“Some people mature at different rates. I surpassed Savage Shadow a long time ago,” he says, then nods in Xiao Nan’s direction. “Your companion did the same to you.”
“That’s temporary,” Feng Zhuo says, crossing his arms. “This Feng Zhuo of the Eternal Flame Clan will surely surpass him in time. However, it might be true that you should have shown yourself before him instead of me.”
The Emperor lets out a soft chuckle.
“You say your name to make me aware that you have value as a hostage. Is that right?” A hammer of shadows appears in his hand. The thing is longer than he is tall, and the head of the hammer is a huge block of dark metal. “It’s clever. As for why I decided to start with you...”
Xiao Nan is suddenly right beside the Emperor. Feng Zhuo cannot see when the attack happens, or when the Emperor raises his hammer to block, but he feels the impact washing over his body, threatening to knock him off his feet. Entire houses are ripped from their foundations and cast into the wind as if grabbed by a hurricane. Most of the city is gone in an instant. Only Cloudburst Arena is left standing.
“I figure you’d come if I started with your friend,” the Emperor says, locking eyes with Xiao Nan.
“He’s the Emperor’s brother-in-law,” Feng Zhuo says. “He’s also my best friend. You stand no chance against him.”
“Shut up,” Xiao Nan says.
The Emperor laughs softly once more. He shakes his head and looks at the two with an amused smile.
“You are quite the concerned friend,” he tells Feng Zhuo. “However, since you have been so open in your introduction, I suppose I shall do the same. You stand before the Gentle Shadow.”
As one, Feng Zhuo and Xiao Nan’s eyes go to the massive hammer in Gentle Shadow’s hands. Their dubiousness is clear.
“Gentleness can only be shown when backed by sufficient power,” Gentle Shadow tells them. “Surrender now and accept your fate as prisoners. If not, well…”
The beat of his Qi echoes throughout the ruined city.
“You really don’t have that many people, do you?” Xiao Nan asks.
Gentle Shadow’s smile does not waver.
“I caused a lot of destruction, but you never moved to stop me. You started with him,” Xiao Nan says, pointing at Feng Zhuo. “He is the one who was trying to see inside that massive thing. You deemed that worthy of a response. That means I was never destroying anything important. Your forces must have been moving inside the blot to avoid my attacks.”
“You haven’t said the most important thing,” Feng Zhuo says in an annoying sing-song. “An attack that looks this intimidating, yet is in such a hurry to make its way to the palace? With limited forces? You are all acting on your own, aren’t you? My brother-in-law’s plan is working, and you want to stop it before it does.”
“...You two have quite the imagination, but there’s no point in spouting empty theories."
Gentle Shadow’s Qi rises. Feng Zhuo is able to remain on his feet because he has too much experience being in the presence of the Emperors. A baby Emperor like Gentle Shadow is nothing compared to his father and less than nothing compared to his grandfather.
Regardless, the first blow of the hammer is still enough to knock him out of the fight.
“Feng Zhuo!” Xiao Nan raises his hand, but he’s too late to stop it. The hammer connects with Feng Zhuo’s head and knocks him all the way into and through Cloudburst Arena.
“Be at ease,” Gentle Shadow says. The massive hammer spins in his hand as though it weighed no more than a feather. “He has a value as a hostage. He was wise to ensure his survival and yours. You should not waste his efforts.”
Xiao Nan does not reply right away. His senses focus on Feng Zhuo and ascertain he’s still alive, though it is unlikely he will wake up anytime soon.
The power of a Renegade washes over the land.
“That’s a roundabout way of telling me to surrender,” Xiao Nan says as his aura flares up. “You people take your superiority for granted. I don’t like it."
A powerful [Void Fist] destroys the spot Gentle Shadow is standing on, along with a significant portion of the ruined city. Gentle Shadow is already rising into the air. Xiao Nan chases after him.
[Void Step]
The distance between Xiao Nan and his foe is cast into the void. Xiao Nan instantly appears behind Gentle Shadow and unleashes the full might of a Renegade on him.
[Void Fist]
The air howls in pain. The blue sky is twisted into yellows, greens, and reds as light itself is distorted. A powerful impact is felt in several parts of the country.
Gentle Shadow floats unharmed, his hammer held defensively in front of him.
“Do not misunderstand,” he says, right before the hammer heads for Xiao Nan’s head.
The genius of the Xiao Sect is fast enough to dodge, but the sheer force generated by the movement threatens to blow him away. Xiao Nan grits his teeth and advances. However, Gentle Shadow easily switches his grip, using the long handle of the hammer like a spear and thrusting it in his direction. Xiao Nan grabs onto it and twists his body to dodge. His hand is about to slam into Gentle Shadow’s torso, but the handle he is holding on to extends, putting Gentle Shadow just out of his reach. It then fades into shadows and reforms back in Gentle Shadow’s hands, perfectly poised for him to strike Xiao Nan in the chin.
He does.
Xiao Nan’s jaw breaks as he’s knocked several miles further into the sky. The air grows cold and thin. However, neither is a problem for a Renegade like him.
“I understand how it must seem from your perspective, but it is not arrogance. Well, not just arrogance, at least,” Gentle Shadow says as he rises to match his altitude. “It is purpose. We understand what we are fighting for.”
Xiao Nan rubs the blood out of his face while pushing his jaw back to its proper place.
“You are implying we don’t,” he says while his Qi is hard at work trying to mend his bones.
“You lack context, and without context, how can you understand anything at all?” Gentle Shadow asks him. “The path you are on will only lead to needless chaos. We seek to prevent that. Tranquility is necessary for growth. That is what we wish to preserve. That is the world we fight for.”
His Qi spikes. The distance between the two is closed in the blink of an eye.
“So when you stand before us!”
The hammer slams into Xiao Nan’s chest, sending him several miles away.
“Knowing nothing!”
Before Xiao Nan’s momentum has faded, Gentle Shadow appears behind him and strikes him with the hammer once more.
“Understanding nothing!”
And again.
“Making everything worse!”
And again.
“Please understand that you are not the only one who grows annoyed,” Gentle Shadow finishes as Xiao Nan crashes into the ground.
It hurts.
Xiao Nan tries to stand up, but his bones are too broken to move. Every strike of that hammer has damaged his body in a way that goes beyond the physical. Hidden in those words was Gentle Shadow’s Dao. His soul is alight with his own vision. Though still a young Emperor, he already understands how he seeks to shape the world, and every blow has impressed that upon Xiao Nan.
What about him?
Why is the world he wants to make?
He had a vision once, an understanding of what the future would be. His cousin and his Little Brother were supposed to gradually gain renown, maybe even making it to the third round of the Crimson Cloud Tournament. Little Xiao Shuang was supposed to flourish in the Divine Frozen Palace and foster a good relationship between it and the Xiao Sect. In time, his cousin was to become Patriarch of the Xiao Sect, and his Little Brother would be his right-hand man. Perhaps by then, the Divine Frozen Palace would allow Xiao Shuang to visit them regularly.
In a century or so, the Xiao Sect would be on its way to surpassing every Sect in the continent save for the Four Great Sects. He and his Uncle would be watching from the sidelines as those three kids flourished, ensuring the success of their family. That’s all he wanted. He didn’t care for the responsibility of leading the Sect. He just wanted to make things easier for his family.
However, that all turned to ashes the day Eastern Port City fell. It’s become so complicated. His family rushes heedlessly into danger, and their enemies are too many. And he…He…
He cannot protect them. Not from their enemies. Not from their choices.
…
Does that mean he should fail them in their hour of need?
The ensuing wave of Qi almost goes unnoticed, yet a smile still appears on the unconscious Feng Zhuo. Gentle Shadow frowns as his opponent stands. Before, broken and beaten. Now, brimming with power. Before, a Renegade.
Now, an Emperor.
“Ridiculous,” he says.
“Yes,” Xiao Nan says, running a hand through his hair to brush it out of his face. “It was ridiculous that I was stumped by such a simple problem. Then and now, what I wanted has not changed. Please, thank the Heavens for your fortune. The leading man has come to occupy this empty stage.”
“You still understand nothing,” Gentle Shadow says.
“Of course, I don't,” Xiao Nan replies. “But that's fine. My family needs me right now. This is a time for action. Understanding can come later."
Two Emperors clash.
~~~
Mini-Character List
Liu Jin: Our Protagonist. Cheered and jumped from his seat when he felt Xiao Nan’s breakthrough. Awkwardly seated after that.
Savage Shadow: Disciple of the Temple of the Thousand Shadows. Don't you ever come around here! Don't wanna see your face, you better disappear!
Feng Zhuo: Young Master of the Eternal Flame Clan. Your talk is cheap, you're not a man. You're throwin' stones to hide your hands.
Gentle Shadow: Disciple of the Temple of the Thousand Shadows. They'll kick you, then they'll beat you, then they'll tell you it's fair.
Xiao Nan: Prodigy of the Xiao Sect. Well, they say the sky's the limit, and to me, that's really true!
AN
Feng Zhuo's fight ended up longer than planned. Also, been on Michael Jackson binge lately.