The Immortal Emperor Returns

Chapter 277 Four Rounds

Chu Xun’s eyes were as deep as the deepest ocean and his expression as still as the most imperturbable waters of a lake as the purplish curls of the Hong Meng Immortal Qi coiled around him, exuding an aura that matched and resonated against Yue Fandie’s own formidable and staggering aura.

Both stood face to face against each other – each cloaked in blinding lights of white and purple respectively like two beacons, their power in full outpouring and glory.

Several figures came racing into view. Jiu You was the first among them, and then was joined by Feng Zijian and the others.

They came and stood at the side of the square and more people joined the crowd, each of them asking about what happened.

“How arrogance Chu the Devil is! How dare he come here to the Sanctuary and misbehave!?”

“So what if he’s the Devil? Let’s see how the Lord of the Sanctuary teaches him some manners!”

“Yeah, I want to see how the Devil turns into a crybaby after some walloping.”

The people of the Sanctuary were delighted. They knew how powerful Yue Fandie was. The greatest warrior in the Northwest who had never once lost a battle.

“Bunch of worthless fools!” a babyish voice lashed out furiously all of a sudden.

The people of the Sanctuary were all shocked by the fierce remark. Yet seeing how beautiful Jiu You was, none of them could ever be angry at her.

“W-W-What a beautiful little girl...” a female disciple gasped breathlessly. If not for Feng Zijian’s presence, she would have long rushed over to hug Jiu You.

“Idiot,” Jiu You scowled, averting her gaze to look back at the square.

Her words sounded not so much a scathing remark than the irate outburst of a child, hence hardly anyone was angry at her.

“It is not too late for you to resign now, Chu the Devil,” Yue Fandie’s white robes fluttered with no wind, his entire image fitting that of a deity.

With an indifferent and placid gaze locked on to his opponent, Chu Xun’s lips twisted with confidence as the purplish radiance of his Immortal Qi swirled around him, rendering him a semblance of a deity himself.

Rumble!

Yue Fandie first made a move. He reached a hand into the air and seized Chu Xun from afar as if he were grabbing at thin air, but the fabric of air twisted wildly, then he thrust his hand, firing a powerful energy shaft.

Chu Xun’s hand came up as well, but to write in midair. A large “sha” rune appeared and barreled after Yue Fandie with its aura of malice sweeping like a rolling wave.

The Formula of Kill.

Boom!

The “sha” rune erupted in midair, blasting through the energy bolt sent by Yue Fandie, dispersing it in a terrifying wave of shock that rippled like a tide.

Such was the might of the Formula of Kill – its powers diminished not one bit even after the collision, continuing its charge straight at its quarry.

Yue Fandie beheld in awe before his hands came up instantly. He pointed in the air and the massive “sha” rune burst into a harmless explosion.

Chu Xun watched quietly, observing. Naturally, Yue Fandie possessed great power and a high level of magical cultivation.

He made several hand seals and his finger tapped twice into the air.

Rumble!

The air trembled and crackled again, and a strong and ancient aura immediately flooded the entire square. Everyone looked up, and there came two gigantic monoliths crashing down on Yue Fandie.

The Demon-slain Finger — scaring all the gods and ghosts by the third finger!

The Demon-slain Finger — Shaking the Sky by the Fourth Finger!

Yue Fandie’s face fell slightly. Swinging his arms, he conjured two giant beasts out of thin air – a dragon and a tiger – using his Internal Breath.

Both divine beasts roared in unison, their cries rumbling the very layers of the skies.

Both divine beasts pounced on the falling monoliths.

Boom!

The monoliths – each radiating an aura of insurmountable terror and overwhelming strain of its own – collided with the pair of conjured silhouettes of beasts, ending in an explosion that resulting in the monoliths crumbling to pieces and the beasts bursting into mere dregs of magical energy. A mushroom cloud rose into the air in its wake with shock waves sweeping from the center of the eruption.

Caught in the blast of the shock wave, many of the students of the Sanctuary fell fainted as if they were drunk.

Yue Fandie looked at his opponent again, this time with a shred of respect, and said, “How about my turn, Chu the Devil?”

His Internal Breath boiled inside him, and he swung his arms, firing jets of Internal Breath into the sky that joined and weaved into a Red Peacock, the master of phoenixes.

Screech!

The Red Peacock cawed, stretching and flapping its wings that reached as far as ten meters. From every feather, tongues of flames lashed out furiously and the temperature in the vicinity began to swelter and bake.

Yue Fandie grinned with a hint of triumph, then he flung out his arm, setting the sacred beast to bear down on Chu Xun with its terrifying flames.

A strange look dwelt in Chu Xun’s eyes. With a flurry of movements, he quickly weaved several hand seals.

Screech!

Another shrill cry rang out sharply, its force almost splitting rocks and stones.

Everyone’s head looked up and hardly anyone could prevent being stunned.

Yue Fandie looked up too. One could almost make out his lips quivering as if he was cursing a litany of expletives.

The phoenix tore through the air, a mass of fire made flesh that overlooked the square with its furious eyes. Even the ozone burned around it as it flapped its twenty-or-so meters wingspans, its girth easily dwarfing that of the Red Peacock.

Swoosh!

With snapping red flames bordering on purplish, the gigantic fiery bird lunged, swooping down on the Vermillion Bird.

“GO! RUN!”

Feng Zijian yelled frantically all of a sudden, rousing the students and disciples who, all mesmerized by the impressive display of magic, immediately stirred and hurried away to safety.

Boom!

A huge tidal wave of flames spread out, sweeping across the flagstones of the square. The scalding temperature sizzled the air nearby and a string of pops and crackles clamored around the square as the swelter intensified.

Having devoured the Red Peacock, the phoenix reared its head, its girth only growing more and more gargantuan and it took into the air again, bolting straight for Yue Fandie.

“What in the hell?!” Yue Fandie yelped in panic.

Chu Xun was sure he had heard wrongly; did the old man just spewed some expletives?

Rumble!

Yue Fandie lifted his foot and stomped hard into the ground. His aura burgeoned again; a staggering presence of might and strength as the colossal silhouette of a large tortoise appeared like a mirage, engulfing him inside. Coiling on top of its shell was the mirage of a long and giant snake, its tongue sticking in and out.

Boom!

A fiery inferno of purplish flames crashed into Yue Fandie, ravaging at him in monstrous, rolling waves of fire that kicked up another huge mushroom cloud and every inch of the square turned into a sea of fire.

“My Lord!”

“My Lord!”

The people of the Sanctuary cried out with distress and concern.

Whoosh!

The strong gust of wind blew and more winds raged with fervor until the massive inferno pillaging the stones of the square was finally put out.

Everyone’s gaze tried their best to look through the smokes and vapors that pervaded the scorched-black surface of the square until they found a gigantic ball of ice.

Crack!

The ball of ice crackled into halves with shards of ice bursting everywhere and a figure stepped out – Yue Fandie.

He looked perfectly fine.

“Is there more?” Chu Xun growled contemptuously.

“There’s more where that came from, boy!” Yue Fandie bellowed.

At the sidelines, no one understood a word. What were they talking about?!

“Very well, let’s do it,” said Chu Xun.

“So be it!” Yue Fandie hooted, bolting towards Chu Xun. He flicked his wrist and a square-shaped brazier the height of a man appeared in his hand, and he hurled it directly at Chu Xun.

Caught off-guard, Chu Xun flew backward with hardly a moment’s thought, his arms crossing before his chest to brace for the incoming impact.

Bang!

Like a loud rumble from a drum, the brazier slammed into Chu Xun, propelling backward until he reached the far end of the square.

Seething, Chu Xun yelled, “How dare you cheat, old man!?”

“What are you talking about? I’m only testing your physical endurance,” said Yue Fandie as a matter-of-factly.

Infuriated, Chu Xun conjured his golden staff. A huge golden brilliance enveloped him and he dashed towards Yue Fandie.

Clang!

The golden staff lifted aloft before coming down furiously with a tail of golden sparkling trails, smashing hard on the huge brazier.

Bang!

The impact elicited deafening waves of shock and noise sweeping across the square and some began feeling everything going black around them.

Clang! Clang!

Like a blacksmith’s rapid and frenetic blows on the anvil, Chu Xun pounded and pounded with reckless abandon on his quarry.

The huge brazier in Yue Fandie’s hand was a facsimile of the actual Tetrachy Cauldron, forged of immaculate substances and materials, possessing incredible powers.

Nevertheless, what quality and power it held paled before Chu Xun’s golden staff. With only a few bangs, pieces of it began chipping off.

Yue Fandie screamed. The brazier might not be the actual Tetrachy Cauldron, yet it was a valuable Sacred Relic nonetheless. Seeing it chipping off sliver by sliver not only filled him with pain, he felt as if daggers were driven right through him.

“NO MORE!” Yue Fandie bawled at last when he saw that Chu Xun was about to land another strike with his golden staff, and he retrieved his brazier and quickly fled.

“Where do you think you’re going to?!” Chu Xun snarled at him, chasing after him with his staff.

After fleeing some distance, Yue Fandie stopped, only to see Chu Xun approaching at breakneck speed. He quickly vanished, racing towards the far end of the square.

He paused, and the sharp whistle of Chu Xun drawing near left him startled beyond words, and he bolted, trying to flee again.

Gods in Heaven, how could this young brat be so fast?!

Swoosh!

The Lord of the Sanctuary unleashed his full speed: Mach 2.0, and shot as quickly as he could, leaving blurs of afterimages in his wake.

Chu Xun chuckled, putting on his top speed as well. With his speed of Mach 2.5, he easily caught up to Yue Fandie no matter how the elderly man escaped.

The crowd of onlookers witnessing the duel could hardly believe their eyes. The Lord of the Sanctuary was being chased down by a man with his stick like some jackrabbit trying desperately to flee.

Swoosh! Swoosh!

With blinding speeds, the two men raced after each other from hither to thither, and the entire square was filled with clusters of their afterimages scattered everywhere.

“STOP!”

Yue Fandie shouted suddenly. Losing out to Chu Xun in speed, the brazier had suffered a few more beatings that a part of its edge was very close to being struck off cleanly.

Only, Chu Xun ignored him and swooped down on him with his golden staff.

“ARE YOU MAD!?”

Yue Fandie immediately stowed away his brazier and channeled his Internal Breath, which burst with the force of a breaking dam.

Frantically, Chu Xun summoned his Immortal Qi too. But the blast of Yue Fandie’s erupting powers pummeled into him like a giant sledgehammer, sending him flying far away. He landed on both feet, but the force of the blast planted his feet deep into the ground with webs of cracks stretching far and wide.

Chu Xun stood still and gazed at Yue Fandie.

His opponent, however, was glaring at him.

“I said stop, you brat. Didn’t you hear me?!”

“I heard you.”

“Then why did you not stop?!”

“Why should I stop just because you say so? What do you take me for?!”

That stunned Yue Fandie into silence before he burst out laughing.

The people around gawked bewilderedly, utterly flabbergasted. Had the Lord of the Sanctuary gone mad?

“All right, off you go, all of you!” Yue Fandie scowled at the crowd congregating around the square, “Have you got no studying to do? It’s just a spar, for Heaven’s sake! I can mop up the Devil whenever I want to, as you well saw! Now go!”

The crowd dispersed with everyone wondering, “Could that be called mopping up? Being shamefully chased around like some cat and mouse game?”

Chu Xun shot a look at Jiu You and the others, who quickly caught his gist and promptly left as well.

Yue Fandie was left alone with Chu Xun at the square.

“Much respect, my friend,” Yue Fandie clasped his hands in salute, “You really are worthy of being called ‘the Devil'”.

“You flatter me, my Lord,” Chu Xun returned the gesture, saying, “Your level of magical cultivation does you credit as well.”

Many, if not all, of the onlookers hardly understood a thing from the battle just now, but both of them understood full well that the battle just now had begun and ended in four rounds.

The first round was a contest of technique that Yue Fandie lost.

The second round was a contest of weapons, which also Yue Fandie lost.

The third round was a contest of speed, which Yue Fandie also lost.

But he won the fourth round, a contest of magical cultivation, which Chu Xun lost.

Chu Xun took a deep breath. Yue Fandie’s level of magical cultivation was the highest that he had encountered since returning to Earth. The Lord of the Sanctuary was at least a Seventh-grade Human King, if not higher.

At the same time, Yue Fandie was secretly gasping with admiration and amazement himself at Chu Xun’s prowess despite his age.

“Come, my friend,” he beckoned, sounding more friendly now, and he walked nearer.

“My Lord.”

When Yue Fandie stopped, he said, “If you don’t mind, how about we address each other as brothers henceforth?”

Brothers?! A stunned Chu Xun thought he heard wrongly. Yue Fandie was at least three hundred years of age; nobody would even believe it if the Lord of the Sanctuary claimed himself a grandfather to Chu Xun, nevermind being brothers.

“Are you bothered because of my age?” asked Yue Fandie.

Chu Xun shook his head. Yue Fandie might be more than three hundred years old, but with his powers, he could very well remain alive for another three to five centuries.

In fact, if he wanted to, he could easily assume a younger and more youthful appearance.

“Very well,” said Chu Xun, “We shall be brothers.”

He found Yue Fandie’s acts of protecting the ordinary people gave them both common ground.

“Hahahahaha!” Yue Fandie guffawed heartily, bellowing, “Good! Good! Good!”

“EVERYONE! EVERONE OF THE SANCTUARY OF TETRACHY! ASSEMBLE AT ONCE!” Yue Fandie let loose a thunderous roar that resounded across all corners of the stronghold.

In just moments, mobs of disciples and acolytes swarmed the square.

When almost everyone had arrived, Yue Fandie tugged Chu Xun with him and announced loudly.

“Listen up all of you. From this day onward, Chu Xun and I will be brothers! You will show him just as much respect and deference as you show me.”

“HUH...!”

A gasp of disbelief rang out like the toll of a bell over the horde of students and staff of the Sanctuary, all of them wearing dubious and incredulous stares.

They were fighting like beasts just moments ago and now they’ve become brothers?!

Especially, a trio of middle-aged men standing at the forefront of the crowd looked hilariously nonplussed.

All three of them were Yue Fandie’s sons, and each of them was almost two hundred years of age. Seeing one as young as Chu Xun being a “brother” to their father, they felt all the more insufferable.