The Immortal Emperor Returns

Chapter 357 Dragon’s Wrath

A deluge of bright golden shimmers dazzled the sky.

Jing Hong’s face sank with dismay; not even a hundred Chu Xun could ever hope to withstand one single stroke from Emperor Ao.

Hardly furious in the least, Chu Xun instead broke into a gleeful smile resembling that of a little sly fox, hardly moving a single inch.

Woosh!

The golden bolt of light shot down but it did not hit him nor did it plunge into the ground; it stopped and hovered in mid-air right before his eyes.

The blinding radiance of the golden flash forced Chu Xun to squint his eyes.

It was a three-foot-long saber with a golden blade as wide as a man’s hand. Its hilt was carved into the visage of a dragon and the saber pulsed with a bright glimmering sheen that never stopped flickering with the gossamer silhouettes of a raging beast as if it was trapped inside.

Chu Xun guffawed proudly and reached out to grip the weapon by its hilt, channeling a burst of his powers through it and willed the weapon to submit to him. In response, peals of bestial roars filled every inch of space around him and the saber trembled with reverberations of pulsing energy in gold-purplish flashes. Spinning with one foot as a pivot, he swung the saber furiously.

Roar!

An arcing bolt of energy emitted from its blade. The silhouette of a beast charging scintillated like a vision as the bolt traveled through the air, resembling a bounding tiger with fur as stiff as needles. Upon closer observation, it looked like a monstrous beast with a human head, a face full of razor-sharp teeth, and the limbs and torso of a tiger.

Chu Xun’s eyes widened with comprehension. It was Tao Wu – one of the Four Perils, the four malevolent beasts of the legends. Beasts that never existed in the World of Cultivation.

Boom!

The bolt of energy struck a mountain, slicing through it like a hot knife through butter. Now dissected into two, an explosion ensued at the thunderous roar by the silhouette of Tao Wu let loose another thunderous roar and the mountain was gone, utterly destroyed.

Chu Xun was stunned by what he had just done with the saber.

“So the legends are true? These beasts really do exist?” uttered Chu Xun in amazement. He had always thought the beasts like Tao Tie (mythological beast of gluttony), Suan Ni (legendary feline progeny of the dragon), and Tao Wu (mythological beast of recklessness and stubbornness) as mere figments of imagination.

“This is Dragon’s Wrath. A weapon forged by my father’s own hands and it is so hallowed that all evil cowers in sight of it,” revealed Emperor Ao, his voice deep with nostalgia, “It was a gift from my father for my coming-of-age and I have proven myself worthy of this weapon by slaying Tao Wu during its infantile stage and sealed its soul into this weapon.”

Chu Xun listened quietly. Dragon’s Wrath – incur a dragon’s wrath and one could only abandon all hope for survival.

He had never expected to wield a blade fashioned by the First Ancestral Dragon.

Instead, Chu Xun stepped forward and presented Dragon’s Wrath back to Emperor Ao with both hands. Solemnly, he said, “No. I cannot take this.”

Emperor Ao shook his head. “Take it. My father forged it so that I could use it to defend the people. I daresay you’ll need it more than I do. Dragon’s Wrath is nothing but a mere memento of the past in my hands. It suits your current level of power; not me since I’m beyond the Nascent Soul Stage.”

Chu Xun wrestled with the idea for one short moment before he finally relented, nodded, and put away Dragon’s Wrath, accepting it.

“By the way, what grade is Dragon’s Wrath?” he asked.

“The grade of a weapon is hardly the matter,” said Emperor Ao, looking at him, “A sword is only as good as the man who wields it. If you’re clumsy with it, it could also be no better than a butcher’s cleaver. To demonstrate this point, I can easily kill you now, whether you’re armed with a Divine Relic or not.”

“Gimme a break, you!” scowled Chu Xun irately, thinking, “What an annoying old brute! If grades of a Relic don’t matter, then Orlov using that Beacon wouldn’t have given me a hard time then!”

But he understood full well what Emperor Ao was trying to convey: a good weapon alone does not win battles. One’s own skill and strength do.

Boom!

A sudden kick out of nowhere sent Chu Xun crashing to the ground, feeling all dizzy.

Jing Hong’s face flushed with a deathly-white shade.

Chu Xun forced a chuckle as he got up and trotted over like an obedient child. “It’s all Ao’s fault for being a stingy miser. Heaven knows how much goodies he’s been hoarding and you know how I need something to keep myself safe – me being outside doing all the fighting and all that.”

That earned him an unpleasant glare from Emperor Ao. “Me, being a stingy miser?” he glowered, “You carry within you the bones of the Ancestral Dragon, having once bathed in the blood of Dragons before, and you now wield magic and power never before imparted to anyone outside the race of Dragons and Phoenixes. Who do you think bestowed such opulence to you?”

“I know the Azure Dragon’s Nine Transformations Technique long before that,” Chu Xun countered feebly.

“You wretched ingrate,” Emperor Ao snarled, turning over to Jing Hong and said, “Take a break, Jing Hong. I’ll need some time teaching this ungrateful whelp a good lesson!”

“Wait a minute, Ao. What are you trying to do?” yelled Chu Xun hysterically as he wheeled around, trying to flee, knowing full well that the ancient monstrosity never once stopped relishing the idea of giving him a good walloping.

“Thinking of running, eh?” hissed Emperor Ao scornfully, his hand coming down to pin down Chu Xun effortlessly.

“Let go, Ao! Lemme go! Fight me on equal grounds if you dare! You’re nothing but a cheat if you expect to defeat me using your greater levels of power!” yelled Chu Xun.

But Emperor Ao knew better than to pay him any heed. He could never forget the last time he fought Chu Xun on equal terms only to succumb to the latter’s trickery instead.

With one step to plant a foot to steady himself, he fired Chu Xun into the air with a kick by his other leg.

“Dammit, Ao you old knave! I’ll fight you to the death!” howled Chu Xun like a frantic hen. Instead, he could hardly accomplish anything save for getting slammed into another cliff before he slid helplessly down to the ground.

With his magical cultivation uttered sealed by Emperor Ao, the blow could have killed him if he did not carry the bones of the Ancestral Dragon inside him.

“You insolent whelp. This will teach you some respect!” said Emperor Ao, drawing nearer with a hand raised up menacingly.

Crack!

The crisp crack of a slap, sharp but awfully sonorous, echoed in the vale like a long and thunderous cannonade.

Chu Xun’s face burned red with anger and shame like the backside of a baboon. Emperor Ao had flipped him over like a child and began hitting his backside!

“AO YOU SNIVELING BASTARD!” roared Chu Xun. It was humiliating for him to be beaten on his backside like a little child with Jing Hong watching. If only he could find a hole and bury himself into it!

Crack!

Every time Emperor Ao’s hand came down viciously for another slap, Chu Xun would scream once more in pain.

“Ao, you... You prick!”

Crack! Crack! Crack!

More raspy and sharp cracks, coupled with just as many yelps and bawls of agony, formed a morbid cacophony of suffering.

“You filthy worm, Ao! I’ll remember this! I’ll remember this!” Chu Xun cried with tears welling in his eyes. He was in just too much pain.

“Let’s see which will endure: your mouth or my hand!” hissed Emperor Ao savagely, hardly stopping at all, “I’ve wanted to do this since Heaven knows how long! For all the trickeries and folderols you’ve done on me!”

“You stingy miser! Arggghhh!”

“Go on then! Say some more!” Crack! Crack!

“You’re the one taking my woman as your apprentice! You should be giving me a token of gift!”

“Say what you want, there’s no way you’re worming out of this walloping today!”

Jing Hong stared from afar, her face pale as ever but with the surfacing hint of a smile.

...

...

“Ouch!”

Chu Xun’s backside barely grazed the stone surface of the granite stool when he sprang up as if he had been shocked by electricity.

Emperor Ao had undone the seal of his powers, but somehow, he must have done something to prevent the wounds on his backside from healing.

“Don’t worry. You’ll heal in three days,” said Emperor Ao apathetically.

“Three days!?” Chu Xun burst out, disgruntled.

Emperor Ao nodded.

Chu Xun grimaced. “In that case, I’ll just stay here for three days then.”

He could not allow himself to be seen in such a state. Yan Wushuang and the others would have a field day laughing at him.

But whatever his plans were, Emperor Ao saw through them in an instant and flatly refused him.

“You beat me up into a pulp and yet you refused to let me rest here!? Have you any compassion?!” roared Chu Xun

“I daresay I have none,” replied Emperor Ao firmly.

“Why you...” Chu Xun could have sworn he felt an aneurysm coming. But he knew there was no way he could defeat Emperor Ao. “Just you wait,” he thought. “Just you wait until I catch up to you. I’ll have my revenge by whipping your arse until it’s as red as a baboon’s!”

“Just get out! I have nothing here for you anymore!” Emperor Ao muttered crossly, eager to have Chu Xun kicked out his doors.

“Hmph,” a resentful Chu Xun insisted, “I’m not leaving.”

“ARGGGH! AO! HOW DARE YOU!” Bang!

Beads of tears percolated at the edges of Chu Xun’s tears as he got up frantically, making sure no one was watching. He felt so ashamed for being tossed out like a bag of trash.

“Ao, you worm! You should at least allow me the chance to say goodbye to my woman!” shouted Chu Xun.

Rumble!

Dark cumulonimbi rolled and roiled with lightning flashing and thunders rumbling dangerously.

“All right, you win. For now.”

Chu Xun turned around and scampered like a mouse, using his arms to cover his head. Streaks of lightning lashed at him again and again, missing him by mere inches while leaving holes and craters all around him.

“Just you wait, you bloody worm! I’ll never forget this you old bastard!”

Chu Xun never stopped running until he was out of range with every iota of his dignity forgotten.

“Dammit, what a disgrace,” breathed Chu Xun dejectedly as he returned back where he came from.

...

...

Back at the Fire Dragon Palace, Chu Xun limped miserably through the gates. He did his best to pretend he was fine but to no avail.

“Why are you hurt, Big Brother?!” cried Tang Rou when she saw him. She had been waiting for him at the entrance.

“Shhh!” Chu Xun urged her to keep her silence.

“What’s wrong? Who’s hurt?” asked Yan Wushuang, coming over when he heard her.

Chu Xun’s face fell. “Why is his hearing so acute now of all times?!”

Yan Wushuang peered at Chu Xun before looking at Tang Rou again, asking, “Who’s hurt?”

Chu Xun tried not to move, hoping that he won’t see anything.

“What are you prattling about? Or are you itching for another bout of walloping? No one’s hurt!” an annoyed Chu Xun insisted, “You’re very free, aren’t you? Why are you not off training?!”

That reprimand made Yan Wushuang winced. He was still having the blackened eyes that Chu Xun gave him as reminders.

“All right, all right. I’m off to training now,” said Yan Wushuang, slipping away.

Only now did Chu Xun finally breathe easy.

“Come, Big Brother. Let me help you,” said Tang Rou, coming forward to help Chu Xun.

They barely ambled a couple of paces when Yan Wushuang’s sonorous resounded through all of the Fire Dragon Palace like a warhorn.

“Gods, are you hurt?! Yan Chong, Lei Bao! Come quick! Your Master’s hurt!”

Chu Xun stiffened in an instant, his face going as black as a kettle. He spun around, glaring at Yan Wushuang, “Shuddup, you!”

Those words had just left his lips when Yan Chong and the others hurried out quickly.

“Gods, you’re hurt, Master? Who did that?” Lei Bao’s voice came thundering as he came near.

Chu Xun could have never looked anymore angrier. “Yan Wushuang you bastard,” he thought quietly.

Feigning concern, Yan Wushuang broke into a sly grin. “Quick! Help him inside and see how is he hurt!”

If only he could beat Yan Wushuang into a pulp, Chu Xun mused as he gnashed his teeth. With that voice of his, the whole of the Fire Dragon Palace would know what was going on!

“Come here and give me a hand, Lei Bao! Give me your arm!” Yan Wushuang drew closer to help and his hand inadvertently stroked his backside.

“ARGHH!” Chu Xun yelped, unable to hold himself back. It was so painful and it was all thanks to Emperor Ao!

“Ahhhh... So your backside is injured! Gods, it’s so badly swollen like a balloon!” screamed Yan Wushuang.

Swollen like a balloon?!

That left everyone staring strangely at Chu Xun’s backside.

Chu Xun turned livid and ashamed.

Right at the same time, scores of students and acolytes of the Palace were watching curiously from afar.

Chu Xun could have never felt any more embarrassed and victimized. Cursing Emperor Ao and Yan Wushuang countless times deep inside, he grimaced at how his reputation was now in shambles because of them.

“WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING AT!? DON’T YOU ALL NEED TO TRAIN!?” Chu Xun burst out roaring, scaring off the peeking students and acolytes who quickly fled, scattering like frightened chickens.

More people swarmed out of the great hall of the Palace.

“What happened, Master?!” barked Lei Bao. Whoever had injured Chu Xun and had his backside beaten so badly could only be a formidable enemy.

“Damn it, Lei Bao. Are you daft? Get him a chair so that he could sit down!” Yan Wushuang lifted Chu Xun to a chair before he could protest.

All he could do was glare at Yan Wushuang and gnash his teeth. “He’s doing it on purpose! He knows my backside is hurt and yet he’s trying to have me sit down!”