Wayfarer

Chapter 544: Birth of the New Martial Aspect

Within the Palace of the Moon, a black and a gold dragon fought intensely in the air. They spat out frost and wind, freezing heaven and earth. They charged up bolts of lightning that tore apart the void. Ao Shuai had plenty of techniques, but Ao Zhou easily held his own.

"Why do you know the techniques of the dragons of the Southern Sea?!" Ao Shuai cried out.

"What do you mean? Your Southern techniques originated from the Eastern Sea, too. The tens of thousands of dragons under heaven originated from the Eastern Sea, the principal clan of dragons. You're nothing but an offshoot, and even your palace had been part of the Eastern Sea Draconic Palace. How dare you talk to me about 'your' techniques!" Ao Zhou sniffed disdainfully.

"The Eastern Sea dragons are done for. You're the only one of your kind left!" Ao Shuai snapped back.

"With me around, the Eastern Sea dragons shall survive and thrive once again. Ao Shuai, you're no match for me," Ao Zhou declared.

He whipped his tail and sent Ao Shuai flying.

"How could this be? You're just a True Immortal. How can you block my blows?!"

"Your techniques are far too weak."

Ao Zhou then began to copy Ao Shuai's techniques, but somehow managed to suppress Ao Shuai despite the latter's greater strength.

Ao Zhou possessed an ancestral dragon's blood and inheritance. He was intimately familiar with these techniques, and his understanding of them deepened the more they fought.

Ao Shuai was forced to retreat time and again, his scales clattering off his body. He shouted into the distance, "Where's everyone? Come help me!"

However, his subordinates had been overwhelmed by a veritable tide of purple-furred monsters and were nowhere to be seen.

Then, Ao Zhou whipped his tail into Ao Shuai's head, smashing him into the ground. The tremendous blow even caused a nearby mountain to collapse. Ao Zhou's claw squashed Ao Shuai's head underfoot, rendering him immobile.

"Ao Shuai, you've lost. Hand over the Martial Aspect banner!"

"Never!" Ao Shuai howled back.

Ao Zhou's eyes turned flinty. Black smoke surged around his claws as he tore at Ao Shuai's throat, opening up a huge wound that caused blood to spurt out. Ao Shuai yelped.

"What are you doing?!"

"Hand over the Martial Aspect banner, or I'm going to kill you!"

Ao Zhou's claws hovered around Ao Shuai's throat.

"Fine! Take it!" Ao Shuai spat out.

He regurgitated the Martial Aspect banner.

Ao Zhou claimed the banner and confirmed that it was the real thing. "Thank you, then."

He didn't kill Ao Shuai because Xiao Nanfeng had insisted on it. There would surely be an outburst when he emerged with the banner in tow. If he were to kill Ao Shuai, things would drag out and might even affect his ability to become the new Martial Aspect. To avoid causing unnecessary trouble and reduce the variables at play, he couldn't kill Ao Shuai now. Once he was made a Martial Aspect in full, however, things would change.

"I've handed you the Martial Aspect banner. Aren't you going to free me?" Ao Shuai thundered.

"You're too meddlesome. Hold on until I'm out of the Palace of the Moon. I'll free you immediately then."

Then, Ao Zhou even sealed Ao Shuai's cultivation.

"You—!" Ao Shuai fumed.

Just then, the barrier began to rumble. The exit to the palace had opened up.

A large group of cultivators rushed into the Palace of the Moon. They glared at Ao Zhou in the distance, roaring, "Release Ao Shuai!"

Ao Zhou ignored them. He held his claws up against Ao Shuai's neck as he flew toward the exit.

"Don't come over here. I'll release him once I make my way out, but if any of you dare draw near, I'll break his neck," Ao Zhou hissed.

Although there were plenty of purple-furred monsters in the vicinity guarding him, who knew what sort of relics or techniques these cultivators had? The safest option was to use Ao Shuai as a hostage.

The cultivators who had streamed into the palace scowled, but out of concern for Ao Shuai's safety, there was little they could do.

When they reached the exit, Ao Zhou poked half his body out of the barrier to confirm that everything was alright. Only then did he toss Ao Shuai within as he rushed out and transformed back into human form. He raised the Martial Aspect banner high into the air. "I've won! I've managed to obtain the Martial Aspect banner. I'm the newest Martial Aspect!"

Xiao Nanfeng and a few purple-furred monsters were awaiting the news in the plaza outside the barrier. Beside them were some Martial Aspects of the Eastern quadrant, all of whom had nasty looks on their faces.

Of course, there were also Martial Aspects from the other three quadrants staring curiously at Ao Zhou.

At any rate, with this matter settled, Ao Zhou would be safe from most forms of retaliation.

"Ao Zhou, why would the purple-furred monsters of the Palace of the Moon listen to you? You're taking advantage of them to cheat, aren't you? I'm going to strip you of your qualifications as a substitute Martial Aspect," the Martial Aspect of Violetfrost declared.

"What? On what grounds do you accuse me of cheating? What evidence do you have? What right?" Ao Zhou thundered.

"Insolence! We're choosing the next Martial Aspect here, and I have to ensure that the process remains fair at every stage. You're being suspected of cheating. Turn yourself in pending an investigation!" the Martial Aspect of Violetfrost commanded.

Xiao Nanfeng jumped in, laughing. "Martial Aspect of Violetfrost, who told you that these purple-furred monsters listen to Ao Zhou?"

"Martial Aspect Xiao, you're not in charge of hosting this competition to determine the next Martial Aspect. You have no right to interfere with my judgment."

"I'm not interfering. I'm simply using my position as Martial Aspect to cast doubt on the legitimacy of your judgment. Or do you claim that I don't even have that authority?" Xiao Nanfeng retorted.

"You may cast doubt, but the truth is right before your eyes. Someone described everything that happened within just now, and you also heard that the purple-furred monsters were helping Ao Zhou. Don't you consider that cheating?" the Martial Aspect of Violetfrost demanded.

"Cheating? How? Did the purple-furred monsters interfere in Ao Zhou and Ao Shuai's fight?" Xiao Nanfeng asked.

"Hm?" The Martial Aspect of Violetfrost raised an eyebrow.

"The purple-furred monsters attacked other competitors. What's wrong with that? Is there a problem?" Xiao Nanfeng continued.

"The purple-furred monsters blocked Ao Shuai's allies from helping him, giving Ao Zhou an opportunity to win," the Martial ASpect of Violetfrost replied.

"And doesn't that speak of Ao Shuai's impotence? He can't do anything to Ao Zhou without the help of others!"

"Xiao Nanfeng, can't you see that these purple-furred monsters acted strangely?"

"Oh, I can. I was the one who subjugated them last time, but I didn't bring them out of the palace in time. As for your statement that these purple-furred lifeforms have been helping Ao Zhou cheat, why, that's a bald-faced lie. They never helped Ao Zhou against any single competitor. They were fighting their own opponents!"

"It's useless no matter what you say. If I claim that Ao Zhou cheated using those purple-furred monsters, then he did."

"You're the cheaters, I should think. The Hall of Martial Aspects doesn't belong to you, or to Ao Shuai. It belongs to the whole of the Imperial Court. Trying to designate the next Martial Aspect by procuring a group of substitute Martial Aspects and using them to propel your favored candidate toward victory is underhanded behavior that undermines the authority of the Imperial Court!"

The Martial Aspect of Violetfrost blanched. Everyone did that, but it was hardly something that could be revealed publicly or even admitted to.

"I think we ought to dig deeper into this. Is a small group of people controlling the authority of the Imperial Court? I cast doubt on the legitimacy of these competitions—I might just ask the Heavenly Emperor to consider this problem myself."

The Martial Aspects murmuring to each other not too far away suddenly frowned at Xiao Nanfeng.

"Martial Aspect of Violetfrost, don't make a fuss. We all know what happened during the competition. Ao Zhou deserves his place as the newest Martial Aspect."

"Right, Ao Shuai failed to seize vicitory even with the help of copious allies. Do you really think he's qualified?"

"Don't make a mountain out of a molehill. Didn't you hear Martial Aspect Xiao's arguments?"

The tide turned overwhelmingly in Xiao Nanfeng's favor.

Clearly, the Martial Aspects of the other three quadrants didn't want Xiao Nanfeng to make a fuss either. After all, they did the same thing when it came to replacing their own Martial Aspects. If this were to become a contentious issue, none would benefit.

The Martial Aspect of Violetfrost scowled. He knew that Xiao Nanfeng was favored by the Heavenly Emperor, and he might actually be able to make good on his threat.

He took a deep breath and quashed his anger. "I hereby declare Ao Zhou the victor of this competition to select the next Martial Aspect. The subsequent paperwork will be handled in three days' time in the Hall of Martial Aspects."

He glared at Xiao Nanfeng, waiting for the latter to relent.

Xiao Nanfeng smiled. "I praise the Martial Aspect of Violetfrost for being fair and just. I recant my earlier statements."

The Martial Aspect of Violetfrost snorted, fuming.

Even if there were a big investigation, it was unlikely that he would be affected. However, plenty of other Martial Aspects would be subject to investigation themselves, and if any of them were found to have done something wrong, they would surely hold a grudge for him. If they were only going to target him, he wouldn't have relented—but what if they tried to scheme against Ao Shuai instead?

"Everyone within the Palace of the Moon, step out!" the Martial Aspect of Silverfrost called out. His voice spread throughout the palace.

The cultivators within quickly trailed out. Ao Shuai was near the forefront, blood streaming down his body. He looked like he had suffered a terrible beating. The moment he emerged, he scowled at Ao Zhou, but Ao Zhou ignored him.

Xiao Nanfeng walked up to the entrance to the palace. "All generals, come on out!"

The purple-furred monsters emerged from within the palace, their numbers steadily growing—a hundred, a thousand, ten thousand, and even more.

Everyone sucked in a deep breath. They gaped at Xiao Nanfeng.

"Twenty-odd thousand purple-furred monsters, along with the thousands he brought out last time... Could Xiao Nanfeng have subjugated all the purple-furred monsters of the palace?"

"There are over thirty thousand of them in all. How could Xiao Nanfeng have subjugated them all?!"

"There are even a few True Immortal purple-furred monsters among them. How could he have done it?!"

Everyone gaped in disbelief, even Ao Shuai. His heart thumped. If all those purple-furred monsters had tried to kill him, he would hardly have survived.

"Let's go!" Xiao Nanfeng commanded.

Then, Xiao Nanfeng and Ao Zhou flew off with the purple-furred monsters trailing behind them.