Chapter 176: A Stage For Blood (2)
Something was wrong. Terribly wrong.
Jun Haoxuan had known.
He knew his father had invited the serpents into their territory with hidden fangs beneath ceremony. A banquet meant for union meant for a stage for blood.
The clash between the two divine beast kings shattered the hall.
Power tore through the air in violent waves, splintering pillars, cracking the jade floors beneath their feet. The once-grand banquet descended into chaos, tables overturned, lanterns extinguished, screams cutting through the thunder of clashing qi.
Beasts fled. All of them.
Cultivators, nobles, elders, no one lingered where death danced so openly. Even the royal consorts had already withdrawn, retreating beyond the collapsing hall.
Jun Haoxuan moved without hesitation.
A surge of radiant blue light erupted from his body, forming layered barriers that spread outward like ripples across water, shielding the fleeing crowd, diverting stray bursts of power, holding the crumbling structure together just enough for escape.
"Go!" someone shouted.
And they did.
One by one, the hall emptied.
But not all.
Just as Jun Haoxuan turned with Ningyan, a violent blast tore through the air.
Jun Haoxuan raised his arm.
Boom!
The impact slammed into his barrier, dispersing in a burst of crackling energy that scattered like shattered glass across the space.
The attack dissolved.
Lan Shiyu stepped forward.
A wide, unhinged smile stretched across his face, his serpent eyes gleaming as they locked on Ningyan.
"I can’t seem to find my dear brother," he said lightly, tilting his head. "Perhaps you could help me lure him out... phoenix?"
Ningyan’s eyes burned. "You tried to kill me."
Lan Shiyu laughed.
"It is rather surprising you survived," he admitted, almost thoughtfully. "Though I must say... It was quite entertaining."
In the next instant, he vanished like a blur and reappeared directly before Ningyan.
But, he wasn’t fast enough.
Jun Haoxuan moved. A flash of blue. A clean, brutal, absolute strike as his fist collided with Lan Shiyu’s head with devastating force.
The impact sent him flying straight through the palace wall. Stone exploded outward as his body vanished beyond it, leaving destruction in his wake.
Silence lingered for half a breath.
Jun Haoxuan turned. His hand shot out, gripping Ningyan’s arm firmly, forcing him to face him.
"You have to be quick, Ningyan," he said, his voice low but steady. "Very quick."
Ningyan blinked, then his lips curled into a sharp, certain smile. He had expected something else. An order to run, to hide, to gather the others and flee.
But this? This was trust.
"Sure," Ningyan replied.
Jun Haoxuan returned the smile, faint but real. He turned, his gaze lifting toward the battlefield above.
Jun Yongrui and Lan Yunlai clashed like calamities made flesh, their power tearing through the remnants of the palace. Cracks webbed across the walls, the ceiling trembling under the force of their blows.
Jun Yongrui struck. A heavy, crushing blow slammed into Lan Yunlai.
Lan Yunlai blocked it but the force drove him upward through the ceiling.
The structure shattered as he was hurled into the night sky, debris cascading down as his figure suspended itself beyond the broken palace roof.
Jun Yongrui’s body overflowed with terrifying qi, steel-grey light bursting from his form as he prepared to pursue Lan Yunlai into the heavens.
"Father!" Jun Haoxuan called sharply.
The dragon king stilled.
For a fraction of a second, just a breath, he turned. Their eyes met.
Jun Haoxuan smiled.
"You’d better honour your words," he said calmly. "And kill him."
Jun Yongrui scoffed. But there was no denial, only pride and fury. And then, light consumed him.
His body expanded, bones cracking, form distorting as a colossal dragon burst forth, tearing through the ceiling in a storm of power and debris. With a deafening roar, he rushed into the sky, straight toward Lan Yunlai.
At that same instant, demonic energy pulsed.
Lan Shiyu appeared right in front of Jun Haoxuan. His eyes were wild. Bleeding red. Twisted with rage.
Without hesitation, he raised his hand. But before he could strike, a blast of power slammed into him.
Ningyan.
Purple energy roared from his palm as he struck without restraint, sending Lan Shiyu flying backward through shattered stone.
"I’ll handle him," Ningyan said, already moving.
He chased after Lan Shiyu, crashing into him mid-air as the two vanished beyond the broken walls.
Jun Haoxuan’s eyes widened but before he could process, a dark red portal opened beneath his feet.
"What.."Jun Haoxuan sank through and appeared outside.
Cold air rushed against his skin as he steadied himself, immediately lifting his gaze to the sky.
Above, two monstrous forces clashed.
A colossal azure dragon against a figure cloaked in demonic radiance.
The heavens themselves seemed to split beneath their power.
Jun Haoxuan exhaled slowly. His swords appeared in his hands.
"You’re calm." A smooth, amused voice came from behind.
Jun Haoxuan didn’t turn immediately. He already knew.
"Lan Tianheng." He pivoted slightly, blades humming with restrained power.
Behind him, a figure stood cloaked in blackish-red energy, his presence heavy, suffocating like blood soaked into the air itself.
Lan Tianheng smiled.
"You’ve gotten stronger," he said, red serpent eyes glinting. "Divine beast stage... How impressive."
"Mm." Haoxuan charged toward Lan Tianheng.
Lan Tianheng reacted fast, summoning a portal beneath his feet. He sank into it and vanished.
But the next moment, he reappeared behind Jun Haoxuan.
Two translucent blue dragons erupted from the air, wrapping around him instantly.
Haoxuan turned and drove both swords into Lan Tianheng’s chest.
Lan Tianheng’s eyes widened. He hadn’t expected it.
Haoxuan yanked one blade free and, in the same motion, severed his head. Then he withdrew the second sword as the body collapsed to the ground.
Jun Haoxuan’s golden reptilian eyes looked down in cold disgust. "That is for humiliating me."
A roar split the sky.
Jun Yongrui and Lan Yunlai were both in their beast forms now, the clouds above twisting and darkening in response to their power.
Haoxuan glanced back toward the palace. The moment he moved, his twin swords flared with blue light. The silver chain linking them snapped back into place.
He sensed it instantly. A presence behind him.
He dodged and a massive black serpent beast struck where he had stood, dark red and black energy spilling off its body.
Haoxuan glanced at the fallen illusion of Lan Tianheng’s body and scoffed. "You’ve gotten stronger too."
Blue lightning erupted around him, crackling, alive, like a divine force as his grip tightened on his swords. Then he moved forward, charging straight at the serpent beast.