Chapter 337: Most of This

~~~

The barrier comes down as soon as Liu Jin is declared the winner. Such is the will of the Crimson Cloud. Though it is not unaware of the various interests surrounding the battle, it sees no purpose in interfering with them. Emperor Xiang’s many attempts to convince it otherwise were for naught. The concerns of the Crimson Cloud lie elsewhere.

The shadows strike.

Dark creatures without shape or mass rise from the shadows and leap onto the ring. For one brief instant, many of the greatest cultivators of the Crimson Cloud Empire are caught by surprise. Such a thing should be unthinkable, yet their very power has worked against them. The exceedingly high amount of ambient Qi created by gathering so many Emperors in one place resulted in the perfect conditions for these creatures to go undetected.

Liu Jin and Xiao Shuang are some of the strongest cultivators of their generation. Usually, they’d have nothing to fear from foes such as these, but Xiao Shuang has yet to regain consciousness, and Liu Jin is barely standing. It cannot possibly be they who make the first move. It is also not Emperor Xiang. It is not Feng Gui or Feng Shang. It is not even Ruan Chenshu, and certainly not the Wandering Wind, who merely sits back and watches.

The one who seizes the initiative is Meng Yue.

Time seems to stop for her as she moves into the ring, but such is an impossibility. The march of time can never be stopped. That is an immutable law.

However, for the sake of the argument, if one were capable of creating a spatial realm in which the flow of time goes by so fast that time in the true world seems frozen by comparison, then overlapped that spatial realm with the true world in such a way that only they were acting under the time of their personal spatial realm, the effect created would seem indistinguishable from frozen time.

When Meng Yue dismisses her spatial realm, a logic error is created. Two different times try to reconcile with each other.

Reality quivers. Time hiccups.

Meng Yue arrives in the ring a fraction of a second before she leaves her seat.

A protective dome of ice rises around Xiao Shuang. Immediately after, the shadows freeze and shatter. The particles of ice left behind by their annihilation glitter in the air like diamonds around Meng Yue, leaving the audience completely breathless. Many will remember her beauty for as long as they live.

“You have my thanks,” Meng Yue says to Liu Jin. “I was worried about what would happen to my disciple, but this outcome may serve her best. Of course, I never thought she would lose, but never mind that, you will come with me to the Divine Frozen Palace.”

“Is that so?”

Lord Feng Gui of the Eternal Flame Clan steps into the ring. The man wears his usual confident smile as he puts himself between Meng Yue and Liu Jin.

“Young Qing Jin is a disciple of the Eternal Flame Clan. Why should he go with you?” He asks.

“…I had a few excuses ready, but what is the point of them?” Meng Yue says. Her Qi rises abruptly. “You were a poor partner last time, but if you want to make up for it now and satisfy me, who am I to say no?”

Feng Gui’s smile dims, yet his Qi starts rising in preparation. Several of the weaker people in the Crimson Cloud Arena wisely start making themselves scarce.

However, before Feng Gui can say or do anything, someone else speaks up.

“Emperor Qing Jin will not be going with either of you.”

A cloaked figure emerges in the ring. It is immediately obvious that the one under the hood is not a human but a puppet, a contraption of wood and metal whose movements are being controlled by someone else.

Lord Feng Gui snorts.

“You have no place in this discussion, child. I can sense your power even through your attempts to hide. Begone and let your betters speak.”

“I have no issue if you wish to join, but be aware you might not survive it,” Meng Yue says, not taking her eyes off Feng Gui.

“I represent the Temple of the Thousand Shadows,” the puppet says. “You will find there are consequences for getting in the way of our designs.”

The Temple of the Thousand Shadows.

Most of the people listening do not know the name, yet many of those who do feel their blood freeze. The Temple of the Thousand Shadows is one of the three main powers on the other side of the Dead Plains. In other words, though the puppeteer might not be their match, the authority behind him is not one anyone in the arena can take lightly.

Feng Gui and Meng Yue remain undaunted.

“I do not care,” she says.

“The Temple of the Thousand Shadows is not the one authorized to interfere with this side of the Dead Plains,” says he.

Liu Jin smiles.

“Brother Firm Shadow,” he says, “it has been a long time.”

The puppet turns in his direction.

“Emperor Qing Jin, I warned you about calling too much attention to yourself when we last spoke,” Firm Shadow says through his puppets. “I never imagined the secret you were hiding was this big, but now that it has come to this, you cannot be allowed to live.”

Liu Jin’s smile becomes tinged with sadness. He knew it would come to this from the moment he revealed Art of the Roaming Thief, though he was not expecting it’d be Firm Shadow personally.

“Brother Alarming Shadow must be somewhere close, then?” He says more for Meng Yue’s and Feng Gui’s benefit than to make conversation. “Still, I thought the Temple of the Thousand Shadow was the one that followed the rules, unlike the other two. Shouldn’t it be the Peerless Heavenly Sword who comes to collect me?”

The puppet seems to glare at him.

“It is because the rules have been broken so much that we cannot rely on them to do what they should!”

“No!” Xiao Shuang’s voice calls out from inside the dome of ice. She seems to have regained consciousness, but her voice is still weak. “I will not let you take him!”

“Well, that’s quite enough, isn’t it?”

A heavy weight falls over the puppet, crushing it into pieces.

Elder Chen of the Infinite Mountain Sect is that heavy weight. The man aims a disarming smile at two of the most powerful people in the empire. He looks much like an older version of Chen Guo, but despite being the tallest person in the ring, not even he can match Chen Guo’s prodigious height.

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“I think this matter should be settled between the Four Great Sects. There is no need for outsiders,” he says. “Don’t you agree?”

“You speak of outsiders?” Feng Gui says. “Unlike the Divine Frozen Palace, you don’t have a single pretext to lay claim on a disciple of the Eternal Flame Clan.”

“My nephew told me you declined his offer,” Elder Chen says, ignoring Feng Gui and speaking directly to Liu Jin. “Have you changed your mind?”

Liu Jin never gets the opportunity to answer.

Meng Yue has had enough talking.

She appears in front of Elder Chen without warning and delivers a single strike to his chest. Elder Chen is launched out of the ring, and the ensuing shockwave rocks the city. Lord Feng Gui does not fail to take advantage of the opportunity. A dome of golden flames rises around Liu Jin as the man advances on Meng Yue’s back. His hand points up, and golden flames rise for several miles to form a giant flaming sword. People in neighboring cities stop what they are doing to stare at the massive construct.

Bai Lianshi dashes in. At that exact moment, Feng Shang leaps from his seat and intercepts her. She glares at him as her aura rises, spreading glacial cold. Feng Shang’s flames scatter over the arena. None of them touches Bai Lianshi, yet their light envelopes them both.

When it fades, the two are nowhere to be seen.

~~~

Hundreds of miles away, Bai Lianshi opens her eyes.

“You!” she says, glaring angrily at Feng Shang.