Yan Mo showed a creepy grin, "Ha-ha-ha, marvelous! There's actually a demonic cultivator from the lower three sects with a good head on his shoulders. Foiled at every turn, my game in shambles, and even expert in arrays. You'd be a rarity even in the superior three sects, then again…"
Yan Mo mocked, "You can have all the brains in the world, the sharpest wit, the cleverest ploys, yet none will help you without the strength to back them all up. The best you could do with your puny cultivation is running away, yet you came for me? Your demonic creature might be somewhat special, even against an Ethereal Stage expert, but it's nothing to me. You came here to die, moron!"
Mystical Heaven Sect's gang's heart was in their throat in worry for Zhuo Fan. He held their last and only hope of getting out of here alive. Now no one would get the word out of their sufferings.
The three elders sized the new guy up with a sigh.
[A 2nd layer Radiant Stage cultivator won't stand a chance.]
[He came to get killed.]
Funny how the only ones chilling were Demon Scheming Sect's side, even sporting a cold smile.
None actually got to see the full extent of Steward Zhuo's mighty power coming to bear. Even killing Grand Elder's lackeys, he still held back.
Oh, there was one other person who had blind trust in the man, Chu Qingcheng, despite not knowing anything about him in the past few years.
"Ha-ha-ha, oh, right, you never saw my real strength so you thought you could take me, reckless fool."
Yan Mo cackled, "Feast your eyes on real power!"
Yan Mo's energy exploded like a flood. The ghastly aura sent shivers into the rest, even the venerables. A 5th-layer Ethereal Stage expert! The fiends and elders paled. The first were overwhelmed. Someone so young could be so strong. The latter were depressed, finding he was no average cultivator at all to be coming from a superior three sect. Elder Yun of the same cultivation would bet anything he wouldn't stand ten blows.
On Yan Mo's back, two flames appeared, red and blue, turning into pythons that bit each other's tails as they spun around and released a strange vibe.
Zhuo Fan's eyes flashed azure, "Oh, a demonic flame, Yin Yang Union Flame. So that's your crutch to all the arrogance."
"You can withstand its effect?" Phased, Yan Mo frowned in worry.
Instinct told him this 2nd layer Radiant Stage cultivator's unnatural calmness hid something far worse. It also baffled him, how he could feel like that from an ant. Like how a lion met a viper, despite how clear the difference was, the first was on guard since the latter's venom could spell doom.
The perplexity he found himself in left Yan Mo's heart quivering.
[I refuse to believe a Radiant Stage cultivator can threaten me! It's preposterous!]
Yan Mo took a deep breath to steel himself and roared, "Punk, it's too late for regrets now that you've seen such might, ha-ha-ha…"
"Showing all your cards before a fight is the dumbest thing in the world. Man, you're naive. As a senior demonic cultivator, it is only decent of me to teach the younglings and steer them on the right demonic path." Zhuo Fan mocked.
Yan Mo was fuming mad, "You dare patronize me when you're the junior?"
Yan Mo shot a savage fire attack like a meteor shower, straight for him.
Elder Yun sighed, "This attack contains his soul. No Radiant Stage cultivator can withstand it. The kid is doomed."
The women panicked, even as Fiend Yang's side laid back to enjoy the show.
Bam!
The fire scattered to nothing, revealing Zhuo Fan's light brushing and evil smile.
[How could this be?]
Yan Mo was on the verge of a meltdown. Elder Yun gasped in disbelief while the women froze in abject shock. Since when could a Radiant Stage cultivator take an Ethereal Stage expert's blow and live?
[Who the hell is this guy?]
Even Dan'er was slack-jawed at the sheer absurdity of it all.
"Ha-ha-ha, underestimating an enemy before battle is the worst fault a demonic cultivator can have. Did I mention you're naive?" Making sure to point out with a wide grin, Zhuo Fan mocked Yan Mo.
Yan Mo's brow shook, his teeth clenched, "That was just a casual strike…"
Whoosh~
Zhuo Fan flashed in Yan Mo's face as his right eye flashed golden once.
"How, when….?" Yan Mo's heart was beating out of his chest, having not caught the slightest sign of how Zhuo Fan did it.
Zhuo Fan made sure to stop any thoughts of elucidating as his punch came down hard and fast, right for the noggin'.
Bam!
Yan Mo put his hand up in reflex and felt a pain like no other searing deep into his bone, even as it still came for his forehead.
Left with little choice, he put his other arm up. Much good did that do, still incapable of stopping this unrelenting force.
[This guy's body is a freak of nature!]
With no time to make use of his soul power, his body flashed with spiritual armor.
Zhuo Fan's mere flick of the Qilin arm sent Yan Mo bouncing through the air and smack into the cave wall.
The cave now sported an extra breathing hole as the wall crumbled, a hundred meters deep, through which the bright rays of the sun graced this eerie hellhole.
Not that the others had a mind to even register the implication, to out of it to even twitch. A singular strike sent an Ethereal Stage expert careening through the air.
[Who the hell is this freak? Not even the superior three sects have someone like this!]
The elders were stumped. [This is the disciple the Demon Scheming Sect is taking to Double Dragon Gathering? This is too friggin' much! How are we supposed to beat that?]
"Underestimating your enemy, yet still making up excuses for yourself. If that's not naive, I don't know what is."
Flicking his right, Zhuo Fan smiled, "Fiend Yang, just like we guessed, this guy's spoiled rotten, having always gotten his way. Just your average rotten, albeit talented, apple."
"As the true devil here, you should let the imp know what setback means, hi-hi-hi…" Fiend Yang snickered.
"Hi-hi-hi…"
The Demon Scheming Sect's disciples laughed along.
The bang cut their joy short though, as the rubble turned to ashes and revealed Yan Mo covered in a flaming armor glaring at Zhuo Fan. He lost his mocking air, replaced by hatred.
Zhuo Fan smiled.
[He's finally showing what he has. This should be fun.]
Whoosh~
Yan Mo jumped right at Zhuo Fan without preamble, packing a fiery fist just for his face.
The immense power behind it and the burning sensation left Zhuo Fan understanding just how deadly Yin Yang Union Flame was. So he blocked with his Qilin arm. While the fire punch was halted, Zhuo Fan staggered ten feet.
Yan Mo's fiery fist took on another layer of flames, this time blue. The two flames combined and the power multiplied.
Caught off-guard, it was now Zhuo Fan's time to barrel through the air and splatter against the back cave wall, creating another hundred-meter-deep hole. The added rays brought more light into this now somewhat lit cavern.
Yan Mo watched the burning rubble with a cold eye, "What was it you said, naive?"
The eyes of everyone twitched. Yan Mo was like a stranger, calculative and fierce, without any openings.
"This is Hellion Flame's first genius, Yan Mo!"
Elder Yun sighed in disappointment, "He barely used a third of his power when he was playing around, but now he will hold nothing back in displaying his 5th layer Ethereal Stage cultivation. There's no way that guy can take him on, no matter how much of a freak he is. We're done for!"
The women cried, mirroring Elder Yun's despair. Their hopes of keeping themselves intact were crushed with the fall of the rubble.
Dan'er watched the expanding fire, "Of the two demons, Zhuo Fan is a bit better. I hope he wins."
The rest all hoped the same, despite the sheer discrepancy. They sighed at Yan Mo's unnatural change, their faith in Zhuo Fan hitting rock bottom. Only the Demon Scheming Sect's side kept a straight face. They were living testament to Zhuo Fan's power and savagery…
Rumble!
Zhuo Fan crawled out of the burning rubble, shaking his numb hand with a smile, "Yin Yang Union Flame, fusing yin and yang resulting in explosive power. My Qilin arm almost couldn't take it."
[Young and childish, but he has some mentality. He flipped the switch to having a fight to the death and lost his tantrums on the spot. He is from a superior three sect for a reason.]
[Guess I'd get serious myself. I won't live down being defeated by the same thing I preached. The shame would kill me, and he is far stronger than those trash elders too.]
Zhuo Fan squinted and an eerie aura surrounded him.
Yan Mo's heart tensed, ready for anything. Despite the gap in cultivation, the feeling he got from him was nothing like any other fight he had. It was dangerous.
"I now consider you my equal, just like Wu Qingqiu." Yan Mo spoke.
Whoosh~
Zhuo Fan flashed in front of him and used his Qilin arm to claw his chest.
Wraith Style, 2nd move, Ghostly Dragon Claw!
Roar!
The draconic roar split ears and the flames on the armor were flickering before the strike even came.
Yan Mo was startled, [Not even an 8th-grade demonic treasure can take his raw strength? Just what treasures does he have?]
He chose to trust his intuition still, no matter what doubts he had. Putting all his trust in the armor on the off chance that the kid would break it would mean certain death.
Yan Mo jumped back while throwing red and blue flames. They combined with a bang and clashed with the claw.
Boom!
Zhuo Fan got swallowed by the towering flames. Yan Mo grinned, though unable to laugh as the claw ran the fire through and came right at him. He reacted on the spot by taking out two halberds.
Clang!
The screeching sound jarred his ears as he was barely holding his own from the eerie burning claw. Next thing he knew he saw the towering flames dissipate revealing a grinning Zhuo Fan. Yan Mo's only logical reaction, "Freak!"
He then jumped a hundred meters back, to put some distance between them, "High profound ranked martial art, Twin Dragon Devour!"
Hum~
Red and blue flashed from the halberd as they combined into two Yin Yang Union Flame-made flood dragons charging for Zhuo Fan.
The same ranked martial art would show different effects depending on cultivation, and with Yan Mo's Ethereal Stage level the attack was backed by his soul power.
However, there was no reason for Zhuo Fan with his heaven dragon soul to be scared.
"Devouring dragon? As if." Zhuo Fan scoffed, his body releasing black energy and turning into a dragon, "Wraith Style's 1st move, Soaring Demonic Dragon!"
Roar!
Zhuo Fan's body clashed with the two flood dragons, resulting in a spectacular explosion.
Zhuo Fan pressed the advantage, going at Yan Mo. Yan Mo shook, finding it hard to believe Zhuo Fan was so tough no attack could harm him. He had no time to even make a sign as Zhuo Fan pushed him back, using only his halberds to block the resounding blows.
The cave flashed black and red all over as the two sources shifted throughout the cavern. Yan Mo relied on his Yin Yang Union Flame while Zhuo Fan used raw power as the two wrestled for supremacy using arts or even plain blows.
As the spectacle was ongoing, the spectators' minds were blown.
"How is the kid on the same foot as Yan Mo?! Actually, he's on the advantage, coming to bear on Yan Mo!"
Elder Yun shook, his eyes wide as dinner plates for seeing something incomprehensible despite having lived so long while the women's hopes were rekindled.
As for the Demon Scheming Sect's gang, they treat it as natural, even mocking the rest's ignorance, "Quit your oohing. This is nothing."
"Say what?" Elder Yun turned to them.
Fiend Yang cackled in pride, "Disciple leader Zhuo Fan is always modest and withdrawn. This is nothing. You ought to be praising Yan Mo for lasting so long, guess he isn't just another gutter rat."
Elder Yun was perplexed and snorted, "Don't get carried away. The kid may be somewhat great, but he's just in the Radiant Stage. I don't know how he can block the soul attacks, but he can't keep this up, ha-ha-ha…"
The women were even more perplexed.
"Elder Yun, Zhuo Fan is fighting for us. If he loses, we die!" Shui Ruohua pointed out like a good disciple.
Ugh!
Elder Yun flushed.
He always looked down on the Demon Scheming Sect, bickering at every chance he got. A shame his mouth got the better of him this time when both sides were in dire straits, and picking faults with the Demon Scheming Sect now was the same as picking faults with himself when he ought to cheer the kid on.
Crack!
Meanwhile, the jarring noises stopped.
Bam!
With chips flying every which way, Yan Mo watched his hands holding a halberd and a stick.
Across from him was Zhuo Fan's red glowing right and a ridiculing smile.
[For god's sake, what is that bloody body made of to shatter a high-rated demonic treasure?]
Zhuo Fan's belligerent display of unbridled power had left everyone in awe. Even Ethereal Stage body cultivators could pull off what he did…
"My 9th-grade demonic treasure, my twin halberds…" Yan Mo's morning got cut short as he heard whistling.
Zhuo Fan's savage claw was relentless, scaring him into throwing the other halberd at it.
After a clank, Yan Mo put much-needed distance between them, for his safety and his nerves.
[So that's why my armor shook before. It was warning me that this freak's freaky arm is ridiculous. What kind of body can even smash 9th-grade demonic treasures? Letting the claw land on my body will run me through armor and all!]
Zhuo Fan was coming again. His only way of flipping the tables was by using such a move that overcame the body, a soul attack!
Not like Zhuo Fan would let him go through the motions of unleashing an art of such magnitude with how close he stuck.
[That leaves only one choice…]
Yan Mo chuckled, [Sigh, as the best talent in Hellion Flame, I'm now reduced to using cheap tricks. It's all his fault for being so much of a weirdo.]
Yan Mo turned his back and flew down, his halberd aiming straight for Chu Qingcheng.
All were by themselves with worry, "Qingcheng…"
Chu Qingcheng couldn't move for her life.
She, however, had no fear, judging by that smile directed at the pursuing Zhuo Fan hot on his tail.
[Divine Eye of the Void's 1st stage, Shift!]
His right eye flashed golden and bamfed right in front of her.
Clang!
Zhuo Fan flicked the halberd away and watched the ever-smug Yan Mo with a cold eye.
"Hi-hi-hi, I just knew it. You care about her. I bet the show you put on in the inn was more real than fake." Yan Mo snickered.
Zhuo Fan said, "As if. This is between me and you, not a fight for another to interfere. And I came here to save them. Where's all my respect go if I just let you harm them?"
"Is that so?"
Yan Mo gave a taunting smile and gave his weapon a flick sideways. The windblade struck home and a Mystical Heaven Sect's disciple wailed as he burned to ashes.
Yan Mo mocked, "You call this helping?"
Zhuo Fan's face was cold as ice.
"Hi-hi-hi, the more you explain the deeper you bury yourself. Do you think I can't tell you care about this one? When I threw myself at her, you could've bid your time and used the demonic creature to kill me in one strike. So why then did you choose to miss it? He-he-he, and don't tell me a mastermind like you would make such an elementary mistake; have some self-respect."
Yan Mo grinned.
Zhuo Fan found silence to be golden. Chu Qingcheng's eyes looked upon him with the sweetest gaze she could muster and a bright smile.
Whoosh~
The halberd swung, targeting Chu Qingcheng behind Zhuo Fan, who squinted as he acted.
It only worked to prove Yan Mo's theory, "Ha-ha-ha, she's your weakness for sure. Now you're done for as you've committed the greatest sin for a demonic cultivator, love. While I like her, there's no way I'd let her drag me down."
Whoosh~
All his attacks targeted Chu Qingcheng and Zhuo Fan blocked some, while others struck him.
Chu Qingcheng saw the dozens of wounds on him with pain. Though she knew from his firm eyes that any urge to leave her would go unanswered.
Nothing could change Zhuo Fan's mind.
Yan Mo snickered in childish glee, using her to strike at him.
It was now Zhuo Fan's turn to be pressed.
The women were touched to the core, [What a man, even a demon he still remains to protect her with his life. How many righteous dao companions are there who would do the same?]
Even the feisty Dan'er looked at him with different eyes.
The fiends were panicking and cursing, [Screw the broad and get your head back in the game by killing that prick. Free us, damn it!]
Zhuo Fan knew this was bad and his right flashed red.
A relentless force came at Yan Mo who sidestepped. Zhuo Fan used this chance to grab Chu Qingcheng's waist and fly away to a safer place.
Yan Mo wasn't going to sit by and let it happen.
He came at him again, while Zhuo Fan deflected the best he could. Yan Mo hid feints and strikes among his moves so that a third would go for Zhuo Fan and the rest for Chu Qingcheng.
Yet he blocked every one of them.
The rest watched in worry and shock. Zhuo Fan was holding his own in a fight while having someone in his arms. He wasn't backing down one bit.
Mystical Heaven Sect's elders admired him. Even more so as Chu Qingcheng never had a scratch on her.
Yan Mo was pissed though.
He was using a woman to put Zhuo Fan into a corner, but the guy just wouldn't fall. Zhuo Fan could fight him despite all the chains around his neck.
It went as far as making him look bad. [That's the same as saying I'm useless!]
Sure, all demonic cultivators were devious and despicable. While the shame of losing was one thing, losing even as you tricked your opponent was even worse. The fact he was some big-shot talent only amplified the shame.
[Blast it all to hell, I was saving it for Wu Qingqiu, not this bastard.]
[You're really getting on my nerves here!]
Yan Mo fell back and Zhuo Fan did the same, placing Chu Qingcheng behind a barrier.
Just as two flames came at him. Zhuo Fan dodged one and met the other with his Ghostly Dragon Claw.
As the light show died down, Yan Mo was found floating above, with the blue and red snakes biting their tails and spinning behind him, feeding on each other.
The cave itself turned blue and red, growing hotter and hotter.
[Soul domain?]
The fiends and the elders jerked.
They figured Yan Mo was using Yin Yang Union Flame and thus had a fire soul, or the snake circle behind was his soul.
When in fact it was the worst move to take on, a soul domain. Just like Impermanence Five's Vicissitude Domain. In this domain, one was god.
Anyone caught within its range was at the whims of the user.
Zhuo Fan's frown deepened at last.
Even with the heaven dragon soul, he was fighting it out with an expert in the 5th layer Ethereal Stage. He had never tackled a domain to know if he'd come out on top.
And to make it worse…
Zhuo Fan glanced at Chu Qingcheng. He wanted her safe, which became moot the instant the domain was activated, his worry for her mounting.
"Ha-ha-ha, didn't see this one coming, did you? My soul is the strongest soul domain. An Ethereal Stage expert's true power comes to bear only when his soul is revealed, and that is the soul domain!"
Yan Mo cackled with unrestrained pride, "Everyone's lives are at my whims. You'll never keep her safe and fight me alone ever! You have no chance of winning. This is the difference between our stages, this is a gulf you can never surpass no matter how freaky you are!"
Zhuo Fan squinted, looking deep into Chu Qingcheng's eyes as she did the same.
All the captives here gave in to despair.
Fiend Yang even shouted, "Can you leave with your soul?"
Zhuo Fan's calm made Fiend Yang even more crestfallen.
[For even the cocky Zhuo Fan to be lost for words, it only showed how doomed we are.]
The others sighed in their sorrowful fate.
It only fueled Yan Mo's ecstatic joy. [The punk has no way of getting out.]
Yan Mo snickered, finding it his turn to mess with his opponent.
Making a sign, Yan Mo taunted Zhuo Fan with a look, yet Zhuo Fan only had eyes for Chu Qingcheng.
"Hi-hi-hi, that woman will be the death of you. You could've been attacked and stopped from making signs, but now…" Yan Mo snickered, "Time to taste a pseudo-earth-ranked martial art, Yin Yang Inferno!"
Zhuo Fan held Chu Qingcheng close as the ground exploded from under them, with blue and red interwoven flames, swallowing Zhuo Fan in its torrent as rumbling explosions sounded off.
"Steward Zhuo!"
"Sister Qingcheng!"
Everyone cried out, powerless to do anything.
The two colored fires were like a forge, chipping at their target. All were wallowing in despair their fate might be the same.
Yan Mo was having a blast, "Ha-ha-ha, idiot, think I'd meet you head on? This is my world and I can strike you from anywhere. Feel honored to be the first to die in this move I saved for the best talent in western lands, Wu Qingqiu."
"Guess thanks are in order for such fine treatment, no?"
Yan Mo watched incredulously, the others' eyes lit up. [T-that's Steward Zhuo's voice.]
Hum~
The inferno dispersed and Zhuo Fan holding Chu Qingcheng stood there like nothing happened. With a grin on his face and four golden halos in his right eye. A hundred meters around him the space rippled and hummed, annihilating anything and everything, even fire.
Divine Eye of the Void's 4th stage, Space Crusher!
Yan Mo twitched in disbelief, "Impossible!"
"There's no such thing. While you have a soul domain, I have my own absolute domain as well, of one hundred meters. Nothing can touch me here, ha-ha-ha…" Zhuo Fan mocked.
Yan Mo gnashed his teeth in rage at the unexpected plot twist.
He never heard of such a domain.
The captive audience swung back from the pits of despair into the warm arms of jubilation. They were saved!
"Ah!"
Zhuo Fan jerked and found Chu Qingcheng furrowing her brows in pain.
Zhuo Fan saw her ankle bruised. The flames came out of nowhere and Chu Qingcheng had to suffer for his late reaction.
Zhuo Fan's bloodlust surged.
"No parlor tricks will save you from my domain. How will you fight me with a dead weight on your back? I'll kill you even if I have to exhaust you fir-"
Crash!
While Yan Mo was either showing himself off or giving Zhuo Fan credit was anyone's guess, Zhuo Fan princess carried Chu Qingcheng.
Yan Mo blanked, [Isn't it harder to fight me without his hands?], while Chu Qingcheng flushed.
Zhuo Fan snickered, his eyes taking a crazed look seething with undying flames of wrath.
"You're wrong about something. While there's heaven and earth between us from the gap in stages, who's the heaven and who's the earth is far from clear. I can take your life anytime I want. The only reason you're still kicking is because you have all the advantages."
As Zhuo Fan walked with Chu Qingcheng in his arms, the Space Crusher moved with him. The flames parted ways, making way for the king on his mission, "I didn't attack you in the inn so that I can find the captives. While in your array, moving was also complicated. And finally, there are too many people around to act as I want."
"Up till now, I was doing Hellion Flame a favor by sparing you, wishing to avoid a feud. And with so many around us, it was easy to implicate others. But now you've crossed the line!"
"Eh, so you've been holding out on me?" Yan Mo mocked.
The way he saw it, Zhuo Fan was bluffing all the way. [Who the hell is he kidding, barely defending while protecting a woman?] He never believed it.
Zhuo Fan shook his head, "It's not holding back, but making it into a deathmatch. I had no intent to kill you, until now…"
"What's the difference?" Yan Mo mocked.
Zhuo Fan's nasty grin resurfaced, "I can waste you without lifting a finger."
The prismatic dragon in his mind opened its eyes and roared. Zhuo Fan's power surged, releasing an undeniable draconic power upon the world.
Everyone there gasped, with the Ethereal Stage experts sensing their very souls trembling.
While Yan Mo's soul domain shuddered and threatened to collapse.
[This can't be…]
It was the unanimous reaction. Never had there been a situation for any of them in which their souls would bore such pressure.
[This Radiant Stage kid formed his soul?! How did he do it to be so frightening?]
Zhuo Fan, with a stone-cold face, shot for Yan Mo while holding Chu Qingcheng still.
Yan Mo was outraged, [You dare mock me?]
With a sign, the snakes behind him spun faster, blending the yin and yang fires that sent at Zhuo Fan like a tidal wave.
"Pseudo-earth-ranked martial art, Bipolar Conflagration!"
Zhuo Fan squinted as he charged on, his hands making a sign despite holding Chu Qingcheng, "Wraith Style's 3rd move, heaven dragon soul, Necro Dragon's Screech!"
Zhuo Fan's surroundings exploded in a prismatic light, accompanied by a roar. The sound slammed into the firestorm, scattering it, before coming down on Yan Mo.
Yan Mo couldn't believe his soul was so strong that even his martial arts collapsed.
He rushed out of the way, just as the sound wave brushed him. It slammed into the wall and through it towards the sky. This was also the moment the soul domain fell.
Yan Mo shook like a leaf, [He really wants to kill me.] He wouldn't have gone this far if he knew.
Zhuo Fan was before him now, despite that great skill he used just now, it didn't stop his assault one iota.
Zhuo Fan was a beast intent on tearing him apart.
Yan Mo's eyes tightened on Zhuo Fan's ever-nearing form. While his hands were busy holding a beauty, the threat wasn't any less as Zhuo Fan's furious retaliation was still fresh in his mind.
A freak among freaks, even with his hands tied.
[He's right, we really are worlds apart!]
This grand talent in Hellion Flame, for the first time ever, admitted he was beneath someone.
Something he could never do before the best genius in western lands, Wu Qingqiu, but against this storm of rage before him, he felt like a bug.
There was only one thought that took over his mind, escape; the farther the better.
Yan Mo turned his eyes on Chu Qingcheng. [His only weakness.]
His eyes flashed and pulled a dirk, throwing it at Chu Qingcheng while he made a run for it.
Figuring Zhuo Fan had to use his limbs to save her, buying him enough time.
Zhuo Fan's anger soared, his right eye shining golden, "Divine Eye of the Void 2nd stage, Void Annihilation!"
Whoosh!
Clang!
Something shot from him to the dagger and went on for Yan Mo.
The danger woke Yan Mo up from his delusion, shifting to the sight by instinct. The attack brushed his skin, taking it away and making him grimace.
Zhuo Fan didn't let him enjoy the pain, still hugging Chu Qingcheng and still coming at him. A prismatic draconic tail up and sprouted from his back, sweeping at Yan Mo.
[What the hell is his soul form? Why so big?]
Yan Mo felt like swearing. Zhuo Fan was so enraged he wouldn't give Yan Mo a moment to catch his breath. He wouldn't have picked on the broads if he knew there was such a crazed beast among them.
Yan Mo felt like crying, with no choice but to use the two snakes to block the incoming tail. The yin and yang flames united and formed a shield.
Bam!
The huge draconic tail slammed into the flaming snakes, erasing them from this world.
Next came the howls. These two snakes didn't even last a second and the tail smashed into its intended target, Yan Mo.
The splitting headache resulted from his injured soul, spitting blood.
Zhuo Fan was only getting started. Flicking around, the tail scraped the cave wall before it came for Yan Mo buried in the wall. He howled in pain as the tail left him in tatters.
With another swish of the tail, the cave top blew away ten miles, mountain and all, before coming down crumbling.
The hot sun above spilled its glorious warmth on the frozen faces of every captive.
[He can blow up mountains if angry enough.] They all witnessed how a deep mountain cave turned into a valley with the slightest gesture.
But the savagery on Zhuo Fan's face, hovering there above them, left them gulping.
[He's worse than Yan Mo. How is he from a lower three sect when he's as strong as Double Dragon Manor?]
All saw Zhuo Fan as nothing more than a godly beast sent from the heavens above, Demon Scheming Sect included.
[Is this his true power? This is no longer abnormal, but godlike!]
Zhuo Fan had no mind to care about extras, still as cold, as furious, and as determined. He put the tail away and landed gently before letting Chu Qingcheng down.
Then the azure flame circled her head three times and Chu Qingcheng found she could move.
She gave him the sweetest smile, finding him the same man no matter how atrocious he was.
"The kid's seal was complicated and needed time to deal with it. No wonder he's from a superior three sect." At Chu Qingcheng's soft gaze, his chilly face deflated, though awkward.
Chu Qingcheng nodded, smiling, "True."
Then she changed topics, "The others are sealed as well. We should help them."
She rushed forward only to wince at the next step, forgetting about her injured ankle.
Zhuo Fan helped her down, holding her soft calf in his hand as a sizzling azure glow healed her wound.
Zhuo Fan used the heaven dragon soul again, since it was made of ten earth dragon souls, the power of the Returning Dragon's Roar was within it.
"You should look after yourself before thinking of rescuing others." Zhuo Fan looked down as his hand held the dainty foot and the azure glow healed it.
Chu Qingcheng was very happy inside, nodding, "I know, I won't make you worry again."
"That's not it, I was just…."
"You don't have to say anything, I understand. We each have our paths that sometimes bump into each other." Chu Qingcheng smiled.
Zhuo Fan kept healing her with utmost care. Yet for some odd reason, he took his time doing it.
The shocked masses around the lovely couple were now speechless about how the duo sank into their own little world.
Rolling his eyes, Fiend Yang snapped, "It's just a flesh wound. A pill will do! While we got our cultivation sealed and can't even more. You should be helping us first!"
"Yeah, master, if we can't move soon, we might never get the chance again!" Kui Gang laughed.
The rest laughed with him, even Mystical Heaven Sect's girls.
Even those with a bad disposition for demonic cultivators found Zhuo Fan in high regard. All because of his devotion to Chu Qingcheng in keeping her safe from any harm. He was the living wet dream of every girl.
Zhuo Fan shrugged, awkward, and Chu Qingcheng giggled.
Only Xuan Shaoyu gnashed his teeth at the lovey-dovey couple.
"I'm fine." With her delicate foot safely down, Zhuo Fan smiled and went to unseal Fiend Yang and co.
Stretching about, they had odd smiles for Zhuo Fan.
Next came Mystical Heaven Sect's turn who was just as grateful. Shui Ruohua's opinion of him soared. While the elders looked at him like he sprouted a new head.
The thanks never came, not when they dreaded the Double Dragon Gathering where they'd be meeting this same monster on stage.
They even thought of getting rid of him once and for all.
Though they didn't act on it, recalling his savage fight with Yan Mo.
[Who are we kidding?] They couldn't beat Yan Mo yet wanted to take on a monster far worse than their kidnapper?
Elder Yun jumped, "What of Yan Mo?"
"I reckon he should be in the rubble ten miles out. The attack of mine must've sent him there with the mountain and everything." Zhuo Fan blurted.
[He acts like it was nothing.]
Elder Yun ordered, "Someone get Yan Mo back here. If he gets away, he'll give us revenge we can't handle!"
"Yes!"
Shui Ruohua gave a deep bow and took some disciples to the rouble. Six hours later, they came in a panic.
"Elder, there's no sign of him!"
"What?" Elder Yun's countenance changed for the worse…