Chapter 1391 (Raw 1382): How Long Was Five Years and How Short Was Five Years?
The matters of the world were like chess, unfathomable and unpredictable.
Now, five years had passed since the Azure Dragon King Xiao Chen startled the entire Kunlun Realm by jumping off his Emperor's Road during his Great Tribulation of wind and fire.
In the long lives of the Kunlun Realm's cultivators, five years was merely a quick flash. Some cultivators might even spend five years in one go in closed-door cultivation. Not too much change would happen in five years for five years was simply too short.
However, while five years was short, it was also rather long.
The Kunlun Continent roiled like a gathering storm in these five years. Many changes happened. Outstanding talents from various places stepped into the limelight continuously, making the place incredibly bustling.
After Di Wuque advanced to Martial Emperor, he progressed quickly, leading the outstanding talents and cultivating all the way until Sixth Heaven Martial Emperor before coming to a stop.
The outstanding talents of the various races advanced to Martial Emperor one after another. All sorts of legendary Emperor's Roads kept appearing, giving chase to Di Wuque.
There were even well-known talents who were not inferior to Di Wuque. The moment they advanced to Martial Emperor, their strength soared rapidly.
There were also some who were unknown before they advanced to Martial Emperor. After advancing, they showed off their strength and overwhelming Luck, flabbergasting everyone.
The Martial Dao's golden age, which was anticipated twenty years ago, finally arrived after these five years.
The races competed with each other. A great age of shining stars had arrived. Even Di Wuque did not have the strength to stand at the absolute forefront in this age.
However, with the arrival of a great age would come a great calamity.
The predictions came to pass. Five years after that horrible battle, the Astral Battlefield still fell in the end. The Kunlun Realm lost the frontlines against the Demon Races.
However, it was still fine. That battle resulted in the Deep Abyss Demonic World's Demons understanding the Kunlun Realm's hidden trump cards better. Although they managed to conquer the Astral Battlefield, they also suffered heavy losses and did not dare to initiate another all-out attack.
Now, one should not be surprised at the sight of Demon cultivators in the Kunlun Continent; this was already something very ordinary.
With the Astral Battlefield as their forward operating base, it was simply too easy for Demon experts to come to the Kunlun Realm. The major characters could not be bothered about this. As long as the Demons did not initiate a large-scale attack, the few Primes had no interest in handling these scattered Demon cultivators.
While this was a great age, it was also a chaotic age—the best kind of age. All sorts of outstanding talents emerged in great numbers. Powerful treasures appeared continuously in various forbidden lands.
This was also the worst kind of age. The Deep Abyss Demonic World's Demons held the initiative. The shadow of a Ten Thousand Year Demonic Calamity hung over everyone like a sharp sword.
The Kunlun Realm and the Demonic World could erupt in a great war at any moment. There would not be any victory or loss in this war, only life and death. Death brought great blows to both sides, threatening them with a bitter disaster.
As for the Azure Dragon King Xiao Chen, the rumors about him were numerous at the start.
Some said that Xiao Chen burned to death from the rebound of the Great Tribulation of wind and fire, and not even his corpse remained. Some said that he managed to survive but was stuck at half-step Martial Emperor for life with his cultivation falling by fifty percent.
Some said that Xiao Chen's cultivation was crippled and that he was now an ordinary person.
There were all sorts of stories. However, as time went by and with the arrival of this golden age, the world slowly forgot Xiao Chen, who had not shown himself for a very long time.
After the various outstanding talents advanced to Martial Emperor and became more famous, they forgot about that legendary character from three years ago.
How long was five years and how short was five years? During these five years, the world changed too much, simply too much.
Heavenly Starry Ocean, Western Sea, Heavenly Star Island, Heavenly Dragon City:
With the passage of five years, Heavenly Dragon City was now finished. Its city walls were tall and majestic. It looked impressive and was extraordinarily prosperous. It did not go into decline because of the Azure Dragon King Xiao Chen. Instead, its rate of development sped up.
Heavenly Dragon City now rivaled Bright Moon City.
However, the one that left the deepest impression in this city was the City Lord Mo Chen, as well as its group of dazzling Vice City Lords.
Two years ago, Mo Chen cleared her Great Tribulation of wind and fire, advancing to Martial Emperor.
On that day, great flames blazed, spreading throughout the entire sky. A nine-thousand-step Holy Fire Emperor's Road that was in no way inferior to Di Wuque's nine-colored Emperor's Road.
After Mo Chen removed her veil, everyone was startled. City Lord Mo Chen, who kept her face covered all the time, was actually a great beauty on par with Yue Bingyun, both of them possessing their own particular charm.
Although the Azure Dragon King did not advance to Martial Emperor, after Mo Chen, his good friends in the Dragon's Gate—Yue Chenxi, Gong Yangyu, Lan Tianji, Xiao Yu, and the other elders of the Dragon's Gate—all succeeded in their tribulations one after another.
Also, the Lunar Palace's former Holy Daughter, Yue Bingyun, usually stayed at Heavenly Dragon City. Two great beauties of the Kunlun Realm gathered at Heavenly Dragon City.
The reputation of a person was like the shadow of a tree. The larger a tree, the more it could cover. Likewise, one's reputation allowed one more influence.
Under the lead of Xiao Chen's good friends and confidants, the Dragon's Gate's reputation grew. It even seemed like it would become the center of the entire oceanic world.
Be it the various Holy Lands of the Heavenly Starry Ocean, the Black Sea, the Storm Sea or the Ice Sea, the various peak sects all had branches in Heavenly Dragon City.
Heavenly Star Island was still the same island as before; Heavenly Dragon City was still that same city. However, no one had mentioned the Azure Dragon King Xiao Chen's name for a long time already.
On this particular day, in the hall of the most bustling inn of Heavenly Dragon City, many cultivators discussed the latest news with gusto.
"Did you hear? Chu Yang, the Cyclic Astral Palace's Holy Son, defeated three outstanding Demon talents in the heart of the ocean. Even when fighting against three alone, he managed to kill his opponents. This is going to boost our Heavenly Starry Ocean's reputation."
"After the Holy Son Chu Yang advanced to Martial Emperor, he kept getting stronger. I heard that he is already as strong as a Fifth Heaven Martial Emperor!"
"This golden age really makes one sigh. These outstanding talents all undergo at least two lightning tribulations immediately after pushing open their Emperor's Door. All of them have overwhelming Luck, and their cultivations are quite terrifying. Just cultivating for one year is equivalent to ten or twenty years of bitter cultivation of the older generation."
"There is nothing to sigh at. This is a golden age. With the care of the Heavenly Dao, everything is possible. If these outstanding talents were not this strong, how would they contend against those royal clan outstanding talents of the Demonic World?"
"That's true. The Demon cultivators are getting increasingly arrogant. Now, they are already openly killing people in the Kunlun Realm."
"This has been the case since ancient times. The most glorious age has always been the most chaotic age. If the world is not chaotic, how can there be heroes?"
"That's right. It's only too bad that we do not have good Luck. Otherwise, we would be able to kill Demons in this chaotic age and gain fame for ourselves."
There were various conversations in the hall, all of them discussing the Holy Son Chu Yang's glorious exploits as well as the Demon cultivators that appeared in the Kunlun Realm.
When the topic shifted to the Demon cultivators, the discussions in the hall immediately reached a fever pitch.
Now, when people mentioned Demons, their expressions changed. In the past, they would only hear of Demon cultivators in legends. Demons would be seen only in the various great forbidden lands. Occasionally, there would be stories of Demon experts killing Kunlun Realm cultivators or humiliating them.
Now, when encountering the Demons, the Kunlun Realm cultivators of the various races would put aside their grudges and work together against the common enemy.
Chu Yang's ability to kill three Demon experts so easily helped this group of ordinary cultivators vent their frustrations.
"Humph!"
Just as the discussion reached its climax, a person arrived at the top of the staircase and snorted coldly, radiating coldness from his body.
Together with this coldness, extremely terrifying Demonic Qi came from this person. The bustling hall immediately fell silent; no one said another word.
A careful look would find a purple mark on this person's forehead—the mark of the royal clan in the Demonic World.
The hearts of the cultivators in the hall sank right away. Unexpectedly, a Demon royal clan expert was staying in this inn.
As this person sauntered down and took in the silent hall, an expression of disdain flashed in his eyes.
"The ignorant are innocent. Only trash like you would dare to boast so loudly, speaking so arrogantly. If all the so-called Holy Sons of your Heavenly Starry Ocean stood before me, Feng Ziyi, they would not dare to say such words. Bunch of trash!"
"Feng Ziyi! It's him. He is a royal clan outstanding talent of the Deep Abyss Demonic World's Winged Demon's line. In the past few years, he has killed several Martial Emperors of our Kunlun Realm. Even the Heavenly Province Academy's Holy Son fell at his hands."
"We are in trouble now. How did such a pestilence appear here?"
When the cultivators in the hall heard Feng Ziyi's name, they started muttering to themselves. They no longer dared to raise their heads to size up this person lest they attract trouble to themselves.
"Hehe! Feng Ziyi, what a familiar name. I recall such a person now. You came to visit the Dragon's Gate three times before, wanting to find the Azure Dragon King Xiao Chen to fight him, to wash away the humiliation of the past. In the end, you always failed to meet with the Azure Dragon King, and Heavenly Dragon City's City Lord would defeat you. What's wrong? Are you here to embarrass yourself again?"
Just then, a voice speaking lazily rang out from the second floor, coming at an untimely moment.