A figure wearing a black cloak hurried up a set of stairs as he laughed in excitement "What luck! What great luck! Have the heavens blessed me?"
He kicked the ground at each step, jumping over tens of steps at each leap, all this done without any enhancing by any Cultivation Base, it was merely through the man's power.
After several minutes of running and jumping, the man finally arrived in front of a large black door. It was really tall and, on the top, there where several demons depicted out of the same black material.
The man smiled and waved his hand: the cloak fell down revealing a completely black robe. It looked just like the sect elders robes, a single robe with few decoration, except this was black and had a few sprinkles of gold here and there.
On its back, the words Long Yin Hei - Shadow Dragon [Note: Like Lao Jianghu (Laohu - Tiger), a play with words: Long - dragon, Yin(yang) - shadow. All protectors hold similar titles which are wordplays from their name] were depicted in large, edgy characters.
The font made it look like the words had been carved by the claws of a mysterious beast and they were crimson, the color of blood.
He was tall and thin, he had long wavy hair that fell below the shoulders and his eyes were yellow, a golden yellow with a black vertical pupil, like a snake's.
He casually waved his sleeve again and the black door faded away, as if it had never been there, as if it was only... A shadow.
The man walked into the large room: it was completely black, without a single ray of light shining inside: it was the tower of the First Protector, Long Yin Hei, a tower made out of shadows!
He casually stepped forward and sat on the black throne. He trembled and then grinned excitedly "I have found a treasure, and at such a convenient time too! Now, not even that annoying woman will be able to stop me, I, the Shadow Dragon, will soon return!"
He clenched his fist as he stared at the ceiling "After so much time... I will free myself of this curse, of this seal! Chu Sai!"
The air trembled and another figure appeared. He wore black clothes that covered every part of his body except for his eyes and carried five katanas on his back and sides.
He kneeled and lowered his head "You have called me, Sir?"
Yin Hei smiled "Chu Sai... For so many years you have followed me, for so many years you have protected me from the shadows... Now, all that work will be rewarded! Because, you see, we have won! Nobody can stop us now! Even if somebody had the strength of a god, he would be unable to stop us!"
He sighed and abandoned himself on the throne "Such a great feeling... A feeling that all my effort have not been wasted, do you know what I mean?" He looked up "The fated battle will soon begin. We have waited for years for this chance, now that the heavens have decided to help us, we are going all out! Call back the Shadow Legion and tell them to prepare. We will head out in a week!"
Chu Sai silently listened to his Lord's speech but then nodded and propped himself up. He put a hand on his left chest and spoke "Yes, my lord! I will head out right now!"
The air trembled once again and Chu Sai disappeared, transforming into a black blur shooting through the night sky.
Yin Hei chuckled "You foolish Tiger, foe of mine, do you finally understand? I am the strongest! In one week, I will erase the remaining opposition in this school and destroy the seal that has been holding me down for centuries!"
The black robed man gritted his teeth and his eyes gleamed "You, who have not yet awoken, have no way to stop that, I would love to see your face trembling in fear, as you finally realize... That I am stronger! I will free myself of this world and fly to the ninth level of the sky! Ahahahahah... Ahahah... Ahah... Ah... Ah..."
He stopped laughing and banged his fist on the throne made out of shadows "How dare you imprison me! I will have my revenge, you puny Tiger, I am the lord of the shadows, the bearer of the Night! I am the being of the darkness, unlit by light! I am... The Shadow Dragon!"
As he shouted, the roar of a dragon also sweeped outwards and the outline of a black, snake-like dragon coiling around Yin Hei could be seen.
...
In a dark room, a figure stood up. He wore golden robes and had long white hair as well as sharp, penetrating, golden eyes.
On his back were the words 'Lao Jianghu - Golden Tiger'. In front of him, a golden cloud hovered in midair. In the middle of that cloud was the faint outline of a sword... Suddenly, the blade flashed and began to glow.
Lao Jianghu excitedly waved his hand and a sword fell on the ground, the golden cloud also disappeared. It was golden in color and looked like a completely common long sword. The old man grabbed the blade, the fruit of his effort.
A single drop of sweat fell down his nose and he wiped it away "I have finished! After two months, I have finished! Bi Liang... Cheng Hao... We have made it! I have successfully completed it!"
He smiled and fell on his back "Such a long time, so much effort, such hardships, all for these... Worth it or not, I will find out in a week! Cheng Hao! I trust you have not been idle and have spared no effort to aid my comrades! I have put my trust in you, don't fail to repay me back!"
He looked at the ceiling above him: it was the familiar ceiling he had been in for most of the last two months, the ceiling made out of golden weapons of the Third Protector's Tower. Suddenly, a loud dragon's roar reverberated and the man lifted his head calmly.
He sighed "It seems... Like my enemy has also finished his preparations. This won't be an easy fight! But I have to win! For the fate of this Sect... This continent... And this world!"
He stood up and grabbed onto the golden longsword. He blinked once and examined the blade: it was perfect, not a single scratch could be made out on top of it.
"And you... You will be my tickets to victory!"
...
Cheng Hao opened his mouth wide "How can this be?" He gulped and he gaped. He muttered to himself "Is this... Possible?"
Seventeen men were lined up in front of him, each of them wearing a worn out Core Elder robe. The four black stripes had long faded away, washed away by the blood, sweat and tears.
The white robe had also gotten dirty with all sort of stuff, from dirt to blood, making it look quite unsightly. Yet, the people stood tall and proud, their faces full of cuts and bruises yet firm and righteous as they stared at the stunned child in front of them.
Cheng Hao lifted his head and his expression darkened "To think that in two months... Two months... You..." The boy angrily looked at them "Only reached up to the high level Sung stage! What the hell! You talentless lot, how is this possible! Explain it to me right this instant!"
Hearing Cheng Hao's yell, seventeen people looked down and trembled from the rage: some of them only had the strength of a peak Superior stage cultivator up until a while ago and yet they have almost advanced a whole realm in less than three months. Let alone talented, if someone had documented this they would have been labeled as monsters!
Cheng Hao then turned at the crowd of people behind the eighteen Core Elders. Their cultivation varied, but few were still in the Superior stage and most of them had a cultivation of the low Sung stage!
There were even a few who had reached the mid level Sung stage! Such a powerful group would be able to completely eradicate a whole country in a few weeks!
"You guys did well. To reach the peak Sung stage was just wild speculation as it would have been basically impossible. If only I had more time..." Cheng Hao sighed.
Hearing those words, everyone trembled: although they had gained an unbelievable increase in strength, those two months were without question, the harshest two months in their whole life!
"... Unfortunately, we don't" Cheng Hao continued and then turned "You have two hours to clean yourself up and gather your things. After this time is up, meet up at the main gate. We are going back"
Bi Liang smiled and stepped forward "Brother... Could it be-"
"Yes!" Cheng Hao smiled. He looked at the hundreds of people in front of him, each of their eyes burning with courage and will to fight. From the weakest to the strongest, from the youngest to the oldest, they were all elite warriors. Fighters he had trained himself.
Seeing this scene, Cheng Hao's smile turned into a fiendish grin "It's time to go back. The conflict may be about to start! So... How about we join in?"
He lifted his hand pointing to the sky "For victory! For our brothers and sisters, for wealth and fame!"
"For victory! For our brothers and sisters, for wealth and fame!"
It began with one loud shout. Then followed with another one, and more and more people began to join in until everyone was yelling the same thing
"For victory! For our brothers and sisters, for wealth and fame!" "For victory! For our brothers and sisters, for wealth and fame!"
"For victory! For our brothers and sisters, for wealth and fame!"
Cheng Hao smiled when suddenly, an even higher yell could be heard "For our one mentor and master, Devil Brat Cheng Hao!"
Cheng Hao turned and saw the two brothers Tai Fu and Tai Zu clapping at him. They grinning at him and winked. He sighed and smiled.
"For our one mentor and master, Devil Brat Cheng Hao!" Somebody else also shouted and began to clap. Cheng Hao stared blankly as even more people joined in.
"For our one mentor and master, Devil Brat Cheng Hao!" Soon, all Core Elders shouted these words and clapped.
"For our one mentor and master, Devil Brat Cheng Hao!" The Inner Elders also shouted and clapped until their throat got hoarse and their hands ached painfully, some whistled and cheered at this boy that had helped them so much.
"For our one mentor and master, Devil Brat Cheng Hao!" Bi Liang also laughed as he clapped eagerly: this was all thanks to his work and effort, they all knew that, deep down, he saw them all, both the young and the old, as little brothers. For that reason, he wasted no effort in helping them, he more than deserved this applause and cheering!
Cheng Hao couldn't help but widen his mouth. Then his expression changed into dejection. He looked down and murmured "That is right, you got into the hands of this Devil Brat and endured such harsh training... Wouldn't it be a shame if it all turned to waste by dying? How about we give up?"
Nobody started it this time, everyone shouted at once "Oh, F*** No!"
Cheng Hao chuckled and smiled fiercely "Then let's go... Let us go and kick some of those bastards' asses! Get revenge for your abuse and vent out your anger! TO VICTORY!!!!!"
"TO VICTORY!!!!!" This shout was so loud that the earth seemed to tremble, the clouds disperse and the oceans surge. It was a shout full of resentment, anger... And the Will To Fight!!!
###
Note: End of part two! Now, I will take a short break of a few days, I hope you will forgive me for that! The school year has just started so I won't be alway able to publish daily like I have been doing up until now...
I think that I will publish it once every two days, three chapters a week and then a bonus chapter if I have the time :) I've kept going with daily until now and I cannot hold on anymore, once I have a schedule I will notify you!
Thanks for reading Immortal Ascension Tower, I will keep working hard so count on me!