Chapter 151: Zhu Kun Suppresses the Rebellion!
The shout contained not only the oppressive might of the soul, but also a pressure that made it impossible for anyone to resist—a pressure that, unlike the soul's, originated from the bloodline itself.
At the same time, deep within a towering great hall on the Eastern Dragon Island, an aged figure with snow-white hair and a beard that nearly brushed the ground sat quietly cross-legged.
That ancient and weathered silhouette, as still as a puppet, seemed as though it had existed there since time immemorial.
He was the most elderly member of the Taixu Ancient Dragon Clan still residing within the clan. He had witnessed the Ancient Dragon Clan's peak under Zhu Kun's reign and had also lived through the splitting apart of Dragon Island. He was the current Grand Elder of Eastern Dragon Island—Zhu Huo, a two-star peak Dou Sheng.
The present strongest of Eastern Dragon Island!
"Weng!"
At this moment, as Zhu Kun's voice resounded, streams of brilliant golden light abruptly burst forth from Zhu Huo's brow. A brightly shining dragon seal flickered faintly at his forehead. Such a massive disturbance instantly roused Zhu Huo, who had been immersed in deep cultivation.
"Boom!"
Zhu Huo suddenly opened his long-closed eyes. The somewhat dim hall instantly became as bright as daylight.
Having been hurriedly awakened from seclusion, Zhu Huo pressed both hands to his brow, where the dragon seal was producing waves of reactions. He froze briefly, then immediately prostrated himself on the great hall's floor, his entire body trembling uncontrollably.
"It is His Majesty... It is His Majesty's voice... Your Majesty, you have finally returned..."
A weeping cry, laden with boundless and complicated emotions, echoed throughout the great hall. Tears instantly streaming down his aged face, Zhu Huo wept like a child.
The next moment, Zhu Huo casually slashed his right hand through the void. A spatial rift nearly three zhang wide appeared within the hall. Zhu Huo's figure flickered and vanished from the spot.
In stark contrast, the three Dragon Kings were not remotely filled with such excitement.
Upon hearing this voice and sensing the bloodline pressure within him, the Western Dragon King stared into the void with a face full of terror and spoke with a trembling voice: "The fully awakened Dragon King bloodline... It's... the Old Dragon Emperor has returned?!"
Considering this worst possible outcome, the Western Dragon King's face instantly turned deathly pale. Trembling uncontrollably all over, he no longer even had the courage to step out of his great hall.
No one understood Zhu Kun's strength and methods better than they did!
The Southern Dragon King, similarly ashen-faced, collapsed despondently to the ground, muttering under his breath: "It's over... The Old Dragon Emperor has returned... Everything is over..."
The Northern Dragon King, his expression dark and sinister, shattered the table before him with a single palm strike and roared furiously: "Impossible! It can't be him! Ten thousand years—nearly ten thousand years already—why must you still come back?! Why haven't you died yet?!"
After venting his rage, the Northern Dragon King muttered in a vicious, ruthless tone: "If you want me dead, then the Ancient Dragon Clan can forget about having an easy ending either."
Thinking this, the Northern Dragon King slowly vanished within the resplendently magnificent great hall.
"Swoosh—"
A spatial rift appeared nearby, and Zhu Huo's trembling figure stepped out from within.
The moment he appeared, Zhu Huo stared blankly at the middle-aged man with long, purplish-gold hair before him—as if his very soul had abandoned his body.
"Your Majesty, the Old Dragon Emperor, is it truly you?"
Gazing upon Zhu Kun's face, simultaneously familiar and foreign, long-buried memories surfaced in Zhu Huo's heart. His body quivered uncontrollably with agitation, and once again, old tears streamed down his face.
"It's Zhu Huo." Looking at Zhu Huo's aged figure, Zhu Kun spoke expressionlessly. Then he questioned: "Where is Zhu Mu? Zhu Wu? Zhu Ming? And all the rest—where the hell have they all died off to?!"
Seeing the current state of the Ancient Dragon Clan, Zhu Kun could not suppress the fury surging from his heart and rebuked them coldly.
"When this Emperor left back then, I ordered them to watch over the Ancient Dragon Clan. And this is how they watched over it for me?!"
Hearing Zhu Kun's words, Zhu Huo's body trembled even more violently. With a "plop," he knelt in the void and wept: "Your Majesty! It is truly you, Your Majesty! Your Majesty!!"
Although Zhu Huo was now the most aged dragon of the Ancient Dragon Clan, back when Zhu Kun had held dominion over the Taixu Ancient Dragon Clan, he had been nothing more than a mere youth.
Behind him, more and more Taixu Ancient Dragons who had hurried over from the four Dragon Islands watched this scene, unable to suppress their shock. No one had ever expected that the legendary previous Dragon Emperor, long thought to have vanished, was actually still alive in this world—and had returned!
At this moment, the people of Eastern Dragon Island could not help but tremble with excitement, while those from the Southern, Western, and Northern Islands could not suppress their terror.
They had to know—they were standard traitors. Though not the ringleaders, being accomplices was something none of them could escape. Now that Zhu Kun had returned, what fate awaited them?
"We pay respects to His Majesty the Dragon Emperor!!!"
"We pay respects to His Majesty the Dragon Emperor!!!"
"We pay respects to His Majesty the Dragon Emperor!!!"
The people of Eastern Dragon Island were the first to react. With expressions of fanatical fervor, they instantly knelt behind Zhu Huo and shouted in unison.
Off to the side, the experts from the other three Dragon Islands saw this scene, and their complexions also shifted slightly. They were not of Eastern Dragon Island. Due to their long-term obedience to the three Dragon Kings, they had not yet reacted in time.
"Xia Sha! Qing Yan! How dare you—seeing the Dragon Emperor and yet not kneeling!" Zhu Huo abruptly turned his head and roared furiously at the people of the three Dragon Islands.
"Shua—"
Sure enough, upon hearing Zhu Huo's words, the experts of the other three islands could not help but change expression. Looking at Zhu Kun's face, dark and overcast as if water might drip from it, their hearts trembled violently. They hurriedly followed behind the Eastern Dragon Island crowd and spoke with quavering voices.
"We pay respects to His Majesty the Dragon Emperor!"
"Good, good, good! This Emperor has only been gone a short while, and the Ancient Dragon Clan has actually become such a sight!" Seeing this, Zhu Kun could not help but laugh coldly.
Hearing Zhu Kun's icy voice, the members of the Ancient Dragon Clan could not help but tremble. As Zhu Kun's cold laughter fell, the pressure emanating from his body grew even more overpowering.
"Zhu Huo, speak. When did the Ancient Dragon Clan turn into this state? This Emperor didn't even know that the Ancient Dragon Clan now had Dragon Kings? Three three-star Dou Sheng Dragon Kings at that—aren't you afraid of making people laugh their teeth out? And where have Zhu Mu and the others gone?"
Zhu Kun shifted his gaze toward Zhu Huo and asked with a cold sneer.
Zhu Huo lowered his head somewhat shamefully and spoke in a grief-stricken voice: "Your Majesty, this matter must begin from when you took the Princess and left the clan..."
Zhu Huo sank into a long recollection.
Jiang Yun and the four women had been perfectly qualified melon-eating spectators from the very start. Now, hearing Zhu Huo's detailed account, Zi Yan could not help but mock: "With this kind of control, he still had the nerve to wander around everywhere? Living to such an old age for nothing—can't even tell when others have wolfish ambitions..."
Hearing Zi Yan's words, Jiang Yun and the others struggled to hold back their amusement. In this solemn setting, only Zi Yan dared to speak so casually.
Of course, Zi Yan wasn't truly mocking her own father; rather, she was complaining about Zhu Kun's arrogance back in the day!
After all, it was because of his arrogance that she had ended up stranded outside, and it had also caused the Ancient Dragon Clan to split apart. Fortunately, the Ancient Dragon Clan's geographic location was superior; otherwise, over ten thousand years, their nest would likely have been turned upside down by outsiders several times already.
As expected, upon hearing Zi Yan's words, Zhu Kun's old face immediately darkened. As for Zhu Huo and the others, they deeply lowered their heads. This was not something they should be listening to—it would mean trouble.
"Three beasts, still not rolling out before this Emperor!"
Unable to vent his anger at his daughter, Zhu Kun could only pour all his fury onto the three chief culprits.
As Zhu Kun's rage ignited, the very sky above the entire Ancient Dragon Island began to darken considerably. Vast, mighty heaven-and-earth energy howled behind him, connecting the heavens and the earth. Seen from afar, it resembled an endless, boundless energy tide, the sound of its crashing waves ringing out without cease.
An energy tide—generally speaking, such a thing would only take form during heavenly phenomena. That kind of grand, sweeping spectacle was something beyond the reach of human power.
And yet now, an energy tide that should only appear once in a hundred years was condensed into form by Zhu Kun with just a single thought.
On the present Dou Qi Continent, only four individuals—Gu Yuan, Hun Tiandi, Nihility Devouring Flame, and Zhu Kun, all nine-star Dou Shengs—could accomplish this.
Though this 'Zhu Kun' was presently only a soul clone, he possessed an Emperor Realm soul. By relying on that, he could also achieve the same feat.
Watching that energy tide churn and roil, the pressure spreading out from it, the members of the Ancient Dragon Clan were all left utterly silent with fear. Even though they were the darlings of space,
able to roam freely through the void, they harbored no doubt that if they were swept up into it, both their bodies and even their souls would shatter into nothingness under that terrifying pressure.
"Swoosh!"
At that very moment, two streaks of golden light sped swiftly into the distance. Jiang Yun fixed his gaze upon them. They were two middle-aged men—precisely the Western Dragon King and the Southern Dragon King. Right now, they were fleeing desperately into the distance, heedless of all else, seeking the slimmest chance of survival.
"Can you get away?" Seeing this, Zhu Kun sneered coldly. With a beckoning wave, a golden longsword that seemed to flow like liquid slowly took form. A kind of destructive force quietly pervaded the air. At the same time, an icy voice, laden with a strange, oppressive might, spread outward.
"The Dragon-Slaying Sword!"
"It's the Dragon-Slaying Sword!"
All those kneeling on the ground, now gazing at the longsword in Zhu Kun's hand, could not help but shudder. A feeling of dread and terror transmitted from their very bloodlines. The Dragon-Slaying Sword was the thing that every Taixu Ancient Dragon feared most within their hearts.
At this moment, they all could not suppress the urge to submit in their hearts—and unlike merely yielding to Zhu Kun's prestige and strength just moments ago, this was true, heartfelt submission.
Many of them had never experienced the era of Zhu Kun's rule. They did not understand Zhu Kun. But the instant Zhu Kun summoned the Dragon-Slaying Sword, everything changed.
"Zi Yan, watch carefully. This is the Ancient Dragon Clan's method for executing traitors. Only by summoning the Dragon-Slaying Sword can one become the true Dragon Emperor!"
Zhu Kun's gaze was fixed icily on the distance as his deep, low voice rang out. Zi Yan stared intently at the longsword in Zhu Kun's hand, her expression deadly serious, and nodded.
"Traitorous wretches! The Dragon-Slaying Sword—slaughter them!"
As his voice fell, Zhu Kun swung two strokes toward the Western Dragon King and Southern Dragon King, who had already fled to who-knows-what distance.
As the Dragon-Slaying Sword slashed down, a peculiar fluctuation seemed to spread out from the sword tip with lightning speed.
The two fleeing figures in the distance seemed to sense something, but Zhu Kun's attack was simply too fast. It bizarrely bored straight through the void and lightly traced across their bodies.
"Tear!"
The fluctuation swept past, leaving four halves of bodies where they had been. The Western Dragon King and Southern Dragon King had been directly cleaved in two by Zhu Kun. The cuts were exceedingly smooth. Behind the dragon scales, blood poured out like streams, and the pulsing internal organs within could faintly be seen.
For ninth-rank magical beasts, their tenacious vitality meant that even being split in two would not kill them immediately. Yet...
The Dragon-Slaying Sword's attack seemed filled with utter destruction. The Western Dragon King and Southern Dragon King directly sank into darkness—not a single trace of vitality remaining within their bodies.
"Boom!"
At that moment, a scarlet, blood-red light surged from the Northern Dragon Island, looking as if it had been dyed and stained with blood, appearing quite sinister and ghastly.
"The Dragon Transformation Demon Array! The Dragon Transformation Demon Array—that scoundrel of a Northern Dragon King! This is a forbidden art of the Ancient Dragon Clan, destroyed thousands of years ago. How could he possibly perform it?!"
Seeing this, countless experts of the Ancient Dragon Clan could not help but curse furiously.
"Your Majesty the Dragon Emperor! There are still countless subjects of the Ancient Dragon Clan on Northern Dragon Island—they are all innocent! We beseech Your Majesty to act and save them!" The experts of Northern Dragon Island, having just submitted, suppressed the trembling in their hearts and kowtowed toward Zhu Kun from afar.
"Zi Yan, what do you think?" Zhu Kun ignored the crowd's desperate pleas. Instead, looking calmly at Zi Yan beside him, he asked, "Save... or not save?"
Hearing Zhu Kun's words, everyone's gazes involuntarily turned toward Zi Yan.
A look of bewilderment appeared in Zi Yan's eyes for the first time. Hearing the anguished wails coming from Northern Dragon Island and seeing the pleading looks of the clan members around her, Zi Yan felt an unbearable pang in her heart. She looked at Zhu Kun and spoke seriously.
"Father, they are all subjects of our Ancient Dragon Clan! They were merely deceived before. We cannot stand by and do nothing!"
Hearing Zi Yan's words, the crowd could not help but cast grateful glances at her. At the same time, a flash of understanding passed through their hearts—so this was the Dragon Emperor's daughter!
Meaning, the Princess!
"Good. We shall listen to Zi Yan. Give them a chance!" Zhu Kun's eyes brimmed with a smile as he spoke gently.
The Ancient Dragon Clan would ultimately be handed into Zi Yan's hands. A benevolent ruler suited it better than a ruthless one.
As for ruthlessness—having him was enough!
And if that wasn't enough, that brat Jiang Yun was no easy pushover either. Benevolence would not cause Zi Yan to suffer loss!
At the very least, the current members of the Ancient Dragon Clan were filled with gratitude toward Zi Yan!
"Haha! So what if you're the Dragon Emperor?! As a Dragon King of the Ancient Dragon Clan, dragging a quarter of the Ancient Dragon Clan down to be buried with me—my life hasn't been in vain!"
From within the dense, blood-red light, reeking of gore, came the Northern Dragon King's mad, manic laughter!
"Whether my subjects live or die—is that for you to decide?"
At that very moment, Zhu Kun's icy voice rang out. Terrifying soul pressure descended and suppressed, causing the Northern Dragon King's mind to go completely blank. The great array's operation instantly faltered for a split second.
In the next instant, a dazzling arc of sword light swept past. The recovering Northern Dragon King only heard a single, merciless voice before his mind plunged into eternal darkness.
"Vile dragon—execution is your due!"
The next moment, a vast surge of purplish-gold light flashed past. In an instant, the blood light shrouding Northern Dragon Island seemed to meet its nemesis and rapidly dissolved.
Before long, gazing upon the restored Northern Dragon Island, Zhu Kun looked at the Northern Dragon King's corpse and sneered contemptuously: "A forbidden art?"
"Just something this old man was done playing with ages ago!"