Ascent of the Beast King

Settling Accounts

As soon as he left the house, Lin shot up into the sky and hovered there, 200 metres above the city. He looked into the distance at the jade-white tower locked in the coils of a massive stone python. He closed his eyes and sent out his will, as he did so, his body constantly flickered resembling a projection more than a flesh and blood human being.

He could sense all of the civilians in their houses, sitting by their fires, sleeping in their beds, the stoves cooking in the kitchens, the children busy at play, but he ignored all this. Instead, he focused only on the figures not in their homes, the black-armoured men. He breathed in deeply then snorted and exhaled, 'Hah!" He pushed his hands out in front of him. Immediately, every single one of them dropped to the floor, unconscious. His body seemed a little fainter than before.

He strolled through the air towards the tower. He stood atop it, reached down, and tapped the air by his feet. Gold lightning spat itself into being and hissed at his touch as it snaked round a massive dome that spread out from the tower's spire surrounding the palace.

"As expected, old friend." He made his hand into a fist then slammed the bottom down onto the shield, there was a cracking noise and the sound of mirrors shattering as not only it, but two more shields beneath it, shattered, one purple, the other also gold.

He looked around suspiciously at the ground beneath him.

"Why is everything so quiet?" He closed his eyes and focused his core-sense on the palace. He could sense Igbo, but why hadn't he responded yet? He threw some qi at the roof to break a hole in it, just big enough for him to fit, then jumped through.

When he landed, he was in a walkway in a vast hall, on either side of it from the door all the way up to a series of steps, there were black-armoured guards. Some of them were shaking, clenching the weapons in their hands to stop themselves trembling.

"Yu Dao!" A man stood, his arms held out in a welcoming gesture, at the top of the steps on a raised platform. Spiky black hair ran down his back all the way to his waist, with sharp eyes and a thin nose with a knife-blade edge at the bottom. A long flowing white gown with low-hanging sleeves covered his tall, muscular figure.

"Igbo." The man formerly known as Lin said coldly.

"Come, eat." He gestured behind him to a table filled with delicacies. "We have much to discuss."

"You were meant to act as an advisor, not a puppet-master."

Igbo frowned. "Oh. I see." He inspected his fingernails, flicking imaginary dirt from their immaculate cleanliness. "Luckily I prepared for this scenario." A magnificent katana, over a metre long, glistening silver with a ghostly green vapour curling out from its edges in smoky tendrils that licked the air, as if they desired to devour it, appeared in Yu Dao's hands. There was a huge roar outside, it carried a might that shook the earth.

"An Earth-Shatterer. It will destroy the city if you do not stop it." Igbo inspected his fingers, peering at them closely, as if entranced by something, then snapped to reality and turned to Yu Dao, "it took a lot of convincing for my master to lend me one. But it was worth it to see you die."

"Your master? And who would that be? Which devil," Yu Dao spat the word out onto the floor, "did you sell your life to?" Igbo only smirked in return then pointed to the sky, "You have a little problem to deal with."

"Yes. And you will flee while I fight it, I suppose." Igbo stood there, a silent smile on his face. "You underestimate me, old friend. Killing you now is as easy," his figure flashed as he appeared in front of Igbo and thrust his hand into the latter's chest intending to rip his heart out, "as taking sweets from a..." A look of shock warped Yu Dao's face. "Astral form!"

"I have gone already old friend." Igbo smiled, victorious. Yu Dao's confusion gave birth to a smile, "very well, I'll have to borrow your power then." Yu Dao's fist, still lodged in his chest, now began to absorb his body, sucking it in. As it did so, Yu Dao grew taller, his shoulders broader and back wider. His body, which had been slightly faint before was now vividly glowing with life.

He looked to the sky then threw himself upwards and hurtled vertically through the hole he had made.

A massive dragon, golden-green scales and diamond-shaped, coal-black eyes hovered. Its wings spanned the length of the city, almost 100 km wide from tip to tip and 32 km tall. An awe-inspiring sight.

Below, many of the citizens had come out into the streets and now cowered below in fear. A few ran about screaming, looking for escape, but in the darkness cast by its wings, escape was impossible. Li Dan and Li Jia watched from the upstairs window of their home.

Yu Dao made some seals, twisting his hands into a variety of shapes and drawing symbols in the air. Suddenly a vortex swirled round his body causing the energy of the world to be sucked in towards his body. This was not a physical thing but rather a spiritual vortex formed for the purpose of drawing in the natural abundant source energy of the world around the user.

His body began to grow in size until he was 20 km tall. The glowing katana in his hand jumped up and, if one listened carefully, a tiny high-pitched snort could be heard from it as it also grew in size to fill his hand. He looked at the dragon, scanning it with his core-sense.

"Earth Shatterer, a 6th-level Immortal too." A joyful smile appeared on his face. "Very well! I will take some pointers from you before your death." The dragon stared at its new adversary and roared. There is only space for one of us under this sky it seemed to be saying. Yu Dao agreed. Now it was time to find out which one.