OBLIVION AND GLORY

The shield was round, a pale white so faint it appeared see-through, and absolutely gargantuan. As it grew, pushing the assailers away with unmatched force, its body soon surpassed a thousand feet in diameter, covering the Evil Saint's forces like an ephemeral dome.

A thick mass of Qi danced atop its surface, the outline of an albino oak shrouding the bulwark like a deity's apparition casting a shadow onto its vessel.

Beyond the main body of the white shield, the residue mass of Qi strands - so thick they flowed like a liquid - poured down its surface like a waterfall. As the land was drenched in their richness, countless oaks sprouted from the inert dirt!

In the blink of an eye, the barren ground had been terraformed and transformed anew: an entire forest of albino oaks, birthed by sheer, overflowing Qi.

The shield, of course, was the White-Tree-Qi Martial Way that Xiao Lan had picked out from the Xiao Clan Armory as a youth; a White Oak Aegis!

The purple-haired youth's violet lips were curled into a confident smile, as the ethereal glow in his emerald eyes betrayed the presence of yet another Martial Way, a Purple Moon, hidden somewhere in his surroundings.

Being on edge from the battle he had just fought, and with the Purple Moon's enhancements which he had merely toned down and yet to fully dispel, it was only natural that he'd be able to react to an ambush of such calibre.

"I'm debating whether this is more unforgivable or foolish... Daring to sneak past our patrols and sneakily attack Boss, how crooked!" Xiao Lan chuckled without too much care. Even his expression was as relaxed as it could get.

It was only then that Xiao Wu noticed the Evil Saint's hold on Mirror had considerably changed, clearly easing his grip as he lowered the massive greatsword. It finally dawned on her that Xu Ling might have foreseen the approaching enemies from the moment he had conjured Mirror.

Xiao Lan slapped himself on the forehead, "Where are my manners? As soon as I noticed mere Saint Stage Clones dared attack Boss, this servant was so angered that I ended up using a slightly heavier hand in a fit of rage! To be bullying these two pitiful clones, looking back on it now, this servant is really, truly, embarrassed... But at least, the fact that I am not the most embarrassed person here allows this mere servant to be able to heave a sigh of relief!"

Xiao Lan shook his head with a dejected sigh as his pair of emerald eyes visibly gleamed with pity, "Just the remote thought of sending two mere Ageless Realm clones to assassinate Boss, this servant is sure the real bodies must be running to their parents' grave to cry for three days and three nights, wondering why exactly had their daddy and mummy been so careless to drop them on their head as a child..."

"Finally, this servant understands why it is that Tyrant Dragons are so few in number! No wonder, no wonder, it's just natural selection at work."

"I heard that a group of Tyrant Dragons once tried to play chess. They gave up after realizing that the pieces were smarter than they were."

"Do you know why Tyrant Dragons always have that angry expression on their faces? But of course, it's because they're constantly trying to remember where they left their brain cells."

"I was wondering how mere Tyrant Dragons got to be Immortal, but I see that's because The Fifth outright refuses to even let them near his Realm!"

"Once, I heard that a flock of Tyrant Dragons were plotting to bring the Land of Countless Planes to ruin. I was immediately relieved and readied myself for a long, pleasant vacation, waiting for them to somehow establish a utopia I've always dreamed of."

"I heard that Tyrant Dragons are terrible at math. When they try to count their hoard of treasure, they usually end up eating the coins instead."

"Do you know why Tyrant Dragons have such a bad temper? But of course, it's because they're constantly constipated from eating all that gold-"

"Ah! Of course, I don't mean to call your main bodies idiotic... that'd be untactful. After all, saying something so insulting to any retard such as comparing them to a Tyrant Dragon..."

Xiao Lan's mouth began to spout even more absurd and obscene profanities as he went on. His incessant stream of anecdotes that had started by sending a few jabs at the two dragons now saw the two poor beasts staring wide-eyed at the young, emerald-eyed youth with pure, undisguised shock!

From giving stupid answers to riddles, it eventually escalated to exaggerated myths ("And so, taking the fresh shit of a seagull and merging it with a bull's buttocks, the Tyrant Dragon Ancestor was born...").

However, the way Xiao Lan artfully told these stories, as if he was not aware that his words were in the least bit improper and even made himself sound like a stern teacher made the onlookers erupt!

Where's the Bright in this Brightfolk???

The humans and beasts, members of the Evil Saint's army, who had been witnessing the scene from a distance, were all long since roaring with laughter!

Every single one of them, no matter how much they attempted to hold it back, by the time Xiao Lan finally stopped, were all panting, out of breath and on the verge of asphyxiation. Even a cultivator of considerable renown, rumoured to have a heart of ice and to have never been seen smiling: called the Stone-Faced Monarch by some and Cold-Hearted Paragon by others, had long since dropped his image. From that moment on, the King could only abdicate his throne amidst the tears and convulsions.

To stop laughing in such an unsightly manner and regain their cool, all of them had to rotate their cultivation bases more than once...

And none of their cultivations was any lower than the Ageless Realm!

Due to the unlikely situation, it took a while for the two dragon clones to recover from their shock. But even then, faced with such insults, the two clones that were so enraged they wished to tear Xiao Lan apart, inch by inch, couldn't do anything. The toughness of the flying shield was such that, even if they were to use their full strength, they would not be able to scratch it!

To think this mere Imperial Stage runt would have methods of the Immortal calibre, they were absolutely helpless!

Furthermore, as mere clones with a lacking consciousness, not quite developed enough to allow them to retort, even though Xiao Lan kept spitting such venomous insults, the two of them could do nothing but roar with primal rage!

Xu Ling had barely cracked a smile during the whole thing, but alas he eventually sighed with feeling and interrupted the onslaught, "Little Lan, you took on their forces and now won't even let two clones approach."

Xiao Wu's field of view shook from side to side, as the Evil Saint chuckled bitterly, "Won't you even give me a chance to warm up before their originals come?"

Hearing that, the two clones of the 'Yin and Yang' Tyrant Dragons, Grand Protectors of the Tyrant Dragon Hall, broke out into a cruel sneer.

For now that their main bodies had arrived, not to mention a single White Oak Shield, would ten, or even a hundred of them be enough to save those vexing pests?

'Oh Saint with Vainglory worthy of a Dragon, you truly amuse This Lord...'

Xiao Wu was horrified as her mind arranged itself into those words and thoughts that were foreign to her.

-The 'true voice' of an Immortal, speaking through the Qi. Again, an imitation that I interpreted in a way that you could let you experience it as an Ageless would.

'...It felt as if it was dictating my own thoughts to arrange into what I should be thinking about.'

-That's because Immortals can communicate through the Qi strands, and the Ageless are particularly sensitive to changes in the World of Qi. The sensation would be nowhere near as uncomfortable, were an Immortal to talk to you, a Mortal, right now. Well, it was important that you experienced it in advance, but I'll tone it down from now on.

As Xiao Wu regained her wit, she noticed how the entire world had quieted down. The complexions of all Ageless present had visibly darkened, and they all looked at the same spot above them.

In the crimson sky, hovering a few thousand feet away from the garrison, were two startling behemoths.

Yang Tyrant Dragon, Oblivion and Yin Tyrant Dragon, Glory!

Where the two clones on the ground resembled mere serpents, the Tyrant Dragons had wings that spanned for miles, burly arms fitted with sharp talons, and tails adorned with shocking spikes.

They had draconic bodies adorned in gold and silver scales respectively. With each scale harder than most alloys could ever hope to match, they arranged into an enviable set of impenetrable armour.

The source of their dragon flames, the Long-Huo Gems, shone brilliantly on the Yin and Yang Tyrant Dragon's chests, glowing a bright, pure white and a dark, corrupted black. A crest of horns resembling a crown grew atop the dragons' forehead, with locks of dragonfire burning past the tips, and down their back like a fiery mane.

As Xiao Wu admired the spectacle of gold and silver burning white and black, her heart fluttered as the two Immortals began their descent.

The golden Tyrant Dragon, Oblivion, sneered, and this time his voice rang out as if a human were talking. "With the Heaven Devouring Dragon not here and nowhere to flee, you taunt and jeer. This Lord commends your unfounded arrogance."

The silver Tyrant Dragon, her voice as cold as the arctic winds and as shrill as the sound of metal hitting metal, declared, "In a few instants, not even a single speck of ash will remain. With that, let alone Blindlight, even if the Primordial Emperors themselves were to descend, it wouldn't change a thing."

Her unpleasant voice carried a derisive tone as she questioned, "What exactly were you thinking?"

Surely enough, the gap between the Immortal and Ageless Realm was nothing to be sneezed at.

Being able to silence and pressure an army of thousands just by talking, was an insurmountable chasm that could not be any clearer! And yet, although their face may have turned pale... none of the Evil Saint's ranks donned an expression of despair!

"Hey Boss... Do you think that a cow's asshole might be jealous of the amount of bullshit that just came out of their mouth?" Xiao Lan chuckled nonchalantly. With an illogical spike to his aura, a translucent oak tree surrounded his body, while the violet glow in his eyes had become so blindingly bright it was as if two violet suns had popped up into existence!

"Ahah, I'm not quite sure..." Xu Ling smiled as a yellow hue spread from his pupils and dyed his starry eyes golden.

"What I do believe, however, is that if someone were to call me an idiot, I surely wouldn't have opened my mouth to prove it."

Through the polished surface of Mirror, Xiao Wu could see a gargantuan wheel had materialized behind his back. Then, the Evil Saint's focus fell onto the countless corpses below: as Xu Ling closed his right eye, Xiao Wu witness the corpses of the enemies that Xiao Lan had slain magically disappear, like a mirage.

The gigantic blade was raised, as if in prayer.

Through it, Xiao Wu could make out the doorway to a world in the reflection of the Evil Saint's left eye...

A world with mountains of corpses as tall as the skies, and where a golden sun shone down eerily from a starless, black sky.

The corpses bled profusely, so much so a blood ocean had already covered all visible soil. The mountains of dead bodies stuck out as a macabre archipelago in that vast sea.

The golden sun was cold and glacial. Everything its rays fell upon would begin to lose its colour.

They'd grow less and less corporeal, ethereal and immaterial.

And in the depths of that vision, now lay yet one more mountain; the corpses from the earlier battle had moved there! Their colours trickled upwards into the golden sun, fueling the golden wheel behind him to turn, and turn, and turn...

After that, Mirror twirled elegantly, each swing carving deep scars into the ground around him.

"You did well bringing your Long-Huo gems to me, you laughable pair."

The flat blade pointed straight up at the two fiends, without the slightest tremor.

"The pitiful embers in your chest bring dishonour to the moniker of Dragon; to the name Long-Huo!"

Mirror gleamed, as the Evil Saint's presence washed over the scene like a radiant sun.

"Fret not. I shall remind the world of True Dragonflame in your wasteful stead."