30 Unexpected Assault (End of Book 1: The Hoodlum Prince)

Long Bai Xin was to the dragons what Feng Wu Shuang was to the phoenixes; the most adored princess. Long Wei and Long Ming treated her like their elder sister while Long Xing Chen sheltered her like a little kitten. Thus, it wasn't hard to imagine why they would abandon their tasks to rush to her rescue.

In the meantime, at the other coffin locations, chaos ran amok. The serpent and fish clans were tied in a bloody deadlock with the tortoise and snail clans while the remaining dragon immortals were being suppressed by the demon saints and the Nature Realm's cultivators in another brutal confrontation.

Meanwhile, Cat Hou Hui had dived into the cave.

Icy, bone-chilling force emanated from the walls and struck all the immortals that had just dived in.

"Grrr…"

"S-o…so cold…"

"I c-can't b-bear this…"

The bird immortals were quickly rendered unable to endure the extreme cold and one after the other collapsed trembling on the ground. Even those of the phoenix and golden crow clans were not able to withstand the temperature.

Feng Wu Shuang was initially not much better off, but discrete yin laws summoned by Hou Hui solved her issue. As for Feng Wu Chen, he was relying on a mixture of his Dao Threading cultivation base and yang laws to resist.

Strangely, the cave's sky-blue walls also released a natural light that made the whole place look as clear as day. And seeing the collapsing bird immortals, Feng Wu Shuang brought them all into her interspatial ring.

Their short, uneventful trip quickly led them to the Heaven Shrouding Coffin which hovered in the air while surrounded in dark blue halos. Immediately, Feng Wu Chen shot toward it, but before he could get any close, thousands of stalactites shot from the above and below, sandwiching him in-between.

"Collapse!"

Vast blue-red fire burst from his form and clashed with the stalactites which melted under it only to be replaced by other salvos. Feng Wu Chen was forced backward and teetered onto the ground.

"Hateful!"

He couldn't accept being so close to the goal but being unable to grasp it.

"Why are you getting so agitated? Don't you see that my supreme cat is here to solve that little problem?"

Feng Wu Shuang complacently boasted while patting Cat Hou Hui's back.

"Meow!"

Cat Hou Hui's three eyes shone with dazzling golden flames, and in an instant, the temperature within the icy cave was reversed, going from extreme cold to extreme heat in the blink of an eyelid. Cat Hou Hui then waved his paw and in a resounding clang, the halos swirling around the coffins shattered.

The coffin then tumbled onto the ground.

Feng Wu Chen no longer knew what to say.

"What are you staring there slack-jawed for? Are you that mesmerized by my supreme cat? Sorry, already taken. Go get your coffin and let's get out of here."

Feng Wu Shuang snapped while wrapping her arms around Cat Hou Hui's neck in a show of ownership.

Cat Hou Hui purred and rubbed the back of his head against her, making Feng Wu Chen wonder if Hou Hui wasn't being cheated by a cat.

But knowing that time was of the essence, he switched his attention back on the coffin and flew toward it.

There was no resistance this time around, allowing Feng Wu Chen to safely pack the coffin within his interspatial ring.

The trio then turned into beams of light and flew out of the cave.

What awaited them on the outside, however, was beyond their expectations. Long Ming alongside his dragon immortals, Long Wei, and Long Xing Chen hovered in the air above the cave's entrance.

Seeing them, Feng Wu Chen despaired, and although she had Hou Hui by her side, Feng Wu Shuang's eyes were alarmed. Even Hou Hui was slightly annoyed.

Long Ming and his crew were nothing to worry about. Long Wei alone, he didn't fear. But as for Long Xing Chen, that was another story.

The Slaughter Prince of the Dragon Clan. That was his title, bestowed by the Heavenly Emperor himself. He was the Long Wei of the previous seven sons. Number one, never challenged, invincible in his generation. He paved his dao on the corpses of innumerable foes, staining his aura and qi with the stench of death.

He was now more than seven thousand years old, and his cultivation had reached…the peak of the Great Dao Immortal Realm. Also hailed as the most powerful immortal of the three realms, it was rumored that by the time he reached the age of ten thousand he would become a god.

If he just were a run in the mill peak stage Great Dao Immortal, it wouldn't matter. But his talent was earthshaking, and he had mastered four ancient paths in Dao Threading. Even if Hou Hui had an additional one, with the gap of an entire realm, this fight would at best be bloody. However, Long Xing Chen had yet to achieve wielding in all his paths. That was Hou Hui's greatest advantage.

Yet, assuming he could defeat him, with Long Wei by his side, this was sure to turn into a debacle.

"What the hell is Long Xing Chen doing here?"

Feng Wu Chen blurted in profound consternation. According to their intelligence, Long Xing Chen was supposed to be hunting rogue immortals within the middle heaven layer. Why did he suddenly appear in front of them?

"Deceived, we were deceived. From the very beginning, the emperor wanted to use this competition to wipe out the most talented juniors of our bird alliance…"

Feng Wu Shuang realized. And indeed, with Long Xing Chen's sudden appearance, her words were likely to be true.

To say nothing of them. Even Long Wei who stood by Long Xing Chen's side had come to the same conclusion. Long Xing Chen didn't fight.

He butchered!

While gently holding Long Bai Xin's still unconscious body within his arms, Long Xing Chen aimed his blazing, bloodshot eyes at the trio and bellowed.

"Who?! Who was it that harmed my princess? Give up the criminal and this prince can forgive your wretched lives!"

Long Xing Chen didn't believe that the likes of Feng Wu Chen could harm Long Bai Xin. Without a shred of doubt, someone else was to blame. But that person had to be related to them.

"Huh?"

His eyes then scrutinized the still hundred meters tall three-eyed white cat, and the tyrannical fluctuations of the natural laws he felt from it caused him to let go of all the others.

"It's you! Damnable beast, since you don't cherish your life, then die!"

With his windblown golden hairs fluttering at his back, Long Xing Chen raised his free palm and conjured nine golden fireballs which turned into massive golden flame spears that shot toward Cat Hou Hui.

The golden flame spears carried with them the force of a hundred thousand galloping horses, but Hou Hui was undisturbed and from his three eyes released dozens of green and white chains that warped around the flame spears and stopped their onslaught.

"Wu Shuang, I am afraid I can't have you on my back during this fight."

"Be careful. If push comes to shove, we can just run."

"No need. I really want to see…the skills of the so-called strongest immortal."

Feng Wu Shuang said no more and leaped from his back.

"Not bad. Long Ming, take care of Bai Xin while I deal with that creature."

Long Xing Chen then handed Long Bai Xin over to Long Ming and flew toward the three-eyed cat.

Talking about Long Ming, he was currently reeling from the trauma caused by the cat's previous beating and hoped Long Xing Chen could give him justice.

But at that time, the sky was reddened by the descent of thousands of red flame arrows which indiscriminately flew toward the gathered immortals.

Long Wei's hands moved in incantation gestures and raised a dome of golden light that repelled the flame arrows. Long Xing Chen's flight was interrupted, and he turned his attention to the origin of the bolts.

*Clap* *Clap* *Clap*

The clapping sound was followed by the appearance of a group of fifteen men and women dressed in black robes with embroidered red clouds. They were among the Demonic Realm's saints.

"What a grand party! With such festivities, you didn't think of inviting us demon saints? You are not looking down on us, right?"

Their leader, an ink haired youth with pitch black eyes that brimmed with the unconcealed desire to slaughter, asked.

"Huo You Ming!"

He was the Flame Demon Emperor's son Huo You Ming and standing at the peak of the Great Saint Realm, he was the most powerful of the demon saints. Unlike immortals who could live for a hundred thousand years, saints had very short lifespans. Even Great Saints had a lifespan of three to five thousand years. Yet, their cultivation road was not any more comfortable than immortals'. In fact, it was even harsher.

For that reason, there were fewer saints than immortals. But each of those saints could handle two immortals of the same level with ease. Thus, although Huo You Ming was not much older than Long Wei, he had already reached the end of the holy road.

"Since we are all gathered in this joyous occasion, let's party!"

Huo You Ming had been suppressing a belly full of anger due to his father's abuse at the hands of the Yin-Yang God, Zui Gao and had been seeking outstanding immortals to pummel. Now the opportunity was in front of him. Could he let it go?

"Twin Corpse Incantation."

In a haze of red light and fire, a perfect replica of himself appeared by his side, boasting cultivation perfectly equal to his. Together, they turned into flame meteors and darted toward Long Wei.

"Fight those of your level!"

Long Xing Chen stepped away from Hou Hui and was about to rush toward Huo You Ming when dozens of green and white chains soared through the air and shackled his path.

"You think that when you want to fight, you can fight, and when you want to leave you can leave? See how I break your arrogance!"

Hou Hui inwardly roared as a pair of white wings sprang from his back.

"Meow!"

"Then first die! Unified Great Dao!"

A golden sun shrouded in dazzling light rays and a dark moon shrouded by pitch black fog respectively appeared at Long Xing Chen's right and left.

The Unified Great Dao was the result of a Great Dao Immortal merging the ancient paths he grasped into an organic whole. Only when they had mastered more than one ancient path could they make use of it. Otherwise, the Law Domain was their sole alternative.

From Long Xing Chen's Unified Great Dao, the laws of yang, light, death, and darkness were palpable, with yang and death at the helm. He had achieved wielding in those two.

"Meow!"

Dazzling multicolor light erupted from Cat Hou Hui's body. His karmic wheel, eye of truth, miniature sun, yin lotus, and life crown appeared in succession, causing his momentum to soar.

"F-five?"

But Long Xing Chen wasn't given the opportunity to stare slack-jawed. Cat Hou Hui spread his wings and took flight, shooting toward him with unparalleled momentum.

*RUMBLE*

Without any superfluous style, Cat Hou Hui slammed into Long Xing Chen, causing his Unified Great Dao to tremble, and his body to fly backward in an earsplitting rumble.

And all hell broke loose.

The demon saints against the dragon immortal.

Huo You Ming against Long Wei.

Hou Hui against Long Xing Chen.

Blood, broken flesh, and magical abilities overflew with loud crashes and thunderous roars spreading across the sky.

But at that time, a beam of black and white light descended from the vault of heaven and indiscriminately struck all the clashing cultivators!

*Puff*

Regardless of cultivation base, they all flew into random directions while the foreign force lingered within their dantians and corroded them from the inside out.

Hou Hui was the first to stabilize his wound and turn his gaze toward the origin of that blow. To his great surprise, it wasn't a person but a grey spinning wheel from which he could feel many profound principles.

It was the Great Cycle Wheel.

"But why is it attacking us?"

Meanwhile, a blood haired man dressed in a sky-blue robe with nine embroidered blood stars and two pairs of vermillion wings at his back observed the scene from the shadows.

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Author's Note:

With this chapter, the first book: The Hoodlum Prince ends. I hope you thoroughly enjoyed it as of the books I initially planned, it was the only one not supposed to contain any major tragedy (besides the one in chapter 0 of course). The second book was supposed to be the darkest and the third both the warmest and the bloodiest.

But as of now, I'm afraid I need to take a break. A week at best and two at worst. I really wanted to just keep writing to thank those that support me, but recent personal events have made that impossible. Despite my goofy comments, I'm mostly depressed, and writing is not helping me cope with that at the moment.

I need some time to refresh myself and come back stronger. Thank you for your understanding.