Day 166-182 Work and the old man

Working late the last few days on the old man allowed Liang Yu to think more. The matters of the Empire were still small but that didn't mean more problems wouldn't pop up. Something had bothered Lhim the last few days.

A sense of dread growing more and more almost uncontrollably.

"Haaaa, stupid Emperor getting screwed over allowing an imposter to take his place. Dumb North Lord Mansion and their craziness. Stupid Dimension not holding itself up anymore. Ughhh!" Venting enough, he close up the new sutures and applied some balm to prevent itching on the old man. "Hmm?"

*Rumble!* An oppressive force of power rose from the old man. His qi had returned or exploded from within him. Laing Yu was not sure as he pushed the protective runes in place to keep the bastard from causing major issues in the compound, let alone the room.

"Elder!" Ranshao Ming had actually tears falling down. He kneeled on the ground as the old man actually stood up and was moving around.

"You have done well. As well as the others." The old man reigned in his power considering the glare of anger that Liang Yu sent his way. A hint of danger defintely let the old man things would go bad if he didn't calm down. "Sorry about that doctor."

"Just don't let it happen again." Liang Yu walked over checking him over once again. Pulse and breathing were steady. The flesh restoring more under his touch as time passed by. Whatever the old man cultivated, was very odd, to say the least. "A few more days of rest and you will be fine."

"Yes, thank you. You have know idea who I am do you?" Liang Yu gave a shrug. "I feel both ashamed as well as angry. Have you heard the name of the Dragon King?"

"Umm a lot of them exist and have used that name.... so I need specifics." Liang Yu stepped away taking a seat. "Some figure in the south or the west of the empire?"

"No. I am the "Dragon King," my human name is Longwang." The now named man looked on a little frustrated at him. "You know, the fierce and powerful Chinese god who commands the oceans, weather, dragons, and creatures of the sea. I rule over my four brothers, who each oversee the waters in one of the cardinal directions."

"Ohhh, that Dragon King." Liang Yu said slowly. "Yeah I have no idea. I am also not Chinsese so... I don't know all over your.."

"What do you mean you are not Chinese?!" Longwang eyes turned hard. He scanned Liang Yu over very forcefully not detecting and difference in him than one of his people. "It is not smart to lie to a Deity!"

"Right, not lying." Liang Yu barely was able to feel the Dragon King check his soul. "Pretty rude man."

"Not a man. A god." Longwang snorted a little. His nostrils taking on the form of a reptile briefly. "Something is not right about you. Do explain good doctor."

He listened to the explanation with a long face. Which to Liang Yu was really funny.

"Haa, to think matters had grown this bad while I was bedridden. Why did know one come get me, would have helped with my recovery for one." Seeign that Liang Yu was not suppose to be here in this Dimension at all, beged the further question. "What is your actual name, since it is not Liang Yu?"

"Have no idea. It is supressed as well as other matters. So the one in charge of this place is a female deity from what I heard. Any idea where they are?"

"I have been out of the loop but it should be..Xiwangmu, Doumu, or Mazu. I came here to visit a few centuries ago when I was ambushed. I wonder if Yemaya made it out ok?" Longwang shook his head in dismy. He would find out later upon returing to the "Waiting Area" (After Life). "Who are you the Champion of?"

"Mm technically Shango but I am not like a full champion."

"Shango, Shango.. oh you your from that "place" then." Longwang gave a small smile. It was even broader seeing the confusion on Liang Yu's face. "Maybe things are not as bad as I thought. But I am ovedue to leave and check in. "A parting gift."

*Shine!* A bright light engulfed the room leaving just Liang Yu behind. A small ball of light enterd him causing his Dragon Martial Dantian to expand rapidly. Over 5x it's current size. It was much larger than the Flame Martial Art one.

"Ugh... The Dragon King often appears as a fearsome warrior or as a mighty dragon, at times angry and menacing. Yet he is also considered to be a lucky omen. Because of his connection to the sea, Longwang is more popular in the coastal communities of China." As if reciting a passage from a history book, Liang Yu felt somewhat renewed. "Well, I know of another deity besides those I already knew. What the hell is this?"

In his hands was a rolled up scroll. It was old and tathered but contained a lot of power inside it. Try as he might, it would not open.

"The Blending of Taoism and Buddhism." Liang Y muttered reading over a part of the scroll. It then vanished instantly into the Core of the Flame Vortex. "Well.. now what?" The Flames from the vortex didn't harm the scroll in anyway nor did it try to refine it. "I do not have time for this!"

Moving towards the library, he would read over a few of the manuals that were recovered previously. He read for the longest time not really talking to anyone.

A sense of dread that continued to build up was about to make itself known.

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Bad News-

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Liang Yu was standing in front of the Man-God Shango. After hearing the abrupt news, he was not to happy. The Collapse of the Dimension was happening at a faster rate. The projected power, that of the strongest people in the area in the Dimension was to scattered to prevent it.

Considering they were all vying for power, Liang Yu did not have enough time to convince them to work together or the prestige to convince the power-hungry "emperor" at all.

"You have maybe a year left. It is best to try to gain as much strength as you can."

"Tch!" Leroy was annoyed. He barely lived here long enough to enjoy the place. Or for the exact matter, gain enough power to change it more to stall its collapse. "And my people here?" He was not worried about those outside of the Dark Moon Compound, they had problems of their own.

"I do not know. Some may survive in the same manner that you survived coming here." Shango frowned at the greater loss of life. Even more so, that Liang Yu did not seem bothered by it. 'The changes to his psyche are minimal at best. To much time with Rexford and the abrupt changes here might not work in his favor in the future. His humanity must remain.. but how to stir it back to the surface?'

"Their has to be a method."

"One but very dangerous for you." Shango said seriously. "You must kill the Demon that is the Emperor.. as well as someone with a strong Destiny. The power in them may allow you to step into the higher Realm's of a Champion faster. Search your mind and you should know of a way to do so. As well as who it must be. The Deity that this Dimension belongs to is occupied with other matters. She will not be able to spare any more power to maintain this place."

"And you can't get me out of here because of my merging with Liang Yu, since these "treaties" and whatnot, are in place to. How b.s." Leroy had really put the matter to the back of the mind. Since he really could not do much about it anyway. Considering his current strength, there was not much in the standard area that was a problem to his life.

"Destiny wanted to pass a message over, which frankly scared the hell out of me. It never usually helps new Champions, let alone one like you." Shango's body to started to break apart. It was just then that Leroy felt a small pain in his Dantian. The man-god was seriously injured and forced himself here to deliver this message. "If you go to deal with that "woman" before things take place, you will lose a wife and child."

As if he could barely maintain his form, Shango dissipated into flames. Not a single trace of him left.

"Wife and child.. what the hell?" Standing abruptly and racking his brain over, Leroy hadn't slept with anyone since he arrived here or dated anyone for that matter. So it defintely didn't make any sense to him really. "Tch, they are just messing with me most likely."

He did not catch until later that he was very wrong about the matter. By then.. it would be to late. Getting himself prepared, he left to head to the first place he needed to with a heavy heart. Supringsly, the Heart Method caused his cultivation to go through as slight change.

Deep in the secret chamber under the Dark Moon Patriarch's location, the writings on the wall lit up slowly. Passing along the walls one by one.

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Smelting Ground-

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Liang Yu rode on the back of Popeye high above in the night sky. He circulated the rich cold gi into his body constantly. Astral Sense reaching high into the sky as he prepared himself for his next task.

Despite being several hundred feet in the air, a light shot up directly towards him.

"Damn this thing!" Liang Yu jumped forward not wanting Popeye, the Flame Bird to be swept inside as well. The light from the Star Pillar visibly curved in the air and hit him dead on. 'Shit!'

The amount of force from the light was much more than before. As if it adjusted to his level of strength! The good news was that his body was strong and his willpower much higher.

The Flame Vortex Core spun its rich qi into his Dantians. All but the new unknown one that formed up. The light hammered away at the unknown Dantian like a hammer against an egg. In moments it destroyed it invaded the remains.

"Kufff!* Liang Yu coughed up so much blood he thought he would die on the spot! His neuro-pathways raged in defiance. "I.. feel like shit!" Stuck in the light as it continued its assault on his body and soul, he could only circle the Flame Vortex Core to continue to suck the light up that was almost unending.

The Star Energy in the pillar was so pure and powerful, he refused to leave it back this time without giving payback for the damage inflicted last time.

Circulating his qi to the highest limit, Liang Yu pushed against the light forcefully. His Metal Seed rotating producing a pitch that caused the light around his body to bend,

Fire Body pushing against the light in an odd struggle for dominance. The flames could be seen visibly wrapping around the light choking it.

Using Astral Sense, however, created a link to the Star Pillar. All along the structure runes lit up containing a type of technique. The Heart Method (Maxium) obtained from the Dark moon Family underground area reacted.

The understanding that was mixed into the Astral Sense Technique started to grow more. The Star Pillar turned from emitting a golden light into a purple light.

*Shine!* A flash of light caused the area to go white. When it vanished, Liang Yu was falling from the sky towards the ground. Popeye swooped in before he hit the ground flying away back to the Dark Moon Family as fast as possible.

All that remained where the Star Pillar used to be was a very deep hole. The pillar itself was inside Liang Yu constantly rotating against the flow of his Flame Vortex Core.

A few figures arrived on the scene a few minutes later. Old Xu and a few of the other teachers were attracted by the light and couldn't understand what was going on without taking a closer look at things.

"To think the Star Pillar is gone itself, search the area and see what you can find! Send word to the Academy to go on High Alert!" Old Xu ordered. The others listened to his orders instantly and dispersed. As for him, he looked towards the direction of Liang Yu and Popeye. 'What could you have possibly done to the Star Pillar? Did you destroy it by chance? If so... why?'

The vice-principal pulled out a letter from his chest. It was supposed to go towards his students to invite them to participate in the Heaven Tournament. Despite everything going on in the country, the "emperor" did not postpone or stop the tournament.

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Elsewhere-

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Miles away from this location in lavish palace hidden away, a woman moved towards a window. Her emerald eyes shining in the direction of the Academy. A conflicted look on her face as she felt things were turning for the worse faster than anticpated.