Tome of Troubled Times

Chapter 580: But the Key is Real

Lady Three and Xia Chichi had no idea how Zhao Changhe managed to turn the tide of the battle.

In order to understand what had happened, a short rewind is called for.

Zhao Changhe’s attempt to ambush the Sea Emperor actually happened before Xia Chichi’s attack on Wang Daoning, but his results were far less stellar.

While Wang Daoning and Lady Three were in a stalemate, Hai Pinglan was already struggling against the Sea Emperor, so Zhao Changhe did not have the luxury of waiting for the perfect moment like Xia Chichi. He had to act immediately to provide support.

The body of the flood dragon, which the Sea Emperor had taken over, was extremely long. It was previously coiled up to form an island, and now, fully stretched out, it spanned several li. While Hai Pinglan fought desperately in the front, Zhao Changhe swung his saber fiercely at the flood dragon’s tail, trying to see if such a massive creature could really defend all parts of itself at once.

In response, the flood dragon’s tail whipped back like a flyswatter, effortlessly swatting him away.

Zhao Changhe broke into a cold sweat, having only narrowly escaped the tail whip.

It seemed the Sea Emperor had no issue keeping watch across both ends of his body, and the sheer power of the flood dragon’s movements far exceeded Zhao Changhe’s expectations from when he had watched the battle from afar.

A fight always seems much easier when you’re a spectator.

Hai Pinglan holding his ground or Xia Longyuan slicing through the flood dragon’s flesh as if it were tofu seemed simple enough, but when faced with the flood dragon himself, Zhao Changhe finally understood the enormity and might of this foe. The sheer magnitude of the other party’s body made every sweep a massive, unstoppable force.

Even a slight graze from the flood dragon would mean an end no different from a fly getting crushed by the barrel of a cannon; should he get hit, he would be reduced to nothing but a smear of blood.

He had assumed that something this massive would naturally move much slower, especially since the Sea Emperor was wounded. Yet while it was true that the flood dragon’s movements were slower, the difference in scale meant that even a slight adjustment of the flood dragon’s tail, even the tiniest shift in stance, translated to sweeping across dozens of zhang.

In effect, it was faster.

Zhao Changhe once again realized something clearly: Bigger really is better.

But although Zhao Changhe’s initial strike failed miserably, the Sea Emperor was quite surprised.

Less than a month ago, the Sea Emperor had briefly crossed paths with Zhao Changhe through the body of the giant octopus. Back then, although he could not properly confront Zhao Changhe due to the threat of Xia Longyuan, he still employed some spiritual attacks, which Zhao Changhe cleverly resisted. This alone elevated Zhao Changhe in the Sea Emperor’s eyes in terms of combat intuition. But even so, the Sea Emperor had not expected such rapid improvements in less than a month.

If Zhao Changhe were of the same strength now as he had been back then, the saber strike he had just attempted would have failed to even leave a scratch on the flood dragon’s scales. But this time, even before the saber landed, a sense of danger surged in the Sea Emperor’s mind. He knew that if the blow connected, he would be wounded.

With how quickly this young man improves, the pressure that he places on his peers in the Central Plains must be immense.

Since Zhao Changhe’s saber could hurt him, the Sea Emperor had to divert some of his attention to deal with him. Hai Pinglan, who had previously lost the initiative and was on the back foot, finally got a moment to breathe. Now, taking Hai Pinglan down first was no longer a feasible option for the Sea Emperor. In other words, the fight had reached yet another deadlock.

Both Hai Pinglan and the Sea Emperor were heavily wounded, and the outcome of the deadlock was no longer something to be decided by strength—it was a question of who would burn out first. The Sea Emperor was thus able to remain calm. There was no point in comparing the endurance of a human body to that of a flood dragon.

Human bodies are much more fragile...

Zhao Changhe continued to carefully harass from the Sea Emperor’s side while pondering this very question. Hai Pinglan was the main force, and he was merely there to disrupt the flow. But given Hai Pinglan’s age, how could he hope to outlast a flood dragon? Once Hai Pinglan could not hold on any longer, it would be over for all of them.

Leaving aside Xia Longyuan and his overpowered abilities, is a human body truly inferior to a flood dragon’s at the same level? In terms of both strength and stamina?

If that’s the case, then why is it humans rather than flood dragons who emerged from the ruins of the previous era, taking over the world? It seems that even in the previous era, the rulers were humans.

There has to be something about the human body that surpasses a flood dragon’s—what is it?

Zhao Changhe’s eyes scanned the massive length of the flood dragon’s body and thought to himself that its weaknesses were actually quite obvious. The Sea Emperor had fought using the flood dragon’s body for so long, yet he really only had three moves.

The first was biting. This had failed to do any significant damage to Xia Longyuan’s fists—instead, he received a hit straight to the throat.

The second was sweeping. The sheer size and force of his body were powerful and swift—enough to make Xia Longyuan’s form blur after being struck. But ultimately, it was a simple attack, making it predictable and easy to dodge.

The third was energy blasts. These blasts were sometimes water, sometimes fire. This move was versatile, and it was the primary move that the Sea Emperor was using against Hai Pinglan, essentially turning the flood dragon into a caster.

And that was it—just these three moves. The flood dragon’s stubby claws were practically useless for offense, as they could not even reach forward. They were only helpful when Hai Pinglan tried to attack from below, during which they provided some defense.

This clearly illustrated the flood dragon’s fatal flaw. Unlike a human, who could use all parts of their body for multidirectional offense and defense, the flood dragon’s attacks were overly simple, and its defenses had unavoidable blind spots. For example, when Xia Longyuan had cut at its back earlier, its claws could not reach upward to block the attack. If it could not evade in time, it had no choice but to take the hit—and once struck, not even thrashing could dislodge the blade!

Of course, in a head-on confrontation, not just anyone could get to its back. Hai Pinglan had tried countless times and failed to gain the position. Zhao Changhe attempted to leap onto the flood dragon from its midsection, but the flood dragon twisted its body, its tail whipping wildly, and he could not get close.

The disparity in strength was evident—not everyone was Xia Longyuan.

Zhao Changhe’s gaze shifted to the flood dragon’s underbelly.

Compared to the back, the underbelly was much softer. However, the flood dragon’s claws could protect it, and taking a swipe from one of those claws could mean death.

Zhao Changhe gritted his teeth and suddenly dove beneath the flood dragon, slipping into a spot that looked like it might be out of reach of the claws. With his left hand, he thrust the sword in his left hand upward.

The Sea Emperor could not help but laugh. “How impulsive. As expected from the young.”

Zhao Changhe seemed to be at a blind spot beyond the reach of the flood dragon’s claws, but with a simple twist of its body, its claws could easily reach him...

Just as Zhao Changhe’s sword moved, the claw was already upon him. Even though Dragon Emperor was a divine sword, there was no way it could harm a real flood dragon’s claw. This strike would crush both Zhao Changhe and his sword into dust.

However, to the Sea Emperor’s surprise, just as his claw was about to make contact, the sword suddenly vanished. Zhao Changhe let out a fierce roar, his eyes instantly turning blood-red, and he used his bare fist to forcefully meet the claw!

His arm muscles swelled to nearly twice their normal size. The power of his punch no longer burst outward but condensed inward, as if reversing the tidal wave he had unleashed earlier—transforming into an oceanic abyss.

With the Black Tortoise’s Fist as the base, he built upon it with the intent of the Wind and Lightning Palm of the Divine Brilliance Sect—shifting the focus of his power from offense to defense in hopes of being able to withstand the flood dragon’s crushing blow!

Just as Wang Daoning had abandoned his sword to block Lady Three with his palm, there were times when bare fists and palms offered greater leverage than any blade.

In Hai Pinglan’s eyes, from his front-facing vantage, the young man at this moment was not inferior to a true god or demon.

He was holding back a dragon, as if propping up the heavens!

Crack!

With a sickening crunch, the bones in Zhao Changhe’s arm shattered, his muscles tore, and half his body was instantly drenched in blood. Yet, he had ultimately managed to block the claw for a moment!

And that one moment was enough to change the course of the battle!

With a fierce roar, his right hand swung Dragon Bird upward, the saber tearing through the flood dragon’s soft underbelly, slicing all the way to its other claw.

The flood dragon let out an earth-shaking wail, sending another claw crashing down with immense force. Zhao Changhe raised his saber to block, but was still sent flying several li, his blood trailing across the sky.

Just at that moment, with Wang Daoning retreating heavily wounded, the tide of the battle suddenly turned. The Sea Emperor knew that if Lady Three rejoined the assault, he would not be able to fight any longer. Immediately, he surged toward the statue, attempting to escape to the secret realm.

But there was no escape—the key was fake, and the door failed to open.

The “family” closed in on him, with their myriad techniques raining down on every wound along the flood dragon’s body, heedless of their own lives.

Though only Lady Three was truly capable of delivering a fatal blow at this point, right now, she alone was more than enough to seal the Sea Emperor’s fate.

The Sea Emperor tried to break out of their encirclement, but he simply could not do so.

His first instinct was to head toward the weakest link—Xia Chichi, who was also heavily injured. But that choice was like stirring up a hornet’s nest. Zhao Changhe, half-crippled as he was, immediately moved to shield Xia Chichi, while Lady Three’s punch smashed half of the flood dragon’s face into a pulp.

If he had chosen to break out of the encirclement by attacking Hai Pinglan, he might not have faced such a severe reaction.

The mighty Sea Emperor, once ruler of the seas in the previous era, was now cornered, with no way up or down, about to be beaten to death by a handful of mere mortals, unable to even escape.

In its eyes, a wild, murderous rage flared. In utter despair, he prepared to self-destruct.

Hai Pinglan suddenly shouted, “He’s going to detonate the flood dragon’s body! Get as far away as you can!”

The Sea Emperor was only occupying the flood dragon’s body. Even if he detonated it, he could still retreat to his true temple—the one currently under attack by Hai Changkong. However, his merging with the flood dragon’s body was so advanced that such an explosion would inflict severe damage on his soul. Decades of recovery efforts would be completely wasted, leaving him even weaker than when he had first awakened.

Unless pushed to the brink, he would never choose such a path.

“You want to run?” He chuckled darkly. “The detonation of this body will lay waste to everything within a hundred li. How far do you think you can run with your speed?”

As he spoke, his body began to swell. “I can return, but you will all die here... To stand against a god as mere mortals—was it worth it? Hah—”

His laughter had barely started when it was abruptly cut off.

Xia Chichi darted over to the statue, pulled the embedded Azure Dragon Seal from it, and shifted it to a different position.

The previously unresponsive statue suddenly lit up with brilliance.

Everyone there, quick-witted as they were, immediately rushed over, gathering around Xia Chichi.

“NOO!!!” yelled the Sea Emperor, but his detonation of the flood dragon had begun—there was no stopping it now.

And in this final moment, the Sea Emperor muttered the only word that came to mind.

“Fuck.”

Boom!

The flood dragon exploded violently, annihilating everything within a hundred li. Even the sea itself seemed to vanish, leaving behind a deep, empty trench on the now-visible bottom.

Unfortunately for him, by the time that happened, the glowing statue had already teleported Xia Chichi and her companions to safety.