The Avalon Of Five Elements

Madam Ye wasn't surprised to see Zhong Houjun's appearance. With a slight smile she said, "You're brave indeed, able to take on huge responsibilities. Just this courage alone is rare in this world."

She turned around and looked toward the lake. "General Zhong's abilities surpass many. Who's going to go against him?"

The audience remained quiet, as if they hadn't heard her question.

Xiaobao's face was like a block of perpetually frozen ice, his crystal clear eyes motionless. "Gui Hu, go."

"Yes!"

A light flow rose from the lake and landed before the audience.

Zhong Houjun's pupils shrank a little.

Gui Hu was robust and valorous. Every part of his steel-like flesh tangled together like pythons. As he casually extended his body, his muscles wiggled like a group of snakes, erasing all doubts about the explosive power contained within. It was even stranger that while there was definitely a slight light flow revolving around his body, there was no overflowing elemental energy waves at all.

Zhong Houjun was bewildered.

He knew that Gui Hu was born into a small family and was very average in terms of giftedness. Now, however, his every movement was perfected, as if he was an entirely different person. His eyes, especially, were devoid of warmth, and Zhong Houjun felt his heart turn cold.

Not only him, but every other witness kept quiet out of fear.

They hadn't felt anything observing from afar, but when Gui Hu came closer, a shockingly suffocating pressure followed, as if thousands of clouds were pressing down on their heads and clogging up their chests. Masters with a keener perception felt an extreme sense of danger radiating out of Gui Hu.

Was Master's Glory really that great?

Zhou Houjun was very experienced. He quickly steadied his heart and calmed himself down.

His request to enter war wasn't an impulsive decision.

Madam Ye showed no relent toward aristocratic families. Many illustrious aristocratic families from the past were now dispirited and listless. The Zhong family only escaped because they kept a low profile and exercised restraint. With regard to his dismissal as the Infantry Division's assistant leader, Zhong Houjun had no complaints. Nevertheless, he was very clear that if he did not prove his worth for a prolonged period of time, he would quickly be forgotten.

He had to display his value, be it to Madam Ye or to Blood of God.

The flag could stay still, but it must be utilized.

Zhou Houjun called out politely, "Please!"

Even those lacking intelligence understood that these victors of Master's Glory would become Madam Ye's true henchmen. These young "Masters" would quickly enter the stage and have an incomparably bright future ahead of them.

Toward Zhong Houjun's politeness Gui Hui remained unmoved.

"Kill him."

The cold voice traveled from the heart of the lake. It was Xiaobao.

Zhong Houjun's face changed. The surrounding faces turned ugly quickly and a wisp of anger surfaced. It was merely a competition and yet he'd called for Gui Hu to kill Zhong Houjun! Many were determined to teach these ignorant little fellows a lesson!

As Xiaobao's voice fell, Gui Hui moved.

The calm before the storm!

Zhong Houjun only felt himself being blinded as Gui Hui instantly appeared before him.

So fast!

Zhou Houjun's eyes twitched. He dared not slow down at all, and with a push of his palm, an elemental energy wave exploded like a windstorm, flowing all over the whole place.

The elemental energy transformed into bells that enveloped his whole body and circulated unceasingly. They were shaped simply, being narrow on top and wide at the bottom, and they were filled with seals of birds and flowers.

[Loud Chime Bell]!

Even if though Zhong residence was still far from being as powerful as the Ling residence, it had profound inherited traditions. [Loud Chime Bell] was the Zhong residence's most well-known absolute art, named after its admirably resonating chime. It was said that the Zhong residence's ancestors had a different surname and only changed it to "Zhong" after inventing [Loud Chime Bell].

(Chinese surname Zhong means "bell" in English.)

The Infantry Division was known for its powerful defense. Among its many absolute arts, [Soldier], which only the division leader was allowed to practice, was the only art comparable to [Loud Chime Bell]. Even in the Avalon of Five Elements, [Loud Chime Bell] remained as one of the most powerful absolute arts.

Its only weakness was its attacking power.

Everyone felt relieved upon seeing Zhong Houjun execute [Loud Chime Bell]. He had good control and was a Master. His elemental energy was so profound and consistent that no one present had confidence in breaking through its defense.

Xiaobao's ruthlessness and coldness infuriated respective aristocratic families. They had already been put in order by Madam Ye and were feeling resentful. Now that this newborn "Master" was publicly demanding a life, the aristocratic families were convinced that they had to teach him a lesson and kill off their arrogance, or they would have a hard time living from now on.

It was rare for everyone to have a mutual enemy.

Amid the shadow, Gui Hu remained expressionless. He seemed lifeless, like a puppet that only knew how to kill.

He made a fist with his right hand and a stream of elemental energy and light flow appeared around his wrist.

Metal, wood, water, fire, earth… five elemental ring!

Following immediately were many five elemental rings that circled around his arm.

Nine Five Elemental Rings overflowing with light wrapped around Gui Hu's right arm. Without a sign, the elemental energy surged violently upward. Like a fierce tiger that had just been released, it roared and growled, brimming with ferocity.

Zhou Houjun's face changed.

Before he could react, Gui Hui waved his fist.

His fist carried a stream of light flow that resembled the brightly-colored eyes of a ferocious tiger that was ready to kill. It landed solidly on the big chime bell.

Clang!

A deep, reverberating sound boomed in everyone's ears, causing a temporary hearing loss.

Inside of the bell, Zhong Houjun appeared distracted, but he quickly regained focus! He steadied the surging qi and blood within his body. When he saw the bell's body clearly before him, his pupils shrank once again. Above the bell was a… a crack!

How… how could it be?

He couldn't believe his eyes. He had never ever seen a crack appearing on the bell.

Clang!

Yet another punch landed on that crack.

Gui Hui's fist did not seem very fast. It wasn't as fast as lightning, since each punch could clearly be seen.

Similarly, the cracks on the bell's body could clearly be seen.

Clang clang clang!

Without getting tired, Gui Hui landed each punch on the same spot, effectively enlarging the crack at a visible speed.

The wild elemental energy waves circled around Gui Hu's body, never dissipating. They hovered around him and undulated along with his every punch.

The blood in Zhong Houjun's surged violently, finally causing him to expel a fresh pool of blood from his mouth.

The fresh blood landed on the bell, causing its light ray to become even more dazzling.

Just then, Gui Hu's still eyes lit up. He loosened his fist and printed his palm onto the crack on the bell.

The elemental energy waves around him disappeared swiftly as elemental energy within a few hundred meters was being emptied out. The nine Five Elemental Rings around his arm merged into one that circled around his palm that had landed on the bell.

Snap!

It seemed that Gui Hui's palm hadn't met any resistance as it effortlessly broke through the bell and smashed onto Zhong Houjun's chest.

As if he had done something insignificant, Gui Hui rose into the air, transforming into a stream of light and landing onto a lotus chair on the lake once again.

Dead silence.

Zhong Houjun lowered his head while still in a daze. He looked at the clearly visible Five Elemental Ring on his chest.

It spun unceasingly as the five types of elemental energies replaced one another, appearing and disappearing endlessly.

Cracks started appearing on his body as if he was a clay statue. The criss-crossed cracks soon covered his whole body like a spiderweb. Bright, devilish light rays shot out from the cracks.

The rays grew increasingly intense and Zhong Houjun started to melt like a block of ice.

He moved his lips as if he was trying to speak, but nothing came out.

Hu.

Amid the light, his blurry figure had completely melted and transformed into nothingness.

The brightly-colored light rays dimmed rapidly and eventually vanished.

Still a dead silence.

No one dared to believe what they had just witnessed. Did Gui Hu really kill Zhong Houjun so effortlessly? Did Gui Hu really dare to kill Zhong Houjun? Was Master's Glory really so powerful?

The enormous impact had crushed all the guard they held up in the blink of an eye.

Nian Tingfeng was stunned too.

Clap clap clap.

A gentle applause broke the silence.

The audience looked toward where the sound came from. It was Madam Ye.

Madam Ye's face was full of praise. "Gui Hu's improved significantly. He was still a toddler when he first came to the Ye residence and now he's already a key player. You did not let me down."

She did not look at the aristocratic families and Masters, who looked as if they had lost a son. They were like air to her.

Facing the Lake of Masters, she fixed her gaze onto the solemn figures. These years of hardship and grief overtook their hearts as sighs and sobs turned into an empowering heroic spirit.

She had succeeded.

All the scheming and price paid had finally yielded the best results.

She had finally gotten hold of a power that belonged only to her. A formidable power.

An unprecedented sense of security encased her and an unprecedented confidence flooded her whole body. Words simply were superfluous at this point.

Even bold, visionary words were unnecessary to her right now.

From today onward she was truly going to be in charge of her own fate. Also, she would finally have the rights to contend on the stage of this world.

This was merely the first step, the first cycle of Master's Glory. There would be an endless stream of Masters to fight for her, along with her subordinates.

She said faintly, "You may all leave."

No one dared to speak. They lowered their heads and left in silence and in fear.

Madam Ye felt an increased spurt of happiness. She had tried all methods to restrain the aristocratic families, and while they did not speak up, they resented her and continued their undercurrent dealings privately. The dispersing crowd today, however, was a reassurance that all undercurrent dealings had been wiped out cleanly.

These fellows' last bit of ambition had been destroyed.

What a pity.

She shook her head, not wanting to think about it any longer. She then called out softly, "Come here, Xiaobao."

Without hesitation, Xiaobao flew up and landed before her.

Noting that the piercing look had vanished from his now indifferent eyes, Madam Ye felt very safe and couldn't help but smile.

WIth a perplexed gaze, she extended her palm and caressed Xiaobao's face. She whispered, "Mom's going to be relying on you for protection from now on."

Xiaobao looked apathetic. He was a lifeless statue.

Madam Ye's gaze regained its brightness. She retracted her palm and spoke calmly, "I need you all to do two things for me now."