Chapter 481 - 237: Who Is Zhao Rui?
Just as everyone was eagerly waiting for the dust and smoke to settle, they heard Zen Master Huai Xiang shout in alarm:
"This is bad! Get back!"
Before the words had even left his mouth, the vast cloud of dust and smoke suddenly imploded, rapidly contracting toward its center.
Then, the entire cloud shot outward with an explosive force a hundred times greater than the speed of its contraction.
A scorching wave of heat accompanied the cloud, expanding wildly outward like a volcanic eruption.
This searing blast wave and the incandescent matter within it were clearly the energy from the missile’s earlier explosion.
The Red Flame Ice Dragon—the Viper King Venerable—had somehow contained it, only to reflect it back at the humans in its entirety.
Everyone scrambled to defend themselves, either by forming a True Qi Barrier or by using a Peak Lightness Skill to evade the scorching blast.
Even a True Dharma Master would have to avoid the full force of a missile’s power.
After the blast wave passed, the Viper King Venerable revealed its form. It glanced at the fighter jets circling back for a second missile run, and its enormous, yellow-green eyes narrowed slightly.
From its fearsome draconic maw, it spat several bolts of lightning as thick as a man’s arm, instantly blasting the fighter jets into fiery explosions.
They blossomed into fireballs across the sky, like fireworks, before plummeting to the earth.
"Ignorant humans! How dare you challenge my authority!"
Just as everyone was reeling in horror, something even more bone-chilling occurred.
Hundreds of corpses on the ground suddenly floated into the air, the same words issuing from every mouth.
The grotesque scene made everyone turn pale with shock.
"It can actually make the dead speak?"
"It’s that intelligent?"
The entire internet was in an uproar.
This was the first time people had ever directly faced such a High Level Exotic Beast, and it shattered their entire perception of reality.
"Faced with an Exotic Beast like this, does humanity even stand a chance?"
"We are living in the best of times, and the worst of times!"
"The return of True Qi let us experience Extraordinary power as never before, but this power has also brought powerful enemies and unstoppable destruction."
A sense of despair began to spread.
"Insignificant humans, prepare for the arrival of your king!"
The look on the Viper King Venerable’s fearsome draconic face seemed to be one of brazen mockery.
"Oh? Is that so?"
Just then, a beam of sword light streaked across the sky, seeming to slice the heavens in two as it flew toward them at incredible speed.
The voice arrived long before the sword light itself.
Startled to hear a voice, Huai Xiang and the others all turned to look at the approaching sword light.
"Who is that?"
"What powerful Sword Intent!"
The strange man who had been hiding and watching the spectacle suddenly revealed himself.
It turned out he had never left. His skills were simply so great that he had concealed himself from view.
"An interesting human. Finally, someone worth a look has arrived."
The Viper King Venerable made one of the corpses leap forward, its tattered body swaying in the wind.
But its mouth opened and closed grotesquely, forming the words.
"Is that so?"
The sword light arrived in a flash!
A tall, imposing figure materialized before Huai Xiang and the others, directly in the path of the Viper King Venerable.
"Zhao Zhenren?"
"It’s Zhao Zhenren!"
"Junior Brother, fall back! You’re no match for it!"
"Zhao Zhenren, don’t be careless! This Exotic Beast is no ordinary creature."
The distant crowd cried out in alarm.
"Who is he?"
Online, hundreds of millions of viewers witnessed the scene, all of them stunned.
"Where’d this reckless fool come from, daring to face it alone? Look at him showing off. He probably has no idea how terrifying this Exotic Beast is!"
"Seriously. I bet he won’t even last a single move!"
"All those masters from the sects know him, so he can’t be a nobody. I give him ten moves before he’s sent running with his tail between his legs."
"Whatever you say, he stepped up to protect the Han Family. How can you talk about him like that? I bet he’ll last a hundred moves."
Online, the unrelated spectators chattered away, many of them displeased with Zhao Rui’s showy entrance.
"And who from the Great Shang might you be? Don’t tell me you intend to get involved in this too?"
Zhao Rui glanced sideways at the man from Great Shang who had appeared out of nowhere, his brow furrowed slightly as he asked.
"Whoa, there. Let’s see you survive the Viper King Venerable first, then we can talk."
The man from Great Shang shook his head slightly, clearly wanting no part in the matter.
"By the way, they call you Zhao Zhenren. Do you happen to know someone named Zhao Rui?"
The man from Great Shang asked, his curiosity piqued.
"Zhao Rui?"
Zhao Rui gave him a strange look and shook his head. "Never heard of him."
"Oh."
The man from Great Shang nodded nonchalantly.
"The two of you don’t seem to be taking me seriously."
The Viper King Venerable’s enormous dragon eyes narrowed to slits. Clearly, the casual conversation between Zhao Rui and the man from Great Shang had made it feel slighted.
"It’s a bit cramped here. What say we take this out to sea?"
Zhao Rui looked up at the Viper King Venerable. Before it, his own figure was as small as an ant.
But the Sword Qi emanating from his body grew ever stronger, faintly matching the savage aura of the Viper King Venerable, holding its own against the immense pressure.
"Out to sea? We’ll have to see if you’re worthy!"
The Viper King Venerable suddenly opened its massive maw and unleashed a wild torrent of scorching flames in all directions.
The flames moved with incredible speed and covered a vast area, instantly engulfing all the onlookers.
Seeing this, Zhao Rui’s form suddenly swelled, transforming him into a Dharma Giant two or three hundred meters tall.
Its gigantic palm, like a butterfly flitting through flowers, danced through the air before the crowd, trailing a biting cold wind as it moved in a rapid series of gestures.
Just as everyone was preparing to use their own skills to resist the scorching blast, they suddenly discovered that a wall of ice had abruptly materialized in front of them.