Dragon's Soul: An End's Beginning

by Tony Tran

  “That’s all you got?” Yu Jia laughed.

  “Hmph!” With a thought the ten dragon talons that were knocked away changed trajectory and flew back toward Yu Jia.

  Since this time, they had come from the back there was no way for Yu Jia to block them.

  However, Yu Jia was able to sense them coming and jumped to the side. But Zhang was easily able to change their trajectory once more.

  “Gahhh!” Yu Jia yelled as three of the dragon talon throwing knives pierced through his skin and stuck themselves into him.

  “Dammit only three hit.” Zhang cursed. The other seven knives embedded themselves into the ground.

  A surge of energy shot out from Yu Jia which caused Zhang to lose control of the dragon talon throwing knives.

  “I'll make you pay for that you brat.” Yu Jia said with a deathly glare.

  “Fuck off old man! Enough with the idle threats! Fight me like a man and stop dodging!” Zhang said trying to goad Yu Jia into making a mistake.

  “How about I separate your head from your body!” Yu Jia replied as he rushed toward Zhang.

  “Eat this!” Zhang yelled as he shot out his two chained daggers and made them weave through the air.

  “Hahaha old tricks boy, old tricks don't work twice kid.” Yu Jia sneered.

  “Then I'll show you something new!” Zhang yelled as dozens of black flames sparked out of nowhere and ignited.

  “What's this!?” Yu Jia murmured. Although he didn't know what the black flames did he knew it would be best to avoid them.

  But there were simply too many and each flame flew on irregular paths making it next to impossible to dodge them all.

  As the black flames struck Yu Jia he could feel his essence being sapped away. The black fire slowly ate away at his strength. Had he been in the underworld then Yu Jia would have turned to nothingness by now. However, since they were currently in the mortal plane the black fire was not as effective since it would have to travel through a person's body before it could eat away the source of their essence.

  “What kind of technique is this…” Yu Jia said with a look of panic on his pale looking face. All his life he had encountered one strange technique after another yet he had never come across one like this.

  Yu Jia fell into panic and retreated back from Zhang.

  “Coward! Don’t run from me!!!” Zhang yelled.

  “Who is running.” Yu Jia yelled as he extended his hand and grabbed one of his subordinates by the skull.

  “Redeem yourself for your failure.” Yu Jia said as his essence began to envelope his subordinate. Soon the man’s body began to grow frail and saggy. In an instant the man who seemed to be in his early thirties turned into an old man who looked like he could die of old age at any moment.

  Vice versa Yu Jia’s once pale face turned rosy and full of life.

  “What kind of wicked technique is that.” Zhang murmured.

  “That technique is called the soul leecher technique. This allows the user to take the essence in an object or person and transfer it to another object or person or perhaps themselves.” Yuying stated.

  “Correct.” Yu Jia confirmed with an evil grin on his face as he reached out and grabbed yet another unsuspecting victim.

  After that he reached out for another.

  “Gra-grand elder… Spare me.” The man squeezed out as the life was being sucked out of him.

  Chapter 56: Message

  Seeing Yu Jia drain the essence from many of his subordinates, Zhang jumped into action.

  “You think you can defeat me by taking in the essence of two or three people? Have you gone senile in your old age?” Zhang goaded.

  “What did you say? You brat I'll show you!” Yu Jia shouted as he grabbed yet another man and drained the man dry.

  By now all of the essence Yu Jia had absorbed caused his muscles to bulge to the point of ripping open his robes. At this point Yu Jia was twice his regular size and was a hulking giant of a man.

  After tossing the lifeless husk down onto the ground Yu Jia charged at Zhang.

  “Eat this!” Zhang shouted as he created dozens of black flames and launched them at Yu Jia.

  “Hahahahaha your puny flames have no effect on me anymore!”

  “Then have some more!!” Zhang yelled as he kept a constant barrage of black flames shooting at Yu Jia.

  The battlefield had been littered with thousands of souls for Zhang to store inside the Dragon Heart necklace so there would be no shortage of essence.

  After getting hit by the black fire a few times, Yu Jia began catching more victims and draining them of their essence.

  As he was draining yet another victim dry, Zhang decided it was time to act.

  Swish!Swish!

  Zhang had regained control of the Dragon Talon throwing knives and launched them along with his twin chained daggers made from the voracious eater teeth.

  Since Yu Jia was too busy absorbing the essence out of anyone he could get his hands on he no longer dodged the throwing weapons. Not that they did much damage to him in his powered up state.

  The daggers and knives embedded themselves into him but did not seem to do very much damage.

  Yu Jia totally ignored the weapons embedded in to his back and lunged for one of Zhang’s soldiers.

  He gripped the man by the neck and lifted him up into the air.

  Eyes filled with fear could be seen on the face of their soldier. The soldier had seen what had become of the people who were caught by Yu Jia and he did not wish for the same fate.

  “Let go of me! Let go of me!” The man yelled as he flung his arms and kicked his legs struggling to break free.

  “Hahahaha.” Yu Jia laughed menacingly as his essence began coating the soldier like it did every victim before.

  “Not so fast!” Zhang yelled as he appeared right next to Yu Jia and sun the sky piercer halberd downward aiming to cut off Yu Jia’s arm.

  Seeing this Yu Jia quickly let go of the soldier, setting him free.

  Following up on his downward swing Zhang performed a sweep with the halberd trying to slash at Yu Jia’s ankles. However, Yu Jia jumped up and then stomped downward which pinned down the blade of the halberd.

  “Ahahahah futile attempts brat! All your attacks are useless against me! Just you watch I'll kill you then I'll kill all your soldiers and then I'll make a new son with those three over there.” Yu Jia said as he licked his lips and looked at the three beauties.

  It was obvious that as the leader of the Yu sect for countless years Yu Jia has had enjoyed countless women. But these three beauties were in a class of their own compared to the women he had been with before. Perhaps all the women he's had relations with combined could not be considered equal to these three.

  Hearing this a shiver ran down Yuying’s spine and she quickly used her arms to cover herself. Ling and Ai had the exact reaction upon hearing those words as well.

  “You old leecher, like I'd let you do that.” Zhang said as he let go of the halberd and the blood red sword he got off of Yu Zhao appeared.

  Zhang pushed the sword into Yu Jia’s abdomen and twisted the blade then pulled it out. While pulling it out Zhang used the chance to slash upward and cause a huge amount of damage.

  “Although it’s been awhile since I’ve used one but swords after all are my specialty. Sadly, I’ve yet to find any good ones...” Zhang thought as he felt every movement of the blade in his hand as if it was a part of him.

  “Gahhhh!” Yu Jia screamed as he swung down with his Slaughterer blade.

  Clang! Clang!

  Zhang was only barely able to block Yu Jia’s downward swing. Zhang was currently stuck in a really bad position, he was on one knee and could not move because a barrage of downward strikes followed the first one. The barrage continued until cracks appeared on the blade in Zhang’s grasp.

  “Ahahahaha you think that imitation can stand up to the real thing!?!” Yu Jia sneered. Although he dotted on Yu Zhao very much he did not
entrust him with the sect’s heirloom sword but instead gave him an imitation just so Yu Zhao can show off his status as sect master.

  Soon the cracks on the imitation slaughterer sword began to grow until the sword was covered in them. Finally, the sword gave away and shattered into countless shards.

  “Now die!!” Yu Jia yelled as he swung downward once more. However, before it could connect Yu Jia stopped and looked up. Three arrows with shiny black tips were headed straight for him.

  With his hand Yu Jia tried to bat away the arrows thinking that with his powered up body these arrows would do no harm. However, these arrows were not just regular arrows, they happen to be arrows made of Lightning Eater snake scales.

  Yu Jia frowned as an acute pain could be felt from his hand. The three arrows had embedded themselves into his hand and the spots where they entered were oddly oozing out green fluid.

  “Have a taste of spider venom!!” Yuying yelled. On top of was a very familiar looking pinkish bronze spider. Most likely if it could this spider would have a very broad grin on its face.

  The arrows had been coated in a thick layer of Silky’s venom. As a queen Titanic Golden spider her poison was ten times as effective as a regular titanic spider.

  As the venom entered Yu Jia’s blood stream it caused his head to spin and his body's movements to become irregular. Had he not been an 8th rank cultivator the poison most likely would have incapacitated him.

  Following up on the arrows, while Yu Jia was still in a daze, Zhang stabbed the hilt of the broken sword in his hand into Yu Jia’s abdomen. Exactly in the same spot he had don't so before.

  However, something different happened this time. This time in Zhang’s other hand was the Underworld Heart.

  “What is that thing?” Yu Jia asked as looked at the Underworld Heart perplexedly as he lifted his sword into the air and got ready to swing down.

  “Rather than tell you I'll show you.” Zhang said and in an instant he sent a purplish ray of energy shooting out from the Underworld Heart toward the hilt of the sword, the chained daggers and throwing knives.

  Yu Jia’s muscles began to bulge and his body grew even bigger.

  “This feeling, this power!” Yu Jia sensed a constant flow of energy enter his body. This flow of energy was many times purer than the energy he had gotten from his victims.

  However, a thought suddenly crossed his mind and his eyes began to become bloodshot as they bulged out.

  A sinister smile appeared on Zhang’s face as a horrified expression appeared on Yu Jia’s. When Yu Jia realized what Zhang was doing it was too late.

  His sword fell out of his hand and landed on the stone tiled floor with a loud clang as his fingers became like sausages. Yu Jia’s body continued to balloon with essence until it reached its breaking point.

  And with a pop and splash Yu Jia’s body blow up and flew everywhere.

  Zhang had waited for Yu Jia absorb a large amount of essence and then channeled even more essence into him through the broken sword, the throwing knives and the chained daggers.

  Each human body was a vessel for essence but like any vessel there was a limit it can hold. Once it passed the limit then of course the vessel would break.

  Although overtime the vessel can grow to accommodate more essence of one were to suddenly try to contain too much in it then the outcome would be obvious.

  Yu Jia had already been at his limit draining two to three people of their essence but Zhang kept blasting him with black fire and eventually made him forget he had reached the limit

  Then Zhang suddenly spiked the amount of essence Yu Jia had even further by using the Underworld Heart to channel even more essence into him.

  All of the fighting had stopped once Yu Jia had exploded. Everyone stared blankly at where Yu Jia had been standing. But only a large pool of blood was left behind, along with Zhang who was drenched in blood and bits of things that are better left unsaid.

  Strangely enough some of the disciples of the Yu sect broke into a loud cheer.

  “We are free!!!!!!!” Some of them yelled.

  However, they were celebrating for no reason.

  “Kill them all.” Zhang said coldly.

  “St-stop! Spare us! We surrender!” Many of the disciples of the Yu sect yelled as they watched Zhang's soldiers march forward.

  “Why should I spare you?” Zhang said as he got up from the pool of blood.

  “My lord we can be of use to you! Please spare us!” A man who seemed to represent the remaining members of the Yu sect said.

  However, Zhang ignored him and swung downward with the sky piercer. With a single swing the pleading disciple of the Yu sect was cut into two. While the rest broke into panic and began pleading. They knew there was no way for them to overpower Zhang or the soldiers clad in black armor so all they could do was beg.

  “Do what you will all we ask of you is to grant us a quick and clean death.” One of the man said as he kneeled on the ground and stuck out his chest proudly. Following his example many other men got down on their knees and closed their eyes to await death.

  “Cut down everyone all who stand before us.” Zhang commanded as he raised his halberd and began a massacre.

  The men kneeling on the ground with their eyes closed could hear blood curdling screaming and cries all around them. They could feel their clothes become soaked by what most likely was blood. Some even felt fresh warm blood trickle onto their faces and slowly drop downward.

  The man who had stuck his chest out proudly a short while ago felt a cold object being pressed against his neck. “This must be it.” He thought. However, a voice rang out behind him.

  “Everyone who kneeled will be spared, you may all leave.”

  The man could not believe his ears as he opened his eyes. In front of him was a mountain of corpses and a sea of crimson blood. Bodies without heads, heads without bodies were everywhere.

  “What are you waiting for? Did I not say those who kneeled may leave?” Zhang said as he was standing with the Slaughterer sword in hand.

  “What a fine sword this is.” Zhang said as he swung it slashing empty space.

  “Do you really mean it?” The man who kneeled asked with a confused look on his face. He could not figure out why Zhang would let them just leave.

  “Of course I mean it. I admired how you did not beg and plead to be spared, so you may leave.” Zhang said as he kept admiring the blood red sword in his hand.

  “Sadly I can’t. Not without the cure.” The man said dejectedly. Without the cure for the heaven’s rebirth he would a very painful and excruciating death.

  “Would you know the cure if you saw it?” Zhang asked.

  “Of course I’ve seen the grand elder holding bottles of the cure a few times. However, all of the dosages of the cure are left in the sect’s vault and there's no way to get in unless a key is used.” The man replied.

  “This key?” Zhang said as he held up a shiny looking key made of silver.

  “Maybe I’ll help you get the cure if you promise me something.” Zhang said with a devilish grin.

  As the man saw Zhang’s grin he imagined that he would be making a deal with the devil soon.

  The three beauties could be seen standing far away where the collapsed wall was. There was not a single drop of blood on them, most likely they did not take part in the killing. In front of them was a man who was dressed in the uniform of the Yu sect.

  Yuying had casted her magic on the man and now she was performing a ritual. Magical runes appeared on her hand and flew onto the man and began to multiply. Soon his entire body was covered in runes from head to toe.

  “Listen to my command. Heed my words and do my bidding.” Yuying chanted over and over again.

  “Yes my lady.”

  “I have but one command. I need you to send a message for me when you reach the underworld. I need you go tell my father I’m getting married.” Yuying said.

  She proceeded to place plant instructions into the man�
��s mind. Once he entered the underworld then he could meet a guard and present a royal insignia that Yuying had inscribed onto him with runes. With this insignia he would be granted an audience with the king of the underworld, the Yama, Yuying’s father.

  After which he would tell the Yama that Yuying was getting married.

  One the other side of the courtyard Zhang could be seen following a group of the Yu sect’s disciples. They were going to lead him into the sect’s treasury and open it using a key he had acquired from Yu Jia.