By the time Chu Xun led everyone back up to ground level, they were taken aback by what they saw.
The freak storm had caused such devastation that lands as far as thousands of meters had been reduced into a flatland.
Nothing at all remained – every tree, boulder, or even the vaguest inclination or knolls had been utterly removed off as if a giant scythe had skimmed over the face of the earth in one deadly thousand-meter-wide circle.
Most, if not all of the Fire Dragon Palace was gone, now in desolate heaps of rubble and debris.
Meanwhile, a badly-fatigued Yu Cheng, who had stayed up for more than a week to create the fake magical herbs and shrubs, had only retreated barely for a moment’s nap when his room collapsed over him. With a maniacal snarl, he freed himself from under the debris and the sprawl of destruction all around him left him stupefied.
Fortunately for him, his chambers were deep inside the bowels of the Palace where he was spared the fate of being obliterated by the freak storm outside.
“Yu Cheng!” Yan Chong cried when he saw Yu Cheng emerging.
Yu Cheng turned around and saw them and he bolted over the moment he saw Chu Xun.
“Master! When did you come back?!” he cried with surprise after three years of not seeing each other.
“Just moments ago,” Chu Xun smiled.
Yu Cheng turned around again to behold the unbelievable and yet macabre vista of carnage and destruction that stretched far out of sight.
The storm was gone.
The Wingeds had suffered quite a lot. More than twenty to thirty of their number were killed in the storm, including one of their lesser chieftains.
The rest had fled, including the Ninth Presbyter with tails between his legs.
But the keen-eyed Chu Xun immediately spied the remnants of the Winged Legion more than a thousand kilometers away. They were badly hurt and they could not escape further.
He led everyone to them and found the stray group consisted of more than a dozen wounded Wingeds.
“What should we do with this lot, Master?” asked Yan Chong.
It was only natural that Chu Xun would make the decisions once again since he was back.
Chu Xun pondered quietly for seconds before saying, “Take them back and help them. They could be useful.”
With Chu Xun back, the forces of the Fire Dragon Palace desisted their mass exodus. Yan Chong called for his men and ordered that the wounded Wingeds be tended to and settled in immediately.
The Fire Dragon Palace would need to be rebuilt.
“Dammit, what a wicked waste of money,” grumbled Chu Xun quietly.
After all that he had done and the sheer deadliness of the freak storm caused by the colliding tornadoes, the Ninth Presbyter still managed to escape.
“And you imbeciles! How could you surrender our precious resources to the Wingeds!” he scowled at Yan Chong and the others. He had gone through great lengths and difficulty, not to mention danger, to amass all that magical herbs and shrubs and these goons nearly gave them away. It was lucky he managed to make it back in time before it was too late and recover them all.
But Yan Chong and the others grinned back at him.
“To be honest, Master,” said Yan Chong gleefully, “Those are fakes.”
“Fakes?!” uttered Chu Xun in surprise. He conjured the chests and took out a magical shrub. With only one look with his Divine Sense, he realized that they were speaking the truth.
“Wow! They look really real!” gasped Chu Xun.
“And it’s all thanks to Yu Cheng,” said Yan Chong.
“Nice work!” Chu Xun praised approvingly. Meanwhile, that gave him an idea. Reconstructing the Palace would need lots of money and this had given him an idea on how to bamboozle some money.
“Now, I want some suggestions. Who else would need such an amount of magical herbs and shrubs? Best if they’re enemy of ours.”
Yan Chong and the others stared at him strangely, puzzled, before they understood what he was up to. “Our witty Master is looking for his next victim to fool!”
“I believe every organization and order is in shortage of resources such as these, Master, especially the alien races that only just emerged,” said Yan Chong.
“Anyway, we’ll set aside that idea for now. We’ll wait till the timing is right,” said Chu Xun. He turned to Yu Cheng, “And you. Make more of these if you can find the time. These fakes shall be the instrument of our wealth.”
Yan Chong and the others were speechless, wondering who would be unlucky enough to fall into Chu Xun’s crosshairs.
Next, the reconstruction of the Palace.
Money makes the world go round. At least that was the case with Chu Xun. With both money and power at his fingertips, more magnificent and imposing edifices and structures of the Fire Dragon Palace were rebuilt from the ground up.
In just two months’ time, the reconstruction of the Fire Dragon Palace was complete.
On this day, Chu Xun paid a visit to the Chief Official.
The latter looked as vibrant and fresh having reached Grandmaster.
“You rascal. I knew it was you the moment I saw that broadcast,” scowled the most powerful official of Huaxia with an imposing presence that came naturally from one being accustomed to being the highest authority of the nation. That he had now become a warrior added more depth and clout to his voice and his stature as well.
“Really?” Chu Xun grinned. He had used magic to change his appearance then and if it could fool a Ninth-grade Winged King, he saw no reason why it would fail to fool the Chief Official who had just barely entered Grandmaster Stage.
“All right, I suspected. Now, are you happy? But it’s obvious. No one can mimic your style of fighting.”
Chu Xun nodded with acknowledgment as he made a mental note about it.
“Right, I gave my word to those soldiers that you will present medals to them personally if they won the contest,” said Chu Xun, who had never once forgotten the promise he had made to Jiang Tao.
“And I take it that is the reason for your visit today,” observed the Chief Official dryly.
“And here they are,” said Grand Advisor Zhong Ren, “But the Chief Official wishes to know if you would be joining him in presenting the medals to the soldiers.”
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“Not a problem,” agreed Chu Xun readily. He had great respect for Jiang Tao and his men for their courage and bravery.
“No, you misunderstand me. The presentation would be broadcasted live, so the Chief Official wonders if it’s all right to publicize who you are.”
“No matter,” said Chu Xun, “It won’t make any difference since the Wingeds now know who I am. We can use this chance to issue a warning to all other alien races that I’m back and they should watch out.”
“We’re lucky to have you, Chu Xun. All of Huaxia is,” said the Chief Official.
“Spare me the flattery. You can do better. Foot the bill for the reconstruction of the Fire Dragon Palace,” said Chu Xun.
“Urm…” the Chief Official feigned a cough. He got up hastily to his feet, saying, “We should go out. The men are waiting.”
“…” Chu Xun gave him a blank stare. “Heavens, tell the man something about money and he slips away so quickly!” He cried to the Chief Official from behind, still persuading, “Come on, you’re the Chief Official. Tell me at least if you’re going to foot the bill or not.”
“All right, Chu Xun. I have no money. Every penny I have belongs to the nation. It belongs to the people,” said the Chief Official, stopping to a halt to look at Chu Xun, “I have but only a measly salary. I can offer you ten thousand – but only as a personal gesture. That’s half of what I make in a month.”
Chu Xun gave him a nasty look and flashed him a thumbs-up. “All right, you. You’re just saying that so that I can’t counter that!”
“The man’s speaking the truth, Chu Xun,” quipped Zhong Ren pensively, “He doesn’t make much. If you’re really in dire need of money, I can offer you twenty thousand from my personal savings.
“The hell with doesn’t make much,” frowned Chu Xun, mumbling, “You’re both stingy as hell. Between the Chief Official of the nation and the Grand Advisor, surely you can do better than just thirty thousand?”
“But that’s really a lot. If you want, I can award you a flag. It can say ‘Defender of the Nation, a true Huaxia hero’,” said the Chief Official.
“…” Chu Xun could hardly speak with the exasperation now practically permeating every fiber of his being. “Perhaps you can even add in ‘An everlasting legend with enduring fame’.”
“Well, if you’re up for it, why not?”
“All right. That’s enough,” scowled Chu Xun, seething as he marched out the door. Any more than he’d die of frustration. “Talk about seeking charity from a pair of miserly pinchfists!”
The Chief Official and Zhong Ren shared a furtive grin before they followed Chu Xun out.
The presentation ceremony was held at a stately hall with television crews from various channels recording the broadcast live.
The ceremony turned out to be a huge fanfare with hundreds of fully-armed soldiers in attendance and reporters and journalists from all over the country present to cover the event.
That the Chief Official would be presenting medals to the soldiers for their bravery was a first.
Jiang Tao and his squad stood straight as rods and watched on stoically at the horde of cameras clicking and flashing at them.
At last, the Chief Official appeared, accompanied by Chu Xun, Zhong Ren, and the top brass of the military.
The entire auditorium flared the moment the Chief Official made his entry. For a person that the whole wide world usually saw through TV, it was rousing to see him in person.
An old veteran, aloof and proud as a decorated general and a stout leader of men, stepped forward. His hawk-like eyes scanned the crowd and the auditorium fell silent under his stern glance.
“You all know how these nine soldiers behind me had fought against Wingeds and had triumphed. I might have been a soldierly man myself all my life, but that only made me even prouder of them. These are the true heroes of Huaxia!” said the elderly general loudly with concise and succinct words that did not fail to convey his sentiment any less.
The entire auditorium thundered with thousands of clapping hands.
One by one, the top brass of the military took turns to express their admiration and respect, their words kindling and stimulating.
“Next, please welcome the Chief Official to say a few words.”
Everyone looked at him quietly.
The Chief Official beamed at everyone once he took the podium. Loudly, he said, “We know how much turbulence has begun infesting Earth since the anomalies began and alien races emerged. We must acknowledge them as powerful threats to our humble human might. But we do not cower. True Huaxia subjects don’t cower! For five thousand years, after so many trials and tribulations, after resisting so many enemies and foes, look at where we are now! No matter how powerful an opposition, Huaxia always triumphs! No matter how deadly their armies are, our men in combat fatigues will staunchly defend our homeland and this country we and our forebears and future generations live on!”
ROAR!
Waves and waves of fervent clapping of hands swept the entire auditorium like a storm.
“And just two months ago, you saw how heroic our boys are! Of course, you saw it because during then, there is this young man! The young man who had been the instrument of our glorious victory over the Wingeds! I’m sure many would like to find out who he really is. I can tell you this: he embodies the True Spirit of Huaxia!”
Chu Xun pursed his lips. “True Spirit of Huaxia?! The Yoke of Huaxia, more like! As if I am stupid enough to not notice him pushing me into the job of a security guard!
“As for who he really is, I’ll leave it for himself to reveal himself,” said the Chief Official with a flourishing wave of his arm, gesturing Chu Xun forward.
Chu Xun stepped forward with a casual grin.
All around the country, people watching the live broadcast stared at their screens with disbelief. The young man who had been fighting the Wingeds a couple of months ago looked ordinary and common, not a handsome and beautiful man with boyish looks.
Those who recognized Chu Xun cried and cheered for him.
All eight of Jiang Tao’s squadmates could not believe it was Chu Xun too. He looked nowhere near the Major General they encountered that day.
But Jiang Tao alone knew the truth. He looked up at Chu Xun proudly with brimming admiration.
“There are some of you who know me. Some of you don’t. My name is Chu Xun.”
Those simple words sent the whole nation into an uproar.
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Chu Xun. The Devil.
A name that no one would fail to recognize.
The Wingeds had suffered great losses that day – great enough to force them back into hiding once more and many did not know that Chu Xun had returned.
“Indeed. It was I that day, fighting the Wingeds. But I made a little alteration to my appearance, that’s why many failed to recognize me. But this is how I truly look.”
“I don’t have much to say, but only this to any of the alien races now watching this live broadcast. We, humans, are the true rulers of Earth. You are guests, nothing more. As guests, you should understand respect and humility within our territory. The race of Peacocks had massacred almost a city full of people, I heard. I’ll remember this. Then there’s an alien race of wolves that someone told me about too. They had killed more than a hundred thousand people. I’ll never forget this debt.”