Claim the Sword

He just stood there, his gaze blank. His eyes were wet, but he held it, not letting the tears flow out. He thought, how stupid he was, not smelling Xuan Lung's gesture to slay the other three dragons, and also coming to him, to claim his power too, so that he could become the ruler. And the ultimate goal though is to claim the Phoenix like he always do in every his life.

He bit his teeth, his jaw clenched. He needed to come up with a plan, how to turn things around. How to restore the harmony he once created. This is his main goal now. He will do whatever it takes to achieve his goals.

"Come and claim your sword, only that sword can kill Nuba" the voice sounded again.

His lips curled into a smirk, the sword Chi You wanted to have was the sword that could kill him. "Does Nuba know that the sword can kill him?" he asked to the voice.

"Yes, that's why he wanted to claim the sword, so that no one could defeat him" The voice answered in a voice full of contempt, like disgust just remembering what Nuba had done. "Now, go"

With that his body suddenly sipped into spacetime. Again, his body floated in the air, through the black tunnel that seemed to be endless. But the longer his body sips, the faster he reaches to the point, initially just a dot, like the twinkling of stars in the night. The longer it gets bigger and brighter. When his body merges into the bright space. he flinched.

Back to the cave

"Hey, how much longer do we have to wait here?" said the tall man, his mood dark, a week of doing nothing, just sitting still, occasionally stretching. Or eat. It was the only consolation for his body, pathetic.

"Well, as long as Xuan Yuan doesn't lie unconscious. What else?" replied the stocky man, nonchalantly, seeing his friend's annoyance face. He smirked, amusement.

"I can't take it anymore," he shouted. He stood up, his gaze fixed on Xuan Yuan's body, lying motionless. His eyes gleamed, a mischievous smile graced his face. With firm steps he walked towards Xuan Yuan.

Zhi Qiang who saw, what will happen. Immediately stood up and blocked him "What are you going to do?" he asked through his teeth, his eyes glare sharp daggers at him.

"Obviously to wake him up" he snapped fearlessly.

"And you know how to wake him up?" His eyes narrowed sharply at the tall man in front of him. If he could do it, why didn't he do it from the start, why did he have to wait until now. It was obvious he didn't know anything. A glint flashed in his eyes, his body tensed up.

"Well, what else besides---" before he could finish his sentence. Zhi Qiang's fist landed on his gaunt cheek. A crackling sound was heard.

"Don't you dare!" jerked violently right in the face of the tall man who was wincing in pain from the blow of his fist.

"Hey-Hey.... friends, calm down" a stocky man was already standing between them, separating them from whatever they were about to do.

But his actions only made the tall man even more angry and hot. He grabbed his by the collar, and pushed him aside. Until he crashed and fell on the ground, hard.

"What are you doing?" the stocky man shot a dagger glance at him.

Unfortunately, that tall man ignored him. He stepped towards Xuan Yuan again. But again, Zhi Qiang got in his way. Zhi Qiang raised a hand to launch an attack. But a jolting sound came from behind him, he froze. So are the two men.

Zhi Qiang, turned around and looked at Xuan Yuan. His eyes, he saw that his eyes were already wide open. His breath was panting, like he had just come out of the water and had lost his breath submerged in the water.

He rushed over to him. Squat down and asked "Xuan Yuan, are you awake?"

His question was only answered with a smile by Xuan Yuan, who was now looking at him intently. He knew that, he had made him anxious.

"Oh.... you almost made this old man's heart stop beating" he embraced him, hugging him tightly. His body shook violently. His relief made him lose his composure himself. Here he was, acting like an old man, who had just met his beloved grandson.

"My bad" Xuan Yuan grinned, giggling. Little did he know that there had just been a tense between the three men. Which ends, maybe his life flies and ends in the lake of death. But he's laughing here instead.

"Hey man!" shouted the stocky man still sitting on the ground, wincing in pain in his ass. "You almost made us kill each other here, and you're innocently laughing instead?" the stocky man mocked him, annoyed. How not, he with good intentions, separated the two hot heads but ended up being pushed on the ground.

"How do you feel?" Zhi Qiang paid no heed, chattered the stocky man. He checked his pulse, but his eyes did not leave Xuan Yuan's. Waiting for him to answer his question.

"I'm fine, apart from the heavy throbbing head, everything else is okay" he moved, trying to sit up. He took a deep breath after sitting comfortably. He glanced around, without him asking, he already knew where he was. Yes, the vision he saw. "We need to go inside," he said calmly, amid the tension of the three men.

"That's what we wanted to do from a week ago," the tall man sneered, turning his gloomy face toward Xuan Yuan.

Xuan Yuan was still unaware of the tension around him. But his words stunned him, 'A week?' I was unconscious for a week? For so long he was unconscious.

"Don't mind him, now it's best for you to recover your strength first" Zhi Qiang's calm voice sounded in his pale ears. He took the drinking water bag and handed it to Xuan Yuan "You must be thirsty, drink it"

He accepted the water bag. Then take a few sips. Until his throat that felt dry was now felt fresh.

Sometime later.

The two men separated themselves sitting in a corner of the cave. Every now and then they would glance at the two men in front of them. One is busy pampering the young man, the other is sitting relaxed and letting the other man pamper him.

"It's time to go inside" Xuan Yuan exclaimed, he stood up, ready for his adventure.

"Good then!" scorned the tall man, his patience finally paid off.

Xuan Yuan only smiled a little embarrassed. He tilted his head to the side slightly and gave a smile to the two men. "Let's go" he exclaimed excitedly.

The four of them walked inside, miraculously, to the stalactites above their heads, no sign of crashing into their heads. Like tightly fused to the ceiling of a cave. And there is a possibility that the barrier at the mouth of the cave also disappear.

They were walking on full alert. Glancing right and left. They would flinch if a voice suddenly echoed from the darkness. Until the stocky man accidentally stepped on the rock like a button, suddenly the ground beneath them shifted, and the two of them fell down.