Maiden Of The Splitting Moon

And as the smoke cleared out, Kong Zhi stood up, looking at his warhammer. Despite using all six of his arms and being in his Vajra Form, he was brought down by a single strike. The shaft of his weapon was not broken but it was bent to the point that it was irreparable. 

He gave it one look before spitting at the ground and tossing it aside. 

"Get me my armor, Shi Hou."

He commanded that of the Roaring King, who brought it before the Vajra Demon. Kong Zhi then began to dress himself, donning each piece of the armor. It was different from anything he'd ever worn. This was because it consists of only six parts, each part for each arm.*

"This is not borrowed power or fake strength. I obtained these in the same way you obtained that weapon of yours, through strength and conviction."

His voice was calm but loud enough for Du Xiu to hear and he turned to look at the commander. There was a quiet lull now as the embers of the flames slowly died down. As effective as the surprise attack was, it did not last long. 

Kong Zhi bumped his fists together before pointing at the commander. 

"Now that you aren't hiding behind those walls, let's see if the battle will end the same way as before", he mocked. 

Du Xiu brandished his halberd axe just as his aura began to seep out. Although his weapon was jet black, it began to shine with a brilliant red as intense heat came from his body. Everyone by his side followed, circulating their power.

Ling Xue and those of the Yao Clan activated their bloodlines, revealing a crimson aura as the markings on their bodies started to glow. The air grew heavy, extremely heavy. It was to the point where an ordinary person would faint in seconds under this pressure. 

It was tense, constricting, horrifying. 

And just when no one moved, Du Xiu struck first. 

"Sunburst."

With a thought, a ball of fire appeared above him, growing and growing in size and intensity until it resembled a small sun. With his other hand, he pointed down at Kong Zhi and this miniature sun came following. 

But the demon didn't bother avoiding it. Instead, he cracked his knuckled before holding out all six of his arms. His gray stone-like skin seemed to smoke under the heat as his hands sizzled while grasping the attack. 

"Grraaahhhhhh!" 

Stopping it in his tracks, his hold began to tighten around the small sun, crushing it under his grip. This time, his aura was absolutely rising, becoming a solid hue of white and gold. His arms trembled under the weight of this small sun, shouting out loud as he made it smaller and smaller. 

But this was war, no one was going to wait for him, certainly not Du Xiu. 

As the sun slowly condensed under the strength of the Vajra Demon, the commander stepped forward, outstretching his arm and thrusting the shining halberd into the sun, causing it to explode. Flame erupted right in front of Kong Zhi, spreading to the other demons. 

"Quick! Douse the flames!" 

Both Huo Shen and Ao Shuang commanded their clans just as the Du Xiu shouted. 

"Leave no one alive! Destroy them all!"

Everyone on their side shouted before charging forward. The Yao Clan charged with them, sprinting forward with Ling Xus leading them. The blood-red aura of theirs grew into an even deeper crimson as she placed the flute to her mouth. 

"Breakthrough and force them back! We will kill the Mu Clan!" 

Pulling his halberd axe out of the flames, he charged forward with another thrust and into Kong Zhi. But the demon wasn't dealt with so easily, he grabbed the halberd by the tip with four of his hands before. Although the fire continued to burn through his skin, the demon took a step forward before being launched back. 

Du Xiu didn't say a word as he lunged forward, driving Kong Zhi back and forcing his way into the depths of the demon's army. 

Kong Zhi's legs dragged through the ground as he could not regain control of the fight. But the commander soon stopped, sending him back into his men. 

"Leader!" 

The demons behind him looked to stop the fall only to join and crash into those behind them. In a single move, Du Xiu had forced back over a hundred demons and all of them had activated their bloodlines. 

He then looked around, spinning his halberd as those that surrounded him hesitated to step forward. After all, not only was this was a commander but has defeated Kong Zhi twice. If that weren't enough, his entire body emanated a dizzying heat. It caused all of their hearts to beat wildly, drumming inside their ears. 

"Come on then, let's see if there's anyone worth fighting here. Or are there only false warriors around me?", he muttered coldly. 

Meanwhile, Ling Xue was practically unstoppable at this point. With her physical prowess heightened to another degree, the princess of the Yao Clan could not be touched. She flew about in the skies, producing one screeching note after another. 

Those that were unlucky would find lacerations on their body and if they were more than unfortunate, they would be dead. 

Her time climbing up the stairs in that secret realm had brought her strength to another dimension. As she was now, she could easily contend with any of the commanders. 

Each note from her flute killed several at a time but she wasn't aiming for them. She looked for the leaders of the Ao Clan and the Huo Clan. And she especially had an eye out for the Mu Clan and their princess, Mu Jing. 

"I hope that bitch is here so that I can deal with her once and for all", she thought. 

While it was the Idol of Chaos that forced her Clan out of their home in the mountains, it was without a doubt the Mu Clan that sought to reap the rewards. If they weren't here, they were definitely, in the homes of the Yao Clan, ransacking them and destroying everything. 

"They're probably looking for the other key to the secret realm but they are too hopeful. It will always be with me." 

After causing mayhem through the ranks of these demons, she landed in front of the two clan leaders. 

Huo Shen, the Huilu King and Ao Shuang, the Azure Dragon Queen, the both of them saw her arrival and walked forward to meet her. 

"So, how did Kong Zhi manage to recruit the both of you? I'm sure your clans had enough power to drive him off", she spat at them after asking the pair. 

Both Huo Shen and Ao Shuang watched her spit at the ground before them and looked at her. 

"Well at first, the elders all declined, calling him a madman and a scourge upon the continent. However, we thought differently, there had to be a change and we thought that it was possible to do it through him", Huo Shen answered. 

Ao Shuang then continued. 

"So, we took control of the clan, got rid of those that opposed us, and then..."

"The both of us married, they never would've let us do it but now, no one can stop us!" 

Their voices were filled with a joy difficult to find on this continent. To many others, it seemed like they were a couple in love, looking at each other softly. But for Ling Xue, she knew the truths. 

"You know why they opposed it. Certainly, some bloodlines can be mixed but there are those that should never touch each other. One of fire and one of water, neither are ordinary ones. What do your think will result from your love." 

The moment she spoke of it, their faces twitched for an instant before the pair embraced each other. 

"She doesn't believe either. What shall we do?"

Ao Shuang looked Huo Shen with her longing eyes to which he answered warmly. 

"Let's kill her."