Chapter 343 Blunder

“Is the Devil heading back to Country Y?”

Having left a message before for the Eighth and Ninth Presbyters of the Dark Guild, he had promised that he would return to “pluck off their heads”.

The Dark Guild immediately notified the two presbyters now at Country Y, cautioning them to be prepared. They needed to kill Chu Xun to redeem the Guild’s honor.

But just when everyone was anticipating his arrival, Chu Xun instead appeared before an ancient fortress – a branch sanctum of the Holy Temple of the Sun!

Boom!

A gargantuan force blasted open the heavy gates of the fortress.

The warden of this stronghold was a powerful Seventh-grade Human King named Bernie, who was also one of the anointed heirs to the leadership of the Holy Temple

Chu Xun charged through the opened gates and began his merciless onslaught.

“Who dares intrude the sanctity of the Holy Temple’s outpost,” boomed Bernie with rage. No one had dared to fool with the temper of the Holy Temple before.

Bernie was shocked to see that it was Chu Xun, whom he recognized immediately. “HOW DARE YOU ATTACK A CHAPTER OF THE HOLY TEMPLE, DEVIL!” Bernie bellowed, “Do you not fear the wrath of the Sun God that could easily reduce you to cinders?!”

Chu Xun merely snorted. With not so much as a reply, he easily killed Bernie with three successive punches before laying waste to the fortress and left.

News of the Holy Temple’s branch sanctum being attacked quickly reached the Internet and caused another commotion. Only, it was hardly the only indignity aimed towards the order of the Sun God; more news came later that the Sun God effigy inside the great hall of the Holy Temple’s headquarters had been utterly doused with black paint.

The effigy of the Sun God – the symbol of Light and Sanctity – now as black as coal. What was the meaning of it?!

And yet before everyone could make anything of it,

Chu Xun logged on to his account and uploaded a picture he took right after vandalizing the effigy with a caption below.

“Just destroyed another of the Dark Guild’s branches. Look at this. Can you guess what god of the West is this?”

That left everyone dumbfounded. “Wait, it was the branch sanctum of the Holy Temple he just sacked! But why is he saying it as a branch of the Dark Guild?”

Then someone realized Chu Xun’s intent with more following closely behind: Chu Xun did it on purpose to mock the Holy Temple.

Scores of Huaxia warriors immediately left comments below his picture of the vandalized effigy.

“That must be the God of Soot! The god of the kitchens in the West!”

“How is that even a god? It looks nothing but a black column of rock.”

“Looks awfully silly for a god.”

The string of comments was an insult so great to the Holy Temple that the High Prelate of the Holy Temple howled a decree that said: Anyone who kills Chu Xun shall be the future High Prelate of their order.

It was an offer most enticing to every anointed heir of the Holy Temple.

The entire Holy Temple roused with every heir beginning to scour every nook and cranny for Chu Xun. Stirred by the rich reward of the offer, even a few Deputy Prelates began organizing search parties of their own.

Once again, Chu Xun had repeated his trick of diversion by allowing everyone to think he was on his way back to Country Y for the heads of the two Dark Guild presbyters when he instead veered off to attack the Holy Temple’s branch fortress.

Far away in Country Y, Angus, in his rage, inadvertently destroyed another TV screen. The last time, he was pleased that it was the Dark Guild which had suffered losses then. This time, he really was enraged. He immediately contacted the High Prelate and sought his permission to return. He wanted to kill Chu Xun himself. But his request was denied. He needed to be in Country Y on the off-chance that Chu Xun might head back there instead.

For thousands of years, the Holy Temple of the Sun had been the pride and glory of the West with members from all over the West. When word of the destruction of its fortress came, thousands and even millions – from the highest of its echelons down to the most meager of the hierarchy of its membership – wept.

“O Mighty God of the Sun, with my life I swear that we will slay this infidel Chu Xun,” said a message Angus posted on the Internet.

The two presbyters of the Dark Guild in Country Y too remarked how shameless and deceitful was Chu Xun, despite his renown fame as a warrior. On the other hand, the two presbyters were few of many who were in fact gloating over the Holy Temple’s losses.

Only through the destructions of both the Guild’s branch stronghold and the Holy Temple’s fortress they felt it fair with brimming schadenfreude.

However, Chu Xun was far from pleased. He might be triumphant, but the fact remained that he was still in foreign soil and the Dark Guild and the Holy Temple had dispatched search parties to hunt for him. Fortunately, much of the terrain all over the world has changed since the anomalies began and with the abundance of mountains and hills, Chu Xun chose to travel through the mountains to prevent being caught.

Until one day, Chu Xun used his account to upload another picture.

The photo depicted Chu Xun sitting amongst fallen columns and rubbles, cooking a pot of soup while manning a spit of meat.

“Oh my God! I could not be any happier! Immortal Chu has taken my suggestion to make a pot of soup!”

“Wait, that pot… Does that belong to the Holy Temple?”

“You need to first slice the fish, Immortal Chu… Then add a pinch of salt…” added another, giving Chu Xun some pointers to add more flavor to his soup broth.

Naturally, this piece of advice did not go unnoticed and Chu Xun committed it to a mental note that he would refer to the next time he makes another soup.

It did not take long for people to recognize that Chu Xun was at the site of the Dark Guild branch he destroyed.

With the Holy Temple and the Dark Guild on hot pursuit, he dared to return to the site of his carnage and enjoy a meal there.

But when the search parties arrived, Chu Xun was long gone.

Every warrior of the West, be they members of the Dark Guild or the Holy Temple of the Sun, turned livid as they howled with swears and curses for Chu Xun’s blood.

In the meantime, the Devil himself was strolling in the mountains when his senses tingled. His lips curled as he mused, “They found me at last?”

“You’re going nowhere, Devil,” said a voice as more than a dozen figures materialized before him.

Chu Xun ignored them and continued walking away.

“And where do you think you’re going to, Devil?” boomed another voice.

Chu Xun was trapped. Alone in the canyon, he found himself surrounded by both the Holy Temple of the Sun and the Dark Guild.

“Let’s see how you’re gonna get out of this, Devil,” said Claude, another Deputy Prelate of the Holy Temple of the Sun.

“Chu Xun turned to face him, his eyes flashing. Placidly, he responded, “Who says I’m running? I’m on my way to the Holy Temple’s headquarters to have tea.”

Claude was a tall, lumbering hulk of a man with a head full of golden hair and just by standing beside him, one could immediately feel the magnificent stature and impressive presence as befitting his powers as an Eighth-grade Human King.

Despite being only a class higher than Seventh-grade Human Kings, Eighth-grade Human Kings like Claude possessed powers that allows them to easily kill any Human King below them – such was the true disparity of powers between every grade.

“Well then, since you intend to visit the Holy Temple…” Claude muttered before bending into a courtly bow and with a flourish of his arm, he said, “This way please.”

Chu Xun chuckled and walked towards Claude.

“Wait,” Claude said suddenly. Turning to his underlings, he ordered, “Turn on the live telecast. Tell the whole world that the Devil is coming to visit the Holy Temple as our guest.”

The search parties of the Dark Guild were led by both Seventh Presbyter Jayce and Eighth Presbyter Karl, both of the Seventh-grade, although when fighting together, their special abilities could easily see them on par with any Eighth-grade Human King.

The live telecast began.

“Facing the camera, Claude made his pronouncement, “Dear friends from all over the world. I have great news. Chu Xun, the Devil, has been found and he is coming to visit the Holy Temple as a guest of mine.”

The camera swiveled to Chu Xun.

Pandemonium took the cyberspace at surprise. “That really is Chu Xun!”

“Has he been caught by the Holy Temple?!”

No one could be any more shocked than Huaxia warriors, who could only stare at their screens with speechlessness. “What happened?! Did Immortal Chu commit a blunder that saw him being captured?”

But instead, Chu Xun grinned broadly at the camera and said jovially, “Well, friends, loved ones, and comrades! And yes, that includes all you ugly, useless, and wicked scum who can never stop hating me! Guess what? I’ve decided to take on the Holy Temple’s offer to be a guest of theirs!”

“And we thank you for your cooperation!” added Claude politely.

“Don’t mention it! This is what a prisoner is supposed to do, eh?”

Every Huaxia warrior online kept their eyes peeled at the live telecast of Chu Xun’s capture.

“Initiate countermeasures. We need to seize Chu Xun back before they reach the Holy Temple,” hissed the Chief Official gravely.

Up at Dragon’s Back, Emperor Ao and Jing Hong were also watching the telecast.

“I’m going to save him,” said Jing Hong tersely, rising from her seat at once.

Emperor Ao, however, looked hardly perturbed. “Look closely,” he said wryly, “Do you honestly think that’s how a prisoner of war would behave? I daresay this brat must have something up his sleeve again.”

Meanwhile, Tang Rou was so worried when she saw Chu Xun being capture that she began shedding tears. “No! I must save him!”

Yan Wushuang stopped her. “Don’t you understand him at all!? Your Big Brother has more tricks than a magician. Do you really think he’s the type that would go quietly without a fight? This must be another one of his ruses!”

Faraway in Country Y, warriors from everywhere – Western and Eastern alike – all saw the telecast and wondered if the dust is finally going to settle.

Members of the Broken Souls Cult began leaving messages on the Internet, warning Claude, “Esteemed members of the Holy Temple of the Sun. As you might not realize, the Devil is a true flagrant and audacious master of deceit, duplicity, and cunning! We strongly suggest that you kill him on the spot!”

That was not all; several more voices rose – from the Sifang Sword Sect, the Tianlong Fort, and even the Glen of Venomous Butterflies – each urging Claude and the others to quickly kill Chu Xun before they regretted it.

In this instance, one should always remember to never take things for granted: The person who knows us best might just be our worse enemies.

The strong warnings from across the world did not go unnoticed by Claude. He was confident, but he knew better than to succumb to hubris.

“I’m afraid I shall require more cooperation from you.”

“Pray tell.”

Claude produced two sets of jet-black and heavy-looking manacles.

“You lot of the Holy Temple sure have a queer manner of hospitality, I must say,” chuckled Chu Xun.

“A special treatment for a special guest, Devil.”

“Oh, go on then!” Chu Xun nodded his assent.

Claude gave a curt signal to his men to cuff Chu Xun.

And strangely, Chu Xun behaved unusually obedient as he allowed himself to be manacled at his wrists and his ankles.

Clack! Clack!

Chu Xun tugged at the chains. It felt stiff and heavy and unusually strong.

“I’d suggest that you give up trying, Devil,” said Claude with a self-satisfied grin, “These manacles were fashioned from meteorite ore. Not even gods can get out of these.”

Chu Xun’s face fell slightly.

The smile on Claude’s face only grew nastier by the minute.

“Gods,” moaned Chu Xun, “Does this mean that I’m not able to escape?!”

Claude nodded, filled with overflowing conceit and confidence.

“Ah, yes. You said just now that ‘not even gods can get out of these’, did you not? What about your Sun God? Was he ever been manacled in these before?” said Chu Xun suddenly.

Claude’s smile froze for several seconds before he could gasp an answer, “No manacles can hold the mighty Sun God. His flames would have easily melted them.”

“Wow, that’s very impressive,” simpered Chu Xun.

Claude swung an arm, bidding Chu Xun to follow him, “This way please, Chu Xun!”

“Let’s go then,” answered Chu Xun and began walking forward.

“One.”

“Two.”

Chu Xun counted as he took each step, and before the count of “Three” could escape his lips, the presbyters of the Dark Guild came from over their shoulders.

“Hold it right there,” barked Karl, Sixth Presbyter of the Dark Guild.

Chu Xun stopped as expected and wheeled around to face them.

Claude was still wearing a polite smile which hardly subsided even as he turned to see the members of the Dark Guild.

“Master Karl, how can I help you?” asked Claude courteously.

The tall, black frame of Karl’s hulking frame only served to accentuate the unusually large whites of his eyes that he looked nowhere near normal.

“Keep that phony grin of yours, Claude,” muttered Karl brusquely. He came closer, followed closely by his men that sought to keep up as near as possible as he yelled, “The Dark Guild wishes to the infamous Huaxia warrior Chu Xun to visit our stronghold as a guest of ours too.”