CRACK!

"Yield, you serpent scum!" Bat General Kong slammed the tip of his spear into Lu Pin’s flesh and pinned him against the rocky ground.

While coughing blood, Lu Pin’s fangs dripped with venomous fear as he stared up at his oppressor. It was a confrontation he had never prepared for in his dreams.

“You’re just a bat! And I’m…"

For a fleeting moment, both adversaries seemed to forget their duel. They involuntarily turned towards the chaotic sound of carnage that raged a short distance away. The sound that caught their attention wasn't those Shadow Bats screeching nor those serpents shrieking. No.

It was worse. Far worse than they had even considered.

From a crater formed of pulverized earth and broken bronze scales…

WHAM! WHAM! WHAM! WHAM!

…the echo of a monstrous serpentine tail bashing repeatedly into something. It sounded so powerful, so brutal, that those nearby trees simply uprooted themselves and attempted to escape.

“Is that…? No. It’s not possible, how could…” Lu Pin couldn’t finish his horrified thoughts because right there, amidst a flurry of emerald-green scales was the thing they were sent to capture.

"Is… Is that truly Lu Jade?! But HOW?!?" He gasped, as if a terrifying revelation had shattered his entire world. His body froze and trembled uncontrollably. It was inconceivable!

“HOW THE HELL?!”

Lu Jade, his little, weak, and annoying green brother, was the one pounding his twin brother’s head with an almost casual brutality. Lu Pan couldn’t even defend.

“I’ll… get back at… you for thissss! Wait… til…”

Each word he uttered came accompanied by pain as a mouthful of blood spilled from his shattered snout onto those crushed vines and bloodied rocks.

He wanted to scream for help, to beg for his life. It seemed futile. This rage, fueled by untold humiliation and strength Lu Jade had unleashed, was crushing his world.

This was payback of unimaginable ferocity, but who was there to help him? There was Bat General Kong standing before his older brother who struggled beneath that sharp, electric spear, both frozen with awe and confusion at what their eyes had captured.

Meanwhile, on the opposite end of those carnage-ridden lands, a blinding beam of pure golden energy shot outwards from between Raphael’s horns with a terrifying crack.

"Helios Stream!”

This attack sliced through a dozen serpent assassins in a heartbeat. Their bronze bodies, no match for the raw, overwhelming heat and force of his bull’s wrath, disintegrated, and with them, went their ambition to live for centuries and brag about fighting Calamities and those Emperor’s descendants. This day was truly horrific.

After wiping away that sweat dripping from those brow ridges of his with his tail and snorting a breath of that fragrant mountain air, Raphael noticed a towering figure thrashing wildly near a collapsed crater.

“L-Little Lu…? Is that really… you?”

"Yessss, it'sss me, Big Brother Raphael," Lu Jade answered confidently, without hesitation as his emerald body twisted menacingly in the air, releasing gusts that caused those trees to lean backward in a bow.

Raphael was taken aback! How?! When?!

Another fearsome hiss cut through his train of thought.

"It's him! Surround that green traitor!”

More venomous serpents slithered from the shadows with fangs and tails striking menacingly. They coiled in front of Lu Jade to block his movements.

"Leave our brother alone!”

“Damn those tenacious snakes… Their numbers are almost a hundred now!” Raphael witnessed those snakes slither faster and a primal urge to squash those bronze hides surged forth but he controlled it.

“Lu Jade! Get behind me now! Those numbers…"

But before he could finish his warning and extend a massive hoof, his gaze landed upon that emerald-green serpentine body that was growing bigger with every hiss from those enemies surrounding his form, which he thought strange, very strange indeed.

“He has more strength…” Raphael murmured. It wasn’t mere speculation; that energy was expanding with those approaching slithers of their would be attackers.

His little buddy, that tiny emerald snake was no longer a coward that whimpered behind him or darted for safety when confronted by larger things. There was a terrifying arrogance about those green glowing scales now. This realization ignited Raphael’s intrigue.

This was a side he’d been wanting to witness, the consequences of power changing hands. What would Lu Jade do? He waited anxiously and to his surprise…

“Hm… you won’t hurt my Big Brother anymore."

The arrogance radiating from Lu Jade was unlike anything he’d felt from anyone but Shao Jin before.

His new form wasn’t clumsy either. Instead of throwing, crushing and stomping like himself with all this newfound power. It was doing something more sophisticated that rivaled any magic he’d read or heard about.

While those bronze serpents came rushing closer with deathly growls, Lu Jade did the unthinkable, a spectacle that would later be chanted across all those territories, with stories and exaggeration multiplying. It would make those mothers sing and terrified children cower in fear behind their parent for generations to come.

Lu Jade gripped Lu Pan's limp, blood-soaked form tightly with his tail then casually tossed him towards those trees at the edge.

WHOOSH!

With an elegance that defied its newly enlarged form, it slithered gracefully around that open battleground while spewing streaks of bright emerald-colored flames. This blazing emerald dance created an ever-expanding circle that was burning into those vibrant green patches, forcing those bronze serpent bodies backwards. A battle line was being created as their hissing turned to panic for the first time.

The grass around them erupted into bright emerald flames. A few observant assassins saw the transformation. A shiver raced through them because, the color of that ground and those grassy areas were changing!

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It was too late to run or turn back.

Those unlucky serpents trapped within those emerald flames started burning up like the weakest sticks. And that dread was palpable because in a space that had only ash before, something grew that caught everyone’s eye.

Even the terrified Bat General Kong was awestruck.

“A strange essence… It’s pure. Potent… and dangerous!” His ruby white orbs dilated in amazement, however those fangs of his were still covered in serpent blood as he watched Lu Pin's frantic and clumsy attempt to break free from his grip intensify. This was the price of underestimating someone.

Meanwhile, as Lu Jade continued that dance with fires dancing like snakes from his snout…

SHHHHH… SHHHHH… SHHHHH… SHHHHH… SHHHHH… SHHHHH… SHHHHH…

A rustling sound grew louder and was soon accompanied by visible shoots springing forth with terrifying speed!

It looked innocuous at first. Just green tendrils reaching toward the sky, but in Yama Yaguai, beauty was usually tied with destruction. This truth no one could deny, because those serpents who were watching the battlefield before were about to witness it firsthand.

“What… are those?” A few courageous snakes began questioning each other with trepidation echoing in their hiss, for even their innate curiosity and ambition couldn't fully explain the spectacle taking shape around that emerald flame.

Then a confident voice whispered a deadly name with a hiss that seemed too light to be menacing but for those hearing, it was their dirge.

“Phantom Willow Grass…"

"What kind of plant is that?" An eager snake who still held a semblance of fearlessness, couldn’t help himself. He lashed his massive body forward with bronze and black stripes and screamed:

“KILL THAT BASTARD!”

However, Lu Jade simply chuckled, “Be my meal then…”

“DIE!” That snake’s venomous fangs were mere inches away before something terrifying and impossible occurred.

A hissing scream, a sound akin to a thousand cracking whips came resonating. Green tendrils rose and entwined like serpents of emerald light that could swallow mountains. It wrapped itself around that serpent’s body instantly, moreover, squeezed those bones into dust and cracked that proud arrogant skull of his without much effort.

WHOOSH! SNAP! CRACK!

In a blink, it was gone. There wasn’t a drop of blood to taint those beautiful greens now.

"It can't be…"

All those courageous thoughts about annihilating, proving their strength. Those plans of revenge, dreams of a world where others trembled at their presence.

GONE! They’d vanished like whispers on the wind, and in its wake came another more pressing concern, SURVIVE.

But could they escape what now stood tall, ready to devour and punish with ancient and unrelenting wrath?

The others watched this transformation unfold with shock, especially, those bullies who initiated this entire bloodbath. Their humiliation and impending deaths, for surely Lu Ignis wouldn’t let them live after they returned empty handed from a mission like this. They finally understood.

"Hmph, It's Phantom Willow Grass! One of Yama Yaguai's deadliest plantsss. Legend claimsss that it drained those ancient ones back before the Calamity War… That little twerp! Where did he learn such forbidden power?” Lu Pin hiss with horror evident and fear resonating from every atom. But could a plant, even a magic one with a gruesome past bring about their death? Such impossible thoughts!

Even Raphael who witnessed it from afar, couldn’t help but question if this little snake had hidden its power all this time, to such an extent.

But the horrifying truth, it was right before them.

Lu Jade didn’t bother explaining any further. “My anger must be sssatisfied…” Those words then manifested into a whisper they’d never hear again, for if luck stayed on their side this time, it wouldn't be anytime soon.

“Phantom Willow Grass… Bind them all.”

And just like that, an echoing of thousands whips whipping simultaneously, and with them, more serpents found themselves snagged by those beautiful emerald coils that were far thicker, far faster now.

They crushed and splintered those scales and bones in a dance that resembled a melody of their very souls weeping!

“ARGH!” Their screeches amplified their tormentor’s power! They couldn't escape!

“Die… DIE!”

Even those hidden amongst those trees were not spared, they’d learn those trees in Black Wind, they whisper secrets and those secrets were deadly!

And within a heartbeat over thirty-three of their strongest soldiers were devoured, immobilized or broken, leaving their brethren with a decision no serpent has ever had to make before today.

Panic had consumed those last bastion of cowardly pride. Those serpents who still survived.

"Retreat!”

Their brave commander, Lu Pin’s hissed those words with his trembling tail trying its best to find leverage from that spear that was pushing him lower and lower towards his death. His message to the rest:

“Live to fight another day!”

Those survivors didn't hesitate for even a millisecond. They all slithered away. Their former ambition to conquer and feast vanished in the face of those terrifying glowing eyes from those emerald depths, the bloodlust, the sheer power and grace of that dancing green body. It was too much!

It reminded them of Lu Ignis’s earlier wrath! Who wants to be crushed a second time, by an equally terrifying beast?! Definitely not those bronze fools.

And as the remaining Serpent assassins retreated towards Ho Eastern…

“Don't forget thiss trash…” Lu Jade flung Lu Pan’s crushed corpse at their fleeing brethren.

"Hisssssss…”

Lu Pin had no choice but to pick up his brother and flee. Vengeance, those tempting thoughts of tearing apart both the Jade Serpent and its powerful ally was an empty wish now. His escape from certain death under Bat General Kong’s spear came at a price.

“I will have your hide. I’ll feed you to the ratsss, little brother.” He spat those words of revenge to appease his own shame before following his defeated battalion with a dead weight upon those golden stripes.

This time, when those who had gathered to kill had finally vanished into that treacherous jungle, leaving only the smell of blood, burnt grass, and fractured earth as proof of what Lu Jade could really do…

A quiet peace settled.

After the Phantom Willow Grass that wrapped themselves tightly around those fallen bodies like a burial shroud faded, a wondrous and bizarre camaraderie took their place.

"How…?" Raphael had no words to express what he’d just witnessed. It was like those stories in those old books from a time long gone where the weak suddenly gained power by making a deal with a demon but without any chanting, contracts nor burning incense.

This was insane!

“Little Lu. Your strength. It is…?" He wanted to finish his thoughts but couldn’t find words appropriate, or perhaps that was fear.

He now stood above that tiny figure whose body had shrunk to its former insignificant self. Beside him were 13 bruised, but still eager to serve Shadow Bats and Bat General Kong.

Bat General Kong approached with cautious steps before kneeling slightly in a show of respect to the serpent who just now proved that Yama Yaguai’s way wasn’t all about brute force, but cunning.

“Magnificent display! Worthy of praise, my equal.”

Lu Jade blushed. Those compliments coming from such a powerful commander touched its core energies and it was then, as if by decree, that he realized, how his previous anxieties about dying today had vanished from reality.

“Your legion is also impressive, my friend. Truly a power to be reckon with. Your Master is wise and brave.” His compliment was solely about Raphael.

Hearing them praise him for those things Shao Jin was gifted with had Raphael thinking. It was clear the other Calamities didn’t appreciate displays of kindness or mercy. Could he live in this monstrous body much longer? Should he release Shao Jin and become nothing but essence in those glowing hooves again? But before he could even delve further into those dreadful scenarios and questions…

"Well, actually… It's… It’s like this..."

Lu Jade started shifting uncomfortably and glancing nervously around. He was ready to reveal one of his deepest secret to his newly formed brethren. He pointed towards his tail as if remembering a traumatic memory.

“You see Big Brother. It’s because of that Jade Stone back at the cave…” He paused momentarily and glanced back at his previous self. That fear that consumed him back then was no more.

“So many years I've endured. How unfair, how painful it all was. Those endless insults, beatings, mockery about my appearance, my emerald scales which they called hideous. The shame."

Raphael and the other bats listened patiently. This wasn't just a recount of Lu Jade's experiences. This was about to reveal a secret worth dying for. A technique so rare and powerful.

"I awakened a unique cultivation Dao …"

"Dao? What's that?” Raphael wondered, "Oh right those stories about cultivating and reaching enlightenment." He shook away his thoughts of how confusing that sounded before leaning back as those mighty hoof dug into that soil. He couldn't resist asking for clarity, after all this was important to understand what had transpired here today.

“Your Dao? Could you explain, Little Lu.”

Lu Jade didn’t waste time explaining his technique, which he’d named ‘The Emerald Pool of Ten Thousand Flowers’.

"The Jade Stone allows me to seal and compress those innate energies granted from my lineage and nurture them for millennia… until they bloom with a potent force far stronger than if I'd cultivate like a regular snake with pride and desires!”

He glanced down towards the pile of serpent bones and laughed arrogantly. “That's why they call me ‘Weak’, ‘Useless’, and those that think themselves strong said I couldn’t advance, that I was ‘Stuck’. They've all underestimated me for so long.”

Lu Jade then flicked his tongue in delight. "What idiots!" He felt liberated. He puffed out his scaly chest and concluded proudly, "But no more. Tonight, I became the TRUE Jade Serpent of Ho Eastern!”