Blue Phoenix

by Tinalynge

  “We need to remember that these watermills can more than double our current production, is it really too much to show this much gratitude? Hopefully we can create an outstanding relationship with an extreme expert in the process. This is definitely an extremely beneficial situation for us.”

  The elders behind Deng Tsang Ying all nodded their heads and gave voice to their agreement. None of them understood that Deng Tsang Ying was actually jealous of his own son and that these elders were actually making it worse.

  “Did you say we could double our current revenue?” Deng Tsang Ying asked in a voice hoarse from anger. These watermills could definitely help him strengthen his position so that he could better deal with his son at a later date.

  Dealing with Deng Wu was something that would take a very long time, especially considering that not even he, his father, knew what Deng Wu’s real level of cultivation was at.

  Deng Wu’s eyes were filled with ridicule as he stood to explain the watermill to his father. Although the elders were unaware of the hostility between father and son, how could Deng Wu possibly be oblivious to this hostility?

  However even though Deng Tsang Ying was hateful towards Deng Wu, it wasn’t anything that bothered him much. Deng Wu was also well aware that the elders were supporting him so that one day he would take over as the family head and then his father could rant all he wanted to.

  “Young Master Wu,” one of the elders said after they had all looked at the sketches for some time, “please tell the esteemed expert that we greatly appreciate the opportunity she has provided us with and we will always have our doors open to her if she is in need of a place to stay.”

  Hearing this almost caused Deng Wu to snort with disbelief as he was completely aware of who ‘Li Fen’ actually was. Nonetheless, on the outside Deng Wu was as respectful as ever as he assured the elder that he would inform her of this.

  Deng Wu excused himself and went back to his courtyard where he rested a little before it was time to return to the academy. His usually smiling face was firm and filled with an icy coldness that caused anyone who saw him to be unable to recognize him, as he was usually a cheerful guy.

  Deng Wu did not feel much love for his father, all the same the Deng family was where he belonged and he was grateful to Hui Yue. This was not only for giving him face, but also for handing over such a treasured machine as the watermill.

  Hui Yue interested Deng Wu in a way that he hadn’t been interested since he had found his azure figurine. There was a profound strength within both of them, and a perplexity which he had never experienced elsewhere.

  Deng Wu’s signature smile returned to his face as he thought about the many adventures which were waiting for him. It was obvious that this little runt, Hui Yue, was in no way a normal person. It was also apparent that by befriending such an extraordinary child, not only would they gain fame and prestige, they would also gain a way to escape this boring childhood city of his.

  After Deng Wu left the hall, Deng Tsang Ying sat looking at the drawings for some time.

  “We will begin to act when we have implemented all of these new watermills and confirm that they actually work.” He said to the elders, whom all solemnly nodded their heads.

  “Why not tell young master Wu about our plans?” one of the elders asked, only to notice rage flash through the eyes of Deng Tsang Ying.

  This rage was due to once again being told that he should include his son in something in which the younger generation should have no say. The elder however assumed it was due to the danger of their plan. To involve Deng Wu would also give him an equal share of the danger.

  “For now no one is to know anything,” Deng Tsang Ying said in a stern voice. He then picked up a memory stone which he handed to one of the elders present, “hand this to our informant and have him act in accordance with the order. Under no circumstances are you allowed to read it yourself.”

  Dusk was drawing near as Hui Yue and Ma Kong finally left the manager’s office. Outside of the Black Market Auction House the Rong twins and Gao Yan were already waiting for the them. Together these five friends started making their way towards the Deng family compound.

  Deng was the only one in the group who had his own carriage, so it was natural for their group to rely on him when it came to transport back to the academy.

  Rong Xing had used a message memory stone to contact Deng Wu, whom informed them that he was currently at home this caused the five of them to move towards Deng Wu’s home.

  Hui Yue was slightly apprehensive about visiting the Deng family compound once again, but at the same time he felt a slight curiosity as he wished to see how terrible the Shan family compound looked in the daylight, a week after the devastating fire.

  Hui Yue still felt no guilt over what had happened to the Shan family. Shan Ping had caused trouble for him previously and although his family compound had been burned to ashes, no one had died as the guards had seen the fire upon its collision with the walls that surrounded the main hall.

  After walking through the streets the lot of them spoke about the events that had transpired that day. The twins and Gao Yan had enjoyed their visit to the Martial Art School where they had been assistance teachers, giving the students the impression that as long as they worked hard they would definitely make it to the Royal Academy. Gao Yan had turned into their hero.

  Upon reaching the previous Shan family compound, Hui Yue raised an eyebrow in surprise. He had expected to find an area which was still showing off the great destruction, however this was not the case.

  The entire area had been demolished and the only thing which remained were a few barracks from which the Shan family guards were patrolling the grounds. These guards were to be here until the grounds go up for auction, multiple noble delegations had been sent here to discuss a buyout price beforehand.

  Astonishment filled Hui Yue as he realized that within a week the Shan family had actually managed to reorganize themselves so perfectly even after losing their home.

  Although the Shan family was a low ranked noble family within Riluo City, they still have numerable cultivators which had unlocked the middle dantian. Be that as it may they still had not produced a cultivator who could break into the upper dantian which would by then give their family new prestige.

  By now it was easy for Hui Yue to see what kind of a world he lived in. It was a world where the strong survive and the weak die. A world where family matters as they will provide for you as long as you help them, there has always been safety in numbers. This safety had implemented an insanely strong martial law and even if hell were to descend upon this world, Hui Yue now understood that the shocked reaction that would occur in his old world wouldn’t transpire here.

  As Hui Yue gazed upon this demolished family compound in front of him, it finally made him realise that his world had changed. His world had undergone such a drastic change, and yet even with all of the changes to his surroundings Hui Yue had changed the most.

  Not only had he changed alot physically, his appearance and age had drastically changed, his way of thinking had also been affected by the surroundings.

  Destroying the home of hundreds of people and not feeling guilty was one thing that the old Hui Yue would never have accepted. A new alertness had grown within Hui Yue after his ten years of life within this world, and although previously Hui Yue believed that people could be trusted until otherwise proven, he now firmly believed that strangers were not to be trusted.

  Chapter 27 - Secrets

  * * *

  Chapter 27: Secrets

  “Rong Xing, my heart, my flower, my life! How can you look even more stunning tonight than you did when I left you this morning? Your beauty can rival that of a goddess and your eyes are shining like the most elusive star in the sky. Oh my queen of the night, how can this brave warrior be good enough for you? I give you my heart, my soul, my everything!”

  As soon as the monologue started everyone turned towards the person who was speaki
ng, their faces lighting up in smiles. Even Hui Yue could not help but laugh every time he heard Deng Wu act as this. Although Deng Wu was dangerous there was an understanding between the two of them and Hui Yue knew that Deng Wu would gain nothing from informing others about him.

  Deng Wu walked towards the group at a slow pace, nonetheless Rong Xing unexpectedly decided to kick out at him which caused the handsome youth to yelp out of surprise. Deng Wu fell right on his buttocks and scurried towards Hui Yue whom he intended to use as a meat shield.

  For all that, as soon as Deng Wu’s hand touched Hui Yue’s shoulder a current of electricity exploded between the two, causing both Hui Yue and Deng Wu to be shot away from each other in opposite directions.

  The electric current had shocked Hui Yue, and although his body was currently in alot of pain his eyes were alert as he stared at Deng Wu, who in turn stared at Hui Yue.

  Looking at each other it felt as though time stood still as both searched the other’s eyes to see if they had been found out.

  Hui Yue’s heart sank when he saw that shock that was evident on Deng Wu’s face, however there was a fear and alertness within the beautiful eyes which usually looked at the world with apathy.

  Hui Yue had felt it. An energy very similar to that of Lan Feng, and Hui Yue knew where it came from.

  Suddenly Deng Wu let out a scream of agony and his arm grabbed the finger on which he had ring with an embedded storage memory stone, pain evident on his face as he finally managed to take of the ring.

  On the hand a burn mark remained and the scent of burnt skin could be smelled all over the area. Hui Yue was quiet as he moved towards the dropped ring and picked it up, seemingly unaffected by the scorching heat that had been emitted from it moments before.

  “I’ll hold on to this for you,” Hui Yue said with his sweetest voice. “Big brother Deng Wu can come pick it up whenever it fits you.” Having said that he shamelessly placed the ring in his pocket and Deng Wu did nothing to stop him. The storage ring was already bound with his Qi and no one was able to access it other than him.

  The other four people were staring at the two in shock. Hui Yue currently had his back towards the friends and he quickly mouthed the words ‘we’ll talk later’ to Deng Wu before he grabbed his arm and hoisted him up and a smile appeared on both Hui Yue’s and Deng Wu’s faces,while they allowed laughter to ring out.

  The four people who stood next to them were dumbfounded. Although Deng Wu always acted in an odd way this was definitely quite out of line even for him.

  Neither Deng Wu nor Hui Yue felt as if they needed to explain what had happened, and none of the four who observed what had just occured felt that it was their place to question it either. It was obvious that neither Hui Yue nor Deng Wu had any enmity between the two, if anything they had gotten closer.

  ‘That man is a monster,’ Lan Feng said within the dantian cave, his celestial voice sounded both astonished and shocked.

  Every time Lan Feng allowed his presence to be known by either communicating with Hui Yue or absorbing the Qi, trying to refine it into Spiritual Energy the ring which was now in Hui Yue’s pocket would start to rumble and growl as if it had a ferocious animal locked within.

  ‘What is his cultivation?’ Hui Yue curiously asked while chatting casually about school things with his friends. Only a third of his attention was focused on his friends while the rest was impatiently waiting for the answer from Lan Feng.

  ‘Don’t sh*t your pants,’ Lan Feng warned before he answered, his voice still filled with astonishment, ‘He is currently a nine-star Practitioner ranked cultivator.’

  ‘No way.’ Hui Yue was shocked. The Rong twins were both viewed as geniuses of their generation, so was Gao Yan, but everyone had viewed Deng Wu as an average talent. An oddity, but not one who stood out because of his swift advancement.

  Thinking about what had happened the last couple of weeks it made some sense to Hui Yue, and he was now aware that the Deng family also knew of this high ranked cultivation genius within their clan.

  I bet they keep laughing when the Wang family boasts about Wang Ju Long, Hui Yue laughed to himself before he accepted that Deng Wu was definitely the number one genius within this small city of Riluo.

  ‘He must have gotten help from him,’ Lan Feng mumbled to himself before he quickly returned to cultivating, causing Hui Yue to frown slightly. Who was ‘him’? However, since Lan Feng had gone to cultivate rather than explaining, Hui Yue knew that Lan Feng did not see it as important for now.

  As the youngsters returned to the academy everything returned to how it had been the week before. Deng Wu did not come visit Hui Yue to discuss the ring and instead, Hui Yue spent the time cultivating much like he had done previously.

  Finally, after waiting for two weeks did Hui Yue finally run out of medicinal pills. Excitement shone within his blue eyes as he struck out one fist after another, utilizing his low ranked martial art skills to test his strength.

  Using these medicinal pills Hui Yue had managed to reach the eight-star Student rank, and it was so incredibly tempting to go and buy more pills so that he could charge straight to the ninth star, despite this he knew better.

  Although these pills copied Hui Yue’s Qi, they also caused his Qi spiral to become unstable. It moved irregularly as the copied Qi was composed of some thick and other thin Qi threads, creating an imbalance within his lower dantian.

  Hui Yue sighed deeply as he once again started to attend the classes and spent the hours during lectures to read through one massive book after another, each containing the history of this continent. Unfortunately, he was unable to find any more clues towards the Dark Age.

  During his spare time, Hui Yue still fortified his insides and practiced the transforming weapons martial art skill. Currently he was capable of producing the simplest of all knives, however after doing so Hui Yue realised just how terrible he had become at armed combat.

  Looking back, the last time he practiced wushu was when he lived in his old world and since he had come here everything he had done focused on his body rather than weapons. This lack of practice now came back to bite him and Hui Yue had to add an extra few hours of training for his wushu, forcing himself into shape.

  The nights were when Hui Yue would sit still and cultivate, absorbing the essence of the world which he then refined into Qi that merged with the thin Qi threads. This caused them to grow thicker and become much more stable.

  Another couple of weeks went by calmly while Hui Yue attended the classes and cultivated in peace, however, he had not forgotten Deng Wu and as his Qi finally settled down he decided that the following day he would go look for Deng Wu. If his secretive friend had no intention of finding him then it was about time for Hui Yue to go hunting for his friend.

  A smile appeared on Hui Yue’s face as he looked out the dark window. Sleep was one of the few luxuries that he would only allow himself when something good happened, and tonight he would sleep perfectly well.

  Hui Yue and Lan Feng were both sound asleep during the night. Whenever Hui Yue practiced and cultivated, Lan Feng spent his entire energy on refining Qi and merging it with his elemental affinity, in turn creating spiritual energy, inside their Qi cave.

  Hui Yue had not gotten a proper sleep in weeks. He had been spending all his time and energy on stabilizing his Qi spiral, and upon finally succeeding, exhaustion washed over his young body and he knew that it was time to sleep.

  This, in turn, had ensured that Hui Yue fell into a deep slumber as soon as his head hit the pillow and everything around him became unimportant.

  Usually, a cultivator, even one in the Student rank such as Hui Yue, would be alert even in his sleep. However, Hui Yue was currently within the Riluo City’s Royal Academy, where it was impossible to enter without an academy emblem of some sorts.

  Not to mention he was within his own courtyard, which the key he had with him in his bedroom could only open. The key being bound to his own Qi was an additional prec
aution.

  All these safety measures, combined with his exhaustion, had caused both Lan Feng and Hui Yue to be sound asleep without a care in the world about their lowered guard.

  Outside, the moon was fully illuminated in the night sky, indicating the turn of the month, and the second pill distribution day had transpired exactly like the first.

  This time, however, Hui Yue had kept the pill and consumed it, only to realize that it was subpar to what he was used to.

  A creaking sound filled the room and a shadow gracefully descended into the room from the outside black sky through the window. Her entire figure was bathed in the moonlight from behind, causing her features to be hidden in a pitch black shadow.

  The figure crept into the room and stood, observing the sleeping boy for a moment before the hazel-brown eyes started shining with a red hue. A vicious smile spread across her beautiful and succulent lips, with the air of a tigress ready for the kill.