Blue Phoenix

by Tinalynge

  Looking at the two groups, smiles appeared on the faces of all three groups and although two of the groups had their faces hidden completely beneath masks and cloaks, everyone within the arena knew that they were all smiling. They were all feeling the eagerness which preceded a life and death match.

  Heading towards the stage, all three groups were now standing beside one another. They watched as the audience flooded through the doors. Smiles were evident on the visitor’s faces and their voices could be heard ringing through the stonewalls, laughter brightening up the atmosphere.

  Were it not that Hui Yue knew better, otherwise he would have assumed that the audience arrived for the sake of viewing a theater play rather than a bloody deathmatch.

  Hui Yue felt as though time was passing by slower than usual. Standing on the stage, constantly observing both sides he knew he had to plan for the worst case scenario, which would be that both teams ganged up against his.

  The likelihood of that happening was quite slim, but as long as there was even a small chance he needed to watch out for it.

  As they stood on the stage the audience filled up the arena and Zhou Long slowly appeared from the side. His was smiling as he looked right at Hui Yue, the smile dimming slightly as he looked at the rest of the cloaked group and eventually his eyes turned slightly icy as he looked at the masked group.

  While the smile stayed on Zhou Long’s face, his eyes seemed icy cold. Hui Yue instantly noticed the change, his brows furrowing slightly.

  “Ladies and gentlemen please find your seats,” Zhou Long spun around himself as he raised his arms, “Please find your seat so that the battle we have all been waiting for can commence.”

  As always, Zhou Long’s voice was low and sounded very natural, yet it was still audible to every single person within the arena. Everyone heard his voice loud and clear and within a few moments the audience seated themselves. Everyone was so quiet that a heavy atmosphere descended upon the three teams on the stage.

  They were being stared at by thousands of viewers all of them excited about the battle that was about to commence, the blood which was to be spilled.

  “Today we will see three teams fight, some will falter and die while others will stand strong and conquer! Today we will see a winner, today we will crown the strongest group of mercenaries within the Demon Dwelling Cave!”

  Having said that, a roaring sounded out as everyone cheered on Zhou Long, before he continued his speech, “There are three groups we have fighting today. The first group are the newcomers, the ones we all knew of moments after their arrival. The Cloaked Mercenaries. Although strong they have shown mercy to all groups so far killing none. Will they manage to continue this battle without killing, or will they finally have to sully their hands?”

  “In the next group we have the Masked Murderers. Unlike our cloaked friends these merciless mercenaries have chopped the heads off of all their opponents. Will their killing streak end, or will they cover the stage in blood and emerge victorious?”

  “Finally we have the famous Silver Edged Swords!” As soon as the name was mentioned cheering could be heard through the entire arena, “This group grew up within our very own city. Their hard work within the tunnel earned them a special spot and even now they have fought their way towards the final where they now face a pacifistic team and a murderous team. Will they manage to be victorious?”

  Zhou Long paused slightly after having introduced the three teams and roaring cheers were still sounding out from within the arena, a satisfied smile was evident on the host’s face.

  “The rules are simple, the last team standing on the stage will be the winner. There are no rules as to how you get rid of the opposition, neither does it matter if only one man survives. This is a battle royale, a fight to the death. Let the fighting begin!”

  Hearing his final words, Hui Yue and his team backed up slightly, Black Blood summoned in one hand and a fire orb already flaring in the other. Hui Yue was astonished to see that the masked group did not even seem to notice Hui Yue and his friends, instead their focus was on the third group, the ones called Silver Edged Swords.

  Standing back, Hui Yue narrowed his eyes. Were the Silver Edged Swords truly more dangerous than Hui Yue and his cloaked friends, or was there a specific reason as to why the masked group did not attack them?

  Pausing Hui Yue decided not to attack either of the two groups, instead he gestured to his friends that they should prepare their attacks, and be ready to attack with their strongest spiritual arts as soon as the winner of the other brawl was decided.

  Nodding, the others quickly stood down before they prepared themselves. Hui Yue allowed for his Fire Orb to absorb an increasing amount of spiritual energy and soon it became too large to fit within his palm. It ascended above his head, radiating an immense amount of heat as it slowly created smaller Fire Orbs that orbited around the growing ball of fire like small planets around a sun.

  Feeling the increasing amount of heat and how more and more Fire Orbs were created, Hui Yue took some of the smaller orbs and casually tossed them towards the ten men who were fighting for their lives on the opposite side of the stage.

  The entire fight was bizarre to watch. On one side ten men were fighting fiercely. Bones were broken, blood was flowing. Still no one had died, but the Masked Murderers clearly had an advantage. At the other side of the stage no blood had been spilled.

  Instead five men were standing awkwardly staring at the other ten. In their hands were weapons which Hui Yue purchased earlier that day. A big flower was visible on the ground with its roots hiding underground, waiting for the first person to approach them.

  Another was standing with four inscriptions floating around him, all infused with spiritual energy, ready to be activated at any second to annihilate an opponent as soon as they came within range.

  Sha Yun’s tail was evident within her cloak, tapping the ground lightly clearly impatiently waiting for her turn to attack, because no one was coming into her range.

  Finally their leader, Hui Yue, with fire raging above his head was clearly the most dangerous person and he was casually throwing the smaller orbs as one person after another was set on fire. Because one of the masked mercenaries had affinity with Water with tremendous effort he managed to keep the fire away from the masked men.

  The Silver Edged Swords, however, were not nearly as lucky and the fire was eating away at their clothes, quickly burning their skin. Soon a nauseating scent of burnt flesh filled the arena.

  Although the masked group of mercenaries were putting out the fires that Hui Yue randomly threw at them, none of them turned towards him or his friends. Their entire focus was on the other team giving Hui Yue a feeling that something was not quite right.

  Zhou Long had previously spoken with the group, was matchmaking a part of the final? But if it was how could they do it this obviously?

  Perhaps Xu Piao had something to do with it? Hui Yue quickly dismissed that notion remembering how he previously was warned about the final fight that he should expect people to die.

  A stern expression appeared in Hui Yue’s eyes. No matter what, he had not heard anything about a fixed result and he did not wish to see any of his friends dead.

  “Sha Yun, make a large barrier in front of us with the soil of the stage,” Hui Yue said, explaining nothing more.

  Sha Yun, obedient as she was requested no explanation, all she did was lean down and with her hands on the ground she used her affinity with Earth to raise a tall wall, almost surrounding the entire group.

  The audience was puzzled as they saw the wall rising. Although it would protect Hui Yue and his friends, it also made it impossible for the young man and his friends to attack the others, no one would benefit from the barrier in the long run.

  Completely ignoring the audience, Hui Yue gestured for his friends to stay back and with but a thought, the large Fire Orb flew into the sky, soaring past the barrier towards the fighting men.

  There were
currently fifteen men on the stage and Hui Yue had no problem aiming at them all, deciding that survival depended on their individual skill.

  As soon as the Fire Orb touched the first man, a large boom could be heard as an explosion unlike any before was felt. The flames exploded out and only as they were about to touch the audience did Zhou Long move his hands.

  A golden light appeared on his hands and within less than a second the golden light created a net which contained the explosive power of the fire. Surprise was evident on his face, but beneath the surprise was an approving gleam.

  Hidden behind the earthen barrier, Hui Yue and his friends waited until the heat was less intense before Hui Yue nodded towards Sha Yun, and the snake woman allowed for the barrier to once more return to the stage floor.

  Looking around the stage, Hui Yue could not help but raise an eye in astonishment. Thirteen men were still standing and no one seemed to have died, although seven men were writhing around on the floor trying their best to get rid of the flames.. Even the groupmembers who were not on the stage but standing by the side had been affected.

  The entire masked team was still standing, but their clothes and masks took quite a lot of damage. They showed shocked expressions and beneath one of the suits Hui Yue saw the Dragon Corps emblem.

  Three were still standing from the Silver Edged Swords, and Hui Yue had to admit that they truly were not someone to underestimate.

  Without missing a beat, Hui Yue clasped his hands together as he fell to his knees and touched the ground, calling forth his earthen flame within his spiritual energy sea and created a small earthquake shaking the entire stage. Trying to make the men lose their composure.

  “It’s our turn now!” Hui Yue said with a serious voice, and behind him his friends each took a step forward their bodies shining brightly from the release of spiritual energy.

  Chapter 137 - Elemental Flame

  * * *

  Chapter 137: Elemental Flame

  ”It’s our turn now!” Hui Yue said, as behind him four people could be seen taking a step forward. Wang Ju Long made a few incantations with her hands then picked up a seed which she crushed in her hands, allowing the dust suddenly flow towards the opposing men.

  Seeing the dust rushing towards them, serious expressions were visible on the faces of the previously masked team and the leader grabbed two of the Silver Edged Sword’s men, one hand around each of their necks, then used them to shield him and the others against the dust.

  This dust was swiftly blocked by the two men, and after having done so the leader threw them off the stage where they released bloodcurdling screams as their body were convulsing. Healers with the Wood element rushed to heal the now disqualified men.

  Having seen how dangerous the dust was, a vigilant expression appeared on the faces of their opponents as they drew their weapons. While the majority of the masked men were using broadswords the leader had a sword in each hand and a menacing aura spread out, it was pure killing intent. Everyone could tell these weapons were bathed in blood.

  As he looked at the opposition Hui Yue frowned slightly, he did not wish to go head to head against these men, but fortunately they were no longer unscathed like before. Their clothes and masks were all burnt and some wounds had appeared on their skin not only superficial wounds, but a few serious burns were apparent on the ones standing at the back.

  “Wu,” Hui Yue called out in a very low voice, “Although I said not to use it, I think we cannot afford to not use them.” Having said that, excitement shone within his black eyes and Hui Yue almost laughed at the look on Deng Wu’s face. He was truly and utterly excited about getting to display his skills.

  With fluid motions, the four inscription patterns which were floating around Deng Wu all vanished only to be replaced by another four, these four were, however, completely different and their menacing aura was in no way inferior to that of the opponents.

  The inscription pattern was completely black and was made with dried blood and the paper had turned blood red because of what was sealed within.

  Releasing his spiritual energy, Deng Wu spread open his arms and one word escaped his lips, “Devour!”. A silvery light shone from Deng Wu’s body into the four inscriptions and four shadows appeared, landing on the ground.

  These shadows were over two metres tall and three metres wide their size took up a great deal of space on the stage and they all opened their mouths to howl. As soon as the shadows opened their mouths, the audience heard a soul rending howl, instead a tremor ran through the ground shaking the entire arena.

  Surprise was evident in everyone’s eyes, as they looked at shadows which were clearly Black Wolves from within the tunnel, but these were like nothing they had seen before. These were not living wolves but shadows. These were beastly soul shadows!

  Shock was evident within the eyes of the leader of the masked group, but he clenched his fists as he barked orders to the others. Facing a soul shadow head on was the worst thing one could do. Only spiritual arts or those who possessed Wu Wei who would be capable of defeating the soul shadows, but at the same time they had to constantly watch out for the wolves and their attacks.

  The size of the wolves was also a great benefit for Hui Yue and his friends as they formed a nice divide, separating the three teams, with no one willing to walk near them. But just as Hui Yue was feeling safe, he saw a shining silvery light take over the stage and with great displeasure saw how the opposing team all held each other’s hands before a large five colored flame appeared between the five of them.

  Each of the mercenaries had a different elemental affinity, and having drawn upon their combined affinities they created a five colored flame which continuously grew in size. The power it held was large enough to explode the entire stage, not to mention the soul shadows.

  “Off the stage!” Hui Yue yelled after making a quick decision. Although he had never seen anyone work together in that way before, Hui Yue was not willing to test it as imminent danger was hanging right above them. And although Sha Yun and Deng Wu looked at Hui Yue with eyes begging to continue, they quickly understood Hui Yue was serious and without saying anything they jumped off the stage.

  This flame was nothing like Hui Yue’s flame which consisted of one element alone. This was an elemental flame, birthed from the fusion of all five elements and no matter what Hui Yue did to protect them, it would not be enough.

  Winning second place was far better than seeing any of his friends die, even he himself was likely to die, so he made the decision to forfeit.

  Although Hui Yue wished to win as much as everyone else, his aim in joining this competition was to gain some coin and fame. He had already been contacted by the Dragon Corps and given the first mission so for him, possibly facing injury was something they could not afford.

  Having jumped off the stage, Hui Yue noticed an ice cold gleam within Zhou Long’s eyes as he smiled and lifted his hand. A golden light shone from his fingertips and surrounded the elemental flame along with the beastly soul shadows. Clenching his hand, the wolves let out yet another soundless howl which caused tremors to run through the arena before they slowly vanished into thin air, becoming one with the essence of the heavens and the earth.

  Along with the wolves, the elemental flame was completely destroyed by the simple clench of Zhou Long’s hand causing Hui Yue to narrow his eyes. Due to the destruction of the elemental flame, a rebound of energy ran through the entire masked group and a few of them ended up spitting out blood while collapsing on the floor. It was no way to treat a winning team.

  “Congratulations to the Masked Murderers,” Zhou Long said with a fake smile on his face as he spoke to the audience, “I bring you your winners!”. It was obvious that the host was mad yet no one in the audience noticed anything. They did, however, notice the leader who was still on the stage, his face pale and his hands shaking slightly.

  “I think second place deserves a round of applause for managing to survive the entire battle!”
Zhou Long continued, but the audience booed at Hui Yue instead, causing a wry smile to appear on the young man’s face.

  It was to be expected that they were booing at them. The first half of the battle was between the two other groups where Hui Yue and his friends did nothing but observe. After that he created one explosion and as the fight was about to finally begin with the beastly soul shadows and the multi-colored flame, they gave up.

  Giving up just as the fight was about to get interesting was definitely something which the audience disliked, but Hui Yue could care less as he bowed towards Zhou Long and after which he turned around and left the stage. No one wished for the losers to hang around after all.

  Moving back to the courtyard, multiple thoughts were flowing through Hui Yue’s mind. It was obvious that the masked cultivators were part of the Dragon Corps, as Hui Yue noticed the captain’s emblem on his chest below the burnt clothes of the leader, not to mention the interaction between Zhou Long and the group.