Blue Phoenix

by Tinalynge

  Jumping at the large snake, Hui Yue wanted to stop his body, however stopping was completely impossible and instead his body controlled by the red cloud struck out against the snake, his claws increased in size and sharpness with help of the black energy as it had wrapped itself around the sharp edges.

  The scales which previously felt as though they were impossible to slice through suddenly turned to butter. Although the claws stayed the same length, the black energy formed into extensions on his claws, digging deeply into the skin of the snake.

  The snake which previously had completely ignored Hui Yue, could no longer do so and a piercing hiss of agony was heard from its broken mouth. The entire world shook once again, as the snake tried to shake off Hui Yue who was holding onto its head with just his new claws.

  Shaking its head, the Horned Snake soon found that the one hanging on did not fall off, and in a fit of desperation it slammed itself against the mountain wall which formed part of the valley.

  Banging itself against the mountain side, Hui Yue climbed his way into the mouth of the beast. He chose to hide within while hanging on to one of the sharp fangs which were as large as Hui Yue himself.

  Frantic sounds were heard as the snake kept causing a ruckus, thrashing its body back and forth, trying its very best to get rid of Hui Yue.

  “Xu Piao!” “Xie Lan!” A loud growling voice roared out through the sky, “Zhou Long!” all three stopped in their tracks as soon as they heard the voice.

  So far neither of the three had done much during the battle waiting to see how Hui Yue would deal with it, but now that they heard their names and noticed how the entire mountain side was crumbling, they quickly left the trance-like atmosphere they had been in as they prepared their attacks.

  Golden light appeared on all three of their bodies, rushing forwards towards the beast. The golden light which left Xie Lan turned into leaves, small golden leaves, yet Hui Yue could sense just how dangerous these leaves were.

  As they reached the snake some of them were sharp and cut deep into its flesh, while others were like leaves and seated themselves upon its scales exploding in a large golden light as soon as the woman made an incantation.

  The golden light which appeared from Xu Piao turned into flying daggers, all of which embedded themselves deeply into the Horned Snake, causing multiple streams of blood to fall down.

  Wu Wei was just that the ability to create anything the way one wished to create it. As long as you could imagine it, then you could create it, as long as you had enough Wu Wei refined.

  Wu Wei was much more than just that, but this was all Hui Yue had been told by the phoenix as he felt that there was no reason to go into detail.

  Xu Piao and Xie Lan were not the only ones who attacked, Zhou Long was also participating finally. His Wu Wei took the form of a crescent moon blade. While Hui Yue was busy keeping the Horned Snake occupied, Zhou Long took his crescent moon shaped blade and using most of his strength, the blade soared down, much like a guillotine, finally decapitating the snake.

  Hui Yue, who was still conscious was starting to worry about what the red mist in control of his body had planned for him. Was it going to attack his friends again? Was he going to go for Zhou Long perhaps? However, as soon as Hui Yue tried to struggle the red mist silently vanished, allowing for Hui Yue’s body to return to normal and his consciousness to once more gain control over his body.

  Deeply surprised, Hui Yue looked at his hands, yet no matter what he did his body was now following his orders and there was nothing left of the red mist which caused Hui Yue great confusion. The tranquil cloud was not even needed to keep it in control, it just obediently waited within the dantian cave.

  Straightening his back, Hui Yue left the giant head of the Horned Snake which had fallen to the ground after being beheaded, and he was quite proud as he walked away from the beast. It had been a long and grueling battle, and the entire formation specialist team had been killed when the snake started thrashing about, yet all of Hui Yue’s friends were still alive, something which caused Zhou Long some agitation.

  “You did great today,” Zhou Long said as he patted the shoulders of the white-haired boy. The killing intent he felt was certainly similar to the one at the tournament, but this time it was much vicious, something which shocked even Zhou Long. This convinced him that this man was a young master with ties to the Frozen General.

  “I will be taking the beast core and the horn,” Zhou Long said, as even more golden light appeared on his hands and he chopped off the horn and easily dug out the beast core.

  “I need to return to town, when you have taken what you want from this beast, then come find me at the Dragon Corp’s headquarters. I have a mission which I planned to post, but considering you guys have helped me so much, I’ll hold it back for you.”

  Having said that, Zhou Long shot one last glance towards the area where the formation specialists were buried beneath the debris after which he shot off into the distance, not looking back.

  “Well then,” Hui Yue heaved a heavy sigh of relief as soon as Zhou Long vanished into the distance, “Let us start scavenging this beast.” Black blood suddenly flashed into Hui Yue’s hand and with a patience he start taking off the scales, one by one, as he moved down the snake.

  Although Hui Yue wished to scavenge all the materials from the snake, he soon had to admit that from the massive snake he could not take everything, but in the end he shared all fangs with Xu Piao. The scales was free for all and Hui Yue took thousands upon thousands of scales. He took so much meat that one could not believe it and even bones were scavenged along with some of the skin from underneath the scales. Its skin was tough and although it could be pierced through, it still gave some protection.

  Taking all the items took Hui Yue days, and eventually he had to leave the rest behind even though he did not wish to do so, however now he no longer had any space within his storage stones, something which sounded like a blessing in the ears of his friends.

  The trip back to the mercenary city took a few days longer than it had taken to arrive as they no longer followed Zhou Long’s insane speed. Instead they took the trip leisurely, and every night Hui Yue would be seated completely absorbed in his work of refining the materials he gained from the large snake.

  Chapter 143 - Mission

  * * *

  Chapter 143: Mission

  Having returned to the city of mercenaries, Hui Yue and the entourage went to the Mercenary Guild where they once more took over one of the smaller courtyards.

  While Hui Yue remembered that they would have to go visit Zhou Long soon he tried to push it as far back as possible, refusing to go anywhere before he finished refining the items he got, along with drying the meat.

  The main reason why Hui Yue did not go yet was because he was as uncertain about Zhou Long as ever. During the battle, it was obvious that the man could have finished it earlier, yet he allowed for the beast to thrash around for quite a while and he even left the majority of the work to Hui Yue, not to mention him letting the beast kill the formation specialists and Little Poppy.

  What the man wished to accomplish by bringing Hui Yue along, the white-haired boy had no idea, nor did he know whether or not the man gained what he wanted leaving him feeling unsettled.

  On one hand, Hui Yue wished to stay far away from the man. It was obvious that he was planning something..

  On the other hand, Zhou Long was a free ticket to the next tunnel. He was obviously from the Dragon Corps’ headquarters, and if they were to follow him gaining access through the tunnels would be an easy feat.

  In the end, Hui Yue was unable to decide what to do, but eventually he realized there was no harm in listening to the task Zhou Long was holding for him. With a determined expression on his face, Hui Yue packed away all the Horned Snake scales and bones which were laying by his side, along with all the refined materials, before he made his way towards the Dragon Corps’ office. The place where Zhou Long said he would be
waiting for him.

  Moving through town, Hui Yue stopped wearing his cloak, but even still lots of eyes were drawn in his direction. Some were staring at him due to his peculiar appearance, while others were staring at him in awe remembering his performance during the tournament. Although Hui Yue did not win first place he had long since been recognized as one of the leading cultivators within the city.

  Hui Yue started to understand more about cultivation, and he also understood exactly why Lan Feng chose this place to be his training ground.

  Although King ranked experts existed in the Demon Dwelling Cave, there were very few whereas the majority were Master and Grandmaster ranked.

  Having asked around, Hui Yue was told the next cave was mainly Grandmasters with the peak experts there being King ranked.

  Two caves away the average was Duke ranked experts while the final caves all had an average of King ranked experts or above.

  This was of course talking about the major caves, between them were smaller caves, caves the size of Cave’s End. These caves were fiefdoms, and belonged to the nobility living in the final few caves.

  Having learned this, Hui Yue knew that Zhou Long belonged to the main caves, but for some reason he was in this small cave with pitiful cultivators.

  While thinking about the various caves, Hui Yue suddenly found himself in front of the main office for the Dragon Corps and with a sigh he pushed the door open and stepped in, looking around only to find everything deserted.

  Looking around the building, Hui Yue found that the main office was nothing like he expected. For some reason he expected something similar to that of a police-station in his old world, but this was clearly a mansion built for the Dragon Corps to reside within whenever they were in the City.

  “Hello?” Hui Yue called while looking around but no one answered him. Wondering whether or not he should stay within the main hall or leave the house, Hui Yue was at a loss about what to do. Yet before he had the time to make a decision, the front door opened up and Zhou Long appeared in the doorway with a smile like usual.

  “Yue, my good friend!” He exclaimed with exaggerated arm gestures, before he placed one of his arms around Hui Yue’s shoulder and firmly lead him up the stairs through various corridors before they arrived at a large room.

  Being led inside, Hui Yue’s mouth was agape as he saw elaborate carvings of azure dragons all around. The four columns in the room were carved into azure dragons, the windows had mosaics depicting the dragons and azure dragon figurines were placed all around the room.

  Although Hui Yue called it a room it was in fact three rooms adjourned to each other. One room contained a luxurious bed, while another was a washroom, and finally the room in which Hui Yue was standing was a office.

  The office contained a large table made from heavywood, along with two chairs.

  Gesturing for Hui Yue to sit down, Zhou Long went behind the table and sat down. Sitting still for a short while, Zhou Long was looking at Hui Yue in a peculiar way. A way which Hui Yue could not quite describe and the whole time the creepy smile was still present on Zhou Long’s face. A smile which was a little to friendly.

  “I have to stay here in this cave for half a year,” Zhou Long started, as he looked through the various memory stones and papers which were spread out on the table. “However I have some information I need to deliver to the main office,” He continued, as he picked up three memory stones and one parcel.

  “These items need to get to the capital, but since I am unable to leave I need to rely on others to take it for me.” Zhou Long continued, his voice slightly complaining about the task.

  Had it been anyone other than Hui Yue who was within the room right now, they would have stopped him right there. If It was true that Zhou Long had to stay within the cave for half a year, then if he were to rush back after that half year he would easily be able to reach the final cave before Hui Yue and his entourage could. .

  The fact that Hui Yue did not point this flaw out strengthened Zhou Long’s impression of Hui Yue being connected to the Frozen General. The fact that he did not know showed that he was not from the underground world.

  Hui Yue on the other hand felt lucky. The fact that they were asked to carry something to the final cave would give them access through every tunnel on the way, and he felt extra assured the moment he heard that Zhou Long had no intention of following them on the way. That he had to stay behind for half a year.

  No matter how Hui Yue thought about it, it was beneficial for them and with a nod of his head he accepted the task.

  “Great!” Zhou Long said with an excited and happy expression on his face, “Pass me your mercenary emblem.” He continued, and Hui Yue withdrew the golden emblem from within his memory stone, wondering what exactly was going to happen.

  With curious eyes, Hui Yue noticed how Zhou Long placed the emblem against his forehead and after a flash of blue light, Zhou Long gave it back.

  Seeing Hui Yue’s confused expression Zhou Long decided to explain, “Don’t let the gold cover fool you.” He laughed, “This is a memory stone just like every other emblem. What I just placed within the stone was the specifics about your mission. That it is a mission on behalf of the Dragon Corps and that it is considered an A rank mission. I have upgraded you to B rank and also embedded a picture of you as the leader.”

  Hui Yue was taken aback from what he heard and he narrowed his eyes as the words made no sense to him.

  “What’s B rank?” He asked curiously.

  “B rank means that you have the right to request help in every town, and they have to obey you. The only ones above you are the leaders of each cave along with the leading officers and elders of the Dragon Corps, and if they were to go against you they would need a very good reason.”

  Hearing that he had been given so much authority, Hui Yue gulped slightly. Everything that he had wished for was right here within his reach, but it also proved that Zhou Long was no ordinary member of the Dragon Corps. To be able to promote one to such a rank he had to be some important.

  Although Hui Yue was still somewhat skeptical about Zhou Long’s intentions, he was grateful for the promotion and the mission was perfect for what he had in mind. Showing a genuine smile, Hui Yue nodded in approval.

  “We will leave town in a few days,” Hui Yue said to Zhou Long, feeling that he should inform him about their plans, and he thanked the older man then got ready to leave.

  Seeing that Hui Yue wanted to leave, Zhou Long did nothing to try and stop him. He was not stupid and was perfectly well aware that Hui Yue did not trust him. Let alone trust, Hui Yue was constantly on the guard when it came to Zhou Long, and the man knew it.

  He had from the very start shown his favouritism in a way to make Hui Yue notice and even now, he would do everything he could to show the younger boy just how much he approved of him. Although it was a risky gamble, it was a way to ensure that Hui Yue would remember him later on, and if Hui Yue remembered him as someone who helped him, then Zhou Long had succeeded. Anyone who was beneficial to the Frozen General was rewarded greatly.

  Sighing deeply, Zhou Long leaned backwards as he looked at the now empty office. A smile appearing on his face as he picked up another set of memory stones. Placing one after another on his forehead, Zhou Long started picking out random groups of mercenaries as his hand was resting on a poster that said Hui Yue was a wanted man and his companions were worth more dead than alive.

  Completely unaware of what Zhou Long was doing, Hui Yue was whistling happily on his way back to the courtyard, excitement evident on his handsome and youthful face.

  Now that he obtained the mission from Zhou Long, they no longer needed to worry about how they could get from one place to another. All the worries Hui Yue had had just now vanished.

  Although he was still uncertain about Zhou Long, Hui Yue knew that soon they would escape his grasp and with the privileges he was given how could they not have an easy road ahead of them?

  Whist
ling happily, Hui Yue could not wait to share the good news with his friends. He picked up his pace and ran through town as fast as possible, impatient to see his friends.

  Chapter 144 - An Escort Mission

  * * *

  Chapter 144: An Escort Mission

  ”You are going to be delivering information to Dragon Corps’ main office?” Xu Piao asked agape as he looked at the young man in front of him.

  Seeing the surprised expression on Xu Piao’s face, Hui Yue could not help but chuckle slightly and he nodded his head, handing out his mercenary emblem.

  Seeing the emblem Xu Piao carefully took it and placed it on his forehead, the shining light that was iconic of memory stones fluctuated out, enveloped everyone present. Xu Piao’s eyes were closed as he saw the mission description.