Blue Phoenix

by Tinalynge

  As soon as Hui Yue decided to cultivate the other youngsters followed suit and sat down, starting to cultivate alongside him. The only two who did not cultivate were Xu Piao and Xie Lan, both of them watching the still twisting and turning man on the floor.

  After reflecting on the battle for awhile, he finally allowed for his body to calm down enough so he could refine more spiritual energy and allow for his body to soak in the strength he was absorbing.

  Sighing deeply, Xu Piao finally went towards the man and knocked him unconscious before he returned back to Xie Lan’s side. He lifted the bottle of wine in his hand at Xie Lan, smiling gently towards the woman who was by his side year after year without complaint, just doing anything she was told.

  The night went by quickly. Hui Yue and the young cultivators were cultivating and deeply and absorbed in the refining process, so focused that they paid no attention to what was happening around them.

  Xie Lan and Xu Piao were awake all night, chatting with quiet voices and keeping an eye on the man they knocked unconscious.

  As the sun rose once more in the sky, the youngsters slowly woke up one after another. Their eyes shone with profound energies and smiles covered their faces.

  Hui Yue was the third to wake up and as soon as he did he looked at the man who was still unconscious. His lips turned into a cheeky grin as he went and picked up the body.

  “I’ll be back soon,” He said with a smile as he hoisted the body up on his shoulders and strode out of the room.

  Hui Yue walked around the Dragon Corps’ headquarters for quite a while before he found what he was looking for; the commander’s office.

  Hui Yue went towards the office, a smile on his face and a man on his shoulders. Walking inside, everyone was staring at him wondering what he was doing here; however, as they saw him walking towards the main office many speculators came to the conclusion that this was an important mission. A mission whose target was the one fully bound.

  Walking towards the office, Hui Yue’s smile was growing bigger as he knocked on the door waiting for a response.

  He did not have to wait for long as a few moments after the knocking, “Come in.” Could be heard from the inside of the room and with his free hand, Hui Yue pushed open the door.

  In front of him was a middle-aged man who was clearly an Emperor ranked expert. The aura which emanated out from within was filled with profound strength. A strength where the aura alone was enough to push Hui Yue back, should it suddenly solidify.

  Although the man in front of him was strong, Hui Yue did not mind it too much. He proceeded to toss the bound man on the ground. Seeing this, the middle-aged man furrowed his brows as he looked at the white-haired man in confusion.

  He was perfectly well aware of who the white-haired man was, and upon examining the bound man he was shocked to find that the aura was that of Scarface.

  Looking at the white-haired man, the Dragon Corps’ Lord looked at Hui Yue with a curious face. “What can I do for you?” He asked curiously, pretending that he was unaware who the bound man was. Hearing his words Hui Yue snorted in contempt.

  “This man,” He started, “Broke into my house and attacked my traveling companions. As if this was not enough, he also brought a wild tiger with him which ambushed me when I returned home from a stroll!”

  Hearing his words, the face of the Dragon Corps’ Lord turned increasingly sour, but he could see that Hui Yue was not done speaking yet so he said nothing. He was aware that this young man was important to the Frozen General. Had he not had these connections then the young man would have been dead long ago.

  “How can someone attack us when we are in the middle of the headquarters of the Dragon Corps?” Hui Yue asked indignant, and not before then did the Dragon Lord answer the questions.

  “I am sorry to hear that you had such an experience,” He said and looked genuinely sorry, “But it is not our fault if someone attacks you. We would never have imagined that one of our men would do something that troublesome.”

  “You did not know? What a bad excuse. What should I have done had my companions died? Is this man not one of you? Do you not have responsibility for him and his actions as long as he is a member of the Dragon Corps?”

  As Hui Yue spoke, the man’s face grew increasingly sour, but he could do nothing as he knew the status of the person in front of him. He could only sigh deeply while cursing Scarface in his mind.

  “Of course,” He said with a vague smile on his lips, “What you say is correct, how can we allow for our men to cause injury to our esteemed guests. Do not worry, I will make sure that this man understands his actions were wrong.” Thinking about this the Lord was already thinking about ways to torment the bound man. His eyes devoid of any emotion.

  “Well, you see, there is one thing I would like to know,” Hui Yue said as he leaned back. “I was told by someone that there is an exit from these tunnels towards the upper world here in the dragon corps’ headquarters. Can you tell me where it is?” He asked with a curious expression.

  Hearing his words, at first, the Dragon Lord was started, however, after thinking it through he came to the conclusion that Hui Yue heard about the Stairs of Hope from the Frozen General. If that was the case, informing him where they were was of no concern.

  “Moving towards the highest level of our headquarters, in the easternmost room, there you will find a set of stairs known as the Stairs of Hope,” He explained. “These Stairs of Hope moves you towards the Center Palace.”

  Hearing this Hui Yue felt elevated and wanted to go check whether or not the information was accurate, so he rushed to his feet and bowed deeply before he left the room.

  As the door closed behind him, the smile on his face froze, and anger sprung from his eyes. His aura solidified due to his anger and released a ripple of energy which shattered a glass in front of him on the table and removed the ropes used by Hui Yue to bind Scarface.

  Looking at the pitiable man, the Dragon Corps’ Lord had no emotions in his eyes. He stood up and a golden ray of light flew out severing the head clean off the man; giving him no time to react.

  Frowning, the Dragon Corps’ Lord opened his door and called for a servant to come and clean his office. While doing so he went for a stroll around the main building, his thoughts all jumbled together. He was filled with the urge to kill the white-haired youngster for showing him no respect, but at the same time, fear of the Frozen General held him back. Walking around he finally got his emotions under control.

  While the Lord was filled with pent up rage, Hui Yue rushed towards the location he had been informed of by the lord himself. His entire body was filled with expectation and excitement as he wished to return to the house. To return and tell his friends about the information he had found.

  Locating the upper levels of the headquarters was not something which took a lot of time, and soon afterwards the young man finally reached the room in which a massive staircase wound upwards towards the unknown above.

  Although Hui Yue did not head up the stairs, standing close by them he could easily tell that this was the Stairs of Hope; the way out of these dreaded tunnels.

  Seeing these stairs, all the worry and stress which had been trapped within his heart was finally released and the young white-haired man was now filled with relief and excitement. It was impossible for him to conceal the smile on his face as he turned around and strode with steady steps towards the house where his friends were waiting for him. Good news was something he would quickly share with them all.

  ….

  Zhong Fai, the Frozen General, was seated on his throne within the ice castle he had built. His face was filled with boredom as a beautiful woman was standing by his side.

  “How long has it been?” The general finally asked with a deep sigh as he looked at the many white-haired men in front of him. Looking at the frozen men he would feel some pleasure, however, there was one thing missing.

  “How long has it been since what, milord?” The wo
man asked curiously as she was looking at the man by her side.

  “The kid within the Dungeons of the Divine,” He answered straightforwardly. “Do you think that the kid has arrived at the Dragon Core yet?”

  Seeing the eagerness within the eyes of the general, the woman could not help but wonder why on earth he was this curious; however, she shook her head displaying that she did not know.

  Looking at her reaction, Zhong Fai sighed deeply before he stood up, “You are all dismissed!” He yelled loudly before he transformed into a streak of light which vanished into the distance.

  On the face of the Frozen General an expectant smile was present, and his eyes gleamed with excitement. “Let’s see how you will escape from me this time,” He mumbled as he rushed towards the Stairs of Hope.

  ….

  Moving away from the Stairs of Hope, Hui Yue felt a shiver run down his spine. But as he looked around, he noticed that there was no one around, and he shook his head starting to wonder whether or not he was overreacting. With one last glance towards the stairs, a smile bloomed on his face. He could not help but hymn a small melody as he strode back towards the house with steady steps and finally some good news to share with everyone.

  Chapter 191 - S Ranked Experts

  * * *

  Chapter 191: S Ranked Experts

  “What? Can you repeat what you just said?” Xu Piao asked his face filled with disbelief. His eyes went wide and his heart was beating erratically causing him to pant. Xu Piao was not the only one shocked, Xie Lan was staring at Hui Yue with disbelieving eyes as well. She was not as emotionally invested in the group as Xu Piao was, hence her reaction was more controlled.

  While Xu Piao and Xie Lan were shocked, happiness was evident on the faces of Deng Wu, Wang Ju Long, and Sha Yun.

  Moments before, Hui Yue returned to the house with the news that he traded Scarface for the location of the Stairs of Hope, and the entire group was filled with happiness and excitement. It seemed as though they would be finally able to leave these underground tunnels. They could leave behind the feeling of being trapped by the ceiling above and finally return to their friends they left behind long ago.

  Thinking back, Hui Yue was astonished to realize that it had now been around two years since the battle of Riluo City. It had been around two years since he last saw his good friends.

  Thinking about this, Hui Yue felt a longing to once more return to Riluo City and see how much it had changed throughout the years. He wished to once more meet up with Ma Kong, Gao Yao, and the Rong twins.

  Looking at his friends he knew that Deng Wu and Wang Ju Long both missed their families. It was also obvious that Deng Wu definitely missed Rong Xing a lot, although he never mentioned it. Sha Yun too missed her sisters, but throughout these two years of travels, none of the friends ever complained to Hui Yue; never stressing to him their discomfort of being away from home. They held out and gratitude flowed inside of Hui Yue’s heart.

  However, although he now knew where the exit was he was not able to leave just like this. He promised Lan Feng to find the Laws and discover what was going on with them. A promise like this was one which he would never step away from. He was a man; a man kept his word.

  “I’m sorry but I need to go look for the Laws once more,” Hui Yue said apologetically as he turned around to leave. He still had a few hours of sunshine which he could use to search. Now that he found the exit, Hui Yue felt that he was much closer to his goal. He was already halfway there.

  The friends all nodded their heads or waved to him as he left. They had already waited for the day when they could exit these dark, depressing tunnels for more than a year, waiting a few more days was nothing. As Hui Yue rushed out the room, quietness once more descended upon the room as the three youngsters went back to cultivating.

  The days they spent cultivating improved their strength a lot. Sha Yun and Wang Ju Long were both cultivating at the same speed and the two of them were close to breaking into the next star. Deng Wu spend half his time making more inscriptions and the other half cultivating.

  Although one would expect that Deng Wu was wasting a lot of time on making the inscriptions, these were incredibly important for a Metal cultivator and while it took time, it made them incredibly strong.

  ….

  Hui Yue had been in almost every room of headquarters, and his mood was turning more and more sour when he saw a small house on the outskirts of the city which he had never seen before. The house looked heavily guarded, and as Hui Yue walked closer and closer, upon reaching the house, he noticed how many guards were present.

  “No unauthorized men are welcome within this house!” One of the men said with a stiff face. Seeing the man Hui Yue flashed his A ranked emblem, but no one moved and made space for him as he expected.

  “I’m sorry sir,” The man said as he still blocked the way. All these guards were King ranked experts, and Hui Yue knew he had no chance if they were to fight against each other.

  “This house is only open to S ranked experts.” He explained, “We only have three S ranked experts and we cannot give the S rank to anyone unless you are a leader of the Dragon Corps.”

  Hearing this Hui Yue sent a final glance towards the house before he politely nodded his head and went on his way. Deep inside he was filled with conflicting emotions.

  Hui Yue had entered everywhere else within the Dragon Corps’ headquarters, but he had found nothing. Now, though, when he finally found a building which seemed to be the one he was looking for, he did not have the clearance to enter.

  This, however, made him even more certain that this was the room in which the Laws were being held. While walking back to the room a cold gleam flashed in his eyes. Now he knew where the Laws were hidden, and with the guards around them it was quite obvious that they were not there of their own freewill. It was easy to understand what he would do now.

  Moving back to the main house, Hui Yue quickly noticed that he was being followed by one of the King ranked experts who was guarding the house earlier. Although he did nothing to attack, the fact that he was being followed so brazenly was enough to let Hui Yue know that they were serious about not letting anyone inside that house. Unfortunately for them, Hui Yue was sharing his body with a Saint ranked divine beast. Should Lan Feng wish to enter the house then no King would be able to stop him.

  Returning to the house, the whole way he was followed by the expert and only when he entered the front gate did the man turn around. Sneering at the stupidity, Hui Yue went towards the room where his friends were seated. All of them cultivating, even Deng Wu had stopped writing inscriptions and was cultivating.

  Seeing this, Hui Yue moved towards Xu Piao and allowed himself to slump to the floor. The last many days had been stressful for the young man. He was constantly searching for a way out alongside looking for the Laws. During his search, he found the corpse of the Azure Dragon, something which he had not expected. Many things happened in the past few days, and he knew that before the evening he would have to calm down.

  Hui Yue could choose to sit down for a bit and relax next to Xu Piao. After relaxing instead of cultivating the young man went towards the bed which was in the corner. This whole time when the room was filled with people, none of them had truly slept as they spent the nights cultivating. When Hui Yue landed on the pillow a comfortable black world descended upon him; a world he had not experienced in a very long time.

  As Hui Yue slept, Xu Piao and Xie Lan watched over the group not aware of the actions which Hui Yue planned before he went to sleep. Although he had plans, he would not tell his friends before he was completely certain. Only then would he let them know.

  Waking up in the middle of the night, Hui Yue saw that some within the room had fallen asleep as well. Some were sleeping, others were cultivating, but no one was awake. With a doting glance towards his many friends, Hui Yue slipped down from the bed and left the house before he handed over control of the body to Lan Feng.

  Lan F
eng was a Saint and as long as he was in control of the body, the body belonged to a Saint ranked expert. Withdrawing his aura, he quickly made his way towards the building he saw before.

  Using no abilities and wearing the black cloak, Hui Yue became one with the shadows on this dark night. He easily managed to evade the first set of guards. His main issue was how to get in through the door which was guarded by two King ranked experts.

  Abusing the shadows, Lan Feng moved all the way around the house looking for a window, or any nook or cranny in which he could enter the house, unfortunately, though there were none and his mood turned somewhat sour.

  There was only one way in and that was to knock down every single one of these King ranked experts. Not killing them, just making them unconscious.

  Withdrawing from the house and once more merging into the shadows, Lan Feng moved away from the many guards. At the outskirts of the grounds he ran into the first guard he would deal with.