by Tinalynge
Looking around, Hui Yue lifted his arm and gestured for the Saints to appear as he slowly withdrew. He wanted to ensure that he was not in the way for Wan Qiao’s fight.
“If he is here, then the rest of the Siban Empire’s Saints are here as well alongside the Grand Marshall. Start searching the area, but stay in groups. They have many more Saints than what I expected, and I do not wish to lose any more of you.” He ordered as the Saints nodded and split into three groups who started to look through the entire city.
“That guy is going to die soon,” Cai Jie said calmly as he observed the battle between Wan Qiao and Li Xiaopeng. Looking at them, Hui Yue had to nod his head. “Being blinded by anger is not going to do him any good,” Hui Yue agreed as he watched the fight in front of them. He was hugging the corpse with one arm and trying to wrist the other arm free of the One-Horned Jasmine Eagle’s talons. His leg came sweeping up with golden light solidified around the leg. He formed a long blade created from Wu Wei extending out from his leg. Seeing it chopping towards her talons, Wan Qiao finally released him as she took to the skies and circled him.
Li Xiaopeng was completely consumed by grief and rage. A rage he decided to turn towards the beasts although they were not the direct cause of her death.
Looking at the battle going on in front of him, Hui Yue cocked his head slightly as he was astonished to find that Wan Qiao was incapable of easily dealing with the enraged Li Xiaopeng. “I guess she was injured far more yesterday than I expected,” He commented, and by his side, Cai Jie nodded his head. “Makes sense,” He agreed. “Those Saint ranked Crusaders are really not easy to deal with.”
“Yet you took down two without being injured,” Hui Yue pointed out. A subject he was quite interested in had suddenly emerged. “I specialize in killing Crusaders,” Cai Jie said with a shrug. “It took some time, but they have a weak point. If you manage to destroy it, they will collapse. It is a small point of energy which lets them move around and stay somewhat intact. Even if they should have long since turned to dust. This small point of energy is placed within them to keep their bodies from collapsing.”
Hui Yue was taken aback as he heard this. It was definitely great knowledge, but he could not understand why this Cai Jie spoke about it so casually. If anything it should be a critical secret.
Seeing the surprise on Hui Yue’s face, Cai Jie smiled smugly, “You wonder why I told you all of this, don’t you?” He asked, and Hui Yue nodded his head truthfully. “Well it is really quite simple,” Cai Jie said with a cheeky smile on his face. “I want An He to suffer as much as possible. I want him to have problems, and the more Crusaders who die, the better I will feel. By telling you how to kill them, you will get rid of all the Crusaders you come across. The more you kill, the better I will feel.”
““What did An He do to you for you to hate him this much?” Hui Yue asked curiously as his eyes never once left the two Saints which were fighting in front of him. Li Xiaopeng had managed to place Li Meilin by the side so that she was no longer in the way, but he was still as enraged as before. His eyes were red, and his breathing labored. His chest was still covered in bandages; clearly he was not completely over the injuries he had gotten from their last fight.
While he had not completely healed his injuries, neither had Wan Qiao. Well, more accurately, she had managed to recover from her battle against Li Xiaopeng, but she had not managed to heal after the fight with the Saint Crusader. Both bird and human were busy exchanging one attack after another, dodging and fighting with beak, teeth, claws and high ranked abilities.
Looking at the fight in front of him, Cai Jie’s eyes turned misty as it seemed that he relived something only he could see. The longer he stood still, the more his lips tightened, the darker his golden eyes became, and the more murderous aura started to billow outwards.
Laying a hand on the golden man’s shoulder, Cai Jie instantly returned to the present and sent an apologetic smile to Hui Yue. Although he seemed to act nicely, he was clearly still affected by the memories that he just thought about.
“I cannot live in the same world as An He,” He finally said with a sigh. “He needs to die for all the bad things he has done time and time again.” Hui Yue said, knowing how Lan Feng shared this view of An He.
“One day I will kill him,” Hui Yue said with a determination which caused Cai Jie to look at him in a new light. At first, he had been surprised yet his surprised expression soon turned into an arrogant smile. “That is only if I don’t kill him first,” He commented as his eyes once more focused on the battle in front of them.
Chapter 292 - Grand Marshall of the Siban Empire
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Chapter 292: Grand Marshall of the Siban Empire
Hui Yue could not help but chuckle as he heard the words spoken by the golden man at his side. “I guess I can let you follow me for now,” Hui Yue mentioned as he raised an eyebrow in surprise because of the attack Li Xiaopeng sent towards Wan Qiao. The attack contained an extreme amount of Wu Wei which had turned into rope-like shapes. These Wu Wei ropes wrapped tightly around the massive eagle making it impossible for her to move. Her wings trembled as she tried to break the ropes with all the strength in her body, and after what seemed like an eternity, but in truth was less than a second, these golden ropes shattered into thousands of pieces.
“She is quite strong, this lady of yours,” Cai Jie commented as he watched the battle in front of them. He completely ignored what Hui Yue said earlier, but the white-haired young man did nothing to bring the subject up again. He knew that Cai Jie had heard him, and the golden man would make his own decisions. As for whether or not he would follow Hui Yue was something that would not be answered until Hui Yue left. Either the golden man followed him, or he didn’t. Either way, Hui Yue did not care too much. He was very curious about this golden man, but at the same time, he knew that it would not be simple to get to know him.
Both Hui Yue and Cai Jie were observing the battle with great interest. Wan Qiao now attacked fiercely, darting straight for Li Xiaopeng’s head. A screech escaped her mouth as she dove straight towards the shorter man.
“Do you know about the four holes that the Crusaders have on their foreheads?” Hui Yue asked curiously as he observed the eagle dive down. The further she fell the more her speed picked up. Her talons suddenly shifted forward, and she stopped herself with her wings for a moment. Li Xiaopeng clad his body in Wu Wei after which he lifted his sword. Wu Wei surged into the sword itself causing it to shine brightly. A small sun seemingly appeared on the tip of the sword. A small sun which grew as Qi was poured into the sword. He stood with his side facing the eagle, his sword waiting by his side ready to be swung towards the bird as soon as she came into reach.
“This is getting exciting,” Cai Jie said, and Hui Yue nodded his head. The entire army was watching the battle, but no one stepped in. They understood that Wan Qiao wished to win this fight on her own, and no one wanted to deal with an enraged Wan Qiao should Li Xiaopeng die by anyone else’s hand.
Suddenly a sound could be heard from the back of the army, the sounds of turmoil and clamor. Hui Yue turned around to see a group of around thirty Saints flying in the air. They stood off to the side uncertain about what to do. Looking up in the sky, Hui Yue saw his own Saints take to the sky as well, ready to settle this once and for all. Hui Yue smiled as golden Wu Wei wings appeared on his shoulders and he too flew into the air, followed by the golden young man who seemed to walk on the air rather than fly.
Standing side by side, neither Hui Yue nor Cai Jie paid any more attention to Wan Qiao and Li Xiaopeng. Instead, their eyes were focused solely on the group of Saints in the air.
The beasts had all changed their appearances to their original ones, and Hui Yue sighed for a moment before he woke up the meditating bird within his lower dantian. ‘This doesn’t look good,’ Hui Yue commented, so Lan Feng opened his eyes, observing what it was Hui Yue saw.
‘You know back when the war started you we
re certain that the Siban Empire only had a few Saints. Li Meilin said that there were only a few Saints as well. Now when it comes down to it, it seems that are actually pretty even with this country when it comes to the number of Saints. Where have they all come from?’ Lan Feng asked curiously as he took over control of their body, causing a shiver to run through Hui Yue.
‘I don’t know,’ Hui Yue said with a sigh. ‘They are here. I must have made a mistake by trusting what Li Meilin told me. Or they just appeared from out of nowhere. Perhaps they are mercenaries, bought to assist them.’
‘Who do you think Saints are?’ Lan Feng said mockingly, ‘They are not mercenaries, they are the peak of power. But who cares. I’ll make sure to save your little bum.’ He laughed and suddenly Hui Yue felt his mist energy started to flood out from his red beast core within the dantian cave. The energy which entered his body slowly started to change. Much to Hui Yue’s surprise his body did not sprout red fur, instead blue feathers started appearing on his skin. His hair turned to feathers, his legs to talons, and his arms to wings. His ice-blue eyes turned celestial with small yellow feathers around the eyes. The transformation took everyone by surprise.
The beast horde knew Hui Yue was a red wolf. He had transformed to that shape over and over again, yet here he was turning into a massive blue phoenix which had the aura of a Saint. A loud screech left his beak, and a shudder went through the body of all the beasts on the ground. Even Wan Qiao, who was known as the strongest, shuddered. Lan Feng was the blue phoenix, son of the Vermilion bird and sovereign of birds. Although he was not the strongest Saint, he was clearly not someone to look down upon. Seeing the changes even the golden man by his side had widened his eyes in surprise at seeing Hui Yue completely change his aura, strength, and appearance.
“Time to play a little!” Lan Feng said with a voice that sounded was far different from the one Hui Yue used. All the Saints on the beast side started to screech, roar, or howl. All the Saints were capable of feeling that by their side was a sovereign of beasts, a divine beast. Something which should have perished thousands of years ago by the hand of An He. Yet here he was, a phoenix who had risen from the ashes of war. The phoenix boosted the willpower of the Saints. All of them were elated and the humans, although not inferior in numbers, were completely taken aback by the increase in power each and every one of the beasts showed.
“It’s because of that useless bird in the back!” The Grand Marshall yelled out. He was not a Saint, but he was being carried by one so that he could watch the battlefield. His eyes were determined, but fear was evident deep within as he looked at the ruckus caused by the appearance of this stupid blue bird.
“Attack him! Kill him, and you will win the war!” The Grand Marshall continued to yell as he pointed at Lan Feng. Foam appeared around his mouth as he was spitting out the words. “He is only one beast. Go kill him! ATTACK HIM!” His voice reached a high pitch fervor, his eyes turned red, and foam splashed here and there. The Saints on his side were currently uncertain whether or not they wished to follow the order given by the Grand Marshall, who was clearly becoming deranged.
“This is not what he promised us,” One Saint said as he looked around at the many beasts who had gathered near Hui Yue. “He said we would be able to easily deal with the beasts and that he would give us some of the riches from Shenyuan, but all we have done is fight and fight. We have even lost some of our brothers,” One complained and the others quietly agreed.
“I only joined because he promised me plenty of beast slaves. Those beast slaves sell for a lot of money. But right now, I am about to risk my life for a few slaves?” Another joined in.
“Who cares about slaves, I was promised ancient cultivating methods that would allow for a breakthrough into the God rank. He promised me that the beasts had some cultivation methods like this, and what do I get? My martial brother died while fighting those who were supposed to be weak!” A third started speaking and within moments, all the Saints were filled with displeasure as they heard they had all been promised various rewards. Some had been promised worldly riches and others had been promised ancient cultivation methods or high ranking abilities.
“I am not going to fight in a war against this many beasts,” One Saint said as he lifted his arms in the air. “I already wasted a lot of time to try and win, but seeing that even the Crusaders failed in removing the majority of the Saints, I am not risking my own hide for the sake of this power hungry Grand Marshall,” He continued as he looked at Hui Yue. His eyes showing many complex emotions. “I wish that if I meet you in the future, there will be no bad blood between us,” He said towards the large group of beast Saints, and he bowed fractionally to Hui Yue before he picked himself up turned around and left. Looking at the Saint many others on the side of the Siban Empire hesitated for a moment before they too bowed fractionally towards the beasts and took to the sky flying into the horizon, never once looking back.
The Siban Empire lost around thirty Saints within a few moments, and soon only four remained. One of these four was Li Xiaopeng, the Saint busy fighting Wan Qiao. He paid no attention at all to what was happening in the sky, all he had cared about was getting revenge for Li Meilin.
Looking around, the panicked eyes of the Grand Marshall of the Siban Empire fell upon Li Xiaopeng, and a manic grin appeared on his lips. “It doesn’t matter if the Crusaders failed or if the Saints have left me!” He screamed as he started moving around causing it hard for the Saint to keep him in the air. “Li Xiaopeng is one of the Saints who can rival even the Frozen General!” He yelled out loud, “Li Xiaopeng is the secret of the Siban Empire. Thanks to Li Meilin he stayed loyal to the Empire. He can deal with all of you! Don’t think I will let you go!” He yelled loudly, but soon his eyes filled with fear as he felt himself plummeting to the ground. The Saint no longer bothering to hold him. “No! Don’t let go! We can win! The Siban Empire is mine!” He yelled, but no beast tried to grab him, and the final three Saints who had stayed behind, apart from Li Xiaopeng, all looked at him with disgust before they too turned around and followed the rest of the Saints into the horizon.
Everyone watched the Grand Marshall as he landed on the roof of a house. Cracking sounds could be heard as bones broke, and his screams of agony rose to the air. He rolled from the roof to the ground and suddenly the screams stopped. No sound was heard as he laid on the ground. Two beasts went to see what state the Grand Marshall was in, but as they checked his vitals both of them shook their heads. The Grand Marshall was dead.
Chapter 293 - Who Really Killed Her?
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Chapter 293: Who Really Killed Her?
Everyone, apart from Wan Qiao and Li Xiaopeng, stopped as they looked at the dead Grand Marshall. His death had been very anticlimactic, pitiful really as he had plummeted to the ground, but Hui Yue could not help but feel that the man deserved a death such as this. Nothing fancy, just a quick death to end a greedy life.
Hui Yue was still for some time before a smile appeared on his lips. The only thing he needed to do now was to defeat Li Xiaopeng. When he was defeated, then the Siban Empire would belong to the beasts. They would have gained the freedom they had fought so hard for. Knowing that everything now depended on Wan Qiao and the battle with Li Xiaopeng, Lan Feng, in control of their body, used his wings to fly a bit into the sky before he turned towards the woman and man who were currently fighting.
While Hui Yue was deeply focused observing the battle on the ground, he felt that Lan Feng was feeling ecstatic as he flew in the sky. Then he hovered in the air above the battlefield before once more repositioning himself. Lan Feng was in his original form for the first time in four thousand years, and his feelings of longing were so overwhelming that Hui Yue was certain the arrogant bird was crying from joy.
Hui Yue said nothing as he let Lan Feng fly around in the sky. His eyes kept going from the many beasts who eyed him with shock and reverence to the battle between Wan Qiao and Li Xiaopeng. Watching the battle, Hui Yue
was surprised to see that Wan Qiao was not attacking the shorter man; instead, she was solely defending herself. Something which did not fit her personality.
“Is she waiting for the opponent to run out of energy?” Hui Yue mumbled to himself as he scratched his chin, his eyes focused solely on the battle in front of him. “She gains nothing from waiting for him to run out of energy… Will she run out first?” He continued to grumble. “She should be stronger than him. She was healed just before. Why is it that she does nothing.”
Just as Hui Yue was filled with questions, Wan Qiao changed shape to the beautiful woman that Hui Yue usually saw her as. “What is she doing!” He exclaimed once more, but no one answered him. Lan Feng was currently too emotional to listen to Hui Yue’s words, and no one else could hear him as he was deep within his lower dantian.
“This battle is pointless!” Wan Qiao called out as she dodged one more attack coming her way. This time, it had been a golden dragon-shaped spear with an incredibly strong and sharp end. Seeing it, Hui Yue was certain that it was so sharp it could cut through stone.