Blue Phoenix

by Tinalynge

  A servant came into the room with warm tea for the cultivators. "Young Master Lao has already left for the academy. Miss Jo followed him. Master Cai Jie and Xu Piao have eaten their meals in their rooms. Should you need anything feel free to call on this lowly one." The maid said with a bow. Although Hui Yue had tried to make these maids treat him more equally, they refused to listen and thus Hui Yue had given up some time ago.

  "I see. Thank you, that is all for now." Hui Yue said as he nodded to the maid who left promptly. Now no one was left in the dining hall and by spreading his spiritual energy, Hui Yue quickly found that no one was listening in on their conversation.

  Speaking with his two friends, Hui Yue quickly recounted what had happened, and their eyes were round as they heard about the heavenly lightning he had called forth.

  “You are simply peerless! Who is fit to actually challenge you?" Deng Wu exclaimed, but all he got in a reply was a grim smile. Hui Yue was perfectly well aware of just how lacking his current strength was compared to An He. Looking into the distance, he knew that he had only started down his path of immortality, and he still have a very long road ahead of him.

  Chapter 402 - The Kingdom Changes

  * * *

  The assassination of the third prince was the main subject on everyone’s mind. The faction behind the third prince was so upset that they swore to give ten thousand spirit coins if the assassin was exposed or caught.

  Although there had been a fight for the throne, everyone knew that the one most likely to win was the third prince. He had the most allies and supporters, and he was both shrewd and calculating. Had it not been for him underestimating Hui Yue, or overestimating his own strength then he would have still been alive, and Hui Yue would most likely be the one dead. The third prince had many secrets up his sleeve and when he died he had still not unleashed his full strength. The overwhelming lightning had taken him by surprise.

  Hui Yue had been summoned to the palace because he had visited the day of the murder, but they quickly ruled him out due to him having been driven home in the princess' carriage. There were so many people who saw this that he was beyond doubt.

  Now that the third prince was gone, the power struggles had suddenly changed. The first and second prince were suddenly energetic, and they did their best to sway the allies of the third prince. However, a new variable had appeared.

  The princess had officially stated that she was going to become queen saying that a woman could do the job of a man just as well and that she was better suited than her brothers for the role.

  Her unexpected actions caused all the female Saints and Emperors of high status to support their goddess. The princess did all she could to use Hui Yue's backing to gain the throne. She knew when Hui Yue told her he would support her that this was her one chance to beat her brothers. She greatly used his fame to her benefit. Not only were experts enticed to join her for the sake of change, but many also joined due to Hui Yue’s influence.

  This sudden change in the power struggle for the throne also caused internal struggles within families. Many influential families could not decide who to support, and even the supporters of the second and first prince were starting to shift towards the princess.

  While many people were filled with fear of being assassinated, Hui Yue, and his mansion, was filled with happiness. Wang Ju Long's usually cold demeanor had vanished, there was a constant smile on her face as she tenderly took care of Jo and Lao.

  While the children were in school, Wang Ju Long would follow Hui Yue around often hold his hand or just stay by his side.

  "I have been wondering," Wang Ju Long suddenly asked as she was sitting next to Hui Yue observing what he was doing.

  The two were outside in the garden, and on the ground in front of them were pelts, hides, claws, gemstones, magical cores, metal ores, and other treasures. By the side of all these items was a small portable furnace which Hui Yue had found within the Universe Box.

  "Why are you suddenly so focused on crafting things again? I mean, the last time I saw you this focused was I the Dungeons of the Divine. You haven't been focused on it since returning from the Siban empire." Wang Ju Long asked, and Hui Yue looked up from the metal ore he had been examining. There was an excited gleam in his eyes and a smile on his face.

  "I did not have the time while fighting the war, nor did I have the mindset to focus on something such as this when the third prince was still alive. Now, however, I have nothing that stresses me. I can focus on becoming one with the Metal element deep within me. This will strengthen my ability in making things, especially inscriptions a field which greatly interests me." Hui Yue said smilingly. Deep within the Universe Box Hui Yue had found multiple books about various inscription runes and their usage. He could not wait to fully understand them and learned how to use them. With them, he would be capable of improving not only his own items and weapons but also the weapons of his friends as well.

  "Well, in that case, I will let you focus. I still have not fully mastered the formation you gave me." She smiled as a large red staff appeared out of nowhere. Leaving the grove where Hui Yue was seated, she searched for an open area that was suitable for her Wu Wei art. The trees and stones had already been pulverized here, and there was nothing in sight that could be destroyed by the terrifying blows of the formation.

  The ground shook as one boom after another resounded through the entire garden, despite the constant rumbling Hui Yue was not affected in the least. The only thing that went through his mind was the things he was going to craft.

  At first, he had picked up some metal ore. Hui Yue did not know what kind of metal this was, but it was incredibly heavy. It was so heavy in fact that he needed to exert his full strength just to keep it from falling.

  Looking into his inner body, he entered the middle dantian and found his Metal flame. This Metal flame then poured through his body before it left through his fingertips and slowly entered the furnace in front of him.

  As it entered the furnace, it started to shine with a silvery light as it heated up. Looking at the ore in his hand, Hui Yue then placed it in the fire. Slowly he saw how the impurities were burned to nothingness and the metal itself was all that remained. The metal turned into a liquid as it was heated within the furnace, being constantly refined by the Metal flame.

  "Okay, first step complete," Hui Yue mumbled to himself as he had his full focus on the metal within the furnace. The piece of ore had gone from being a large chunk the size of Hui Yue's thigh to now only be the size of his fist. Even so, it was much purer than ever before. It now had a glossy gleam that had not been present before.

  Slowly the silvery flame within the furnace died out and on Hui Yue's hands, two flaming gloves appeared. While the gloves protected his hands, Hui Yue reached into the furnace and picked up the hot, malleable metal within.

  With his hands, he molded the iron into the shape of a short sword. After roughly shaping it, he picked up a hammer with various runes on it. This hammer had also originated from within the Universe Box. Hui Yue had only obtained it after offering the greedy box a vast amount of storage stones.

  With an anvil summoned from his dimensional space, the metal was placed on the anvil as Hui Yue repeatedly struck the metal. Eventually, the sword became so sharp that one would be cut just from touching the blade.

  But Hui Yue was not finished yet. Closing his eyes, he entered the Universe Box and summoned a scroll. Opening it, he looked at various runes before deciding on a one specific.

  Memorizing the rune took him a good half hour, and afterwards, his consciousness slowly exited the dimensional space. Once more the young man looked at the sword in front of him.

  Entering his middle dantian he once more summoned his silver flame but this time, it did not cover his entire hand, nor did he let the flame flow freely within the forge. Instead, a beam of light appeared from his index finger. This was a manifestation of his Metal flame that he could use for engraving.

  Slowly and
steadily, Hui Yue inscribed the rune he had memorized. Sweat formed in small beads, slowly dripping down his face, but Hui Yue had no time to worry about the sweat, his full focus was on the sword in front of him.

  Inscribing the rune perfectly took Hui Yue three hours, and when he finished a satisfied smile appeared on his face. The rune had been incredibly difficult to inscribe because it was of such high quality and Hui Yue excited to test out his new creation hurriedly stood on top of it the sword. He poured his Wu Wei inside and with a bang he took to the skies. As long as he poured enough Wu Wei into the sword, it would keep soaring all the way to the ninth layer of the heavens. He would be able to fly amongst immortals!

  Without resting, he repeated the same forging once more. An ore of metal equal to the first was used, and soon another flying sword appeared. Hui Yue repeatedly forged five flying swords before he felt he was sufficiently experienced to look at the rest of the many materials in front of him. It was clear that he was not satisfied with what he had made so far. He was aiming to create even more treasures.

  The many items that were spread in front of him were all things which the previous owner had painstakingly gathered throughout his trips around the various worlds. These were all considered true treasures, yet Hui Yue was using them just to train his elemental affinity. If the previous owner knew what Hui Yue was doing with all his hard work, he would surely be coughing blood. Forging more and more treasures, Hui Yue made sure that the runes he inscribed truly fitted the items. After forging countless artifacts, he found that all his energy had been used.

  Looking at the things in front of him, Hui Yue found that he had created a chest plate with runes that seemed to swirl around the edges. Every single one working together with the others to create one of the most challenging runic patterns he had ever made. There were a total of seventy-two runes which together made the strongest defensive runes in the scroll Hui Yue had read.

  The runes, twisted together somewhat resembling a snake; the runes entwined to create an absolute defense making the metal so strong that it could even withstand the power of God ranked treasures.

  This chest plate had taken the most time to forge, but it was also the most outstanding item he had made.

  "Well done in creating something so remarkable for your low level of strength," Cai Jie said walking from the shadows of the forest. It was not until now that Hui Yue noticed it was completely dark outside. He noticed the day had long since passed, but no one had come to interrupt his work, so he had not noticed earlier.

  "Such an amazing item, I assume you will gift it to young miss Ju Long?" Cai Jie joked, and Hui Yue just smirked. It was indeed created for Wang Ju Long. Instead, he picked up one of the swords and tossed it to Cai Jie.

  "I am sure you can make use of this sword," He changed the subject and Cai Jie busy observing the sword could not help but whistle in admiration. "A flying sword, huh? You have some outstanding inscriptions; this rune is so profound that even I have never seen it before. Since you've gifted me this amazing sword, I'll gladly take it!" He said before he moved towards Hui Yue who was storing all his items back the storage space

  "I used up all my internal energy crafting these things," Hui Yue sighed while he slowly stood up. "Now it is time for me to go and do some training. If you need anything let's talk tomorrow," Hui Yue said placing a hand on Cai Jie's shoulder. He then turned around leaving. Nodding his head, Cai Jie once more glanced at the sword in his hands. A massive smile formed as he jumped on it and poured Wu Wei inside. With a smooth movement he overtook Hui Yue and rushed towards the mansion's doors.

  Chapter 403 - Grandmaster Spiritual Blacksmith

  * * *

  Entering the mansion, Hui Yue went straight to his room where relaxed in a hot water bath.

  After crafting the flying swords and the breastplate, Hui Yue had used up all his energy and was exhausted. He could feel his body aching; his entire body had been pushed to its limits, and even his muscles shrieked in pain as he had been using them full force while forging. A relieved sigh escaped his lips as the warm water gently massaged his tired body. It was so comfortable that he almost fell asleep as he was laying in the warm water.

  He did not leave the bath before the water had turned cold, and as he finally got out, his body was relaxed and far more comfortable than it had been before. He had even managed to replenish a large amount of energy he had lost. Almost half of his energy had returned to him.

  Getting dressed, Hui Yue sat down on the floor with his window open, and he allowed for the moonlight to shine on him. Although he had merged with the Green Pearl, the black witch, which let him absorbing Yin energy through the heavens and the earth anytime, he still absorbed far more Yang energy. Therefore he needed the assistance of the moon or Yin energy pills to keep his cultivation base balanced.

  As the moon descended into the horizon and the sun rose into the sky, Hui Yue quickly left his room. His body was once more in peak condition, and with a smile was on his face, he left the mansion. He headed directly towards the spiritual blacksmith Cou Ling's shop.

  He was excited and filled with anticipation because he wanted Cou Ling to look at the treasures he had forged the night before. He wanted to hear what she had to say about his items. He was excited to see if she was as satisfied with them as he himself was.

  At first, he walked slowly through the streets much like all the commoners did. However, his impatience quickly grew too hard to control, and he jumped on top of the buildings running from building to building on his way towards the blacksmith’s shop.

  Looking around Hui Yue discovered that he was not the only one using such a method, surprisingly there were actually many shadows rushing here and there. This was the first time he had seen others on roofs, and he could not help but laugh a little at himself for not realizing that if he could think to find a faster way to travel then so could others.

  Looking at the people running back and forth, Hui Yue flicked his hand, and a sword appeared in his grasp. Pouring Wu Wei into the sword, Hui Yue jumped on and soared through the sky so swiftly that only a shadow was left behind.

  Although his speed was quick, many of the other shadows hesitated for a short moment as they saw the figure fly off into the distance. Shock filled everyone's faces, and they looked at one another with complete and utter disbelief. Suddenly these experts turned around and started following this person who had ascended into the sky and was seemingly flying forward at an astonishing speed.

  Hui Yue did not look behind him, nor did he have his spiritual energy spread out, so he was completely unaware that a large group of experts were following behind him. All of these experts had various techniques to fly, but none of them were as advanced as the one this person in front of them was displaying. It would take all their Wu Wei just so they could fly at his pace and that was for at most a few minutes, but here was a cultivator who was flying swiftly while perfectly ascending and descending above the city. His flight seemed like just another leisurely stroll through a garden.

  The eyes of the many experts turned red from greed, and they couldn’t help but wonder how he did it. It was obvious this was not from his energies, as the consumption would be overwhelming. Therefore they had to find out what kind of treasure would make it possible to fly like this? None of them had ever heard about or seen such a heaven-defying item. As they all thought this, they could do nothing but use all their internal energies to rush behind this leisurely gliding expert.

  Finally, Hui Yue had reached the location of Cou Ling's shop, and with a flick of his hand, the sword vanished as he fell towards the ground. Although he fell from a great height, he landed lightly on the road, not leaving even a mark on the ground.

  There was a long queue in front of Cou Ling's shop as always, and Hui Yue could not help but smile as he jumped over the shop itself and entered the inner courtyard. He did not move into the store where he knew Fang Wei was busy selling weapons of all types but instead headed towards the smithy
itself where Cou Ling was.

  Entering the smithy he felt as if he was dropped into an oven as the hot air blew across his face. It was clear that she was working hard. Looking inside, Hui Yue found that she was not forging on the large furnace in the middle, but instead the furnace he had gifted her.

  Saying nothing, he waited for Cou Ling to finish what she was crafting which took her only a short while. When she turned around, her face brightening greatly as she saw the young man in front of her.

  "Yue!" She called out excitedly as she found a set of chairs and gestured for Hui Yue to sit down. "The furnace you gave me is simply outstanding!" She praised, her voice filled with excitement.

  "Are you here for the sake of getting some weapons perhaps? Or maybe a set of armor? I have it all ready for you," She said as she stood up, but Hui Yue lifted his hand. "Wait," He called out, and Cou Ling instantly stopped turning to, look at Hui Yue quizzically.

  "Actually, recently, I have crafted some things, and I want you to look them over." He said as he waved his hand. A flying sword appeared together with the breastplate he had created for Wang Ju Long in front of Cou Ling.