Blue Phoenix

by Tinalynge

  Looking at Hui Yue with confusion, Cou Ling instantly accepted the two items and started looking at them. The more she studied them, the wider her eyes became. Eventually, she handed them back to Hui Yue, shaking her head with a wry smile.

  "These items are outstanding. The quality of these items are at the peak of the spiritual blacksmith level and is what a practiced spiritual blacksmith can forge, but your runes! Those inscriptions are simple earth shattering. They are far more powerful than anything I have ever seen before, and because of them you can easily be considered a spiritual grandmaster if not greater."

  Nodding his head, Hui Yue understood that the items were slightly crude, but with the inscriptions, he had etched onto them made them priceless. Their abilities were far more outstanding than anything else.

  Just as Hui Yue was about to answer, he and Cou Ling both heard knocking on the door leading into the smithy. As they looked over, they saw three experts standing in the doorway, and looking outside at least seven or eight more experts were present.

  Both Hui Yue and Cou Ling were surprised as they walked towards the many experts. "Excuse me, what can this lowly one do for you?" Cou Ling asked politely. Many of the experts were clearly Saint ranked while a few were Emperors, but all of them were supreme experts.

  Although these experts listened to Cou Ling, all of their eyes rested on Hui Yue. Some had red eyes while others were better at hiding their greed, though it was obvious that they were not here to be friends.

  "We saw you flying through the air as easily as the birds fly in the sky." One of the experts said. "We would like you to share this secret with us. Should you chose not to do so, don't blame us for being ruthless." Another expert said, but his words just caused Hui Yue to start laughing.

  "You barge into my friend's shop and demand I give you something? You don’t even bother to give me face and offer a present of goodwill, but instead, threaten me? Do you truly believe I will just give you such an important secret?" The mocking and disdain in Hui Yue’s voice caused many of the Saints to frown. They were supreme, heaven-defying Saints and they couldn’t even remember when the last time a mere junior dared be so insolent. Although they had seen him before in the grave, they knew that he had been hiding behind a group of Saints. Although he was strong, he was nothing compared to the large group gathered here.

  "You dare mock us? You’re not in a position to request anything from us Grand Marshall. While you might have the backing of a few beasts, you are nothing in front of us! You are nothing more than a beast yourself. Give us what we want, and we will be on our way."

  "Why don't you try me," Hui Yue growled as a sword appeared in his hand. The heavens above Muchuan City turned dark and thunder could be heard in the distance.

  "You want to fight me? You really think that your numbers mean anything against me?" He laughed out loud as the sword in his hand flashed. One Direhound's Immortal Strike after another was released towards the cultivators, and the Saint's faces turned serious as they understood the incredible danger that these sword attacks possessed. However, Hui Yue ensured that none of the attacks hit anyone. He made sure that the energy dissipated into thin air. This was after all only a threat; he did not intend to go against all the Saints of Muchuan City.

  "Hmph, not only do you have a monstrous talent for your age, but you're also strong enough to threaten a Saint." One of the experts said as Hui Yue just smiling in response. His smile was not friendly but filled with a sinister blood lust.

  Many of the experts watching felt a chill run down their spines before they stepped backward. They were suddenly not too sure about their decision. They felt that fighting Hui Yue might not be as easy as they had expected.

  "Fine, I will acknowledge your strength. What do you want for your technique?" An expert finally asked with a sigh. In his hand was a high quality coin storage stone he took out to pay the price Hui Yue asked.

  Seeing the Saints back down, Hui decided it was better to use this opportunity to gain items rather than wasting his time fighting a few Saints. "Well, since you asked so nicely let me first make something understood. What I used was not a martial skill but a flying sword. I have an inscription that when placed on a weapon will let one fly; however since this inscription is of great importance to me it won't be cheap. I don’t mind inscribing it for you if you provide me with materials of various kinds. Highly ranked herbs would be the best."

  Hearing what he said shocked everyone, but the Saint who had taken out the stone put it away and took out a few other storage stones. Throwing the stones to Hui Yue, he caught them and looked within. With a nod of his head, he looked at the expert who had thrown the herbs to him. "These will work, give me a sword and inscribe the rune on it." Hui Yue said and moments after the expert produced a sword for Hui Yue.

  Looking at the sword, the white-haired young man nodded his head and went into the smithy. He first inscribed the rune for flight after which he placed another rune on top. This rune formed an illusion over the runes making them impossible to discern. This would make it impossible for anyone to understand the runes he had inscribed or copy them.

  Moving out of the room, Hui Yue gave the sword to the expert who had given him the storage stones filled with different high ranked herbs. As soon as the expert pushed his Wu Wei into the sword, he was astonished to find that he could soar into the sky by relying on the sword under his feet.

  Seeing this expert soar into the heavens the eyes of all the other experts turned jealous, and they started yelling one after another practically throwing their storage stones to Hui Yue and requesting a flying sword. What they had not noticed, though, was that these swords were far slower than the one Hui Yue had been flying on.

  Chapter 404 - Flying Swords

  * * *

  "Everyone, calm down!" Hui Yue shouted, shocked that he was assaulted by experts trying to force their storage stones onto him. "I am a grandmaster spiritual blacksmith, and obviously I will do business with those who can pay." Hui Yue said calmly as he took a few steps back. "This is an inscription which I had the luck of acquiring while I was traveling through the wilderness, but because of its age, the stone could only be used once. I was lucky to find this inscription pattern left behind by a peerless inscriber."

  "I am not going to take over her shops so the future transactions will be as such, one high-grade storage stone filled with herbs, metals, or other items and also one spirit coin. I want some of these items to be rare, but don’t worry I won’t force you to only give me rare materials. I just want half of the items to be considered fairly rare or higher quality. The spirit coin will be given to Cou Ling for lending us her shop; the materials are for me. If you can pay this price, then I will gladly inscribe my flying rune into the item of your choice."

  The price he had offered was not high considering how important the inscription was. Everyone, who had previously threatened him was now as friendly as could be as they rushed to get their inscribed weapons as soon as possible.

  "Pay Cou Ling, and I will take the swords one at a time. It will take some time to finish everyone’s, but I am sure everyone will agree that it is worth waiting for." Hui Yue laughed as he picked up the sword and entered the smithy behind him.

  Hui Yue had already perfected the inscription when he was making the flying swords for himself, and the one he was using now was not as refined as the previous version. Therefore, the energy it used was minimal. The other inscription, however, the one which made it impossible to copy, required him to use quite a bit of energy. He soon found that he could inscribe four swords before he needed to use a red pill to return to peak condition.

  Although these pills were rare, Hui Yue had the recipe to make them. Looking at the endless amount of herbs he had in the Universe Box, Hui Yue was not too worried about using his pills up. When needed he would learn how and concoct the pills.

  Laying down one inscription after another, Hui Yue finally finished. As he handed the final sword back to the last ex
pert Hui Yue wiped away the sweat from his forehead as he sighed deeply. The expert took to the sky with an excited smile as he soared to the heavens.

  "That was quite amazing," Cou Ling said with a smile as she looked at the amount of spirit coins in her hand. Passing the storage stones to Hui Yue, she stored the spirit coins in her money stone. Although she was not willing to take the money, she knew that Hui Yue would not take it if she offered so instead of making it awkward she just kept the coins for herself.

  "It’s very draining," Hui Yue said as he slid down to the ground where he sat down. Leaning against the building, he closed his eyes. Making so many inscriptions took its toll even though it became easier the more he practiced. Even though each one took less energy, his energy had still dropped considerably. Therefore, he decided to relax for a moment.

  "When did you reach the grandmaster rank?" Cou Ling asked curiously as she looked at Hui Yue. "I guess you found the various inscriptions in the grave?" Hearing the question, Hui Yue just smiled before he produced a memory stone which he placed against his forehead. A gentle blue light radiated within the courtyard before Hui Yue tossed the memory stone to Cou Ling.

  "So far I have only perfected these two inscriptions, the flight inscription and also the rune hiding inscription. Unfortunately, I am not able to pass on to you the protective inscription I used on the breastplate just yet. Also, when you make the flying inscriptions make them with seventy percent effectiveness so that they don't fly as fast as ours." He laughed as he stood up once more. I need to head out, but at least this will help me gather quite a few materials.

  Laughing, he jumped on his flying sword and soared to the heavens. He was heading towards the Black Lion to gift a sword to Gao Yan. Although Hui Yue had only created five swords so far he planned to gift one to each of his friends. As soon as he had visited Gao Yan, who was ecstatic about the sword, he left to enter the Black Market Auction House.

  "Young Master Hui," A servant called out the moment Hui Yue entered the auction house while bowing deeply. Hui Yue was not surprised to see the servants notice him. He was used to it now, and he gently smiled at the servant in front of him.

  "I need to speak with Ma Kong," Hui Yue said to the servant completely certain that he would be led to his good friend. True enough, the servant bowed deeply once more, "Young Master Ma is this way." The servant said. He led Hui Yue into the actual mansion, away from the auction house side and into the place where the Ma family lived.

  They soon reached Ma Kong's office. The office of the young man who was now an important figure in the Ma family. He was highly valued as he often brought in great items for their auction house, and was exceptional at customer service. Not to mention, Ma Kong was the one in control of the insurance side of the Ma business. Ma Kong had originally been part of the Black Market Auction House in Riluo City much like his father and older brother, but due to his outstanding talent, he had been summoned to the capital where he had taken on greater responsibility. After arriving at Muchuan City he had showcased his true skills and firmly established himself as an important member of the core family.

  Hearing someone knock he called out, "come in," and Hui Yue entered the room. His appearance caused a smile to spread on Ma Kong's face.

  "Yue!" He called out delighted as he placed the memory stone he was holding down on the desk and stood up. "To what do I owe the pleasure?" He asked as he went towards Hui Yue, leading him to a chair.

  Taking out the sword, he gently handed it over to Ma Kong. Before he even had the time to speak, the eyes of Ma Kong shone with excitement.

  "Is this one of those awesome flying swords I've heard about?" He asked, taking Hui Yue by surprise.

  "How can you have heard about them? I didn't give any out till today..." He said out loud, but Ma Kong just smiled. "One of your customers came to sell us a flying sword. After showing it off, our family purchased the sword for three hundred spirit coins. We are currently hunting down more of them, but the ones who managed to get them have been quiet. The higher ranked experts within the city are almost going crazy trying to purchase these swords."

  Hui Yue didn't know whether to laugh or cry at this news. He was shocked to see that someone had already sold off the item he made them, and even more shocked at the extravagant price they had obtained for it. He also felt slightly guilty for not having told his friends about the flying inscription earlier, but he never thought it would be such a big deal. "Well, I am the person who created these flying treasures. If you give me the rest of the day and hand me some swords, I'll make you a small stack of them." Hui Yue offered. Practicing inscriptions would help him become one with the Metal element, and this was something he was quite set on doing. Helping his friends at the same time was just a bonus.

  "This sword is made with a better inscription than the one you bought before," Hui Yue said as he gestured towards the sword he had already given Ma Kong. "Keep it for yourself. The inscription I will use for the rest of your family will not be as efficient."

  Ma Kong nodded his head, and a great smile formed on his face before he left the room for a short while. When he returned, he was holding a storage stone filled to the brim with ordinary swords.

  Sitting comfortably in the chair, Hui Yue took one sword after another and inscribed the two runes on top of each other before he finally placed them on Ma Kong's desk.

  *Knock* *knock*

  "Come in." Ma Kong called out, and the door opened. The Ma family Patriarch was revealed in the doorway. He quickly entered the room closing the door behind him, and his eyes shone with excitement when he saw the stack of swords that were placed on top of the desk.

  "I was informed that young master Hui was the secret grandmaster spiritual blacksmith who was capable of creating these flying swords. To see that you truly are creating so many flying swords, I fear that we might not have the funds to purchase them all. Would you perhaps be willing to sell them at our auction house?" The patriarch asked, his heart aching. Although he truly wished to own these flying swords, he could not pay too hefty a price for so many swords. Hearing his words, Hui Yue just shook his head.

  "Ma Kong is my good friend; I am making these as a gift for him. If you do want me to be paid for them, then I would gladly accept some medicinal herbs. Not the rare ones but the ones an apprentice alchemist would use." Hui Yue laughed out loud, and the eyes of the patriarch grew increasingly bright. "Herbs you say? I will immediately prepare them."

  Although Hui Yue said that he was gifting these swords to the Ma family, they did not wish to take his friendship for granted. If they did not give him something in return for all the effort he made for their sake, then it was likely that in the future their relationship would not be as good. They were more interested in paying him for his work so that he would not hesitate to help them in the future than keeping a few rare treasures. They had already benefitted from Hui Yue multiple times. It was clear that if they kept a good relationship with Hui Yue, then their family would keep increasing it’s influence.

  The patriarch and Ma Kong were not idiots. Hearing that Hui Yue was asking for medicinal herbs for an apprentice alchemist meant that it was highly likely this genius in front of them had managed to have an elemental affinity for both fire and wood, and as was evident in front of him he clearly had an elemental affinity for Metal. Someone with three elemental affinities was incredibly rare, and they would become a supreme expert if allowed to grow up. The patriarch would do anything to keep their relationship amicable with Hui Yue.

  The patriarch was truly extravagant. For each sword, he delivered a high-grade storage stone filled with herbs some of which even had very rare herbs. It was clear that he had almost cleared their entire treasury of herbs that the Ma family owned. Despite this expenditure, the patriarch found it worth it. Buying herbs was a simple thing. The mercenaries would bring herbs in daily and sell it to the auction house, but these flying swords could only be made by one person! Buying them all and selling them at their auct
ions were the best thing for the Ma Family.

  Hui Yue was fine with creating these swords. He knew that the Ma family would not flood the market with them, and even if they did, it did not matter too much to Hui Yue. The swords were of a lower grade than his own. They were made from black iron, not the high-quality materials that Hui Yue's swords were made from, and the runes on them were also of a lower quality than the runes he had put on his own swords. No one would be able to follow him when he decided to roam the skies.

  Chapter 405 - Alchemist Guild

  * * *

  "We, the Black Market Auction House, cannot thank you enough for the kindness have shown our family," The patriarch said excitedly as his eyes hazed over when he saw the tall mountain of flying swords that were stacked on Ma Kong's desk.

  "Should you ever need anything, then do not hesitate to contact us. The Black Market Auction House will always be there to support you. Should we decline may the heavens strike us down and shatter our souls!"

  The patriarch was truly emotional. His eyes almost misty, and although he might have sworn the oath because of these emotions, it was an oath he would back with all his might. This was not the first time Hui Yue had done something to benefit the Ma family; he had done many things which had gained fame and money for the Ma family.