Blue Phoenix

by Tinalynge

  "When I heard that you reached the Saint rank I had to rush over." He said. He too seemingly did not pay attention to the world around him, or he simply did not notice that the talk within the hall had turned lower than usual. Some people were mumbling on purpose, pretending to speak but they were not saying anything important. Everyone listened intently because they all wished to know how Hui Yue, someone who just became a Saint, had had the ability to fight across ranks.

  "Hey, is that the fox you found in the grave?" Xiao Ning asked, and Hui Yue nodded his head. The two started talking about their experiences in the grave and Ye Ling, Zhu Jun, and Lou Qiang all appeared together. They had brought with them storage stones full of herbs.

  "We want to give you this for finally reaching the Saint rank." Ye Ling spoke out. "But, sadly, we could not find anything which was the perfect match for you. In the end, we decided on herbs. As an alchemist, we figured you could always use herbs. The different plants are mostly from the grave alongside some rare herbs we had in our treasuries."

  Hearing their words, Hui Yue was touched. These three men and him had gone through a lot together. At first he had intended to kill them but now he was very happy that he had not. They had proven to be real friends and truly valued him highly.

  Hui Yue, who was speaking with the four Saints he had teamed up with in the grave frowned for a moment as he looked at the door. Someone entered through, and he was surprised to see that this person was Rong Liang, the father of the Rong twins.

  "Hui Yue!" He called out excitedly. Although he had been a King the last time Hui Yue saw him, it was clear that this was no longer the case. His aura was very similar to Hui Yue's, and he was clearly a Saint.

  "Lord Rong!" Hui Yue said surprised with pleasure in his voice. He was very pleased to see this City Lord because he had not seen him since he left Riluo City so long ago.

  "How come you’re here?" He asked curiously and looked at the older man who he had spent a lot of time with earlier in his life.

  "I was here to visit my children. Quite a while ago, I wished to see you as well but heard that you had entered a closed door training. After hearing that you broke into the Saint ranks, I was truly shocked!" Rong Liang was indeed excited. His eyes shone with pride, and his laughter rang across the room.

  Hui Yue was a little startled to see that every Saint in the room looked at Rong Liang with surprise and slight fear. Their fear was something that Hui Yue did not understand.

  Suddenly the City Lord of Muchuan City got some courage and moved towards Hui Yue and Rong Liang. Bowing so deeply that he almost fell to the ground, the City Lord finally opened his mouth. "Lord Rong, I would never have assumed that you would have such an intimate relationship with our Hui Yue. Would you mind me asking what the relationship between the two of you is?"

  Seeing the way they treated Rong Liang, Hui Yue was surprised and shocked. He knew Rong Liang, but he only knew him as the City Lord of Riluo City, but it seemed as though he had another job alongside this task.

  "Haha, Hui Yue is like an adoptive child of my family." Rong Liang laughed as his words resounded throughout the entire room, and somehow it sounded like a threat. Even while Hui Yue and Xiao Ning had been chatting, people were still murmuring softly, but now no one said a word. Everyone was focused on the two City Lords and the young man who had just become a Saint.

  "I... I see." The City Lord of Muchuan City said with a squeak before he turned to leave. Rong Liang looked at everyone sweeping his gaze over everyone who looked like frightened rabbits. Seeing this, every single one of them looked away to chat with whomever was closest to them.

  "I assume you are curious as to why they treat me this way." Rong Liang said while chuckling, and Hui Yue could not help but nod while frowning. The fox on his shoulder had constantly been watching Rong Liang. Her claws were embedded in Hui Yue's shoulder, and she looked at the older man with hostility.

  "I have another job other than just being the City Lord of Riluo City." He admitted with a smile on his face. "After I became a Saint, it has been my job to enlighten new Saints about the truth of this world." He said mysteriously, causing Hui Yue to be curious.

  "My job is to tell the Saints that although they are strong in our world, there is a world beyond. A world where Gods reign supreme." Rong Liang spoke as if Hui Yue had never before heard about Gods and the other worlds, and he understood that this was because the Rong twins had never told Rong Liang about his life. Rong Liang simply had no knowledge of Lan Feng and he was also completely unaware of Hui Yue’s grudge against An He.

  "The Saint rank is not the highest rank you can reach. After reaching the Saint rank a new world will open up for you, and it is my job to tell every new Saint about this." Rong Liang said seriously as he looked at Hui Yue. "Just like every rank before it, Gods are also ranked. The first rank is the Primordial Immortal stage followed by Immortals of Creation. After passing these two ranks, you will reach the rank of Sovereign. This is the highest rank you can reach by cultivating. However, it is also possible to become a Crowned Sovereign. To achieve such a feat, you need to have the support of one of the top ten thousand worlds behind you."

  "Our world has a ruler, much like every other world." Rong Liang continued his explanation. "The ruler of our world is known as Master An He. An He is not around often, and figures such as us are incapable of meeting such an exalted person, but since our world is one of the top ten thousand worlds, we are actually strong enough to have a Crowned Sovereign led us!" Rong Liang's face shone with pride, and he did not even notice Hui Yue's expressions.

  "I know that this is really quite a lot of new information for you," Rong Liang continued, "but it is something every Saint is told."

  "Thank you for telling me about this." Hui Yue said with a smile on his face, his true feelings completely masked. "Please, stay and enjoy some of the delicacies." He urged and Rong Liang nodded his head before he left the young man's side and headed towards a table nearby.

  The moment Rong Liang stepped away, everyone rushed to greet him. It was clear that his rank was quite high, even amongst the many Saints present, and Hui Yue could not help but be quite confused. Rong Liang should not have been a Saint for very long so for everyone to know him and treat him with such respect, confused him. How could these people know that Rong Liang was in charge of this information? They had been Saints for much longer than him.

  Shaking his head, Hui Yue stopped thinking about it and smiled as he went towards Rong Ming and Rong Xing. "How are you doing?" He asked curiously as he saw his two very first friends and his heart went warm. These two siblings were very important to the white-haired young man, and he was happy to chat with them for a long time.

  As soon as Rong Liang had left, Huli started acting much nicer. She no longer dug her claws into Hui Yue's shoulders, nor was she growling at people constantly either.

  Instead, she was curiously moving back and forth on top of his shoulder, proudly looking all around. She left Hui Yue wondering if she would fall, and eventually she did. She had been too eager and slipped down from the shoulder, but Hui Yue managed to catch her. The fox then decided to just lay in his warm embrace instead.

  "This was the beast you found in the grave?" Rong Xing asked curiously as she looked at the fox. Huli had spent the majority of her time within Hui Yue's room, never really leaving. Although Rong Xing had seen her once before, it was a very long time ago.

  "That's her." Hui Yue smiled as he gently petted the soft fur with his hands. "I was surprised to see your father here." He said while looking around and noticed that Rong Liang was still surrounded by a group of patriarchs. The many people who had come to meet Hui Yue and show him respect no longer seemed to be here for the sake of Hui Yue but rather to give face to Rong Liang. Chuckling, Hui Yue could not help but find it rather amusing.

  "It’s quite a coincidence." Rong Ming said with a smile. "Father has never actually visited us before, but this time he actually happened to come visit just
as you became a Saint. Not only that, we kinda heard that he had something important to speak with you about. It’s such a coincidence." Frowning, Hui Yue nodded his head. It was indeed quite the coincidence, but after thinking about it for some time, he could not deny that this new responsibility of Rong Liang’s probably also came with it some power which helped him know when and where a person became a Saint. If there were not a power like that, then it would be impossible to inform all the Saints about the higher ranks.

  Chapter 438 - Retribution

  * * *

  Chapter 438: Retribution

  The celebration continued and the night wore on more and more people dropped by to congratulate Hui Yue. Some left presents at the front door while others insisted on delivering their presents in person. Seeing how many people arrived, it was easy to see how big a role Hui Yue now played in Muchuan City.

  Even the princess came by, but she only stayed for a short time while she conversed with Hui Yue, Rong Liang, and a few others. As the princess, she was aware of Rong Liang's new position and showed him respect. His job was clearly very important, and this task had been given to him by someone with a great rank. It was clear he was looked upon with favor and because of this other wished to get in his good graces.

  Hui Yue had a great night. Although he greeted many experts, he spent the majority of his time together with his friends. During the entire night, Huli laid in his warm embrace. Wang Ju Long and Sha Yun were rushing everywhere being the perfect hosts and ordering the servants about to ensure that everyone had a glass of wine in their hands and that they never ran out of delicacies to eat.

  Finally, after a long night, the sun rose in the sky and the last people remaining left the mansion, leaving only Hui Yue, Sha Yun and Wang Ju Long in the large dining hall. Lao had returned to cultivate and so had Jo. Xu Piao had been greatly motivated seeing Hui Yue breakthrough his bottleneck, and he too retreated to cultivate. Deng Wu was the last one of their friends to leave as he also wished to increase his cultivation base. Having seen Hui Yue reach the Saint rank caused everyone to become eager to train harder.

  Slumping to the ground, Hui Yue sighed deeply. "Having guests is much more troublesome than cultivating." He complained as he took the hands of Sha Yun and Wang Ju Long and dragged them into a warm embrace. This rejuvenated his energies by feeling the closeness of the women he loved.

  Hugging him, neither woman resisted and heard a grateful sigh from Hui Yue. This caused them to both smile as well.

  "Will you go get the Formation of Life now?" Sha Yun asked curiously, but Hui Yue shook his head, surprising both her and Wang Ju Long.

  The temptation of the Formation of Life was difficult to ignore; even the two women were eager to start the trip to the Central Palace and get their hands on the formation. However, it seemed Hui Yue had other plans.

  His face which had been full of tenderness filled with anger, and Hui Yue shook his head. "Before I became a Saint someone dared to challenge me." He said with a grim expression on his face. "Challenging me is not a big deal but..." He continued. "Attempting to kill my friends and my daughter, that is something I cannot tolerate. I will get revenge first. I’ll ensure that no one ever has the thought of hurting the ones I hold dear while I am gone. Never again will I let my friends suffer or get hurt because of me." He swore, and his eyes were filled with determination. Although things had gone well with Sha Yun, the entire experience had frightened and woken Hui Yue up. It caused him to understand how much he valued the ones he held dear.

  "How will you find them?" Wang Ju Long asked with a low voice. She too had been slightly worried, but she did not know any way to track down these masked experts, but Hui Yue just smiled. "I have a plan." He said, "but I will start tomorrow. Today, I want to relax and enjoy my time." He smiled and drew the women into one more hug, enveloping himself with the feeling of being at home with the ones he had sworn to protect.

  The night passed quickly and morning sun rose along with Hui Yue. He left the mansion early and started visiting one great family after the other in the city.

  He never hid his purpose and told everyone that he was coming for the sake of checking their auras to determine whether they had been the ones who threatened his family.

  While the most of the families allowed him in, a few also refused and as soon as they refused Hui Yue executed their patriarchs. His strength had soared to the heavens, and he had become so strong that no one could put up a real fight; Hui Yue's retribution once more caused Muchuan City to be shocked. One of the experts invited Hui Yue in, in the belief that he would be unable to recognizing him; however, Hui Yue was able to recognize the auras of these experts and the moment he reached the hall where the expert was waiting, the battle began. Hui Yue made quick work of anyone who had gone against him.

  While some families felt threatened by this others did what they could to improve their relationship with Hui Yue and his family even though most felt worried and threatened, no one stopped him. From this, everyone understood that Hui Yue was someone they could not afford to anger. In the end, these six experts could only blame themselves for having angered him in the first place. This was a world where strength determined who was right, and everyone seeing Hui Yue's strength knew that no one in Muchuan City was his equal.

  Having gotten retribution, Hui Yue returned to the mansion. "It took you a full week to get rid of everyone." Wang Ju Long mused as she looked a Hui Yue. "It actually did not take as long as we had thought, what will you do now?"

  "Well, that's obvious." Hui Yue said with a gleam in his eyes and a smile on his face. "It’s is time for a trip!." He grinned. "The Formation of Life is hidden deep within the Central Palace, and it will help us reach the God rank much faster. I promised Zhong Fai that I would get my hands on it and assist him in becoming a God too; it's time I fulfilled my promise."

  "There are some things I need to prepare beforehand. I need to look through everything I obtained from the grave because those items could possibly save our lives at some point. Also, no one will leave until we get our hands on the best equipment. I will forge new weapons for everyone other than you since I doubt I will be able to create a staff any better than the one you already have." He said with a smile, and Wang Ju Long nodded her head. The staff she had gotten her hands on long ago was a true mystery. The weasel spirit within was something no one really understood, but it increased Wang Ju Long's strength and made it so that she could unleash her full potential. Only Hui Yue had a weapon which could be compared to hers. As for the others, they all used weapons that Hui Yue had forged, but now he was far better at crafting, and the weapons he could create now had even fewer impurities not to mention their increase in power.

  These weapons could easily be filled with Wu Wei; they were sharper than any other weapons in this world and so durable that nothing could break them. Weapons like these were of great help to any cultivator.

  Thinking this, Hui Yue decided to bring with him all his friends who cultivated even Jo was to follow him. Although she was not the strongest in their team, her knowledge about how to use Wu Wei arts to the fullest made her very skilled in fighting Emperor ranked experts. She often sparred with her older brother, and although she did not win, she surely gave him a run for his money as he focused more on cultivation the Wu Wei arts.

  Leaving behind Sha Yun and Wang Ju Long was never going to happen. In Hui Yue's world, these two were his companions, and he would always take them with him.

  Not only did he wish to have the two women in his life by his side, but he also wished for Lao and Jo to travel with him as well, and he couldn't forget Deng Wu.

  Although Hui Yue was great friends with Ma Kong, Gao Yan, and the Rong twins, Hui Yue and Deng Wu had fought through life and death by each other’s side through the Dungeons of the Divine. The two of them were martial brothers who would always fight back to back.

  While Hui Yue was busy dealing with Saints in Muchuan City, Deng Wu had been fully submerged in necrom
ancy. He had purchased outstanding soul spirits from high ranked magical beasts. He had managed to control a few corpses at a time, and he had learned how to best utilize his abilities in battles. He had often left the city to go hunting beasts in nearby forests and mountains to test his ability, especially after receiving the flying sword which made it far easier to travel.

  Hui Yue had searched far and wide, and tried to trade thousands of storage stones to the spirit of the Universe Box, however, he had been incapable of finding a Wu Wei art which increased the strength of soul shadows and other necromantic abilities.

  This was the first time he had experienced such a thing, and he finally understood that although the Universe Box contained many things, it did not contain everything.

  On this trip, Hui Yue also considered bringing Xu Piao along. Although they had not interacted much since the dungeons, Hui Yue understood how much gratitude the former felt for him. Especially after being told that he could save the love of his life if he managed to reach the God rank. By believing in Hui Yue, and by trusting the words the Frozen General had told him, Hui Yue knew he could help yet another friend of his.