Blue Phoenix

by Tinalynge

  "Okay time to start," Hui Yue sighed as he sat down in the middle of the room. He opened his mind and felt the many different daos of the wind surrounding him. All of them pressed down on his mind, and he was unsure which one to pick first.

  Opening up himself to one dao at a time, Hui Yue gained some insights into them all and learned what they represented before he finally decided to pick the dao of gale.

  The dao of gale was rather ferocious. This dao had many ways it could be used to attack, and it was also able to be used for some defense. It did not do much for Hui Yue's speed, but it still allowed more techniques to use while attacking.

  "I might not be able to merge the daos with one another, but I should be able to layer them, and by using more than one at a time it will increase their strength."

  "Yes, I have a great ability in mind," Hui Yue smiled as he thought of something which should be able to become a great attack. This attack would work by layering the dao of the sword with the dao of gale, but he knew that as things were right now, he would not be able to do so.

  "Time to eat this pill. Thank you Huli," he grinned as he popped the pill into his mouth. He closed his eyes as he felt the dao of gale surrounding him. Very soon it felt like his head was exploding from all the information that was flooding his senses about the dao.

  A pained expression was visible on his face as he was seated in the meditation room, yet no one knew what exactly he was experiencing when he was comprehending the dao.

  Hui Yue had a bloodline from the great roc which made him much more talented in everything which had to do with the wind, and on top of this, he had taken a Pill of Clarity concocted by the Alchemist God. There was no way he could comprehend a dao any quicker than the speed he was right now. He could feel a splitting headache as his mind was almost being torn apart by all the information that was forced into his mind.

  The days went by in a rush. One day after another passed by as Wei stood outside the meditation room with his arms above his chest, ensuring that no one interrupted Hui Yue. Although they were within the room, he did not let his vigilance drop for even a moment.

  While Wei and Hui Yue were busy, the entire Second Court of Hell was filled with bustling sounds and festivities.

  The rumors that all the judges were gathering in the court had long since spread to the city, and everyone felt excited about the fact that the judges were assembling and that soon a new judge would be appointed.

  The city never slept as it was bustling with life. Wayfarers from everywhere gathered in the city to hear who would be the new judge, and the citizens discussed all they knew about the ones participating in the trials.

  Day by day the atmosphere grew even more intense but the people in question, the participants in the trial, had no way of knowing. All of them were seated in their meditation rooms cultivating, and getting ready for the last trial. They were preparing for the tournament that would change their lives!

  Chapter 582 - It Is Time

  * * *

  Chapter 582: It Is Time

  After ten days, Hui Yue emerged from the meditation room. He could feel the wind from outside the building within his body, and it seemed to be calling for him.

  After a quick nod to Wei, he went straight to the window and opened it. He felt the breeze enter the room and he closed his eyes as he was caressed by the wind. He felt as if he was becoming one with the wind and almost got lost within it.

  "Did you have any gains from meditating?" Wei asked tentatively from behind Hui Yue, and his words drew Hui Yue back from the world of the wind.

  Turning around a brilliant smile played on his lips, and he nodded his head, "I did not completely comprehend the dao, but I guess that expecting to fully comprehend a whole dao in two weeks would be wishful thinking."

  "I understood the majority of the dao though, and I will be able to use it in combat. Although I have not fully grasped all its secrets, I have enough to layer my daos; now my attacks should have increased in strength quite a bit."

  The certainty in Hui Yue's voice made Wei itch for a fight. He wished to feel this newfound strength himself and see just how strong Hui Yue had become, but thinking back to the meditation room they broke last time, he quickly extinguished the urge to challenge Hui Yue to yet another sparring match.

  Hui Yue, looking at Wei, could guess what the guard was thinking. He flashed a grin as he too wished to fight, but both knew that they would not be forgiven if they made the same mistake twice.

  "You still have a couple of days left before it is time for the tournament, what will you do now? Continue to comprehend the dao or...?"

  Wei was very curious about what Hui Yue was going to do, but the young man just shook his head. "I am going to accumulate more Ancestral Worldpower. I will not be able to get a lot during this short time, but I still have a few souls left I can refine. I will consume them, and hopefully, my Ancestral Worldpower pool and soulforce will increase."

  Hearing his decision, there was nothing to do but approve of it. Although it would be hard to make much of a difference in his Ancestral Worldpower pool by consuming a few more souls, Hui Yue knew that even the smallest change might mean the difference between victory and defeat.

  Wei knew that Hui Yue had bought unrefined souls and from the way he spoke it seemed as if he was going to refine the souls himself.

  One has to know that when refining a soul most of the soul's energy would get lost in the process, and although one needed the pure soul energy, there would not be much left unless one knew exactly how to refine them. Being only fifty years of age... How could Hui Yue already refine souls?

  Wei was getting surprised time and again by Hui Yue. "I will need complete silence while I refine them," he said apologetically as he moved to his bedroom.

  It was not that Hui Yue did not trust Wei, but having more people knowing about the Chaos Cauldron was a bad idea. Although Wei was curious about how this young man was going to refine the souls, he understood that he would be in the way and just nodded his head in response.

  "You just focus on cultivating and refining souls, leave everything else to me. But be sure you are ready when the tournament starts! All your hard work will have been for naught if you end up disqualified."

  Hui Yue grinned at his words before he closed the door. He nodded his head as he agreed with the words said by Wei. He sat down on the bed and waved his hand. The Chaos Cauldron appeared out of nowhere and in his other hand appeared a couple of unrefined souls.

  All the souls he had purchased were the souls of Primordial Immortals, and although they were capable of increasing his Ancestral Worldpower pool they were not as effective now. He was no longer a new God, and his foundation had solidified. He was now dependent on a large amount of souls or just needed a long time before he could become an Immortal of Creation.

  Time went by swiftly, and in the blink of an eye, it was time for the tournament to start. Hui Yue opened his eyes, and as he moved his body, he felt how it was filled with energy and strength.

  Feeling that he was ready to go, a smile rose to his lips as he stretched his body comfortably.

  "It is time to go," he muttered to himself as his thoughts returned to Sha Yun, Huli, and Wang Ju Long. These three women were important to him, and it was for their sake that he would keep fighting hard.

  "Losing is not an option!" He said decisively. Leaving his room, he saw Wei waiting for him.

  "It's time." He said casually. Today he was wearing a uniform of some kind; a uniform which looked very different from his usual clothes.

  Wei looked proud wearing these clothes and without Hui Yue asking about it, he started explaining, "this is the uniform of Yanluo's personal guards!"

  "Usually we do not wear this uniform, but considering the occasion, we are allowed to wear our uniform and show off our rank."

  Hui Yue nodded his head. It made sense that this was something that Wei took pride in, but the guard sheepishly scratched the back of his head.
<
br />   "For someone without a background like me, it is an amazing achievement to become one of Yanluo's guards. I came from a minor world and was all alone, and therefore, I am very proud of what I have accomplished."

  "At first when I was told that I had to guard one of the contestants in the trial I was apprehensive. Even more so when I heard that it was a member of the Celestial Sword Sect."

  "I was certain that you would be some kind of spoiled brat who had passed through the trials on pure luck. Never would I have imagined that looking after you would bring me one adventure after another. It has truly been fun," he sighed, but he quickly smiled afterward.

  "Well, what I am trying to say is that I have been grateful for the time we spent together. It felt like having a true comrade, and for that I am grateful. I wish you the best out there today and hope you will become the next Judge of Hell."

  Hui Yue felt warm at heart when he heard these honest words from Wei, and he placed a hand on his shoulder, "Thank you." He said with sincerity, "It meant a lot having you by my side; it was much better than being alone."

  The two men looked at one another and felt as if they were true brothers. Both of them smiled at the same time and nodded their heads, "When I win we'll likely see more of each other."

  "It will be quite the alliance, Diyu and the Celestial Sword Sect sharing a person. It will be the first time that this has ever happened, and I can't help but think that it will be an alliance that the two factions will benefit greatly from." Wei sighed, "It must be nice being part of a large sect."

  "I will make it happen," Hui Yue said with a grin before the two left the room. Outside they saw seven other experts and guards who were all wearing their uniforms.

  The guards all nodded their heads in greeting to Wei who quickly returned the greeting before they all remained motionless once more. Even Hui Yue, who liked to talk, stayed quiet as he stood there waiting.

  After approximately five minutes the sound of footsteps rang down the corridor and soon the shapes of nine supreme experts appeared in the distance.

  "These are the contestants," Yanluo's familiar voice sounded out together with the footsteps, and soon all the ten cultivators stood in front of the eight contestants.

  These eight were all slightly nervous as they felt the gazes of these experts on them scrutinizing their every move and seemingly seeing through every secret that they held.

  Although Yanluo was the strongest, the others were not far behind him, and their eyes were equally sharp. This made it hard to hide anything from their sight.

  "Interesting," one of the judges said as his eyes landed on Hui Yue. The others felt that his words were a little too much, so they turned to glance at Hui Yue themselves. After which surprised was painted on their faces.

  Unlike Yanluo none of these experts were able to see through Hui Yue. It was as if he had a layer of light surrounding him, blocking their senses, and this made them all rather curious.

  "Introduce yourself!" Yanluo called out, and the first man cleared his throat before introducing himself with a loud voice, "Xiao Lei, currently not part of any sect or family!"

  After him, the next person introduced himself followed by the next in line. This continued until it was finally Hui Yue's turn.

  "Pei Yue, member of the Celestial Sword Sect," he said with a slight smile on his lips, and soon it was the next person's turn.

  As soon as Hui Yue had introduced himself, there was a bit of disappointment in the eyes of the judges, but they quickly got past it. They returned to focus on the next person introducing himself.

  "It is just our luck that out of eight experts; we have three from the great sects. It will be impossible to recruit those three leaving us with only five to recruit," one judge mumbled with a low voice as the introductions came to a close.

  "Well it could be worse, and we can always hope that one of those from the great sect wins so that we can get an alliance with them. That would strengthen us even more!"

  The judges all spoke to one another as if the eight contestants were not there, yet everything they said they could not hear. Although the eight contestants could see that they were speaking, all they heard was mumbling which was impossible to understand.

  "Follow us," Yanluo said loudly after which he turned to leave. All the judges walked right behind him, and the eight contestants with their guards followed.

  As they walked through corridor after corridor, other inhabitants of the palace gathered up behind them and followed them out the front entrance. The group was constantly growing bigger and bigger as they reached the training ground where a big stage was seen in the distance. Around this stage was seating but nine of them stood out. They were higher up than the others, and these seats were also more adorned than the others. It was clear that these were the seats that belonged to the Judges of Hell.

  The eight experts all climbed up on stage, and the eight guards stood just beneath the stage. The judges alongside all the other experts who had come to watch moved over to their seats and started observing the stage ready to see the fights that were starting.

  Chapter 583 - Personal Strength

  * * *

  Chapter 583: Personal Strength

  Standing on the stage, the contestants were unaware of what was going to happen. They knew it was a knock-out tournament, but who would fight who?

  Although they were curious, no one spoke. Instead, they stood politely on stage and looked at the judges with veneration. They waited with bated breath to hear what was going to happen.

  The minutes passed as everyone sat down one after another and this made the wait feel a lot longer than it truly was.

  The sun shone down from a cloud-free sky on this day with perfect weather, and the tournament was almost ready to be started.

  Seeing the last person sitting down, Yanluo stood up and waved his hand. In the air, in front of him, a small silver cauldron appeared, and it flew towards the stage.

  "Everyone, within this cauldron are eight pieces of paper. Each piece has a number from one to four. There is two of each number."

  "Those with the same numbers will fight each other. Now pick."

  Having spoken, Yanluo quickly sat down again not sparing words for anyone.

  Hui Yue looked at the others and started to feel the urge to fight erupt from within. This was what he had waited for; this was the battle he had to win if he wanted to resurrect Wang Ju Long and get his family together again.

  Hui Yue was not the only person who was starting to feel the urge to fight; everyone was feeling restless. Their eyes were glued to the cauldron as it appeared in front of them, and slowly they all picked a slip of paper.

  Hui Yue looked at his number and smiled. The number in front of him said one, meaning he would be the first to fight. He would need to win three fights in total, and if he went first, then he would have more time to relax afterwards.

  Everyone had chosen their numbers, and soon six of the experts left the stage leaving behind Hui Yue and another of the experts. This expert was not someone Hui Yue had ever spoken with before, but he had noticed him a few times.

  He was a peak Primordial Immortal and his eyes were filled with arrogance, but also pride.

  "You were a new God when this trial began," he said casually as he looked at Hui Yue before the fight was to begin.

  "You have just managed to pass through the threshold to become a true Primordial Immortal. I, on the other hand, have been at the peak of the Primordial Immortal rank for a very long time. You should simply concede as there is no hope for your victory."

  Hearing the words, Hui Yue looked a little dumbfounded at first before he chuckled, "What do we have here? If I did not know better, then I would think you actually believe what you just said,"

  "I came this far to win! King Yanluo has already promised us that we cannot die in these contests so what do I have to fear? Giving up ahead of time is just stupid, especially since we don't know how powerful your so-called peak strength
really is."

  The light chuckle that accompanied the words spoken from Hui Yue made the other contestant turn red in the face from anger. "To think I went to the trouble to save you from the suffering and embarrassment of being instantly defeated! You might be a genius of the Celestial Sword Sect, but in the end, you are but a younger generation genius. You are just a single expert and are nothing without your backing!"

  The expert was furious. His eyes were red with anger and saliva flew from his mouth as he yelled. His demeanor had changed completely and together with it his body was also changing.

  His body expanded. His back was now hunched, and a red mist permeated outwards from his body. Hui Yue was curiously observing it.

  The fight had still not begun yet, but even so, it was fine to change their bodies.