Blue Phoenix

by Tinalynge

  "The next highest peaks are for the dao protectors. Anyone who retires from their position as an elder will become a dao protector of the sect. They are the next strongest force within our sect and can only be employed on the patriarch's direct order. Not even us elders or the sect master has such powers."

  "Currently we have a patriarch, two elders, and one hundred and seventy-six dao protectors." Pei Ziqi introduced the details of the sect to them. "Recently, I have have been seriously considering if I should retire as well and become a dao protector, or if I should just stay as an elder. As a dao protector you have much more freedom, but at the same time, you give up all your rights to have your opinion heard when it comes to matters of the sect. I still feel like I have too many opinions to give up." Pei Ziqi sighed as she once more thought about the decision of whether or not to retire that had been weighing on her mind recently.

  "Well, I am proud to be one of the elders that discovered such an unrefined gem. When you become an Immortal of Creation, you will be able to be promoted to an elder as well. Your strength is already astonishing, and you have so many secret techniques and strength that it would be weird not to make you an elder."

  Hui Yue felt rather embarrassed hearing what she had to say about him, and he could not say anything in return but sheepishly look around. He just acted like he had not heard Pei Ziqi’s praise.

  Seeing his reaction, Pei Ziqi wasn’t insulted, instead, she just chuckled slightly. "This is the main district of the inner sect," she introduced as they saw the inner sect spread out in front of them.

  Majestic buildings rose up everywhere, and fields with dummies and other training equipment were visible in the distance. Experts were flying around everywhere, and the inner sect was bustling with life.

  The moment they entered the main district of the inner sect a massive bell-like ringing sounded out. This sound caused all the flying experts to stop in their tracks.

  Hui Yue was too far away to see their facial expressions, but if he had been closer, he'd see that the majority of the expressions were filled with annoyance, hostility, and indignation as they hovered in the air.

  Suddenly, everyone flew off and headed towards the biggest mountain of them all. Their movements were as if they had been meticulously trained causing Hui Yue to be astonished.

  "The heavenly mountain is the tallest mountain in the whole Holy Mountain range. We have carved out the inside of the mountain and use it for the Celestial Sword Sect's banquet hall. Usually, this hall is used when we celebrate a new Sect Leader or an elder. It is rather rare for it to be used, but it seems like your father has gone all out and has decided that your welcoming banquet will be held in the hall."

  "If you were just returning without the position of the Second Judge of Hell, then this would have been impossible, but considering your current standing, and your relationship with Diyu, it is now indeed the most suitable place to introduce you. Although it is the best place for the occasion, I cannot help but feel that it will cause the majority of the other members of the sect to look at you with contempt. You, a new person who had never been to the main sect before, suddenly show up and you even receive such a reception."

  Hui Yue had been considering this on his own, but after thinking it through, he also knew that he had no way of convincing his father to do anything less grand than he had already decided. Having thought his entire family dead, but then finding out that a son was still alive, and even so talented as he was, then it was no surprise that he wished to celebrate and show the world just how wonderful this son of his was.

  When it came to strength, Hui Yue was aware that he was far from the strongest person around. He was only a Primordial Immortal, but even so, he had comprehended five complete daos. Regarding strength, this was already the same as being an Immortal of Creation.

  Unfortunately, there were many different levels of strength for Immortals of Creation. There were strong experts who had only comprehended one dao. These experts included the beast Gods that Hui Yue had found in the red realm and other Gods who mostly focused on Ancestral Worldpower absorption.

  Then there were the ones who had comprehended two or three complete daos. These were the most average and numerous Immortals of Creations; they were the average experts. When fighting such cultivators, Hui Yue could not win, but he still had faith in his ability to flee.

  After these had come those who had comprehended four to five daos, and they were considered the stronger Immortals of Creation. They were some that Hui Yue should stay away from. Even he would not believe that he could flee from them if he were to encounter such strong Gods.

  Finally, there were ones who had comprehended six or more daos. They would be able to kill Hui Yue with but a flick of their wrist. Amongst people at this level were also those who had comprehended a major dao, and these supreme cultivators were the ones Hui Yue feared more than anything.

  A major dao was different from the minor ones in every possible way. A major dao was when one had comprehended all the minor daos that related to one another and were capable of merging them together. This dao was so frightening that it could flip mountains, move seas, and even overturn the heavens. Meeting someone who possessed a major dao was incredibly rare and also very dangerous.

  In the Celestial Sword Sect, there were many Immortals of Creation, but there were even more Primordial Gods. In total, a full hundred thousand experts resided within the inner sect of the Celestial Sword Sect. Around seventy thousand of them were Primordial Immortals, and the rest were Immortals of Creation.

  As a major sect, the Celestial Sword Sect focused on comprehending the dao at the same time as absorbing Ancestral Worldpower, and therefore the ones who had become Immortals of Creation had comprehended at least three or four full daos.

  Although Hui Yue had comprehended five daos, he was far from being as strong as others. All his daos came from various major daos, and none of them could be merged. Usually one would focus on the minor daos beneath one major dao, but having lived so many different lives, it was impossible for Hui Yue not to have different daos. His power was weakened greatly from being unable to merge his daos

  Although this was the case, Hui Yue had gained many benefits from having his other lives merged with him. Although he comprehended other daos, he also had a much deeper understanding of the daos he knew; he had a whole lifetime of experienced which he could draw upon.

  Being deep in thought, Hui Yue had a faint smile on his lips. As long as he did not run into any of the true experts of the Celestial Sword Sect, he would be fine.

  Considering he was a member of the younger generation, no one from the older generation would throw away their face to challenge him. Normally it would take a cultivator two hundred years before they could reach the Immortal of Creation rank from Hui Yue’s present strength, and only when he reached such heights would he no longer be part of the younger generation. Hui Yue, though, had complete confidence in himself to accomplish this.

  Seeing the faint smile on Hui Yue's face, Pei Ziqi understood what he was thinking, and nodded her head. It made sense that Hui Yue was not too fearful of the other members.

  In a major sect like the Celestial Sword Sect, face was incredibly important. To throw away one's face and attack a cultivator of the younger generation was simply impossible, especially someone who had become the Second Judge of Hell.

  If they were to lose such a battle, they would have no face left; their life would be over. No one was willing to take this risk. If they won, they would not be rewarded or famed, but if they lost they would lose everything.

  At least this was what Hui Yue hoped for. There were always a few people who would not care about anything other than venting their emotions. If they were truly lunatics that felt insulted by Hui Yue's sudden appearance, then it was always possible that they would ignore everything else to humiliate him.

  "Remember you don't have to accept invitations for sparring matches," Pei Ziqi repeated by his side, clearly abl
e to guess what Hui Yue had been thinking about.

  "I will be fine," Hui Yue said with a sly smile as he thought about how he could use phoenix descent if it were truly needed.

  He also still had his soulforce and daos. Although he did not feel any hostility towards the Nightcrawler Sect's youth, he would not be as polite towards someone who wished to humiliate him. If he had to, then he would request help from the black figure with control over space. Although he did not wish for things to get out of hand, he had a few tricks up his sleeve to convince the black figure to lend him his powers.

  "Let’s hope I won’t ever have to," Hui Yue mumbled to himself before he turned and looked at the others. They too understood that Hui Yue had held back in the fight against the youth from the Nightcrawler Sect. Pei Ziqi had, after all, experienced the frightening dao of space that he controlled.

  Chapter 597 - Welcoming Banquet

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  Chapter 597: Welcoming Banquet

  The group flew towards the heavenly mountain, and as they reached it, they noticed that everyone was already present, chatting with one another in small groups.

  The mountain was tall. It was so tall that when they landed in front of it, Hui Yue was unable to see the mountain peak when he raised his head.

  As he looked into the banquet hall, he noticed three men who were being treated with respect by everyone present. Even those who spoke were speaking with low voices and were careful with what they spoke about.

  Looking at three men, he recognized one as being the father of his previous life, and after scouring his memories, he also recognized the other two as being his father's brothers. One was the patriarch of the sect, while the other one was the second ancestor.

  Since they rarely showed their faces in the sect few had ever seen them, so for them to make an appearance, one could understand just how important Hui Yue was in their eyes.

  The ones who had been unhappy with the fact that such a big banquet was being held for an outsider suddenly forgot all their indignation because they got to see their patriarch and the ancestors. For the younger generation, and many of those who had just become adults, this was the first time they had seen the elusive masters of the sect.

  Suddenly the many voices stilled and everyone, including the three men who were revered by all, looked at the door where a group of experts appeared.

  This group was filled with people everyone recognized. Pei Feng and Pei Ze were famous throughout the sect, even though they were younger generation members. They had long since been approved of by the older generation, and behind them, were a few elders.

  However, in the middle of this group was a white-haired young man. He was handsome, and when one looked at him, he gave off an otherworldly feel as if he did not belong to this world. Those who were stronger could feel a faint sense of danger coming from him, and shock flashed through their faces.

  Hui Yue wore a casual expression as he entered the banquet hall. He said nothing and did nothing but follow behind the elders in front of him.

  He would never have wanted such a big ceremony as the one that his father had prepared for him, and Hui Yue could only sigh. He had already had enough of pleasantries from the banquet in Youdu and the coronation. To go through it once more was not something that he wanted to do.

  On the other hand, he also understood that his father was greatly looking forward to this celebration to show everyone that his son was a skilled person. Hui Yue, who had promised the memory when they merged that he would make his father proud, would gladly go through yet another social gathering to make his father proud.

  As they entered everyone’s focus was on Hui Yue who stood still, and an awkward silence descended over the banquet hall.

  Was Hui Yue supposed to say something? He had nothing to say. He had just arrived and knew no one, what could they expect him to say?

  But suddenly the patriarch himself cleared his throat and spoke up, "We are here to welcome Pei Yue who has returned from Diyu and has successfully become the new Second Judge of Hell!"

  "Pei Yue is a new member of our Celestial Sword Sect. He is fifty years old, and can be considered a member of the younger generation."

  The patriarch paused for a moment while his words sunk in. The new Judge of Hell, the most outstanding member of the younger generation amongst all sects, was merely fifty years of age?! This revelation was utterly terrifying! And added to that was the fact that he had ascended from mortality, yet he was not a new God! He was now obviously a full-fledged Primordial Immortal.

  "Pei Yue is very talented. However, we cannot forget that he is the result of people breaking the rules and as such he will never be given any high position within the sect. Pei Yue will never be allowed to become the Sect Leader, nor will he ever be able to become an elder of the sect. The same goes for all of his descendants. They will be considered members of the Celestial Sword Sect, but they will never be allowed the reigns to rule the sect."

  Many of the members of the sect nodded their heads in approval. Hui Yue had so much talent that it would indeed be a shame for the sect to kill him, and now that he had become the new Judge of Hell, Diyu would never allow them to kill him; however, they had to punish him somehow. Therefore, the easiest way was to just never allow him to have any real influence in the sect.

  The one who was the most shocked about all of this was Pei Feng. He had almost come to terms with the fact that the Sect Leader position no longer belonged to him, but all of a sudden meat pies fell from the skies.

  If it was between him and Pei Ze, although he did not feel like he would be able to easily defeat Pei Ze, he had a feeling that if he used some schemes it would still be possible. Thus a smile suddenly appeared on his face, but this smile turned to a scowl when he saw that Pei Ze had absolutely no reaction to the news. It was clear he had already known about it way before.

  "Had I known then I would have spared nothing to make friends with this young man, but now Pei Ze has gained a strong and frightening follower. Still, I have a chance again!" Pei Feng mumbled to himself as his eyes regained some of their lost vigor.

  While everyone was happy that Hui Yue could not gain a position like elder or Sect Leader, there was still some unhappiness left in their hearts, but now this unhappiness was mixed with a tinge of jealousy from many of the experts.

  "Everyone, celebrate tonight! Celebrate that our sect has managed to form an alliance with Diyu! We will no longer need to fear the other sects as Diyu will be backing us up!" Pei Tian's voice also resounded through the hall, and everyone nodded their heads. That was indeed something to celebrate, but to think that all this was because of Hui Yue was something they needed time to accept.

  Hui Yue and the group around him were still standing in the doorway, but they quickly entered the hall and found a small place where they could stand.

  The first to excuse himself was Pei Feng who almost instantly bowed to the elders and returned to his own group of friends.

  Not long after Pei Ze did the same, leaving Hui Yue alone with the elders. As everyone was staring at him, he felt like he was some kind of spectacle for others.

  Many of the females in the groups looked at him before they giggled to one another and chatted about something he could not hear while the men looked at him with disdain or jealousy.

  Although he could feel many glances being sent his way, no one stepped forward to introduce themselves to him. Instead, they all just stayed in their own groups chatting with one another

  As time went by the two ancestors and the patriarch were immersed deeply in conversation with one another, and slowly many dao protectors also made an appearance at the celebration. Many of them arrived because they were curious about Hui Yue, the only living son of Pei Tian.

  The elders around Hui Yue soon left as well as they headed towards other elders or friends, especially after the dao protectors had arrived. The elders vanished one after another, leaving only Pei Ziqi left who stayed by Hui Yue's side like a guard.
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  Pei Ziqi was one of the strongest experts in the Celestial Sword Sect. Her strength was not to be looked down upon, and she was a battle maniac. She enjoyed all kinds of fights, and she was also the one who had been in the most fights. She had a hot temper, and she would often flare up and challenge people to a fight over the smallest thing after which she would beat her opponent into a pulp.

  What Hui Yue was unaware of was that the reason many of the braver girls did not approach him was because of Pei Ziqi. As long as Ziqi was there, no one was willing to come near them.

  Pei Ziqi and Hui Yue did not speak, they just stood there and observed everything that was happening around them for the better of a full hour before Pei Tian and his two brothers finally made their way towards Hui Yue.

  The moment they moved, everyone's focus turned to Hui Yue and the three experts. Although they were seemingly still speaking to one another, their eyes were all fixed on Hui Yue. Their words became quieter, and they no longer focused on what they were talking about.