Blue Phoenix

by Tinalynge

  The young genius was just about to respond when he felt a piercing glare from the old weasel and took a look around. It was clear that every guest in the room was rather uncomfortable.

  The Heavenly Dragon Gate was not one of the biggest sects in the galaxy, but it was still rather big, and it commanded quite a bit of respect from the many sects because of the Formation Masters within the sect. Anyone looking for a Formation Master would go to the Heavenly Dragon Gate to look for one.

  But now this genius, who was supposed to become the next leader of the Formation Masters within the Heavenly Dragon Palace, was acting out of place. He was not even pretending to behave properly, but instead, he was being very impolite to a high profile young man.

  Was this young genius unable to tell that what he had done was stepping over the line? If he treated the King of Hell like this, how would he treat other experts who had less fame and strength?

  "Well, the young generation sure is hot-headed!" The old weasel said with a forced smile on his face as he looked around and clapped his hands. "Seeing another genius instantly makes them become like cat and dogs, eager to bite each other's tails and prove their worth."

  "We were of course not expecting this to go as far as it did, for that, I apologize to the young Pei Yue on behalf of the Heavenly Dragon Gate."

  "Now, let us no longer focus on what happened before, let’s instead focus on the debate that will happen soon!"

  By shifting the focus of the conversation to the debate, everyone calmed down drastically and smiled much more genuinely.

  Everyone was excited about the debate, and soon they all had their focus on the old weasel, all but Hui Yue and Huli forgot all about the conversation that had happened previously.

  "The debate will begin tomorrow morning. The debate is very simple. Two experts will go on stage and compete against each other, fighting each other with formations. The one who wins can continue to stay on stage for as long as they want, however, don't push yourself too much."

  "Eventually you will all fight each other, even if you take breaks between fights, and then we will find the final expert who stands above everyone else. We will start with the younger generation, and when we find the debate master, we will move on to the elder generation."

  "The debate for the elder generation will happen the following day, and when everything has been decided, we will award some cultivation resources to the winner of the younger generation. For the best Formation Master of the older generation, they will gain a powerful Formation Master level scroll from our Heavenly Dragon Gate, a formation that requires nine hundred seals to activate."

  Clamor broke out in the room, and the elder smiled as he waved his hand, "I know that usually, the price for the elders to win is the honor, but our sect decided to show a sign of our goodwill to prove that we are anything but hostile towards our guests."

  The prizes had been decided upon long ago, and the decision was so that others would have a much more favorable impression of the Heavenly Dragon Gate.

  They also did so with the reason that next time, it would be hard for the next hosts to not offer an even better treasure or they would lose face. Therefore, in the end, they would gain even better treasures from the Formation Master's debates in the future. They were after all most famed for their Formation Masters.

  The rewards they were giving to the winner of the younger generation were also incredibly favorable this time. Although it was a reward that all the sects had gathered together, the Heavenly Dragon Gate had placed more than three times as many resources as the other sects to show their goodwill, but everyone knew that in fact, this was also because they were certain of victory. If they lost, they would truly lose quite a bit of cultivation resources.

  "Now everyone, please follow me. Outside are a group of maids, these maids will take you to a courtyard with enough rooms for you all to share. One courtyard for each of the sects. If you need anything at all, don't hesitate to ask the maids. As long as it is within our ability, we will do what we can to provide for you."

  The old weasel had completely turned the situation around. Everyone felt how welcome they were and how great the Heavenly Dragon Gate was at taking care of their guests after he had spoken.

  The only ones who had not forgotten the ordeal from earlier were Hui Yue, Huli, and the genius from the Heavenly Dragon Gate; this genius clearly understood that he had gone too far, so he kept his mouth shut and just glared at Hui Yue from time to time.

  Hui Yue paid him no attention. They would face each other on the stage at some point, and it was much better to settle all their disagreements there rather than waste their time on mindless bickering.

  Following the old weasel, all of them exited the room they had been gathered in, and just as he said outside the gate a row of maids were waiting for them. These maids led the groups of sect members to various courtyards where they settled in and prepared for the upcoming debate.

  Chapter 627 - Formation Debate Begins

  * * *

  Chapter 627: Formation Debate Begins

  Although everyone was led to their courtyards to rest, no one actually did so. The Formation Master's debate was just about to begin, and thus, the experts all wanted to practice one last time. They wanted to compress just one more seal or do anything in their power to improve their performance.

  One should know that the elders placed an outstanding amount of interest in the result of the Formation Master's debate and the younger generation all wanted to prove their worth.

  Although Formation Masters were strong and greatly appreciated in group fights, they were often weak in individual fights because they had to wait for their formations to be fully formed before they could explode forth with outstanding power.

  The time while one was creating a formation was when the formation user would be the weakest. It required focus and attention, and it took a few seconds to arrange the seals. Because of this, they were easy targets during this time. If they did not have someone to hold off the enemy, then they were certain to die a tragic death.

  This debate was the way for one to display their ability and prove their worth to the sect. When these formation users were compared against other experts of the same generation, everyone understood that they would perform worse than most in sparring matches, but in a real battle, it was different. Now, that they were fighting against others of the same vocation, they could truly show how skilled they were.

  Hui Yue was no exception; he too spent the night practicing his formations while Huli observed him with curiosity. Pei Bai was also by his side, ready to answer any question that he might have so that he was prepared for the debate when it began.

  The night seemed to pass slowly in this cool and quiet section of the sect that housed all the diligently cultivating experts. The lights in the different courtyards shone through the windows illuminating the somewhat dull gray night together with the snow from the outside.

  As the day broke, there was no sun that rose in the sky, no change in the weather at all but for the fact that the shine of the snow seemed to be brighter than it was during the night. Everyone slowly awoke to the new day, the day where the whole younger generation would face off against each other in a debate.

  "I'm not saying that you were wrong in assuming that the Celestial Sword Sect has taken this young man with them for the sake of showing off their other strengths, but even if that were the case, we cannot do anything about it! They are the Celestial Sword Sect! They are backed by Diyu; we really do not have any room to insult them!"

  As the day broke, in a small room one could hear the old weasel talking in a hushed tone to the young genius of the sect.

  "It is an insult," the young genius responded, not caring to lower his voice at all. "This is a sacred debate for Formation Masters! A place to prove one's ability in controlling formations, and he comes here expecting to be greeted with a similar respect as other Formation Masters just because he is famous for being one of the King’s of
Hell?! I just can’t stand him insulting our vocation like that!"

  "I know," the old weasel could tell a splitting headache was coming his way from trying to get this young man to behave. "Although I understand that it is an insult to all you formation apprentices who take formations seriously, we cannot say for sure that he is not skilled at formations himself yet. If he turns out to be a formation apprentice, you will have greatly embarrassed yourself, not to mention the other guests are looking at us with questionable eyes now. Our way of receiving guests shows a lot about our character. If we are hostile, it is likely that others will look down upon us for it!"

  The elder did what he could to stress his point, yet no matter what he said, it was clear that the youth did not care. His expression was one of disdain. It was clear that changing his opinion would not be easy, and the elder had no choice other than to sigh deeply and give up.

  "I hope you are correct," he mumbled to himself while shaking his head. "If that brat from the Celestial Sword Sect manages to become someone formidable with formations as well, then I fear that he is a true monster. Monsters like that should not belong to the Celestial Sword Sect."

  Contemplating for some time, the elder shook his head, "If he truly is such a monster, perhaps one day he would wield the Celestial Sword. Who knows what chaos the Celestial Sword will bring the world this time?"

  Shuddering, the old weasel said no more but shook his head before he left the room that belonged to the young genius. He was the host of this debate, and since morning had come, it was clear that he had to welcome everyone and start the debate.

  Hui Yue continued to compress seals until it was finally so late that he had to leave. He quickly changed to a clean set of clothes and then got ready to leave the courtyard. Walking outside, he saw a small stream of experts all heading towards the hall where they were supposed to be holding the debate.

  The Formation Master's debate was a big thing for all Formation Masters, and many had been invited. Many sects had sent more than one of their apprentices to watch the debate and try their hand at the fighting in the hope that they would gain some enlightenment.

  Although the students could spar against each other from time to time and experiment with their newly practiced formations, it was one thing to practice with the same people time and time again, but quite another to truly challenge others skilled in the formation arts.

  Hui Yue was in an even worse situation as he had only been able to spar with Pei Bai, an elder who was almost at the Grandmaster level. Even if he had said that he would only use some of his seals, he still had more knowledge, more practice, and many more formations to rely on. He had the ability to create almost ninety formations at the same time. Simultaneously forming just ten was as easy as breathing to this Grandmaster.

  Deep in thought, Hui Yue, Huli, and Pei Bai followed behind the rest of the people who were moving towards the hall where the debate would take place.

  Huli’s paw held Hui Yue’s hand and gently gave it a squeeze, clearly trying to make him feel better. "I'm fine, Huli," Hui Yue smiled at her. "Although I am confident with my skills, I have never actually fought anyone at my own level. All I have experienced is being trampled underneath Elder Bai's feet."

  Hui Yue smiled at Huli only to see her smiling back at him with a gentle, caring smile filled with love. Suddenly, a shiver ran through the body of Hui Yue, and he felt the black figure within his core opened up to him.

  It was still not a memory that Hui Yue could merge with. However, he felt that this fragment of his previous life was starting to accept him. Huli's love was without a doubt the reason that this proud and arrogant life was willing to lower itself to Hui Yue's level and allow for this weak God to use all his knowledge of the dao of space.

  Hui Yue was aware that this memory had comprehended more than just the dao of space, but he also understood that those daos were not possible to be unlocked before he merged with his memory.

  Still, feeling how the memory was slowly accepting him, Hui Yue was ecstatic. This was his strongest ace up his sleeve; the dao of space was truly magnificent.

  Previously, he had been forced to bargain with his previous life. He was forced to try and convince him to help by using Huli's emotions as leverage. It made him feel bad although he knew that Huli did not mind.

  "I should have practiced more formations that could merge with the dao of space. As far as I know, I only have one, and that is the Spacelock formation." Hui Yue mumbled to himself and paused slightly, wondering whether or not this Spacelock formation would be useful when he merged it with the dao of space, or if it would become useless considering it was but a mere ten seal formation.

  "The formation is useful," Pei Bai said as he heard Hui Yue speaking. "Let’s say you make a forty seal formation but need to pause the opponent slightly, then you weave up the Spacelock formation at the same time as you do the other formation and you end up stalling the opponent for a moment just as the other formation launches. This will greatly increase the chance that you hit your opponent with your attack."

  "In fact, the Spacelock formation is one of the most used formations throughout the universe. It is not able to do much, but because it is such a cheap formation to make, and because it is capable of stunning the enemy for a moment, it is one of the most used formations out there. If you can further enhance the stun effect by merging it with your dao of space, then it can become one of your most powerful attacks."

  Pei Bai spoke in a low voice so that none of the people around them heard him, but Hui Yue understood how important this was and he started contemplating how to use it in real combat.

  The walk from the courtyard to the hall was not long. Just as Hui Yue finished receiving guidance from Pei Bai, they arrived at the hall where the debate would be held.

  As they entered the hall, Huli laid in Hui Yue’s arms looking around at everything that was happening nearby them.

  The hall was already crowded with people from the various sects which had arrived. In the middle was a tall stage which had been raised from the floor to around one meter into the air, making it possible for everyone to see what was happening.

  Around the stage were various inscriptions and formations that had been placed to ensure the energy from the dangerous battles inside the stage would not affect anything in the outside world.

  When they arrived, everyone was talking with one another. Their words were filled with excitement as they discussed the probable results of this debate.

  Everyone present thought that the genius of the Heavenly Dragon Gate would be number one in the debate. No one even questioned whether or not he would be defeated, but the discussion on who would take second place was something that the many people and sects could not agree on at all. Every sect believed that their sect would be second place. However, they were certain that the Celestial Sword Sect would not be ranked high.

  Although they all respected the Celestial Sword Sect and Diyu, no one believed that this King of Hell would be able to also command formations.

  Being looked down on was something that Hui Yue did not mind. He knew that if he could continue to have people underestimate him, then it would not be too hard to gain victory.

  As he was thinking like this, the old man from the Heavenly Dragon Gate, the old weasel, stepped to the top of the stage and cleared his throat. "Welcome to this Formation Master's debate!"

  His voice was clear and cut through all the conversations in the hall making everyone quiet down and listen to him.

  "This is the debate for the younger generation; only the younger generation is allowed to partake. Do not kill or cripple your opponent. If you do, you will forever be seen as dead to our Formation Master’s Association. You will be thrown out and will never again join the formation master’s debate. You will never be able to benefit from the Formation Master’s Association."

  "This is a debate, not a fighting ground; we are here to learn from one another and show our talents, not create grudges or
lasting animosity."

  "Now, if you have no questions, I declare this Formation Master's debate started!"

  Chapter 628 - First Debate for Hui Yue

  * * *

  Chapter 628: First Debate for Hui Yue

  Just as the words were spoken, everyone cheered. This was an event they had been looking forward to, and now it was finally starting.

  Hui Yue stood at the side with Huli in his arms as he observed the many different people who were moving towards the stage.

  Some moved towards the stage for the sake of watching the upcoming matches while others moved forward because they wished to be the first ones to display their abilities.

  It was on a first come, first serve basis; the first person who went onto the stage would be the first person to compete.