Blue Phoenix

by Tinalynge

  Looking puzzled at Cou Ling, Hui Yue was confused. “I never heard anything about you coming to visit me. Had I known a beauty like you took the time to visit me, I would instantly have dropped what I was doing!” He said with an apologetic smile on his face. “Though it is true that I have been training hard to perfect a few skills. I need as much strength as I can get to help me survive in this scary grave,” He continued. “I am just a mere King. If I don’t have enough skills then I will never get any treasures, and more importantly, I could end up dead.” He said with a shrug.

  A gentle silence enveloped the two who were seated on the ground as they looked at the flustered Fang Wei who was selling one item after another. After an hour of silence had gone by for the two, the young man managed to sell almost half of all the items they had brought with them.

  “Close down the shop for now,” Cou Ling ordered and Fang Wei was almost crying in relief as he apologized to the customers still present before he wrapped all the remaining armors and weapons up in oiled cloth before they were stored within storage stones.

  Even the entire stall could be stored within one of the storage stones, and as soon as the stall was gone, Fang Wei heaved a heavy sigh of relief. After which he rushed to Cou Ling’s side and handed her a golden memory stone; a memory stone containing all the gold coins they had earned that day.

  Although they only had earned around two or three spirit coins, this was still an incredible haul for Cou Ling in just one day. She was beaming with happiness as she looked at Hui Yue. “I guess you have not had dinner yet, why don’t you stay with us for dinner and enjoy some of the meat I prepared before leaving Muchuan City?”

  Being directly invited Hui Yue quickly agreed. Especially after hearing that she had often visited him only to be sent packing without seeing him. Feeling guilty he smiled awkwardly, but he was also glad that the spiritual blacksmith in front of him had not gotten so upset that she had decided that he was not worth her support any longer.

  Seeing that Hui Yue agreed so quickly happiness welled up within her and she swiftly started a fire and took out the meat. The meat happened to be deer meat as Cou Ling had completely stopped eating the meat of Magical Beasts. Looking at Hui Yue, she shuddered as she remembered when she last ate the meat of a wolf.

  Chapter 343 - Robbery

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  Chapter 343: Robbery

  The sizzling meat on the fire smelled delicious as various herbs had been rubbed into it before it was cooked. In a small pot, vegetables were being cooked, and Cou Ling alongside Fang Wei and Hui Yue were all calmly resting beside the fire.

  More and more of the stalls selling weapons and items closed for the night while the food stalls started getting busier as cultivators and mercenaries went to buy food rather than cook after a long day. Brawls would appear here and there when someone felt that they had been insulted either by someone skipping the queue or if someone accidentally bumped into another.

  Unlike the city, no guards were here to break up the brawls, and some of them turned into big fights where observers were dragged into the battle as well. Most of the fights though were just for entertainment and people would gamble on them.

  Leaning back, Hui Yue watched everything with an indifferent smile on his face. His ice-blue eyes observed what happened around them to ensure that no fights broke out nearby.

  After moving some distance away from their stall their small group of three was left alone. They managed to enjoy their food with good conversation and relaxing weather. Observing the brawls and the increasing rowdy behavior, Hui Yue made the decision to stay close to the blacksmith’s area. Although they were here to sell items they would be in dire straights if they got mixed up in the many ongoing fights. Neither of the two blacksmiths were strong cultivators, and neither had the ability to protect themselves on this trip.

  When everyone reached the grave, all the merchants and craftsman would return to Muchuan City but until then they were easy prey. Looking around, Hui Yue frowned slightly as he saw a group of menacing-looking cultivators going from one group of mercenaries to another. As they moved back and forth, the merchants all passed them coins. As for why they did this, Hui Yue did not know.

  ‘Oh well, we will find out soon,’ He thought as he saw the group of experts coming closer and closer. Seeing Hui Yue looking at something specific, Cou Ling gaze drifted in the same direction and her brows furrowed as she saw what was happening. Her hand instinctively grasped the golden memory stone, and she swiftly stored it within a storage stone.

  Although she felt slightly worried, she looked at the calm Hui Yue, and her worries drifted away. He had previously taken care of six King ranked experts at once. Although a group of four was coming their way, these experts were not a threat to their little group. As long as Hui Yue was by her side, Cou Ling was confident that he would not let anyone harm her.

  It did not take long before the group of experts appeared in front of Hui Yue, Cou Ling, and the younger Fang Wei. Their smiles instantly increased the moments they laid eyes on Cou Ling, but their happiness dimmed quite a bit when they saw Hui Yue calmly sitting by her side.

  “We are here from the Bloody Vulture family,” One of the men said smilingly as he looked at Cou Ling. “We are here to help all the merchants and the craftsmen stay safe. For a modest fee of five hundred gold coins, we will ensure your safety. No one will threaten you while you are on the move. We will even go as far as to escort you back home to Muchuan City, so you have nothing to fear.” He said in a polite voice. Had it not been for the sacred expressions the other merchants had shown, Hui Yue would actually have considered it to be a decent deal.

  “Sorry,” He spoke out casually completely cutting off the words Cou Ling was about to say. “We are not interested.” After having spoken, he once more withdrew his attention from the newcomers and started talking to Cou Ling.

  The woman was at a loss for what to do. But seeing that Hui Yue took the initiative to talk, she ended up following the lead of the young man. Although her answers were a little confused, the young woman still managed to ignore the cultivators.

  Seeing that this group of people were completely ignoring them, the man who had just spoken now had a throbbing vein on his forehead. His face had turned red and his eyes were filled with anger. Taking a step forward, he was suddenly stopped by his friend.

  This new person was far smaller than the angered man. His body seemed fragile, but from his aura one could tell that he was a King ranked expert like the others. Unlike the other three though a smile was still playing on his lips and his eyes seemed sharp. It seemed as if he was constantly observing what was happening around him and contemplating his next move from the information he gathered. He was clearly not as easily angered as the other men.

  “Young man, I don’t think you really know what is going on,” The fragile-looking man said with a fake smile on his face, and the slyness in his voice could be easily detected. Lifting his eyes his gaze landed on the skinny man’s face and as soon as their eyes met, a shiver ran down the spine of the other man. He involuntarily took a step backwards and the fake smile on his face turned strained; his eyes turned serious.

  “Hui Yue had not done anything. He had not released his killing intent, nor had he displayed any form of power, but the sleazy man still felt uneasy and withdrew. As he looked at this young man in front of him, he felt danger.

  At first when the feeling had arrived it overwhelmed him, but this man was a veteran when it came to life-threatening battles. He had been through so many fights where he could have died any moment that he was no longer the kind of man who withdrew because of a little danger.

  As the seconds went by, his senses overcame his initial fear and he started mocking himself for feeling danger from such a young man. Smiling, the older man once more stepped forward. “Little brother, we are here to help all the merchants and craftsman, but how can we help when someone like yourself doesn’t want to join in. After all everyone will tr
avel together, so we need everyone to pay the fee.”

  “Not my problem; we’re not interested,” Hui Yue said as he shrugged, and finally lifted himself up from his seated position to stand in front of this group of experts. He shook his hands slightly to warm them up and cracked his neck. His eyes were as patient as before, but his actions had drawn the attention of many of the merchants and craftsmen who had been forced to paying the abnormally high safety fee earlier.

  Looking at Hui Yue, all the surrounding people felt a slightly sour in their hearts. If Hui Yue were to win, he would most likely take all the money for himself. In that case, they would still have lost their money and also the group protecting them. Well, that is if this group from the Bloody Vulture family had actually been serious about giving up on the Grave of the Unknown for the sake of leading them back safely. No one knew if they spoke the truth, but with them alive they at least had a chance of getting some help on the way back. Because of this, the majority of the people close by were secretly rooting for the group who had extorted money from them.

  Aware of everything, Hui Yue did not pay any mind to the people surrounding him. He could care less about anyone else; he only cared for Cou Ling and Fang Wei. He knew that they were not getting robbed tonight. How could he ask for their support if he could not even protect them in something as simple as this?

  Seeing his movements, the four experts were perplexed. It was clear that Hui Yue intended to not let them have their way, but they couldn’t understand why he would do such a thing. It was four against one, and they were clearly older than him by a great deal. Seeing his foolish actions caused the four of them to grin. The man who had been filled with anger before was now laughing manically as though Hui Yue had done something absolutely hilarious.

  Hearing the laughter and seeing the smiles on their faces, Hui Yue rolled his eyes and wondered what he should do. One option was to instantly disable them with the blue cloud, and then behead them when they collapsed to the ground, but then again the four cultivators in front of him were men. He already had enough Yang energy and needed Yin energy. To absorb more Yang energy would definitely not be beneficial to him.

  Another option was to use his sword, and after some contemplation, he flicked his hand. Moments later a beautiful silvery sword appeared in his hands. The many spiritual blacksmiths around all sucked in a deep breath of air as they caught sight of this unique metal.

  Nine Heaven’s Devouring Blood Metal was something of a legend. Only Cou Ling had managed to successfully forge a hammer from this metal, and every spiritual blacksmith in Muchuan City had at one point in time gone to see her. They would beg her to let them see the hammer she had created. Due to this all of them knew what the metal looked like and seeing this young man standing near Cou Ling’s side they all knew what metal this weapon was forged from. Everyone revered the Nine Heaven’s Devouring Blood Metal, but the only blacksmith who had ever succeeded in refining it was Cou Ling. Everyone else had died trying. So far the only item which had been created from this elusive metal was her personal hammer, but seeing this sword in the hands of the young man in front of them every blacksmith couldn’t help but suck in a breath of fresh air. A new supreme weapon had arrived within the world.

  The four experts in front of him noticed that something had changed by the time Hui Yue had drawn his weapon, but this just made them even more eager to defeat the young man. They wanted to steal his good items when he died. A dead man had no need for items after all.

  Seeing that Hui Yue decided to use the sword, Cou Ling was quite surprised. She knew that Hui Yue wanted to keep his wolf shape a secret, yet facing as many opponents as he was, she could not help but worry about whether or not he would be able to keep it hidden.

  Hui Yue, on the other hand, did not feel that his opponents were much of anything. Looking at them he decided that his best option was his sword, and on the off chance that his newly forged sword was unable to deal with them, then he would be forced to use the blue cloud.

  Although he also wished to keep the blue cloud a secret, he would rather use that than his wolf form. The blue cloud was a branch of techniques not known on this plane so even if they saw it, they would have no idea what happened.

  Lifting his hand, spiritual energy poured into the sword and one ice shard after another was thrown at the four experts. Seeing the shards coming their way, they snorted. A direct attack such as this wasn’t even enough to threaten them. They had faced far stronger attacks in their life, but it seemed their decision caused a grin to appear on Hui Yue’s face.

  To think that these were normal ice shards was to greatly underestimate them. These shards were created by a sword forged from the Nine Heaven’s Devouring Blood Metal. During the forging of the sword, the inscription pattern had undergone a transformation and fused with the lightning. This refined the inscription and strengthening it to a frightening degree, so much so that the attacks were more than twice as strong as they had been in the past, back when the sword was at its peak. The Sword of the Icy Tempest was now far more lethal than ever before.

  Looking at the four experts who were defending with Wu Wei, Hui Yue grinned as he launched one cluster of ice shard after another. Although a group of ice shards was not enough to deal with the Wu Wei surrounding their bodies, a constant barrage of ice shards, which showed no signs of letting up, started to cause cracks to in their Wu Wei cloaks. Annoyed the four experts were forced to increase the Wu Wei they were using to defend themselves.

  Chapter 344 - To Stand One’s Ground

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  Chapter 344: To Stand One’s Ground

  Grunting, the sleazy man noticed that the constant barrage of ice shards put them on the defensive, and he knew this couldn’t continue; therefore, with a ferocious roar, he rushed forward as two daggers appeared in his hands.

  He mercilessly slashed at the younger man, but no matter how much he pushed his speed or how fast he wielded his weapons, the young man managed to constantly evade the strikes. He didn’t even let the older man touch his sleeves.

  Everyone was watching shocked. Although Hui Yue kept retreating in a circle and blocking the attacks, he still managed to keep sending the ice shards at the four experts.

  Seeing the sleazy man advancing while throwing out a flurry of slashes and stabs, none of the others followed up with attacks; instead, they stayed behind. Their eyes were filled with reverence towards the man who was swiftly attacking Hui Yue. Seeing their gaze, Hui Yue understood that this man was without a doubt the leader of the group. Until he asked for help, none would step up. They would ensure that Hui Yue didn’t flee.

  Snickering at their reactions, Hui Yue relaxed. If he had to fight all four of them at once, he would have to put forth some effort and focus a little, but one expert alone was really not worth more than a glance.

  Without inserting Wu Wei into the sword, Hui Yue stopped retreating. Instead, he drew the sword and easily blocked the flurry of blade shadows that the leader rained down upon him.

  Amused at his pathetic attempt to take his life, Hui Yue decided not to waste any more time. With a sliding motion, his sword once more blocked the daggers before slipping in through a hole in his opponent’s defense. Slight resistance was felt before the sword suddenly entered the body of the older man.

  It was as though time had stood still. Shock was evident in the eyes of the man as blood slowly sliding down the corner of his lips. The moment seemed to last forever, and as the leader tried speaking blood started oozing out, and his eyes rolled upwards before his body slid off the sword collapsing on the floor.

  The corpse landed with a thump on the floor and as it sounded out the spell of silence broke. Screams came from the three experts who had been waiting for their leader to finish the fight; they were completely unable to understand how their leader could die as easily has he had.

  If they had been thinking straight, they probably would have reconsidered attacking someone who could effortlessly kill their lead
er, but currently, their thoughts were clouded by their emotions. In such a state they immediately jumped at Hui Yue, completely unconcerned about their safety. Seeing their desperate attacks, Hui Yue knew that this would not be as simple as the previous battle.

  His eyes which had shown mockery turned serious, and the smile on his face slowly vanished. He enhanced all his senses to that of a wolf as he looked around him. The world turned gray in front of him; however, even though the world started to change, his features stayed the same. After his hard training in human form, Hui Yue had learned how to easily control his beast form. He learned how to enhance his senses to be equivalent of those of the red wolf, yet without having to transform his body into that of a beast.

  Moving to the side, he narrowly escaped an attack from the massive man as a fist appeared where he had been moments before. Seeing the arm, Hui Yue lifted the sword and with a beautiful arc he cut down towards the incoming arm.

  Seeing the sword heading towards his arm, the large man withdraw it, only to find that he was a split-second too slow, and then a blood-curdling scream sounded out as an arm landed on the ground. It had been cleanly severed.