Blue Phoenix

Hui Yue could not help but let go of a wry smile as he saw the happiness within Wan Qiao’s eyes. She hurried towards a desk where she found some paper and a pen and rapidly started to write a new training plan for Hui Yue. Seeing the sinister grin on Wan Qiao’s face, he could not help but sigh deeply and almost kick himself for having told her the truth; however, he knew that her training, albeit slightly similar to torture, was very successful. This was also the reason why the young man following the training to the letter.

Hui Yue waited patiently for the training schedule to be completed, and when he accepted the document, his eyes went wide when he saw the amount of training she assigned. Not to mention throughout the entire time he was to carry heavy weights on his body.

There was one positive thing about the training, and that was she expected him to train while being in his wolf form. He would not be a full human, but neither was he a full beast. He looked like many of the other beast-men within the city, and he was filled with excitement as he rushed to the training grounds where he donned the weights. With a howl, he transformed into a half-beast, half-man. Unlike before he felt so familiar. It was as natural as brushing his hair or changing his clothes. Being in the half-man half-wolf form, Hui Yue felt an immense increase in his strength. He felt his muscles swell, and his legs fill with explosive power.

His training started with running, and Hui Yue was deeply astonished by the power within his body. Although he did not start at a mad rush, his speed had already far exceeded the speed he had been able to run at before. His body was now much stronger, and he finally understood why Wan Qiao had increased his training as much as she did.

While following this training schedule, Hui Yue paid no attention to anything which happened around him; instead, he focused solely on following the orders written down by Wan Qiao.

While he was running, a woman appeared at the edge of the training grounds. Had Hui Yue looked at her, then he would instantly recognize her as Li Meilin. The woman whom he had been tasked with keeping safe. The woman who had been flown back to the capital by Wan Qiao personally.

Li Meilin lived a carefree life the previous week while waiting for Hui Yue to return to the capital. She had been given a room, and she would be brought food multiple times a day. She was not locked up anywhere, instead she was permitted to roam around as she wished. By doing so, she had managed to gain various amount of information which she felt she needed to bring back with her to the Siban Empire. Unfortunately, she was unaware of how or when she could escape.

She saw Hui Yue exit the rooms of Wan Qiao and followed him to the training ground where she saw him transform into a beast and run around the ground for an excessive amount of time. He then followed the running with training his body and his muscles individually. Seeing him work this hard, Li Meilin was astonished, but what got her even more shocked was the amount of time he stayed in his beast form. She had previously understood it as though he could not keep this form for more than a specific amount of time, but now hours had passed. Hours where he trained himself hard, but he was still the same red wolf-man he had been before.

Contemplating, Li Meilin started to wonder whether or not she was truly mistaken about him being a human and not a magical beast. As she looked at the young man she was more and more certain that he was indeed a beast, but she had no other option than to try and approach him. Try and gain some information about this place and about how it was possible to leave.

It took a couple of hours more before Hui Yue, tired to the core, transformed back to his human form, and with a weariness on his face, he left the training grounds only to be intercepted by Li Meilin.

“Hui Yue!” She called out loudly. Her voice cut through the crisp evening air, and her hair was disheveled as she rushed towards the young man.

Seeing the woman, Hui Yue frowned slightly. The reason he kept her safe, or at least tried, was because of Wan Qiao giving him the order to do so. Personally, he felt nothing towards the woman. She was but another person around him, someone whom he did not need to worry himself with. His way of thinking was simple.

Within Shenyuan, Hui Yue understood that the Frozen General had no power, but he also knew that the Frozen General could easily kill his friends back in the capital of Shenyuan.

The last warning he was given still rang throughout Hui Yue’s mind. If he made friends with someone, then they would die. If it was impossible to get hold of the ones he wanted to kill, who was to say whether or not he would take it out on some of his other friends. Due to this, Hui Yue dared not befriend anyone. He treated everyone with the same kind of respect he was shown, but it was impossible for strangers to become close to him. The only one who could be considered a friend was Wan Qiao and their relationship was definitely not as friends.

Seeing Li Meilin moving towards him, Hui Yue was at a loss for what to do. On his face a welcoming smile was shown, “Miss Li,” He said with a slight bow. “I apologize for my appearance, but I just finished my daily training routine,” He continued. He knew she was perfectly well aware of this; however, he lost nothing from being polite.

Nodding the woman showed that she knew, and after a short while neither of them said anything as they walked together down the road towards the main palace. Hui Yue was not thinking about anything else other than a warm bath to soothe his sore muscles, and then a night filled with cultivation. His brows furrowed as he thought about cultivation as he knew he was going to be using the blue cloud. He also remembered the pain it brought with him.

Li Meilin misunderstood the furrowed brow as a sign of impatience, and she rushed to build her courage before she heavily exhaled.

“Young man, are you a human or are you a beast?” She asked him, completely uncertain whether or not he would even answer her. Unlike last time she met him he now seemed very distant and not approachable at all.

“I’m neither,” Was the only answer Hui Yue gave her before he nodded a goodbye and turned right, leaving the stunned woman behind. Li Meilin’s eyes were slightly narrowed, and an unsightly expression adorned her face. She was feeling very sour as she bit her lip while in deep thought. It was apparent that Hui Yue had no intention of conversing with her, but she was used to being rejected. In her job as Senior Observer, she was used to dealing with tasks where the involved parties refused to speak with each other and often let their anger hit the messenger. If one rejection from Hui Yue was enough to keep her from attempting again, then her name was not Li Meilin.

Looking at the departing Hui Yue, a grim smile appeared on her face, and she turned the other way. Her eyes were sharp as she returned to her room ready to try again the next day.

After having parted from Li Meilin, Hui Yue spend no more time thinking about her, instead he focused solely on his body. The entire day he had been awestruck by the strength he had in his body. Becoming a wolf-man was simply astonishing. Even overcoming his limits was less difficult than it had been before. He was thrilled with the increased speed in his training.

Out of curiosity, Hui Yue had also used his full wolf body; however it was such a significant change for him that he was incapable of truly controlling it yet. The wolf-man form had far more strength and was easier to control.

Returning to his room after a very good bath, Hui Yue went straight to his bed where he sat down and with a groan released the blue cloud within his lower dantian. As soon as he did, he fell into the trancelike meditation. As his mind was fully focused on cultivating, refining the essence of the heavens and the earth, the white mist once more rolled from his body. It created a night sky with stars that were absorbed through the forehead of the young man.

The pain was immense, but Hui Yue prevailed. He was not dumb, and although he was incapable of controlling this golden energy right now, even incapable of even finding the energy which caused him such pain, he was aware that the golden energy was Wu Wei. The reason he could not find it was because it was most likely stored within his upper dantian; the dantian he had yet to open.

This was all just theory, but Lan Feng had seemed to have the same thoughts Hui Yue had. Seeing the young man turn into an actual magical beast, the phoenix inside his body was quite excited.

Lan Feng usually held a low profile inside Shenyuan. Although this was his homeland he had been shocked upon hearing that Wan Qiao was known as the highest existence here. He had not been too shocked about her strength, but the fact that she was still alive was something that shocked him greatly. The relationship between the both of them was rather tense and due to this, Lan Feng had not tried to teach Hui Yue anything for as long as he was following Wan Qiao’s training methods.

Even though Lan Feng disliked Wan Qiao, he approved of her training schedule. He had used it before when she was his nanny, but now Hui Yue needed the best training so that they had a chance against him. Lan Feng ignored the dislike he felt for Wan Qiao, and he too was excited as he felt the young man gain strength day by day.

As morning broke, Hui Yue had once more gone through a night of excruciating pain, however his eyes were determined. Although it was painful, if it managed to make him stronger then he would walk through hell. For him to gain strength, for him to become an expert who could stand at the pinnacle, Hui Yue felt that he would do anything necessary.

As Hui Yue thought about Li Fen, he suddenly saw another woman right in front of him. A woman whom he had known for years already. She was proud but slightly aloof. She was concerned about others but often quiet. She was gentle and warm, and she made him feel like he had finally found the most important part of himself. She was Wang Ju Long, and as he remembered her his heart started to beat rapidly. With a sigh, Hui Yue looked out the window and thought that somewhere out this beautiful woman was waiting for him to return. Once more his eyes gleamed in determination to train as hard as his body would allow him to. Train so hard that he would be capable of returning to Wang Ju Long and his friends.