Blue Phoenix

A chill went down Hui Yue's spine as he saw an excited expression on the third prince's face. He was not in distress nor did he even seem worried. Instead, he was laughing maniacally as one soul shadow after another appeared around his body.

These soul shadows were not human soul shadows but instead created from the most amazing beasts one could find. It was clear that he had sought out and killed the highest ranked beasts in the kingdom to harvest their soul shadows. It was impossible to get his hands on so many impressive soul shadows if he did not go out with a group and hunt them.

"Good! Good! Hui Yue, you indeed haven’t let me down. Your ability is unmatched. My Little Guardian was just upgraded, and yet you still managed to destroy it so easily! Well then let us see how you deal with this supreme Goldenfurred Yeti. He was a peak Saint ranked beast when he was still alive, and now he is one of my of my favorite shadows!"

Saying nothing, Hui Yue looked at the shadow in front of him which slowly turned into a massive beast with golden fur. It looked like an oversized gorilla. Its eyes were completely black, and its mouth opened to release a soundless roar which shook the ground.

Standing in front of this massive beast, Hui Yue snickered. "You want to see my strength?" He asked as he agilely dodged the massive beast’s attack. Although it was stronger than him, it was also slower, something which Hui Yue could use to his own advantage.

Unfortunately, the Goldenfurred Yeti was not the only soul shadow that the third prince commanded. A large black panther appeared from Shiu Ye’s hands. It quickly grew, and its speed rivaled Hui Yue’s causing the young man to be in a tough position. He had to constantly avoid both of the beast’s shadows. Although the Goldenfurred Yeti was slower than him, it was far stronger in raw strength.

“Good! Good! You can keep up with two of my soul shadows at once, well then let’s see how you manage when I add a third beast to the fray!” The third prince kept laughing manically as another shadow left his palm and this time took the shape of a beautiful white eagle. This eagle at first soared into the sky, but soon as its eyes were set on Hui Yue as it dove down.

“Sh*t,” Hui Yue could not help but swear when he noticed that he was caught between the three beasts and to avoid this eagle’s attack he would have to move past one of the soul shadows. If he allowed for the Goldenfurred Yeti to attack him, then he would suffer greatly. Looking at the razor sharp talons and beak of the eagle, Hui Yue decided not to head that way, and instead ran straight at the panther.

Using his sword he managed to stab the panther in the heart, but unfortunately, it was a soul shadow. It was not something that would be injured by a mere stab. It needed to be cut into several tens of pieces and only then would it have no chance of regenerating.

The panther used this opportunity to both bite Hui Yue’s shoulder and scratch him tearing into his arm. Hui Yue felt tremendous pain from the massive wound on his shoulder and the bone-deep lacerations in his arm which made his arm feel completely useless.

Swearing in pain, Hui Yue managed to wrest himself free from the panther and backed away. He rushed away from the eagle, yeti, and the panther drawing some distance between himself and the three Saint ranked soul shadows. He was breathing heavily as the wounds were far more severe than he had expected he would suffer.

“Seems like I have really underestimated the third prince,” He mumbled to himself before he used some of his lifeforce he had gathered to heal his wounds. Although he could use his lifeforce to heal himself, he preferred not to use it often. He did not have that much life force left after healed Cai Jie.

“Looks like I really don’t have any choice,” He said through gritted teeth and a determination appeared in his eyes.

Sword in hand the body of Hui Yue started changing. Red fur appeared all over his skin, and his muscles grew at a visible rate. Soon, Hui Yue was no longer in his human form but was now a half wolf.

Around him, a blue cloud was swirling, and in his hand, his sword shown with a fierce icy aura. His physical strength had surged to the heavens. His fighting abilities were now quite a bit stronger than before.

This was not the only change in his strength. The blue cloud which was swirling around him was rolling like a thunder cloud.

"Long ago I inherited the monk’s legacy," Hui Yue suddenly said as he kept avoiding the Goldenfurred Yeti, the panther, and the eagle dodging from side to side. He skillfully avoided most attacks thrown his way although he was hit from time to time and blood kept flowing from his wounds. "This legacy came with quite a few martial arts and a certain type of energy," He continued to explain, not sure why he was talking but deep inside his blood was boiling with the will to fight. This was the most interesting battle he had fought since the war.

"His attacks were too hard for me to use at the start," Hui Yue continued as he dodged. "But as I have grown stronger and stronger I gained enlightenment on this energy he left behind."

"Previously all I was only capable of using this energy in a crude way. It assisted me with my cultivation; it assisted me in devouring other people's cultivation bases and stealing their energy. But the attacks of this monk were truly too profound. Even now I only have enough strength to execute one of these attacks. I will let you be the first person to experience it," Hui Yue laughed, and suddenly the blue cloud which roiled around him shot to the sky where it spread out like a massive thunderstorm. Suddenly sparks appeared within the thunderstorm.

Grinning, Hui Yue poured Wu Wei into the sword within his hand and suddenly the light seemed to be sucked away, dimming everything. Almost nothing visible, and the thunderstorm above could no longer be seen but it could still be heard.

Standing in the middle of this snowstorm and controlling the thunderstorm above, Hui Yue closed his eyes and spread his arms. His body had returned to that of a human, and when his eyes opened, lightning could be seen within.

Taking his finger and swiping it downwards a massive boom was heard as the first bolt descended from the skies. It moved swifter than the eye could see and landed on the third prince.

A shrill scream rang out followed by a stream of curses. "Your attack is truly dangerous!" Shiu Ye's voice rang through the thick snowstorm, "but don't think the same attack will work twice!" He continued, but Hui Yue just laughed.

As Hui Yue swiped his finger downwards, an even larger Thunderbolt descended. This time, the agonizing scream of four beasts could be heard. Clearly, Shiu Ye had needed four soul shadows to block the second bolt, and he continued to curse as he could hear the third lightning bolt preparing to strike him from the heavens.

"How can you summon forth lightning like this?!" The third prince yelled out frantically, but Hui Yue did not answer as the finger fell for the third time. Golden light shone in the snowstorm as the third prince used Wu Wei to form a shield around himself, clearly not holding back anything, yet even so shortly after a bloodcurdling scream could be heard.

Hearing the scream, Hui Yue did not pause for even a moment and another lightning bolt, stronger than the previous ones, descended from the heavens. “You forced me to use this!” The third prince yelled out and silvery light shone in the middle of the snow storm. ‘He is using a protective charm,’ Lan Feng said but even so, Hui Yue did not stop, as a fourth lightning bolt was gathering energy.

Hui Yue had no intention of going easy on the prince. The third prince was smart. Even if he were not injured, he would still act as if he were to making Hui Yue think that he was injured and loosen his attention.

After the fifth bolt, there was no longer any screams, but Hui Yue still sent one bolt after another down until he reached the ninth and final tribulation lightning bolt.

As the final bolt descended, Hui Yue finally ceased the snowstorm, and the darkened sky vanished. The blue cloud returned from the sky and swirled around Hui Yue's body once more.

Looking around, Hui Yue noticed that the chatting and merry voices from within the mansion had silenced. The shadows were gone, and the third prince was now laying on the ground, completely still. Outside the mansion turmoil appeared. Guards kept calling for the third prince, but none of them dared to enter the grounds without his permission.

With a glance at the corpse of the third prince, Hui Yue took his sword and with a swift strike he decapitated the prince. Only then did he feel safe that the prince was truly dead. Grabbing his storage stones, Hui Yue was forced to spit up blood as his entire body was shaking with pain and exhaustion. Although he had killed the prince, he had severely injured himself in the process but now was not the time to think about such things. He needed to escape as soon as possible.

Jumping into a nearby tree, Hui Yue went from tree to tree, from shadow to shadow, and slowly reached the palace walls.

'Let’s hope he did not obtain a pill which brings one back to life,' Lan Fang sighed as he remembered the medicinal pills Hui Yue had found within the Universe Box.

'Let’s hope he did not have one. If he did it would be disastrous,' Hui Yue sighed, as he jumped past the wall slowly vanishing into the night.

....

"Yue! Yue!" Wang Ju Long called out loud as she entered his room, her eyes shining with excitement and her hands shaking uncontrollably.

"Last night, was that you Tell me the details!" She continued, slowly waking Hui Yue up. For once, he had decided to sleep because this would relieve him of all the mental fatigue from his fight against the third prince. Using the Tribulation of the Nine Heavens caused his entire body to be severely injured. This attack had used up all his blue energy, and the energy had been so strong that it had injured him internally in the process. Now he could do nothing but wait to recover.

Waking up, he could not help but hold Wang Ju Long in his arms as he smiled at her. "Deng Wu will be here soon." Hui Yue said, "I promise to tell you what happened when he gets here. It is something I do not wish to explain more than once. Afterwards, we will not talk about it. If the royal family finds out that I was the one who killed the prince, no matter what stage I have reached or my status, they will not let it go. I would have to fight a great many Saints." Hui Yue explained, and Wang Ju Long nodded her head.

"Let us go and get eat," He said while stroking Wang Ju Long’s hair gently. Although he had said that they should go, neither showed any signs of moving. None wished to break this perfect moment. They did not move until they heard someone rushing their way from down the hallway.

"YUE!" Someone yelled out, and Hui Yue instantly knew the person he was just talking about had come. Deng Wu’s voice was filled with excitement and relief, things Hui Yue had not heard for a long time. This was happiness which his friend had long ago buried deep within himself. His life had been overshadowed by the third prince much like the sun during an eclipse. As long as the prince was alive, he would not know the word happiness. Now happiness shone through Deng Wu and was present within his voice. It was clear that his second lease on life had begun.

"Deng Wu," Hui Yue called out while taking Wang Ju Long by the hand. The two lovers went to me the young man.

"Yue, you are without a doubt the best friend one could have!" Deng Wu said emotionally; his eyes had hazed over and his voice trembling slightly. "Although this will not bring our families back, their souls can now rest in peace! They deserve to be reincarnated rather than turn vengeful forever remembering the injustice they suffered in their lives."

Wang Ju Long, who had gone through the same, had tears running down her cheeks and she nodded her head as well. She felt the same as Deng Wu.

In fact, she had felt guilty about her emotions for Hui Yue. How could she afford to be happy when her family’s killer was alive? It was something that had greatly troubled her, but now it was no longer an issue. Holding Hui Yue's hand, she tightened her grip. She was never going to let Hui Yue leave her.

Feeling her actions a gentle smile spread on Hui Yue's lips as he got everyone to move toward the dining hall. "Let’s get some food, then tell me what you have heard in town. I want to hear what people are saying. Who does everyone suspect?" He laughed as they all vanished into the dining hall where breakfast was already waiting for them.

A servant came into the room with warm tea for the cultivators. "Young Master Lao has already left for the academy. Miss Jo followed him. Master Cai Jie and Xu Piao have eaten their meals in their rooms. Should you need anything feel free to call on this lowly one." The maid said with a bow. Although Hui Yue had tried to make these maids treat him more equally, they refused to listen and thus Hui Yue had given up some time ago.

"I see. Thank you, that is all for now." Hui Yue said as he nodded to the maid who left promptly. Now no one was left in the dining hall and by spreading his spiritual energy, Hui Yue quickly found that no one was listening in on their conversation.

Speaking with his two friends, Hui Yue quickly recounted what had happened, and their eyes were round as they heard about the heavenly lightning he had called forth.

“You are simply peerless! Who is fit to actually challenge you?" Deng Wu exclaimed, but all he got in a reply was a grim smile. Hui Yue was perfectly well aware of just how lacking his current strength was compared to An He. Looking into the distance, he knew that he had only started down his path of immortality, and he still have a very long road ahead of him.