Blue Phoenix Chapter 67 – Strange Occurrences

The Qi Lightning Bolts were now all gathered around Wang Ju Long’s hand, and the crackling sound caused the air around the glove to be twisted by the intense energy fluctuations.

Although Sha Yun had looked down on Wang Ju Long previously, she no longer dared to do so as she feared this final attack of hers. Instead, she gathered all of her remaining qi and sent it to her tail. If she wanted to deal with such a terrifying attack, she had to use her most powerful counterattack.

Unlike last time when Sha Yun gathered her qi within her tail, this time it no longer draped the tail as a beautiful protective layer of white. Instead, it was concentrated on three scales alone which were located almost at the tip of the tail. These three scales shone with light: one blue, one white, and one sand colored.

This attack the three sisters had created together. It contained a slight bit of the cultivation base from each of the three sisters. It was an attack which required channeling and now was the best time to use it.

Wang Ju Long fell to her knees, as the energy fluctuations around her outstretched arm continually grew in size. As the world blackened, she forced her consciousness back and got to her feet before rushing towards the snake-woman in front of her.

Wang Ju Long had been rushing after Sha Yun for a few seconds before she gave up and accepted that when it came to speed, she had no way of defeating the snake-woman. Instead, she stood still. Her Qi Lightning Glove intensified above her clenched fist, and sweat poured down her face, as she struggled to keep control over the power which was currently within her grasp. Each second required an immense amount of mental strength not to allow her body to collapse onto the stage.

Sha Yun was in a similar position as her channeling had been slower than she had expected due to Wang Ju Long’s pursuit which had been shockingly close, even considering the agility that Sha Yun had.

Suddenly Sha Yun started moving, jolting forward like the snake she was and her tail whipped through the air, gaining momentum before it slammed into Wang Ju Long and her Qi Lightning Glove.

A large boom resounded, and the very ground shook from the impact, causing everyone on the mountaintop to stare astonished at the two. A cloud of dust rose from the ground, causing the stage to be covered in a blanket of sand, making it impossible to see the outcome of the match.

Hui Yue swore inwardly, as he realized that the two of them likely suffered some severe injuries from this final exchange of blows. He could not help but blame himself for his curiosity. That being said, it was obvious that Wang Ju Long had greatly benefitted from the cultivation technique she had been given. She was likely to become a worthy rival for Hui Yue once more.

This caused Hui Yue to be filled with mixed emotions. On one side was happiness and excitement, but on the other was the worry. He was the one who had urged them to duel so in this situation it was his fault should they be injured.

The dust slowly cleared. Hui Yue, together with the others, while breathlessly staring at the stage, saw Wang Ju Long walk down wobbling. She was clutching her arm which had previously been covered by the Qi Lightning Bolt’s Glove. Anyone could see that the exchange had caused some injury to the young girl’s body.

The usually jade-white skin had turned even paler, and drops of sweat were increasing as Wang Ju Long nodded to the others before her. Without a sound, she took her departure and moved towards the infirmary.

Upon looking back at the stage, Hui Yue’s face turned equally pale as he rushed up to support Sha Yun. The snake-woman had collapsed on the stage, kneeling on the hard floor and was coughing up blood, which stained the ground black.

Moving closer, Hui Yue noticed that it was not as bad as he had expected. A strong determination was evident within Sha Yun’s eyes, and she managed to stand up on her own. Although slightly unsteady Sha Yun moved to Hui Yue. She gestured that she was okay, while small growling sounds appeared together with one more mouthful of blood.

After the fight, it was obvious that both Sha Yun and Wang Ju Long had gained some mutual respect for the other. Neither liked the other, so going forward they would choose to ignore each other completely.

As the new school year started once again, Wang Ju Long started hanging out with the group, and she was quickly welcomed by the others. Sha Yun was a part of the group as well, and she could always be seen following Hui Yue around.

As Sha Yun was Hui Yue’s magical beast, she lived together with him in his courtyard. All her spare time was spent trying to learn the human language. The first word she learned to say was ‘Hui Yue,’ and within half a year she had managed to perfect her linguistic skills.

During this half year, Wang Ju Long had managed to break through once more. She was now the same rank as Hui Yue, causing the two childhood rivals to spar with each other on a daily basis.

Hui Yue only focused on his cultivation. He would spar against Rong Xing, Sha Yun, Deng Wu, and Wang Ju Long almost every day, after which he would enter meditation to gain an understanding of his skills while increasing his cultivation base.

Sha Yun kept changing as she became a part of the outside world. Along with her linguistic skills that grew so did her confidence, which she had lacked. Sha Yun turned into a real seductress overnight, usually causing problems for Hui Yue. From time to time she wandered the academy alone and flirted with the human boys as she became more aware of her sensual appearance. Other times she tried to seduce the elder who was in charge of the Medicinal Pill Outlet.

Every time she would be dragged back to Hui Yue and told to behave properly. No matter what Hui Yue said, Sha Yun was unwilling to completely obey as she was experiencing the most exciting time of her life.

As the warm summer ended, it became time for the national tournament at the main branch of the Royal Academy, but Hui Yue had politely declined to join as he felt his cultivation base was lacking.

That was his official reason, while in truth, Hui Yue did not have any intention of standing out on a national stage just yet. Although he was becoming famous within Riluo City, it was only one of the many cities within the Taiyang Kingdom. Boasting was very typical when a new genius child emerged. Unfortunately, there were as many geniuses as there were clouds in the skies.

The Rong twins and Gao Yan were all picked for the national tournament. They all did well during the battles, yet Hui Yue enjoyed his time at the academy to train, feeling no sense of jealousy when he saw their prizes.

The excitement of the tournament lasted all winter and with it came snow and the colder temperatures, but soon the snow melted, and spring returned. Years came and years passed while Hui Yue stayed focused on cultivating his qi, hoping to break into the Master rank.

Deng Wu had broken into the Master rank at the tender age of sixteen, and he had shocked the entire Riluo City with this feat. His elemental affinities turned out to be metal and earth. Although he was unable to become an alchemist, he was still practicing hard to become an inscriber.

This extraordinary event had caused the entire city to celebrate for a whole week as they saw the birth of a genius above the usual. A genius who might manage to break into the ranks of a Saint.

Although talents were as abundant as clouds in the skies, geniuses which had the ability to ascend into the ranks of a Saint were limited. It was indeed something worth celebrating.

After a year, at the age of seventeen, the next to break through had been Gao Yan. This shocked everyone as they all knew his cultivation base had been shattered. Thus he was seen as another peerless genius of the younger generation.

Quickly having these two geniuses caused everyone within Riluo City to forget everything about Hui Yue. Even Wang Ju Long was slightly forgotten as the other two young men had broken into the Master rank.

Ma Kong and the Rong twins were still at the final ninth star of the Practitioner rank, and so was Hui Yue, the young boy who had just turned fifteen years old.

Although Hui Yue had reached the ninth star of the Practitioner rank, it was not commonly known within Riluo City. Hui Yue’s fame from years before had slowly faded as the extreme expert had never appeared again.

A fierce wind was blowing through the empty streets of Riluo City. Everything was dark, and a blanket of stars and the moon hung over these narrow alleyways. This allowed only the bare minimum of light to shine down onto the dirt roads which during the daytime would be bustling with life but were currently deserted.

Usually, the houses would have light shining through their windows, lighting up the grim outside for the few passersby, yet nothing was aglow this evening, nor had it been for the last month as horrendous things had started to happen within Riluo City.

A month prior, seven corpses had been found within one of the poorer sections of the city. None of the bodies had been complete. Some of the heads had been severed while others had torn-off limbs. Upon looking at the area, it was evident that this had been a one-sided massacre; it resembled a slaughter rather than an actual battle.

A week later another similar horrific occurrence manifested itself in another area of Riluo City. This time it was ten men who were slaughtered. The men who had died were all mercenaries or guards who came from middle-class or low-class families. All of them worked hard during the day. No one could comprehend the reason they were killed.

The City Lord’s mansion sent more guards out at night to catch those responsible, but no one was ever found. The City Lord also interrogated the families who had lost fathers or sons. No one seemed to know what these men had been doing out that late. No one was able to shed light on the case.

These problems had caused Riluo City to be on high alert. People were suspicious of one another. No one knew if the person who walked next to them was a murderer, or even why these groups of people had been slaughtered at the same time. The poorer areas were especially shaken by the events. Everyone stayed inside as soon as the sun set past the horizon.

This night was one such night. A shadow was suddenly visible in the darkness, walking away from a closed door and down an alleyway with quiet steps. His figure was hidden in the shadows, and he managed to evade the city guards who were patrolling the area.

The moon emerged from behind a cloud, and at that very moment, it was possible to see the entire street illuminated by the soft silvery light.

The shadow was a young man. His hair seemed to be white, yet it was stained with black streaks by dots which were constantly running down like water drops in the rain. The young man’s face was beautiful but ice-cold. A stern expression was evident on his face and determination shone from his eyes. Within the slim hand was a pearl-white sword which had been created by a very pure qi, even the qi was dripping with a thick red liquid.