The Resplendent Phoenix Saint Lord below, along with the Half-Saint elders of the Phoenix God Clan, were all dumbfounded. None of them had imagined that Yan Zhen would force out the Phoenix Goddess’s Nirvana Fire with a single strike. She hadn’t even had time to unleash her Domain, leaving everyone wondering if the Phoenix Goddess had deliberately thrown the fight.
The Myriad Dragon King, the Jade Dragon Consort, the three Dragon Lords, and the assembled powerhouses of the Dragon God Clan were similarly stunned. A One-Star Mystic Venerable had instantly defeated a Sixth-Rank Supreme? They had all witnessed the entire process, yet it still felt utterly absurd. They couldn’t help but suspect that the Phoenix Goddess had struck some shady bargain with Yan Zhen and thrown the match.
Only the three beautiful masters looked on with approval in their eyes. Long Ying clapped her hands enthusiastically.
“Yan Zhen Zhen is so awesome!”
Yan Zhen’s mouth twitched slightly as he turned to the Phoenix Goddess.
“The victor has been decided. I hope you’ll honor your promise and leave quietly… As for the Phoenix God Clan’s crime of abducting Long Ying, we’ll settle that score with you later.”
The Phoenix Goddess’s expression stiffened. Clearly, she knew the full story.
Back then, Long Ying had only been at the Mystic King Realm. How could she have sneaked into the Phoenix God Clan—let alone deep into their forbidden grounds? It was because, when she ran away from home, one of the Phoenix God Clan’s Half-Saint elders had tricked her. That old hag had taken a fancy to Long Ying’s Dragon God Bloodline and wanted to combine it with Phoenix God Bloodline to refine a Dragon Phoenix Pill.
The naive Long Ying had been lured to the Phoenix God Clan and hidden in a small hut on the outskirts of the forbidden grounds. The old hag had planned to make thorough preparations before extracting her blood, so she tried to keep Long Ying placated with candy. But Long Ying was an energetic girl who wouldn’t stay put. Ignoring the elder’s instructions, she wandered off using a concealment pearl granted to her by the Jade Dragon Consort.
By chance, the Phoenix God Clan had gathered their people in the forbidden grounds to pay homage to the Phoenix Perch Blood Wutong tree, the very tree that bore the Nirvana Fruits. Long Ying slipped in with the crowd. Once everyone else had left, she was left behind inside. Growing hungry over time, she naturally turned her attention to the Nirvana Fruits.
After eating a Nirvana Fruit, its medicinal power awakened her Space Talent. She was soon discovered by the Phoenix God Clan members, who pursued her. In desperation, she crushed her teleportation talisman to flee.
The talisman was meant to send her back to the Dragon God Clan, but the Phoenix God Clan’s powerhouses interfered with the teleportation. Panicking, Long Ying’s newly awakened Space Talent erupted wildly, hurling her straight out of the Eighth Continent. She landed on Jialan Continent—more precisely, in the Great Forest Outside the Academy at Holy Land Academy.
The Nirvana Fruit’s medicinal power had been too potent, so she reverted to dragon egg form. She only awoke due to the commotion from Yan Zhen practicing his Mystic Techniques, leading to a fight between them. After absorbing a massive amount of the evolution-inducing Great Crimson Heaven Flame, she finally gathered enough energy to transform back into human form.
When Long Ying left the Eighth Continent, the Myriad Dragon King and Jade Dragon Consort had both been in seclusion. By the time they emerged and discovered their daughter was missing, they used secret arts to search for her. Learning she had last appeared in the Phoenix God Clan, they stormed over and clashed with them. But since they didn’t find Long Ying there, the matter was dropped.
Now, the Phoenix God Clan had the audacity to demand compensation for the Nirvana Fruit. It was the height of shamelessness. The Myriad Dragon King didn’t know about it yet, but Long Ying had told the Jade Dragon Consort, which was why she had been so agitated earlier.
At Yan Zhen’s words, the Myriad Dragon King’s face darkened instantly.
“What do you mean, the Phoenix God Clan abducted Little Ying Ying?”
Without needing Yan Zhen to say anything, the Jade Dragon Consort laid out the full truth. The Myriad Dragon King and the three Dragon Lords listened, their vertical pupils flashing red with fury.
Boom!
When a Nine-Star Great God flew into a rage, the heavens and earth trembled. The entire Dragon God Clan—no, the entire Dragon God State—was enveloped in boundless Dragon Might.
“You dare set your sights on This King’s daughter? The Phoenix God Clan is courting death!”
The Resplendent Phoenix Saint Lord knew things had gone south. Though the three clans had signed a peace accord, and unauthorized warfare would bring backlash, the Myriad Dragon King was notoriously hot-tempered. If he struck despite the consequences, they were done for.
In her heart, the Resplendent Phoenix Saint Lord cursed that old fool. If not for her meddling, the Nirvana Fruit wouldn’t have been lost, and they wouldn’t have provoked the Myriad Dragon King!
“Wait, Dragon King—one matter at a time. Tricking the Little Princess was entirely that Feng Juan’s personal action, not the will of the Phoenix God Clan. The clan leader has already severely punished her. If the Dragon King finds that insufficient, I will report to the clan leader and have her sent over for the Dragon God Clan to dispose of as you see fit.”
“Resplendent Phoenix Saint Lord, do you take This King for a three-year-old child to be toyed with?”
The Myriad Dragon King clenched his fist. The Phoenix God Clan group immediately felt the space around them lock down, preventing teleportation. Clearly, he intended to keep them there.
“Abducting This King’s daughter and then having the gall to demand compensation—the Phoenix God Clan has gone too far! Even if it means breaking the peace accord, This King will make you understand today that the Dragon God Clan is not to be trifled with!”
A massive, translucent dragon claw materialized out of thin air, clamping down on one of the Phoenix God Clan’s Half-Saint elders and hoisting her into the sky.
Crack!
Space shattered. A piercing phoenix cry followed as the Half-Saint elder, her face twisted in terror, was bathed in crimson flames.
Nirvana Fire had been ignited.
Typically, every thirty percent of Phoenix God Blood allowed for one strand of Nirvana Fire—one resurrection chance. The Resplendent Phoenix Saint Lord and Phoenix Goddess each had three such chances, while these Half-Saint elders had two.
But against the Myriad Dragon King, not even ten resurrections would suffice.
Just as the Myriad Dragon King prepared to finish her off, Chen Xi stood up, her tone calm.
“Dragon King, rein in your anger. Since your Dragon God Clan finds it inconvenient to act, leave it to me.”
The Myriad Dragon King hesitated at her words.
Killing these Phoenix God Clan members would likely require him to seclude himself for three to five years to mitigate the backlash.
Chen Xi turned to the Resplendent Phoenix Saint Lord, her gaze icy.
“Resplendent Phoenix, come on. Show me how much you’ve improved these years.”
The Resplendent Phoenix Saint Lord gritted her teeth, her eyes flashing with malice.
“Chen Xi… You’ve been missing for years and only just entered the Saint Realm. What right do you have to speak to me like that?!”
With those words, the might of a Three-Star Mystic Saint erupted. A Phoenix Pattern Halo manifested behind her head, and Thousand Feathers Phoenix Wings unfurled from her back.
“I won’t lose to you again, Chen Xi. Bring it on!”
Chen Xi looked down at her from above.
“Ten moves.”
The Resplendent Phoenix Saint Lord hated Chen Xi’s condescending attitude most of all. Unable to hold back any longer, she charged forward.
The two graceful figures vanished simultaneously. Explosions from clashing Mystic Power echoed through the sky above, each flash of light ripping open a hole in space.
The Phoenix Goddess watched the sky intently. Moments later, a massive boom rang out. The Resplendent Phoenix Saint Lord plummeted like a falling star toward the banquet square. Just before she hit the ground, a blaze of flame caught her. Even so, the impact unleashed a violent gust, nearly overturning the tables.
The Resplendent Phoenix Saint Lord spat out a mouthful of blood, glaring unwillingly at Chen Xi overhead.
Back then, she had nearly tied with Chen Xi. It was only because her rank-twelve Thousand Feathers Phoenix Immortal Fire couldn’t match Chen Xi’s rank-seven Starlight Glazed Fire that she lost.
But now, she was no match for Chen Xi at all. The gap between them had only widened. Chen Xi was merely a One-Star Mystic Saint, while she was a Three-Star Mystic Saint—this woman’s Technique Refining Art was freakishly powerful.
Chen Xi’s face remained impassive.
“This is the price for humiliating my Zhen’er… There are always people greater than oneself, heavens beyond the sky. If you can’t grasp that truth, you’ll go no further, Resplendent Phoenix. Also, notify the Phoenix God Clan to come ransom you. Without paying a proper price, don’t think about leaving.”
“You—you!”
The Resplendent Phoenix Saint Lord was practically apoplectic with rage.
