The Wish of the Dragon

Chapter 100:

Chapter 100:

Issei already told them to not depend on the <Frozen Heart Arts> because that art is not very useful for them and it's a lot better if they train their will and heart using their own determination.

Tempering mind and body is something that they needed to experience on their own. Using the <Frozen Heart Arts> will only serve as a temporary solution... It may help them in the early phase but in the future, it will be harder for them to reach that inner peace they're searching for since this art forcefully "Freeze" their feelings.

When the time comes where that art is no longer usable for them then that's when they will feel the backlash of that said art... Just like how someone using a certain drug to increase their cultivation but when that drug runs out that person will become restless thinking without that said drug they are weak.

"If you're not even allowed to feel anything then can you even be considered human? You all are a living being... Not some kind of emotionless doll. Find your inner peace on your own and don't depend on some outside help." Is the direct quote of what he said towards them.

The girls took his words seriously and from then on they rarely use the <Frozen Heart Arts>...

And just like he said, the girls could more easily cultivate nowadays without any discomfort... They felt more free and unrestrained than ever...

The awe and respect they felt towards him are already on par with what they felt towards the founder of the sect, Mu Bingyun herself.

Issei and Xia Qingyue set off to their destination... Issei wore his mask while Xia Qingyue wears her veil.

During the short time she's spent inside the sect, her beauty grew even further.

Issei's training only makes her countenance become even more prominent than ever. If her old look seems like a fragile beauty then her current look is that of a true Fairy Maiden... Battle clad Fairy Maiden.

Her limpid beautiful eyes become sharper as the result of his training but it's not a big change overall but it's still quite something nonetheless... All she needs now is just to grow older and there is no doubt that her beauty will rival even Jasmine and Xun'er.

Her cultivation already reached the 10th level of <Spirit Profond Realm>. This cultivation speed is really monstrous in the lower realm such as the <Blue Pole Star>.

Jasmine and Xun'er admitted that Issei really has the talent and strength to bring this <Frozen Cloud Immortal Palace> to great heights. Even in the upper realm, they're sure that he will be considered among the best if not the best up there just taking his talent into consideration...

But they are also a bit confused as to why he doesn't advance to <Tyrant Profound Realm> yet... His foundation and understanding of the profound way couldn't be more solid. But why he is still only at the peak of the <Emperor Profound Realm> after all this time?

It needs to be known that when Xia Qingyue first met Issei, her cultivation was only at the 10th level of <True Profound Realm>. So in these past few weeks, her cultivation has risen by 1 big realm in one go.

Issei indeed has trained her but her talent and will also help her in the process. Even Issei is feeling a little amazed since she almost reaches the basic level of <Armament Haki>.

Soon she will be able to use her profound energy to coat her body and weapon.

Sure if she's compared to the old Ramius's group when they're still human then Xia Qingyue has indeed surpassed them in terms of talent.

It's not that Ramius's group is slow but their starting level is just different. And her supposed physique also played a role in this regard so it's quite understandable...

Issei is planning to teach her <Observation Haki> as well once her <Armament Haki> reaches the basic level.

They both are currently flying in the sky.

Xia Qingyue still can't fly yet but Issei could easily make her body float next to him with his perfect control of the profound energy.

Unlike Chu Yueli, he doesn't need to grasp onto her hand to make her fly but Xia Qingyue felt a little disappointed because of this... Not that she will say it out loud, obviously...

After flying for a while, they finally reached the <New Moon City>. There's a lot of people saw them when they're flying through the sky so they instantly knew that both of them must've been at the very least at the <Sky Profound Realm>.

They landed on the ground and those around them hastily paid their respect towards them... Although they can't see Xia Qingyue and Issei's face, just from their figure alone is enough to tell them all that these 2 are surely an extraordinary individual.

The men don't dare to gaze upon Xia Qingyue's for a prolonged period of time since they might earn their ire...

Issei asked some bystanders where's the <New Moon Profound Palace>. The man respectfully told him where the location is... He thanked the man for the info and then they headed towards the pointed direction...

They finally arrived at their destination. The palace has more than three thousand disciples. It recruits disciples within the age of fifteen to eighteen. Most stay until they reach twenty years old before departing and many join the Blue Wind military.

The palace's strength is relatively weak compared to the other large sects in the city.

But all of this doesn't matter to Xia Qingyue or Issei. She only wanted her little brother to be safe.

"Halt." The guards who saw them approaching blocked their way but their tone is full of respect since they saw both of them could fly in the sky.

"May we know the reason for your visit to our humble palace?" One of the guards asked Issei and Xia Qingyue cautiously since they both must've had high cultivation.

Qingyue is still wearing the artifact to hide her cultivation while Issei has higher cultivation than the whole city inhabitants.

The strongest individual in their city is the palace chief himself, Qin Wuyou. And even he only has the cultivation level of 6th <Earth Profound Realm>.

"We are from the <Frozen Cloud Immortal Palace> and I'm here to visit my little brother, Xia Yuanba." Xia Qingyue calmly said their purpose.

The guards look at each other in shock before they cupped their fist even more respectful than before: "So it's the esteemed guests from the <Frozen Cloud Immortal Palace>. Please wait for a moment, we will relay fairy Xia message immediately." Then one of them hastily went inside the palace.

The disciples who're going in and out of the palace halted in their steps watching both Issei and Xia Qingyue since both of them stand out the most even with their face covered.

They keep looking at them both with wonder and curiosity in their faces... While the men almost drooled seeing Xia Qingyue's hourglass figure, the women had their face flushed when they're gazing upon Issei's perfect figure... They really wanted to take those veil and mask off of their face so they could see just what kind of otherworldly faces are they hiding underneath it...

The guards who saw their disrespectful gazes can't really do anything since most of the disciple here has big background and he's just a measly guard so he can't really afford to provoke any of them...

"Don't be disrespectful towards out guests from the <Frozen Cloud Immortal Palace>." The guard can only say this out loud hoping that they will stop their disrespectful attitude...

Some of them indeed stopped staring but some of them got even more interested because, from the rumors they've heard, the women from that famous sect are well-known for their beauty.

They didn't know who Issei is since the rumors said that no men are allowed inside their sect so they become even curious of Issei and Xia Qingyue because of it...

Some typical young master tried to flaunt their status wanting to see Xia Qingyue's face but with a wave of her hand, they all are pushed backward. Their cultivation is very low compared to Xia Qingyue. And that's not including their combat prowess...

The highest cultivation these young masters have is at the 2nd level of <True Profound Realm>.

Their faces turned pale with fright after being blown away by Xia Qingyue... Some of their body is also covered in thin ice much to their horror.

Just when they're about to say something else they become frozen stiff after feeling a terrorizing pressure coming from Issei's direction... Some of them pissed themselves while some even fainted dead away...

Their followers hastily bring their leader body away fearing that they might lose their lives if they were to stay here... Truly a newborn-calfs are not afraid of a tiger... Well, a Dragon in this case...

Some of them are awed by the prowess of Xia Qingyue and Issei.

One particular woman is further amazed by it and she started thinking about something before she finally decided to try her luck with them to help her problem concerning her family member... She thought that she will wait for the right moment to start up a conversation with Issei and Xia Qingyue.

Finally, the guard that went inside the palace returned with a group of people in tow.

There are three people to be exact...

One of them looks to be forty-something years old, he wears a dark-colored robe.

The second one looked to be about sixty in age; his face held an expression of a gentle and unflustered calmness, and deep wisdom could be seen in his clear eyes.

The last one is a young man with a sturdy and tall body. He was already over 2 meters tall and seemed to be weighed at 175kg. This number was definitely not that high because he was fat, but was instead because of his big strong muscles. His muscles were of a dark tan metallic luster and broadcasted his astonishing strength.

When this young man saw Xia Qingyue's figure, he beamed into a happy smile.

"Big Sister!" His face broke into a big grin stomping his way through forgetting their surroundings and gave her a hug. Thankfully Xia Qingyue is not a normal mortal or this hug from him would've crushed her bone...

"Yuanba." She calmly patted the back of her little brother and only then he let her body go.

"Hehehe, sorry, big sis. It's just that I've missed you a lot." He scratched the back of his head in a goofy manner.

They then started their talk with each other... The disciples from the palace become dumbfounded seeing that the useless and talentless Xia Yuanba having a big sister such as Xia Qingyue.

Shouldn't he be the elder sibling here with that huge body of his? Why is it the other way around... But the faces of those who usually bullies him become pale feeling afraid if he were to tell his big sister of his they might be faced with dire consequences... They sneakily leave the area heading outside the city straight away...

It can't be helped since his cultivation is the weakest among the whole palace... It's due to the unique nature of his profound veins, his aptitude was extremely low and did not experience much growth in his profound strength. His profound strength was at the 4th level of the <Elementary Profound Realm> at age 15 and he remained stuck in the Elementary Profound Realm for many years.

He joined <New Moon Profound Palace> thanks to his father's relationship with Vice Palace Chief Sikong Han. He doesn't want to be a burden for his family so he wanted to become stronger but alas...

While the pair of siblings are having a reunion. The other 2 older men that came along with him are giving their greeting to Issei.

The first man's name was Sikong Han and the second one is the <New Moon Profound Palace> chief, Qin Wuyou.

They only said pleasantries words to which Issei nodded calmly as a respond.

"Ah, big sis. Let me introduce you to the palace chief Qin Wuyou and Elder Sikong Han. Both of them are the ones who take care of me during my stay here along with Senior sister Xuerou." Yuanba finally remembered about Qin Wuyou and Sikong Han. He smiled apologetically towards them both to which they only waved it off with a smile saying it's fine.

"Junior Xia Qingyue thanks palace chief Qin Wuyou and Elder Sikong Han for taking care of my little brother." She bowed in courtesy.

She has already met Sikong Han before but that's when she's still but a child.

"Fairy Xia is too polite, it's what we should do." Qin Wuyou smiled kindly in response and Sikong Han also does the same. But Sikong Han thought that his friend's daughter has really grown into a beautiful young lady so he's feeling happy for him.

Issei is calmly observing them from the side but he curiously looks at Xia Yuanba since he can sense some sort of special physique just like when he cured Xia Qingyue's cultivation side effects.

"...How old is that little brother of Xia Qingyue?" Jasmine's voice resounded from within the pearl.

"Hm? If I'm not mistaken that he should be fifteen and a half years old according to what Qingyue told me before." Issei answered her question.

Of course they're currently speaking with each other through mental message so no one is able to hear their voices.

"Fifteen and a half years old" Jasmine pondered for a second, then said with a low voice: "This person, actually possesses the <Tyrannical Emperor's Divine Veins>!"

Xun'er gasped in surprise. She can't use her sense as good as Jasmine anymore so it's understandable that she doesn't know about this.

"Oh? <Tyrannical Emperor's Divine Veins>?" Issei asked in curiosity: "Is that physique is special just like Qingyue's?"

<Tyrannical Emperor's Divine Veins> are the profound veins of the War God and are a rare set of profound veins and to certain people a god-send because of their nature. Once veins are awoken it will take one night's time to break into the <Emperor Profound Realm>, or even possibly the <Tyrant Profound Realm>.

The way to awaken these Divine Veins is to have the heart of a tyrant and the desire to become an emperor and want to possess the power so much that it outweighs all other aspirations. But if one is incapable of awakening them then they will need to put in 10 times the effort in order to break into the Nascent Profound Realm and will never break into the True Profound Realm.

"His Profound Veins are very special, his vein width is more than twice that of ordinary people, and even the structure is quite different. These Profound Veins are known as the <Tyrannical Emperor's Divine Veins>. Even in the Divine" Jasmine almost slipped in her speech but Issei doesn't miss that... He decided to ignore this slip up of hers for now.

"Well, in short, it is an extremely rare profound vein, if it were in the place where I was born, people who have this profound vein would inevitably dominate a region, and be appointed as an emperor. But for it to have appeared in this kind of place, what a wasted vein! The reason why his veins are excessively large is also because of his <Tyrannical Emperor's Divine Veins>. With these veins, while it's not obvious at the Elementary Profound Realm, once he steps into the <Nascent Profound Realm> and his profound power matures, he would have to put in at least ten times the effort of ordinary people for every level after! Also, throughout his entire lifetime, he can only progress up to Nascent Profound Realm, and will never breakthrough into the <True Profound Realm>." She finished her explanation.

"...The parents of these two are not simple..." She added in a small voice.

"...Do you think that their mother possesses a <Divine Stainless Body>, Jasmine?" Xun'er voiced out her guess to which Jasmine nodded: "It's quite possible..."

Only women could have the <Divine Stainless Body>. Although the primordial energy couldn't be absorbed by others, the infant born within such a body would exist together with the pure primordial energy from the very moment it comes into existence. Even if its potential would be far, far from comparable to the gods that were born amidst the primordial energy at the beginning of the Primal Chaos, the inherent nature of its physique would be similar to them.

In other words, the descendant born from a woman with the Divine Stainless Body will have an extremely high talent and his life force, body, and profound meridians, all of them would be influenced by the primal aura. Not only would it have extremely high talent, but there's also a great possibility for it to have a variant physique or even an already extinct variant physique.

The whole process would be quite similar to how all kinds of divine powers and divine physiques were born from the primordial energy in the past.

The first generation of descendants born would have an especially astonishing talent and physique. Although following the loss of the primordial energy, its quantity would become increasingly less after every generation but those descendants would be still incomparable to ordinary people.

The first descendants born from a woman that has the <Divine Stainless Body>, unless met an unexpected premature death, would all eventually reach the <Divine Master Realm>.

"Hmm... Interesting..." Issei mused calmly. Issei could more or less guess that Jasmine and Xun'er must've been from the <Domain of the Gods> Qingyue told him about...

He can vaguely sense the original cultivation of Xun'er and Jasmine is above the <Sovereign Profound Realm> since their energy is not solely based on profound energy.

It's like some sort of divine energy that usually belongs to Demi-Gods... Their soul strength is higher than the inhabitants of the <Blue Pole Star>. He can't really tell right now but their energy must've been their unique elements.

There's a faint trace of <Star> element within Jasmine's body... This element is quite rare since the last possessor of the <Star> element he met is a Goddess named <Astraea>.

Their body also has traces of <Chaos> energy... Although it's very thin it's almost negligible... Not surprising since if their whole body covered with <Chaos> energy then they should either become like Trihexa, a mindless beast or they should've been like him and Nyarlathotep... A true <Chaos> God...

But that's impossible since Nyarlathotep herself told him that he's the only person so far that could fully mastered the <Chaos> energy beside her... There's no way Nyarlathotep who has been living longer than anyone else he knew never been to this world dimension.

And it's not like they've absorbed the <Chaos> energy. It's more like they're exposed to it without realizing it... So his guess that the upper realm that's called <Domain of the Gods> must have denser <Chaos> energy and that's what he needed to recover is correct all along.

But he decided to wait for a little longer until his recent injuries stabilized... It shouldn't take long before that happens... He won't risk his life going into the upper realm without proper knowledge.

He will ask Jasmine and Xun'er when the time comes... As for whether the <Frozen Cloud Immortal Palace> would come with him then it's completely up to them. He will at least stay for 1-2 years with them at most and after that, he will go to the upper realm so he can hasten his recovery.

He's pretty sure that by the time he leaves then their sect should already grow strong enough to protect themselves...

Unknown to him, the whole sect already saw him as their leader. So if he decided to go somewhere then they will surely follow him just like a duckling would follow their mother... Or in this case, just like a harem following their lord would...

He still doesn't realize the changes on his face ever since he arrived in this world... He realizes his hair grows longer and it turned white but that's about it... Issei was never a narcissist so he doesn't really care about how he looks.

Xia Qingyue then introduced Issei towards her little brother.

"Yuanba, this is the elder of my sect, Elder Ise... Elder Ise, this is my little brother I have told you about, Xia Yuanba." Her introduction made Qin Wuyou and Sikong Han become taken aback.

They never thought that the <Frozen Cloud Immortal Palace> would have a male elder.

Even the onlookers' are surprised by this news and one particular individual become further reassured that they may be able to help her with her problem.

So she decided to send a signal towards Qin Wuyou to which the latter nodded in her general direction.

"O-Oh, nice to meet you, Elder." Xia Yuanba politely greeted Issei with a nervous smile on his face.

"Um... Yuanba, was it? You have a bright future and a kind heart... Don't lose it." Issei gently patted him on his shoulder and he secretly does something inside Yuanba's body.

Their body size disparity is not that far since Yuanba is only slightly taller than Issei so he can easily reach the former shoulder.

He tinkered with his physique a little bit and also opened all of his profound entrances at the same time...

Issei can tell that Xia Yuanba is not suitable for possessing the <Tyrannical Emperor's Divine Veins> so he reversed that physique.

Instead of needing to have a heart of a tyrant and the will to become an emperor. His brand new physique needed him to be kind-hearted and full of compassion to living freely and helping others. Just like what Xia Qingyue told him before during one of their training sessions...

He is a gentle and innocent kind-hearted boy despite his large body... It would be cruel to force him to change his personality just because "Fate" demands it.

So now, the <Tyrannical Emperor's Divine Veins> has been reverted by Issei and it could be called the <Virtuous Emperor's Divine Veins> instead... For as long as Xia Yuanba stays the way he is... He will grow stronger just like the veins counterpart from before.

Reversing the physique of Xia Yuanba who's basically a normal mortal since his cultivation is very low and he still hasn't awakened the vein special properties either. So it is very easy for Issei to do it... If Xia Yuanba were already awakened his <Tyrannical Veins> before then it would be harder for him to do it since that vein would've assimilated itself with its host and changing someone's personality is something that even he couldn't do...

Issei gained this capability when he asked Jasmine and Xun'er about the pendant he received back then.

Both of them are completely taken aback when they saw the pendant.

The pendant is called the <Mirror of Samsara>. Ranked seventh among the seven mysterious heavenly treasures. Although ranked last among the heavenly treasures, its power is the most mysterious of all. Can pass through the cycle of rebirth and distort cause and effect, the time and conditions for its activation are unknown. After every use, it'll enter hibernation for 20 years from what the record of the books said...

From what Jasmine has said that everybody that has owned the <Mirror of Samsara> in the past has never figured out how to activate it. But when Issei fused his aura of <Life and Death> a bit with it, he finds out some uses for it and one of the is tempering with fate itself, and this is what Issei just did with Xia Yuanba.

Whilst for Jasmine and Xun'er they are overcome with disbelief since this is the first time they saw one person possessing two <Seven Heavenly Profound Treasures> at the same time... Issei becomes increasingly intrigued with this world as time goes by...

Jasmine and Xun'er who's inside the pearl can sense the changes inside Xia Yuanba's body become flabbergasted... 15... 30... 54 profound entrance opened just in the span of a couple of seconds!

And what surprise Jasmine even further is that she can sense the changes with Yuanba veins. It has now become completely foreign to her... Before this, she could easily tell just what is his physique is but now all she comes up with is a blank... It's like... It's like it's the complete opposite of the <Tyrannical Emperor's Divine Veins>! How can this be?! This is simply unheard of!

Back in the sect, they thought the sect members took years to open their profound entrances so they didn't think much about it. But then she realizes this is not a natural phenomenon and it has something to do with Ise... Even Xun'er realized this...

'Just who is he?!' Is what's inside their mind right now...

"Y-Yes! Th-Thank you for your praise, Elder Ise!" Yuanba feels a little overwhelmed with disbelief by Issei's encouragement.

For some reason, he feels lighter and unrestrained than before but he thought it's just his misconception from feeling too excited after reuniting with his big sister and also praised by his big sis sect Elder at the same time.

He felt like he can achieve a breakthrough now if he were to cultivate but since he still wants to talk with his big sister a little longer he decided to hold it in for now.

Xia Qingyue who saw Issei act of encouragement smiled happily under her veil... She can tell that Issei genuinely thought highly of Yuanba and not just some empty words.

She also knows the low aptitude of her little brother but she's still proud of him as his big sister.

And to have a person she idolizes think highly of her little brother is like a dream come true for her...

But her body froze for a moment when she touched Yuanba's back, she can feel that his profound entrances have completely opened up to 54 of them. So that means he has the same vein as hers now and she knows exactly just who's responsible for this.

Her eyes started glistening with happiness and gratitude. She sent a deep bow towards Issei's direction immediately.

"Qingyue will surely remember Elder kindness." Xia Qingyue said towards Issei and the onlookers' only thought that she's feeling grateful for Issei's encouragement towards Yuanba so they didn't think too much about it.

"It's just a slight effort from my side so there's no need to feel overly grateful for it." Issei waved gently at her direction lifting her body up from her bowing position.

Her eyes become moist after hearing his words but she's adamant to never forget his kindness towards her... Ever...

Qin Wuyou then invited both Issei and Xia Qingyue to stay for a while inside their palace... Issei doesn't really mind and he thought that it will be a good thing to let Qingyue and Yuanba catch up with one another after being separated for quite a while.

So he agreed to their invitation much to their joy.

They are brought inside a seemingly luxurious room inside the palace...

Along the way, they received a lot of stares from the disciples of the palace.

It's no wonder since it's not every day that their palace chief would treat a guest with such a respectful attitude.

While the male disciples gazed upon Xia Qingyue, the female disciples gazes at Issei.

Most of them are taken aback seeing a nobody like Xia Yuanba standing beside them and he seems to be chatting happily with Xia Qingyue which induced a lot of envious stare from the male onlookers'.

But after knowing that Xia Qingyue is his elder sister. They started thinking some plans of buttering up to Xia Yuanba so he would introduce them to his elder sister... But they become disappointed knowing that she's already married when Xia Yuanba told them in a prideful manner since he idolizes Xiao Che a lot...

Some female disciples also inquired him about Issei identity but he doesn't really know Issei that well so he can only say that all he knows is that Issei is the sect elder of his big sister sect much to their disappointment...

In the near future, Xia Yuanba cultivation started increasing at an alarming rate that he becomes the star of the palace and he will represent the <Blue Wind Empire> in the upcoming <Blue Wind Ranking Tournament>.

They served their best tea and food for Issei and Xia Qingyue but they're feeling a little weirded out seeing that Issei would still wear his mask while drinking his tea.

For Xia Qingyue it's not weird since she's a woman so it's quite understandable if she doesn't want anyone to see her face and their sect is also well-known for their beauty but what's up with Issei?

He is a man, right? Why is he wearing a mask then? Not that they're going to ask him about it since it will be rude of them to do so...

They have a little chat but it's more like Qin Wuyou and Sikong Han do the talking while Issei only responds with a simple "Um" or a nod... They felt a little awkward since Issei seems to be a man of a few words... But at least he's not arrogant and acts all high and mighty like most men they knew...

As for Xia Qingyue, she's only talking with her little brother and they're fine with it... They're not inviting them to gather info from them anyway.

After waiting for a while, they heard footsteps coming from the room entrance.

Xia Yuanba who saw this newcomer beamed with joy: "Senior Sister Xueruo!" He waved happily at her direction to which she waved back gently with a warm smile on her face.

"Big sis, that's the senior sister I've told you about. Senior Sister Lan Xueruo." Yuanba introduced the newcomer towards Xia Qingyue who's sitting beside him.

Xia Qingyue and Issei turn their head slightly to look at this newcomer.

She's beautiful enough to make one's heart tremble, a pair of beautiful sparkling cherry-colored eyes with a gaze as soft as water, not containing even the slightest hint of arrogance. She exudes a noble and graceful aura that added to her charm. Her cherry-colored lips have the luster of a smooth seashell. Her elegant eyebrows are crescent-shaped with beautiful pitch-black hair. The light smile that graced her lips that were as heartwarming as the smell of incense in a gentle breeze.

While maintaining a constant warm smile the whole time, she did not say anything in reply. Although she was only gently striding onward, it would make one believe that they had seen a fairy dancing in a white dress. Above all, her beautiful and slender snow-white neck let her exude a noble and graceful aura that added to her charm, making one feel as if they were looking at an exalted princess that belonged in the Imperial Family.

(AN: https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/ni-tian-xie-shen-against-the-gods/images/4/4b/CangYue3.png/revision/latest?cb=20190505183355 Just type Cang Yue ATG on google if you can't copy-paste the link).

Although her appearance was incomparable to Xia Qingyue's, it definitely was one in ten thousand, a devastating beauty that could tip over cities and nations. Yet the noble air that wrapped around her like an indistinct haze was not something that Xia Qingyue could match.

Generally speaking, a girl that was beautiful to this extent would more or less carry a somewhat arrogant air. Yet this girl had a gentle complexion, her gaze was as soft as water, and there wasn't even the slightest hint of arrogance between her brows. The faint smile on the corner of her lips was sufficient enough to almost completely melt one's heart with just a single glance.

Her body only stiffens for a fraction of second sensing the gazes from Xia Qingyue and Issei.

Issei only took a glance at her before he returned his gaze back to the front while Xia Qingyue nodded slightly at her since from what she heard. This Senior Sister of her little brother is very kind towards him so she has a favorable impression of her...

Qin Wuyou and Sikong Han smiled gently at her.

The girl bowed in courtesy at Issei and Xia Qingyue's direction before she re-introduced herself in a respectful manner: "This junior name is Lan Xueruo, but my real identity is Cang Yue, the seventh child of the Emperor and only Princess of the <Blue Wind Empire>." Her greeting is straight to the point without any pleasantries because she knows that someone with a high standing of Issei and Xia Qingyue prefers honesty and not empty words.

To win their trust she immediately told them the truth about her real identity without any strings attached. Disregarding that Xia Yuanba doesn't know her real identity and basically just a bystander but since he's the little brother of Xia Qingyue and also since he's trustworthy enough she let him knows of her real identity.

Her age is 18 years old so it's not really wrong for her to call herself as junior in front of Issei.

"Ah!?" Xia Yuanba becomes flabbergasted with shock because he never thought the kind senior sister that treated him nicely inside the palace is their country princess.

Issei as usual only nodded at her introduction.

"My name is Xia Qingyue, elder sister of Xia Yuanba. And this personage is my sect Elder, Elder Ise." Xia Qingyue introduced herself calmly and not forgetting to introduce Issei's identity towards them in a respectful manner... There's a tinge of pride that can be sensed from her voice that went unnoticed by the 3 of them except for Yuanba since he's still feeling shocked by Cang Yue's real identity.

It's not really a secret that they're having a male as their sect elder and besides, he might be an elder in name but the whole sect knew that he's basically their new Sect Master.

The 3 of them already heard of his identity from Xia Qingyue's mouth from the palace entrance but they're still feeling surprised knowing that the well-known sect of <Frozen Cloud Immortal Palace> has a male elder...

But that's not their place to judge so they only cupped their fists in respect since they all know that Issei is at the very least has a cultivation base of the <Sky Profound Realm>.

They heard from the guards that they both are capable of flying in the sky after all.

"I will get straight to the point... I need your help. My father the emperor is inflicted with some unknown disease and he's currently bedridden... Of course, I won't ask you to do it for free. I will do anything within my power to repay you. Even if in the end you're not capable of identifying his disease then it's still fine... Please, help us." She bowed deeply and she doesn't use her status as the kingdom princess in her speech.

She only speaks like how a daughter feeling worried about her father would.

Xia Qingyue doesn't say anything and waited for Issei's decision. The whole room went silent waiting for his answer... Even Yuanba who's feeling shocked before came back to his sense after hearing her words.

He wanted to help her but he knows that he got no abilities to do so...

He was about to say something towards Xia Qingyue but she stopped him with her hand because she will follow whatever decision Issei will make.

The reason why Cang Yue wanted help from Issei is because he's from one of the big sects out there and he ought to have more knowledge than the rest of them here...

But what she's mistaken about is that Issei is not really a person from this world so his knowledge might be on par with herself... Although, he indeed has the capabilities to certain things that deemed impossible for this world inhabitants.

Even Xia Qingyue almost has a blind faith towards him since he seems like an omnipotent being in her eyes... The amount of miracles he has done is by no means small so it's quite understandable why she felt this way.

"...So you're willing to do anything if it means that I'm able to cure your father?" After a brief silence, Issei asked her.

"Yes. Anything as long as it's within my power." Cang Yue doesn't hesitate even for a second before she answered Issei's question.

"...Good. In regards that you've taken care of Qingyue's little brother then I will see if I can do something for your father. But I can't guarantee that I will be able to cure him of his disease and as for the payment. We will see when the time comes." He finally agreed to her request.

"Thank you!" Cang Yue's party beamed with joy and thanked him with their heads lowered. Cang Yue's group never thought that their act of kindness towards Xia Yuanba would bring this result so they can't be happier right now.

Even Xia Yuanba beamed with joy after hearing Issei's words.

"No need to thank me just yet... Qingyue, what's our sect need the most at the moment?" Issei asked Qingyue.

"...Answering Elder. Our sect is not lacking anything at the moment because there's still a lot of Elder "Gifts" left unused back in the sect." Qingyue thought for a moment before she gave him her answer and she's also implying that their sect has more than enough resources at the moment so there's really no need for him to bring something back.

"Is that so?" Issei asked once again to which she nodded in affirmation: "Yes".

"Well, I'll think of something later. Then shall we go now?" Issei decided to think of the rewards for later and asked them.

"If it's not too bothersome then yes." Cang Yue answered respectfully.

Xia Qingyue and Yuanba then talked a little bit more before they went their separate ways.

"See you later, big sis!" He waved at her with a happy grin.

"Um, take care, Yuanba." She smiled back at him under her veil.

"Oh right, big sis. I heard brother-in-law will come here as well. Too bad that he's not here yet or you two could have a reunion as well." He said with a little bit of a pity to which made Xia Qingyue's smile falter...

She's feeling a little annoyed that he mentioned that she's "Married" in front of Issei and Cang Yue who heard of this become surprised. She decided to see just who is Xia Qingyue's husband is later on...

Although Xia Qingyue already knows that Issei knew about the truth behind her so-called marriage. It still annoys her a little being mentioned that she's already "Married"... As for the marriage certificate between her and Xiao Che, she already destroyed it not long ago during her stay in the sect.

Cang Yue offered to use her Eagle profound beasts to travel but Issei refused saying that he could fly on his own but Xia Qingyue can ride along with her if she wants.

Xia Qingyue thought for a second before deciding to ride alongside Cang Yue so they went on their way to the capital city of the Blue Wind Empire...

Even though their speed slowed down because of this, Issei doesn't really mind. The same goes for Xia Qingyue since even though flying on her own is pretty exciting but riding on top of a profound beast such as this Eagle is quite fun in its own way...

Cang Yue tried to start up a conversation but since both Issei and Xia Qingyue aren't very talkative she's the one who does most of the talking... Obviously, she avoids asking them about their sect since she doesn't want to intrude on their personal space.

She mostly talks about the scenery and stuff introducing it to Issei and Xia Qingyue. Although she's just as curious as for why Issei wore a mask, she won't ask him about it.

During their journey, Issei saw a group of 3 men dragging 2 children, one little boy and one little girl with them.

These three men appeared to be around thirty or forty years old and they appeared to be fiendish looking.

They wore the same kind of light armor, the exposed muscles were dark and coarse, clearly they were people that frequently operated outside. The one who appeared to be the oldest had a large tall frame with a ferocious-looking face while a huge broadaxe rested on his shoulders.

In contrast, the youngest looking one had a skinny frame, his facial features resembled that of a monkey with a sharp-angled mouth and he dragged a giant iron club that was over a meter long. The last one had a face resembling a horse and also carried a giant iron club. In terms of their profound cultivation, the highest was already at the <Nascent Profound Realm> eighth level while the lowest was also already at the sixth level of <Nascent Profound Realm>.

However, the two children appeared to only be seven or eight years of age. One boy and one girl, who was dressed in rough cloth. What was eye-catching, was a very shallow red mark present on their foreheads, its shape was like a cluster of burning flames. Each of their arms was separately dragged by one person, who walked them forward step by step. Tear stains that hadn't dried up yet could clearly be seen on their faces.

Issei then immediately swooped down to the ground not far from their direction. Cang Yue and Xia Qingyue who saw his action went confused before they saw the group of men dragging two children with them.

They then also swooped down following after Issei.

As soon as Issei's group saw them, they also saw Issei's group. Almost unanimously, the three men stopped their feet at the same time, their eyes tightly locked onto Lan Xueruo and Xia Qingyue figure with a glint like that of ferocious wolves disregarding Issei presence since they're not interested with men.

"Quick Look quick! That girl over there. There was actually such a good looking girl! Ssss... I've never seen a women this beautiful in my entire life." The horse-faced man spoke while his drool uncontrollably flowed down in a continuous stream.

"And that one with the veil on her face must be quite a beauty as well!" He added.

The sharp-mouthed man was even more so unabashed; both of his legs tightly clamped up together as his entire body trembled: "She's virtually a hundred times prettier than the goddesses in this daddy's dreams, my legs are even about to give in. If we capture her to be our captain's bride, the captain would definitely go crazy with happiness and may even grant us a vice-captain position"

"Are you f*cking stupid!" The broadaxe man smacked the sharp-mouthed man on the neck. He then heavily licked the corner of his own mouth as his eyes revealed an obscene glint: "If we brought this girl back, Captain would definitely engage in activity every night. What would there be left for us? Tsk tsk, to meet such a beautiful girl in this place, that's simply a reward sent to us by the heavens."

The sharp-mouthed man's eyes suddenly shone and his two legs shivered even more intensely. He continuously nodded nonstop: "Right! Right! Big Bro is right! Then what are we waiting for!"

"However, while this beautiful girl only looks to be eighteen or nineteen, she actually has the cultivation of the <Nascent Profound Realm> rank eight." The broadaxe man frowned a little.

As for Xia Qingyue, she must at least has a lower cultivation than Cang Yue they thought to themselves since she seems to be younger than Cang Yue.

They can't really sense anything from Issei so they thought he's just a normal man that wanted to act mysterious with that mask of his.

"What? <Nascent Profound Realm> rank eight?" Both the sharp-mouthed man and horse-faced man were immensely shocked. "To have such strong cultivation at such a young age, she might actually be some great family's disciple, or may even be on the level of a genius. If we act, and the family behind her back by chance finds out."

"Tsk! Look at how unpromising you are." The broadaxe man glanced at him disdainfully. He then licked his lips, and laughed obscenely: "When have we, the <Black Demon Mercenary Group> ever not lived a day on the blade's edge, and who have we ever been scared of? Don't even mention that she might be a disciple from some big family; since she has met us, even if she's the current emperor's daughter, hehehe, we'll still engage without reserve! Tut tut, to be able to enjoy such an otherworldly beautiful woman that can't even be imagined in one's dreams, it's worth it even if we die right after!"

The sharp-mouthed man and horse-faced man were both nodding like a chick pecking rice and were excited to the extent that they almost forgot how to walk properly

Even though their voices were low, it was enough to be heard clearly by the two children they dragged along in their hands. Terrified and worried expressions revealed on their faces. The small boy held his breath, then suddenly loudly shouted out: "Big sister, quickly run! They're bad people, they want to harm you Ah!!'

Sent onto the ground with a kick from the horse-faced man the small boy let out a painful scream. The little girl hurriedly ran over to help him up and then started to cry whilst hugging him.

Xia Qingyue and Cang Yue gazes went freezing cold seeing them treated the children like that, needless to say about Issei who has a soft spot for children.

Before they could act on their own, they saw the horse-faced man become encased in an ice case completely. Then it's the man with a broadaxe turn to be encased in ice.

"...Eh?" The sharp-mouthed man let out a dumbfounded voice seeing his friends sudden encased in ice.

Even Cang Yue is surprised seeing this since she never saw Issei make any move and before she knows it, they both are encased in ice already... Xia Qingyue doesn't feel too surprised since she knows the "true" strength of Issei so for them to challenge him is the same as courting death in her eyes.

"Hiiiii!" The sharp-mouthed man let out a horrified sound and fell backward... Or that's what supposed to happen if it wasn't for his legs being encased in ice.

If it wasn't for the 2 children being here then Issei would've killed them in a more cruel manner.

He walked forward ignoring the squealing sharp-mouthed man and bent down in front of the 2 scared children: "It's fine now, you're both are safe." He gently patted their head to make them feel safe.

He had barely finished asking when the boy suddenly knelt before her and mournfully cried in his immature voice: "Big brother, I beg of you Won't you save my family? Those bad people have always been harming us. Big brother, you're so powerful so you should definitely be able to send those bad people off with a beating."

Seeing the little boy kneeling, the little girl also followed suit and knelt down. Holding the boy's arm, she added in a teary voice: "Big brother, please save us Uuu Uuu, please save us."

"Um. I will help you. Now stand up." He lifted both of them from the ground and took out a clean handkerchief to clean their faces with it.

He channeled his profound energy to heal both of them from their injury.

He stared tearfully at Issei as he continues to cry out: "Big brother, I beg you, please, you must save us. If you don't save us, our entire clan will definitely be killed by those bad people. Only you can save us. In the future... in the future, we will definitely repay your favor."

This little boy had previously shouted out to them in spite of the danger which proved that he had a kind soul. Now, he was even kneeling in front of him with misty eyes filled with plea and slivers of hope As if he had finally grabbed at the stalk of life-saving rice straw in the midst of his drowning.

"No need to cry. Big brother will help you." Issei patted their head once more in reassurance.

The little boy's eyes flashed with a pleasant surprise. After wiping tears away from his face, he nodded vigorously.

Both Xia Qingyue and Cang Yue unintentionally smiled seeing how gentle he treated those children.

Then Issei handed them both over to Xia Qingyue and Cang Yue while he "Interrogated" the sharp mouthed man.

"H-Hiiiii! P-Please spare me! I-I won't dare do anything like this again! Ple- Ah..." He begged Issei but he disregarded his words and put his hand on top of his head immediately.

A second later, the man's face becomes blank like he has become a complete idiot with drool started to dropping out from his mouth.

Issei basically just forcefully read his soul memory to find out where his group hideout is and in the process, he turned the man into a complete idiot since his brain basically turned into mush already...

He felt no pity nor guilty conscience doing this to a scum such as this man who's in his whole life had done a lot of sinful deeds such as killing the innocents and raping them.

He then also encased the man in ice since he doesn't want the 2 kids to saw this man disgusting facial features after he turned into an idiot.

"Qingyue, Princess Cang Yue. Please wait here for a moment with those children." He told both of them to which Qingyue nodded understandingly while Cang Yue wanted to say something but finally decided not to...

And on that very same day, the so-called <Black Demon Mercenary Group> is no more...

...

After a moment, Issei returned to their previous location.

"Don't worry, I've already 'beat up' their group so they won't bother you and your family any longer." Issei told the 2 children.

'Beat up' is taking it politely while in fact he completely annihilated them without any question asked... All of them have become an ice corpse that's broken into pieces so no one will be able to find any traces of them ever again...

""R-Really?!"" Both of them asked in a joyful manner.

"Um, really." He nodded at them.

"Thank you, big brother!" The boy thanked Issei profusely while the small girl smiled happily at him saying thank you as well. Issei then patted their head once again but this time they giggled happily.

Once again, both Xia Qingyue and Cang Yue smiled warmly seeing their interaction... Even though they're a little bit dirty but it seems that Issei is not bothered by those kinds of stuff at all...

Jasmine who's inside the <Sky Poison Pearl> only watches this scene in a silent manner... Xun'er gently hugged her from behind comforting her sadness...

Seeing how gentle Issei treated those children made Jasmine reminded her of her own elder brother...

"Big brother, why are you wearing a mask and why is that big sister also wearing a veil?" The small girl asked in curiosity. Even the boy is wondering about the same thing.

"Hmm? Oh, it's nothing really. I'm just a shy person you see." Issei answered jokingly.

Xia Qingyue softly laughed under her veil thinking that her sect elder also knows how to joke around it seems...

"Hmm... Xian'er understands." The small girl nodded understandingly as if she's an adult but it only makes her look cute more than anything...

"Big brother, big sisters. Do you want to come with us to our village?" The boy enthusiastically asked them since it is not every day that he can meet new people that's kind like them.

"...Sure." Issei thought for a moment before agreeing to his invitation because he can sense some sort of divinity inside these children's bloodline.

He thought that he might as well check if it can benefit him or not and besides, they still need to deliver them to their respective parents anyway. There's no way he can let them travel around unattended.

"You don't mind right, Qingyue, princess Cang Yue?" Issei asked them both.

"Qingyue will follow whatever elder decided to do." She answered with a thin smile on her face.

"Yes, I don't mind either." Cang Yue is the one who answered next since she has the same thinking as Issei... She can't possibly let these children walk back on their own especially with so many profound beasts in the area.

They then followed the two children towards the direction of their home. On the way, they found out that the little boy was named Feng Zu'er and the little girl was Feng Xian'er.

They were twins of different genders. The surname "Feng" surprised Cang Yue a little, as she knew it was the surname of the Divine Phoenix Empire's imperial family. But the two children told her that their entire clan's surname was "Feng" and that they'd been living in this mountain of wilderness since they were born, without ever leaving or ever interacting with outsiders.

There were many violent profound beasts in the area, but for some reason, these profound beasts never approached the place where they resided. However, because of those concentrated number of scary profound beasts, they had never been able to leave. That was also the same reason why outsiders had never entered.

That held true only until a few days ago when the <Black Demon Mercenary Group> had found where they lived after barging in through some unknown method.

The group had also realized that theirs was actually a very small clan of guardians and thus, forced them to hand over the treasures they guarded. This was the reason why Feng Zu'er and Feng Xian'er were captured, in order for them to demand those treasures as ransom within a day or risk having the children killed.

As they turned around a short hill, a small village appeared before their eyes. A few middle-aged adults dressed in rough clothing stood in the front of the village, wearing expressions of frustration and helplessness. A weeping married woman stood between them as she covered up her face... and atop all their foreheads, was a flame-shaped imprint.

"Father! Mother!"

In the midst of their cries, Feng Zu'er and Feng Xian'er threw themselves in the direction of the weeping woman. The woman suddenly lifted her head when she heard the voices of her children.

She almost believed that she was dreaming as she stared in a daze and watched her children dash over. It was only until they had landed in her bosom, that she tightly embraced them while bawling in happy surprise.

"Zu'er, Xian'er, how did you..." The middle-aged man on the side was visibly shocked and then was at a loss of what to say in his delight.

"It's that big brother who fought off those bad people and saved us." Feng Zu'er turned back and pointed at Issei, "Not only is big brother strong but his wives are also pretty. He only needed a short while to fight off all three of the bad people."

"Mn. Mn." Feng Xian'er nodded in agreement with a face full of adoration: "Also, big brother said that he already beat up those bad people so they won't bother us any longer. Right, big brother?"

"Um. But these 2 pretty big sisters are not my wives." Issei corrected their words a little bit.

Both Cang Yue and Xia Qingyue blushed being assumed as Issei wives. Cang Yue felt a little bit awkward since even though she has a favorable impression of Issei, she's not at the point that she wanted to marry him. After all, they just met a while ago...

As for Xia Qingyue, she doesn't hate it one single bit... It's not bad at all she thought to herself...

All eyes turned to Issei's group. The middle-aged man took a step forward, bowed deeply towards Issei, and sincerely stated: "Young Master, thank you for saving my two children. I truly do not know how I ought to repay you My name is Feng Baichuan and I am the current clan leader. This is my wife Feng Caiyun."

"It's no problem at all. I just happened to pass by and it required little effort." Issei said calmly. The man in front of her was thirty-four years old, his appearance and the clothes he wore were humble and the space between his brows revealed a faint touch of elegance and calm. The flame imprint upon his forehead appeared to be especially clear.

But as the leader of the clan, his profound strength was only at the tenth level of the <Elementary Profound Realm>. With respect to his age, this degree of profound strength was indeed too low. However, Issei immediately noticed that everyone in front of him was at the tenth level of the <Elementary Profound Realm> as well, it was incomparably uniform in this aspect.

But he can sense some sort of "Seal/Curse" affecting their soul and it's most likely the reason why they are unable to breakthrough from the <Elementary Profound Realm>.

It seems that the one who put the seal on them is quite strong and most likely a God-class being...

"Thank you, truly, we are too grateful." Feng Caiyun also bowed gracefully towards Issei, too thankful for words.

"...Excuse me for my ignorant question, but what does young master mean by 'they won't be bothering us any longer'?" Feng Baichuan asked Issei cautiously.

Issei thought of this might happen already since it will be too unbelievable if some random stranger just suddenly said he already took care of the mercenary group just like that.

So he brought along some evidence with him... He took out the encased ice corpse of the mercenary leader.

"Th-This!?" Feng Baichuan becomes shocked after seeing the leader of the <Black Demon Mercenary Group> iced body.

Everyone from his tribe recognizes this person since he's the one who demanded them to hand over their treasure before after all.

How can it be?! The opponent was a notorious mercenary group that numbered around a hundred. Its captain and its three vice-captains were all in the <True Profound Realm>. But to suddenly having their leader corpse in front of them is truly shocking for them all.

They then hastily thanked Issei once again and invited them to their village...

...

This small village was indeed a small village, there were a total of a dozen or so simple and crude houses. From Feng Baichuan, they learned that the whole clan was not more than two hundred people. In regards to the newly arrived Issei's group, the three outsiders, the people here were vigilant at first but afterward, they revealed a good nature.

Very quickly, Xia Qingyue and Cang Yue both realized a strange fact. Every person they had met were all at the tenth level of the <Elementary Profound Realm>.

Other than the children who have not yet started to cultivate profound energy, all of them were like this, without a single exception. It seemed as if the tenth level of the <Elementary Profound Realm> was their limit.

But, after the <Nascent Profound Realm>, every time one stepped into another level, it was accompanied by a bottleneck that increasingly becomes difficult to breakthrough. But from the <Elementary Profound Realm> to the <Nascent Profound Realm>, there was basically no bottleneck to speak of.

So long as enough profound energy was accumulated, one would naturally step into the <Nascent Profound Realm>.

But the people here all stopped at the tenth level of the Elementary Profound Realm, this truly puzzled them both... Issei already realized their problem so he's not puzzled at all.

"How could this place have Phoenix's essence?" Jasmine's sudden voice resounded from within the pearl.

"Phoenix? The primordial divine beast, the phoenix of legends?" Xun'er followed up in surprise.

"Correct! Even though it's very faint, it is definitely without a doubt, the Phoenix's essence. How strange Could it be that the phoenix had actually descended to this inferior plane before?" She continued with a confused voice.

Issei doesn't miss her little slip-up of the words "inferior plane" hence it confirmed Issei's suspicion of their origins.

"And the flame imprint on their foreheads is also the mark that the phoenix bloodline bears! But this mark's color and the color that I know, are completely different. Additionally, the mark of the phoenix bloodline is normally hidden and only when using the phoenix's power of fire would the mark forcibly appear, but the people here all bear the mark of the phoenix and it's as if they can't hide it. In short, this is too weird!" Jasmine said but then she realizes that Issei stays silent during their whole conversation...

"...Why are you not feeling a tiny bit surprised when we're talking about the Phoenix?" She asked with narrowed eyes.

"Hm? Why should I? I often saw a Phoenix back in my home." He calmly responded to her question. 'In fact, that same Phoenix was my ex-fiancee. And one of my wives has a bloodline of a true Primordial Phoenix God. So why would I feel surprised by some inferior Phoenix?' He added inside his mind in a prideful manner, but he's not feeling prideful about Ravel Phenex(ex-fiancee) but of Paniverna one of the <9 Divines>... Not that he would tell them that.

Paniverna who's searching for him in the void shivered in joy for some reason, 'Issei-sama must've thought about me~! Wait for us, Issei-sama. We will surely find you soon!' She thought with newfound determination with her beautiful wings made out of pure phoenix flame burn even brighter which annoyed the nearby Izana a little since it's too hot for her...

They're searching for him because from Semiramis guess, the reason why he's still not returned to their side yet can only mean one thing... He must be so injured that he can't return on his own. So she told them to continue searching for him... Truly a wife who knows her husband well...

""..."" Both Jasmine and Xun'er went silent thinking he must be just talking big... "Hmph... If you want to talk big then try to come up with a better story. Everyone knows that the Phoenix already died." Jasmine scoffed in a scornful manner.

Issei just shrugged at her words and he's not planning to convince her anyway.

Feng Baichuan brought Issei's party to a clean hut: "You three, please rest easy here. We are just a small clan hidden. Everything we have cannot compare with the outside world, so we can only inconvenience you."

"Do all of you have a phoenix bloodline?" Issei suddenly asked out of nowhere.

Feng Baichuan, who was calm and dignified up until now, froze. His pupils distinctly contracted slightly. His expression rapidly fluctuated as he thought about how he could deny or avoid the question.

But after a few breaths of time, his expression calmed down and a seemingly self-deprecating laugh arose: "Phoenix bloodline inheritor? We aren't worthy of that title. We are simply keeping away from the world while carrying this sin and curse. We are just a humble clan who have to atone for their sins, generation after generation. Although I don't know where you learned that we have a relationship with the Phoenix, but it looks like You came here in order to obtain the so-called 'treasure' that we're guarding, right?"

"Phoenix? The divine beast that the Divine Phoenix Empire worships?!" As the flabbergasted Cang Yue looked at Issei and Feng Baichuan, her brain momentarily stopped working.

Xia Qingyue is also surprised but she's able to regain her calm soon enough since she's been told by Issei to always have a calm and serene mind whatever the situation you're facing as to avoid being taken advantage of by her enemies...

"No, you misunderstood." Issei shakes his head: "Someone I know also has a phoenix bloodline so I can more or less tell that your clan has a phoenix bloodline within your body."

Feng Baichuan who heard Issei words become further wide-eyed: "A-Are you speaking the truth?!" He asked incredulously.

"Um." Issei snapped his finger showing a beautiful crimson golden flame from his hand. It's the flame that belongs to Paniverna.

Issei is able to use this flame because he possesses the "Vital Yin" of Paniverna which is stored within his "Vital Yang".

This is also one of the reasons why he's able to fully master any elements in existence.

"M-My God!" Feng Baichuan becomes completely dumbstruck... Not only him. Even Cang Yue, Xia Qingyue, Jasmine, and even Xun'er is completely taken aback by this sight.

"I-It's really a Phoenix flame!" Jasmine shouted in shock: "And not only that... This Phoenix flame is so divine and pure... It's as if we're in the presence of the Phoenix itself!"

Actually, this flame goes beyond the normal Phoenix flame but since Jasmine's knowledge is limited she can't tell the difference.

Xia Qingyue never thought that her sect elder is capable of using a flame art and it is also a flame of Phoenix...

*SCREEECH!*

A phoenix screeching sound resounded from within the nearby temple... It alarmed every villager within the village and they all hastily bowed down in reverence towards the temple direction.

Even Feng Baichuan who's inside the hut also kneeled down in reverence.

"Th-The Phoenix voice! We haven't heard its voice for hundreds of years!" Tears started pouring out from his eyes socket feeling blessed that he can still hear the phoenix voice after all this time...

"Hm?" Issei can feel the summoning from the Phoenix. That very same voice is the one that summoned him.

"Qingyue, Princess Cang Yue. Wait here for me." He instantly opened a spatial opening and went towards the source of the screech.

All of them become further dumbfounded seeing Issei is capable of such stunt... Xia Qingyue is also shocked and she can't regain her calm as she used to since all that just happened is just too surprising for her little heart...

Even Jasmine and Xun'er is no exception...

"Wh-What?! He can also use a Space/Dimensional laws?!" Jasmine felt like she's dreaming right now... Just what is going on?! First the phoenix flame and now this?!

It needs to be known that only those that have a high attaintment in <Space/Dimensional> laws are able to open a spatial opening like Issei just did... If it happened in the upper realm that it won't really surprise her that much since she's also capable of doing the same thing in her top condition albeit with some little difficulties.

But this is in the lower realm! And the one who did it is also only at the peak of the <Emperor Profound Realm>! Even those who are at the <Divine Sovereign Realm> might be unable to master this law but here it is a mere <Emperor Profound Realm> cultivator capable of opening a spatial rift of his own like some he's slicing a piece of cake...

Issei arrived inside the Phoenix temple.

The interior was actually a flat stone chamber after going through the seal formation. The stone chamber was unnaturally spacious and measured at least a hundred meters long and wide.

Not to mention just two hundred people, it could easily fit even ten times of that. Both sides of the stone chamber had very long stone stairs and it seemed as if there was another floor above.

There was a long walkway to the front of the stone chamber which was approximately a few dozen meters in length. At the end of the hall, there was a gently rotating red-colored seal formation that was identical to the seal outside.

Issei then started walking towards the center of the voice and when he stepped inside the formation. The scene before him suddenly distorted. Right after, he felt the sky and ground spin, as if his body was sent flying by a storm. But he remains calm without any fluctuation in his heartbeat nor facial feature...

Only after a while, did that weightless feeling finally disappear slowly. He only saw pitch-black darkness in front of him.

"How long are you going to make me wait?" Issei said to nowhere in particular.

Right after his voice ended, two lines of narrow golden light suddenly appeared in the pitch-black darkness before him. Immediately after, the two narrow lines of golden luminance slowly opened like a pair of slightly narrowed eyes No! That is exactly a pair of eyes! A pair of incomparably gigantic golden eyes that were embedded inside the pitch-black space.

A dignified and respectful voice resounded within his mind, from the timbre of the voice, it was clearly a female voice.

"Greetings, o' Go-" Right before the Phoenix could finish its words. Issei blocked the connection between him and the <Sky Poison Pearl>.

...

"Wh-What happened?! Why suddenly we can't hear anything?" Jasmine said in complete bewilderment before she tried to exit the pearl.

"And we can't get out from here either!" She shouted in frustration.

"Jasmine... I think Ise doesn't want us to hear the content of their conversation so he blocked our connection with him..." Xun'er smiled wryly at her fuming daughter.

"I know! But... But... Ahhh! So frustrating! Petty person! Cheapskate! Scoundrel!" She pouted in anger thinking that she will be unable to dig out his secret in this way...

*POMF!* *POMF!* *POMF!*

She started bashing the pillows on her bed to vent her anger...

Not like you're the one to talk... Xun'er wryly added inside her mind since they also don't share their secrets with him...

It's just indeed Issei being a little petty like Jasmine said so he doesn't want his secret to be exposed to them... But what was the Phoenix going to say just now? "Go"...?

...

"Greetings, o' GodKing." The Phoenix said in a respectful manner.

"You know my identity?" Issei asked curiously.

"No, I do not. I can only sense your overpowering divinity and strength which eclipses all of living being in this universe, and that includes all of the Godly beings that I have come across... So calling you the GodKing or King of Gods is not false, is it not?" It responded.

"...No, I think not." Issei went silent for a bit before he affirmed its words. Issei then looked at this pair of golden eyes: "And you're only a spiritual remnant of the original Phoenix."

"That is correct. I am an immortal soul left here by the phoenix, yet I am also an existence independent of the phoenix. I preserve this trial ground and receive all challengers. Spirit of the Phoenix, is the most fitting title for me." She confirmed his words.

"Hmm, why would the phoenix leave a trial ground here?" He casually asked.

"Long ago, the three major fire attribute divine beasts: the <Phoenix>, <Golden Crow>, and the <Vermilion Bird> fought for the Flame Progenitor position in the <Divine Realm>. The fierce battle lasted thirty-six days and ended in the defeat and injury of all three. The Phoenix fell down to this Profound Sky Continent after being gravely wounded and completely recovered after thirteen years in the Profound Sky Continent. In these thirteen years, the phoenix deeply felt that even though the Profound Sky Continent's humans were weak in strength, their hearts and nature were pure; thus it left two trial grounds in order to leave some opportunities for the humans of this continent." The phoenix said.

"So basically a power struggle between the 3 of them... And why is the group of villagers outside has been cursed?" Issei further inquired.

"The phoenix had left this message: If the humans of the Profound Sky Continent use this Phoenix power to harm the world, all of their strength will be taken away and their bloodline would be given punishment! What was very unfortunate, was that a person of one of the bloodlines committed a grave sin while using the phoenix's power, the power of the phoenix had been permanently stripped and their bloodline was cursed. After that, no one else had passed this trial..." The phoenix answered Issei's question.

"Then? The reason you called me here is because you wanted me to take your trials?" Issei jokingly asked.

"No, I wouldn't dare... Even without taking the trial test, I already knew that you will surely pass the trial with ease... And your bloodline is much more stronger and divine than any of the Divine Beasts in existence. So I wouldn't even dare to even imagine polluting your bloodline with my insignificant bloodline and inheritance." She instantly denied Issei's joke.

The massive amount of good karma he accumulated is more than enough to tell her that he is not an evildoer. As for the other trials, even the original Phoenix won't be able to stand a chance against him, needless to say about some measly trials...

"...Then why did you summon me here?" Issei asked.

"..." The Phoenix spirit hesitated a bit before she finally speaks once more: "...It's because of the phoenix flame you emit before... May I know how are you able to possess that incomparably beautiful and pure phoenix flame?" The Phoenix truly felt amazed and awed by Paniverna's phoenix flame and she wanted to know just how come Issei has that kind of flame since she could tell to a certain extent that his bloodline is that of a Dragon and not a Phoenix.

So for him to possess that kind of phoenix flame is really incredible in and of itself...

"...That flame belongs to my wife. My wife has a Primordial Phoenix God bloodline inside her... You could say that she will surely be the next Phoenix God sooner or later." Issei said with pride.

"..." The phoenix spirit went silent after hearing his answer... She's overcome with shock because even the original Phoenix from this world only reaches the <True God Realm>.

Primordial here can also mean Ancestral. So that means that his wife that possess the Phoenix bloodline has already surpassed the original Phoenix by a huge margin...

She knows that he's not lying because that flame is far stronger and purer than the Phoenix flame the original phoenix ever had.

"...This may be presumptuous of me but I ask you of your assistance, GodKing..." The Phoenix then steeled herself to ask for Issei's assistance.