Blue Phoenix

Silence spread throughout the entire dining hall. No one said anything while Cai Jie and Hui Yue shared a glance, both interested in seeing how their friends would react to the truth.

"You... You are not from this world?" Rong Xing asked breathlessly, her eyes glistening with interest and her heart beating rapidly. Ma Kong, Deng Wu, Rong Ming, and Gao Yan had eyes equally filled with reverence and curiosity.

These experts knew that there were other worlds out in the void. Everyone, even children knew that when you died, your soul descended into the Netherworld where you would wander aimlessly until the day one forgot all their previous memories, then one would be reborn.

But that was the Netherworld. Everyone knew about the Netherworld, but they had never heard about the other millions of worlds out there. There was no one who could explain what it was like and these experts finally found someone from another world. They clearly had many questions they wanted to ask.

"You say that cultivation is different, please explain how you cultivate!" Rong Xing continued questioning with great curiosity. She was a scientist; she spent all her time improving and creating martial and spiritual arts, and to learn about how other beings cultivated was pure bliss.

"Whereas you guys gain your energy from the heavens and the earth, I gain my energy from the stars and the sun. I absorb the rays of sunlight or the cascading starlight. Both of these have a special kind of energy; the sun has Yang energy while the moon and stars have Yin energy."

"It is important that one balances these two energies from when they first start cultivating. At the very start, before they are balanced the energy is refined into Qi. When the energies are balanced, it becomes spiritual energy, and when this balanced energy is capable of merging with the world, one unlocks their upper dantian and becomes capable of using Wu Wei."

"It is very different from this world. Here, you do not care about Yin and Yang energy until you reach the upper dantian and as soon as you have merged with the world, you become a God. This is because this world is more suitable for cultivators. Everyone here unconsciously absorbs the energy since it is all around you. Being constantly bathed in energy, it becomes much easier to cultivate that from where I am from. Although here it is easier to cultivate, shockingly enough, this world has a worse martial arts heritage than mine, and the Wu Wei arts do not even exist here." Cai Jie continued.

"Does this mean that you already became one with the world?" Rong Xing asked, her eyes wide and her throat dry. It was a level so hard to reach that she was shocked to know that the man in front of her had actually reached such a level. Cultivating was definitely much more complex were Cai Jie came from. However, they were clearly also much stronger than the average cultivator from this world.

"I was before," Cai Jie nodded. "However after my cultivation base was injured I ended up in this world. Since I had already opened my upper dantian, I now cultivate similarly to the rest of you. It is quite faster than my old way for sure, and I have a great balance of Yin and Yang energy already as I have already become one with the world. Now, all I need to become a God once more is just to focus on cultivating energy. I need a lot of energy and when I get it, I will once more become a God."

"Well, in that case, enjoy the golden pearls I've given you. They are far more potent than any other pills I have ever seen. They should at least allow you to reach the Emperor rank. If you are lucky it might even take you all the way to the Saint rank," Hui Yue laughed, and the moment he said this the eyes of all his friends turned red as they realized just how valuable these pills they had been gifted were.

"I have never chosen a specific path," Rong Xing suddenly took over explaining her current strength. "When I reached the middle dantian, I was still studying at the Royal Academy and I was still focused on the studying and improving the most common spiritual arts. When I reached the upper dantian, if I were to fight, I would just fight with Wu Wei, simple but overpowering. Most of my time is spent experimenting with and inventing new martial arts and spiritual arts for the Royal Academy. I have not really been trained to fight, nor have I yet found a path of cultivation that suits me."

There was disappointment in her voice as she spoke, and Rong Ming nodded his head. Clearly, he too was in the same boat as her. He did not need to say anything; everyone was aware that they were in the same position, and thus the next person to speak was Ma Kong.

"I am the same," he sighed. "I used to focus on my cultivation, but I have become more and more busy dealing with the family business to the point that I have let my cultivation slack. I also have not found a path to walk yet, so I just fight normally with Wu Wei. Currently, I have no time to cultivate as it is taken up managing our business."

"My strength is similar. I never found a path for myself, but now my only path is the path of cultivation," Xu Piao said seriously. "I do not cultivate to fight, only for the sake of becoming even stronger, becoming a God and finding the love of my life."

"I have found a path for myself." Gao Yan finally said as the last person within the room to explain his explain his strength. "My path is that of a shadow. I am capable of merging with the shadows. I came across this ability which allows for my shadow to move on its own. The things that are said near my shadows can be heard easily by me. The things my shadow sees, I can see as well. My shadow is my strongest ability; I am a shadow walker, and although I only control one shadow now, I will be able to control more soon. My shadows control is limited by my strength, but now that I can reach the rank of Emperor, thanks to your great benevolence, I will be capable of controlling more shadows, and therefore more information."

"A shadow walker, huh?" Hui Yue was surprised. He had never heard of shadow walkers before, but he really liked the idea. Everyone had their own extreme abilities.

Waving his hand, four memory stones suddenly appeared within his hand. Placing one after another to his forehead blue lights shone in the dining room in rapid succession before Hui Yue tossed these stones to Rong Ming, Rong Xing, Ma Kong and Xu Piao.

"This is the first Wu Wei art that I learned," Hui Yue said with a smile. "The attack is terrifyingly powerful so make sure to be at a safe location when practicing it. Even your first attempt is likely to be more destructive than you can imagine. Make sure to learn how to fight." Hui Yue said then stressed one last thing. "I never again want to feel as powerless as I do now when it comes to Sha Yun."

The serious expression on Hui Yue's face made everyone understand just how severe a blow it was to him that Sha Yun was missing. He was willing to use everything at his disposal and all his strength to ensure that none of his friends would ever suffer. He was not going to lose anyone.

"Don't worry, with these pills you have given us, I will dedicate one of my shadows fully to search for Sha Yun. It will not rest before she has been found. I cannot believe that she is dead since no trace of her body was found."

"I fear that she might have been taken because of me," Hui Yue sighed. He was not dumb; he knew that he had made many enemies through the years and that they might have taken the opportunity to strike back at him; however, if they truly wished for him to be filled with grief they would make sure that Hui Yue knew they had kidnapped her. Were they perhaps afraid of letting him know, or did they have some agenda which Hui Yue did not understand? The most fearsome of all was the fact that Hui Yue was unaware of their motives. When he did not know who he was dealing with, or what kind of experiences she was going through, his heart was shivering with worry.

No one said anything about the comment Hui Yue made. They were all quite certain that he was correct. She had been gone for so long, and she had still not returned. This meant that she could not return even if she wanted to. She was already bound to Hui Yue, and the relationship could only be broken with the death of one of them. She had never insulted anyone, and she had never caused trouble. Kidnapping her could only have something to do with Hui Yue.

"Thank you for search for her, no matter what make sure to tell me when you know something," Hui Yue smiled to Gao Yan. He understood how hard it would be for Gao Yan to search twenty-four hours a day, but he also knew that the friend would never promise to look for her if he was not serious about it.

"Thank you all for coming today. I need everyone to improve your combat ability. You are all my friends, and I will not allow for anything to happen to you. You are the ones I will go to when I need assistance, and you are the ones I will rely on when needed. Therefore, I need you all to be strong. We will get through this together!"

Hearing his words, their blood started boiling. They knew Hui Yue was strong and although they all wished to support him, they feared that they were not strong enough. Now it seemed that Hui Yue was not willing to leave any of them behind. They were a group that would stay together forever.

"We will save her!" Deng Wu finally said, and everyone nodded their heads. Where the mood had been somber at the beginning of the meal, it was now was hopeful. Everyone was filled with the belief that they could save Sha Yun. They would find her, save her, and bring her home.

Everyone was talking with one another about their different paths of cultivation. Since some of them were still searching for their own personal path, talking with others about their paths allowed for them to get a better understanding of themselves and their respective goals for the future.

The evening grew long, and the many friends kept discussing cultivation, medicinal pills, Sha Yun's destiny, the Wu Wei arts, and many other subjects. It was not before the sun had risen into the sky that the friends finally started to reluctantly depart. What they had spoken about that night was something they all secretly held in their hearts, but they also knew that they would never again mention it. It was a secret they all shared with one another.

Right after everyone had left, Hui Yue was standing in the doorway. Wang Ju Long was by his side as she leaned against him. Hui Yue could not help but sigh. "Don't worry," Wang Ju Long said calmly. "We will save Yun no matter what. Let us trust that Gao Yan will reach the Emperor rank soon."

Nodding his head, Hui Yue wrapped his arms around the woman, dragging her into his embrace. "I will make sure your family will get their revenge soon." He promised the woman held in his arms.