Blue Phoenix

"We need to find an inn," Huli said as she and Hui Yue left Treasure Mountain. "Originally I wanted us to buy a house in the city since we will be here for quite some time. However, this is not possible since house prices are so high now that so many experts have appeared in the city like moths to a flame. Seeing all these packed inns around us, I assume that the cheap and expensive rooms are already sold out." Huli continued contemplating out loud, and Hui Yue who listened to her with great interest allowed the fox-woman to drag him by the hand through the city.

Although Hui Yue was filled with sadness and an unrelenting urge to grow stronger flared within his mind, he was currently overwhelmed by the massive immortal city. The beauty of it was simply breathtaking; the buildings were tall and daunting as they towered to the sky above. The streets were bursting with life as Gods walked together in groups or alone. Some were loud, and others were silent. Some hid their appearance with a cloak while others wore almost no clothes.

The further into the city they went, the more astonished Hui Yue became as he noticed that the city was split into four sections and each section had a different architectural theme.

"There are so many different worlds in the universe, and many of them have different styles. The major worlds mostly have one of these four styles to them, and most of the creators of minor worlds just copied them instead of creating a whole new style themselves. Some worlds even have the remnants of all these styles, depending on how influenced they were by outside factors."

"Anyway, you will get used to how different everything is soon. The universe is vast, and not everything can be the same." Huli laughed as she squeezed Hui Yue's hand and dragged him closer and closer to the inn in front of them.

"This is the most average inn I could think of," Huli said proudly as she walked into the door, but upon seeing Hui Yue's confused expression, she giggled. "The experts who are showing up for this trial to become the judge are extreme figures. They are either extremely rich or extremely poor. The rich will want the highest grade of luxury while the poor will choose the cheapest inns. This means that the expensive inns are probably already sold out, so our best chance to get a room is at the most average inn around. Not many would choose them unless they are like us."

Hearing this, Hui Yue was a little confused. Huli's logic did not always make sense to him, but he said nothing and just followed her. They had enough money to provide for them for quite some time, and he already knew what the next step in their journey would be.

Looking at the inn, Hui Yue was unsure if others were thinking the same thing as Huli and he couldn’t help but wonder if the all the other inns really were full. But stepping inside, this inn was packed to the brim with people. The ground floor, which was a restaurant, had no tables available and the man behind the counter was busy helping the customers who had formed a long line. The many staff members rushed back and forth in the restaurant, and all of them were extremely attractive women or men. To Hue Yue’s surprise, none of the staff who were taking orders and carrying out food were below the God rank.

Some were beasts others human, and If someone tried to take liberties with their girls, then the customer would be thrown out of the store by the inn’s guards. There were around five quite powerful God ranked cultivators standing guard in the inn ensuring that no trouble arose, and Hui Yue was very surprised to see this.

"How come all of the experts within the city are Gods?" Hui Yue asked confused, "considering how many Gods have settled down in this city, it is shocking that there is no one below the God rank."

Hearing Hui Yue, Huli laughed once more and shook her head. "When you become a God your entire body changes. Although it is very hard, you can have children, and all the children you have will also be Gods at birth."

"But, just because they are Gods does not mean they are stronger than the average Saint. They are still newborns and need to learn how to control their strength.”

“That is if both their parents are Gods, though,” Huli continued with a sigh. “If their parents are mixed between a God and a human or a beast at lower levels of cultivation like the Rong twins or Lan Feng, then they will be born as humans or beasts with above average talents.”

Huli stopped in her tracks, turned around, and looked at Hui Yue who was looking around with curiosity. Then she silently moved closer to him and whispered in a serious voice.

"You really need to stop overestimating yourself. Although you have become a God, you can be counted among the weakest Gods who are fighting to become the judge!" Huli said worried as she looked at Hui Yue who nodded his head seriously. He understood perfectly well that he was not as strong as a lot of the cultivators around him. He had paid the price for his arrogance, and he was not going to make the same mistake again.

Waiting in queue, Hui Yue and Huli were both quiet as they waited for their turn. It took quite some time, but they were hopeful as they saw that other people in front of them were getting rooms, and this meant that there were still rooms available for them.

"How can I help you?" The clerk behind the counter asked, and Hui Yue, who had been hiding behind Huli the whole time, stepped forward looking around and said with a smile. "I am looking for a room, do you have any available?"

Hui Yue chose one room instead of two because he knew that he and Huli had lived together in his room for so long. Being in one room was normal for them, and if it became too uncomfortable for Huli, she had her fox form.

Looking at the two Gods in front of him, the clerk tried to probe their strength, but all he noticed was that they seemed like your average God with an odd conflicting aura. No matter how he looked at these two, he was confused. He quickly stopped trying to gauge their power not wanting to insult the two Gods in front of him.

"We have two rooms left, did you want one or two?" The clerk asked to be sure, but Hui Yue just smiled and said, "one room, please."

“How long will you be staying?”

“Seven.” Hui Yue answered as he looked around at the restaurant.

Hui Yue was no longer the only person around with colored hair, and many of the women in the restaurant noticed his white hair and fair skin. Many women enjoyed his appearance while the men were licking their lips while looking at Huli. This pair was picture perfect, suiting each other so much that no one wanted to interrupt them, but their appearance attracted a lot of attention, and Hui Yue felt how people were constantly gauging his strength.

As they did, the blue cloud within his body suddenly started to twist and churn in his chest, and without Hui Yue controlling it, it permeated throughout his entire body. It filled every vein and pore, and suddenly it was as if the many gazes which had been turned to him were reflected.

A murmur could be heard in the restaurant. It was natural for Gods to probe the strength of interesting people they found on their way, and it was especially the case when everyone was going to be your opponent later on in the trials to come.

When they first tried to observe Hui Yue, they had at first gotten the same mixed signals as everyone else, but suddenly his aura completely vanished. When they sent their energy to investigate him, it was sent right back to them, and they now could not find out anything about him which made them feel apprehensive. Was this man so much stronger than them that he was able to completely hide his true level of strength, or did he perhaps specialize in hiding his aura? Was he an assassin God?

No one knew, and many started contemplating, but neither Hui Yue nor Huli felt like standing in front of them. Instead, they accepted a key card from the clerk behind the counter. "Go to the fifth floor, and your room is the seventh from the stairs. This the room which will be yours while you stay. You have paid for the next seven years; please enjoy the stay."

Hearing this Hui Yue's eyes went wide, and Huli laughed out loud. Her pearl-like laughter rang through the restaurant and as for why she was laughing so hard nobody could tell.

Taking Hui Yue's hand and dragging him up the stairs, she giggled as she inched closer to him. "This is the life of an immortal. We no longer count in days, but years! When he asked you how long you wished to stay since you said seven so he assumed you meant seven years!" She said while laughing, and Hui Yue, feeling quite stupid could not help but shake his head with a small smile on his face.

Together he and Huli rushed towards their room. Huli, because she wanted to be alone with Hui Yue, and Hui Yue, because he wanted to hear how to fight with other Gods. During his fight with Rong Liang, he had heard new terms like the dao. Later Huli explained to him that the dao was all around him, but even after her explanation and contemplating the dao while traveling to the Netherworld, he was not truly able to understand what it was.

Reaching the room, they instantly entered and looked around. The room was not that large, but it was more than enough to fit two people. One desk and a chair were placed under one of the windows which showed the vast city sprawled out before them. Because they were rather high up in the inn, they had quite an amazing view. In the middle of the room was a massive bed which seemed to be able to fit almost ten people.

Looking at Hui Yue's shocked expression, Huli giggled again. "Some races are many times larger than humans, and some beasts prefer to be in their original forms. They are giants compared to someone like you, but they should still be able to sleep on the bed." She explained, and Hui Yue nodded his head. It made sense that there were many different races throughout the many worlds and amongst these races, some of them would obviously be far larger than him.

"Please tell me how Gods fight!" Hui Yue said as he sat down on the bed, his eyes pleading as he looked toward Huli. Although he was excited about his first travel to another world, much as he was astounded by the immortal city, he could never forget that he had Wang Ju Long's soul shadow in a small bottle in the Universe Box. He had to save her!

Looking at the pained expression on Hui Yue's face, Huli's heart ached, and she sighed deeply before she nodded her head.

"It is quite simple really," she started to explain. "As a God, your entire body is made from Ancestral Worldpower. You can use it to fight but it is a very crude way of fighting, and it is also very risky as you are basically using your body to attack. Instead, you need to open your mind. You need to comprehend the daos around you that I explained before and you will be able to incorporate the laws of the universe that you have gained insights in into your attacks. Those daos will enhance your strength and increase your power tremendously." She began, and Hui Yue listened wholeheartedly to every word Huli said.