Blue Phoenix

As soon as the group of villagers left their surroundings, Wan Qiao’s eyes turned ice-cold and she lifted her arm into the air. Her hazel brown, golden feathers sprouted from her skin and within moments the giant bird was standing at the front of everyone. Her wings spread out and the force contained within sent debris of the trees flying in every direction. The previously dense forest suddenly changed, and the bird created a clearing within the trees. The blue sky was suddenly visible through the trees which allowed for light to cascade down towards the group of beasts and the one human. All the beast’s’ eyes turned red when they were overtaken by their killing intent. The animals all slowly transformed to their original shapes, howls, roars, growling, all sounds from the beasts could be heard reverberating through the forest, and finally, Wan Qiao started to move. She lifted her wings and a loud, terrifying shriek sounded out before the bird started to make a way through the dense forest.

Hui Yue activated Velocity Flow as he followed behind Wan Qiao. Considering that he needed to save this Li Meilin, he had to be there from the very start. Finding her would be hard, and keeping her safe even harder.

Wan Qiao knew this and to help him slightly she made sure to keep a pace which fitted his highest speed when using Velocity Flow. Behind him beast after beast roared out, preparing themselves for the battle which was to come. At this point, Hui Yue was the only human shaped person left, however, he dared not transform too early because his control over his wolf form was still limited.

It took the group of magical beasts roughly two hours of constant running before they started hearing the sounds of clattering and yelling in the distance. The delegation had long since heard the beasts horde coming their way, and they had all taken up positions getting ready to greet the incoming beasts.

Seeing this, Hui Yue hid right behind Wan Qiao, and as he expected the massive eagle shrieked once more. The shriek sounded throughout the entire forest and was answered by howling, growling, and roaring beasts.

Wan Qiao collided straight into the many humans. Her wings and her legs swept around, killing at least twenty humans from the collision alone. However, just as she collided into them she took to the air and a large bald man appeared who was fully focused on the flying bird.

Looking at this man Hui Yue was taken aback. The man was without a doubt a Saint ranked expert. To send a Saint showed how serious the Siban Empire was about this delegation, however, they never arrived at any place where they could find humans, nor had they ever intended to be peaceful. Their real purpose in entering Shenyuan was to get any kind of information back to the empire.

This trip was valued highly by the Siban Empire which was why they sent Captain Song. One of their few Saint ranked experts. This saint was so sure of his own power that he was not frightened by any sort of retaliation no matter which kind of dirty deeds he committed. He was certain of his strength as the strongest, however, he had never met anyone like Wan Qiao before.

While the large bird was flying in the sky, one tree after another was chopped down. The tree trunks landing in the middle of what was becoming a bloody battlefield. Magical beasts and humans were constantly fighting one another. Hui Yue was drifting around the battlefield doing everything in his power to not attract anyone’s attention as his eyes finally landed on a strong looking woman who refused to fight anyone.

Rushing towards her, Hui Yue sprouted a smile on his face as he hoped that this was the woman he had been looking for. As he reached her side he noticed that she was quite a bit stronger than himself, another thing which caused him to be ecstatic.

“Li Meilin?” He asked, his eyes roaming across the battlefield in front of him. The guards were numerous but so were the magical beasts. Golden light and silver light flashed everywhere only to be met by counter attacks from the beasts. Mist energy of any color could be seen near the ground and ripples from each and every attack collided in the air. Small explosions could be heard everywhere.

The woman looked at this young man and was slightly taken aback that he knew her name. Guessing that it had something to do with the beasts she had saved, she decided that right now it would be best to allow for this man to lead her away from the battlefield because she refused to fight either side.

She could not fight her own delegation as she still felt loyalty towards the Siban Empire; however, she understood why these magical beasts were taking revenge. She understood that this place, Shenyuan, was a place belonging to magical beasts, not a place where humans fit in.

“Who are you?” She asked the young man who grabbed her hand and was pulling her with him away from the middle of the battle.

Everywhere they went, the ground was soaked in blood. Small streams of blood ran across the ground as both man and beast died in battle. At this point both sides seemed to be very even, however, Hui Yue knew better.

High in the sky, Wan Qiao was flying while the bald man was cursing after sending one ranged golden attack after another at the bird. He was failing in his attempts to hit her, and a mocking smile could be seen on the One-Horned Jasmine Eagle’s face.

“I’m Hui Yue, pleasure to meet you, now follow me and stay low,” Hui Yue whispered back as he found a small bit of vegetation which had yet to be destroyed and he instantly went towards it. He hoped to use the tall grass as a way to camouflage himself and his new friend.

“Why are you saving me?” She asked. Although it was a dangerous situation, this woman was not too worried about her own safety. Although there were many magical beasts around, the majority of them were Kings, people she could easily deal with. However, to be saved by someone from the side of the magical beasts was something she had not expected. So with quiet curiosity, she followed the young man who was walking with steady steps.

Hearing the question Hui Yue did nothing but look at the woman with a long glance before he shook his head. Showing that he would not answer the question right now, instead, he gestured for her to be silent so that the beasts around them would not hear them.

Hiding in the tall grass, Hui Yue did not, even for a moment, allow his eyes to stop roaming his surroundings. His ears were strained to their utmost and his eyes alert. He was constantly looking for humans and beasts headed their way, and finally what he had feared happened.

The battle slowly shifted from a head on battle where the two opposing sides were like two massive waves colliding into one another and battling for a slight advantage, but after having battled for some time the two waves turned into one on one battles. The battleground had changed now. The humans were at a disadvantage and although they kept battling, they slowly retreated backwards. This caused the battleground to creep closer and closer to Hui Yue’s location.

While Hui Yue was focused solely on the battle happening around him, Li Meilin focused on the young man who had led her to this patch of grass, away from the battle itself.

Looking at the young man, he did not seem to even be twenty years of age. His skin was soft and spotless, his hair long and white like newly fallen snow, and his eyes were as blue as the bluest sky in summer. His face was effeminate, and instead of calling him handsome, beautiful fitted his appearance better.

Strength wise, his aura was that of a Duke, however, there was something about him a mysterious air of strength which made her feel as though she was incapable of truly seeing through him.

“What are you?” She finally whispered while looking at the young man, however, all she got was a complicated smile as the young man turned towards her. He shook his head before he turned back to watching the battles transpiring right in front of him.

It was not that Hui Yue did not wish to answer, but he was not capable of answering. He, himself, was unaware of what he was. He had been born a human, however, these phenomena within his body were also part of his sou,l and so far one of them was a magical beast. At least some of him was a beast while some was human. He also had a soul contract with a divine beast which changed his own soul quite a bit. In general, he was no longer human, nor was he a magical beast. Hui Yue belonged to neither world while at the same time lived in both.

Li Meilin was confused to see the reaction from the young man, but she did not say anything else. She wondered if she should mention to the young man that she did not need his protection because she was an Emperor, and only Captain Song and the One-Horned Jasmine Eagle in the sky were capable of truly threatening her. However, after seeing the serious expression on the young man’s face as he observed their surroundings, she decided to say nothing and just wait patiently for the young man to explain what was going on.

Observing the young man, Li Meilin’s eyes slowly widened in surprise as she saw how his eyes were narrowed on a specific beast. A beast which seemed to be a One-Horned Eagle, the race which the majority of the beasts in this battle seemed to be.

This One-Horned Eagle was not looking for humans to battle, instead, he was looking straight at Hui Yue and Li Meilin. A sinister smile appeared on his lips as he saw them, and with steady steps he made his way towards the two people hiding.

“How annoying,” Hui Yue said with a click of his tongue, and suddenly the white hair and the pale skin sprouted red fur. His blue eyes turned blood red, his hands turned into paws with razor sharp claws, and long fangs protruded from his mouth.

The woman who was previously certain that this young man was a human due to his low rank and human shape, however, after seeing the red wolf which appeared in front of her she suddenly felt that she had misunderstood both his strength and his race.

“You disgusting creature!” The guard yelled out loud the moment he saw Hui Yue. His arms changed to wings and he flew into the air. Having flown high into the sky, he turned downwards and sped towards Hui Yue with a screech. He flew like an arrow speeding towards its target. Seeing this, his red wolf eyes narrowed, but he did not panic nor did he seem to fear the one coming towards him.

Seeing this, Li Meilin curiously stayed within the grass as she observed everything which happened in front of her. She was very curious about this young man who appeared with this beast horde and seemed to try everything he could think of to keep her safe.