Deaths And Deals

The one and only reason Cang Yue could keep on living after knowing Yun Che was dead, was her father. Now that her father was well, she felt better and her thoughts of killing herself faded. Her First and Third brothers, on the other hand... well they didn't feel too happy. The Emperor quickly seized his power and immediately punished his two traitorous sons for their actions. They were arrested on numerous charges and beheaded in the morning. Some of their strong supporters also suffered the same fate. Gu Qiuhong didn't get it easy, he too publicly lost his head. He was charged with treason for putting the parasite in the Emperor. This all happened in the following day.

"For a son to plot his own father's death... it is unacceptable and a sin worthy of death. But, I couldn't imagine myself ordering the death of my son, in front of thousands of people no less."

"What would you do if you had a son who attempted to... say, poison you?" The Heavenly Fire Demon asked

"I would chuckle at his idiocy for trying to poison the Master of the Sky Poison Pearl. Then, I would teach him a real lesson... a life lesson. You can call it his 'rehabilitation'. After I'm sure that he'd never do such a thing again, I let him go. He's my blood, not some random stranger. As a father... it would have been my duty to lead him in the right direction... not to end his life after one mistake. But I highly doubt that my own, future children would even think about killing me. Nor will they have the ability to do so anyway... hahaha."

"It seems that you cherish family and those related to you... somewhat of a rare trait in this world. To be honest, if I were in that situation, I would have dropped him into a pit of fire and walked away."

...

"I see."

~

"So you're leaving, then?"

"Yes, I must prepare for my wedding."

And collect the fifth and sixth stages of the World Ode of the Phoenix!

"I was considering going before but I couldn't due to my poor health. Now, that I'm well, I will have to come and visit."

"I would be honoured to have the Blue Wind Emperor himself visit my wedding..."

"No, the honours are all mine. You are a talent which even the Blue Wind Empire... no, all Seven Nations cannot contain. Speaking of the Seven Nations... do you know of the Seven Nation Ranking Tournament?"

"Of course, it's the tournament where the Seven Nations face off each other. The Blue Wind Empire has a terrible reputation of always placing last. You want me to attend this tournament, right?"

The Blue Wind Emperor nodded. "There's no one else who can even compete, but you."

Aerion liked the idea of being an underdog and emerging as the undisputed victor. The Divine Phoenix Empire is strong with plenty of young Emperor Profound cultivators, a superpower compared to the other Nations... especially when compared to the Blue Wind Empire. But these young Emperor Profound cultivators are absolutely NO match for Aerion.

"Can I choose the other representatives?"

"Yes... as long as you attend yourself."

Aerion thought of a new challenge for himself. It wouldn't be fun if he just came there and beat up everyone with ease. Besides, every Targaryen needs some sort of army... or at least a few strong servants. It was time for him to reform the Dragonsguard!

"How much time until this tournament, again?"

"One year and just about nine months."

"That's more than enough time! I'll win, no problem."

Aerion's confidence reassured the Blue Wind Emperor.

By the time the tournament starts, I'll be around 19 years and a month old. Around 3 years would have passed since I first stepped foot into this world.

"It's good to hear that..."

~

Aerion stood on a hill overlooking the village in which the Phoenix Clan resided and more importantly, where the ruins of the Phoenix... the trial ground stood. Aerion's journey to this village was swift and unchallenged. He wasn't attacked by any beasts as he had flown high in the air. He had temporarily released Rhaegal and Daemon from the Sky Poison Pearl, allowing them to explore the mountain range themselves. And hunt for their own food, of course. They are no longer weak little pets, they are Emperor Profound predators now. It's about damn time they grow up.

He jumped down and slowly walked towards the man who looked like the elder of the village. This elder stood in front of the trial grounds, where Aerion needed to be. He observed the inhabitants and he wasn't impressed by their trash cultivation strength.

These people have the Phoenix Legacy, the same one the Divine Phoenix Sect has? The beasts are far more impressive than they are.

"Step aside, I have business with the Phoenix."

"You wish to attempt the trial of the Phoenix?"

Aerion chuckled as he opened his palm. "No, I already have the bloodline. I merely wish to expand my knowledge of it."

Phoenix flames rose from his palm. Calm and beautiful yet powerful at the same time. Due to his three drops of the Phoenix Bloodline (which he happened to "inherit" from Yun Che), his flames were very strong but they didn't have much use... until now. Today was the day that would surely change as he will finally complete the World Ode of the Phoenix.

"Could you be from the Divine Phoenix Sect?" The leader asked

It's none of your business.

"No, I'm not related to them."

Aerion moved closer and touched the seals. Instantly, they opened to him. Aerion stepped forward. The Clansmen sensed his strength and didn't dare intervene, they didn't have a reason to anyway. He bears the flames of the righteous Phoenix which means he's a good person at heart. Aerion continued, moving further into the trial grounds. Aerion's Sharingan quickly adapted to the darkness and saw through it. Eyes... large and narrow golden eyes stared at him.

"You already have my bloodline and some of my soul... though I do not recall seeing you here before."

"I robbed a certain individual..."

"Oh..."

"I'm going to get straight to the point... show me the Fifth and Sixth stages of your World Ode."

"So commanding for a mortal... and what if I don't?"

Aerion sighed. "That would be troublesome."

Aerion stared at its eyes. After long seconds of silence, the Phoenix finally spoke.

"I am merely winding you up, of course, I'll let you see the World Ode of the Phoenix!"

~

"Comprehending the Fifth and Sixth stages was far easier due to the fact that you already had the other stages. You also have learnt the real version of the World Ode, unlike that Yun Che who had to comprehend it himself. Never the less, the speed of your comprehension is impressive."

"I thank you for your assistance, Phoenix. I'll be on my way."

"Very well."

Perhaps, it's better this way, the residual spirit thought.

~

"Sky Profound beasts... well, isn't this a surprise?" Daemon stated.

"These fools are courting death, disrupting my meal." Rhaegal roared as he finished chewing what remained of an Earth Profound beast.

A Sky Profound dragon, bird and tiger.

The other dragon roared back. "YOU DARE APPROACH MY TERRITORY!? YOU ARE THE ONE WHO I-"

Rhaegal released his Emperor Profound cultivation strength and the Sky Profound dragon instantly shut up. Then he calmly spoke.

"You like to bark like a dog, don't you? THEN PERISH LIKE THE DOG YOU ARE!"

Rhaegal breathed his scarlet-red flames at the Sky Profound dragon, incinerating him in seconds. He turned to the other Sky Profound beasts which began to tremble in fear. Rhaegal took the dragon's beast core, held his head high and decided to turn back.

"I leave those two to you."

"Wow, so you have all the fun and just fly away... leaving me with the leftovers?"

"Of course, you're going to need two Sky Profound beasts if you still want to be stronger than me."

Rhaegal flew away and looked for a place to rest. Daemon looked at the Sky Profound beasts.

"Well, unfortunately, this world belongs to the strong. I'm quite hungry for some food... and a tad bit more power."

Daemon tackled the tiger and took a large bite. By large bite, I mean half of its body! The tiger was pretty much dead. Then he turned to the bird. His eagle-like wings extended and he took flight. He easily outpaced the bird and tackled it mid-air. Daemon's horns penetrated the bird's body with barely any resistance. With a heavy shake of the head, the bird was sent flying away from Daemon's horns and into the ground. The bird and tiger were both half-dead... if not dead already. He made good use of the two Sky Profound beasts' bodies later that day.

~

"Rhaegal, Daemon, come to me."

Aerion said after he was away from the village. It only took Daemon two minutes while Rhaegal took five minutes to fly to Aerion.

"Rhaegal, it looks like you're a bit too slooooow. You were almost left behind."

"I was taking a nap..."

Aerion put them both into the Sky Poison Pearl and flew away from the Ten Thousand Beast Mountain Range, heading straight towards the Noble Rogue Sect.

~The Dungeon~

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Look at all the gold we've gathered!"

"It is quite a large amount." The Heavenly Fire Demon agreed.

They went on a complete rampage from floor three to six. They had gained over 5 million just like that. In total, Aerion had a large sum of over 200 million despite him being a bit lazy. When he was training in the volcano, he'd order the Heavenly Fire Demon to slay a couple of thousand fire spirits once in a while. He had the money... now all he needs to do was find the cloaked man. There was one problem; he was nowhere to be found!

Aerion had gone all over the first six floors but then he realised that the cloaked man might have moved up to floor seven. That would be quite logical... but that floor probably has sovereigns, Aerion thought. Still... I need to exchange my gold for something, otherwise, it's a waste of my efforts.

"I want to go to floor seven but I have no idea where the entrance is. Would you happen to know, Heavenly Fire Demon?"

"I remember there was a secret passage in the ocean... it leads to a large door. I was told that it leads to another world by... the person who chained me"

"Show me this secret passage, then."

They dived into the ocean. Eventually, it was pitch-black... the sun's light was nowhere to be seen. They continued downwards and then they saw light again. A bit too much light, enough to daze both of them for a solid minute. Aerion opened his eyes when he was sure that the light was gone. He looked around and saw the Heavenly Fire Demon in a puddle of water. Aerion stood up.

"So this is Floor Seven?"

He observed his surroundings, noticing that he stood on a floating and flat white platform. In the very middle of this platform laid a huge hole from where a large stream of water flowed down into the endless ocean below. Actually... it didn't flow, it was quite still yet it was moving at the same time.

Aerion then noticed that the water coming down from the hole was in a loop, one half going down and the other going up. An endless cycle. This hole/man-made 'waterfall' was probably his way back down to floor six. Near this hole, stood a small stall where a cloaked man sat. Behind him laid a huge staircase which seemed to have reached the Heavens.

So that's where he's been hiding... floor seven, I was right.

"You came with the goods?" He asked.

"Here."

Aerion handed his dungeon ring. The cloaked man observed it for a second and then he smiled.

"201,758,925 gold... most impressive. I'll be happy to exchange a number of valuable items for this amount."

"Like?"

"Whatever you need. It seems that you don't really know exactly what you want. Let me make this easy for you; Six drops of Phoenix origin blood, Three drops of Dragon God origin blood and nine True Sky Profound pills."

...

What... this cloaked man is offering me six drops!? When I asked the Phoenix spirit she just shook her head and said three was enough, truly a greedy and arrogant bastard. How come a cloaked man is giving me more Phoenix blood than the Phoenix herself!?

"Which Dragon God? The Primordial Azure Dragon or the Fire Dragon God, Aerios?"

"At this point, in your body, both of those bloodlines have completely fused into one single bloodline. So if I give you either one of the bloodlines, BOTH will grow considerably."

"Oh... so it doesn't matter?"

"Yes. Do you agree with my offer?"

"About the nine 'True' Sky Profound pills... does it do what I think it does?"

"Yes, it can make just about any scrub a Sky Profound cultivator. The more innately talented the person is, the bigger the boost."

"Seems kinda useless to me... but it might prove useful for other people."

"So? Deal or no deal?"

"Deal."

The cloaked man took Aerion's gold and replaced it with the pills, Phoenix blood and Dragon God blood.

"Where did you get the blood from?"

"You don't need to know."

The cloaked man and his stall disappeared as if it never existed. For a second, Aerion imagined the cloaked man constantly pummeling the Phoenix with his fists while screaming "GOLD, GOLD, GOLD, GOLD, GOLD. I NEED MOREEEE GOLDDDD".

Yeah... I have a wild imagination.

~

Aerion left the dungeon without venturing further into floor seven, he was saving that little adventure for later... preferably when he was stronger. Then Aerion finished the final part of his journey back to the Noble Rogue Sect.

"It's good to be back home..."

Aerion smiled as he gazed at the waving flags which housed the special and unique insignia of the Noble Rogue Sect. Oldtown looked busier than usual, this was due to his wedding. Many people came to see this spectacle from powerful and rich sect members to members of the royal family. The Heavenly Sword Villa, Frozen Cloud Immortal Palace, Burning Heaven Clan, Heavenly Spear Thunderfire Fortress and Blue Wind Imperial Family were the most noticeable visitors. There was still a day remaining before the day of the wedding, Aerion had arrived just in time.

"Looks like my wedding is quite the event."