Chapter 156 Into The Phoenix Chamber Part 36

The sound of swords clashing echoed in this small clearing. Even though Lixin and others were still far away, due to Lixin and others' experiences over the years, they immediately knew something was going on. 

Heng asked, "What do you think will is happening over there at the camp?" 

Jin said, "That's the sound of people fighting against each other." 

Lixin looked at the men and said, "Let's go back to the camp and see why those people are fighting." 

Shi asked, "My lord, what about the pure phoenix egg? We haven't found the pure phoenix eggs yet. Are we going to return empty-handed?" 

Lixin said, "It doesn't matter, we have to leave early tomorrow morning to avoid being killed by the poisonous mist of Scattered Forest." 

Shi sighed sadly and said, "This trip is really in vain." He followed Lixin closely. 

Lixin said, "Not entirely. Although we didn't get a pure phoenix egg, we did gain experience from it. We will wait until next year to look further." 

Shi said, "I've got all our searches tagged, so next year, it will be easier for us." 

Feng said, "Although you have zero fighting skills, you are a smart person." He chuckled.

Back at the camp, although the sound of the swords clashing was loud, it was still not as loud as Abrafo's angry heartbeats. He wanted to cut off Bong's hands with his sword. He was even more angry with himself because just the other night, he had shown some affection for Bong. 

"Do you four want to get me that phoenix egg, or do you really want me to squeeze his throat and kill him!" Bong shouted while squeezing U-ri's neck tightly. 

Abrafo glared at Bong madly, rushed forward and knocked Shik to the ground with a punch, and hit the round rock back towards the four Tanzanies. Michio dashed forward quickly, grabbed the round rock, and backed up toward the tunnel entrance, while the participants gathered across from the five Tanzanies and Bong. 

"Return that phoenix egg to me!" Shik stretched out his hand to Michio, who was standing behind Abrafo. 

Michio said, "I'm sorry I can't do that." 

Bong said, "Throw the phoenix egg over." 

Michio knew U-ri's life was in danger, but when he took one last look at the egg, he hesitated and thought fiercely if there was any possible way to protect U-ri while still bringing the egg back to the Lai family. 

Yul said, "Michio, give him that egg." 

Michio walked over to Bong and stood about ten feet away from him. Bong said, "Throw that egg over." He tightened his grip around U-ri's neck. "Now!" 

Michio sighed and threw the round rock to Bong. Bong stretched out his left hand, grabbed the round rock, and stuffed it into his robe. 

Hajime rushed to Michio and said, "The egg is in your hand, please let go of U-ri." 

Bong looked into the eyes of the participants, who were now looking at Bong with their undivided attention. "Stop them, and when Lixin comes, I will let him go," Bong said. 

Abrafo gritted his teeth and said, "That is not our deal." 

Bong rolled his eyes at Abrafo and said, "I made the call, not you." 

After being through life and death situation with Bong, U-ri knew in his heart that Bong was not a bad person. "Your Highness, I know you didn't mean to kidnap me. You just want the pure phoenix egg to give to Lord Lixin, right?" 

Bong didn't answer. 

U-ri said, "You just need to ask. If Lord Lixin wants, we are very willing to give it to him." 

Bong still didn't answer. 

U-ri looked at Abrafo and chuckled. He said with a smile, "It's a pity that our Abrafo doesn't have someone like you who is willing to do anything to help him succeed." 

Bong gritted his teeth. "Let me remind you that I still have my hand on your throat, so choose your words wisely," he said, tightened his grasp around U-ri's neck. 

Hai looked at Bong and said, "You told me before that you didn't want the title of Phoenix General. So, what made you change your mind?" He stepped forward with the other participants. 

Bong said, "Whether I want it or not, it's none of your business." 

Hai smiled at Bong and sprinted forward; sword aimed at Bong. Bong pulled U-ri in front of him and hid behind U-ri. He uses U-ri as his shield and hopes that the four Tanzanies will not let U-ri be harmed, so no matter who his enemy is, the four Tanzanies will fight with the enemy to protect U-ri. Bong's prediction was correct, and Michio swung his spear to counter Hais's sword. 

Some participants knew that among all the people here, the four Tanzanies standing in front of them were the most skilled, so many people on Lixin's side did not attack the four Tanzanies, but for the others, their greed won over their dignity, and they began to attack the four Tanzanies with Hai, Shik, and others. 

After arriving at the camp, Lixin saw what was happening and quickly ordered his men to protect Bong who was hiding behind the Tanzanies. 

When one of the participants attacked Bong from the right, Feng rushed forward, blocking the participant's sword, and kicking the participant away. 

Bong looked up and saw Lixin walking towards the fighting crowd. "Lixin!" Bong shouted happily when he saw Lixin walking towards them. 

As soon as the participants heard Lixin's name, they stopped fighting with the four Tanzanies and retreated one after another. 

"What's going on?" Lixin asked. 

Hai said, "Lord Lixin, it seems that that person has the pure phoenix egg." 

Lixin rolled his eyes at Hai and said, "So..." He turned to look at Hai. 

"So..." Hai said. 

Lixin said, "You can't get a pure phoenix egg yourself, so you want to take it from him?" 

Gang stood up and said, "Lord Lixin, have you forgotten that there are no rules here? Even if he has a pure phoenix egg, it does not mean that it is his. The only thing that belongs to him is when he arrives at Stone Valley, if he still has the pure phoenix egg, only then, the pure phoenix egg truly belongs to him." 

Seeing Lixin coming back, Bong quickly let go of U-ri. "Sorry, old man," he said. He walked quickly to Lixin, took out the pure phoenix egg, and handed it to Lixin, because he knew that the five Tanzanies cherished Lixin's friendship and would not try to take the pure phoenix egg back. "Here..." 

Lixin looked at the round rock, then at Bong, and refused to take the round stone from Bong's hand. 

Bong said, "Like I said before, when we were still in that cave. No one is more worthy of the title of Phoenix General than you, so it's not just me who wants you to be Minix's Phoenix General, many people here have the same desire as me." 

"Lord Lixin, this gentleman speaks what is in our hearts," one of the participants said. 

Shi said, "My lord, take it. Don't let the good intentions of the participants go to waste." 

Lixin knew that if he accepted Bong's phoenix egg, he would owe Bong a debt, so he hesitated to accept it, but if he did not accept it, Bong would not be able to survive the combos of the participants. 

In order not to owe Bong a debt or put Bong's life in danger, Lixin took the round rock and said, "I'll keep it for now, but wait until we arrive at Stone Valley." He turned around and looked towards all the participants standing around him. "Each of you will have a chance to fight for it in a fair fight." 

"Lord Lixin is always fair." 

"Let's stop arguing and leave here." 

Lixin walked up to Yul and asked, "Do you agree with this decision?" 

Yul knew that if he didn't agree, the fighting would begin again and it would be too late to leave Scattered Forest safely, as they would have to go around the dead. So, he nodded and agreed with Lixin's statement. 

Abrafo rolled his eyes at Lixin, grabbed U-ri's hand and said, "You go in first, then Michio." He looked at Bong angrily. "I'll leave after Yul." 

U-ri gently patted Abrafo on the shoulder and said, "Why are you so angry? I'm fine. His Highness will not harm me." 

Abrafo said madly, "Get in quickly." He pushed U-ri into the tunnel. 

After an hour of navigating the tunnel, the five Tanzanies arrived at the grotto and to their surprise, the two injured participants were still waiting for them. 

Yul asked, "Aren't you two leaving yet?" 

"We're still waiting for you," said an injured participant as he watched Lixin squeeze through the narrow opening. "Lord Lixin..." 

Yul said, "This small grotto cannot accommodate everyone." He walked to the edge of the grotto and studied the best way to climb down. At this time, Lixin handed two ropes to Yul. 

Lixin said, "It is definitely easier to go down with these ropes, but since there is nothing to fix these ropes, two people must hold the other end. In other words, the last two people must climb down this hillside on their own." 

Yul grabbed onto one rope and said, "I'll be one of the last two people to climb down." 

Lixin handed another rope to Heng. " Your climbing skills are better than others. You will be one of the last two people to climb down," Lixin said. 

Heng nodded. "I understand," he said, taking the rope from Lixin. 

Abrafo picked up the rope Yul was holding and tied it around Michio's waist. "You go down first," he said. 

Yul, Abrafo, and Hajime lowered Michio down, but the combined two ropes was not long enough to reach the ground. Michio was suspended ten feet above the ground. Michio quickly untied the rope around his waist and jumped to the ground. Abrafo pulled up the rope and lowered U-ri down. 

The six people continued to lower the people down the mountain one by one, and only Yul and Heng were left in the grotto. 

Yul asked, "Do you want to go down first or me?" 

Heng said, "Rock climbing is my hobby. If Sir Yul doesn't mind, I will take the lead." 

Yul said, "I don't mind." He looked down at the people sitting at the foot of the mountain, then looked up at Heng, and found that the trees in front of him began to shake, as if something or someone was rushing in the forest. As the chaotic sounds surged toward the foot of the mountain, he thought the only creatures that could make such sounds were dead men. "No..."