บท 13: XIII
Immediately, Xia Qingyue pulled out her Ice Phoenix Snowflower Ribbon. A genuine high-grade Sky Profound Realm weapon… and the only one in the Frozen Cloud Immortal Palace's possession. Clearly, they were going all-in for the top spot.
Meanwhile, Cang Yue drew her Earth Profound Realm sword and dashed forwards, taking the initiative. Once again, Xia Qingyue lifted her hand and unleashed the Frozen Cloud Art's terrifying sealing skill. However, Cang Yue was no Ling Yun…
"Seven Star Arranging Moon."
She muttered under her breath, slicing through Xia Qingyue's ice with ease and bridging the gap between them. Within a single moment, she was only a sword swing away.
CLANG.
As Cang Yue aimed to slash Xia Qingyue… her sword was briefly stopped by an ice wall.
Crack.
However… she quickly cut through it, advancing towards Xia Qingyue.
Crack.
Crack.
Crack.
The more ice Xia Qingyue called upon to defend her, the more Cang Yue cut through. She was constantly on the defensive… until, Cang Yue finally got the best of her, slashing through the girl's veil. She had intended to aim for the shoulder but, alas, missed.
Once that happened, Xia Qingyue took off her ruined veil and dropped it to the ground… revealing all of her beauty. Her eyes were indescribably beautiful, their pupils shining with endless magnificence. Her tender lips, which were a lovely and sweet pink, seemed so perfect that the Ancestral Goddess herself had to have drawn them up herself. Added to that, the perfect arcs of her waist, buttocks and chest were simply heavenly. She radiated an incomparably soul-shaking charm that, paired alongside her beauty, simply made all else pale in comparison.
…
Xia Qingyue's reveal led to all of the horny young masters internally screeching 'I want her, I need her'. Who could blame them? However, they were fools to believe that they could reach her.
[System: You good, ma boy?]
'I'm… good.' Rokas took a deep breath, trying to calm the desire in his heart. 'Now everything makes sense. If seventeen-year-old Xia Qingyue is like this… man, I'll need to cop that Frozen Heart Arts myself. Otherwise, someone like Qianye Ying'er would make me look like a stumbling fool.'
[System: It's good to know one's weakness and work on it, I suppose.]
…
"Forgive me, I did not intend to cut your veil." Cang Yue sighed. "I know how important hiding your appearance is as a disciple of the Frozen Cloud Immortal Palace…"
Xia Qingyue's eyes narrowed on Cang Yue. "It seems… that I have no choice."
"...?"
"Frozen… Cloud… Domain."
Within a split second, it seemed as if the entire world had switched over. The air in the three hundred metres that surrounded Xia Qingyue turned into a sheet of ice within a flash. Ice and frost filled the sky, raining down onto the stage. Even the air solidified into pure crystals… forming a sheet of pure white that only continued to grow.
"A domain? Impossible… that is a throne's power!"
Every spectator seemed to lose their shit… and rightfully so. Xia Qingyue's Nine Profound Exquisite Body was so hax it wasn't even funny. No matter her cultivation, she is able to cultivate any Profound Art to ANY level. Even the usually expressionless Ling Kun reacted with surprise!
Rokas suddenly sat up, focusing on the fight.
'Cang Yue… you got this.'
Although he thought that, he wasn't so sure anymore…
Meanwhile, Cang Yue's legs were almost frozen away but she jumped up into the air. Even up there, however, she was not safe. While she floated mid-air for a split second, Xia Qingyue caught her lacking and aimed a wave of ice directly towards her from underneath.
"Seven Star Arranging Moon."
Once again, Cang Yue unleashed her sword skill, cutting through all of the ice in her vicinity. From the moment she landed on the ground, she dashed toward Xia Qingyue. The Frozen Cloud Domain had greatly suppressed her speed, however, as the ice-cold air started to take effect. Given that, Xia Qingyue was able to dance around Cang Yue and avoid her while dishing out waves of ice to further wound the princess.
The gap of their profound strength had been completely bridged… if anything, Xia Qingyue was seemingly going to win due to her trump card!
They kept at it for minutes, although Xia Qingyue kept gaining a bigger edge with time. After a hundred exchanges, this much was becoming ever so clear…
"To think that the Frozen Cloud Immortal Palace has such a monster…"
Rokas heard someone sitting right next to him state.
'Shut your bitchass up.' Rokas frowned, closing his eyes as he sent a profound sound transmission to Cang Yue. "Don't be afraid to go all out… I'll bear all of the responsibilities."
Cang Yue suddenly stopped, glancing at Rokas for a moment. Then she closed her eyes for a second… and purple flames explosively ignited from her body, torching all of the ice around her.
"Burning Heaven Flame, Pyretic Hell."
Xia Qingyue's eyes widened. "That is…"
"The Burning Heaven Secret Arts!" Fen Moli exclaimed, leading to quite a few spectators glancing at Rokas.
"Seafaring… Flame Dragon!"
Before Xia QIngyue acted, Cang Yue sprang into action, lighting her entire sword on fire. With a twisted swing, she unleashed a solid thick dragon-shaped flame that flew towards Xia Qinguye. Given the domain's freezing effects… this flame had been half-burned out by the time it even reached Xia Qingyue. Using a wall of ice, she managed to escape the flames completely.
However, this distraction brought time for Cang Yue to flash closer to Xia Qingyue.
"Field… Burning… Slash!"
CRACK… BOOM!
Cang Yue completely shattered Xia Qingyue's defences… and then, just as she was within sword's reach, unleashed one last burst of fire.
"Blazing… Sun… Slash!"
BOOOM.
The Frozen Cloud Domain suddenly broke apart.
As the dust settled, Cang Yue stood over Xia Qingyue with her sword pointing to her neck. Wounded, burned and thoroughly exhausted… Xia Qingyue lowered her head and admitted defeat.
"I concede."
"... I… won." Cang Yue looked up and managed a sweet smile as her eyes met Rokas'. Then, the grip on her sword weakened… and she lost consciousness, falling to the ground ever so slowly.
Rokas was like a flash of scarlet lightning, blitzing everything as he caught Cang Yue before she collapsed. Lifting her up, he proceeded to princess carry her in between his arms.
"This Blue Wind Ranking Tournament's champion has been decided! Blue Wind Imperial Family's Blue Moon Princess, Cang Yue, is the victor!" Ling Wugou declared.
The impossible had happened! The Blue Wind Imperial Family not only cracked three hundred, not one hundred, not top ten… but number one!
"That's my Cang Yue…" Rokas kissed her on the forehead with a deep feeling of pride and love. Xia Qingyue raised herself, observing the couple for a moment. The Frozen Cloud Immortal Palace had placed all of their hopes on her victory… indeed, she had defeated all of the top-four sects' finest disciples who stood in her way, including the genius Ling Yun. However, in the end… she lost to the Blue Moon Princess.
Someone who had never even been expected to participate…
Why was that? Well, it was all because of the man carrying her.
"That Frozen Cloud Domain sure did pack a punch," Rokas remarked, turning away from her. "I started getting a little worried…"
"The tournament's winner has been decided. So about your proposition…" Xia Qingyue spoke with a still voice.
"Later."
Rokas ascended, floating in the direction of the Burning Heaven Clan's participants. His gaze met Fen Moli's as he looked down on the Great Elder.
"You don't mind Cang Yue using your Burning Heaven Secret Arts, do you?"
"..." Fen Moli froze up as drops of sweat fell from his forehead. Although Rokas wasn't naturally intimidating, the power behind his words was as oppressive as mountains. Fen Moli saw it once again… flashes of the slapping god. One by one, elders collapsing within a single shot…
The Burning Heaven Secret Arts were the core of the Burning Heaven Clan. Centuries of improvement had gone into it and someone outside of the Burning Heaven Clan would absolutely not be allowed to learn it… but 'Long Ke' was a whole different beast.
"No…" Fen Moli nervously laughed. "If anything, the Burning Heaven Clan is glad that it was our Burning Heaven Secret Arts that won this time's Blue Wind Ranking Tournament!"
Rokas' eyes narrowed, their golden light burning slightly brighter. "Won?"
"... Contributed to the victory." Fen Moli corrected his words, suddenly feeling all the more terrified.
"Don't get ahead of yourself."
Rokas disappeared in a trail of blue light, flying over to his courtyard. He walked to Cang Yue's room and opened the door using his profound energy, placing her on the bed shortly after. Seeing as she was still cold from the Frozen Cloud Domain, he used his Phoenix flames to balance out her temperature.
Then… he comfortably tucked her under the sheets.
'Today… you defeated Heaven's daughter.'
He contemplated returning to his own room to vibe… but, instead, he decided to sit down beside her on a chair and calmly meditate.
"That Xia Qingyue… how amusing." Jasmine suddenly woke, appearing to the side of the room. "Did you know? She was Yun Che's wife… the person that you first ate."
"What…? No way." Rokas acted surprised, although he wasn't the best actor. "She is way too good for him, though. I mean, she can use domains at the Earth Profound Realm… that's unheard of."
"... Hmm, I suppose I did not explain her special body to you. She has the Nine Profound Exquisite Body, a body that allowers her to cultivate any profound art to any level. This is partly due to the Inner World that it gives, which allows one to hold more power than their physical body can handle. Her Inner World, however… is vastly inferior to yours."
"Sadly, you don't have her comprehension abilities." Jasmine shrugged, looking down at him slightly. "Otherwise, you wouldn't be using the Star Mortal's Broken Shadow…"
"Shut up, I'll learn the damn Star God's Broken Shadow soon enough," Rokas replied, shaking his head. "It'll take a year at the most."
"... I'll give you some merit, your capabilities have been growing at a rapid rate. Perhaps, the Star God's Broken Shadow isn't beyond you anymore…"
"Maybe not." Rokas nodded.
"Regarding Xia Qingyue, one with her physique would only be born once within ten thousand years. Well, that would be true… if she did not have an even rare body constitution. She also happens to possess the Heart of Snow Glazed Glass, which gives a special type of mind. With it, she can sense danger, both good and evil… effectively seeing into the heart of all living things…"
'She's dropping the whole wiki on me…'
"Even in a million years, such a constitution might not appear. For a single person to be born with both… it is nothing short of a divine miracle."
"I see… I see." Rokas nodded several times, smiling slightly. "That means that I must attain her no matter what, right?"
"... Hmph!" Jasmine turned away, shaking her head. "Being the perverted fiend that you are… hearing something like that isn't surprising at all."
"I was only joking, you know. I like my women hot."
"..."
'But I do need that high confidant rank, at the very least… I'm really not trying to live my life on F- luck.'
~
One day later, Cang Yue woke to see Rokas sleeping against her bed. She smiled, standing up from her bed and kneeling beside him. Her fingers softly traced his medium-lengthed black hair…
"I would not have minded sharing the same bed…"
She spoke under her breath, watching him resting peacefully. Then, she stood up and observed that there was something new on her table. A decently decorated piece of paper with words (he tried) written in not-so-fancy handwriting.
"Once, a young man thought that he'd never know love,"
"Too timid to approach those he liked, his courage would fade,"
"Until… he met her, a charming princess of blue jade."
"Her beauty took his eyes,"
"Her elegance took his admiration,"
"Her sweet smile took his heart and soul."
"Thereafter, her goals became his own,"
"He gave her his all,"
"And so, her dreams turned true."
"Past the endless tribulations, in the blossoming of sweet love,"
"He finally found his courage,"
"To say the wonderful words that he could not before,"
"I love you."
"~To my dearest Blue Moon Princess, Cang Yue…"
Cang Yue held the paper close to her heart with a smile as she turned to Rokas. He had slowly opened his eyes, being alerted to her reading.
"I never thought you were a poet…"
"I… have written a few things in my time." Rokas stood up, scratching his hair as he glanced away slightly. "Well, what do you think? Is it any good? I… did try on the whole art part but my drawing is simply terrible. As you can see-"
"To me… it is the sweetest piece in the world."
Rokas' eyes widened slightly as he genuinely smiled. "Well… then. That's all that matters."
~
A few days later, the Heaven Basin Secret Realm was prepared for opening. The participants from all top ten sects alongside their elders gathered, feeling rather excited about the whole thing. The Heaven Basin Secret Realm contained an innumerable amount of resources and treasures… if anyone was lucky, they could find a heaven-defying treasure that could change the outlook of their sect for decades to come! Naturally, this was not an opportunity to be wasted. However, there was a downside… while there were treasures, there were just as many dangers!
Rokas had his eyes on two things; the Emperor Awakening Heart Lotus and Evil God's water seed. No matter what… he decided that he would attain these things! Otherwise, he'd have to wait three more years and, well, ain't nobody got time for that.
As Rokas and Cang Yue were taking turns feeding each other grapes, Ling Yun glanced at them and then at Xia Qingyue. This feeling in his heart… he couldn't let it go. He took a deep breath, mustering the courage to approach Xia Qingyue.
"Regarding the exploration of the Heaven Basin Secret Realm, Fairy Xia, would you accompany me? It would surely be an enlightening experience…-"
Xia Qingyue blankly looked at him for only a split moment before swiftly turning to Rokas. She elegantly walked towards him, completely blanking Ling Yun as if he never existed.
"This…" Ling Yun turned and watched in hopelessness as Xia Qingyue approached Rokas herself.
"Long Ke… I wish to ask for it again."
Cang Yue suddenly stopped, raising an eyebrow. "Ask for what again?"
[System: Dat large long and girthy dragon rod, duh.]
'... I am lost for words, System. Did my horniness reflect onto you?'
[System: Did it?]
"'Possibly the best cultivation spot in all of the world'." Xia Qingyue repeated Rokas' exact words. "So… would you share it with me?"
"Hmm…" Rokas stroked his chin in thought. Of course, since he speculated that she was the Hanged Man, getting a high confidant rank with her was a priority. "Well, if you explore the Heaven Basin Secret Realm with us, I would not mind sharing it after."
"Very well." Xia Qingyue nodded without a moment of hesitation. If anything, she wanted to know more about him and this was a prime opportunity. "I will join your company as you explore the Heaven Basin Secret Realm."
'Straight to the point, huh…'
"Alright, it's settled then."
…
"I thought that we'd explore it alone…" Cang Yue whispered to him, pouting slightly.
"We'll have plenty of time to spend alone after." Rokas smiled.
"... True enough." Cang Yue nodded, glancing at Xia Qingyue as she recalled her beauty once the veil fell. "But… why would you aid her, of all people?"
"She is extremely talented, to the point of being heaven-defying… as future prince-consort, I ought to maximise that talent for the Blue Wind Empire's sake, no?" Rokas tilted his head.
"Ah… I see." Cang Yue nodded, smiling slightly.
~
Not long after, the portal opened and fifty people entered. Immediately, Rokas and his group branched away from the rest. Due to Xia Qingyue being the most prized disciple, Murong Qianxue decided to personally look after her… effectively following both Rokas and Cang Yue.
'This day just keeps getting better.' Rokas took a few glances at Murong Qianxue. His true weakness, other than blondes and Ei herself, were plentiful assets.
As Rokas observed the Sky Poison Pearl begin to shine in a certain direction, he went towards it. After all, alongside its cleansing and storage abilities, the Sky Poison Pearl could also detect heavenly resources.
Eventually, he could see it from the distance… the Emperor Awakening Heart Lotus, right on a frozen lake.
'How would I do this without getting swallowed…'
Suddenly, the figure of a terrifying woman flashed before his eyes. He stood frozen still for several seconds, leading to Cang Yue shaking him.
'Fuck me… what will it be now?'
"Are you alright… what happened?"
"Nothing…" Rokas took a deep breath as he approached the Emperor Awakening Heart Lotus. "All of you, stay here. There is a Tyrant Profound Realm beast right under that frozen lake."
"A… Tyrant Profound Realm beast?!" Murong Qianxue exclaimed, frowning deeply. "Are you thick in the skull? Why would knowing that make you want to approach??"
"I can fight it," Rokas replied confidently. 'Or just get swallowed and snag the water seed. I sincerely hope it's the Yun Che route… otherwise…'
"... Be safe." Cang Yue spoke as Rokas ascended higher. She believed that he wouldn't be stupid enough to throw away his life like that and had strength hidden away.
Xia Qingyue observed, wondering whether he was stupid or just hiding his power all along. She, like Cang Yue, leaned towards the latter.
[System: Not only is it a Tyrant Profound Realm beast but it is also in the middle stages. If you were to fight it with the wish of winning… holding back any trump cards would be out of the question.]
'Alright… here we go.' Rokas nodded, taking note of the System's advice. 'Let's just hope I get swallowed instead. But… I doubt that things will go the way that I want them to.'
Rokas descended onto the Emperor Awakening Heart Lotus (in his berserk form, to defend himself), snagging it and immediately placing it into his Inner World.
Not even a split-second after.
BOOOOM.
The Tyrant Profound Realm beast rose from the frozen lake, crashing its mouth against Rokas and throwing him into the air.
WOOOSH.
Opening its mouth, the profound beast let out a colossal wave of ice.
'Damn it… no Yun Che easy-mode route for me…'
Instantly, Rokas went Berserk and opened his palm, forming Phoenix flames at a rapid pace.
'Thousand… Scorching… Phoenix… Suns!'
Combining the form of the Burning Heaven Secret Arts and the potency of his Phoenix flames, Rokas burned through most of the ice… sustaining some injuries. He spat out some blood from the 'bump' earlier.
'... There's no doubt, I'll have to…' Rokas then recalled his first encounter with Murong Qianxue. 'Fucking hell…'
In a life or death situation, life always came first. He decided to face the consequences after living past this event!
'Fuck it… let's run the 1s!'
"ROAAAAAAAAAAAAAR!"
Nine roars simultaneously echoed across the field of ice, shaking both heaven and earth.
The majestic berserk nine-headed flood dragon had emerged in all its glory, high in the skies… primed to face the impertinent profound beast that was daring enough to offend it!
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