บท 22: Chapter 22

Divine Phoenix City.

Divine Phoenix City. The capital of the strongest empire, its size was extremely massive and hard to estimate as the city kept expanding every year beyond the horizon. Gold, red, and many other colors shone under the sun's strong glare.

The temperature within the confines of the city grounds was so high that those who visited it for the first time almost fainted on their first day, all due to the high concentration of fire profound practitioners, and more importantly, the existence of the divine phoenix sect.

In the sky, profound arks arrived and departed without stopping, the sound they made breaking the sound barrier reached the city from kilometers away.

Even though they weren't considered one of the four sacred grounds, the Divine Phoenix empire's power couldn't be underestimated, when they inherited the flames of the phoenix.

People from all walks of life mixed together, visitors from faraway lands, sect disciples, it wouldn't be an understatement to call Divine Phoenix City the biggest on the planet.

'' Hey, is there any news about the seven-nation-ranking-tournament champion? '' a young man walking together with a bunch of similar-aged youths asked

'' So far, there's no news about him, he's most likely dead. the profound ark won't appear for the next three hundred years… who can survive alone inside? ''

'' Did the elders send anyone to investigate where he came from? That guy appeared out of nowhere, no wonder everyone was shocked when our sect lost in the final match. '' the young man wondered out loud.

'' Ah about that… my father forbids me from asking about that place, he threatened to ground me if I had the slightest intention to go there… ''

'' Why is that? ''

The other youth looked around then lowered his voice '' It's where the Overlord comes from, the one who destroyed Sun Moon Divine Hall. no one dares to test their luck no matter the chance. ''

'' Damn it! Where did this guys come from? ''

'' You better watch your mouth, unless you want something unexpected to happen to you. '' warned the oldest of the group.

" Alright, Alright let's go to the black moon merchant guild… ''

Behind the group of youths, a peculiar scene was happening. In the middle of the street walked a group of three, in the lead was a tall young man, and beside him were two girls, their faces the reflection of the moon, their graceful air made everyone walking the street stop in their tracks and look at them, but the moment they decided to approach them and try their luck they would faint immediately.

'' Hey look another fool fell bewitched!!" the people laughed at the fools dropping like sacks of potatoes.

'' Tsk. '' Radahn clicked his teeth in annoyance. ' Oh how I wish, I could end them all. '

Beside him, the girl with the silver hair pulled his hand and laughed a little '' Yuanba, don't mind them. ''

He nodded reluctantly, seeing such a scene he now understood why Frozen Cloud Asgard was secluded from everyone else.

'' T'iam don't worry about him, he has been like this since we were young. But he seems to have become even more overprotective, I wonder why? '' Qingyue smiled at her brother and the girl beside him. Ever since the girl woke she was always sticking next to her brother, the signs were already there and she couldn't help but speculate how things would develop between them like how a proper older sister would do.

T'iam didn't understand the second part of her question but nodded nonetheless.

Radahn tightened his hold over her hand and continued walking. The girl's habit of holding his hand most of the time became the norm for him and he found himself doing it most of the time unconsciously

'' Let's go, we need to buy some crafting materials. ''

Qingyue looked puzzled at her brother '' I had never seen you make something before. What are you going to make brother? ''

On the side, T'iam shifted uneasily, she tried her best to look normal but it couldn't escape the eyes of Radahn as he replied

'' Crafting weapons and armor isn't my specialty, what I'm trying to make is something different… it's a measure of protection we'll leave here before our departure… ''

At the mention of their departure, Qingyue turned to her brother and said softly

'' We came a long way Yuanba, didn't we? ''

'' Yes we did, and more importantly, you surpassed your limits countless times… I'm sure once you take a flight up there, no one will be able to stop you. '' Radahn replied.

'' All thanks to you brother… Our true destination is in sight, I hope that it'll be a smooth journey… ''

T'iam listened quietly to the pair of sibling's conversation, deep within he heart, she wished they would be able to find their mother, her new life after all was closely tied to the siblings, precisely one of them, whom she found herself getting closer and closer to.

Their conversation continued without stopping, mainly between the two girls and occasionally Radahn would talk from time to time. Before long they stopped at a grandiose tens of meters tall gate, with a plaque that read in a beautiful calligraphy.

' Black Moon Merchant Guild. '

'' We have arrived '' Radhan announced then walked through the gate into a vast plaza behind it, the guild's buildings extended for tens of kilometers. He always felt baffled by the sheer size of the cities in this world but he understood that when most of the people can cultivate and you have a population in the hundreds of billions, things like this aren't that strange.

The main building was made with pure jade, it rose to eight floors with hundreds of meters of height, then finished at the top with a giant crescent moon, that could be seen from afar, cementing the Black Moon Merchant Guild status within the imperial city.

In front of the main building, a crystal stage sat on the end of the plaza, it was the famous profound formation that Black Moon used to give different treatment to different guests, filtering the genius from the ordinary, and the ones who were truly worth their time.

The group of three watched as the youths tried their luck, they hit the profound formation with all of their might and waited for the colors to change and rise from, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, then violet.

Radahn stood behind in line, waiting for his turn. The youth in the front delivered a flaming punch to the profound formation which managed to light up the red, orange, and yellow lights.

'' Damn, it!! '' He cursed loudly then turned to the supervisor from the guild.

'' Can you give me another try? I promise that I'll light up the blue lights... Please do me this favor! ''

The supervisor looked at the boy with a bored expression, he had seen this scene so many times that he didn't even deign to open his mouth. He waved his hand, sending a strong gale that carried the boy to the side behind the lines.

'' Next! '' His lifeless monotone voice rang out.

He continued eliminating the unqualified crowd and a few of them managed to enter the first floor. ' I definitely shouldn't accept this job again, what a waste of time! ' lost in his thought he eliminated another one.

'' Next ''

His disengaged eyes fell on the group of three as they made their way in front of the formation. ' Oh boy aren't these girls a treat for the eyes. '

His eyes shifted to the young man leading them and ordered with a bit of annoyance in his voice '' Hit it with all you have! ''

Radahn stared at him with his deep calm eyes, which sent shivers down down his spine.

' That gaze… he must be a distinguished guest ' The supervisor immediately straightened up, his instincts warned him to behave so he showed him exactly where to hit the formation.

'' Hit the formation surface in the middle, for the first-floor entry qualification you must light up the blue glow. As for the higher floors, you can try your best, it depends on your results. ''

Radahn nodded and then looked at the glowing formation, he didn't move or approach it he merely lifted his hand.

The supervisor watched the strange action of the Young man and just as he was about to tell him to approach the formation, He watched him raise his hand then flick his finger.

BOOM!!

The air in front of the formation exploded, the supervisor's ears hurt from the intensity of the sound, he was hardly able to stabilize himself when he saw the guild building shake a little and the sparse clouds in the sky disperse immediately.

The formation made a strong humming sound as the colors changed and then started to malfunction, but in the end, it settled on the violet color.

'' Did you see that? ''

'' Are you stupid? You think I'm blind! ''

'' He's blatantly showing off, but damn it that was ridiculous!"

'' Hey! Do it again! ''

'' who's he? ''

The crowd from behind stood speechless conversing among themselves, today scene wasn't something you can see every day.

Radahn looked at the supervisor then asked '' is this enough? To meet one of your higher-ranking merchants? ''

The supervisor gulped and nodded '' U-uh yes, most definitely, in fact right now, there should be someone coming to receive you. ''

And he was right for after he finished his words the transportation formation flashed, showing the figure of an old man wearing purple, he had a calm disposition and seemed to be looking for the source of the commotion when he saw the young man, he immediately froze.

—-

Zi Ji as usual resided on the seventh floor of the building, he normally wouldn't entertain anyone, besides those with great talent who managed to light the purple light, his identity was special, the guild master of Black Moon Merchant Guild, and another one that most people don't know about, which is the husband of the sovereign of Supreme Ocean Palace, one of the now three sacred grounds.

He had been sipping tea leisurely inside his garden when all of a sudden, the guild building shook for a short second, then the profound formation on the table notified him that someone had lit up the highest light. He looked pensively at it and thought ' What's happening? Did the building shake because of this? I must go and find out. ' He normally wouldn't go out, instead, he would wait for the customers to come up to him, but this time something strange is happening.

He got up and stepped on a profound formation inscribed on the floor, then disappeared with a flash of light. In the next second, he appeared on the plaza beside the crystal stand, he looked around for the source of the commotion that was happening, then his eyes fell on one young man in front of the formation, the man in question was looking at him too, which made Zi Ji heart start beating faster, for he knew who was standing in front of him, the picture of the youth circulated among the highest ranking people on the continent and they made sure to remember that face well.

Zi Ji under everyone's eyes advanced toward the youth, when he was three meters away he stopped and bowed deeply '' Zi Ji Guild Master of Black Moon Merchant Guild, greets you senior. ''

'' Ah, what senior? '' the supervisor looked dumbfounded at the guild master, for he knew that no one on the continent could make someone like him bow.

'' How many times do I have to tell people that I'm not their senior? '' Radahn felt exhausted having to correct these old people every time, but in a sense, they were not wrong for he lived a long time more than any living monarch of today.

Zi Ji straightened his back from his bow and smiled in apology '' I'm sorry, how about I refer to you as Young Lord, would that suit you? ''

'' Yes, that suits him perfectly. '' Qingyue smirked from the side and interjected.

Zi Ji looked at the beautiful young ladies accompanying the young man, their beauty was to the extreme but he was an old dog who knew what to do in situations like this '' Beautiful ladies, I wonder who might you two be? ''

Qingyue smiled as she answered to the old man '' My name is Xia Qingyue, his older sister, and next to me is T'iam. ''

'' It's a pleasure meeting you, please come inside so that I can receive you properly ''

'' After you. '' Radahn nodded to the old man, and followed him with his sister and T'iam, after steeping on the profound formation, they disappeared, leaving the crowd bewildered and puzzled at what just happened, while some of the knowledgeable crowd understood that a major character of an unprecedented scale appeared.

Inside the garden, where the greenery was abundant, different types of trees from all over the world were carefully arranged into a beautiful landscape, in the middle of the garden was a stone table with chairs, at the moment the group and Zi Ji were sitting there, beside them stood four beautiful women, serving them tea, and waiting for their orders.

Zi Ji looked at the person in front of him and sighed, it was hard to believe that the mighties person on the continent was sitting in front of him, and moreover, this person was extremely young, he wondered if he started practicing when he was inside his mother's womb.

'' I must admit that I'm quite surprised by your visit today. I never imagined that someone like you would come to our humble guild. ''

'' You're a merchant guild aren't you, what's strange about someone coming to buy from you '' Radahn sipped his tea and replied calmly.

'' No, certainly there isn't any problem at all, we'll serve you with the best of what we can offer '' Zi Ji immediately rectified his mistake, in the end, he was a merchant.

'' When I was at the Sun Moon Divine Hall, a piece of interesting information came into my hands that says you're the husband of the Sovereign of the Supreme Ocean Palace.. '' Radahn looked at the old man and asked.

'' Yes, it's true, My Guild and the Supreme Ocean Palace share a deep relationship because of that '' Zi Ji nodded, although this information wasn't widespread among the general population, those from the sacred ground knew about it.

Radahn remained silent for a few seconds then began once again '' I want you to pass a message from me to the remaining Sacred grounds… Tell them that I made it forbidden for any one of them to make trouble for Frozen Cloud Asgard or the town where I used to live, and knew that even if I'm not on this planet, I can still kill you all, what you have seen that day was only the tip of the iceberg… make sure my message reach them… lest they die as fools who didn't heed my warning… ''

Zi Ji found it uncomfortable listening to him nonchalantly threatening to destroy the sacred grounds, this was a conversation he never imagined he would have with someone, but, here he was, it's a reality right now, and he must take every precaution to not provoke the ire of the one in front of him.

'' I promise you that our sacred ground and my guild would never do that, instead, we'll further develop our relationship with Frozen Cloud Asgard and the Blue Wind Empire in general… as for other sacred ground, I'll relay your message to them. ''

'' Good, that'll save you a lot of trouble. '' Radahn admired the man's composure when facing someone more powerful than him, and continued.

'' Now, I came here to buy some crafting materials from you the higher quality the better, bring me what you have and I'll choose. ''

Zi Ji smiled widely when the subject turned back to business. He picked a sound transmission jade and sent a message '' Don't worry, I'm sure you'll find something that you'll like in our collection. Now why don't you try some tea and pastries, ladies go serve our guests ''

The four attending ladies nodded and began serving them cups of hot spiritual tea, Radahn enjoyed his tea quite, while T'iam was quite the opposite when she saw the women come closer to him, and purposely touch his arms with her body in an act of seduction, it made her feel some strange kind of emotion she didn't understand, she eyed the woman then released a bit of her presence that immediately distorted the air upon its release, making everyone beside Radahn and his sister go pale.

'' T'iam '' Radahn patted her head which made her calm down, she didn't say anything to him and drank her tea in silence.

Qingyue chuckled beside them for she understood what was happening, while Zi Ji looked as if his soul was about to come out of his body, ' What was that? I'm an eight-level Sovereign, yet I felt like a helpless chicken in front of her presence. '

He rigidly turned to the women and ordered '' That's enough, you can all leave now. ''

After a while, Zi Ji tried to lead the conversation, which made him relax a little when he found that they weren't hard to approach after all. It didn't take long for a few men to enter the hall and bring a long stone table inside the garden, they started putting different kinds of stones and ores on it, their different colors and auras made for a spectacular sight.

Zi Ji stood up and made his way to the table '' these are the best quality ores that we have. Let me give you an introduction about them ''

Radahn looked at the table then shook his head '' No, that's unnecessary, we'll take them all. ''

'' Are you sure about that? Some of them have unique properties and are hard to work with. ''

'' It doesn't matter, I'm not going to make a weapon with them anyway. ''

'' Okay then, congratulations on your purchase. ''

'' Thank you, and how much money I need to pay you? '' Radahn asked

'' Consider it as a gift from our Guild for a better future relationship '' Zi Ji replied while smiling enthusiastically.

Radahn looked at the man, he knew for certain that the man in front of him didn't have ill intentions, and his mind worked purely as a businessman, Radahn didn't lack money, the amount of Beast's profound cores he had would stagger anyone. But in the end, he fetched a profound core and threw it at him.

'' I can still pay you and deepen the relationship between your guild and Frozen Cloud Asgard. Consider this an investment, and if my sect ever needs your help, make sure to help them. ''

Zi Ji looked at the sovereign profound core in his hands, he knew for sure that the value of the items he sold couldn't match up even a tenth of the core. ' He wants me to help Frozen Cloud Asgard… the payment with Sovereign beast core is a subtle demonstration of his powers… '

'' I promise you that I'll do my best… '' He cupped his hands and bowed a little.

'' Good. '' Radahn smiled seeing his response, then he turned around and created a portal.

'' Let's go we are done here. '' Qingyue and T'iam smiled warmly to the old man then stepped after Radahn inside the portal.

—--------------------------------------------

CLANK, CLANK, CLANCK!

For the past month, a loud banging sound could be heard from Radahn quarter, everyone wondered for the reason, but Qingyue and T'iam assured them that he was just working on something.

The medium-sized crafting room was quite different on the inside from what it appeared to be from the outside, a space hundreds of meters long, with different kinds of rocks, ores, and materials thrown around, the ceiling reflected the movement of the stars, a complex space manipulation ability he deployed to freely work on the safe measure, he's going to leave on Blue Pole Star.

At the moment he floated cross-legged, with his eyes closed. In front of him floated several Sovereign Profound beast cores, beneath him, lay the bodies of two-two hundred meters tall Humanoid rock golem, he made a seal with his hand, and two profound formations appeared, then the cores floated to the formations and settled in their places, as it descended on the golems.

They shone with intense light then everything settled down, Radahn once more turned his hands down. an intense violet light seeped out of his hands it moved fast and entered the golems, lighting up the gravity and space runes he inscribed on them.

After an hour of concentration, Radahn finally ceased his action and descended to the ground.

'' Rise! '' His deep voice rang out within the vast space.

BOOM! BOOM!

The two golems' eyes shone with violet light as they stood up, crashing everything close to them into smithereens. Once they stood up they easily passed the height of two hundred meters.

He turned to the one on the left, who was carrying a gigantic stone saber, and ordered '' Shrink! ''

In a second the space around the golem distorted and he shrank to three meters in height.

He nodded in satisfaction when he saw this, what he was trying to replicate were the Golems from his world, but with a few differences, their mobility would be much higher as they could shrink, they have a big source of power from the sovereign beast cores, and the formation made sure that the consumed energy would be replenished, and finally they were inscribed with Space and gravity Laws, which meant that no one bellow the divine origin realm can keep up with the sheer power they have.

He waved his hands and collected them in his storage bag then went outside, when he made it out he found his father, Qingyue, T'iam, and Li Niu waiting for him inside the hall, for today was the promised day when they would depart.

'' Father '' He bowed and greeted his father first, then turned to his sister and T'iam.

'' Are you prepared to depart? ''

Qingyue's eyes turned red at the mention of their departure, although she desperately wanted to find her mother, the idea of leaving her father here alone made her tears run down uncontrollably.

'' Yes… we are ready… ''

Xia Hongyi hugged his daughter the same way he did when he sent her to Frozen Cloud Asgard.

'' It's alright Daughter, this is... What you have been working for since when you were young, you can't stop here because of an old man like me… ''

Radahn looked at his sister and sighed '' Qingyue, it's not like we are leaving Father here forever, once we gain a foothold up there we'll come back and see him, I can always send you back whenever you want, so now is not the time for this, get yourself together. ''

Qingyue under her brother's admonishment and her father's love wiped her tears, T'iam from the side had her eyes red too, so she stretched her head and patted Qingyue like how Radahn always did to her.

Qingyue looked at her strangely, then burst out laughing '' Now, I'm feeling a bit better… Yes, you're right, there's no hesitation at this point. ''

Xia Hingyi looked comforted seeing this scene '' Shall we go? Everyone is waiting for you outside. ''

Radahn assented and went outside with everyone, where they found the entirety of Frozen Cloud Asgard waiting for them on the main square.

Feng Qianhui and Gong Yuxian stood at the front, they looked a bit sad at the departure of the sibling but they knew that they had already grown past the limits of their world, and they needed a bigger stage to soar higher.

Once the group made it to the front, Feng Qianhui was the first to speak.

'' So the time has come… ''

'' Yes, it's the right time for us to go. '' Radahn replied

'' I'm sorry that our sect didn't give you much, and that you had to protect us when we should be the ones to protect you… we don't have much to offer, but Frozen Cloud Asgard will always be your home no matter how much time passes, you pair of siblings have been nothing but a blessing to our sect. ''

'' And I'm happy to call it my second home '' Radahn smiled warmly as he replied. Qingyue went forward and hugged the palace mistresses and the fairies, whom she had grown to love over the past years.

He turned to his father and bowed once again

'' Father, I'm leaving. ''

Xia Hingyi patted his son's shoulder and spoke with a clear proud voice

'' Go, son, no need to dally with an old man like me, protect everyone, and return safely that's all I wish for. ''

'' Nothing can harm them as long as I'm here… '' Radahn firmly replied.

After finishing their goodbyes Radahn with his sister and T'iam floated to the sky, after reaching a sufficient height he turned around and brought the two shrunk golems, he brought the first one and ordered

'' You'll be my father's shadow, you won't leave him alone no matter what, no harm should ever reach him ''

The golem nodded then disappeared inside the space layers, After that, he turned to the crowd below and spoke loudly

'' This is my parting gift for Frozen Cloud Asgard, it'll assure your safety in my absence '' and with that he threw the giant golem, toward the sect's gate, in mid-flight it began expanding and in moments it returned to its original height, the golems adjusted its position as it descended in front of the gate, facing an outward, toward any coming threat.

Frozen Cloud Asgard was shocked by the unexpected giant, but still, they shouted out loud in unison '' FAREWELL! ''

He turned his back and faced the invisible closed space tunnel, he chose this one to travel because he knew that in the past hundreds of years, someone had been coming and going through it, otherwise, he wouldn't be able to discover it easily.

He made a grasping motion with both hands and as if he were tearing a piece of fabric he tore the space apart, revealing a space tunnel that led to an unknown destination.

'' Let's go. '' a violet light emanated from him covering Qingyue, and T'iam as they plunged without hesitation inside the portal.

—---------------------

Within the tunnel, auroras of light shone from distant spatial storms,

They were so strong that they could tear most Monarchs into shreds within seconds, due to the distance traveled and the strong spatial laws of the primal chaos.

Radahn didn't have this problem, his body had already escaped the confines of mortality when he broke past the sixth level of the Great Way of the Buddha, when you add to it his Special physique and his arduous training, even he didn't know the limits of his body. To his side, T'iam didn't have much trouble resisting, but his sister wasn't the same so he had to protect her all the way.

'' How long will it take for us to arrive? '' Qingyue asked her brother.

'' I don't know exactly how long, but a few minutes I suppose… ''

Qingyue nodded and held T'iam's hand as they traveled at extreme speed

After a few minutes, a white portal appeared before them, Radahn was the first to reach it and tore it with his hands.

The trio passed through the gate and were dumbfounded when they appeared above a lake that emanated extreme frost-cold energy.

T'iam looked at the scenery and wondered out loud'' Didn't we just leave the Snowy Region of extreme ice ''

Radahn looked at the scenery and replied '' No we did lea-''

He stopped before uttering the last word as he sent a wave of energy, sending the girls way behind.

'' GET BACK! ''

At the same time he did this, various golden runes shone on his body and his height started increasing until he reached the two and a half meters mark.

Having lit the first flame, he punched with all of what he had, toward the frost slash that appeared out of nowhere. the moment his fist collided with it, space started to crack and swallowed the sword's energy inside.

Radahn's anger rose to a never-seen-before level, his violet eyes shone as he looked at the silver-haired woman in front of him.

'' Who are you? ''

Her chilling voice sounded as if it was the wind of hell itself.