Chapter 424: Phoenix City
Yun Che descended from Fengjue Peak, leaving the Phoenix Mountain Range. After thinking for a moment, he directly returned to Shenhuang City and then headed straight for Phoenix City.
Phoenix City was located southwest of Shenhuang City, belonging to Shenhuang City yet existing independently—a special city within a city. Like the Shenhuang Imperial Palace, Phoenix City was a core stronghold of the Fenghuang God Sect. The difference was that one was a power center, while the other was a political center, and both possessed an unparalleled air of intimidation.
Near Phoenix City, a heart-shaking sense of oppression met him, along with the distinctly scorching air. Above the towering city gate was a majestic, imposing giant phoenix. Yun Che stopped in his tracks and did not enter. Although as a participant he should have had an arranged place to stay within, his identity was special. If he stayed here, there would inevitably be many uncertainties. This time, he had come just to scope out the location. After confirming where Phoenix City was, he turned and left, quickly disguised himself, and checked into a remote, quiet inn.
Only three days remained until the start of the Seven Nations Ranking Battle.
Three days—enough time for him to refine the Tianxuan Qiankun Dan.
Entering the inn, he observed the surrounding environment, closed the door securely, and took out the Phoenix Sunflower, Demon Blood Burning Crystal, and other materials. Using the Heavenly Poison Pearl, he quickly purified and refined them. Soon, a fully crimson pill, as if just dipped in blood, appeared in Yun Che’s palm. As the pill formed, a violent aura was released, roughly pushing aside the surrounding air.
Picking up this freshly refined Tianxuan Qiankun Dan, Yun Che didn’t hesitate for a moment and tossed it directly into his mouth.
The Tianxuan Qiankun Dan dissolved upon entry, instantly transforming into a fiery stream like magma that surged into his profound veins and all the meridians in his body. Immediately, a stabbing, needle-like pain came from all over. Yun Che closed his eyes, his expression perfectly calm, as if he felt nothing. A pill capable of forcibly elevating profound strength in such a short time was bound to have extremely fierce medicinal properties. Swallowing such a pill often carried far greater risks than benefits. However, Yun Che, after all, possessed the blood of a phoenix and the marrow of a dragon, and was protected by the Great Dao Pagoda Art. Having once, at the Spirit Profound realm, consumed the flesh and blood of a royal dragon, now at the Earth Profound realm, taking the Tianxuan Qiankun Dan was even less of a concern.
Even so, beneath the fierce potency of the Tianxuan Qiankun Dan, Yun Che was far from comfortable. As the medicinal power gradually spread, the hot current pouring into his meridians and profound veins grew more violent and ferocious. Though his face remained calm, his forehead was already covered with a fine sheen of hot sweat…
………………………………
The time it took to refine the Tianxuan Qiankun Dan was about what Yun Che had anticipated. When he had completely refined it and opened his eyes, it was already the morning of the third day.
Yun Che stood up and stretched out his hands. Over these three days, his clothes had been soaked through with sweat time and again, giving off a pungent, sour odor. He opened his palm, and a vortex of profound energy appeared in his hand. As he closed his hand, the vortex dissipated directly, producing a crisp air-burst sound.
“The degree of improvement is about what I expected. I’m finally just one step away from the Heavenly Profound realm.” Yun Che clenched his fist and muttered to himself, “Mo Li, how long did it take me to refine it?”
“Three days.”
“Oh… What?! Three days?!”
Yun Che jolted and leaped to his feet. He quickly glanced out the window to gauge the time and then scrambled for the door: “Mo Li! Why didn’t you call me! Today is the day of the ranking battle, and it’s quite a distance from here to Phoenix City!”
“I am not obligated to remind you.”
Reaching the door, Yun Che stopped. He sniffed at his sleeve, then slammed the door shut again, muttering, “Forget it, I’ll take a bath first.”
Mo Li: “…”
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When Yun Che finally rushed to Phoenix City, it was almost nine in the morning, with less than two ke of an hour until the ranking battle began.
A dense crowd was gathered outside the gates of Phoenix City. These were people who either lacked entry qualifications or had failed to snatch admission tickets, lingering outside Phoenix City in frustration, hoping to get the first news of the battles. Yun Che quickly pushed through the crowd and dashed to the main gate of Phoenix City, only to be stopped by two Phoenix disciples.
“Show your entry qualification.” One of the Phoenix disciples blocking him said lazily. He had probably repeated the same words countless times today.
“I am a participant from the Cang Feng Kingdom.” Yun Che said succinctly, holding up his participant badge.
As soon as the red participant badge appeared, the gazes of the two Phoenix disciples sharpened. Seeing the words “Cang Feng” on it, they exchanged a look and wore the same odd expression. One of them called inside, “Senior Brother Zhanyun! A participant from Cang Feng has arrived!”
“What? Cang Feng!?”
Soon, a stocky young man walked out. He glanced at the participant badge in Yun Che’s hand, then looked him up and down, and said in a languid tone, “We all thought you Cang Feng people wouldn’t dare to come. Showing up at this hour—you sure don’t take this ranking battle seriously… Well, whatever, I’ll personally take you in. Where are the rest of you?”
“There are no others.” Yun Che shook his head. “It’s just me.”
“What? Just you?”
“That’s right. This time, Cang Feng has only one participant, no one else, and no escorts. Please take me in; the ranking battle is about to start.” Yun Che said calmly.
Feng Zhanyun gave Yun Che a thorough once-over, probed his profound strength, and curled his lip, too lazy to say anything more. “Fine, since you’re here, follow me.”
“Senior Brother Zhanyun, should we report to the Grand Elder?”
“No need.” Feng Zhanyun waved his hand. “The ranking battle is about to start; there’s no need to distract them over such a trivial matter. He’s just here to go through the motions anyway. Just arrange something simple.”
Phoenix City was the core territory of the Fenghuang God Sect, so outsiders were naturally not allowed to tread freely. The path to the central Phoenix Realm was a narrow, fixed passageway. On both sides of the passage came the aura of flame profound formations, clearly indicating that anyone who dared set foot outside the designated area would face an attack from the formations.
Entering the Phoenix Realm, even before approaching the ranking battle arena, an intensely lively and excited atmosphere washed over him. When he stepped into the arena, Yun Che was stunned.
Cang Wanhe had once told him that for Cang Feng profound practitioners, the Seven Nations Ranking Battle was a shameful topic they didn’t want to mention. But for the other six nations, it was the most important and grandest event in the profound world every twenty-five years. Every time the ranking battle came, from emperor to commoner, everyone paid full attention. They even started preparing five years in advance.
And now, Yun Che finally began to understand what the “Seven Nations Ranking Battle,” rarely mentioned in Cang Feng, really meant.
The sheer size of the entire arena far exceeded his expectations. The vast majority of the arena was, of course, taken up by the spectator stands. Looking out, there were endless crowds of people, boundless and infinite. The entire arena, from top to bottom, was packed with people—no fewer than several million. High above, countless people were flying back and forth, like a swarm of locusts.
Compared to the scale and atmosphere of the Cang Feng ranking battle… it simply didn’t even qualify for comparison.
The enormous seating area was divided into several sections, each filled to capacity with no empty seats, but they were clearly demarcated. At the front of the seating area, Yun Che saw the banners of five nations. The participants and escorts of those five nations sat in those seats. Behind them were basically their own nation’s supporters. Even before the battle began, their faces were flushed with excitement, eyes blazing, full of fervor and anticipation. Being able to enter the ranking battle venue to cheer for their own nation and witness the matches was, to them, an honor enough to boast about for a lifetime.
The main seats at the front of the arena naturally belonged to the Fenghuang God Sect. However, the foremost seats of the Fenghuang God Sect were empty; the sect’s bigwigs had not yet entered.
Yun Che’s gaze swept quickly, but he couldn’t find the Cang Feng seating area anywhere.
“Hey, what do you think? Impressed, aren’t you? Bet you’ve never seen such a grand scene since you were born, right?” Feng Zhanyun said, looking at him sideways.
“Why isn’t there a Cang Feng seating area?” Yun Che asked with a frown.
“Why would there be?” Feng Zhanyun curled his lip and shot back, “You Cang Feng profound practitioners come to this Seven Nations Ranking Battle just to fill the ‘seven nations’ quota, or… heh, to add a bit of comic relief. Actually, you would have had a seating area, since you’re technically an independent country after all. But until three days ago, we hadn’t heard a peep from Cang Feng. We thought you couldn’t even be bothered to ‘make up the numbers’ this time, so we didn’t prepare anything related to Cang Feng, including seats.”
Yun Che’s brow tightened, but he said nothing.
It wasn’t a matter of whether the seats were prepared or not. Even if Cang Feng had announced months in advance that they wouldn’t participate, there should still be a Cang Feng seating area here… because that was the most basic acknowledgment and respect for a real, existing nation.
But now, in this entire arena, all six nations were present, yet only Cang Feng was missing seats. This was already a blatant disregard for Cang Feng, possibly even a deliberate act of contempt and humiliation.
He believed that among the spectators, there must be many from Cang Feng. Every Cang Feng native who saw this scene would likely be furious enough to burst.
“Anyway, it’s a good thing we didn’t prepare anything. Your Cang Feng only sent a single brat like you. Tsk, if we had reserved a Cang Feng seating area, it would have been a total waste. As for you… well, since there’s no other empty seat, you can just stand here. When it’s your turn to enter, you can fly directly from here. Very convenient. Oh, right, I heard you’re only at the Earth Profound realm, so you can’t yet cross the void. Well, figure it out yourself. I, Feng Zhanyun, personally brought you here and gave you a spot to stand—that’s already more than enough face for you, enough to brag about for ten or eight years back home.”
The spot Feng Zhanyun referred to as “here” was the very edge of this massive arena, the most remote corner. Not only was the location terrible—if your eyesight was poor, you couldn’t even see the center of the arena—it didn’t even qualify as a seat! If one had to find an advantage to this spot, it would be that from here, you could overlook most of the arena.
…