239: Chapter 239 Xiaoxiao Becomes an Apprentice

The next morning, at the Imperial City Martial Arena.

The volcanic ash had been swept by the night wind all night. When the sky brightened, the cracks in the profound iron stones on the ground had already been refilled by the temple-guarding disciples, the black rock patches gleaming with a matte finish under the morning light. The Green-Shirt Sword Saint was still the first to arrive. Standing by the edge of the arena with his sword in his arms, a thin layer of dew clung to his green robe, showing no sign of how long he had been standing there.

Hun Feng walked over from the direction of the main hall, his footsteps exceptionally clear in the empty Martial Arena.

"Brother Hun," the Green-Shirt Sword Saint said without turning around.

"Brother Jian rose early indeed." Hun Feng walked to his side, and the two stood shoulder to shoulder at the edge of the Martial Arena. In the distance, the thick smoke from the volcanic crater slowly billowed in the morning light, dyeing half the sky a light gray.

"Those who practice the sword and do not rise before dawn are not worthy of holding a sword." The Green-Shirt Sword Saint turned around, looking at Hun Feng with a calm gaze. "Brother Hun invited me here alone, surely not just to reminisce."

Hun Feng chuckled. When speaking with someone so straightforward, beating around the bush would instead be disrespectful. He raised his hand in an inviting gesture, and the two walked slowly along the edge of the Martial Arena, their boot soles making dull, heavy thuds on the newly patched profound iron stones.

"There is indeed a favor I must ask," Hun Feng spoke. "It is regarding my worthless daughter."

"That girl, Mu Xiao?" The Green-Shirt Sword Saint paused.

"Indeed," Hun Feng nodded, his gaze falling on a distant stone pillar that had a corner sheared off by yesterday's sword qi. "Her talent is not bad, and she is clever, but her temperament is too wild, and she shows too much sharpness. The path of the sword most despises impetuousness. If her temperament is not polished early on, her future achievements will be limited. Though I am her father, I do not practice the sword path, and what I can teach her has reached its limit."

"I want her to study under your lineage, Brother Jian, and follow you to the Sword Domain to cultivate. Beat her when she deserves it, scold her when she deserves it; there is no need to hold back because she is my daughter. I only ask that you teach her without reservation and polish this piece of raw material well for me."

The Green-Shirt Sword Saint fell silent for two breaths. A rare trace of surprise flashed in his ancient, rippleless eyes. He had lived for tens of thousands of years, seen countless geniuses, and met countless parents. Those willing to push their own daughters away were few. Those who would push them to a sword cultivator like him, who was famous for his strictness, were even fewer.

"Can you bear to part with her, Brother Hun?"

"I cannot bear it," Hun Feng confessed. "But even if I cannot, I must. There are many things she must shoulder in the future, and I cannot protect her forever."

The Green-Shirt Sword Saint looked into his eyes. After a moment, a very faint smile appeared on his eternally stoic face, vanishing in an instant.

"Very well. I shall take this disciple."

Hun Feng clasped his hands again. This time he did not speak, only bowing his head slightly.

After a cup of tea's time, Hun Muxiao was called to the study. When she pushed the door open and entered, Hun Feng was sitting behind the desk, and Medusa stood by the window. The morning light streamed in obliquely from the window, cutting a clear boundary between light and shadow on the floor tiles, right at Xiao Xiao's feet.

The silence in the study made her instinctively slow her steps.

"Father, Mother." She stood still, her gaze scanning their faces. "What is it?"

"Stand straight," Hun Feng said.

Xiao Xiao stood straight, her spine unconsciously straightening a bit more.

"I called you here to tell you something." Hun Feng's tone was flat, as if speaking of the most ordinary arrangement. "I have already requested the Green-Shirt Sword Saint to take you as his disciple. Today, you will follow him to the Sword Domain to cultivate. The date of your return is undecided."

Xiao Xiao was stunned for a moment. She instinctively looked at her mother—Cai Lin stood by the window, her expression obscured against the light, only nodding slightly toward her.

"Today?" Xiao Xiao frowned. "So sudden? I haven't prepared anything—"

"The Sword Domain has everything," Hun Feng interrupted her, his voice not heavy but leaving no room for doubt. "Your blood abyss sword intent has plenty of fierceness but lacks stamina. You can only unleash thirty percent of the Tingxue Sword's power. Last time in the South Sea, when you sparred with me, your sword strike was half a breath slow—half a breath is enough for an enemy to kill you three times. You know this yourself."

Xiao Xiao's lips twitched, wanting to argue, but she swallowed her words. What her father said was the truth.

Hun Feng stood up from behind the desk, walked around it, and came before her. Up close, his tone actually softened.

"Your talent is excellent. Even in the entire Great Thousand World, you rank high. But talent can only take you to a certain height; beyond that, it depends on accumulation. What you lack right now is precisely this—to settle down and grind away your impetuousness. The Sword Domain is the sacred land of the world's sword cultivators, and the Green-Shirt Sword Saint is the strongest swordsman in this world. Training with him is ten times better than groping in the dark on your own. Do you understand what I mean?"

Xiao Xiao lowered her head. The study remained quiet for a long while. In the distance outside the window, a low rumble echoed from the volcano crater, causing the window frames to rattle gently.

"How many years?" she spoke, her voice somewhat muffled.

"What?"

"How many years will I go for?" She raised her head, her eyes slightly red, but she stubbornly refused to let her tears fall. "You said the return date is undecided, but there must be a rough estimate."

Looking at his daughter like this, Hun Feng's Adam's apple bobbed slightly. He raised his hand, his rough thumb lightly brushing the corner of her eye.

"Once you train to the Immortal Grade Heavenly Supreme, I will let you return."

"Immortal Grade?" Xiao Xiao's eyes widened, her tears instantly startled away. "I am only an Upper Earth Sovereign right now. In between, there is the Perfect Earth Supreme and the Spirit Grade Heavenly Sovereign—Father, aren't you just finding a roundabout way to exile me?"

"Are you afraid?"

"Who's afraid!" Xiao Xiao straightened her spine.

Hun Feng looked at her. Her stubborn mouth and soft heart were exactly like his. He said no more, flipping his right hand as a cluster of black flame rose from his palm.

The flame was only the size of a fist, yet it caused the temperature of the entire study to skyrocket in an instant. The spiritual energy in the air crackled faintly from the heat, and the papers on the desk curled slightly. The flame was of a pure inky black, and deep within the core of the fire, nine lines of different colors slowly swirled—this was the natal imprint after the fusion of nine Heavenly Flames. Even if it was just a sliver of sub-flame separated from it, the aura it exuded was enough to make a Spirit Grade Heavenly Sovereign's heart palpitate.

"This is a sub-flame of my Heaven-Slaying Flame." Hun Feng spread his palm, and the cluster of black flame slowly floated up, hovering three inches above his hand. "It is not a one-time life-saving talisman, nor is it an external power temporarily lent to you. This sliver of sub-flame contains the entire origin imprint of my Heaven-Slaying Flame, with the origin attributes of all nine Heavenly Flames within it—the burning power of the Burning Heaven Spirit Fire, the penetrating power of the Golden Emperor Sky Burning Flame, the freezing and corrosion of the Bone Chilling Flame... Swallow it and thoroughly refine and absorb it. From then on, your Dou Qi will carry the origin power of the Heaven-Slaying Flame. Unless the opponent's attainment in flame control exceeds mine, any flame will have to bow before you."

He paused, his tone becoming even more solemn. "Remember, it is for you to absorb, not to keep as a trump card. Once refined, this sliver of sub-flame will be yours, connected to your bloodline and coexisting with your spiritual energy. Using it to kill ordinary Spirit Grade Heavenly Sovereigns is more than enough—the Heaven-Slaying Flame restrains evil and demonic qi, and is even more effective against the Evil Race. But do not rely on it to provoke those of the Saint Grade. Do you understand?"

Xiao Xiao looked at the cluster of black flame, her breathing turning a bit lighter. She reached out her hand, pausing just as her fingertips were about to touch the flame, and looked up at her father. Hun Feng nodded slightly.

She cradled the black flame in her palm. The moment the flame touched her hand, an extremely domineering, scorching power surged into her body along her meridians. At that instant, she felt as if she were holding not a cluster of fire, but a burning star. The black flame tunneled through her palm into her dantian, settling right in the center of her Qi Sea, turning into a tiny black spark that hovered quietly like a sleeping sun.

"Refining it will take time," Hun Feng said. "Take your time on the road, and officially begin your secluded cultivation to refine it once you reach the Sword Domain. Your master practices the sword path and does not understand the Law of Flame, but the refining process of this sub-flame is not too complicated—you just have to endure that domineering force. You are my daughter, you can endure it."

Xiao Xiao clenched her fists, feeling the warm pulsation in her dantian. She did not speak, only nodding heavily.

Half an hour later, outside the Imperial City gates.

The Green-Shirt Sword Saint stood by the mountain path with his sword on his back, still wearing that washed-out green robe, the morning wind gently fluttering the hem of his robe. His luggage was extremely simple; apart from the bamboo-sheathed long sword at his waist, there was only a blue cloth bundle on his back. With his hemp shoes stepping on the volcanic gravel, he stood in the morning light like an ancient sword casually left there.

Xiao Xiao walked out of the city gates carrying her twin swords. Her luggage was a bit more than her master's—a storage ring containing a change of clothes, several bottles of medicinal pills, and a volume of poison scripture notes stuffed into her hands by Xiao Yi Xian before her departure. She walked to the side of the mountain path, and just as she was about to bow to the Green-Shirt Sword Saint, a flurry of light footsteps came from behind her.

Turning around, her six younger sisters had all come.

Hun Muying walked at the very front, her phoenix eyes still a bit red, clearly having just cried. She grabbed Xiao Xiao's sleeve in a tight grip. "Sister, remember to use the transmission stone once you reach the Sword Domain. At least once every three days, no, every two days—otherwise, our mothers will worry."

"The Sword Domain is in the east, and we are in the west, but the transmission stones can still connect." Hun Muling squeezed forward from behind, her peach blossom eyes shining as she stared at the twin swords at Xiao Xiao's waist. "Sister, when you return, you will definitely already be a Spirit Grade Heavenly Sovereign. When the time comes, I'll spar with you, and you're not allowed to go easy on me."

Hun Muqing stood to the side with a cold face, her expression a carbon copy of Cai Lin's. But when she drew near, she suddenly took a step forward and hugged Xiao Xiao tightly, whispering, "Sister, be careful in everything," before releasing her and stepping back so quickly that Xiao Xiao didn't even have time to react.

Hun Musheng and Hun Muxian stood on her left and right. Both were relatively quiet by nature and did not squeeze to the very front. Hun Musheng fished out a small jade bottle from her sleeve and stuffed it into Xiao Xiao's hand, whispering, "Poison powder, use it in times of danger. Anyone below the Spirit Grade will collapse upon contact. Sister, use it sparingly." Hun Muxian merely nodded from the side, her gaze lingering on Xiao Xiao's face for a moment, everything understood without words.

The youngest, Hun Mulan, was the last to step forward. She looked up at Xiao Xiao, and the tears she had held back for so long finally fell. She reached out to hug Xiao Xiao's waist tightly, her voice muffled against Xiao Xiao's clothes: "Big Sister, when are you coming back?"

Xiao Xiao squatted down, using her sleeve to wipe her little sister's tears. After wiping them, she gently pushed her into her second sister's arms, stood up, and looked at her six younger sisters one by one.

"Sister is going to learn skills. Once I have mastered them, I will return. You all behave at home and raise your cultivation, lest you get left too far behind by me."

Having said this, she turned around, strode before the Green-Shirt Sword Saint, and knelt on both knees, kowtowing three times cleanly and decisively. Even as the volcanic gravel dug into her knees, she did not even furrow her brows.

"Disciple Hun Muxiao pays respects to Master."

The Green-Shirt Sword Saint watched her finish the three kowtows, his gaze sweeping from her face to the twin swords at her waist, and then to the faintly visible black spark in her dantian—with his eyesight, he could naturally see what Hun Feng had left for his daughter. He did not ask further, only nodding slightly.

"Entering my Sword Domain makes you a disciple of the Sword Domain. There is no special treatment in the Sword Domain, and we will not make an exception just because you are Hun Feng's daughter. Practicing the sword is very bitter, and I am very strict. If you regret it now, there is still time."

"I do not regret it," Xiao Xiao raised her head, her voice clear and bright.

The Green-Shirt Sword Saint took a deep look at her and said no more. He raised his hand to tear open a space crack, and green sword qi surged from the rift, wrapping around their figures. The crack closed, and the mountain path returned to tranquility, leaving only the volcanic ash slowly drifting down in the morning light.

It grew quiet outside the Imperial City gates.

The six younger sisters stood at the city gates, with the youngest, Hun Mulan, still wiping her tears. Cai Lin walked down from the city tower, stroking her daughters' hair one by one, signaling the wet nurse to take them back. The girls walked away, looking back with every step, the youngest still turning her head even after walking far away.

Hun Feng stood on the city tower, his hands clasped behind his back as he gazed at the disappearing green sword qi, completely motionless.

Cai Lin walked up the city tower and stood behind him for a moment. Then, she raised her hand and slapped Hun Feng's back hard.

Slap!

This slap was solid. It was not a playful, coquettish tap, but a forceful one. Hun Feng was slapped half a step forward, a layer of volcanic ash shaken off his deep black robes.

"Cai Lin—"

"Bastard! You certainly are decisive. Sending Xiao Xiao away just like that, did you even discuss it with me?" Cai Lin's voice was extremely low, her purple eyes swirling with anger that had been suppressed for several days. "The Sword Domain is in the east, separated by more than half of the Great Thousand World. She is out there all by herself; who will care if she gets hurt? Who will care if she falls ill? With just one sentence, you send our daughter away. Hun Feng, you are truly something."

Hun Feng turned around to look at her. Cai Lin's eyes were not red, but the light in her purple snake pupils was much brighter than usual. She clenched her fists, her knuckles turning white.

"She is going to learn skills," Hun Feng said. "The Green-Shirt Sword Saint is the strongest swordsman I have ever seen. He will teach Xiao Xiao well."

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"I don't doubt his ability to teach her. I just—" Cai Lin's throat bobbed, and she turned her face away. "She has never left Imperial City since she was a child."

Hun Feng fell silent. He reached out to take her hand, only to be shaken off. He tried again, and this time, she did not pull away. He gazed into her eyes; beneath the surging anger in those purple snake pupils lay a deeper layer—something that would never be spoken aloud.

"I'm reluctant, too," Hun Feng said, his voice low. "More than anyone. But Cai Lin, you know her temperament better than I do. Xiao Xiao is like you, and like me—too stubborn, too strong-willed. With that temperament, if she stays in Imperial City where everyone accommodates her, she will never know how much potential remains to be forced out of her. Sword Domain is different; no one will look at her differently just because she is Hun Feng's daughter. She will stumble there, she will suffer, and she will feel aggrieved. But it is precisely these things that will forge her into a true sword."

"I understand the logic you speak of. But logic is one thing; she is my daughter. I'll just ask you one thing—" Cai Lin looked up and stared at him, enunciating every word, "If something happens to her, what then?"

"Nothing will happen. She carries my Heaven-Slaying Flame sub-fire; an average Spirit Grade Heavenly Sovereign cannot touch her. Green-Shirt Sword Saint may be strict, but he would never let his disciple suffer. Besides—"

"That's not what I meant." Cai Lin interrupted him. She didn't continue, but Hun Feng understood.

He reached out and pulled her into his arms. Cai Lin did not struggle, but she did not respond either. She simply rested her forehead against the hollow of his shoulder, her breathing slow and heavy. After a long while, she said in a muffled voice, soft yet every word clear: "Hun Feng, let me tell you. If anything goes wrong with Xiao Xiao in Sword Domain, I will never forgive you for as long as I live."

"I know, my wife!"

Hun Feng held her shoulders, his gaze passing over the top of her head toward the eastern skyline. The spiritual mist of Holy Spirit Mountain loomed faintly at the edge of the horizon, and Sword Domain was even further beyond that. Having cultivated the Law of Space himself, he knew better than anyone just how vast that distance was. His right hand unconsciously gripped the fabric on her shoulder, then slowly loosened, his fingers relaxing one by one, as if to convince himself—this was right; this release was the most important step in their daughter's life. Yet, even as his fingers relaxed, the suffocating tightness in his heart did not lessen in the slightest.

Silence reigned on the city tower for a long time. The morning breeze blew from the direction of the volcano, carrying a faint scent of sulfur. The disciples within the city had already begun their morning practice, and from afar came the rhythmic sounds of drills and the crisp clashing of weapons.

Cai Lin straightened up from his embrace and reached up to tuck back the strands of hair at her temples that had been disheveled by the wind. Her eyes remained dry, but the anger in those purple pupils had largely receded, replaced by something heavier and even more difficult to articulate. She adjusted her collar, didn't spare Hun Feng another glance, and turned to walk down the tower. Halfway down the stairs, she suddenly stopped.

"Have the kitchen make sea bass soup tonight."

Hun Feng paused, stunned.

"Xiao Xiao loves that." Cai Lin finished, her footsteps not faltering, and walked away without looking back.

Hun Feng stood alone on the tower, looking down at his open palm. A burn mark remained in the center of his palm from when he had separated the sub-fire earlier—a strand of the Heaven-Slaying Flame's source had been forcibly torn away, a loss that could not be recovered in a few days. Yet, as he looked at the burn, the corner of his mouth twitched slightly. He clenched his fist, hiding the burn mark within his grip.

In the afternoon, the Imperial City dungeon.

The dungeon was built within a layer of volcanic rock three hundred zhang beneath Imperial City, surrounded by sealing spirit arrays. Lava crystals embedded in the walls emitted a faint, dark red glow, and the air was damp and stifling, the stench of sulfur and rust mingling together, hanging heavily in the corridor. Hun Feng walked down the stone steps alone, his black robes almost blending into the rock walls in the dim light.

Xue Wei was held in a solitary cell at the deepest part of the dungeon.

She was not in shackles. The cell was not small; it contained a stone bed, a table, a chair, and even a bronze mirror—all at Hun Feng's instruction. Her spiritual power was sealed, but her limbs were free, though her range of movement was restricted to the cell. At this moment, she was sitting cross-legged on the stone bed, her back against the wall. Her long, blood-red hair draped over her shoulders, catching the dark red glow of the lava crystals on the walls, making her look like a mass of quietly burning dark fire. Hearing footsteps, she raised her head, her deep purple lips curling slightly.

"Oh? The Hall Master himself has come?"

Hun Feng walked to the cell door and waved for the guards to withdraw. When he pushed open the small window on the iron door, it emitted a dull sound of grinding metal that echoed several times through the narrow corridor before fading away.

"Have you made up your mind?" He leaned against the door frame, his tone as casual as an old friend stopping by for a visit.

"Made up my mind about what?" Xue Wei tilted her head, resting her cheek in one hand.

"Abandon the darkness and embrace the light. Join my Spirit Hall." Hun Feng counted off on his fingers. "You've been living here for over a month, provided with good food and drink—I've even rotated the fish several times. It's time to give me an answer."

Xue Wei sneered and hopped off the stone bed. She stepped barefoot across the stone floor to the iron door, looking up at him through the small window. Her blood-red hair slid from her shoulders, revealing the dark red sealing rune on her neck—a mark personally placed by Hun Feng to specifically suppress the spiritual power of the Evil Race. For over a month, she hadn't been able to mobilize even a shred of demonic energy.

"Hall Master," she drawled, her fingertips lightly tracing the edge of the small window. "That day, you killed seventeen people in one breath without even blinking. Out of eighteen, you chose to keep only me. Between the fine food and drink and your personal prison visits—you haven't actually taken a fancy to me, have you? You should've just said so; why go through all this trouble?"

She laughed at her own words, the sound bouncing around the narrow cell, crisp as shattered porcelain hitting the floor.

Hun Feng didn't laugh, but he wasn't angry either. He leaned against the door frame with his arms crossed, waiting until Xue Wei finished laughing before speaking in a leisurely tone: "Darling Weiwei, I think you've misunderstood something. I didn't kill you because you are still useful. You know quite a bit of intelligence regarding the Extraterritorial Evil Clan. But your value goes beyond just intelligence—your cultivation is sufficient, your mind is sharp, and you're easy on the eyes. It would be a waste to kill you."

"So, I'm giving you two choices." He held up two fingers. "First, continue being stubborn, and I'll outlast you. I have plenty of time. Second, join the Spirit Hall. I will give you a legitimate status, resources, and position. A Spirit Grade Heavenly Sovereign is no small matter; in my Spirit Hall, that's the level of a Branch Hall Master. Isn't that better than being a pawn for others in the Evil Race?"

Xue Wei blinked. Those deep purple pupils were exceptionally bright in the dim light, carrying a trace of something that was hard to tell whether it was curiosity or scrutiny.

"Hall Master, you make it sound so easy. You know as well as I do what kind of place the Extraterritorial Evil Clan is. If I betray them, I'll be hunted to the ends of the earth. Can you really protect me?"

"What do you think?" Hun Feng countered.

Xue Wei fell silent. This retort carried more weight than any guarantee. She had witnessed Hun Feng's methods in the South Sea with her own eyes—once the Heaven-Slaying Flame was unleashed, eighteen Spirit Grade Heavenly Sovereigns combined could not hold him off for even the time it takes for an incense stick to burn. Now that the Great Thousand Palace had granted him the seat of the Sixth Elder and the Spirit Hall was ranked as a super power, there were only a handful of factions in the entire Great Thousand World that dared to snatch someone from Hun Feng's grasp. And those few who dared would certainly never wage a direct war against the Spirit Hall for the sake of a mere defecting Spirit Grade Heavenly Sovereign.

But the silence lasted only a moment. She soon resumed her half-smiling expression.

"Hun Feng, the terms you've offered are indeed good. But you know as well as I do that I come from the Evil Race. You killed seventeen of my companions; if I turn around and defect to you, I'd be far too spineless. Besides—" She tilted her head, a hint of cunning flashing in her eyes, "How do you know I won't just pretend to join and then find an opportunity to stab you in the back?"

"You won't," Hun Feng said flatly.

"Why are you so certain?"

"Because you're not stupid." Hun Feng looked directly into her deep purple eyes. "If you stab me, you won't be able to escape. Do you think a Spirit Grade Heavenly Sovereign with sealed spiritual power can survive an escape from an Immortal Grade Heavenly Sovereign? You've survived until now precisely because you're smart. Smart people don't do stupid things. The reason I've spent so much time talking to you is also because you're smart. I don't lack fighters, but I do lack someone who knows the Extraterritorial Evil Clan inside and out—their defenses, strongholds, communication methods, and internal factions; these are things outsiders can't investigate. You give me the intelligence, and I give you protection and a new identity. It's a fair trade. If you have any other conditions, you can bring them up now."

Xue Wei watched him for a long, long time. The cell was so quiet that only the faint humming of the lava crystals on the walls remained. Then, she pursed her lips in a smile, shook her head, turned, and walked back to the stone bed, where she sat cross-legged once more, her back against the wall.

"Hun Feng, do you know? You're a very special person. You're clearly ruthless, yet your words and actions are impeccable. You came to interrogate me alone, without guards, without a sound-isolation array, and discussed terms with me so openly. I've never seen such boldness among the Evil Race. However—"

She raised a finger and touched it to her lips, a glint of cunning flashing in her eyes. "As for the intelligence, I need to think about it more. Betrayal is a serious matter; you have to give a person some time to prepare themselves mentally, don't you? I've received your sincerity; when I've considered it thoroughly, I'll naturally tell you. As for now—"

She shrugged. "There's no rush."

Hun Feng stared at her for a moment. Then, he let out a soft laugh.

"Fine. I'll wait." He straightened up and patted the iron door as if knocking on an old friend's door. "By the way, what would you like for dinner? The kitchen got some fresh supplies today; the volcanic trout is quite good. Steamed or braised?"

Xue Wei tilted her head to look at him, her eyes smiling. "The Hall Master is personally taking my order? Aren't you afraid others will say you spoil your captives too much?"

"You are no ordinary captive." Hun Feng walked up the stone steps without looking back, his voice drifting back from the dim corridor with a hint of lazy, half-amused tone. "You are going to be my sharpest blade in the future!"

The iron door closed, and the guards returned to their posts. The dungeon returned to a deathly silence.

Xue Wei sat alone on the stone bed, the smile on her lips gradually fading. She looked down at her hands—fair and slender, her fingernails still bearing the dark red polish applied a month ago. She clenched her fist, feeling no spiritual power whatsoever. Then, she leaned back against the wall, closed her eyes, and the corners of her mouth curled up slightly once more.

"This is interesting." She murmured to herself, her voice so soft that only she could hear.

That afternoon, the West Heaven Battle Emperor and Luo Shen Clan Patriarch Luo Tianshen also came to bid farewell.

Outside the main gate of Imperial City, the West Heaven Battle Emperor vaulted onto a four-winged war beast with a body of dark gold, his armor reflecting the blinding light of the setting sun. Sitting on the beast's back, he cupped his hands to Hun Feng, his voice booming so loudly it made the copper studs on the city gate vibrate: "Hall Master, come to the Small West Heaven World another day; I'll treat you to the best strong wine in the Battle Hall! My camp just acquired a jar of ten-thousand-year-old vintage; I'm saving it for you! Farewell!"

Luo Shen Clan Patriarch Luo Tianshen also cupped his hands in farewell. His mount was a pure white pegasus; it was not of a high grade, but its temperament was gentle, making it a good choice for long-distance travel. He pulled on the reins, and before departing, he turned back to solemnly cup his hands to Hun Feng: "Hall Master, I will begin arranging the matters of the Luoshen Clan as soon as I return. As for the western station, everything will be handled as you instructed." He then spurred his horse to follow.

The sound of hoofbeats faded into the distance, leaving a trail of dust that slowly dissipated on the main road outside Imperial City.

Hun Feng stood at the city gate, watching his two allies depart. The setting sun cast a long, slanted shadow of him, and his black robes fluttered slightly in the evening breeze. In the distance, the lava gushing from the volcano emitted a dark red glow in the twilight, resembling veins of slowly flowing blood.

When he turned to head back into the city, Cai Lin was standing just inside the gate, waiting for him.

"Have they both left?"

"They have."

"Let's go. The kitchen made sea bass soup." Cai Lin turned and walked ahead. After a few steps, she suddenly stopped without looking back. "I'll serve you a bowl, too."

Hun Feng caught up with her. The two walked side by side through the long street of Imperial City; the street lights were gradually flickering to life, and the battle flags of the Spirit Hall fluttered endlessly in the night breeze.