Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Nighttime.

They were out on a trip for the entire day. It was fun but a bit tiring. They brought back a lot of things.

Li Nianfan worked on the 'Bootlicker's Guide to the Immortal Realm'. Then, he added Xiao Chengfeng and the Carp Demon on the 'List of Bigshots'. He soon fell asleep.

The Fire Phoenix walked out of her room in the four-part architecture. She looked at the playful little carp swimming excitedly in the small pond. She instantly smirked.

She said quietly, “Little Dragon, stop pretending! Drop your disguise.”

The little carp instantly jumped. Then, it leaped out of the pond and transformed into a five-year-old child. It was a little girl in a white dress.

She looked nervous and pitiful.

She had a baby-ish voice, too. She nervously said, “You… You're a Phoenix?”

The Fire Phoenix said, “Don't be scared. The grudge between dragons and phoenixes was squashed a long time ago. We both vanished. There's no use for a fight.”

“Oh,” replied the little girl.

The Fire Phoenix asked, “Why are you here? You were almost captured by a cultivator if it wasn't for the expert.”

The little girl fearfully said, “I sneaked out of the Dragon Palace to play. Then, I saw a gold door. I think it's called the Dragon Door. I tried to get through it and I did, but I wasted a lot of power. I couldn't even stay in my form.”

The Fire Phoenix asked, “How are the Dragons?”

“It's just me, my father, and my Fifth Brother. Even my mother died giving birth to me,” said the little girl truthfully. She looked sad.

The Fire Phoenix sympathized with her. She said, “You're too naughty. You have to protect yourself better.”

“Sister Fire Phoenix, who's the man who saved me today? He's an ordinary man but he seems awesome. Also…”

The little girl looked at her pond. It was filled with Spiritual Water. It was too nice to swim in it, and the orange…delicious.

The Fire Phoenix shook her head. “Ordinary man? He's a G.o.dly character. He knows how to retrieve glorious things from faraway eras, but I'm afraid that was just a one-time thing.

The little girl was confused. “He can recreate things from the eldritch times? I heard from my father that it's only a myth and it's impossible.”

“Let's not talk about this.” The Fire Phoenix changed the subject. She said, “The Master said you're a Carp Demon, so you have to be a good Carp Demon from now on. Since I took on the responsibility to teach you, I have to be responsible! First of all, since you're staying here, I think you should help out with some ch.o.r.es like was.h.i.+ng the dishes, splitting the firewood, gardening in the backyard, or something.”

The little girl was suspicious. “Sister Fire Phoenix, I think you're causing trouble for me on purpose.”

“I can a.s.sure you, she isn't.” Xiao Bai walked over. “I call the shots. Apart from cooking, ch.o.r.es are your responsibility from now on!”

The little girl hesitated for a long while before saying, “Then, remember to bring me food…”

At the borders of the Southern land and Northern land.

It was still peaceful and quiet in the dark night.

All of a sudden, it was bright with fire.

Followed by murderous screams!

Menacing swords glinted in the dark night. It sent s.h.i.+vers down their spines.

Stab!

A tent fell apart from the stab. Then, blood was spilled everywhere.

Kill!

Suddenly, it got more intense. Heavy, chaotic footsteps could be heard along with sounds of weapons clas.h.i.+ng.

The strong wind blew, carrying the menacing aura everywhere.

Zhou Yunwu stood on a nearby hill. He looked at the war and clenched both his fists.

Rich stood next to him and said, “Don't worry, my King. We initiated a surprise attack this time. It must be as effective as expected.”

“We're betting everything on one strike. How am I not supposed to be nervous?” Zhou Yunwu took a deep breath. “If we can't win when the time and setting favor us, how can we continue with the war?”

Their opponents were ferocious. They were unstoppable and they had a strong will. It was no use to fight fire with fire so they initiated a sneak attack. Prideful soldiers were the first to fall. It was not smart to face them head-on and their opponents would not be ready for the sneak attack.

If they won, they could destroy the faith of their opponents, but if they lost, it would be hard to win this war. It was a crucial battle.

Both sides tried to kill each other on the battlefield.

One side held saber swords while the other held axes. The swords were more intimidating under the moonlight.

The sharpness of the swords was far better than the axes. The strikes were unstoppable—violent and murderous.

Rich was pumped. He exclaimed excitedly and respectfully, “Mr. Li's such a genius. He thought of such a brilliant technique to forge the swords. If we win, sixty percent of the credit goes to him!”

“The army advisor, Mr. Li's apprentice, was the one who came up with the sneak attack plan. So, if we win this one, ninety percent of the credit goes to Mr. Li!” corrected Zhou Yunwu. He then said, “Mr. Li's the Chosen One. He was born in excellence but he's far beyond that. It's my honor to be chosen by him.”

The battle was going well. It seemed like they were going to win. However, things changed when a buff dark figure joined in.

“Shameless rats! How dare you attack sneakily?!”

The dark figure held a giant ax. He yelled and his soldiers behind him sprinted forth like tigers running into a flock of sheep. Several soldiers died under his ax in an instant.

Zhou Yunwu and Rich looked troubled. They clenched their jaws. “Tu Jiu!”

“Die!”

Tu Jiu was as strong as a bull. He swung his ax.

Bam!

The saber sword blocked the ax but could not withstand the force of the attack. The soldier thought his right wrist was about to snap out of place. He was thrown aside.

“Who can stop me?!” Tu Jiu yelled and looked up. His gaze was as sharp as lightning. He targeted Zhou Yunwu.

“Human Sovereign!”

He smirked menacingly and ran toward Zhou Yunwu. He was unstoppable!

Rich hurriedly yelled, “Protect the King!”

The soldiers around Zhou Yunwu joined the battle and ran toward Tu Jiu.

Clang!

Hundreds of soldiers tried to stop him. Their swords collided loudly with the ax. Zhou Yunwu felt that. He looked terrible.

Tu Jiu was alone. He was being surrounded but he did not seem to be at a disadvantage. He was covered with sword cuts but he was still energetic. More soldiers died from his ax.

The key part was that he used a lot of force, so his energy should not have been able to keep up with that. However, his energy seemed to be endless. He grew mightier as he fought, killing anything in his way.

He…was getting closer.

Closer.

Closer!

His path was filled with dead bodies and a long trail of blood.

The soldiers were thinning out. However, they did not retreat. “Protect the King, kill!”

Zhou Yunwu teared up. He stared at Tu Jiu with red eyes. The veins in his arms were popping up because he clenched his fists too hard.

“King, that ax is cursed. It must be the doings of the demons!” Rich had teary red eyes, too. He pulled out his sword and slowly stepped forward. He said, “King, you can't stay here. Go!”

Zhou Yunwu stood still. He did not want to leave. He pulled out his weapon instead.

“King!” yelled Rich.

“Haha, Human Sovereign. You dare to stay? Whoever runs is a coward!” laughed Tu Jiu maniacally. He murdered more soldiers with gusto.

He was tall and buff. In an instant, he was merely a few miles away from them.

“Stop right now!”

Rich ran with his sword in his hands. He ran towards Tu Jiu, about to risk it all.

“Puny insect, you dare fight a stone as an eggsh.e.l.l?!” Tu Jiu sneered and raised his ax. He attacked with the ax!

The saber sword collided with the giant ax. The surrounding soldiers watched horrifically with wide eyes. They rushed to help.

Clang!

The sound was deafeningly loud. Then, everyone's jaws fell to the floor as they watched the ax snap. Half of the ax flew across the sky.

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