Chapter 168
Thunder Dragon Body and the Fifth Phoenix
With Lan Xun and the other two in front of him, Nian Bing leaned back against the courtyard wall. He then surrept.i.tiously opened his eyes just in time to see a silver light simultaneously emerge from both Yu Ru Yan and Lan Xun. With the addition of the two Phoenix Clan elders, this was obviously a battle between four martial saints! Nian Bing groaned. Why did he always meet strong people like this? His heart swelled with desire for strength.
Four swords met one another, but none of them contained any flas.h.i.+ness. When they met, qi clashed in the sky above them. The superiority of each of their qi's strength was instantly decided by this clash. Lan Yu was pushed back by Elder Feng Xu a single step, while Elder Feng Kong was jolted backwards by Yu Ru Yan two steps. The strongest of the four had actually turned out to be the only woman among them.
Silver light flashed once more as Feng Lei moved. Both Feng Nu and the green haired Feng Xiang pounced forwards at the same time. The moment that Feng Nu's Heavenly Flame Sword was about to reach Lan Yu, it suddenly glowed with a silver l.u.s.ter and fell to the side. Feng Xiang wasn't in any easier of a situation when this happened, as she was facing the strongest of them, Yu Ru Yan.
Yu Ru Yan was currently overflowing with killing intent, and her movements didn't contain any mercy. She didn't even spare Feng Xiang a glance when she lifted up her left hand to block her attack. Silver qi condensed into the shape of a sword in her hand and then clashed with Feng Xiang's sword. The sound of metal striking metal rang out when the two swords connected. Feng Xiang was sent flying from the strike, and spat out a mouthful of blood midair. If it hadn't been for Elder Feng Kong's timely approach, which had split Yu Ru Yan's attention, it was highly likely that she would've been seriously injured.
Both Lan Yu and Yu Ru Yan hadn't expected Feng Nu to have so much strength. Even though Lan Yu sent her reeling, he also had to face Elder Feng Xu's attack. Elder Feng Xu issued the cry of a phoenix as he swung his red sword towards Lan Yu right before Feng Nu was sent reeling backwards. The sound of clas.h.i.+ng qi, metal, and phoenix cries instantly resounded. Afterwards, Lan Yu groaned as he was forced back several steps. The clothing around his chest had been torn, and several red lines were now visible across his chest. His face had also become much paler.
Feng Xu was about to follow up on his previous attack when his vision was suddenly filled with a silver colored expanse. In an impressive display of power, Yu Ru Yan formed a ring of qi with her soft sword and entrapped Feng Xu and Feng Kong within it. The moment they were entrapped, the sounds of attacks colliding with one another continuously rang out. Yu Ru Yan didn't back, despite facing two elders at the same time.
Her strength had not only far surpa.s.sed the two elders' expectations, but it had even caused Nian Bing's jaw to drop in shock. He'd never expected the auntie he'd called mother would have this much power. Yu Ru Yan's couldn't simply be described as strong anymore, as she was able to withstand the onslaught of two martial saints. One's martial rank obviously wasn't everything, as there are even differences in strength within the same rank.
Suddenly, a bellow as loud as a thunderclap resounded and drowned every other noise. Lan Yu, who'd received a wound, suddenly transformed following the bellow. His warrior clothing grew tighter and tighter, until it suddenly ripped apart, which exposed his bulging muscles. The marks he'd received on his chest were still visible, but his body now emanated an eerie blue l.u.s.ter. His wounds began to knit back together as the rest of his body continued to swell. The definition of his muscles now resembled granite, while his eyes had turned completely blue, and his short hair had begun to stand straight up on his head. He'd swelled significantly in size, so much so that he was much taller than before he'd transformed. His handsome face was now filled with killing intent, and the scent of iron and blood seemed to swirl around his body.
"It's the thunder dragon body," Lan Xun exhaled when he saw the transformation.
Nian Bing stood up and quietly asked, "What's the thunder dragon body?"
Lan Xun looked at Nian Bing, who appeared to have recovered, in surprise. He then explained, "Among the greater dragons of yore, there was never a thunder-type dragon. As such, the Lord Duke's thunder dragon body is a type of berserker physique. He can stimulate, and in turn transform, his body, qi, and blood vessels to increase his defensive power and recovery ability several folds. At the same time, his attacks become more wild.
"He'll become weak for a while once he's used it, but it's still the strongest physique that any human warrior possesses. It's called the 'thunder dragon body' because when one's defensive ability is defensive power is increased, their muscles have the same effect as a dragon's scales. Furthermore, the Lord Duke's qi type is the rare thunder attribute, which is also where his physique gets its name from. The Lord Duke's berserker physique's largest advantage lies in that he remains conscious. Normally, berserker's can only rely on their subconsciousness once they've entered the berserk state.
As Lan Xun was describing what was happening to Nian Bing, Lan Yu made his move. His qi, although still the holy qi that represented a martial saint, had turned, but its strength had become several times stronger. He'd discarded his soft sword and had opted to use his fists as weapons. Every punch he sent out carried the force of a sky-rending thunderclap. He only needed two punches to force both Feng Xu and Feng Kong back.
Feng Xu coldly replied, "It seems that your thunder dragon body has entered the complete state. No wonder you have such fame in the Profound Orchid Empire. However, the true battle begins now." Feng Xu then let out a resonant phoenix cry, which was then closely echoed by Feng Kong, Feng Nu, and Feng Xiang. Their mellow pitches then intertwined together in the air. The first one to transform was Feng Xiang, who raised her arms up and made movements like she was flapping her wings. Re qi swelled around her and began to set her alight. As this happened, the scorching air fissured the ground beneath her. Even her sword turned a golden-red color. The expression in her burning red eyes was indiscernible as she flashed to Lan Yu and Yu Ru Yan's side.
Yu Ru Yan's eyes held a trace of surprise when she the transformation. "You don't look like you're past your twenties, yet you've already made it to the first transformation, 'phoenix flames'. You're quite a promising young lady. It's just a pity that you're my enemy. I may have made use of the phoenix flames, but I was a bit more leisurely than you. You must be the hope of this generation in the Phoenix Clan."
Feng Xu laughed coldly when she heard this. "Little Yan, that's where you're wrong. Feng Xiang is just the protector of the Phoenix Clan's hope. The true hope of the Phoenix Clan is Feng Nu." Her already impressive red wings were immediately followed by Feng Nu, Feng Xu, and Feng Kong's eyes all simultaneously turning golden. Their giant wings were then accompanied by a fiery hot air current. When the billowing air appeared, it immediately pushed Yu Ru Yan back a step, where she was abreast of her husband.
"Royal Wings." Yu Ru Yan was flabbergasted as her eyes met Feng Nu's golden eyes. "It seems that you're this generation's hope of the Phoenix Clan. How old are you?""
Feng Nu coldly replied, "I'm turning nineteen years old this year. Traitor of my clan, accept your death." Red light flashed as soon as she'd finished speaking, and her Heavenly Flame Sword s.h.i.+mmered like it was made of fire. Feng Nu's form then turned into a cloud of red as she spread giant wings. She truly resembled a phoenix as she rushed towards Yu Ru Yan, swelling with power.
Nian Bing was astonished at the present situation. He'd seen Feng Nu use her Royal Wings before, but Feng Nu had told him that she'd need a long time to recover her regular strength once she had. However, now it appeared that, not only had she recovered, but she had enough strength to completely utilize the second transformation ability of the Nine Phoenix Transformations. Both her offensive and defensive power had improve. What had happened?
Yu Ru Yan snorted coldly when she saw Feng Nu charge towards her. She glided forwards like a ghost, leaving afterimages in her wake. She then raised her soft sword into the air and stabbed towards Feng Nu's Heavenly Flame. With a pop, Feng Nu was sent flying backwards, where Feng Xiang caught her. Yu Ru Yan's emotionless face started at the four enemies from the Phoenix Clan. "The Royall Wings still aren't enough to threaten me. Young lady, we're both members of the same clan. Do you truly feel that the clan rules are correct? We were originally humans, weren't we? Why can't we love humans?"
Feng Nu steadied her churning qi and blood. When she'd crossed swords with Yu Ru Yan, she'd gained a deep insight into Yu Ru Yan's vast ocean of qi. Even with the aid of the royal wings and phoenix flames, she still couldn't cause any damage to Yu Ru Yan's defeat.
She couldn't help but shoot Nian Bing a glance when she heard Yu Ru Yan's words. When she saw that he was standing up, she couldn't help but feel anxiousness derail her thoughts.
Feng Xu and Feng Kong whistled at the same time, which caused the royal wings on their backs to spread wide open. They then took the skies, the golden-red flames surrounding their bodies combusting quickly. Their silver hair had been dyed red, and their golden eyes were now glowing. They then simultaneously shouted, "Phoenix! Fantasy! Body!" When they did so, their substantial forms seemed to melt away into illusory flames. Burning wind swept through the air as the fire in the air congealed into a flaming tornado headed straight towards Yu Ru Yan and Lan Yu.
Yu Ru Yan's body then turned into fog 1 like her name. At the same time, her soft sword had begun to faintly vibrate. Lan Yu bellowed angrily and punched forwards with both of his fists, which caused two streams of deep blue light to collide with the bl.u.s.tering flame-tornado. The sound of thunderclaps accompanied the flame tornado.
Right before the tornado was about to strike Lan Yu, a figure appeared in the cool breeze between him and the flame tornado. Silver light exploded outwards, and Yu Yu Yan's silver immediately bloomed like a flower; every single shriek emitted an intense cracking sound. The Red and silver light then immediately caused Nian Bing and the others to become dizzy. Boom! The center of the battleground had fissured deeply.
The four people separated immediately separated when this happened. Yu Ru Yan's ample bosom undulated heavily, while her clothes had become disheveled. Lan Yu reached out to steady her, while Feng Xu and Feng Kong were sent reeling backwards. Feng Xiang, who was burning with phoenix flames, and Feng Nu, who'd spread out her royal wings, then formed a line.
Yu Ru Yan snorted in contempt. "You still haven't advanced? You elders have cultivated for so many years, yet it seems that your talent is limited. Perhaps you'll only be able to read the third Phoenix Transformation, the 'Phoenix Illusory Body'."
Feng Xu snorted coldly in reply. "And what about you? If you didn't know of our Phoenix Transformations, you wouldn't stand a chance against us. Little Yan, I'll give you one final chance: Kill the man next to you, and come back with us."
Yu Ru Yan snorted coldly when she heard this. "That's impossible. Yu ge is the person I love most. If I go back with you, I can't be together with Yu ge. The moment you killed my daughter, I stopped recognizing myself as a member of the Phoenix Clan. I exercised restraint with you previously for the sake of honoring what you've taught me. However, since you still want to kill someone I love, don't blame me for being impolite. I'll let you witness the true Phoenix Transformation. If you don't have talent and good perception, even you've cultivated twice as long as I have, you still won't be able to defeat me."
After she said this, the silver light around her began to ripple like flames.Just like Feng Xu and Feng Kong, the silver light began to turn red-gold. This was the Phoenix Royal Coan's specialty, Phoenix Flames. A pair of giant wings unfurled on her back. Almost instantly, Yu Ru Yan had completed the second transformation. The two Phoenix Clan elders could not help their astonishment at the speed.
"Yu ge, this is just between me and the Phoenix Clan. Please do not interfere." Her voice was cold when she said this, but was also full of confidence. Lan Yu looked at her with a complicated expression, then jumped over to where Nian Bing and the others were. Just like Feng Xu and those from the Phoenix Clan, the silver light around her began to turn golden-red. These were the Phoenix Clan's special Phoenix Flames. A giant pair of wings then burst through her clothing and unfolded on either side of her. Yu Ru Yan had managed to complete the second transformation in less than a minute, which caused the two Phoenix Clan elder's expressions to change.
Feng Xu then asked, shocked, "Little Yan, you want to go one against four?"
Yu Ru Yan arrogantly replied, "Why can't I? You four, even together, are certainly not my opponents." She then flapped her wings lightly and launched into the sky. Her figure rocked from side to side and appeared somewhat illusory, just like she'd used the third Phoenix Transformation, the Phoenix Illusory Body. "When I left the Phoenix Clan, I'd just mastered the second transformation, the Royal Wings. Back then, I was far from being your opponent, thus I ran away with Yu ge. We didn't even dare to have our daughter be near us, for fear of a disastrous repeat event. However, it's different now. I not only have the ability to protect my daughter, but I can also crush you. Elders, if I remember correctly, the most astounding person in the Phoenix Clan cultivated to the fifth transformation. In the past few centuries, the most that the royal clan of the Phoenix Clan could achieve was the third transformation. Now, I'll let you all see the fourth transformation."
She then raised her towards the sky and issued a long cry. Golden flames immediately covered an area that was ten meters in diameter in the sky. The clouds turned blood red from the glow of the red light, and the fringes of her red wings began to glow with a golden light. The strange thing was, the stronger looking flames didn't feel scorchingly hot. Only Feng Xu and Feng Kong understood that this was because of the level of solidification the flames had reached; they didn't leak any energy.
"Three! Part! Phoenix! Shadow!" Red light flashed through Yu Ru Yan's eyes as she shouted. Afterwards, three illusory figures that looked identical to Yu Ru Yan appeared, all three of which had the same red wings and golden eyes as her.