Vermillion Bird Requiem

Five hundred li east of Flowing Wind City stood a city called Shuo City.

This city was extremely poor. Due to its remote location, those with profound Mystic Dao cultivation would leave this place and seek development elsewhere, making the city's strength even inferior to that of Flowing Wind City.

Yet although Shuo City still had houses and city walls standing, it was now a deserted empty city without a single inhabitant. Only one figure moved through its streets.

Xiao Ling'er looked around, sensing only the faint Mystic Energy left behind by a Mystic Array.

At that moment, she noticed a burned house. Shock flashed through her eyes as she hurriedly flew toward the charred ruins.

Sensing the lingering aura, her fair hand gently brushed across the blackened remains. Seemingly having confirmed something, a trace of bitterness appeared on her face. "Vermilion Bird Blaze... Why... Why now of all times? Is this fate?"

"..."

After returning from the Dragon's Roar Mountain Range, Xiao Feng went straight back to the Medical Clinic, his eyes filled with melancholy.

Even now, he did not know why. Although Qi Qingyun had kept trying to find things to talk about, he had somehow felt unwilling to let her see him as he was now.

So he bid Qi Qingyun farewell and left.

When Xiao Feng sensed that Xiao Ling'er was not at the Medical Clinic, he was somewhat surprised. In his memory, she was usually home at this time. He could not help worrying about her.

Just as he was considering whether to go out and look for her, Xiao Feng sensed her aura... Xiao Ling'er soon appeared in his sight, but her expression was dim.

"What happened?" Xiao Feng asked with a frown. Her expression was completely unlike her usual self. Whenever she was before him, she had almost never looked so dejected.

Xiao Ling'er forced a smile. "Sigh, wasn't I just worried about Feng'er? You hadn't come home so late. I thought you'd run off with some woman."

"No..." Xiao Feng's thoughts were instantly interrupted. He defended himself, "It was just that I hadn't seen Qi Qingyun in so long, so we talked for a while."

"Ah—then are you planning to go see that Mystic Dao Assembly or whatever?"

"I won't be going. There's no point in going anyway," Xiao Feng said with a curl of his lip.

"What, are you feeling inferior? Qing Yun really is outstanding, but you don't need to feel inferior because of that." Xiao Ling'er spoke teasingly, a smile on her lips.

"Inferior? Me, inferior? How could I possibly feel inferior! What kind of joke is that? I simply don't want to go! I think it's meaningless! That's all!" Xiao Feng's voice abruptly rose.

The word "inferior" had clearly struck the deepest chord in Xiao Feng's heart.

Seeing Xiao Feng's reaction, Xiao Ling'er withdrew her smile and revealed a seriousness he rarely saw from her. "Feng'er, I may not know exactly what place Qing Yun holds in your heart, but you absolutely hold an irreplaceable place in Qing Yun's heart!"

Xiao Feng: "..."

"I believe she must have told you about the Mystic Dao Assembly, and she must have also told you that she would leave this place once the Mystic Dao Assembly ended."

"She deliberately met with you and told you when she would be leaving. Do you really not know what that means?"

"And I believe that the main reason Qing Yun came here was to see you and tell you when she would leave. She must have hoped that you would accompany her."

"Isn't it because you feel inferior? Because you're afraid outsiders will think the two of you are mismatched, afraid of the strange looks others might give you, that you don't want to go?"

"She hasn't distanced herself from you because you can't break through. She's even been trying every possible way to solve your problem! Qing Yun is a very good girl. You should cherish her."

Every word Xiao Ling'er spoke was true...

"..."

Upon hearing Xiao Ling'er's words, Xiao Feng remained stunned and absent-minded for a long time...

After a prolonged silence, he murmured blankly, "I... I really don't want to feel inferior. No, I don't feel inferior... I... Every time those feelings arise, I crush them... I just feel that I'm not worthy of her. She... She deserves a better life. I..."

Before Xiao Ling'er, his heart had never put up any defenses...

And she would never have used such an interrogating tone toward Xiao Feng over matters of the heart before. Her sudden questioning, coupled with the complete lack of defenses in his heart, caused the shackles suppressing Xiao Feng's soul to shatter under the impact of her words...

Then, in his daze, Xiao Feng suddenly felt something soft against his face and caught the milky fragrance in his nose.

Xiao Ling'er pressed his head between her hands against her soft, full chest. The pain in her eyes was impossible to conceal as she looked at him. "Feng'er, listen to me. Truly... What I told you before was not just comfort. You are surely a hidden dragon in the abyss, a true god destined to soar through the nine heavens. There is no woman you are unworthy of—only women unworthy of you..."

Tears filled Xiao Feng's eyes, but he stubbornly refused to let them fall.

"When Heaven grants a great responsibility, it must first temper one's will... Every grievance, every unwillingness, every pain you have endured... will surely... surely be repaid. It will. It definitely will."

I... I...

With his heart's defenses broken and her heartfelt acknowledgment burning through him, the grievances Xiao Feng had hidden deep within his heart erupted at this moment.

"Waa... Sob... Waaah..."

The hot tears filling his eyes finally spilled free, the first drop falling uncontrollably as more tears surged forth. What followed was uncontrollable sobbing and tears that would not stop, soaking Xiao Ling'er's clothes...

Today, Xiao Feng shed his first tears since arriving in this world, along with the sobs he had never made at birth...

Inside Xiao Feng's bedroom.

Xiao Feng lay facedown on the bed, burying his face in the pillow.

Xiao Ling'er had gone to change her clothes. Thinking of how miserably he had cried just now, Xiao Feng was unbearably embarrassed. After calming down, he had not even known how to lift his head...

In the end, Xiao Ling'er had been the one to say she needed to change, then pushed Xiao Feng away.

Xiao Ling'er entered again in a fresh set of white clothes. Rather than mention what had just happened, she asked about the past. "Have you finished refining the source blood I gave you before?"

Xiao Feng nodded. "I refined it long ago."

She had given Xiao Feng ten drops of source blood when he was eight years old. Back then, Xiao Feng had completely refined all of it in only ten days. Although Xiao Ling'er had not told him whose source blood it was when she gave it to him, he had already held a vague guess in his heart.

Now that she had brought up the matter again, Xiao Feng was somewhat surprised.

Presumably, she had made him refine the source blood back then because he had been unable to break through into the God Tribulation Realm. But after he finished refining it, there had been no effect. Xiao Ling'er never mentioned it again, and he had not asked further...

"Good. Perhaps you already know whose source blood it was?" Xiao Ling'er nodded lightly.

"Was it the Vermilion Bird?" Xiao Feng asked uncertainly.

"That's right." She slowly nodded and confirmed, "It was the Vermilion Bird!"

Xiao Feng's soul shook violently. Even though his Mystic Flame and control over it had increased explosively after fusing with the source blood, giving him a guess long ago, hearing Xiao Ling'er confirm it personally still felt unreal. That was Vermilion Bird source blood.

The three supreme fire-attribute beings were the Vermilion Bird, the Phoenix, and the Golden Crow. They respectively corresponded to the supreme flames: Vermilion Bird Blaze, Phoenix Blaze, and Golden Crow Blaze.

Among them, Golden Crow Blaze represented annihilation, Phoenix Blaze represented purification, and Vermilion Bird Blaze represented holiness!

And the flame inherited by the Vermilion Bird was Vermilion Bird Blaze, the flame representing holy power!

"Later, I will teach you the Vermillion Bird Requiem. This is a divine Mystic Art cultivated by the Vermilion Bird clan." As she said this, Xiao Ling'er fell slightly absent-minded.

"Alright..." Xiao Feng paused slightly. "And I want to know about my parents..."

"I understand..." Before Xiao Feng could finish, Xiao Ling'er interrupted him.

"I can tell you now that you are from the Wind Cloud Empire. As for the origin of this Mystic Art and your background, I still cannot tell you everything. Can you wait a little longer... After this year passes, I will tell you everything you want to know..." Xiao Ling'er said softly.

"Alright... No matter the reason, I will bear it together with you..." Xiao Feng did not continue asking. Instead, he spoke gently.

"Mhm." Xiao Ling'er smiled. Her index finger slowly rose. "Release your Soul Sea's defenses..."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Feng instantly lowered the defenses around his Soul Sea. As her index finger touched his forehead, the core formula and Mystic Energy pathways of the Vermillion Bird Requiem flowed into his Soul Sea.

"How does it feel?" She lowered her finger and asked with a smile.

Xiao Feng opened his eyes and remained dazed for a long while. Only after hearing Xiao Ling'er's question did he slowly say, "It feels so familiar... Why are these Mystic Energy pathways so familiar? It's like..."

"Your guess was correct." Xiao Ling'er clasped her hands behind her back and spoke slowly. "The Mystic Energy pathways and circulation methods of the Vermillion Bird Requiem have all been tried one by one during the countless acupuncture sessions over the years."

"So that's how it was..." Xiao Feng finally understood. No wonder that, during several acupuncture sessions, the paths of Mystic Energy circulation Xiao Ling'er had demanded, as well as the force applied to every Mystic Gate, had been so strange and difficult that they were simply incomprehensible.

He had once thought those unorthodox manuals were misleading people, but he had not wanted to disappoint Xiao Ling'er's concern for him, so he never asked about them. So this was the reason.

A smile appeared on her lips. "You fused with Vermilion Bird source blood ten years ago, and you have practiced constantly for those ten years. You have already traversed the Mystic Gate pathways required to use the Vermillion Bird Requiem. Over the next few days, I need you to devote yourself fully to cultivating the Vermillion Bird Requiem. With your talent, you should be able to master it perfectly before long!"

So she had prepared everything long ago... Warmth flowed through Xiao Feng's heart.

But Xiao Feng's delight lasted only a moment before he quickly realized that Xiao Ling'er had been very unusual today...

He had not paid attention before, but why had she suddenly passed the Vermillion Bird Requiem to him today? Why had she not taught it to him earlier? Did she have some hardship she could not tell him about?

Sister Ling'er, you... Xiao Feng carefully considered his words, thinking about how to ask.

Hehe, Feng'er, have you forgotten what you just promised me? You can't ask.

"Alright, alright..." Xiao Feng agreed helplessly.

"Then are you still going to the Mystic Dao Assembly in a few days?"

"Of course! Qing Yun will be leaving soon. Out of courtesy, I should spend more time with her!" Xiao Feng spoke proudly. His eyes seemed to burn with Vermilion Bird Blaze, bright and dazzling...