The Origin Legend, Phoenix Nine-Yi

� Chapter: The Origin Legend, Phoenix Nine-Yi

In the living room of the old house, several people sat in a circle around the dining table.

On the sofa nearby, Na'er sucked on a lollipop, her crimson eyes blinking as she watched them.

In the end, Leng Yaozhu was the first to speak.

Her expression was very serious—nervous, even.

"Wuji, tell me carefully. What exactly happened?"

Qiangu Wuji replied helplessly.

"Mom, didn't I already tell you? I don't know what happened, either. At the time, I just felt a sudden heat in my body, and then a voice appeared in my head, saying something about True Phoenix Bloodline..."

He blinked curiously.

"Mom, could this have something to do with my Heavenly Phoenix Martial Soul? What exactly is our Heavenly Phoenix Martial Soul?"

"Of course not." Leng Yaozhu shook her head bitterly. "The Heavenly Phoenix Martial Soul is a top-tier Beast Martial Soul, but it isn't the strongest. What happened to you is probably because of you yourself."

Qiangu Wuji nodded, understanding. The original story had never described the Heavenly Phoenix as a top-tier Martial Soul, either. At the very least, it couldn't compare to the Golden and Silver Dragon Kings.

But if this wasn't because of the Heavenly Phoenix Martial Soul, then what was it?

"Although the Heavenly Phoenix Martial Soul isn't one of the strongest Beast Martial Souls, I've heard a legend."

Just as he was puzzling over it, Leng Yaozhu suddenly changed course and continued.

"There's a legend on our continent. It says that, in the distant past, when heaven and earth first formed, the world held mountains and rivers, space and time, fire and lightning, and all kinds of elements... And through the ages, there was a creature called a dragon that endured alongside them."

"Among them, there was a prodigy in the Dragon Clan. He defeated countless opponents of his own kind and eventually attained the highest divine rank, creating the Dragon God Realm. He was the Dragon God."

Qiangu Wuji already knew these things, so he wasn't surprised. But he figured she must have more to say—otherwise, she wouldn't have brought them up.

Sure enough, Leng Yaozhu changed course again.

"Although the Dragon God was powerful, he wasn't the only Beast God. Over those long years, he had opponents, too."

"What?"

Qiangu Wuji stared at her in a daze. The Dragon God wasn't the supreme god among beasts? That was news to him.

None of this had appeared in the original story. Then again, he had only read the first three installments, and he'd barely started the newly released fourth before he transmigrated.

"The second Beast God was Phoenix Nine-Yi, right?"

This time, Gu Yue spoke, her voice calm as a ripple passed through her eyes.

"The legend says that, before the Dragon God attained godhood, he had an opponent: a creature born from the union of a Blue Magic Bird of time and one of space. That creature was the True Phoenix. Across the Dragon God's endless years, it was the only being capable of standing as his equal."

Gu Yue glanced at Qiangu Wuji, deeply puzzled.

The God of Phoenix was powerful, but she knew that when the Dragon God attained godhood, the two had fought a great battle, and the only True Phoenix had perished completely. In theory, no True Phoenix Bloodline should still exist in this world.

Yet earlier, she had clearly sensed the aura of her old rival coming from Qiangu Wuji. It had been faint—barely perceptible—but undeniably real.

What was going on?

Neither of them noticed the change in her expression. Leng Yaozhu spoke again.

"Gu Yue is right."

She continued.

"But from the ancient texts I've read, it seems the God of Phoenix had no offspring, so it should be impossible for anyone to share her bloodline."

"Impossible?"

Qiangu Wuji murmured, then grew puzzled. If the Phoenix couldn't reproduce, where had the Phoenix-type Martial Souls come from?

He voiced the question on his mind.

"Then what about our Heavenly Phoenix Martial Soul? If the God of Phoenix couldn't reproduce, there shouldn't be any Phoenix Martial Souls in the world."

"Don't be silly. None of the Phoenix-type Martial Souls have anything to do with the God of Phoenix. I heard a legend that, if you trace our native Soul Beasts back to their origins, they were all nurtured by the Dragon God's power. So..." Leng Yaozhu stopped halfway and looked at Qiangu Wuji with a grave expression. "But if your Martial Soul really awakened the True Phoenix Bloodline, that means it has broken free of the Dragon God's power."

Her gaze grew fervent as she stared at Qiangu Wuji, her eyes shining.

If that was true, she couldn't even imagine how far her son might go in the future. He might even surpass the first master of the Tang Sect...

Qiangu Wuji drew a deep breath, inwardly amazed.

After hearing them explain it, he finally realized what an incredible gift the system had given him.

With the True Phoenix Bloodline, there was no doubt that in this respect he was already on equal footing with Tang Wulin and Gu Yue.

But then another question occurred to him. According to what the system had said earlier, the complete True Phoenix Bloodline was only level nine, on par with the Golden Dragon King.

But wasn't the Golden Dragon King half of the Dragon God? Since the God of Phoenix had been able to stand as the Dragon God's equal, how could she possibly be on the same level as the Golden Dragon King?

Could there be a rank beyond level-nine bloodlines?

"Come on. I'll take you to get tested."

Just then, Leng Yaozhu stood up, pulling him to his feet.

"If you've awakened the True Phoenix Bloodline, your body must have changed."

Qiangu Wuji nodded. He wanted to get tested, too.

The testing site Leng Yaozhu chose wasn't far away. It was the local Spirit Pagoda.

Although Aolai City was a small place, it still had all the necessary facilities, including a Spirit Pagoda.

When they arrived, Leng Yaozhu immediately identified herself. The staff saw such an important figure had arrived and promptly summoned the person in charge of the local Spirit Pagoda.

The person in charge was a plump man. After hearing why they had come, he immediately ordered his subordinates to prepare a room specifically for testing.

It was an equipment room, fitted with precise instruments for all kinds of tests. The room was packed full of them, giving it a thoroughly high-tech feel.

Following Leng Yaozhu's instructions, Qiangu Wuji tested his various physical measurements one by one.

First was strength.

One hundred and twenty kilograms.

That was an ordinary result for a One-Ring Soul Master—perhaps even a little weak.

Next, they tested his mental power: one hundred and fifty-one points.

The result was so astonishing that the staff member conducting the test was dumbfounded.

Qiangu Wuji, however, was puzzled. That wasn't right. He knew his mental power had already reached one hundred and fifty before he got here. It was perfectly normal for it to have increased by one point after all this time.

Next, they tested his Soul Power. It was still level eleven, unchanged.

Everything seemed just as it had been before.

"Could we have made a mistake?"

Leng Yaozhu looked at the results in disappointment. They were already astonishing, but they weren't what she'd imagined an awakening of the True Phoenix Bloodline would look like.

"I wonder if we're testing the wrong thing."

Remembering the flames that had appeared around him at school, Qiangu Wuji shared what he was thinking.

"The wrong thing?"

Leng Yaozhu looked at him in confusion.

Qiangu Wuji didn't answer. He simply closed his eyes and silently thought, Rise!

In an instant, the flames that had covered him before appeared again. He burned like a ball of fire.

Leng Yaozhu's eyes widened, and she cried out in shock.

"What is this...?"