Riding Huang Fei

Huang Fei took Lu Mingfei into the carriage. It slowly set off and merged into the unending stream of traffic on the street.

Lu Mingfei lifted the curtain and watched Spirit Hall gradually recede into the distance. Then he looked at the bustling everyday life lining both sides of the street and suddenly felt dazed.

Just an hour ago, he had still been waiting on the training grounds to head to the Star Dou Great Forest to hunt soul beasts.

And now, freshly washed and cleaned up, he was sitting in a carriage bound for Dragon Valley.

The turn of events had come too quickly.

Lu Mingfei lowered the curtain and looked at Huang Fei, who was resting with her eyes closed across from him. He suddenly asked, "Lady Huang Fei, how powerful are the soul beasts in Dragon Valley...?"

Huang Fei did not even open her eyes, her voice as calm as ever:

"The weakest soul beasts in Dragon Valley are century-old ones. Thousand-year soul beasts travel in packs, and there are quite a few ten-thousand-year ones too.

If you're lucky, you'll encounter a lone thousand-year subdragon. If you're unlucky enough to run into a ten-thousand-year dragon beast, then don't bother coming back."

Lu Mingfei swallowed and asked again:

"Then... did His Holiness the Pope say what type of dragon beast I'm supposed to hunt?"

Huang Fei finally opened her eyes and glanced at him. A trace of amusement flickered in her violet eyes.

"His Holiness only said to find a dragon-type soul beast suitable for you. As for the specific type, we'll decide when we get there.

There are countless kinds of soul beasts in Dragon Valley: fire dragons, ice dragons, poison dragons, earth dragons, winged dragons...

The soul rings of each kind will grant you different soul skills.

You'll have to judge for yourself which one best suits your martial soul."

Lu Mingfei nodded thoughtfully.

The carriage traveled southeast along the official road.

The scenery on both sides gradually shifted from towns to fields, then from fields to rolling mountains.

Dragon Valley lay deep within the territory of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect, several days' journey from the Spirit Hall outpost.

A few days would be enough time for him to carefully consider what kind of first soul ring he truly needed.

Leaning against the carriage wall, Lu Mingfei closed his eyes.

He could feel that new power within him still churning. The transformative effects of the whale gelatin and soul pill had only just begun to truly reveal themselves.

His bones, meridians, and muscles were all becoming tougher and stronger at a slow but steady pace.

The Black Dragon King tattoo lay quietly coiled on the back of Lu Mingfei's right hand.

Deep within those nearly invisible silver-white lines, something seemed to be waiting patiently—waiting for the blood and fire of Dragon Valley, waiting for that moment to arrive...

About the time it took for an incense stick to burn after leaving Spirit Hall, Huang Fei suddenly opened her eyes and raised a hand to signal the driver to stop.

"Get out."

She lifted the curtain and jumped down neatly.

Lu Mingfei followed her down in confusion, looking around everywhere.

They were already far from town. Vast open plains stretched along both sides of the official road, distant mountains rose like dark ink, and above them was a clear blue sky. There was not even a soul in sight.

Just as he was about to ask Huang Fei why they had stopped, he saw that she had already walked to an open patch beside the road. With her back to him, she slowly raised both hands.

"It'll take several days to reach Dragon Valley by carriage. Too slow."

Huang Fei's voice was so calm that not a ripple of emotion could be heard in it.

"And with that sheltered look of yours, you'd only embarrass Spirit Hall once you entered Dragon Valley.

I'll give you a lift and broaden your horizons."

Before Lu Mingfei could figure out what she meant by broadening his horizons, an incomparably vast surge of purple soul power erupted from Huang Fei.

The purple radiance shot into the sky like a massive blooming firework, dyeing half the heavens a magnificent violet.

Huang Fei's form rapidly changed within the purple light.

Her body grew taller and stretched out. Her arms transformed into wings, while purple light condensed into countless feathers that covered her body, dazzling and resplendent.

Seven soul rings rose beneath Huang Fei's feet.

Yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black, black.

The seventh soul ring flashed.

The next moment, an enormous and incomparably magnificent purple phoenix appeared before Lu Mingfei.

The purple phoenix was several zhang long. Its outspread wings blotted out the sky, and every feather was crystal-clear, as though carved from the purest violet crystal.

Its head was held high, its phoenix eyes gleaming with majestic yet icy light. A faint layer of purple flames swirled around its body.

Those flames held no heat, yet carried a pressure that made even one's soul tremble.

Martial soul true body.

Lu Mingfei's mouth hung open in an O, and he stood rooted to the ground, unable to move.

He had read about the concept of martial soul true bodies in novels, but reading about it was one thing. Seeing one with his own eyes was another.

When a true phoenix-shaped martial soul true body appeared before him, the double impact on both his vision and instincts left his mind completely blank. He even forgot to breathe.

The purple phoenix slightly lowered its head and looked at him. Though it was merely in the form of a bird, Lu Mingfei could clearly read Huang Fei's usual impatient meaning in those eyes: What are you standing around for, kid?

"Lady Huang Fei!"

Lu Mingfei asked stiffly.

The purple phoenix let out a low cry, seemingly in response.

Then it turned slightly to the side and raised a massive phoenix claw. It bent its leg before Lu Mingfei, clearly signaling for him to climb aboard.

Lu Mingfei looked at the phoenix claw, thicker than his waist, then raised his head to look at the purple phoenix's several-zhang-long body. His Adam's apple bobbed several times.

He had barely ridden a bicycle a few times, and now he was suddenly supposed to ride a phoenix?

And this phoenix had transformed from his immediate superior!

But he did not hesitate for long.

Huang Fei had always acted swiftly and decisively. If she said they needed to make up time, then they truly needed to make up time.

Lu Mingfei gritted his teeth and scrambled onto the purple phoenix's back. Amid the warm, smooth purple feathers, he found a relatively flat spot, steadied himself, and tightly gripped a thick cluster of phoenix feathers with both hands.

The purple phoenix raised its head and let out a clear, resonant cry. The sound surged into the heavens like celestial music, piercing the silence of the entire wilderness.

Then its wings beat once, and the powerful airflow sent even the turf on the ground rolling up.

The purple phoenix shot into the air, its body rising from the earth like a streak of violet lightning toward the azure sky.

Lu Mingfei only felt an immense force press him tightly against the phoenix's back. The wind howled past him, making his eardrums buzz.

He gritted his teeth and squeezed his eyes shut, his fingers clamped tightly around the phoenix feathers.

He was like a gecko clinging to a phoenix's back, flapping wildly in the gale.

After a few breaths, the purple phoenix's speed stabilized, and only then did Lu Mingfei dare to slowly open his eyes.

The moment he looked, his mouth could no longer close.

The land beneath him unfolded like an enormous painting. Mountains and rivers, towns and fields all lay within sight, everything small and distant.

White clouds swept past him, close enough to touch, like soft clumps of cotton.

The sky above was a clear, deep blue.