Phoenix

At 11:55 a.m., the entrance to Fumanlou Grand Hotel was already packed solid with people.

The blazing noon sun poured down, making the red stage shine brightly.

The air was thick with the rich aroma of food—the savory scent of braised pork, the sweet-and-sour fragrance of ribs, the sweetness of cream cake, and the crisp smell of fried chicken all mingled together, making mouths water.

The host stood onstage with a microphone, hoarsely whipping up the crowd. Cheers and applause rose and fell below the stage, making the place as lively as New Year's.

Tang Ziran and Lang Yue held Tang Wulin's and Na'er's hands and finally squeezed their way to the registration desk.

Tang Ziran wore a gray short-sleeved shirt, his forehead covered in sweat, and carried four bottles of chilled mineral water.

Lang Yue wore a light-blue dress, her hair tied into a ponytail with an elastic band. She carefully smoothed Na'er's silver short hair, which the wind had tousled.

Na'er wore a little white dress and a pair of newly bought pink leather shoes.

Her small hand tightly clutched the little iron flower Tang Ziran had forged for her. Her large purple eyes curiously surveyed the bustling crowd, her little face full of innocent confusion.

"Hello, we're here to register for the Big Eater Challenge."

Tang Ziran smiled as he spoke to the registration staff.

The person in charge was a young woman with long black hair. She looked up and was about to take out a registration form, but when she saw the two little children standing in front of Tang Ziran and Lang Yue, the pen in her hand fell onto the table with a clatter.

Her eyes widened as she looked Tang Wulin and Na'er over from head to toe, then looked at Tang Ziran and Lang Yue. An utterly strange expression appeared on her face, as if she had seen something unbelievable.

"Are you... sure these two children are competing?"

She pointed at Tang Wulin and Na'er, disbelief filling her voice.

"Not the two of you? Kids shouldn't joke around. There's a lot to eat in this competition. They could upset their stomachs."

"Yes, we're the ones competing."

Tang Wulin stepped forward, lifted his little face, and spoke with absolute determination.

Na'er beside him nodded hard as well. Her silver short hair swayed with the motion as she said softly, "Mm, we want to compete."

The staff member looked at the two children's serious expressions, then at Tang Ziran and Lang Yue's faces, which practically said, "We can't do anything about it," and sighed helplessly.

She shook her head, thinking these parents were far too unreliable. Bringing children this young to a big eater competition—they had to be here just for fun.

Still, the rules really did not impose an age limit, so she could not say much.

She could only pick up the registration form and register the two children while sighing, then hand them numbered badges.

"All right, numbers 18 and 19. The competition starts in five minutes. Go wait by the stage. If you can't eat anymore, raise your hands and surrender right away. Don't force yourselves, understand?"

She reminded them worriedly.

"Thank you, Auntie!"

Tang Wulin took the badges and quickly pinned them onto himself and Na'er.

"Tangtang, Na'er."

Lang Yue crouched down and straightened their crooked badges, reminding them gently.

"Don't rush. Eat slowly. It's all right if you don't get full. When you come back, Mom will make something tasty for you, okay?"

"If they still aren't full after this, I'll probably have to find a second job right away."

Tang Ziran rubbed his forehead helplessly and muttered under his breath.

He had personally seen Tang Wulin eat twenty steamed buns in one meal. Before leaving that morning, the two children had already eaten twice their usual breakfast, yet they could still enter a big eater competition now.

"Wulin, look over there."

Jin Qiu's voice suddenly rang out in his mind, carrying a trace of barely perceptible surprise.

Tang Wulin's heart stirred, and he looked in the direction Jin Qiu indicated.

On the other side of the registration area stood a red-haired girl about his age.

The girl had neat wine-red short hair, each strand gleaming like flames beneath the sunlight.

She possessed an exceptionally rare pair of pure golden eyes, like melted sunlight and burning fire—sharp and bright.

She wore a red-and-yellow tracksuit, with exquisite flame patterns embroidered around the cuffs and hems. Her figure was slender, yet she gave off a capable, heroic air.

She stood with her back to Tang Wulin as she registered. Her voice was cold and crisp, like colliding ice cubes, revealing no emotion.

The moment he saw her, Tang Wulin's body suddenly stiffened.

A sudden wave of scorching heat surged up from the depths of his bloodline.

His heart began pounding wildly, as if it were about to leap out of his throat.

His fingertips went slightly numb, and a familiar golden warmth raced through his meridians. The Golden Dragon King Bloodline hidden within his body had unexpectedly begun to stir beyond his control.

This was neither hostility toward an enemy nor closeness toward kin. It was a resonance from ancient times, etched into the deepest part of his soul.

It was as though they had met a very, very long time ago.

His Blue Silver Grass martial soul nearly manifested on its own, golden patterns on its blades faintly glimmering beneath his skin.

At the same time, Na'er, who had been standing quietly beside him, suddenly raised her head.

Her purple eyes lit up in an instant, like violet crystals being illuminated.

Her body stiffened slightly, and her hand gripping the little iron flower tightened sharply until her knuckles turned faintly white.

An extremely faint silver aura flashed over her body, too quickly for anyone to notice.

She too looked toward the red-haired girl, her purple eyes filled with confusion and an indescribable sense of familiarity.

It felt as though she had seen this girl somewhere before, but no matter how she thought about it, she could not remember.

"Who is she?"

Tang Wulin asked Jin Qiu in his heart, deeply puzzled.

"She is a Phoenix."

Jin Qiu's voice was unusually grave.

"And a Phoenix with an extremely pure bloodline, second only to the original Phoenix God-King."

"Huh?"

Tang Wulin froze, his face full of confusion.

"A Phoenix? Isn't that a martial soul?"

"I'll explain it to you later."

Jin Qiu said no more. He only stared intently at the red-haired girl, his eyes full of shock and deep puzzlement.

He was genuinely stunned.

A Phoenix with such a high bloodline rank still existed?

Jin Qiu's thoughts instantly drifted back to that distant ancient era, buried beneath the dust of time.

The Dragon-Phoenix War—an atrocious conflict that had swept across countless planets and civilizations of every size, nearly destroying all ancient soul beasts. Though he had not experienced it personally, he knew every detail of that war like the back of his hand.

The spark that ignited the war had never been a simple conflict between races.

It had been an irreconcilable clash of ideals.

The Dragon God advocated a centralized order in which the Dragon Clan stood supreme. He believed the Dragon Clan was the noblest race in heaven and earth, destined to rule all living beings and establish an absolute centralized world with the Dragon Clan at its core.

The Phoenix God-King, however, promoted a diverse order of coexistence among all things. She believed every race had value in existing, that none were inherently superior or inferior, and that all races should coexist as equals and develop together.

The fundamental disagreement over the rights of soul beasts.

The Phoenix God-King was kind-hearted and advocated resolving matters with humanity through peaceful coexistence.

But the Dragon God insisted that soul beasts were the rulers of the plane. He wanted to lead them in completely exterminating humanity and firmly seize the entire Douluo Continent for soul beasts.

The essential conflict in their views on power.

The Phoenix believed in the path of evolution through "rebirth from nirvana," believing that the meaning of power lay in protection, in renewal after destruction, and in making oneself and one's clan better.

The Dragon God, on the other hand, pursued a path of rule through "absolute power." He believed power was everything—that with absolute power, one could possess everything and decide the life or death of all living beings.

The conflict between these three ideals continually escalated, eventually turning from verbal disputes into a war where blood flowed like rivers.

The war lasted a full thousand years.

In the end, the Dragon God relied on his superior absolute power to slay the Phoenix God-King.

After the war ended, the Dragon God ordered genocidal slaughter against the Phoenix Clan in order to eliminate any future threat.

The Dragon Clan's armies marched across every corner of Douluo Star, sparing no Phoenix, whether the old and weak or newly born hatchlings.

By the tenth year after the war ended, not a single Phoenix without obvious bloodline defects could be found anywhere on the Douluo Continent.

Those that remained were descendants crossbred with other races, their bloodlines so diluted they were nearly negligible. They could no longer undergo nirvana, nor could they possess the power of ancient Phoenixes.

Yet now, several hundred thousand years had passed since that brutal Dragon-Phoenix War.

And a Pure-Blood Phoenix whose bloodline purity was second only to the Phoenix God-King had suddenly appeared?

How was that possible? Could she have been deliberately hidden in some special space?

Jin Qiu frowned tightly, his heart filled with doubt.

"Attention, contestants! Attention, contestants! The first Fumanlou Big Eater Challenge now officially begins! All contestants, please take your places on the stage immediately!"

At that moment, the host's high-pitched voice rang through the speakers and spread across the entire plaza.

Tang Wulin came back to his senses and tugged Na'er's little hand.

"Na'er, it's time for us to go onstage."

Na'er nodded, withdrew her gaze from the red-haired girl, and obediently followed Tang Wulin toward the stage.

When they reached the stage entrance, the red-haired girl happened to turn around as well.

Her golden eyes met Tang Wulin's black ones.

The instant she saw Tang Wulin, the girl's golden pupils abruptly contracted, and surprise appeared on her face for the first time.

She could clearly sense that this little boy possessed a power that felt familiar to her, yet also made her wary and furious.

And the aura of the silver-haired little girl beside him made even her soul rage with anger.