Armipotent

Bao Xue was a three-tailed wolf; his fur was bluish gray, and his eyes were crystal blue, with a single horn on his forehead. He breathed out cold air that froze the surroundings, and the claws were as sharp as a sword.

Tang Shaoyang thought it would be easy to form a contract with Bao Xue since he was Shizi’s friend. However, Bao Xue didn’t want to enter into the contract unless he was beaten.

Tang Shaoyang sent Radiance and Maldros. He assumed Bao Xue would be at the same rank as Shizi, a high-rank Archaic Spirit. Sending two high-rank Archaic Spirits would be enough, and he was wrong.

The fight dragged on. Even though it was two against one, they were evenly matched. Radiance the Frostbringer, who was supposed to rule over the ice and snow, met his match. If not for the dragon-kin, Radiance might be at a disadvantage.

As he watched the fight, he wondered how Karan beat Shizi. That made him want to watch their fight. Alas, the Sword Manor had to ruin it for him.

The fight dragged on for two hours, and the peaceful, cold region was wrecked. Maldros the Stormbringer left a field of storm in their fight here and there, the snow thickened, and the temperature continuously dropped.

After two hours, Radiance and Maldros finally defeated the big wolf. The wolf was sprawled on all four, panting. The same with Maldros and Radiance. The Stormbringer and the Frostbringer were left speechless that the wolf managed to hold them down.

“You… You didn’t go all out…” Still panting, Maldros managed to finish his sentence. His words were directed to Bao Xue. Radiance looked toward the wolf as well and seemed to have the same sentiment.

The crystal blue eyes moved toward the dragon-kin, “Of course. Why would I want to kill you two? This fight is supposed to be a test that I serve the strong master.”

Tang Shaoyang was surprised to hear that Bao Xue hadn’t gone all out in the fight. He quickly realized what had happened. Bao Xue was just another newbie spirit who didn’t know much about the fight to establish the contract.

[Fool! Of course, the master we serve is strong!] Shizi’s right head quickly responded, but that response remained in Tang Shaoyang’s head, [You should summon us and let us beat some sense into this stupid wolf, Master. How dare he doubt the master we serve!]

Tang Shaoyang ignored the three-headed lion and stepped in front of the wolf, “A fresh newbie spirit, heh. You can’t kill and die in the fight to establish a contract. You can actually go all out without worrying about killing them.”

The moment they met, he summoned Shizi, hoping the three-headed lion could persuade the wolf. However, it quickly spiraled into a fight as the wolf refused to listen to anything he said, including the part he just said.

The wolf’s eyes lit up, and there was a regret that he could not go all out. However, he had admitted defeat and was too embarrassed to ask for a rematch. He still had his pride and remained true to his words.

“You should have listened when someone tried to speak to you,” Tang Shaoyang shrugged.

“Whatever, you have wasted my time enough.”

He directed his hand toward the sprawling wolf as the wolf turned into a crystal blue orb and entered his forehead. Bao Xue voiced his willingness to serve Tang Shaoyang for life, but he gave him the same contract as Shizi’s contract.

“Alright, let’s visit the one that might still be alive.”

Tang Shaoyang thought he could not get lost when he had two natives who guided him. The wolf and the three-headed lion seemed to agree that there was a chance that the phoenix might still be alive.

However, it was a disaster as the two gave him two different directions. The wolf claimed that he died first and knew where the phoenix’s new nest was. Shizi claimed that the Phoenix would never move into a new nest because of her circumstances.

While listening to their argument, he got to learn some lore about this Phoenix. It seemed the phoenix was cast out because she was different. Just like Shizi said, she was labeled as a defective Phoenix. It was not Shizi who came up with that, but her own kind.

Because he tried to listen to their argument, they could not reach the Phoenix’s nest after a five-hour journey. Tang Shaoyang’s patience ran out. Avyn and Zara had to step in and put some sense into these two Heavenly Beasts.

After his girls’ discipline, they still gave him two different directions, and he had to follow them and check the place one by one. He finally reached the place, which seemed to be a famed volcano in the Sacred Realm.

Ouyang Biya knew this place, and she mentioned how this place had nothing. It was just a famous mountain scenery, as sometimes the lava spilled over, which created a famous scenery.

Tang Shaoyang decided to investigate the place, even entering the pool of lava himself. He was glad that he investigated the place because he found a Fire Essence inside the volcano.

It was a blazing orb and purple in color, absorbing the energy around the volcano and empowering the lava at the same time.

Han Taiyang and Ouyang Biya advised him not to take it right away. They mentioned that the essence hadn’t matured and hadn’t reached its full potential. It was better to take it after it matured.

Tang Shaoyang left the essence behind, but he marked the volcano in his mind. He would take it later for Liang Suyin. She was a Fire Elementalist, and this fire essence might help her make her fire stronger.

Rosalie’s main power was also fire, but she was already stronger than Liang Suyin. That was why he reserved this one for Liang Suyin. On top of that, there was another place to visit.

As Bao Xue mentioned, the phoenix had moved out of this nest. The wolf knew this place, but this was the Phoenix’s old nest he mentioned earlier.

“Let’s hope your friend is still alive. I would rather have a living phoenix than a dead phoenix…”

The next phoenix’s nest was another volcanic mountain, another famous spot. It was famous because the mountain was not volcanic at first, but it turned into a volcanic mountain someday.

A lot of cultivators tried to investigate the place, and once more, they found nothing in this volcanic mountain. That was what Ouyang Biya told him.

“Hmmm…” Tang Shaoyang furrowed his brow as he sensed something different kind of power inside the lava. A different type of natural energy flowed around the volcanic mountain. The energy was fierce and violent, but it had a gentle touch to it.

It was a peculiar sensation, a contradiction that existed in one energy, violent yet gentle. This gave him hope that the phoenix might still be alive.

Another thing that he noticed was that the temperature was much higher than that of the previous volcanic mountain.

Tang Shaoyang activated his Dragon Transformation. It was just in case the phoenix attacked him. The dead Bao Xue was stronger than his high-rank Archaic Spirit, so just in case the Phoenix was stronger. He didn’t want to waste his Seven Souls for his carelessness.

After making his preparation, Tang Shaoyang jumped into the lava. He quickly noticed the color difference in the lava. This one was darker than the previous one with a tint of purple.

The peculiar energy was getting stronger and stronger as he went deeper into the volcano. Sometimes the energy tried to attack him, and it got even more violent as he got deeper.

He kept going down and finally reached the bottom of the volcano. That was when he found the phoenix. It was unfortunate and fortunate at the same time.

Unfortunate because what he found was what remains of the phoenix. Fortunate because he could use these remains for sacrifice for Spirit Summoning.

Not just the remains of the phoenix, he also found another flame essence. This one was bigger and stronger, more mature than the one he found in the previous mountain. Not just the fire essence, he also found six swords and two spears that emitted strong energy, stuck in the phoenix’s dead body.

“So, is there a chance for the Phoenix to be reborn?”

It was known that a phoenix had the ability to resurrect. He wanted to use the body for sacrifice, but if there was a chance for the Phoenix to go through a rebirth, he would wait for it. Again, he wanted a living Phoenix, not a dead one if possible.

[It’s not impossible, but it’s close to zero. It needed a miracle to go through a rebirth. The strange energy emitted from those weapons prevented it from rebirth. The one who killed the Phoenix used a special technique, the Phoenix-killing technique, and a technique developed by the people I know.]