Chapter 368: Azure Dragon, Vermilion Bird
Xiang Yu didn’t respond and merely looked at the two kneeling before him.
He thought to himself that although they were already tamed before, that was before they had awakened their intelligence. He didn’t expect them to consider him as their master even after awakening.
He sighed, shaking his head. He was already prepared to use one millionth percent of his power to scare them a bit. It seemed he couldn’t do that now that they were bowing to him.
He wondered how this happened. It was then that he noticed something, it was just a small thread, but he could feel it. The two actually had some connection with him, and it was through bloodline.
Xiang Yu held his chin in thought. "Kinship?" he wondered.
He guessed this was probably an ability of a progenitor - creating kin.
Although he wasn’t a progenitor yet, it seemed he could also do it. These two were considered his kin. This was probably why they instinctually recognized him as their master.
He gazed at them more closely, noting that they had actually broken through to the fifth level after gaining the bloodline. This was equivalent to golden core realm. He nodded his head in acknowledgement.
He waved his hand, activating his growth booster ability at its full power.
Instantly, the two’s eyes widened as they felt a wave of power wash over them, followed by their cultivation speed increasing by over a hundred times. They had just awakened and didn’t completely understand how the world worked but was this really normal? They bowed even deeper.
"We thank the master," they said.
"Yeah yeah, whatever," Xiang Yu said dismissively.
He thought to himself that this should be a twelve thousand eight hundred percent boost. If they couldn’t improve quickly with this, then no one could.
His gaze turned to the dragon. "You," he began.
"Yes master," the dragon raised his head to meet Xiang Yu’s eyes.
He instantly felt his entire body freeze up when he looked at Xiang Yu. "What is master? No, what is that thing?" he thought. He felt as though he was before a predator. Was this really his kin? It felt more like his natural predator than his kin. But he still struggled, maintaining his gaze even under the overwhelming pressure.
"Good. You pass," Xiang Yu said, and the dragon felt the pressure instantly disperse.
"Pass? Master was testing me?" he thought.
Xiang Yu smiled at him. "You have some backbone. That’s all that matters. As for talent, I don’t really care," Xiang Yu said. "From now on, your name is Qing Long," Xiang Yu said. "I hope you live up to the name and don’t disappoint me," Xiang Yu added.
The dragon bowed, smashing its head against the floor so hard that it shattered. "Dammit, I just made that pavement," Xiang Yu thought, but he still maintained his demeanor.
"Qing Long will not disappoint the master," the dragon said.
Xiang Yu nodded. He then moved to the dragon and tapped its forehead. "These are techniques I’ve made specifically for you. Practice them well and guard the sect’s eastern border," Xiang Yu said.
"I understand," Qing Long said before getting up and flying towards the east.
Xiang Yu sighed. Acting like this was really tiring, but he needed to establish his authority to these two.
...
He turned his attention to the phoenix and she instantly began trembling at his gaze.
Xiang Yu walked over to her, causing her to panic, but she forced all the fear aside. Pushing against all instincts, she raised her face to meet her master’s cold gaze.
"Master..." she began.
Xiang Yu extended his hand towards her. He tapped her forehead and she instantly transformed to her full phoenix state.
"Master?" she spoke, but Xiang Yu cut her off.
"When you’re close to me, maintain this form," Xiang Yu said. "In your human form, your chance of dying increases by 99.99%. Keep that in mind," he said.
She nodded, though she didn’t understand his words. Even in her human state, she should still be able to access most of her powers. How could her chances of death increase by so much? But since the master said so, he must have his own reasons.
Xiang Yu tapped her on the forehead once again. This time, he passed on some scriptures and techniques. "From now on, your name is Zhu Que. These are techniques I’ve made for you. Use them to guard the southern border and don’t disappoint me," Xiang Yu said.
"Zhu Que will do her best to not disappoint the master," she said.
Xiang Yu nodded. "Good."
Xiang Yu thought to himself that now he had both the Azure Dragon and the Vermilion Bird. He just needed the White Tiger (Bai Hu) and the Black Tortoise (Xuan Wu) and his guardian beast collection would be complete. Too bad he didn’t know where to get these two bloodlines, so for now he would just stick to his Azure Dragon and Vermilion Bird.
He then turned his attention back to Zhu Que who was about to fly away.
"Go get your mistress. She should be ready by now," Xiang Yu said. Since it was his wedding, having a phoenix carry the bride wasn’t too much to ask, right?
She nodded and left.
Inside a large hall, Li Yao sat on a chair as Elder Huang helped make her hair. Suddenly, Li Yao’s expression became serious and she was about to get up.
"Where are you going?" Elder Huang asked, pressing her back onto the chair.
Li Yao looked back at her, only to pause when she noticed her martial aunt’s smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. "How many times do I have to redo this? Do you want to make me unhappy?" she asked, still smiling.
Li Yao shook her head.
"Then what are you doing?" she asked.
"Martial aunt, it’s really an emergency this time. Senior brother is..." she began.
"I don’t want to hear it," Elder Huang said, but Li Yao still had a conflicted expression.
Elder Huang then relaxed. "Fine, I won’t stop you. Just so you know, it’s bad luck for the bride and groom to see each other before the wedding. If you want your senior brother to divorce you the night of the wedding, go ahead. I won’t stop you. Just don’t come crying back to me when things don’t go your way," she said.
Li Yao paused.
"What? Don’t want to go anymore?" Elder Huang asked.
"Umm, now that I think about it, maybe it’s not that much of an emergency," she said, though her expression was still uneasy.
Suddenly, she glanced at the entrance, and Elder Huang also did so.
"A phoenix?" she wondered aloud as a phoenix flew through the door before stopping a few meters away from them and transforming into human form.
"She’s quite cute," Elder Huang said. She wondered if it was a guest, she had such an overwhelming aura. "Are you lost? The guest section is..."
Before she could finish speaking, the phoenix girl was suddenly kneeling, her face pressed onto the ground. Li Yao was releasing an even more overwhelming aura - at least a few million times more overwhelming than the phoenix.
Li Yao stared at the phoenix. "Why do you carry the scent of my husband?" she asked. "You have five seconds to explain why I shouldn’t kill you right now."
...
Author’s Corner
Quick clarification. The vermilion bird is not actually a phoenix, it’s a different creature. The Vermilion Bird (Zhuque) is often conflated with the Phoenix (Fenghuang) but in reality, the two are different. Why I do this even if I know? Well, i already gave the name huang fengqi to the martial aunt so...