Chapter 42 – Return

“Arrogant and ignorant!” Yun Boquan coughed violently and scolded Yun Xiguang, but didn’t say anything further.

Yun Boquan had no obligation to persuade Yun Xiguang to abandon his revenge. He might still have some brotherly affection for Yun Botian, but he felt no such sentiment towards Yun Xiguang.

Whether Yun Xiguang died seeking vengeance against Zhulong or chose to live a cowardly existence by giving up on revenge, it was none of Yun Boquan’s business. Why would he bother criticizing Yun Xiguang’s words?

Seeing him cough blood, Yun Xiguang worried that Yun Boquan’s time was running out, so he quickly asked crucial questions: “How did you find the two sources of spirit energy for this nurturing array?”

Mentioning Yun Botian seemed to make Yun Boquan pause, who was otherwise silent. After a moment, he answered Yun Xiguang’s question: “On the day of the spirit energy division, one source of spirit energy automatically descended upon the Yun family. Afterwards, based on the location where the spirit energy dispersed, I sent people to search and managed to locate the second source of spirit energy in a swamp before the Spiritbond Master Association could.”

One source of spirit energy had apparently landed on the Yun family’s property of its own accord. Whether this was coincidence or the will of the laws was unknown. The array designed by the Yun family was shaking the very foundation of humanity. If successful, it would surely spark war within the Spiritbond World, and if left unchecked, it could escalate into a large-scale conflict—a harbinger of destruction.

Perhaps when the nine sources of spirit energy divided during the spirit energy division, they were predestined to head toward places with signs of destruction, lending a hand to those in need.

“What do these two sources of spirit energy look like to you?” This was what puzzled Yun Xiguang the most.

He needed to confirm this to know his next move.

“Does energy have an appearance? Did you forget your basics? Spirit energy is invisible and intangible; you can only sense it. Aside from the day of the spirit energy division, when everyone saw the nine streaks of light, the rest of the time, spirit energy can only be perceived through feeling,” Yun Boquan explained.

Invisible? Yun Xiguang glanced at Little Spirit Bird, who was currently stomping on the Azure Dragon. With its long phoenix feathers trailing behind it, it was quite visible.

“Can you feel where the spirit energy is now?” Yun Xiguang asked.

Yun Boquan was taken aback. Lying on the ground, he looked around and exclaimed in surprise, “Where’s the spirit energy?”

Meanwhile, Ji Xuan and the others approached Li Zheng, the Special Affairs Bureau personnel expressing concern: “Director Li, the spirit energy is gone.”

“Hmm?” Li Zheng looked at the man in confusion. The spirit energy was clearly wrapped around the Phoenix Venerable; how could it just disappear?

Ji Xuan also said, “I was at the foot of Two Principles Mountain on the day of the spirit energy division, and I saw the spirit energy transform into nine streaks of light and fly away with my own eyes. No one controlled these sources of spirit energy; they moved on their own. These two sources of spirit energy were inside the mountain before, but now that the array has failed, they’ve likely left on their own again.”

The vice-director nodded and added, “We didn’t sense the spirit energy flying out. It must have escaped underground. This spirit energy is too incredible—it can even escape on its own. We weren’t adequately prepared this time and failed to obtain these two sources of spirit energy. Alas!”

Li Zheng: “…”

The Golden-Winged Great Peng in his mind advised, “See, they can’t see it at all. The phoenix feathers belong to the Phoenix Venerable. Humans can’t obtain phoenix feathers, and even if they do, they can’t use them. So there’s no need for you to report to your superiors, understand?”

Li Zheng sighed and said, “I understand, but it’s my duty. Once I know something, I can’t remain silent.”

“How can you be so stubborn? Cluck!” The Golden-Winged Great Peng exclaimed angrily.

Li Zheng replied, “But I can choose not to know.”

“Cluck?” The Golden-Winged Great Peng tilted its head in the contract space.

“You help me forget about this memory,” Li Zheng said.

The compatibility between the Golden-Winged Great Peng and Li Zheng had reached an impressive 90%, allowing direct knowledge transfer to Li Zheng’s brain and the ability to retract knowledge given to him.

The knowledge related to the Phoenix Venerable was originally shared with Li Zheng through the contract. As long as Li Zheng consented, the Golden-Winged Great Peng could retrieve that portion of memory.

“Tsk, you’re truly stubborn,” the Golden-Winged Great Peng commented.

The relationship between the Golden-Winged Great Peng and Li Zheng was actually quite good, which was why they had such high compatibility. It naturally hoped that its Spiritbond Master would worship the Phoenix Venerable alongside it and didn’t want Li Zheng to show any disrespect to the Phoenix Venerable.

However, to assist the Phoenix Venerable in reclaiming his power, it had to act.

Taking advantage of the fact that it was still fused with Li Zheng, the Golden-Winged Great Peng erased the information about Chi Qiong from his mind.

Li Zheng only remembered that he swapped identities with Yun Xiguang to protect him and disrupt the Yun family’s plan. As for the reason behind his display of immense power within the array, it was because the Golden-Winged Great Peng harnessed the strength of the spirit energy. Once the spirit energy fled, his power dissipated.

While Li Zheng was disoriented, the Golden-Winged Great Peng flapped its wings toward Yun Xiguang, sending a tiny, tender yellow down feather floating in front of him.

Yun Xiguang caught the feather with his hand, receiving the message the Golden-Winged Great Peng transmitted through it.

The Golden-Winged Great Peng informed Yun Xiguang that Li Zheng no longer remembered anything related to the Phoenix Venerable. The identity of the Phoenix Venerable could remain hidden. Additionally, the Golden-Winged Great Peng expressed its honor in using the Phoenix Venerable’s down feathers and showered Chi Qiong with exaggerated praise.

Yun Xiguang put away the feather, involuntarily recalling the time he obtained it from Little Spirit Bird. He couldn’t help but chuckle.

After the spirit energy transformed back into phoenix feathers, everyone lost their sense of its presence. With Li Zheng voluntarily forgetting and concealing the matter, Yun Xiguang finally felt relieved. Little Spirit Bird now had three phoenix feathers.

However, there was another troublesome issue. In the eyes of the Spiritbond World, a source of spirit energy resided within Crimson Chi. Now that the Special Affairs Bureau had surrounded the Yun family, and with so many experts atop the mountain, how could they hide Crimson Chi again?

At this moment, having stomped on the Azure Dragon enough, Chi Qiong flapped its chubby wings twice and returned to Yun Xiguang’s side, glaring at him furiously.

This spirit servant was truly insatiable, constantly provoking dragons and snakes. How come there were so many spirit beasts everywhere that wanted to form contracts with him?

Naturally, Yun Xiguang bent over to scoop up Chi Qiong, stroking its feathers with his fingers, and even helped Chi Qiong fold its overly cumbersome phoenix feathers, so that it wouldn’t struggle while dragging them around.

Chi Qiong couldn’t resist chirping in pleasure as it was tickled by his touch, gradually dissipating its anger.

“Well, I won’t mention this to Yun Xiguang. I don’t want him to think I’m too petty. Yes, that’s right. With my noble status, how can I be compared to the likes of Azure Dragon? If I were to take it seriously, it would only lower my standing,” Chi Qiong thought to himself.

Unbeknownst to Yun Xiguang, Chi Qiong had gotten angry and then calmed down all by himself.

Yun Xiguang approached the flattened Azure Dragon, blocking Li Zheng and the others’ view with his body. Using lip movements, he whispered to the Azure Dragon, “Can you do me a favor, senior?”

The Azure Dragon had been awake for too long. Over a hundred years of experience allowed it to learn numerous human skills, and reading lips was too simple.

Raising its head, thinner than a finger, the Azure Dragon nodded at Yun Xiguang.

Yun Xiguang continued using lip movements: “Please, Senior Azure Dragon, help me conceal Crimson Chi’s whereabouts.”

Yun Xiguang didn’t explain the reason, nor was there a need to. To spirit beasts, human reasons were unimportant.

The Azure Dragon glanced at the proud Chi Qiong perched on Yun Xiguang’s shoulder.

Chi Qiong chirped at the Azure Dragon, meaning, “My spirit servant instructed you to do something, so why haven’t you acted yet?”

Azure Dragon: “…”

Its previous intention was also to help Yun Xiguang, exerting some effort, but it was lectured by Lord Phoenix. Now, it was asked to help Yun Xiguang again. What was the difference between these two situations? The thoughts of the Phoenix Venerable truly baffled dragons.

With permission granted, the Azure Dragon’s body grew once more, emitting a dragon roar toward the sky.

Li Zheng and the others, escorting the six elders of the Yun family, looked at the Azure Dragon apprehensively.

In their eyes, the Azure Dragon was a divine beast that had guarded the Yun family for many years. Now free, it could unleash its full strength without relying on a Spiritbond Master. If it wanted to protect the Yun family members and prevent them from being taken away, even Li Zheng wouldn’t be able to confront the Azure Dragon head-on.

Fortunately, the Azure Dragon didn’t intervene to save the Yun family as they had feared, but instead said, “My contract with Yun Guanyue has long been fulfilled. There’s no connection between the Yun family and me. Countries have their laws; you may proceed according to the law.”

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Li Zheng said, “Senior Azure Dragon, we already know that you are not involved in the crimes committed by the Yun family. Your contributions to the nation are recorded in history. You are a respected senior, and we won’t hinder you. You can freely roam this world. However, if you wish to settle in a famous mountain or ocean, we hope you can inform the Special Affairs Bureau. We will establish a household registration file for you, and if you ever want to live in the city as a human, we can help you get a document.”

This way, they could monitor the Azure Dragon’s movements, facilitating management, while also providing convenience to the Azure Dragon. It was beneficial for both humans and the Azure Dragon.

The Azure Dragon said, “Since that’s the case, I’ll go through the procedures with you later. But I’m a bit hungry, so I need to eat first.”

“What would you like to eat? I’ll have someone…”

Before Li Zheng could finish his sentence, the Azure Dragon opened its bloody maw and swallowed Crimson Chi, who was lying on the ground pretending to be dead, in one bite.

Everyone: “…”

The Azure Dragon emitted a satisfied dragon roar, addressing the crowd, “I’m full. After this meal, I won’t need to eat for a century.”

But you swallowed the Crimson Chi we were trying to capture!

Pretending to be concerned, Yun Xiguang asked, “Senior Azure Dragon, did you sense the presence of powerful spirit energy when you consumed the Crimson Chi?”

“No, if I had, I wouldn’t have eaten it,” the Azure Dragon replied.

Turning to Li Zheng, Yun Xiguang said, “It seems the Crimson Chi doesn’t possess a source of spirit energy. Perhaps the source of spirit energy it obtained ran away like the two sources in the mountain.”

Li Zheng agreed, “That makes sense. If the Crimson Chi possessed a source of spirit energy, with its strength, how could it have been captured by the Yun family?”

The vice-director chimed in, “It appears the Crimson Chi doesn’t have any leads on the spirit energy either. In that case, whether it lives or dies doesn’t matter.”

The Special Affairs Bureau’ expert echoed, “Exactly.”

Actually, they didn’t think that way, but since the Crimson Chi had been eaten, could they blame the highly esteemed Azure Dragon? Absolutely not! They could only cover up their awkwardness in this manner.

Soon, the Special Affairs Bureau personnel arrived at the mountaintop, leading Yun Xiguang and the others down the mountain to be settled. Li Zheng stayed behind to continue investigating the Yun family’s case.

They had to search the entire mountain of the Yun family and interrogate the Yun family members. This was a major case that couldn’t be resolved in a day or two.

Yun Xiguang had made tremendous contributions in this incident. The matter of granting him a Grade B Spiritbond Master certificate was temporarily set aside because the certificate he would receive next wasn’t going to be a Grade B Spiritbond Master certificate, but a Grade A Spiritbond Master certificate.

To the public, Yun Xiguang still lacked substantial strength. However, when the Azure Dragon registered its records with the Special Affairs Bureau, it indicated that it planned to follow Yun Xiguang for the next twenty years, protecting this junior without forming a contract.

Although the Yun family had committed heinous crimes, there were still Yun family members who carried on Yun Guanyue’s legacy. It wanted to help Yun Guanyue’s descendants rebuild a new Yun family.

With the protection of the free Azure Dragon, even if Yun Xiguang didn’t have a spirit root and only had a little yellow chick as his spirit beast, his strength was immeasurable.

If calculated based on the Azure Dragon’s strength, Yun Xiguang should be considered a Heaven-grade Spiritbond Master. However, the Azure Dragon was merely assisting; this wasn’t Yun Xiguang’s own strength. Yet, giving a Spiritbond Master with the assistance of the Azure Dragon only a Grade B Spiritbond Master certificate was simply unreasonable.

After holding a meeting, the Spiritbond World decided to grant Yun Xiguang a Grade A certificate first. Whether or not it would be upgraded in the future would depend on Yun Xiguang and the Azure Dragon’s achievements.

In addition, the three houses left by Yun Xiguang’s parents would be returned to him after the Yun family’s assets were liquidated.

Although the formalities couldn’t be completed yet, Yun Xiguang could already pack his bags and move into the house in Jing City!