Zhang Fei - The Abandoned Son

In the waiting room, Chao Yuanfeng nodded in satisfaction after Zhang Fei's name appeared on the screen. Despite not ranking first as he had in the Demon Heart Challenge, he managed to secure a spot in the top 10. 'At first, I thought he would lose to Zhou Fang, but he actually managed to defeat him. I don't know how he managed to do it, but the people of the Zhou Kingdom will definitely set their eyes on him, especially Zhou Xiaochuan. Furthermore, Zhou Tong has qualified for the next challenge, and they will undoubtedly face off against each other in the survival or maze challenges.'

'Hey, Old Yuanfeng! I didn't expect that kid to pass the first two challenges so easily. It's no surprise that both of our emperors held him in high regard, and Emperor Yun even ordered his children to join your group simply because of his presence.' The envoy from the Yun Kingdom spoke to Chao Yuanfeng via voice transmission.

Chao Yuanfeng turned to him with a smile. 'Old Yang Shao, you haven't seen all of Zhang Fei's abilities, and he is even more terrifying than you can imagine, so I believe he will successfully lead them to pass the first floor.'

'If our prince and princess manage to pass the first floor, it will be a huge improvement for them, especially since they have failed many times before.' Yang Shao suddenly remembered some things. 'The Sin Challenge is not easy to pass, and they still have to pass the Enlightenment Challenge. It seems easy because they only need to learn the technique they choose; it won't be easy either, and they will fail if they can't learn it.'

'You're right.' Chao Yuanfang replied with a nod of agreement. 'However, our princes and princesses are intelligent, so I'm sure they will succeed in the enlightenment challenge.'

Unlike them, the male envoy from the Zhou Kingdom looked upset at Zhou Fang's defeat, and he immediately reported the matter to Zhou Xiaochuan. 'Where exactly did that brat come from? He has close ties with the Xian and Yun Kingdoms, and his progress is more amazing than some of the powerful cultivators above him.'

The envoys from the other four kingdoms also wondered about Zhang Fei's true identity, and they immediately reported his whereabouts to their emperors directly, especially about his results in the first three challenges.

Huangfu Shou, Bai Yaowei, Ximen Changtian, and Ximen Gongfu immediately ordered them to capture Zhang Fei as soon as he left the Star Tower.

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Zhang Fei stood with a satisfied smile as he looked at the screen. Despite not ranking first and only ranking tenth, Zhang Fei was genuinely satisfied, particularly considering that the nine people above him were cultivators in the seven divine realms. He did not expect Xian Jinglan to be powerful and manage to defeat her opponent so quickly, even though her opponent's cultivation was two minor levels above hers.

Meanwhile, Xian Changyue, Long Chen, Zhou Tong, Zheng Ru, Long Tian, Xi Xianzi, Jin Dabao, Ximen Yan, and Qian Ying occupy ranks two to nine.

'How did you manage to defeat Zhao Fang?' Xian Changyue asked Zhang Fei via voice transmission.

Zhang Fei first glanced at Zhou Tong, who continued to glare at him with a murderous look. 'I couldn't fight Zhou Fang head-on, so I had to use some methods to weaken him first, and I attacked him after he was sufficiently exhausted.'

'How did you exhaust Zhou Fang?' Zhang Fei replied to Xian Changyue with a wink, irritating her. 'Despite their opponents' cultivation being on par with theirs, Xianwu and Xianxin would likely have a difficult time defeating them, especially since both of them are demons from the dark demon kingdom.'

Zhang Fei nodded in agreement. 'Prince Xianwu and Princess Xianqin have prepared very well in the past week, so I am sure they will be able to defeat the two demons. Instead, Yun Qinghai will lose to his opponent, and Yun Xinyue will not necessarily be able to pass her test.'

'Qinghai's opponent is Zhou Tai, and he is different from you. His opponent's cultivation is at the 2-Moon Divine Transcend, so he will never win against him with his cultivation still at the quasi-divine realm.' Xian Changyue then turned her gaze to Yun Xinyue's name. 'Xinyue's opponent is Bai Shouyi, and their cultivation is equivalent in the quasi-divine realm. However, the Bai Princess's character is similar to her father, and they will not hesitate to use any means to achieve their goals.'

Zhang Fei had already realized that the Bai siblings had used something to boost their strengths during the strength test. 'What will happen if their fight ends in a draw?'

'No one knows the origin of this tower, and the rules in this tower are really weird.' Zhang Fei raised his eyebrows slightly. 'If their fight ends in a draw, they both pass the battle challenge and can take on the next.'

'I see.' Zhang Fei nodded in understanding. 'After this, there will be no more elimination battles, so it doesn't matter if the two of them advance to the next challenge. However, there will be too many participants in the survival and maze challenges, and fierce battles will definitely be unavoidable. Fortunately, we have you by our side, and I want you to focus on protecting them when we undergo both challenges.'

Xian Changyue immediately turned to Zhang Fei. 'What about you? Are you thinking about separating from us? All of them have their sights set on you, and they will undoubtedly attack you together. The Huangfu and Bai Kingdoms form a single alliance, while the Zhou Kingdom aligns itself with the two demon kingdoms, putting you in danger if you separate from us.'

'I knew that, so I decided to wander alone during the survival challenge.' Xian Changyue frowned at Zhang Fei's answer. 'If I stay with you guys, they will also target all of you, and the situation will become more complicated.'

Just as Xian Changyue was about to refute Zhang Fei, two lights suddenly appeared in the room. Yun Xinyue and Bai Shouyi immediately appeared and fell to the ground. Their condition was quite worrying, especially the princess of the Yun Kingdom, whose body was partly purplish black, indicating that she was poisoned.

Without thinking twice, they rushed to Yun Xinyue's side, and Zhang Fei immediately squatted beside the princess of the Yun Kingdom to check her condition. He then took out an antidote and forced her to swallow it, as the poison had already spread throughout her body. He also forced her to swallow a recovery pill so her condition could recover faster. After that, he sat her down and used his light element to heal her other injuries.

Fortunately, Zhang Fei had mastered the light law; even though it was only at the initial level, it was already very helpful to Yun Xinyue.

Meanwhile, Xian Changyue gazed at Bao Shouyi with a serious expression, but she did not take any action against her, particularly given the restrictions on fighting within the tower. If she attacks the Bai princess, the tower will immediately expel her.

Bai Shouyi's condition was also quite serious, with many wounds on her body, but her wounds were not life-threatening. Although their fight ended in a draw, the Bai princess smiled evilly when she saw Yun Xinyue's condition, but she did not say anything and swallowed some pills to restore her condition.

Zhou Tong suddenly moved behind Bai Shouyi, sat cross-legged behind her, and pressed his palms against her back. 'I will help you restore your condition.'

Two lights suddenly appeared in the room, but one of them was immediately sent out of the tower, and Zhou Tai stood in his spot with a broad smile. However, he frowned after he saw the rank, especially since Zhang Fei managed to defeat his little brother. 'This bastard! I will kill him if we meet in survival or maze challenges later!'

Xian Changyue immediately checked outside the tower, but she couldn't find Yun Qinghai there. She suddenly received a voice transmission from Chao Yuanfeng, who informed her that the Yun prince had already returned to the Yun Kingdom using a returning jade and that his condition was fine because he surrendered early. 'Phew! Fortunately, Qinghai didn't force himself and knew when to give up, or he would die at Zhou Tai's hands.'

Shortly after that, Xian Xianwu and Xian Xianqin appeared in the room with exhausted looks. However, Xian Changyue felt relieved because her nephew and niece did not suffer any significant injuries, and they only suffered some external injuries. She wanted to give them healing and recovery pills, but Zhang Fei had already thrown two pills at each of them, and they immediately swallowed them.

Xian Xianqin then approached Zhang Fei and asked. "What about Yinyue's condition? Will she be okay?"

"Yes." Zhang Fei then withdrew his light element back and laid Yun Xinyue on the floor with her head in his lap. "I have removed the poison from her body, and her life is no longer in danger, but she needs to rest for some time to recover."

With a sense of relief, Xian Xianqin sat beside Zhang Fei, resting her head on his shoulder. "That demon was always running and hiding like a rat, and I was too tired to chase him. Luckily, I managed to corner him and kill him before he gave up the match."
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"Good job." Zhang Fei replied as he put his arm around Xian Xianqin's shoulders. "Like us humans, many demons are very good. However, many demons, like that guy over there, are evil and deserve to die."

Ximen Yan, who was resting a little away from them, immediately put on a gloomy look after Zhang Fei said that. The two demons, who were Xian Xianwu and Xian Xianqin's opponents, were his subordinates, and they killed both of them. 'He can have fun with the Xian princess now, but I will kill her and Xian Xianwu in the survival or maze challenges later, and I will turn her into my slave.'

"Hehe." Xian Xianqin laughed as she closed her eyes. "I'll take a rest first, Zhang Fei."

Zhang Fei nodded, observing the ranking on the screen as numerous names began to appear, many of which were members of his group. Regrettably, some of them, like Huang Chi and Xuan Wuji, encountered formidable opponents and were unable to continue their challenge. 'Sigh! Our numbers have been reduced by two with their defeat, but it should be no problem for us since we still have Xian Changyue. Moreover, Ximen Chuixue and Bai Tian'er are not weak, so I'm confident we still have a chance to pass the survival or maze challenges.'

Sometime later, all participants completed the battle challenges, and the number of participants remaining was fifty people because some fights ended in a draw.

The people from the beast and natural races were the most dominant, and their members' passing rate reached ninety percent. Almost all of the royal members from all kingdoms successfully advanced to the next challenge except Zhou Fang and Yun Qinghai.

From the side of the two demon kingdoms, their royal members also managed to win their respective fights, but many of their members died in their fights.

Unlike before, no portals descended, but Xian Changyue informed Zhang Fei that there was indeed a day's break after the battle challenge so the participants could rest before taking on the next challenge. This way, they can take on the next challenge in prime condition, and their chances of qualifying will be greater.

All of them immediately went to different sides and rested with their respective groups, with the majority resting in peace. However, Zhang Fei and Xian Changyue remained awake to watch out for any sneaky movements from their opponents.

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In a faraway realm, the patriarch of the Shang Clan, Shang Huaqiang, along with his wife, Fei Qinyuan, walked into a bustling residence. An old man then led them to the back of the residence, where a middle-aged man was busy checking something in front of him.

"Senior Gong Ren."

"Hmm?" Gong Ren immediately turned to the two. "Why are you two here? What do you need from me?"

"Senior, I need that portal again." Shang Huaqiang's answer made Gong Ren frown. "One of the portals was destroyed by Princess Feng Yao, and I can't enter that realm because of our rules, so I need a new one."

Gong Ren was surprised to hear the name. "Do you have a problem with her? Why did she destroy the portal?"

"Honestly, I never had any problems with her, but she claimed to be the protector of this realm, so she helped them to destroy it."

"I see." Gong Ren nodded in understanding, but he immediately rejected Shang Huaqiang's request. "Since Princess Feng Yao has already said that she is the protector of that realm, I will not sell another portal to you."

"Why is that, Senior Gong?" Fei Qinyuan asked.

"Shouldn't you two already know the answer?" asked Gong Ren. "I do need a lot of jewels for my experiments, but I have a good relationship with the phoenix races. Princess Feng Yao must have known that the portal was my creation, and I didn't want to destroy my relationship with them because I had helped you. If you insist on purchasing a different portal, then Cheng Gaoji is a viable option. Although his portal is not as good as mine, it will still be useful for your purposes. However, he is not in this realm now, so you have to wait sometime to meet him."

Fei Qinyuan immediately turned to her husband, but Shang Huaqiang could only sigh helplessly. "In that case, we will go back now, and we will come to this realm again after Senior Cheng returns."

Gong Ren just nodded and focused his gaze on the experiment in front of him, but his mind was filled with several questions.

"Why do they keep targeting a planet in the lower realms? What exactly is hidden on that planet? Why did Princess Feng Yao decide to become the planet's protector?" In the end, Gong Ren decides to stop his experiment, takes his outer robe, and leaves his room. "I have to go to the phoenix realm to confirm the truth."

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In another realm, a young man with shoulder-length red hair walked into a three-story building filled with the unique scent of various herbs. His appearance in a red robe was very casual, and a small firebird perched on his right shoulder. Everyone who saw him immediately paid respect to him, especially after they saw the phoenix embroidered on the back of his robe.

On the first floor, many alchemists traded pills, and so many cultivators tried to buy them, but he didn't pay any attention to them. He swiftly approached the female receptionist at the room's center, presenting his token, which bore an engraved phoenix. "Take me to see Huoyun Zhiyan."

The female receptionist nodded immediately, rose from her seat, and guided the young man to the back room, where a staircase led to the third floor.

After they arrived on the third floor, the female receptionist immediately returned to her place, and the young man casually smashed the door in front of her, shocking several people inside.

However, they immediately recognized the young man's identity, so they said nothing and hurriedly lined up in front of him. "What can we do for you, Sir Feng Xishui?"

Feng Xishui didn't answer him immediately. Instead, he went to the chair behind the main table and sat there, raising both of his legs on it. "Huoyun Zhiyan, I have never liked your alchemy union, but Princess Feng Yao ordered me to come here."

"What does Princess Feng Yao want from us, sir?" Huoyun Zhiyan asked nervously.

Feng Xishui narrowed his eyes at Huoyun Zhiyan before delivering the message. "One of your men targeted my princess's sister."

Huoyun Zhiyan and the few people with him became tense, and a cold sweat began to drip from their foreheads. "Sir, how could my men dare to target Princess Feng's sister? I think it must be just a misunderstanding, or that person might not know her identity."

"I don't care whether that person knows her identity or not, and I also don't care whether it's a misunderstanding or not." Feng Xishui replied in a cold voice. "My princess said that someone sent one of your alchemy union's guards to capture her sister, so she sent me here to ask you to take responsibility."

- To Be Continued -