“Father, what is the Phoenix Princess?”

Within an opulent mansion, a red-haired little girl brushed locks out of her face as a handsome but fierce-looking middle-aged man gently placed her on the bed.

The man’s golden eyes, a staple of the Von Basten family, warmed as he smiled at his daughter. He gently tucked her under the sheets as he answered, “The Phoenix Princess is one of the great bastions of humanity’s strength. She protects the world from harm with her mighty powers and blesses the Von Basten family.”

The little girl rubbed her eyes to stave off her sleepiness, and drowsily said, “Mommy said I will be the next Phoenix Princess. Does that mean I get to become a hero like you, daddy?”

“My sweet Aeriole. You will be far greater than your old man.” A trace of sadness flitted through the man’s eyes as he leaned over and kissed his daughter’s forehead. As Aeriole drifted off to sleep, the man backed away and switched off the lights.

Intriguingly, several dozen Fire Motes appeared once the lights went off, bathing the room in a warm, red glow. The man looked at the Fire Motes with a complicated gaze as he remarked, “The Phoenix Princess is an existence that shapes the fate of all mankind. One day, you will understand.” Clack! He then shut the door, leaving Aeriole to her dreams.

Bu Lu’s eyes shone as he gazed at the burning angel in the sky. “The Phoenix Princess. So, we do get to see the might of an Emperor soul pet.” He then clucked his tongue in regret as he lamented, “It’s too bad the phoenix itself did not make an appearance, but I suppose this is enough.”

“The Phoenix is not something she can casually bring out,” explained Hao Ranhui with a stiff smile. “But, rest assured. This form is more than enough to destroy that brat.”

Bu Lu chuckled as he glanced at Twilight and Midnight. “Consider yourselves honored. This must be your first time seeing an Emperor-ranked soul pet. It will broaden your horizons.”

Twilight ignored Bu Lu, and instead, looked at the Phoenix Princess with a complicated gaze. What tough luck. Rao Wu and the kids had worked so hard to reach this point, yet they had to hit someone as unreasonable as Aeriole. You could search all the Academies in the continent and not find a single child with an Emperor-ranked soul pet. Yet, this child possessed one at a mere ten-eleven years of age.

‘Hehe, I suppose it’s not too bad. This will teach Rao Wu some humility too. It might have gone to his head if he won all his battles.’ Twilight had no way of knowing the numerous times Rao Wu tasted defeat during the tests.

Rao Wu did not need a lesson in humility. Fen, the administrator, destroyed all delusions of grandeur that may have lurked in the child’s subconscious. Rao Wu knew there were countless people stronger than him in the world. So, he was not overly shocked when he saw Aeriole’s grand appearance.

Instead, Rao Wu groaned and then struggled to his feet as he fixed Aeriole with a determined gaze. “I cannot win? You know, you may be right.” Rao Wu briefly balanced himself on Xian Da’s flank, and then switched to his spear, which he leaned on for support. “But, you won’t know until you try, right?” Rao Wu weakly grinned as he looked up at Aeriole.

The 53rd Phoenix Princess, Aeriole Von Basten, shook her head. “I’m sorry, but it is over, Rao Wu. Please give up. I am not yet adept at controlling this power. I do not want to harm you.”

“Hehe, thanks for caring.” Rao Wu chuckled as he knew what Aeriole meant by ‘harm.’ It was a warning to Rao Wu that he would not come out of her next attack with superficial burns. In actuality, there was a chance he could even lose his life. Rao Wu’s heart slightly warmed since this meant Aeriole did not look down on him just because he was a hybrid. With a broad smile, Rao Wu panted as he brandished his spear. “But, an Emperor doesn’t flee just because things get tough.”

“As you wish.” Faced with Rao Wu’s conviction, Aeriole no longer hesitated. A tsunami of flames blasted out of her raised hand as she chanted, “Infernal Devastation.”

Rao Wu’s eyes twitched as a deluge of flames, akin to a waterfall, poured out of Aeriole’s hand and then crashed into the ground. Then, like a tsunami wave, the sea of flames quickly flushed to all corners of the arena.

“No!” Just before the flames reached them, Xian Da quickly jumped in front of Rao Wu and Ju Tu and then raised its head and let out a loud howl. Vwoosh! A column of wind blasted out of his mouth and smashed into the incoming wave. “Nngh!” The reinforced wind only managed to slow down the flames, creating a ‘wind tunnel’ that forced the embers on either side of Rao Wu and Ju Tu.

Still under the influence of Soul Burst, Xian Da summoned every bit of his soul energy to energize his wind and repel the terrible fire tsunami.

Kssh! Unfortunately, Xian Da’s attempts were like a band-aid over a broken dam. The terrible tsunami rapidly drained his soul energy and had even begun pushing him back across the ground. This was an emperor-ranked soul pets’ attack. The fact that Xian Da even managed to repel it for one second was commendable, let alone for close to a minute.

Several soul trainers in the crowd could not help but give this strange Nightwind Wolf another look. They could tell this soul pet had enormous potential. Not just anyone could hold back an emperor-ranked soul pet.

Aeriole’s gaze flickered as she watched the strange hole within the sea of flames. She knew that Xian Da’s efforts were useless. The Nightwind Wolf was certainly punching far above his weight, but he would soon run out of soul energy.

Frrt!

“Watch out, Rao Wu!” Ju Tu shouted and then stood in front of Rao Wu as clumps of flames broke through the wind barrier. The Silver Primate used his large frame to block the clumps from striking Rao Wu, but he then grunted in pain as the heat burned his skin. These flames were nothing like the Flame Motes’. They were much hotter and deadlier, rendering Ju Tu’s elemental resistance nigh-useless.

“Ju Tu!” Rao Wu gritted his teeth as he listened to Ju Tu’s pained groans. He hated to admit it, but it seemed there truly was no path to victory. He could potentially teleport with his fox-fire, but he only had enough soul energy for two jumps. That was not enough to change the situation.

Rao Wu would have bitterly fought until he passed out if he were alone, but he could not bear his soul pets’ suffering. At this distance, Rao Wu could feel their pain as they struggled against the endless fiery torrent.

Realizing the futility of their situation, Rao Wu revealed a pleased smile and then said, “You did well, guys, but this is as far as we go. There’s no shame in giving up here. You’ve already shown the world you’re not trash—”

“Shut up!”

“What?” Rao Wu’s eyes widened in shock when the usually well-behaved Ju Tu suddenly swore at him.

“I said, shut up!” Ju Tu repeated as he looked over his shoulder and glared at Rao Wu. His face darkened from soot, and smoke was ablaze in anger as he roared, “Give up? We did well? What kind of nonsense are you spouting!?”

“Ha!?” Rao Wu cleaned his ears in disbelief and then jabbed a finger at the rebelling Silver Primate. “Did you just say nonsense? Are you calling what I said nonsense!?”

“Yeah!” Ju Tu snorted angrily, blowing out a large gust of air. “It is nonsense! Are you giving up because of us!? You’ll later stand there and call us brothers. We win or lose together after trying our hardest! That was the agreement!”

“Sharrap! You think I don’t know that!?” Rao Wu scratched his head in frustration and then pointed at the sky. “She’s too damn strong! I’m trying to be a reasonable, kind-hearted soul trai—”

“Who needs your kind heart!?” Ju Tu roared back, interrupting Rao Wu. The Silver Primate grunted as even more flames began breaking through Xian Da’s wind barrier. “We finally find an opponent worth fighting, and you want to run away!? How are you going to make us Emperors if you run every time we get hurt? Do you think you’re the only one allowed to get hurt?”

“No. Of course not. But—”

“Win or lose, Live or Die together. That is the deal.”

“You—” Rao Wu choked on his words as he looked at Ju Tu’s broad back. That was right. He wasn’t fighting alone. Just like he told Lunzi Brooks, soul pets were not tools but comrades. Since that was the case, Rao Wu had to believe in them even if they got hurt in the process. That was what it meant to fight side-by-side with your brother.

“Hehe,” Rao Wu chuckled as he rubbed his nose. “You’re absolutely right.” Rao Wu looked up at the Phoenix Princess. “So what if she’s the strongest? We’ve fought much worse, and we’re still standing. I believed in you all then. I’m sorry I doubted you now.” Rao Wu brandished his spear, shut his eyes, and then crouched low. “Xian Da, Ju Tu! Hold out as long as you can! I haven’t mastered this move yet, so I’ll need a few seconds.”

Ju Tu’s eyes widened as he watched Rao Wu enter his stance. “You! You said that form is too dangerous right now!”

Rao Wu chuckled as his aura began to disappear, the direct opposite of Annihilation. “You said I had to trust you. Now, it’s your turn to trust me. I won’t let your pain go to waste.”

Pain reflected in Ju Tu’s eyes, but he ultimately turned and resolutely blocked the flames from reaching Rao Wu. “Be quick!”

Rao Wu's lips slightly curled as he focused on his spear. The spear technique he bought had three levels: Annihilation, Spirit Severing, and Extinction. Spirit Severing was the most dangerous technique of the three levels because it was not a physical but a mental attack.

Spirit Severing fashioned the wielder’s mental energy into a mental attack that could pierce and destroy an opponent’s psyche. Unfortunately, if not appropriately handled, Spirit Severing could damage the wielder's mental faculties before ever reaching the opponent.

Rao Wu had severely injured himself several times while practicing this technique, and thus was hesitant to bring it out earlier. But, now, with his back against the wall, Rao Wu had no choice but to hope for a miracle. Rao Wu did not know the strength of Aeriole’s mental defenses, but he hoped she underestimated him enough to ignore that possibility.

As Rao Wu focused on sharpening his mental image, Xian Da and Ju Tu both weakened as the flames’ intensity increased. It appeared Aeriole had chosen to end this.

‘Ugh. They can’t hold on much longer!’ Rao Wu inwardly cursed as he felt Xian Da and Ju Tu’s rapidly draining soul energies. They were both running on fumes, and the young man had no intentions of letting them face those flames without proper defenses. ‘Tch. I’ll just have to go for it.’ Even though he did not feel ready, Rao Wu decided to hasten his final attack. If this failed, he would immediately recall his brothers.

Just as Rao Wu made up his mind and slightly pulled his leg back, a soft voice emanated from his soul, nearly shattering his concentration.

“Master. Let me out.”

That voice was filled with so much conviction and pride that Rao Wu did not hesitate. To Ju Tu’s shock, he immediately shouted, “Ju Tu, come back!”

“Rao W—” Ju Tu never got to finish his protest as he suddenly shrunk into a ball of light and returned to the soul space.

“Sorry, brother.” Rao Wu weakly grinned as the flames consumed him, burning his skin, face, and clothes. Despite the searing pain, Rao Wu did not break his stance as he softly called out, “Show them your growth—”

Vwoong!

Thousands of thorny, green vines burst out of a summoning circle, instantly submerging the arena in a sea of green. Before Aeriole could react, a dozen green vines shot to the sky and wrapped tightly around her, binding the young girl in place.

Rao Wu, not one to miss opportunities, teleported to the fox-fire that hung above the ‘wrapped dumpling’ and then stabbed his spear into the vines.

Vwoong!

Rao Wu visibly paled as terrible energy burst out of his spear and then pierced into the vines. Shockingly, this energy phased through the vines, revealing its ethereal nature. This was the Spirit Severing’s scariest aspect. It ignored all physical defenses until it struck the target’s spirit.

If it were anyone else, Rao Wu would have hesitated to use this move as it could theoretically kill someone with a weak spirit. However, there was no way a soul trainer with an Emperor-ranked soul pet had a weak spirit, so he did not hesitate to go all out.

“Kyaaa!”

A sharp cry emanated from within the vines to the audience's shock, followed by a massive explosion that blasted Rao Wu sky high.

As the vines’ remnants fell, they revealed an unconscious Aeriole as she plummeted head-first to the ground. Shockingly, Rao Wu’s attack struck true, severely injuring her soul.

Still reeling from the explosion, Rao Wu groaned when he saw Aeriole falling. At this rate, she would hit her head! From this height, she could even risk death.

Rao Wu gritted his teeth forced himself to focus as he once again teleported, this time to Aeriole’s side. Rao Wu wrapped his arms around the unconscious girl’s waist and then turned so that his back faced the ground.

Fortunately, neither Rao Wu nor Aeriole struck the ground.

A bulb dug out from the ground beneath Rao Wu and then peeled open to reveal a stunning, naked young woman with green skin and leaves around her body. The teenage-looking Lu Lin gently stretched out her hand, causing a large flower to sprout from the ground.

Paff~

Rao Wu fell into the flowerbed with Aeriole and then bent his head as he weakly smiled at the Dryad, Lu Lin. “So, you finally woke up.”

“Yes,” Lu Lin smiled as she bowed and then greeted, “I am back, Master.”