31 End of the trials

"Lucky?" the Phoenix's eyes narrowed slightly, this little boy was truly a differential being who will definitely create strong waves in the future. To be so immensely powerful at the mere true profound realm while being so young, it was a feat that was unrivaled in the lower realms. If he were to began his cultivation journey in the upper realms, his strength will probably be at a higher level than it currently was. obviously, it had some guesses as to what is fueling this immense power, but it was wise to keep it under wraps for now.

" I congratulate you on completing all of the preceding trials. Do understand, however, that the third trial does not involve any fighting, but it is the test of the heart to see your true nature and resolve. Furthermore, in these countless years, the number of challengers who have passed the first two trials amount to three hundred twenty-nine. But the ones who passed the third trial only amount to seven people."

This third trial was bound to be tricky. Its nature is really weird since there is not a singular answer. Nonetheless, the premise or concept within the trial is something that was briefly revealed in the novel, so it is not something to be truly scared of after attentive contemplation.

Azazel smiled in understanding "I see that the degree of difficulty is increased with each trial. I will make sure to be extremely careful knowing this paramount information." The needle situated atop his forehead was gone seconds ago. There was no need to activate its prowess considering the inherent lack to do so.

"that will be for the best. Now then, are you ready?"

"Indeed, I'm ready."

the Phoenix spirit's eyes disappeared and the pitch-black world started to distort once more. The sensation of traveling in space truly felt weird. It was a nearly indescribable feeling as if he was being transported by a hurricane that kept on shifting direction with each passing second.

It was a gradual process that tugged his heartstrings. His cognitive thinking process seems to slow down by a notch. HIs ability to process information was slightly slower than before, and the size of his body was smaller than before, at least that was the information his brain is conveying.

Azazel opened his eye and analyzed his surroundings. To his surprise, he was in a luxurious living room decorated with painting and 2 adjacent couches to his left. After much squinting, he could make out the figure of a woman clothed in a white robe with bunny drawings. The woman was beautiful and overflowed with a mature and slightly motherly charm.

Azazel shook his head, he expected this much to happen. This woman was none other than his mother, a person who took care of him to the point where he particularly found it annoying, as he believed himself to be so intelligent and advanced for his age that the requirement for a mother is completely unnecessary. Which, unfortunately, was the sole reason why there was a rift in their relationship. He was foolish, overly arrogant, and sought not the motherly love presented in excess in front of him.

Who rejects the love of their mom? Only a bratty child with eyes above his/her forehead. These times have been a period of understanding and consciousness. He was so flawed, so incredibly encased in filth that he felt disappointed in himself. If given the chance, he most probably will drink a full cup of bleach if not for his contemporary conviction to achieve his goals.

The woman's white-hair fluttered under the influence of the wayward wind, her smile was so beautiful and intoxicating that the luxurious room could not help but shrink in its inadequacy.

Azazel(little) slowly stood up from the carpet, marching towards the general direction of the white-haired woman. His small frame shook as he kneeled on the floor

"Forgive me, mother. for the bratty child, I was. I realize my own ignorance and if only I had the chance to correct my wrongs."

The woman looked up with her glowing scarlet eyes, flashing a beautiful smile as she patted her kneeling son.

"Azzy, there is no need to feel apologetic. This is an envisioned scenario in a relationship between a mother and their son. I forgive you."

Embarrassment flooded Azazel's veins as his face turn red. Foreseen? didn't this mean that she knew all along that he was going to be a brat in the future? ah, those words are not reassuring at all!

"I see that you have changed. Do follow advice, my son, especially from someone who is knowledgable and cognizant of things you are not. Regrettably, I'm not going to be there for you for a long period of time."

Azazel cocked his head in puzzlement, not quite comprehending what she meant "wait, mother, Whatever are you trying to say? also, who is Asmodeus? the name that you tattoed on your shoulder." he always wanted to ask this question, as it was probably related to her side of the family and he has met none of them.

Her smiled deteriorated for a second as if she was in perplexity of some sort.

" you will find out soon enough. There are things in life that need specific provisions in order for one to express them. There are truths masqueraded in lies my son. Not everything is as it seems, and unquestionably, your life is and will be far from ordinary. Take care of yourself." she smiled for the final time, whispering her valediction to her evermore confused son. A small knife seemed to warp into reality as she used it to stab him on the heart. Painless it was, and quickly did he lose his consciousness. If only he was more aware of her figure, how life like she seemed, and the faint lambent scarlet drawing situated just beneath her upper arm, things were bound to be much more explainable.

The scene before his eyes distorted and disappeared as the world once again returned to darkness. Azazel opened his eyes and met the two gigantic golden eyes of the Phoenix that flickered with certain shock.

Time passed, yet the Phoenix uttered not a single word, she seemed to be musing about something with such urgency that the participant who just finished its test became a lesser priority.

Azazel coughed lightly, hoping to bring the Phoenix back from its state of contemplation.

" I passed did I not? or was the outcome less than satisfactory?" he asked.

"Hm. the premise of this test was to judge whether you have a pure heart, one that is not inflated with the desire for power to the point where harming those who you love is nothing but a chore. Certainly, you have met the qualifications to inherit my prowess. However, for some weird reason, I can neither read your soul nor pry into the illusion you encountered. As a matter of fact, I presume that it was probably not an illusion."

"not an illusion? how could that be?" Azazel was legitimately confused at this point. Honestly, something just did not make sense.

"I'm probably overanalyzing things. Maybe it was a momentary mistake of mines since I have never taken in participants for quite some time. Mhm, it is the most probable explanation for this occurrence. Anyways, You have passed this test with flying colors. I congratulate you on your prowess. You will be granted three gifts from the Phoenix: Phoenix blood, Divine Phoenix Pills and you will have the chance to study the [World Ode of the Phoenix - Fragment]. The previously challengers only received a single drop of the Phoenix blood after they passed, however, I will be riddled with guilt if I were to give you any less than three drops for your impeccable victory. Your ability to mold profound energy is something I have never witnessed before. That alone justifies a gift of this magnitude." the phoenix amiable stated.

"Though I do question whether your profound veins can handle it. From what I observed, your veins are completely scarlet and possess a pattern that I have never seen nor knowledgeable of despite my status as a divine beast. I will take a gamble on its mystery, is that fine with you?"

Azazel did not even a spare a second thought before nodding in acceptance. If chief was constantly bragging about how this divine body was the strongest of all then surely it will allow him to accommodate more than 3 blood drops. Besides, he also integrated the flaming seed of the evil god so it should be fine.

"very well. Close your eyes and don't resist" the voice of the Phoenix reverberated within his heart.

Upon the three blood drops touching his profound veins, they immediable began circulating in a manner that surprised him. It was as if his veins were an insatiable void that sucked up everything. In a minute, the warm feeling induced by the phoenix blood drops disappeared, which could only symbolize the integration of the phoenix blood within his profound veins. The entire process, at most, took a single minute. Surprising considering the fact that yun che, who had the evil god seed took about 3 hours, while others who possessed average or high tier profound veins took 3 days if not a whole week.

"hm, what is this? don't tell me you finished the whole process already?" the golden shimmering eyes in the air widened into saucers. The number of times the Phoenix experienced shock today was almost uncountable, just who or what in the heck was this boy?

Azazel merely smiled in response, choosing not to vocally answer the question.

"I thank you for giving me this opportunity, Phoenix. I do believe that the test ends here, yes?" he observed while scrolling through the world ode of the Phoenix, hereby showing no visible surprise at the fact that it only had the 5th and 6th stage.

"yes, the test could be considered finished but there is something you need to know. You see, the divine phoenix of legends actually left two spirits in this continent, one was situated here and the other at the current divine phoenix empire, hence the name. The other Phoenix was unfortunately influenced by the constant negative emotions circulating within the location as a result of constant wars and human deceit. It came to the conclusion that it was the only spirit deserving to stay on this continent, so it looked for me in order to kill me. During our fight, I managed to steal the 5th and 6th stage of the world ode of the Phoenix after having mines completely destroyed. Then, to preserve my life, I made the illusion that I died, only then was it satisfied and left. Obviously, I'm still very much alive albeit I have to hide on this remote location to avoid being noticed."

Azazel tapped his chin interest, what an interesting story indeed. Though from what he could remember, the other Phoenix felt sorry for its action after some time contemplating. "well, what a pity. I suppose in the future I will travel to the Phoenix empire and retrieve the other stages."

"be careful. If they hear that there is another group of people with the Phoenix bloodline then they will kill you without a second thought." the Phoenix warned.

"kill me, Huh. I can't wait to see them try" Azazel smiled devilishly before turning around and disappearing from the trial grounds."

The Phoenix sighed to itself, no one knew what it was thinking.

Back outside, A scarlet light issued forth on the surroundings only to highlight the spiritual vessel of Azazel. Chief finally opened his emotionless eyes, observing any changes on the boy in front of him

"it seems like you passed after all. I was beginning to believe that you will choke in a hideous fashion" he mocked.

Azazel smiled "is that so? well sorry to disappoint."

...