Qiuyue and Feng

The moon shines down its graceful light.

In the city outskirts of Jiang Shian, blanketed by the cover of midnight's darkness, a portal had suddenly opened.

The tremendous force emanating from the portal alone was enough to make the trees sway and the wind to roar. It was a portal that would usher in cultivators whose powers and skills were tempered at the course of a thousand years.

They rest in the peak that mortal realm cultivators could only dream of.

They possessed the might to make an entire city collapse at will.

They are heaven's elites.

A dashing man with red eyes wearing a mask wore a full smile on his face as he stood a few distance away from the portal, eagerly awaiting his comrades, "Welcome to Jiang Shian, Qiuyue, Feng, you two haven't changed at all."

From out of the portal came a woman wearing refined thin azure robes, even the fashion of her clothes was not native to the mortal realm as it both combined the desire for battle and elegance. The woman with flowing silver hair, reminiscent of the moon above, had facial structure gorgeous enough to rival any empress.

"I haven't changed? You're the one still wearing that debauched mask after all these years. It makes me want to rip it out of your face." The silver haired woman argued, barely hiding her contempt for the man before them.

"Why? Does it remind you of your master whom you betrayed, Quiyue?"

The red eyed man casually dropped the statement as if it wasn't a bomb that would make Qiuyue explode in anger. From Quiyue, a wave of killing intent manifested, a wave that would be enough to freeze a mortal realm cultivator's heart from the terror. It spoke volume to his hidden power how he was able to merely shrug it off.

Qiuyue's right hand instantly formed an ice sabre, its target obvious. The silver haired woman was about to put the red-eyed man in his place when a hand on Quiyue's shoulder stopped her assault. The hand came from a handsome man, his long orange hair was tied to a ponytail to give him a slick appearance along with his red coat.

"Qiuyue, remember the king's order. We are not to cause any ruckus to this primitive realm." Feng reasoned. The fight that would ensue between the two denizens of heaven would be enough to turn the whole Jiang Shian upside down. A clash straight out of myths of near-godlike cultivators.

Feng's attention went to the red-eyed man, "Bao, I get that Zhen is your friend but we didn't come here for you to accost Qiuyue. What's the situation regarding Zhen's replacement?"

"By my guidance and Marici's grace, she had grown to be quite the formidable cultivator." Bao smirked as another opportunity to tease had presented itself. "She might even be a match for Qiuyue."

While the silver haired woman only laughed off the remark, no matter how much of a genius this woman is, she would still be a few hundred years too early to take her on. But then again, she is Marici's chosen, if what the red-eyed pervert says is true, then by all means…

Bloodlust emanated from Qiuyue, the floor was starting to shatter as her true cultivation level started to leak from the excitement of clashing against a powerful foe and the possibility of finally facing someone that can open her stars.

Feng clicked his tongue. Ever the instigator, this Bao.

"Qiuyue, calm yourself. The 3rd seat belonged to Zhen, we must ensure that she can fill it rather than you accidentally killing her. Do you understand?" Feng's timbre took on a more serious note as he drilled into his comrade their plan.

The silver haired woman's aura died down, "I know, I know. But if you're asking me I doubt that this woman can fill Master Zhen's spot in just a hundred years. So, where is this woman right now?"

"She is asleep, you shall see her in action tomorrow at the intersect tournament." Bao explained.

Qiuyue's forehead creased in anger, "Intersect tournament!? Are you fucking kidding me!? That's no way to gauge her strength! She might as well spar with monkeys and it wouldn't make any difference!"

With Bao's smirk never fading, he answered the woman's query, "And what do you suggest? We pit her against you when you could barely contain your bloodlust from earlier? Don't forget, the phoenix king sent you here to observe, and observe you will."

It was a smirk that made Qiuyue want to punch him, shattering his mask in the process. For as much as she didn't want to admit, Qiuyue was reminded of her master since she was aware of the banal mask's history. And it was a rather trite history at that. She can't believe her master was now bound to such a thing. The sooner Qiuyue can extract her from it, the sooner she can return Zhen's soul to its rightful place, within the Phoenix King himself.

"Rot in hell, Bao."

Bao merely chuckled at Qiuyue's childish snap, sometimes, Bao wondered if he should've gone with his friend during her rebellion, but as much as she valued their friendship, he was akin to Qiuyue in wanting to simply put his bets on the winning horse, or in this case, the winning phoenix.

At last, the first step upon the success of pitting the vengeful dragon against the all-powerful phoenix is nigh.

"Then by the power invested in me by the Phoenix King, I, Jiao Bao, the one serving as his eyes and ears in the mortal realm, declare your reconnaissance mission started. Both of you who serve as his talons shall determine the worth of your new comrade firsthand, to see if she is worthy of withstanding the King's purifying flames. Glory to the Phoenix King."

In sheer awe of simply his name, the two followed Bao's veneration.

"Glory to the Phoenix king."

"Glory to the Phoenix king."

A chill breeze went past Bao, he wondered, had his friend prepared her current vessel enough to encounter her old comrades?

It is a test, then. Not only for Zhen's vessel, but for Zhen as well. Failing would mean the end of the Ice Empress' journey to rise back into the heavens.