XVI
'By the way… did Jasmine or Xia Qingyue take peeks last night?'
[System: Yes.]
'Rah… who are the real perverts here? I don't be peeking at other people going at it.'
[System: Porn?]
'... I mean, technically… they consented to be watched? I don't recall doing so.'
[System: Think on the bright side, you might've got them wet.]
'... Shut up.'
…
On one hand, he had the Phoenix's flames and on the other, he had the Blue Dragon's ice. These two were polar opposites, extremes of Yang and Yin respectively. However, with the absolute elemental control of the Heretic God (thanks to the fire and water seeds), he was able to slowly merge the two together. Given what he was aiming to do… he greatly strengthened the fire side of things, melting the ice. After a minute or so, he did turn it into 'hot' water. The water itself was rather cool but its exterior was steaming hot.
'... Phoenix flames would be more effective on their own this way.' Rokas sighed, scrapping his first way of doing it. 'I have to get more creative…'
"What are you trying to do?" jasmine scoffed, shaking her head. "Make boiling water?"
"... Technically, yes."
"..."
'What if I could fundamentally change the Blue Dragon's ice to be water naturally. It might just be possible given that my Phoenix and Blue Dragon bloodlines fused. Add the Yin with the Yang from the Phoenix, creating divine 'balanced' water… then I perhaps could increase its boiling temperature to absurd heights and lower the energy needed to heat it up…'
[System: I know you got an G7/A- in Science for your GCSEs but chill.]
'Would it work?'
[System: Dunno.]
'... You're meant to be the omniscient entity here.'
[System: By dunno, I meant you figure it out.]
'At least play me a track.'
[Playing Sword of Promised Victory from Fate/Zero]
'... Way too intense.'
[Playing Replay by Lyaz]
'Bro… that's a whole love song. I fuck with it but I'm trying to be creative here.'
[System: You want me to play something like 10hr tranquil nature relaxation sleep sounds? Be more specific.]
'Hmm… False King.'
[Playing False King (choir) by Two Steps From Hell]
[System: Doesn't it also get a little 'intense'?]
'It builds up to it!'
Supported by the badass choir in his head, Rokas settled down and focused on his Blue Dragon ice. He formed an icicle in his hand, observing it keenly. After a while, he put it to the side and focused on creating Blue Dragon water from the start.
…
God knows how many times he tried and practised. First finding a way to 'change' the Blue Dragon ice into water naturally took many days alone and then finding the perfect balance took just as many. Half of his honeymoon was spent creating this 'balanced' divine water. The other half was time with Cang Yue, of course.
Then, merging the water with fire was quite simple. However, he wasn't all too satisfied as the result was still clearly less than the Phoenix flames. So, he relentlessly focused on lessening the amount of energy required to heat the divine water while keeping its boiling point extremely high, naturally balancing it more to the Yang side of things.
With his pride on the line and three months of endless dedication… he had done it.
He created supremely hot water that was a minuscule degree warmer than Phoenix flames while having the absolute 'control' aspect that came with water laws. But… that was not all! He discovered that the strength behind this hot water was much greater than both the Blue Dragon's ice and Phoenix's flames… the two had seamlessly fused!
"Jazzy Jasmine… are you seeing this?" Rokas formed a ball of scalding-hot water and had it floating in the air.
"Jazzy…" Jasmine muttered, frowning slightly. "In what way is this princess 'jazzy'? Or are you playing on this princess' name?"
"Jazzy can mean colourful… which, I mean, objectively, you are," Rokas observed her scarlet red hair and eyes. "More importantly, this hot… divine water!"
"Err… are you going to use it for baths or something? Is it drinkable?"
"... I might… but it's more suited to combat. Take a closer look."
"... This… to think that you could bend water to such an extent. Even having such a radical idea is rather insane. And yet… in your own way, you are a genius for accomplishing such a feat. Although… the water you used wasn't ordinary, was it? Otherwise, it should have evaporated long ago."
"No… it was a form of divine ice which I learned to turn into water."
"And how did you even attain said divine ice?"
"Err…" Rokas scratched his hair. "That part doesn't really matter."
Jasmine furrowed her brows. "Hmph… you dare to hide secrets from your master?"
"... Maybe."
"Whatever. If you don't wish to share them, you don't have to. Still… I must admit, what you accomplished here is exceedingly impressive if not heaven-defying. You are a genius in your own right."
When Jasmine said that he didn't have to spill his secrets, he felt glad but also a little guilty… she was, after all, his master. When he lacked in meditation form, she helped him improve on it. When he didn't have a good profound movement skill, she made one just for him. When he lacked the spirit and focus to keep going… she pushed him forward.
"... Thanks." Rokas smiled, turning away slightly.
"However, what good is this 'hot water' if you don't have a profound art to effectively utilise it? As you are its inventor… you will have to make the profound art yourself as well!"
"... Sounds like a tall order." Rokas sighed. 'Sounds like a massive drag! Creating what, five to ten forms? And giving them all decent names? Man…'
"Still… if you've come this far, I don't doubt your ability to do so." Jasmine spoke with an encouraging tone. "This princess has witnessed you crawl from a useless cave dweller who could barely comprehend profound arts… to this."
"You didn't have to violate me like that." Rokas chuckled. "And… what's 'this', exactly?"
"A genius who even this princess can respect for his creativity."
"You're going to make me blush." Rokas smiled, nodding. "By the way… the Star God's Broken Shadow is no longer incomprehensible to me."
"Let's see how long it takes you to learn it, in that case." Jasmine smiled slightly.
"I promised that I'd get it down within a year…"
[Jasmine (Fortune X) Confidant Rank: 5 → 6]
…
Rokas, for once, shattered all expectations that Jasmine had for him. He learned the Star God's Broken Shadow in less than a month, partly due to the fact that constant use of the Star Mortal's Broken Shadow gave him insight into the far superior original. The main reason was, of course, due to his high comprehension ability. He was seeing patterns he couldn't before due to his experience in a myriad of simpler profound arts alongside his profound energy control.
----------------
Name: Rokas / Long Ke
Alias: Perverted fiend, Lord Phoenix God, The Foreigner, Blue Wind Empire's Number One Expert (assumed), Cang Yue's Beloved
Race: Demon
Identity: The Prince-Consort
Age: 17 → 18
Timeline:1 year, 6 months, 2 weeks → 2yr, 5 days
Profound Strength: Sky Profound Realm X → Emperor Profound Realm III
----------------
[Stats]
(Training in the Profound Way along the Blue Dragon Legacy gave insight, bolstering comprehension. Strength slightly increased due to the Blue Dragon body, Endurance greatly improved due to the Blue Dragon body, agility greatly increased due to the Star God's Broken Shadow and profound energy control also greatly improved from the 'hot water' project)
Comprehension: C+ → B++
Strength: C++ → C+++
Endurance: C+ → B++
Agility: C+ → B++
Profound Energy Quantity: A-
Profound Energy Control: C+ → B++
Luck: F-
----------------
[Confidants]
The System (The World): 4 → 5
Jasmine (Fortune X): 4 → 6
Cang Yue (Lovers VI): 5 → 9
Murong Qianxue (Moon XVIII): 0 → 1
Xia Qingyue (Hanged Man XII): 0 → 2
----------------
[Abilities]
Secret Ability: Consume
Special Ability: Inner World B++
Unlimited Energy Works F-C
Sigma Male Grindset B
Profound Handle B- (Orange)
Star Mortal's Broken Shadow D+ → Star God's Broken Shadow B- (Stage 1)
Heaven Burning Secret Arts D → Heaven Burning Phoenix Arts B-
'EVERYTHING!!!' F++++ → 'EVERYTHING!!!' D+++++ (improved efficiency)
Shared Growth C
Perfectly Balanced Blue Water B+
Blazing Water A-
Bloodline: Majestic-Blue Berserk Nine-Headed Flood Dragon A
(Long ass name, I know)
Description: The Nine-Headed dragon evolved further after consuming the entire Blue Dragon Legacy. Now, it boasted both divine flames and ice, a much more durable body and additional strength. Being capable of unleashing blazing hot water with ease similar to its human form, this was not a dragon one would wish to face!
----------------
'Only through diligence may the heavenly procrastinator grow'
Meditation/Comprehension Goal VII: Dedicate ten thousand hours towards cultivation (7,506/10,000).
(Reward: The Goddess)
Dual-Cultivation Goal IV: Dual-cultivate a thousand times (632/1000) (each release counts)
(Reward: Shared Growth B)
----------------
In a town near the Blue Wind Imperial City.
"Hmm-hmm-hmm-hmm-hmm…"
Rokas was vibing at the rooftop of the tallest building, humming to 'Ezio's Family' from Assassin's Creed II with Cang Yue beside him. His golden eyes glanced across his surroundings, where the Phoenix clansmen had settled down. They had followed his instructions and not revealed their legacies under any circumstances. Also, they avoided calling him Lord Phoenix God, settling for 'Lord' instead.
He saw the kids goofing off playing silly games, some of the youngers tending to the farm, the young adults sparring with each other, and the elders focusing on their cultivation. He saw the endless field ahead, with the sun shining down on it…
It was so peaceful.
For a moment… he could've easily forgotten his mission to repay Jiufang Yu's favour in full. He could have forgotten his 'fate'… and all that he had to do. In truth, he wished to stay by Cang Yue's side and start a family with her. Maybe not now… of course, he thought himself too immature for that. But settling down with the love of his life in a place he could call home seemed awfully tempting.
Still… he had 'duties' to fulfil because he replaced Yun Che in a way. He had to get all of the stuff Jasmine needed for her body, get the Profound Ark and cure Hong'er, train on and on, make himself prevalent in the God Realm and then convince Jie Yuan to leave Primal Chaos. There were things he wanted to do, as well… such as save Jasmine from the ritual, return Xia Qingyue to her parents, ensure that Duke Ming didn't get his way in the Illusory Demon Realm, saving the Wood Spirits on the Darkya Realm and…. while this wish is less heroic, he also wished to see Qianye Ying'er.
To achieve all of that, he needed to reach for the skies.
"Why don't you speak to the villagers more?" Cang Yue wondered as she smiled, observing the clansmen from afar. "They admire and love you to no end, no matter how distant you tend to be."
"I… think it's unnecessary. They're chilling without me." Rokas shrugged, taking a sip of some cold coca-cola.
"You're their benevolent prince and benefactor… so you might as well start acting like it from time to time." Cang Yue chuckled, lifting him up by his arm. "Come… I'm sure they won't bite. Besides, the children are adorable."
"... Fine." Turning away slightly, Rokas begrudgingly agreed.
Together, they flew over and went on a little tour of the Phoenix clan. As Cang Yue said, Rokas was not shunned away in the slightest. The moment he arrived the entire Phoenix clan seemed to be glowing. He observed the young lads going at it, exchanged some pointers, handed out some of his special delicacies at a large family dinner, gave the clan some more resources, and played a game of hide and seek with some of the children… it was a pretty joyous, chill, day.
At the end of the day, he came to the realisation that he was bigger than just himself. He wasn't the kid vibing in the corner doing his own thing anymore. He had slowly become and accepted the role model people saw him as. The titles lord… prince… Phoenix God…
He embraced them and the responsibilities that came with those titles.
~
After vibing with the Phoenix clan for a while, he decided to finally add the Dragon God Legacy to his collection. It was the ultimate legacy for a dragon… and would no doubt cause a fundamental change to his own. The journey to the trial grounds at the core of the Wasteland of Death was quite short and lacking in danger. At the third level of the Emperor Profound Realm, Rokas was practically invincible within that region. If anything, the profound beasts ran from him!
Sensing the two peak Sky Profound Realm flood dragons camping by the trial grounds, he flashed towards them.
"Make way."
The flood dragons dispersed together without hesitation. Rokas proceeded to the trial ground, seeing no reason to kill them. It opened to his touch and he walked inside… observing that the exit had slowly closed.
"Ah… such a young talented man and a dragon at that!" Two long, massive and narrow azure eyes opened at the centre of the trial ground ahead. "Oh…? I sense both the Blue Dragon and the Phoenix's bloodlines within you. They are quite thick… complete legacies? Oh and the Heretic God's aura? Are my eyes playing tricks on me?"
"No… you are right." Rokas shook his head. "I have all of these things on me."
"Not only are they all within you… but they've seemingly fused into one. To say that I've not met a mortal as unique as you is quite the understatement!"
"You seem to be another residual spirit of a True God… am I right?"
"Yes, I am a residual spirit of the Primordial Azure Dragon who was once the leader of the Dragon God Clan. Alas, I've not witnessed a single soul attempt my trial ground within a hundred years. To see someone like you… is refreshing. So, I take it that you are not inexperienced in regards to undertaking trials?"
"... I guess you could say that." Rokas shrugged his shoulders. "In truth, I wish to take yours."
'Your legacy, I mean. Just don't give me six drops or more of your blood… I don't want kids yet.' Rokas thought in his mind.
"Oh… straight to the point. I must warn you, my trial will be extremely gruelling from beginning to end."
"I am prepared for anything you have to throw at me."
Rokas looked up at the azure eyes of the residual spirit, his own shining golden with confidence.
"... As you wish."
The trial ground seemed to light up as two stone dragon warriors emerged. Immediately, Rokas opened his palm and created a bow out of blue profound energy… grasping it in his right hand. He smiled a little, seeing these first few stages as a fun game.
'So it begins.'