Part 1 Chapter 9 An Invitation

Yahua and Yaruo both shouted at the same time:

"Lion Blaze, Armorize."

"Eagle Thunder, Armorize."

In an instant, a red light emitted from Yahua's body, covering his entire body. Yahuo took a closer look and realized that the red light was not just any ordinary light, but the transformation of his Mirage Beast - Fire Lion, from its Second Form that was originally attached to him to its Third Form - Beast Mirage Armor. The Fire Lion, which used to tightly adhere to his body, rapidly changed its tissue structure within seconds, forming piece by piece of sturdy armor on various parts of his body, connecting to form a full-body, steel-like armor. Even Yahua's head and neck had armor, forming a voluminous but weightless armor that covered his entire body. In addition, there was a vivid and vibrant lion head emblem with red markings on his chest, matching the original fiery red color of the Fire Lion, making Yahua look like he was surrounded by a fiery lion-shaped flame.

On the other hand, Yaruo also transformed into a full-body sky-blue armor, just like Yahua, with his Mirage Beast - Thunder Eagle, at the same speed. The sky-blue armor, with a lifelike black eagle that seemed to soar in the sky and emitted electric sparks on his chest, looked like it came from the depths of the blue sky.

Yaxu laughed and scolded, "Are you two really playing for real? Do you want to demolish this training hall? Yawen, come behind me."

After saying that, Yaxu also shouted, "Gale Wind, Armorize."

With a command, a deep blue fox with bared teeth and claws appeared on Yaxu's body as well, seemingly dancing in the wind.

Yaxu reached out his right hand, and faintly, Yawen felt that an "invisible membrane" seemed to have appeared around him.

Yaxu said to Yawen, "Yawen, remember not to leave the range of five steps from me. I have set up the 'Cyclone Shield' around us. As long as you stay within this range, you won't be affected by the true qi attacks from Big Brother and Second Brother."

Yawen felt puzzled. How could Second Brother set up a defensive magic that only a magician could cast?

Unknowingly, Yawen brought up this question to Second Brother.

Yaxu looked at Yawen as if he were looking at a strange creature and asked, "Yawen, you really don't know?"

Yawen shook his head.

Yaxu sighed and said, "I really don't know what Lyon taught you. You don't even know about this?"

"Do you at least know about Mirage Beast Crystals?"

Yawen nodded and shook his head, saying, "I've heard the teachers at school talk about it, but I don't understand it."

Yaxu couldn't help but sigh even more deeply and said suddenly, "Look, Yawen."

Yawen immediately turned his head to look in the direction of Big Brother and Third Brother.

At first glance, she couldn't help but be astonished, because she saw Big Brother's hands, with fingertips of all five fingers touching each other, forming a hollow space between the palms, in which there was a fiery red, hot ball of light emitting scorching heat, as if it were burning.

On the other side, Third Brother extended his right hand towards the sky, with his five fingers forming a claw shape, and in the palm was a dazzling purple electric ball, no less brilliant than Big Brother's fiery red ball, which showed that it should not be underestimated.

Yahua shouted loudly, "Yaruo, take my three-strength Flame Burst Bomb."

Yaruo smiled and said, "Come on, Big Brother! My Thunderous Ball is ready."

Yaxu on the side said, "Yawen, do you know? All the Phantom Beasts have a Phantom Beast Crystal in their bodies. Normally, Phantom Beasts bury this crystal deep inside them. Because of this strange crystal, Phantom Beasts can use the energy accumulated in the crystal to emit it when needed, just like a cannon."

"When a Phantom Beast matures completely, the Phantom Beast Crystal becomes a medium that connects the owner and the Phantom Beast itself. When the Phantom Beast becomes a Magic Armor, the owner's will is conveyed to the Phantom Beast through the crystal, and the Phantom Beast uses the crystal as a medium to trigger a large amount of external energy, forming a magical phenomenon. When the Phantom Beast becomes a Beastly Phantom Armor, the Phantom Beast uses the crystal to infuse energy into the weapon formed by the transformation, increasing its hardness and power."

"As for those of us who possess Qi, when we use Qi in Magic Armor, we can increase the power of magic and reduce the preparation time for casting magic. When used in Beastly Phantom Armor, we can use the Phantom Beast's crystal to amplify the outward release of Qi, creating effects similar to magic and increasing our defense or attack power, depending on how we use it."

After Yaxu's explanation, Yawen finally understood how to use Qi and also realized that "Whirlwind Shield" was Second Brother's use of Qi.

At this moment, Yahua and Yaruo had already released their Flame Burst Bomb and Thunderous Ball in their hands.

The two energy balls, one red and one purple, turned into two streams of light, colliding with each other in the middle of the two, and after pushing each other for half a second, they suddenly exploded. Even though Yawen, who was in the "Whirlwind Shield", did not personally experience the power of the explosion, just by looking at the airflow generated by the explosion, she could imagine how powerful it was.

She couldn't help but stick out her tongue at the thought of what would happen if one of her two older brothers had hit her with this move. Yaxu, who saw Yawen's movements, smiled slightly and said, "It's still early, Big Brother and Third Brother are just testing each other's strength in advance. The real show is about to begin."

Sure enough, Yahua and Yaruo stopped emitting energy all at once and came together, engaging in close combat.

Yahua's movements were simple, either punching straight, or chopping horizontally with both palms, or swinging his arm diagonally. Although the movements were simple, when combined with his full strength, they exuded an indescribable momentum, like a mighty lion, elegant and full of power.

Yahuo is different. His hands and fingers are merged into an eagle claw shape, with ever-changing movements, sometimes striking, sometimes sweeping, sometimes grabbing, sometimes pounding, surrounding Yahua's body with a graceful and agile attack that resembles an eagle in flight, always evading Yahua's attacks.

After watching for a while, Yawen noticed something strange. Although Yahua's movements were fewer and rarely hit Yahuo, whenever he did manage to hit Yahuo, no matter where he hit, Yahuo would grimace in pain.

On the other hand, Yahuo's complex and agile moves often hit Yahua's body, but the effects seemed less effective, only momentarily disrupting Yahua's moves.

Yawen felt puzzled. Why was there such a difference when both were hitting each other?

Yaxu, who was on the side, muttered to himself, as if explaining to himself: "Eldest brother's moves may be simple but full of strength. Third brother's movements are fast and agile, but the strength is dispersed. Even if he hits ten times, it's not as effective as Eldest brother's solid hit once."

Yahuo seemed to also realize his mistake and began to accelerate his movements, focusing his attacks on Yahua's lower body. As expected, Yahua could no longer deal with Yahuo's fierce attacks as easily as before, and had to speed up his own movements to cope with Yahuo's sharp and agile attacks, like an eagle pouncing on a rabbit.

The two of them speeding up their movements made it difficult for Yawen. He could only see a tangled blur of red and blue figures, unable to discern their movements, and after watching for a while, he felt dizzy and his body swayed.

A hand reached out from the side to support him, and Yawen looked to see that it was his second brother.

Yaxu smiled faintly and pointed to his lower abdomen's dantian: "Imagine you controlling your true qi from your dantian, gathering it at your eyes along the meridians, try to see if it's clearer this way."

Yawen tried it out, feeling a cold true qi rising from his dantian along with his intention, reaching his eyes.

His eyes felt a chilly sensation, making Yawen feel very comfortable, and the world in front of him seemed to become brighter.

He nodded to Yaxu and looked at Yahua and Yahuo again, and now it was much better.

He could see Yahua and Yahuo's movements very clearly, although they were still fast, but he no longer had the feeling of seeing flowers in the mist like before.

Moreover, Yawen also noticed something strange. He saw a faint white light surrounding his eldest brother Yahua and third brother Yaruo. When he mentioned this to second brother Yaxu, he found that Yaxu also had the same phenomenon.

Yaxu chuckled lightly when he heard Yawen's question. "Yawen, did you know that your eyes are also emitting light like ours now? It's just that yours is a light golden color, while ours is white. This is a specific manifestation of the true energy at work, but it also indicates that we have not yet reached the level of mastery in our cultivation. Like our grandfather and father, if they don't want you to know, you wouldn't be able to perceive it at all. Only when they have reached that level can they freely control it."

"Quick, take a look, don't miss it. Observing others practicing martial arts has certain benefits for oneself. It's a pity if you miss it. Look, they've already started using their spirit beasts to transform into weapons and engage in duels."

Yawen hurriedly watched attentively, and indeed, Yahua had a five-foot-long spear with red flames burning on it at some point, while Yaruo had a one-and-a-half-meter-long sword with a blue blade that was constantly emitting electric currents.

The spear and sword clashed, emitting numerous red flames and purple electric currents, dazzling and dangerous.

Yawen's vision became blurry as he watched, the faster Yahua and Yaruo moved, the more dizzy he felt. But remembering what his second brother had said about the benefits of observing others practicing martial arts, Yawen became even more unwilling to give up, and paid even more attention, focusing all his energy on observing the movements of Yahua and Yaruo.

Something strange happened. Yawen suddenly felt as if the world had disappeared, leaving only Yahua, Yaruo, and himself who were still dueling. A sudden shock emanated from the center of his forehead, and a wave of energy far colder than true energy surged into his eyes from his forehead.

At this moment, in Yawen's eyes, the movements of Yahua and Yaruo gave him a peculiar sensation, different from the feeling of just now when their movements were fast but still visible.

Now, although the movements of Yahua and Yaruo were so fast that an ordinary person would only see a blur, in Yawen's eyes, their movements appeared to be "slower", slow enough for Yawen to clearly see every gesture, every step, and every subtle detail of their bodies, even including the changes in the shape of the flames burning on Yahua's spear and the direction of the electric currents flowing on Yaruo's sword when the spear and sword clashed. Yawen didn't miss a single detail.

Yawen did not perceive their movements as slowing down. On the contrary, he clearly felt that the speed of Yahua and Yaruo's actions was beyond his ability to keep up with even if he rode ten horses. However, he couldn't understand the subtle details of their every movement, as if they were performing a slow-motion and magnified show in front of him.

Yawen couldn't help but deeply appreciate his second brother's guidance. If it weren't for his pointers, he would have never known that observing martial arts required such keen perception, and that "wu" (martial arts) was like this. What he had learned in school before was really...

However, Yawen was unaware that Yaxu, who was fully focused on watching the battle, had no spare attention to notice him. Naturally, he didn't notice the faint golden light that flickered in Yawen's eyes, which gradually merged into a strange silver light above his forehead. In the end, Yawen's eyes actually turned into a dual-color gaze, with gold in his right eye and silver in his left, a truly mesmerizing golden-silver demon pupil.

At this moment, the battle between Yahua and Yaruo had reached its climax.

In Yawen's eyes, the movements of Yahua and Yaruo were visibly slowing down, but the "Breaking Devil True Qi" contained in each of their attacks was getting stronger and stronger.

Every clash of their spear and sword emitted dazzling light, and Yaxu could no longer keep up with their movements. He murmured, "These two guys are really serious. The Martial Hall won't be able to withstand this."

With a snort, Yaxu formed several hand seals with his hands, and a powerful energy emanated from his body, instantly increasing the defensive power of the cyclone shield. The originally transparent cyclone shield immediately turned slightly blue.

While Yaxu was busy strengthening the cyclone shield, he didn't notice the golden-silver gaze in Yawen's eyes, nor did he realize that Yawen was completely unaffected by the bright light, still looking intently at the two fighters in the battle.

Just as Yaxu was strengthening the cyclone shield, Yahua and Yaruo had already separated, three meters apart from each other.

Yaruo shouted loudly, "Big brother, take my full-power Thunder Eagle Claw attack."

With a burst of strength, Yaruo leaped high into the air, almost touching the roof of the Martial Hall, which was about five meters high.

With the sword held high above Yahua, the sword transformed into hundreds of sword shadows, accompanied by a formidable electric current rushing down from above like thunder, aiming straight at Yahua's head.

Yahua laughed loudly, "Well done! Watch my Lion Devours the Sky!"

He folded his arms in front of his chest, forming his hands into claw-like shapes, slowly spreading them apart from his shoulders. A white, open-mouthed lion head formed from the qi between Yahua's arms.

It looked like a hungry lion waiting with bated breath, ready to catch the foolish eagle, which was Yahuo in this case, flying into its mouth.

As soon as Yahuo saw Yahua's posture, he immediately realized he had made a big mistake. He should not have used this move. While it might be effective against others, it was futile against his older brother who was much stronger. It was like walking into a deathtrap.

However, it was too late for Yahuo to regret now. He had to muster all his strength again, hoping to bridge the gap between him and his older brother with the advantage of attacking from top to bottom.

But Yahuo was disappointed. When his Thunder Eagle's claws collided with his older brother's Lion Devours the Sky, almost all of his strength was dissipated by his older brother's qi. Although a few weakened forces managed to hit Yahua, how could they affect him?

Nevertheless, Yahuo's move was not to be underestimated. In a head-on collision, Yahua took three steps back with a thud, roaring loudly. He folded and spread his arms again, and a loud bang echoed as intense force scattered in all directions.

The first to bear the brunt were Yaxu and Yawen, even Yawen, who was inside the cyclone shield, could feel the intense vibration, let alone Yaxu who was barely supporting the shield.

Then it was the entire martial arts hall. Yawen could hardly believe it. The martial arts hall, which was ten meters wide and built with the hardest basalt, actually couldn't withstand the force generated by his older brother and third brother, emitting creaking noises.

Yahua and Yahuo simultaneously stopped their moves, and Yahua shouted, "Let's go!"

Yaxu also exclaimed, "This is bad!"

Without hesitation, he grabbed the bewildered Yawen and followed behind Yahua and Yahuo, rushing out of the martial arts hall.

Just as Yaxu and Yawen stepped out of the gate, the large martial arts hall couldn't hold up any longer and collapsed entirely.

The flying dust made all four of them look disheveled. The Yaxu brothers couldn't help but point at each other and burst into laughter.

At this moment, the butler, Bluen, who had come upon hearing the commotion, also arrived.

As soon as he saw the scene, he couldn't help but stare in astonishment. How could the martial arts hall collapse for no reason, while the four young masters stood there with dirt on their faces, laughing heartily at the collapsed martial arts hall.

"Upon hearing the urgent inquiry from the steward who rushed over, Yahua and Yaruo exchanged glances, momentarily at a loss on how to respond. They couldn't possibly say that they accidentally destroyed the martial arts hall during their sparring session. That would be too shocking and scandalous!

Yawen was also at a loss, and in the end, Yahuo spoke up. 'We were practicing martial arts inside when there was a sudden earthquake. It caused the martial arts hall to collapse, and that's why we came out looking like this.'

Blan was taken aback. 'There was really an earthquake just now?'

Yahua, Yaruo, Yaxu, and Yawen, the four brothers, all nodded in unison.

Blan murmured, 'Looks like I'm getting too old. I didn't even notice an earthquake just now.'

He sighed and then heard Yaruo giving orders to him. 'Mr. Blan, please arrange for someone to tidy up this mess.'

Blan nodded. 'Understood.'

Suddenly, Blan called out to Yahfeng and his three brothers. 'By the way, young masters, your father was looking for you just now. Hurry to his study.'

The four brothers were startled. Their father was looking for them?

After quickly freshening up, the four brothers immediately went to their father's study in the palace. Upon entering, they saw their grandfather and father sitting high up in the hall, as if studying something.

After exchanging greetings, the four brothers took their seats.

Yulai raised something in his hand and handed it to Yahua. 'Take a look at this.'

Yaruo, Yasuo, and Yawen leaned over curiously to see what Yahua was holding.

Upon seeing it, all four of them were stunned. It was an invitation card with the name of Duke Ho Yi Beidie, the Prime Minister of the Kingdom, written on it."