Chapter 223: The Immortal Bird

Phoenix Lady walked at the forefront, meeting Rayan's gaze, leaving Lady Spring Rain behind.

Before she reached Rayan, she cheerfully said, "Lord Rayan, congratulations, congratulations on winning this tournament and earning the title of War God. You should know, this is an officially recognized title in Stonerock Kingdom. From now on, you can call yourself War God Rayan here. With this title, you can buy anything in Stonerock Kingdom at half price, with the other half paid by the kingdom."

Rayan had no interest in such hollow titles. He glanced at Phoenix Lady and coldly asked, "Where is my prize?"

Phoenix Lady smiled sweetly, "Lord Rayan, you are so impatient. Won't you say a few words about winning the War God title? Alright then, bring the Holy Light artifact!"

As she finished speaking, a Firebird servant quickly approached, respectfully handing the shimmering artifact to Phoenix Lady.

Phoenix Lady took the artifact, waved the servant away, then turned to smile at Rayan, saying, "Lord Rayan, thank you for an extraordinary match. You have brought honor to Lady Spring Rain and our entire Firebird family. You are truly deserving of the War God title—"

Rayan unceremoniously interrupted Phoenix Lady, his face indifferent, "I represent the Pisces family, not your Firebird family."

Phoenix Lady shrugged indifferently, "What difference does it make? Lady Spring Rain is part of our Firebird family, and you are her Oath Knight. There's no need to fuss over which family you represent."

Rayan adamantly replied, "If I represented the Firebird family, I should be an Oath Knight of the king's group, waiting for challengers. But in reality, I started as an Oath Knight of the Copper-edged group and fought my way up. I carried the Pisces flag, not the Firebird flag, and the token on my shoulder was placed there by Miss Pisces herself, not by anyone from the Firebird family."

The entire audience held their breath. Everyone knew that in Stonerock City, the most untouchable person wasn't the lofty Lion King, but Phoenix Lady. The fact that Rayan dared to openly contradict her in front of so many people left them in awe.

Lady Spring Rain quickly signaled to Rayan, subtly suggesting he shouldn't continue opposing Phoenix Lady. Only then did Rayan stop speaking.

It took Phoenix Lady a long time to control her trembling lips caused by anger. "Fine, since Lord Rayan draws such clear lines between families, Kiana has nothing more to say—"

"If you have nothing more to say, then hurry up and give me my prize," Rayan impatiently urged.

Phoenix Lady glared at Rayan with resentment, slowly raising the Holy Light artifact in her hand, her face solemn as she said, "According to the tournament rules, I, Kiana Firebird, on behalf of—"

Before she could finish, Rayan leaped forward, snatched the Holy Light artifact from her hand, and stuffed it into his bag.

While everyone was still in shock, Rayan slightly bowed to Lady Spring Rain and gently said, "Spring Rain, I have to leave now to handle some matters. I'll come to the Firebird family as soon as I'm done."

"Ah... okay..."

At this moment, Lady Spring Rain had no idea what to say.

Rayan ignored everyone else, walked out of the central arena, went to a secluded corner, summoned his Emerald Fire Thunder, and rode away.

After Rayan left, the audience began to leave, still talking excitedly about his classic moves. Although this tournament was the shortest in history, it was undoubtedly the most exciting. The audience left, gesturing animatedly as they recalled Rayan's classic moves.

Meanwhile, the Black-armored guards, led by Trevor, also left without any delay.

After bidding farewell to Phoenix Lady, Lady Spring Rain also left the arena in the carriage prepared by her loyal servant, Archer. Before long, the once-crowded arena was nearly empty.

In the empty arena, Phoenix Lady stood on the soft sand, casually gazing up at the decorations left from the dragon era.

Imperius, filled with guilt, walked up to Phoenix Lady and dejectedly said, "Madam, I have failed your expectations—I couldn't even keep the old master's ring."

Phoenix Lady sighed lightly, smiling bitterly as she shook her head, "Imperius, it's not your fault. If there's anyone to blame, it's me for underestimating Rayan. However, I thought I would be very upset if you lost the match, but in fact, I am very pleased."

Imperius struggled to open his mouth: "Madam, you don't have to comfort me, I am utterly deserving of death."

Phoenix Lady said, "This isn't comforting you; it's my genuine thought at this moment."

"…Forgive me, but I can't understand," Imperius said.

Phoenix Lady faintly smiled, "You don't need to understand. Oh, by the way, how are your injuries?"

Imperius knew why Phoenix Lady asked this, so he honestly replied, "My body is fine. It was just that I was too eager to win the match, which exhausted my Battle Qi, making it impossible to fight Rayan. Given half a day to recover, I think dealing with Eileen would certainly be no problem."

Phoenix Lady frowned, "Unfortunately, the Phoenix Ring was taken by Rayan, which makes dealing with Eileen a bit more uncertain."

Imperius immediately knelt down, his armor clanging with his movements. "Madam, I swear on my life that I will kill Eileen!"

"Stand up."

Phoenix Lady looked at Imperius softly, "This matter cannot be solved by brute force—we will return to the Firebird residence and plan carefully..."

Rayan rode the Emerald Fire Thunder swiftly through the streets of Stonerock City.

At this time, the people from the arena had not yet dispersed, leaving the streets empty. The fiery hooves of the Emerald Fire Thunder struck the stone pavement laid during the dragon era, producing a clear and pleasant sound.

The last Holy Light artifact was now in his possession. Although there had been some twists and turns, everything was proceeding according to Rayan's plan. What pleased Rayan even more was that through the several battles in the arena, he had gained new insights into using Battle Qi and sword gang power. Most importantly, he had defeated Imperius and snatched a flame-attributed Enchanted ring from him.

Defeating Imperius was something he had anticipated. However, if not for the burden of the Phoenix Ring, Rayan might not have won so easily.

When the fire phoenix was activated, Rayan immediately liked it. Firstly, he had a fire spirit affinity, which gave him an uncontrollable affection for all flame skills. Secondly, the fire phoenix just happened to compensate for his attack shortcomings—when the Twin Crows Dance needed time to gather strength, the fire phoenix could continue the attack as a second skill.

Moreover, Rayan discovered that the fire phoenix's power was far more profound than Imperius had shown. Imperius did not understand fire and could not fully harness the fire phoenix's true power. In fact, when the fire phoenix turned to ashes, it could be reborn from the ashes, meaning it could exist as a continuous combat partner. Even if defeated, it could rise again from the ashes after some time, regaining its strength.

The alternate name for the phoenix is the Immortal Bird, and its brilliance lies in this rebirth.

Rayan was very pleased with acquiring such a ring, but the Emerald Fire Thunder beneath him was somewhat unhappy. Although it had a moment of glory in the arena today, it did not participate in any battles. Like its new master Rayan, it was eager for battle and victory but had been left aside, with no outlet for its fighting spirit, which could only be relieved by reckless charging.

Rayan certainly understood the Emerald Fire Thunder's dissatisfaction. He lightly patted its neck and said, "Brother Thunder, these were just a few small battles. Small battles naturally don't need both of us to appear. But in the future, we will face life-and-death battles, and you'll have plenty of opportunities."

The Emerald Fire Thunder snorted, seemingly wanting Rayan to promise.

Rayan helplessly smiled and shook his head, "Alright, I promise, we will fight side by side."

The Emerald Fire Thunder neighed in satisfaction, quickly adjusting its direction and galloping toward the "Pigs and Whistles" inn.

As he approached the alley near the inn, Rayan had a thought and stored the Emerald Fire Thunder in the magic bell. Rayan was already very skilled in summoning and storing, almost able to do so instantly.

Rayan fastened the magic bell to his waist, then felt the Holy Light artifact in his bag, making sure everything was fine before quickly walking into the inn.

With the four Holy Light artifacts assembled, the final secret was about to be revealed.

No matter how calm Rayan appeared, he was still a bit nervous and excited inside. He knew that Martha wanted the Holy Light artifacts not merely to mourn her loved ones. The greater possibility was to do something that could disrupt the current order of the world. He was eager to know what kind of chaos this would bring—of course, if Martha unleashed a disaster that harmed ordinary people, he would not hesitate to chop off Martha's head.

The inn's lobby was as dilapidated and quiet as usual. Behind the high counter, the secret door was slightly open, clearly left so by Martha on purpose.

Without hesitation, Rayan circled behind the counter, pushed open the secret door, and stepped into the cold cellar once again.

Had it not been for Martha's story, Rayan would never have known that this place was where the five great dragon kings collectively cast spells to imprison the Dark Demon Lord—and now, he was so close to history.