Chapter 731 – End of the War
“Royal Father!!”
The sound of the Divine Phoenix Ark igniting caused Feng Xue’er to fly out of the main hall, but she was only in time to see traces of a red shadow vanishing to the west.
“Your royal father has left.” Yun Che turned and said to her.
“But why did Royal Father leave just like that, without even bidding me farewell?” Feng Xue’er’s petite face displayed slight bewilderment. This was the first time she had, ever since she was born, left her father’s side and Divine Phoenix Sect.
“Your royal father was worried that once he saw you, he would be reluctant to part with you you. Besides, he believes in you as you are right now, and of course, he trusts me as well.” Yun Che said, smiling, “You may need to stay in Blue Wind Nation for a long period of time in the future. It’s not just about being unable to meet your father and your kinsmen, you’ll also be surrounded by strangers… Are you afraid?”
“Oh… Of course not.” Feng Xue’er gently shook her head and smiled slightly, “Because Xue’er still has Brother Yun by her side.”
Yun Che stepped forward and took her hand. With a gentle tone, he said, “Rest assured, Xue’er. During this period of time in Blue Wind Nation, you don’t have to take anything upon yourself. You can do whatever you want to do, go anywhere you want… and if you’re willing, I will accompany you.”
“…Mn!” Feng Xue’er vigorously nodded her head, her brows curved into crescents as she smiled. With just a few words from Yun Che, her panic was quelled, only leaving overflowing happiness in her soul, “Thank you, Big Brother Yun.”
“Brother-in-law!!”
The sound of the wind whooshed behind them as Xia Yuanba rushed forward. Number One Under Heaven, Dongfang Xiu and Qin Wushang followed right behind him. Upon seeing Xia Yuanba, Feng Xue’er smiled demurely, “We meet again, Bulky Big Brother. Xue’er has yet to thank Bulky Big Brother for protecting us back then on the Primordial Profound Ark.”
“Hehe,” Xia Yuanba laughed embarrassedly, “It’s my duty. It’s been three years since we last met, but Little Sister Xue’er doesn’t seem to have changed much.”
“But Bulky Big Brother seems to have… gotten bigger.” Feng Xue’er curiously looked at Xia Yuanba. Three years ago, Xia Yuanba blocked Ye Xinghan and Feng Feiyan with his body, allowing her and Yun Che to escape from the Primordial Profound Ark. In addition, he was Yun Che’s most important family, thus Feng Xue’er held strong familial feelings for Xia Yuanba. She suddenly smiled and said, “Also, Bulky Big Brother has become really awesome, even reaching the sixth level of the Sovereign Profound Realm! You might even be stronger than Grandfather.”
“Hehe… Eh?” Xia Yuanba blinked, “How did you know? Did brother-in-law tell you about this?”
Yun Che laughed, “Xue’er is now a level eight Monarch, for her to sense the level of your profound strength is a piece of cake.”
“[email protected]#￥%… Wha!” Xia Yuanba exclaimed in surprise, slack-jawed.
Behind him, Dongfang Xiu and Qin Wushang jolted, nearly falling from the sky.
“Lev… level eight Monarch?” Number On Under Heaven asked, flabbergasted. The twenty one year old Xia Yuanba attaining the frightening power of a level six Monarch was already enough to startle him, yet this young lady in front of him with a face not inferior to Little Demon Empress, and whom Xia Yuanba had just said was not yet twenty, was actually an eighth level Monarch!?
That was far higher than his father, Greatest Ambition Under Heaven!
In this Profound Sky Continent… how could there be such an unfathomable and illogical existence!!
“A… as expected of Little Sister Xue’er, that’s… that’s amazing.” Xia Yuanba gulped and stammered out. Dongfang Xiu and the rest had long been dumbstruck. A level eight Monarch was a concept that they didn’t even dare to think about.
Xia Yuanba shook his head and finally got down to business, “Brother-in-law, I saw that Feng Hengkong has boarded the Divine Phoenix Ark and left. Why did Little Sister Xue’er stay behind? What happened?”
“About this…” Yun Che was about to explain the gist of the situation to Xia Yuanba and Dongfang Xiu when he suddenly realized that Cang Yue hadn’t left the hall. He frowned and loosened Feng Xue’er’s hand, “Xue’er, explain the matter to them simply. I’ll go check on Yue’er.”
Yun Che then swiftly flew back to the Blue Wind Hall.
As expected, Cang Yue was seated on… to be more accurate, slumped on the phoenix throne. Her face was pale and her aura was weak. Yue Che immediately rushed over, reaching out to grasp her shoulders and gently infused a stream of profound energy into her body, “Are you alright, Yue’er?”
Cang Yue nodded slightly. She laid her head against his shoulder, her face displaying a tired yet contented smile. Her profound strength was only at the Spirit Profound Realm, yet she did not yield to the immense pressure from Feng Hengkong. Once Feng Hengkong left, the pressure vanished and she almost immediately collapsed.
“Just focus on resting, don’t think of anything else… Feng Hengkong has already left, leaving Xue’er behind. Our Blue Wind Nation is safe.” Yun Che murmured as he embraced her affectionately.
“Mn…” Cang Yue weakly asserted: “All of these are because of Husband, if it wasn’t for Husband…”
“No,” Yun Che shook his head, “All these are because of Yue’er. If it wasn’t for Yue’er shouldering everything in the past three years, we wouldn’t have such an outcome today. Compared to what Yue’er has done for the past three years, what I’ve done these past couple of days are not worth mentioning.”
“Heh…” Cang Yue laughed softly. There was no shadow of stress or darkness in her laugh, “My Junior Brother Yun, my husband, he can always make me happy.”
“…Yue’er, you’ve suffered so much these three years that I don’t even have the courage to think about it. I hate the Divine Phoenix Empire, but it’s only right that you hate them more than me.” Yun Che voiced out his heart’s question, “Why did you make such a decision when facing Feng Hengkong, who was willing to accept any kind of punishment? Fifty billion as compensation may be a lot, but to Divine Phoenix, that might just be water off a duck’s back.”
“That is because any punishment given out will only bring short-lived thrill and triumph, but in turn, it will plant the seeds of resentment and hatred in others. This will bring about a vicious cycle and history will repeat itself, even erupting into a full-blown war in the certain future. In comparison with Divine Phoenix, Blue Wind is weak. If that happens, the one who will sink into a time of adversity will surely be Blue Wind. It’s not quite… forgiveness per se, after all…” Cang Yue smiled. “My husband and I have seized the most precious Princess Snow from Divine Phoenix!”
“If we let Little Sister Xue’er marry you, my husband, it would be more beneficial for Blue Wind Nation’s future than occupying half of Divine Phoenix Nation. To me, this will also be the best resolution too.”
Yun Che gently palmed her cheek, murmuring, “You are the ruler of this country, yet you’re initiating a marriage between me and another woman. Moreover, she will be accorded as a legitimate wife with the same status as yours… don’t you feel that this is unfair to you?”
Cang Yue smiled faintly, gently shaking her head. “I could only dream to be with you in the past. But now, my dream has been fulfilled, and I am the world’s happiest and most contented person. There can be no unfairness in this.”
“Little Sister Xue’er is the most perfect girl I’ve seen in my life. Her looks, character, upbringing, status, profound strength, everything about her is flawless. And of course, the world’s most perfect lady should belong to my husband. Heh… I so strongly desire for all the world’s most perfect things to belong to my husband.”
“Yue’er…” Yun Che sighed as a warm feeling spread through every corner of his body. He knew that he could not let Cang Yue down… not even the slightest.
“Husband…” Ensconced in his embrace, Cang Yue closed her eyes and whispered, “Won’t you give me a child? When he’s older, I will give him the throne. This way, I can be by Husband’s side and truly belong to you.”
Yun Che gently nodded as his fingers caressed her snowy neck. He lowered his head and grinned, “Then we’ll have to do our best from today, alright?”
Although Cang Yue had her eyes closed, her snowy cheeks were slowly suffused with red. She shyly buried her head deeper into his embrace. It was a while later that she finally emitted a soft, high pitched moan, “Mn…”
From the second day the Divine Phoenix Ark left, there was a swift reordering of all Divine Phoenix troops stationed in the Blue Wind Nation. Although the troops did not completely retreat from Blue Wind, all troops were pulled out of the imperial city and given strict orders not to invade again.
The invasion of the Blue Wind Nation by the Divine Phoenix Nation culminated in this unexpected manner.
The development of this situation later shocked the entire Profound Sky Continent… On the fifth day of Feng Hengkong’s return to Divine Phoenix, he announced that the Blue Wind Imperial Family would be compensated fifty billion purple profound coins, and also gifted with an additional thirty tons of Purple Crystals and thirteen thousand sets of light armor and weaponry refined with the Divine Phoenix flame. The afternoon on the same day, tens of thousands of Divine Phoenix soldiers began filing into Blue Wind Imperial City… but not for an invasion. This time, the soldiers were sent to Blue Wind Imperial City to assist and rebuild the structures that were destroyed during the war.
The news of Yun Che killing several Divine Phoenix princes and elders and ruining Phoenix City had widely spread among the seven kingdoms.
Even the most foolish person would have been able to guess what had happened between the two.
Although the Blue Wind Nation was still in a mess, it finally saw the silver lining behind the clouds. The entire nation was in joyous celebration as countless Blue Wind citizens no longer needed to flee; they all returned to their homeland crying and laughing instead. At the same time, they shouted Yun Che’s name, because they knew this was the man who saved Blue Wind Nation from the brink of destruction.
Beyond Blue Wind Nation, the other six nations were undoubtedly extremely shocked.
It would have been within reason if Divine Phoenix simply retreated, but Divine Phoenix didn’t only just retreat, they added a lofty sum as compensation, and they had even mobilized close to seventy percent of their troops to help rebuild Blue Wind…
For Divine Phoenix to have done such a thing, even the simplest reason had the nations tremble in fear. For the past few days, the monarchs of Navy Tide, Black Fiend, Sunflower Dew, Grand Asura, and Divine Incense suffered sleepless nights and loss of appetites. After all, during the three years when Blue Wind was suffering under Divine Phoenix, no matter how Blue Wind lowered their head or nearly begged for assistance, they had turned a blind eye, and they even shredded the letter of appeal.
Wouldn’t it be child’s play for them to get revenge if they had been able to corner the Divine Phoenix Empire to such a plight?
Especially with Yun Che’s mulish personality and vicious methods… All five monarchs had personally witnessed this three years ago, during the Seven Nation Ranking Tournament!
Upon casting aside the shadow Blue Wind Nation had lived in, they began their recovery process and Cang Yue naturally got busier. She had to manage national affairs in the day, and wait on Yun Che in the night. Yun Che, on the other hand, was exceptionally idle. Every morning, he would visit Cang Wanhe’s grave to accompany Feng Xue’er… In order to redeem Feng Hengkong’s sins, Feng Xue’er resolutely knelt in front of Cang Wanhe’s grave, and Yun Che and Cang Yue had no choice but to give in. The rest of the time was spent traveling between Blue Wind Imperial City and Floating Cloud City.
Ten days later.
As dawn approached, the sky brightened. Cang Yue was awake, but with her soft, jade-smooth body tangled with Yun Che, she was reluctant to rise. Her dazzlingly pale porcelain shoulder peeked out from the embroidered blanket.
“Your majesty, the monarch of Sunflower Dew, Gui Wanli, seeks an audience… Gui Wanli has been waiting outside the palace since three in the morning.”
From behind the curtain, Cang Yue’s palace maid reported respectfully. With half-closed eyes, Cang Yue gently shifted her body in Yun Che’s embrace and drawled, “Noted, let him wait for another hour.”
“Understood.”
Once the palace maid left, Cang Yue opened her eyes and threw off the blanket. In that second, a wide expanse of snowy, jade skin was revealed to Yun Che’s eyes. Yun Che stretched out a hand and pulled her back into his embrace, “Why bother meeting with him? Just have him leave the tribute and then get lost.”
Cang Yue laughed softly and shook her head, “It’s time for you to get up too, my husband. Little Sister Xue’er has already knelt in front of my royal father’s tomb for a full ten days and ten nights. If you’re not going to bring her back, I’ll die from the heartache.”
Cang Yue easily draped a phoenix muslin over her body. She knelt on the bed, and with a pair of slender, satiny jade hands, she dressed Yun Che and smoothed his hair. She then dressed herself in a phoenix robe and coronet, before hurrying out to prepare breakfast for Yun Che.
Once he left the palace, Yun Che swiftly flew to the north of the city. In front of Cang Wanhe’s grave, a young lady knelt quietly, her head bowed and her hands clasped in front of her chest. Her snowy white face was calm and sincere. Her long hair and skirts were dampened with the morning dew, casting an elegant yet lonely silhouette that would stir a heart wrenching pain from anyone watching.