Chapter 426: Phoenix City

Yun Che descended from Phoenix Precipice, left the Phoenix Mountain Range, and after a moment of thought, returned directly to Divine Phoenix City, then headed straight for Phoenix City.

Phoenix City is located southwest of Divine Phoenix City. While technically part of Divine Phoenix City, it also stands as a unique city-within-a-city. Like the Divine Phoenix Imperial Palace, Phoenix City serves as the Phoenix Divine Sect's core stronghold. The difference lies in their functions: one is the heart of the sect's power, the other the seat of its authority. Both possess an unparalleled deterrent force.

Within Phoenix City lies a Phoenix Realm, the perennial venue for the Seven Nations Ranking Tournament.

As Yun Che neared Phoenix City, a heart-palpitating sense of oppression and noticeably scorching air washed over him. Above the towering city gates, a magnificent, colossal phoenix was carved. Yun Che stopped, not entering. Although as a participant he should have had pre-arranged accommodation there, his unique identity meant staying within the city would bring many uncertainties. His purpose for coming this time was merely to scout the location. After confirming Phoenix City's position, he turned and left, quickly disguising himself before checking into a secluded and quiet inn.

Only three days remained until the start of the Seven Nations Ranking Tournament.

Three days was sufficient time for him to refine the Sky Profound Heaven-Earth Pellet.

Upon entering the inn, Yun Che surveyed his surroundings, closed his room door, and took out materials like Phoenix Sunflower and Devil Burning Blood Crystals. Using the Sky Poison Pearl, he rapidly refined them. Soon, a completely crimson pellet, as if freshly steeped in blood, appeared in his palm. As the pellet formed, a violent aura immediately emanated from it, forcefully pushing the surrounding air away.

Picking up the newly refined Sky Profound Heaven-Earth Pellet, Yun Che, without a second thought, tossed it into his mouth.

The Sky Profound Heaven-Earth Pellet melted instantly upon entering his mouth, transforming into a lava-like current that surged into his profound veins and meridians throughout his body. Immediately, a needle-prickling sensation radiated from his entire being. Yun Che closed his eyes, his expression calm, as if feeling nothing. Pellets capable of forcibly boosting profound energy in a short time inevitably possessed extremely potent medicinal properties, and consuming such a pellet often carried risks far outweighing the benefits. However, Yun Che possessed Phoenix blood and dragon marrow, along with the protection of the Great Path Pagoda. If he could once consume the flesh and blood of a King Dragon with a Spirit Profound body, then taking the Sky Profound Heaven-Earth Pellet with his Earth Profound body was even less of a concern.

Even so, under the violent medicinal effects of the Sky Profound Heaven-Earth Pellet, Yun Che still didn't feel comfortable. As the medicinal power gradually diffused, the hot current surging through his meridians and profound veins grew increasingly aggressive and fierce. Though his face remained calm, his forehead was subtly covered in fine beads of hot sweat...

The time it took to refine the Sky Profound Heaven-Earth Pellet was roughly as Yun Che had anticipated. By the time he had completely refined it and opened his eyes, it was already dawn three days later.

Yun Che stood up and extended his hands. Over the past three days, his clothes had been soaked with sweat repeatedly, emitting a pungent odor. He opened his palm, and a vortex of profound energy appeared in its center. Then, as he closed his palm, the profound energy vortex dispersed directly, accompanied by a loud popping sound.

"The improvement is about what I expected; I'm finally just one step away from the Sky Profound Realm," Yun Che mumbled to himself, clenching his fist. "Jasmine, how long did I spend refining?"

"Three days."

"Oh... what? Three days?!"

Yun Che jolted, leaping up abruptly. He quickly glanced out the window, estimated the time, and then bolted for the door. "Jasmine! Why didn't you call me! Today is the Ranking Tournament, and it's quite a distance from here to Phoenix City!"

"I have no obligation to remind you."

As he reached the door, Yun Che stopped. He sniffed his sleeve, then heavily closed the door he had just pulled open. "Never mind, I should probably take a bath first."

Jasmine: "..."

By the time Yun Che rushed all the way to Phoenix City, it was nearly nine in the morning, with less than thirty minutes remaining until the start of the Ranking Tournament.

A dense crowd had gathered in front of Phoenix City's gates. These were people who either lacked entry qualifications or couldn't obtain tickets, thus reluctantly lingering outside Phoenix City, hoping to receive battle reports as soon as possible. Yun Che quickly pushed through the crowd, rushed to the main gate of Phoenix City, and was then stopped by two Phoenix disciples.

"Show your entry qualifications," one of the Phoenix disciples, who had stopped him, said lazily. He probably had repeated the same phrase countless times that day.

"I am a participant from the Azure Cloud Nation," Yun Che stated simply, simultaneously holding up his participant's badge.

As soon as the red participant's badge appeared, the two Phoenix disciples' gazes sharpened. Seeing the words 'Azure Cloud' on it, they exchanged a glance, both revealing the same strange expression. One of the Phoenix disciples called inside, "Senior Brother Zhanyun, the participant from the Azure Cloud Nation has arrived!"

"What? Azure Cloud?!"

Soon, a stocky young man emerged. He immediately saw the participant's badge in Yun Che's hand, then stared at Yun Che before saying languidly, "We all thought your Azure Cloud Nation wouldn't dare to come. To arrive at this hour, you really don't take this Ranking Tournament seriously... Never mind, I'll escort you in myself. Where are the others besides you?"

"None," Yun Che shook his head. "It's just me."

"What? Just you?"

"That's right, Azure Cloud only has me as a participant this time; there's no one else, no escorts either. Please take me in; the Ranking Tournament is about to begin," Yun Che stated calmly.

Feng Zhanyun scrutinized Yun Che from head to toe, casually probing his profound energy. He curled his lip, too lazy to say more, and remarked nonchalantly, "Fine, since you're here, follow me."

"Senior Brother Zhanyun, should we report this to the Grand Elder?"

"No need," Feng Zhanyun waved his hand. "The Ranking Tournament is about to start; no point in distracting them with such a minor matter. He's just here to go through the motions anyway, just find him a spot."

Phoenix City, being the core of the Phoenix Divine Sect, naturally did not permit outsiders to wander freely. The path leading through the central Phoenix Realm was a somewhat narrow, fixed corridor. On both sides of the corridor, the aura of fiery profound formations could be felt, clearly indicating that anyone daring to step outside the designated path would undoubtedly face attacks from these formations.

Upon entering the Phoenix Realm, even before approaching the Ranking Tournament arena, a wildly enthusiastic and impassioned atmosphere surged forth. As Yun Che stepped into the arena, he was momentarily stunned.

Cang Wanhe had once told him that while the Seven Nations Ranking Tournament was a humiliation that Azure Cloud profound practitioners preferred not to mention, for the other six nations, it was the most important and grandest event to occur in the Profound Realm every twenty-five years. With each tournament, everyone from emperors to commoners paid full attention. Preparations for this Ranking Tournament even began five years in advance.

And at this moment, Yun Che finally began to understand what the 'Seven Nations Ranking Tournament,' so rarely mentioned in the Azure Cloud Nation, truly signified.

The sheer size of the entire arena far exceeded his expectations. The vast majority of the arena, naturally, was occupied by spectator seating. A single glance revealed bustling, endless, boundless crowds; the entire venue, from top to bottom, was packed with people, easily numbering in the millions. High above, countless individuals flew in and out, resembling a swarm of locusts.

Compared to this, the scale and atmosphere of the Azure Cloud Ranking Tournament... well, it simply didn't even qualify for a comparison.

The colossal seating area was divided into several distinct sections, each fully occupied, with no empty seats. At the very front of the seating areas, Yun Che saw the emblems of five nations. The participants and their escorts from these five nations sat in these sections, with their respective national supporters filling the seats behind them. Even before the Ranking Tournament began, they were all flushed with excitement, their eyes bright, their faces alight with anticipation and eagerness. For them, being able to attend the Ranking Tournament, cheer for their nation, and witness the proceedings was an honor worthy of boasting about for a lifetime.

The main seats of honor in the arena naturally belonged to the Phoenix Divine Sect. However, the very front rows reserved for the Phoenix Divine Sect were vacant, as their grand figures had not yet entered.

Yun Che's gaze swept rapidly across the arena, but he could not find any seats for the Azure Cloud Nation.

"Heh, what do you think? Stunned, aren't you? Never seen a sight this grand in your life, have you?" Feng Zhanyun said, eyeing Yun Che askance.

"Why are there no seats for the Azure Cloud Nation?" Yun Che asked, frowning.

"Why should there be?" Feng Zhanyun retorted with a sneer. "Don't profound practitioners from your Azure Cloud Nation only come to this Seven Nations Ranking Tournament just to make up the number 'seven nations,' or... hehe, to provide some amusement? Actually, you *were* supposed to have seats, as you are, after all, an independent nation. But until three days ago, we didn't receive any word from the Azure Cloud Nation, so we assumed you couldn't even be bothered to 'make up the numbers' this time. That's why we didn't prepare anything for your Azure Cloud Nation, including seating."

Yun Che's brow furrowed, but he remained silent.

This wasn't merely a matter of preparing seats. Even if the Azure Cloud Nation had stated months in advance that they wouldn't participate, there should still have been seating for them here... because it was the most basic acknowledgment and respect for a genuinely existing nation.

Yet now, in the entire arena, all six nations had seats, but only the Azure Cloud Nation was unrepresented... This was a blatant disregard for the Azure Cloud Nation! It might even be a deliberate act of disdain and insult.

He believed that there must be many spectators from the Azure Cloud Nation in the arena, and every Azure Cloud native seeing this situation would likely be furious.

"It's a good thing we didn't prepare any, since your Azure Cloud only sent one kid, tsk tsk. If we had reserved a section for Azure Cloud, it would have been a real waste. As for you... well, there are no other empty seats, so you'll just have to stand here. When it's your turn to enter, you can fly directly from here, how convenient... Oh, right, you're only in the Earth Profound Realm, so you can't traverse the void yet. In that case, you'll have to figure it out yourself. I, Feng Zhanyun, personally brought you here and even assigned you a standing spot, which is already giving you more than enough face—enough for you to boast about for the next ten or eight years back home."

The 'here' Feng Zhanyun referred to was the outermost corner of the massive arena, not only a terrible spot where one couldn't even see the center of the arena clearly without exceptional eyesight, but also not even considered a seating area! If there was any advantage to this spot, it was only that one could overlook a significant portion of the arena from there.