--- Chapter 23 ---
Hayate sat with his parents around the dining table, and he looked at them with a complicated expression.
'The most pleasant memory.' He thought while releasing a sigh.
He was expecting Koyori or Coach Mei to appear because they hold a meaningful place in his heart, but sometimes his mind works bizarrely.
"Why are you not eating, son?" Hayate's mom asked.
"Do you perhaps not like my cooking?"
She started to release a sob, which caused Hayate's father to comfort her slightly. They stared at Hayate with a hopeful look, but Hayate knew they weren't real.
Hayate doesn't have parents. He grew up in a small orphanage without any problem and lived alone when he got tuition at high school.
"Sometimes, the most pleasant memory is not the real one." He commented while closing his eyes.
"It's just an imagination or dream to comfort oneself."
"Quite sad, isn't it, phoenix?"
He shook his head and saw his imaginary parents morphing into Koyori and Coach Mei. They smiled at him gently and questioned why he was staring at the air.
"Mou! Why did you ignore me." Koyori pouted and pulled Hayate's clothes.
Coach Mei laughed cheerfully and commented, "Well, leave him alone."
"I'm sure he was having his time."
Hayate smiled and replied, "Yet, why did one want to make an imagination into reality when life itself is reality?"
"It's Ironic, but you have to walk forward."
The scenery gradually crumbled, but Hayate won't let this chance go easily and hugged both of them quickly.
"Koyori, Coach Mei, I love you two." Hayate watched Koyori and Coach Me gasped in surprise and awakened from his most pleasant memory.
Phoenix Spirit stared at Hayate solemnly and said, "You're a weird young man."
"Well, People said that to me sometimes," Hayate replied casually.
They quietly stared at each other, but none of them blinked for several minutes, which caused Jasmine to get annoyed inside Hayate's inner world.
'Just say something already!' Jasmine commented indifferently.
'This princess doesn't like this tension.'
'We are communicating through our eyes.' Hayate answered while staring at Phoenix Spirit's eyes.
Phoenix Spirit's eyes finally blinked and said, "Hmm, no wonder you're such an interesting yet bizarre fellow."
Hayate nodded and answered, "That's true."
'Huh?!' Jasmine looked at them with a confused expression.
Since the eyes are the window of one's soul, Phoenix Spirit should have examined Hayate's soul thoroughly. Even if the Divine Beast didn't watch that much, it should realize he wasn't from this universe.
Phoenix Spirit was also fascinated by Hayate's ability to create living creatures, which shouldn't be possible usually without Ancestral God's strength.
However, this young man who came from another world should be an exception to that.
'He's not a kind person, but not unbearably evil either.' Phoenix Spirit thought naturally.
"Congratulations, you have passed the Phoenix Trial."
"I shall bestow upon you the bloodline of phoenix."
Hayate watched three drops of blood enter his chest and wash his entire body with wild flame. He didn't panic and waited for Kaiju Creation to assist him.
[Mystic Art of Body Cultivation] activated and flowed everlasting vigor into his body to match the phoenix's blood quality.
Hayate's profound entrances shone with a brilliant red flame and released a noble phoenix aura, merging into his Evil God's Profound Veins.
No, Evil God's Profound Veins wasn't a proper name. As Hayate's profound veins frankly were modified by Kaiju Creation and Evil God's influence merely merged like Phoenix's Bloodline.
Myriad Genesis's profound veins are most fit for Hayate's current condition, signifying the Kaiju Transformation he had to go through.
"Phoenix Flame." He opened his palm, and a bright flame burst out instantly. "I don't have to use the Kaiju Core with fire element to use flame anymore."
"How convenient."
Phoenix Spirit sensed Hayate's flawless fusion with Phoenix's Bloodline and commented, "Admirable."
"Then, I'll give you a divine phoenix pill and an inscribed jade stone containing the World Ode of the Phoenix."
As Hayate received the other two rewards, World Ode of the Phoenix caught his attention the most. Yet, when he read it briefly, it was easy for him to know the technique was not perfect.
"There was an accident in the past, so the current World Ode of the Phoenix I possessed only recorded the fifth and sixth part."
"It's okay. I can fix it later," Hayate replied while shaking his head.
"I only have to use the trial by error method."
It was such an effortless thing to say because even people in the Divine Realm couldn't casually state such a thing. However, Hayate is confident in his ability and patience.
Someone who spouted about fixing divine technique underwent Qi Deviation typically because of their arrogance and suffered greatly later, but Hayate won't experience it because his Kaiju Creation protected him.
"Failure is part of the process." He added, which left Jasmine speechless.
Phoenix Spirit laughed heartily and said, "Amusing, truly amusing."
"If only I could stay a little longer, I might be able to witness it."
"Sadly, I'm only a tiny spark of phoenix spirit."
The divine beast proceeded to tell Hayate about Phoenix's Inheritance story and explained how the Divine Phoenix Empire formed to him.
There are two trial grounds in Sky Profound Continent, one at the Divine Phoenix Empire and the other at this place. The phoenix spirit slowly was corrupted by power and fought the other phoenix.
"I was able to hide my death by hiding on the trial ground, but I'm just waiting on my death's door."
"Sooner or later, my soul spark will disappear."
"I see..." Hayate could feel unbearable sorrow in Phoenix Spirit's voice.
"For once, I'll try to be selfish." Phoenix Spirit suddenly declared. "I'll bestow to you my soul essence."
"It's not much, but definitely useful for you."
Hayate couldn't help but frown, but Phoenix Spirit approached him and let a beautiful spark enter his chest.
"I hope you could help the Phoenix Clan by lifting their curses and parting World Ode of the Phoenix to them." Phoenix Spirit lastly said and disappeared into the darkness.
Hayate technically killed Phoenix Spirit because the divine beast sacrificed itself for him. He sighed slightly and looked down at his clenched fist, where a red sphere held.
He walked out of the trial ground and saw Feng Baichuan waiting at the entrance with a worried expression.
"Senior Feng." Hayate greeted calmly.
"Y-You actually completed the trial!" Feng Baichuan noticed a flame imprint between Hayate's eyebrows.
He trembled slightly because Hayate's noble phoenix aura made him excited.
Hayate, who noticed Feng Baichuan's excitement, shook his head and instructed, "Senior, Can you gather all of your clansmen here?"
"I'll lift the curse."
Feng Baichuan nodded and quickly ran away, telling everyone to gather in front of the trial ground. He returned a few minutes later with every single clan member.
Hayate walked toward them and released a faint phoenix flame from his finger, cleansing their curse one by one.
After half an hour of lifting the curse, Hayate sighed in relief and watched everyone crying down to the ground.
"P-Phoenix God, finally forgive us."
"H-Hic... 1,000 years."
"Senior Feng, I want you to cultivate your clan's strength silently in this place," Hayate said with a solemn expression. "It would be dangerous if the outside world knew you possessed Phoenix Bloodline."
"Especially, Divine Phoenix Empire. They will try to destroy your clan because they cannot let anyone else have the same blood."
As far as Hayate knows, the Snow Princess from Divine Phoenix Empire is kind enough to take Phoenix Clan with her. Nonetheless, the emperor himself won't let such a thing happen.
"I'll contact you in a few days with my subordinate." He added, to which Feng Baichuan responded with a nod.
"I'm... No, we are grateful for your help, Junior Hayate." Feng Baichuan replied while bowing his head.
The entire clan member bowed their heads at Hayate, but he could only let out a bitter chuckle. "I'm only doing my responsibility." He said while telling them about Phoenix Spirit's disappearance.
Hayate and Cang Yue left the phoenix clan with a few words and went to the Blue Wind Imperial City.
"You're such a good boy, Hayate." Cang Yue commented while brushing his hair.
"I'm glad to have you as my younger brother." She giggled cheerfully.
Hayate smiled and brought out the inscribed jade stone, reading the content with a weird expression. "I'll give the phoenix clan my version of World Ode of the Phoenix later."
"I couldn't let them train an incomplete technique without a proper foundation."
They moved to the Blue Wind Imperial City quickly, and Hayate tried to fix World Ode of the Phoenix on the way there.
Cang Yue landed the profound flying beast on the Imperial Palace and noticed Hayate still focusing on his work.
"Aih, Senior Guan did tell me Hayate won't move an inch when focusing on something." She slowly hugged Hayate from behind and dragged him to the Imperial Palace.
They arrived at the emperor's office, and Cang Wanhe stared at them weirdly.
"Hoh, did something happen?" Cang Wanhe curiously asked.
Cang Yue placed Hayate on a chair and replied, "Well, we found something in Ten Thousand Beast Mountain Range."
Cang Wanhe listened to his daughter's story and was baffled because he didn't know the phoenix clan was there. Even the previous emperors didn't leave behind a record about this.
He stared at Cang Yue and muttered, "We can't let the Divine Phoenix Empire know about this."
"Yes, Hayate also thought the same." Cang Yue nodded her head.
They moved their gazes on the black-haired young man, who had been ignoring them for minutes.
"Hayate won't budge unless something dangerous attacks him." Cang Yue commented, which left Cang Wanhe's mouth open in wonder.
"Is he okay?" Cang Wanhe asked with a quiet tone.
Cang Yue rested her body on the couch and answered, "Apparently, yes."
"He stayed awake for a whole month at once."
He was speechless when hearing Cang Yue's words, but Hayate is not your typical young man. He's wise enough and far more powerful for his age.
Cang Wange left the office because the emperor had an appointment to attend to in another place, leaving Cang Yue and Hayate alone.
Cang Yue observed Hayate silently from the couch and gradually fell asleep.
"Little Ghost, come here." Hayate closed his book and looked at the ceiling, where a young girl with an eye band stayed.
The young girl dropped to the floor and stared silently at Hayate.
Little Ghost is a 15 years old girl with a petite yet slender body, and her black hair reaches below the neck. She wore a tight black suit to move nimbly in the shadow and an ebony eye band.
[Hidden Shadow Garden] was an organization Hong Guan created three and a half years ago. Its objective was for information gathering but also assassination.
Hayate found out about it after Chu Yueli's accident and felt overwhelmed because Hong Guan took his word very seriously about conquering the world.
[Hidden Shadow Garden] is a secret organization built by the Silver Lake City's Lord, Hong Guan. She would recruit orphans who lost their hopes and train them into Ghosts.
(An: She didn't kill and turn them into a Ghost, okay)
Ghost is a nickname for [Hidden Shadow Garden]'s members and only listened to Hong Guan and Hayate's order. They have abandoned their former names and become one entity called Ghost.
Hong Guan obviously treated them like her children because every one of them was picked personally by her. She provided them with home, food, and every basic necessity.
Hayate has a personal ghost called Little Ghost, who possessed 1st level Earth Profound Realm Cultivation.
"I want you to contact Hong Guan and tell her about the Phoenix Clan." He instructed Little Ghost.
"Okay." Little Ghost nodded her head.
Hayate gave Little Ghost a pat on the head and a few cookies before she left the room.
He stretched his body and yawned, witnessing Cang Yue on the couch sleeping soundlessly.
"A little nap doesn't sound bad," He smiled while sitting on the couch.
Hayate gently caressed Cang Yue's hair and also fell asleep.