Chapter 2: The Phoenix Reborn

The morning sea was breathtakingly beautiful, like a young girl lifting a veil from her face, revealing her pure eyes and alluring lips. The sun was slowly rising from the east, and the undulating sea surface, under the sunlight, seemed draped in a golden coat. To be upon it was like being in a fairyland; perhaps nothing in the world could compare to the charm of the sea. However, at this moment, the researchers from the island on a reconnaissance mission had no mind to appreciate such a captivating scene.

"Teacher Roani, there are no issues on the sea surface! Within visible range, there are no ships!" After carefully observing the sea, one researcher reported to Roani, who was still on the island, using the communication device in hand.

"Good, stay on the sea and continue observing, waiting for the ocean-going ship to set sail!" Roani put down the communication device and turned to nod at the White-haired Wind God and the others.

Seeing Roani's expression, the White-haired Wind God knew everything was fine. He turned and loudly addressed the dozens of companions around him, "Everyone board the ship, prepare to set sail!" Before his clear voice faded, the crowd couldn't help but cheer. Although life on the island was peaceful and comfortable, for Mels and the others, stepping onto solid land was the greatest joy! Perhaps due to homesickness, the boarding preparations, which were scheduled to take an hour, were completed in just thirty minutes.

Although the Seven Immortals of Myriad Changes had effectively become the leaders of this group, they were still clueless about operating the complex Ironclad Ship. Therefore, after counting heads and confirming that everyone was on board, the visitors from the Carshu continent, including Mels and the others, leisurely went up to the deck, leaving the heavy responsibility of operating the ship to Roani and the other researchers.

"Boss, we can finally go back! We've been away from the continent for almost half a year. I wonder if anything interesting has happened on the continent," Sol said lazily to Mels, leaning against the railing.

"Haha, you dummy, do you think the whole world revolves around you? We've only been gone for half a year; what changes could there be on the continent? I'm just thinking, I wonder how my foster father and the others are doing. After we return to the continent, we should go see them first!" Mels smiled slightly, leaned against the railing, closed his eyes, and enjoyed the sea breeze.

"The chief and the others are highly skilled in martial arts. I think they'll definitely be safe! But right now, I have a strange feeling, as if something is following us!" Rek said nervously after looking around anxiously.

"Something following us? Big Guy, are you running a fever?" Sol mocked after looking around.

"I'm not joking. I really feel something is off!" Rek frowned slightly and said seriously.

After hearing Rek's words, Mels and Sol exchanged glances and couldn't help but feel slightly worried. Since childhood, Rek's intuition had always been accurate, so seeing that he wasn't joking, the two of them also felt some concern.

"Little ones, what are you talking about?" Just as Mels and the others didn't know how to handle Rek's "feeling," the Mad Venerable suddenly appeared behind the youths and asked with a smile.

"Mad Venerable, do you feel anything off? Or sense any enemies?" Mels asked seriously. Mels believed that if there were any potential enemies, someone with the Mad Venerable's skill would definitely be able to detect them.

"Enemies? Something off?" The Mad Venerable looked into Mels's eyes and, after confirming that Mels wasn't talking nonsense, focused his mind to sense the surroundings. After a moment, he said, "No, aside from the people on the deck, everyone else is operating the ship. There's definitely no one hiding anywhere!"

"Oh, that's good then!" Mels nodded slightly, then turned to Rek and said, "Rek, maybe we've been on the island for too long, and since we're not familiar with being on water, you might feel something off after boarding the ship."

"Hmm, maybe." After hearing Mels's words, Rek nodded slightly and turned his gaze to the sea. However, a trace of worry still lingered between his brows, and it seemed to be growing stronger.

Seeing that Rek's worry was unfounded, Sol stopped worrying. His gaze fell on the other side of the cabin, just in time to see Lannis slowly walking up the spiral staircase to the deck. Sol immediately said to Mels, "Boss, look who's here!"

"Brother Sol, hello." Lannis smiled slightly at Sol, then slowly approached Mels and the others.

Although everyone had spent quite some time with Lannis, the gentle and shy Lannis would still greet them politely and shyly every time she saw them. It seemed that only when alone with Mels could Lannis open her heart and speak boldly about everything.

"Lannis, why did you come up? Didn't our masters tell you to stay in the cabin?" Mels turned and said. Actually, Mels wasn't unhappy about being with Lannis; he just said otherwise because of the Seven Immortals of Myriad Changes.

"I spoke with the seniors, and they agreed to let me come up for some fresh air. But if I'm disturbing your conversation with the Mad Venerable, I'll go back down right away!" With that, Lannis prepared to turn and leave.

"No, no, not at all! I... I just..." In front of Lannis, Mels always became a bit clumsy.

Seeing that Mels couldn't even articulate his words of persuasion clearly, Sol immediately spoke up, "Lannis, the boss misses you so much he can't wait; how could he find you annoying! It's just that the masters often tell us not to let you overexert yourself, so the boss wants you to rest more. Hehe, you know how the boss treats you; I think you understand best."

"Brother Sol, you always tease me. If you keep this up, I'll go back," Lannis said, feeling extremely shy.

"Sol, if you kept your mouth shut, no one would think you're dumb! If you keep talking nonsense, be careful or I'll hit you!" Mels threatened, raising his fist.

"Fine, fine, I won't speak, okay! Ah, these days, even matchmakers get beaten up; there's no justice!" Sol said.

Sol's playful antics immediately lightened the atmosphere. Aside from Akafir, who was busy eating fruit, even Rek seemed to cast aside his worries. In no time, everyone was chatting and laughing around Lannis.

The ironclad ship was extremely fast, reaching the open sea in less than half an hour and approaching the small sampan that had been sent out earlier for reconnaissance. Once they retrieved it, they would officially begin their journey back to the continent!

The black behemoth gradually approached the sampan. If not for the iron chains lowered in advance, the waves stirred up by the ship alone would have capsized the sampan. With nothing else to do, the Seven Immortals of Myriad Changes seemed to have finished their tasks and came up to the deck to watch the retrieval process with Mels and the others.

"Mels, Sol, Rek, Akafir, have you remembered what we taught you these past few days?" the White-haired Wind God asked with a smile as he approached Mels and the others. Actually, he already knew their answers, but as their master, he often inquired about their martial arts progress and explained difficult concepts to them.

"Master, I..." Before Mels could finish speaking, a blue light suddenly shot up from the seabed. In an instant, before everyone's eyes, the small sampan that hadn't yet been retrieved onto the ironclad ship was struck by the blue light and engulfed in a fireball. Immediately afterward, a huge explosion sound reached their ears, stunning them.

Since the sampan was very close to the ironclad ship, its explosion immediately caused the ship to rock violently from side to side. If not for Mels and the others' martial arts skills, this shaking would have surely thrown them into disarray.

"What happened? What's going on?" Sol, who had his back to the sea and no martial arts foundation, shouted loudly after barely steadying himself. However, no one answered his question at that moment; everyone just stared blankly in the same direction.

Realizing that something must have happened on the sea behind him, Sol suddenly turned to look at the sea. The sight before him made him gasp in shock, his heart filled with fear and unease, but he couldn't even let out a scream!

Two black Metal Giants, identical to those that attacked the ruins of Frank Island that day, were now floating on the sea surface about ten meters away from the ironclad ship. Their semicircular heads, black bodies, crimson eyes, no noses or mouths, metal joints dripping with water, and the huge green gun barrels in their massive hands were aimed at the ship!

The last time they saw these monsters, Mels and the others only observed from afar. Even when the White-haired Wind God fought them, they couldn't get a clear look at the Metal Giants due to the night and rain.

But this time was different. Ten meters was far too close for Metal Giants over eight meters tall; even the metal lines on their bodies were clearly visible to everyone. Moreover, the sun was already high in the sky, and visibility was excellent.

The crimson single eye of the Metal Giant was as big as Mels's head. Perhaps it was observing every member on the ironclad ship; the single eye kept contracting and expanding, and the faint sound of metal adjustments clearly reached everyone's ears.

"It's come, just as I feared!" the White-haired Wind God said after watching for a while. In his tone, he seemed to have already anticipated that the ironclad ship would be attacked by these Metal Giants, and it even carried a sense of despair.

"Third Sister, Fifth Brother!" the White-haired Wind God gently called out to his siblings. The Angry Thunder Fairy and the Cold Ice Deity immediately nodded in unison, a determined expression appearing in their eyes. It seemed they had already planned how to deal with the enemy and considered their actions. At this moment, they were merely waiting for the White-haired Wind God's command, waiting for the opportunity to counterattack.

Seeing the reactions of his two siblings, the White-haired Wind God set aside all worries in his heart. He strode forward, faced the Metal Giants, and said, "Why are you attacking us? And why did you destroy Frank Island? Don't hide it; I know you're humans just like us! Answer my question quickly!"

"Humans?" After hearing the White-haired Wind God's words, Mels and the other youths were simultaneously shocked. Although they didn't believe these metal machines were messengers of gods, they had never thought these things could be called "humans" either.

Not only Mels and the others were surprised by the White-haired Wind God's words; even the two Metal Giants seemed taken aback that he would say such a thing.

The two Metal Giants temporarily halted their attack plan, gradually lowering their metal guns. Then, one of the metal machines transmitted a voice, saying, "Insignificant test subjects, do you know who you're speaking to? We are the gods who created you! The controllers of this world! Originally, our identities shouldn't be exposed to test subjects like you, but since you'll soon leave this world, we might as well let you die with clarity!

You are merely creatures we created. Whether to destroy you is our right. If necessary, we can completely destroy the entire continent and then create a new world. So, you can only obey our arrangements and make no pointless resistance! Now is the time for you to die!" After saying this, the Metal Giant raised its metal gun again, seemingly intending to sink the ironclad ship with one shot.

Seeing the critical situation, the White-haired Wind God remained fearless. He took another step forward and loudly said to the Metal Giant, "Since we are incompetent creatures, why do you need to use such huge machines to attack us? Are you afraid? Afraid of our powerful strength, so you don't dare to step out of that metal shell?"

The White-haired Wind God's words clearly carried a provocative tone. At first, Mels didn't understand his approach, but when he saw the Metal Giant hesitate, he suddenly realized that the White-haired Wind God knew very well he couldn't fight two huge Metal Giants while protecting the ship. Therefore, he hoped to provoke the enemy into a one-on-one fight.

Sure enough, after a short while, the arrogant Metal Giant began to show signs of anger. After what seemed like a fierce argument with its companion, the Metal Giant facing the White-haired Wind God suddenly said loudly, "Foolish test subject, do you think your ridiculous Summoned Beast can defeat us?

Hehe, you want to anger me and fight me one-on-one. Fine, I'll grant your wish and let you end your life in endless despair!" As soon as he finished speaking, the Metal Giant's chest began to rotate and protrude outward simultaneously. Within a minute, a man wearing a blue jumpsuit and holding a metal short rod appeared before everyone.

"So it really is a human!" Mels stared in shock at the enemy before him. Although the White-haired Wind God had already pointed out that the operators of the Metal Giants were humans, hearing it and seeing it were two different impacts. When he truly understood that his enemy, the culprit behind Frank Island's destruction, was actually human, an indescribable feeling welled up in Mels's heart.

The mysterious enemy glaring at the White-haired Wind God had no mind to think about anything else. He lightly pressed the metal short rod, and the unremarkable little thing immediately emitted a beam of light about one and a half meters long and as thick as the short rod. Then, the man roared, "Ignorant test subject, do you want to fight me one-on-one, or should I sink them into the sea right now?"

"I will fight you one-on-one! But before the fight, can you guarantee that you won't attack the ship while we're battling?" the White-haired Wind God said solemnly to the enemy.

"Nonsense, dealing with you won't take more than a few minutes! Since I'm willing to come out and fight you, of course I won't play tricks before the outcome is decided. Come over here and die!" With that, the man, using some unknown method, rose into the air, flying freely in the sky like a seagull.

Facing an unknown enemy and seeing the opponent use a strange weapon, the White-haired Wind God, though confident in himself, didn't dare to be overconfident. He slightly turned his head and nodded at the Cold Ice Deity, who immediately understood his meaning. The Cold Ice Deity raised his hands to his chest, formed the wind-based flying seal, and slowly chanted, "In the name of the Heavenly God, I command the wind spirits to gather by my side. Borrowing your flying ability, grant the warrior the power to soar through the skies! Wind Dance Technique!" As soon as the brief incantation ended, green light shot out from the Cold Ice Deity's hands, heading straight for the White-haired Wind God.

After being infused with the flying magic, the White-haired Wind God radiated green light all over his body and soared into the sky according to his will. Seeing that the White-haired Wind God was ready, the now-impatient mysterious enemy immediately brandished his peculiar beam weapon and flew toward the White-haired Wind God, who had just taken to the skies. A fierce battle immediately began without a sound.

The enemy who emerged from the Metal Giant, though seemingly weak and lacking the imposing aura of the White-haired Wind God and the others before a fight—even inferior to Mels and the others—when he pounced on the White-haired Wind God from the air, the moves he executed with the rod in his right hand were agile, fierce, and cunning, clearly not a martial arts amateur.

Perhaps it was a probing move; the mysterious man held the short rod like a sword. Following the inertia of his forward charge, his beam weapon first made a slow, rising diagonal slash, then reversed with lightning speed to slash diagonally down from the White-haired Wind God's right shoulder. Such a rapid change of moves clearly took the White-haired Wind God by surprise. Originally planning to seize an opening and subdue the enemy with powerful qi in one move, the White-haired Wind God had to dodge first to avoid being injured by the strange weapon.

However, the White-haired Wind God still underestimated the sharpness of the enemy's weapon. After the blue light passed, although he had completely avoided it, the clothes on his chest were split in two down the middle. And on his attacked chest, a burning pain immediately followed. Realizing the danger, the White-haired Wind God immediately retreated into midair. The mysterious enemy didn't pursue him but instead laughed loudly, taunting, "What's wrong? Scared and want to run? Run quickly! Otherwise, next time you won't have such a good chance to dodge!"

"Hah! I did underestimate your skills, but in my decades roaming the martial world, I have never fled from a battle. That weapon of yours is sharp, I'll grant you that, but a sharp weapon alone won't accomplish much, nor can it defeat me!"

With that, the White-haired Wind God didn't give the mysterious man a chance to catch his breath and reply. He crossed his hands in front of his chest, then, as if holding a watermelon, slowly raised them above his head and shouted, "True Nameless Divine Style, Blazing Sun Battle Aura!" Before his voice faded, a deep red aura erupted from the crown of the White-haired Wind God's head, shooting like lightning straight toward the vital points all over the mysterious man's body.

Seeing the White-haired Wind God's sharp attack, the mysterious man dropped his playful attitude and raised the metal short rod in his hand to guard his chest, planning to use the sharpness of his divine weapon to counter the White-haired Wind God's Qi. Speaking of the divine weapon in his hand, it was actually a beam weapon created with high technology. This weapon not only possessed strong destructive power but could also use its unique manufacturing principles to neutralize Qi or elemental magic attacks. Therefore, even when facing the White-haired Wind God's powerful assault, the mysterious man remained unfazed.

Little did he know, this time he underestimated the White-haired Wind God's strength. The deep red Qi emitted by the White-haired Wind God, when it approached about three meters in front of the mysterious man, suddenly split into four clusters like exploding fireworks, attacking him simultaneously from above, below, left, and right.

Originally, the mysterious man had been confidently waiting for the Qi to enter his attack range. Once it did, he was absolutely confident he could neutralize it with the beam weapon in his hand. However, the change in the situation exceeded his expectations.

When the Qi emitted by the White-haired Wind God scattered, an ominous premonition instantly swept over the mysterious man. Unfortunately, the situation was no longer under his control. Although he desperately swung his beam weapon to neutralize the Qi aimed directly at his head, he couldn't protect the rest of him. He could only watch helplessly as the Qi closed in and struck his body with full force! As the Qi hit, a tremendous force instantly transmitted into his body, throwing his slender frame into the air before crashing heavily to the ground.

"Not good!" Seeing the mysterious man injured by his attack, the White-haired Wind God showed no joy; instead, his face fell, turning grave.

Actually, the White-haired Wind God had originally intended to capture the mysterious man alive to use as a hostage, forcing the enemy to cease their attack on the Ironclad Ship. However, in the heat of battle, he instinctively used a powerful move, knocking the enemy down in one strike. Although he had indeed won the one-on-one fight, the threat they faced was actually growing greater!

"Not good! If his companion sees him killed, he will surely seek revenge. Without another word, they'll immediately fire and sink the Ironclad Ship! If that happens, the consequences would be unimaginable! What on earth should I do?" The White-haired Wind God watched as the mysterious man fell toward the Metal Giant he had been riding, a knot of anxiety tightening in his chest.

Fortunately, the mysterious man's injuries weren't as severe as the White-haired Wind God had imagined. Perhaps the man himself possessed high martial arts cultivation, or perhaps it was because he mastered super technology completely different from that of the Kaxiu Continent. In any case, after a moment to catch his breath, the mysterious man, who had crashed heavily onto the Metal Giant, slowly got up. From the way he moved, although he had suffered some damage, it wasn't serious!

Looking down at the mysterious man below, the White-haired Wind God felt a wave of relief that he was mostly unscathed, but he was also greatly surprised that his full-force attack hadn't taken him down! In fact, on the Kaxiu Continent, there were definitely no more than twenty people who could withstand the White-haired Wind God's previous move. Even the Mad Venerable couldn't guarantee he could easily face the White-haired Wind God's full-force assault! The reason the mysterious man had survived was simply because his clothes were made of an impact-absorbing material.

"Since you have been defeated, do you still wish to continue this futile fight?" the White-haired Wind God called out loudly.

Seeing the White-haired Wind God's victorious attitude, the mysterious man's pride and self-esteem began to breed hatred! He venomously said, "Experimental subject, don't get cocky. If I don't kill you today, I swear I'll never call myself a man again!" With that, he immediately took out a deep red gem from a hidden pocket, threw it into the sky, and began shouting with all his might.

Facing the seemingly crazed mysterious man, Mels and the others had no idea what he intended to do! However, moments later, when the ruby emitted a dazzling radiance, everyone suddenly realized it was the mysterious man's Summoning Gem!

"A Summoning Gem can still be used after leaving the human body!" Roani and Mels exclaimed in shock almost simultaneously.

At this moment, the mysterious man paid no attention to their reactions. He let out a loud shout, crying out in apparent pain, "Come forth, summon my loyal servant, Lord of the Fire Realm: Phoenix!" As soon as his words fell, the Summoning Gem in the air emitted a strong red light, as if dyeing the sky crimson! Amidst the fiercely burning flames, a giant Summoned Beast with nine tail feathers and a fiery red body appeared before everyone!

"Not good, the old man's Summoned Beast might not be a match for his!" Seeing the Summoned Beast the enemy had summoned, the Mad Venerable immediately recognized its strength and couldn't help but worry secretly for the White-haired Wind God.

The White-haired Wind God in the air certainly knew the power of the Fire Phoenix! In the history of the Kaxiu Continent, there had been three incidents of Fire Phoenixes attacking humans from unknown origins. According to records, almost no one could stand against the Fire Phoenix at that time. It wasn't until the appearance of the Three Holy Beasts that these three crises were resolved. It was precisely because of this that the Eight-part Dragon King, Nine-Winged Goddess, and Two-faced Nether Emperor became recognized as the strongest super Summoned Beasts! However, this time the White-haired Wind God not only had to face the Fire Phoenix alone but also had to defeat it; otherwise, everyone on the Ironclad Ship would have no chance of survival!

Although facing a powerful enemy, the White-haired Wind God was even more aware of the responsibility he bore! Without fear, he removed the guards from his hands, then raised his left hand high and shouted, "In the name of the Creator God, by my blood pact, guide the power bestowed by the heavens, summon my loyal servant—'Dark Three-headed Hound' Agdos!"

The moment the summoning incantation was completed, a black hole-like space appeared above the White-haired Wind God's head. As the black hole expanded, night-like dark clouds gathered continuously above the Ironclad Ship, seemingly about to cover the entire sky. When the dark stone on the back of his hand emitted a strong light, a peculiar Summoned Beast shot out from the black hole! It had bat-like wings on its back, a dog-like body, tiger-like limbs, a slender tail, and three heads on its neck!

"So he actually possesses the legendary Three-headed Hound, no wonder he dares to challenge the Fire Phoenix!" Roani muttered to himself.

"Three-headed Hound? Little One, do you know what kind of Summoned Beast the Three-headed Hound is?" Mels, who didn't understand how powerful the White-haired Wind God's Summoned Beast was, turned to ask Little One, who had already appeared beside him.

"Hmm... let me think!" Little One lowered his head in thought for a moment and then said, "Dark Three-headed Hound, a top-tier all-around Summoned Beast of the dark attribute in the magical beast category! This type of Summoned Beast isn't inherited through bloodlines; it can only be obtained through evolution. It's said that the evolution method of this Summoned Beast is very peculiar, requiring nine near-death states to succeed in evolution. Therefore, in the thousands of years of the continent's history, it has only appeared a few times.

Due to its rare appearances, humans don't know much about it. Legend has it that this Summoned Beast has strong advantages in both physical attacks and magical assaults, and its sleep attack is a trump card for overcoming enemies. According to records, aside from the three super Summoned Beasts, no other Summoned Beast exists that can surpass it. Thus, it can be said that the Dark Three-headed Hound is a very powerful super-grade Summoned Beast!"

"Oh, I see. No wonder during the last battle with the Ironclad Whale, the Mad Venerable thought that if Master summoned his Summoned Beast, everyone would get hurt! So Master's Summoned Beast is so powerful!" Mels said with some excitement.

However, his excitement didn't last long. After the Fire Phoenix and the Three-headed Hound began their battle, the difference in strength immediately became apparent to everyone!

The Three-headed Hound seemed very wary of the Fire Phoenix. Whenever it faced it head-on, it would always dodge to one side, only daring to attack from a distance with skills like Dark Arrow, Corrosive Saliva, and Sleep Ray. The Fire Phoenix, soaring through the air, not only showed no fear of the Three-headed Hound's attacks but often directly received them. It seemed the Three-headed Hound's skills had little effect on the Fire Phoenix.

In contrast, the Fire Phoenix's situation was completely different! After the initial probing phase, the Fire Phoenix seemed to have determined that the Three-headed Hound posed no threat whatsoever. Therefore, the Fire Phoenix, which had been dodging left and right earlier, no longer evaded attacks. Each time, it would directly meet the Three-headed Hound's assaults. And whenever the Three-headed Hound entered its attack range, streams of fire arrows and deep red claws would immediately greet the enemy, forcing the Three-headed Hound to flee in disarray!

It was expected that the Three-headed Hound would be no match for the Fire Phoenix, but for it to be defeated so quickly was truly disappointing! At this moment, who knew what was going through the White-haired Wind God's mind. Although he clearly knew he was no match for the enemy, he still commanded the Three-headed Hound to attack with all its might. Did he really not know that defeat was only a matter of time? Or was it because he understood that once he was defeated, everyone would face the severe consequence of losing their lives? Mels quietly watched the red and black Summoned Beasts chasing and attacking each other in the sky. At this moment, his heart held no thoughts of death, nor did he consider what his own fate would be! In his heart, only questions echoed continuously: "Who are these people? Why do they possess such advanced technology? Why do they have such powerful Summoned Beasts despite their low martial arts?" However, no one could answer Mels' questions, nor would anyone answer them. There was only the mockery and scorn of fate!