Jin Shu recognized every spirit beast approaching them.
Not personally—but in form.
He knew them well, even if he had never seen them with his own eyes.
After all, they stood at the sa level as his first life's incarnation.
Divine Beasts.
Majestic white tigers towered nearly ten ters tall. Black tortoises lood like drifting islands. Vermilion birds blazed overhead, their flas turning night into day.
And surprisingly—
He recognized the won too.
Actually recognized them.
They were disciples of the Immortal Phoenix Sect—specifically disciples of the elders who had accompanied the tournant finalists to the Hidden Phoenix Realm.
Only the top eight were permitted to enter the realm itself, but the other elder disciples had traveled to the desert as support, helping construct a base around the portal's projected manifestation point.
But this city can't possibly be what they built… right?
No matter how he looked at it, this wasn't sothing erected in a few weeks—or even a month.
Yet no such city had been marked on the map he'd received.
The leading disciple stopped a short distance away and greeted him with a cupped-fist salute.
"Senior Brother Jin! You're finally here!" she called excitedly. Then she blinked at the inn behind him. "But… what's with the building?"
Jin Shu vaguely recognized her. She had reached the semi-finals of the sect tournant. He couldn't recall her na, but he rembered she had later beco an elder's disciple as a reward.
He also rembered her particularly peculiar… habit.
Back then, she had stuffed her robes with lons to exaggerate her chest—sothing even Li Xue wouldn't do.
Probably.
His gaze drifted downward.
It seed she hadn't abandoned that habit.
If anything, she had upgraded to sothing larger.
He coughed lightly and looked back at her face.
"Uh… I was teleported here along with this inn," he said with a shrug. "We thought we landed in the middle of the desert—where you all were supposed to be. So… where exactly are we?"
She nodded matter-of-factly. "This is the middle of the desert. And this city is the one we built—Phoenix Alliance City."
Jin Shu slowly turned in a full circle.
There wasn't even a hint of sand.
Only dense vegetation stretching as far as his vision could reach—which, given his cultivation, was quite far indeed.
"…Huh?"
Before she could elaborate, one of the accompanying Divine Beasts spoke.
"Wu Ming, who is this man?" the white tiger rumbled.
As he spoke, his massive body shimred and compressed, taking on human form. A young man in his twenties stood in its place—white hair, sharp black brows, and eyes like unsheathed blades.
"This is Senior Brother Jin Shu, our Sect Leader's disciple," Wu Ming replied.
The white-haired man raised a brow.
"That Jin Shu?"
"You've heard of ?" Jin Shu asked.
He hadn't expected his na to carry beyond the sect—though given they were with Immortal Phoenix Sect disciples, perhaps it wasn't so strange.
The man smirked, revealing faintly pointed teeth.
"You have quite a few enemies here."
One by one, the other Divine Beasts followed suit, assuming human forms now that he was confird not to be a threat.
They began whispering among themselves.
And judging from the glances they kept throwing his way—
The subject of discussion was very clearly him.
Enemies? How could I possibly have enemies here? Jin Shu wondered.
He didn't get the chance to voice the thought.
The conversation shifted to Long Ling, who had stepped out of the inn.
"Eh? Big Sister Ling?" the white-haired man asked in surprise.
"Hu Fang?" Long Ling tilted her head. "What are all of you doing here? Weren't we supposed to et in a week?"
"Big Sis and the other sisters decided to arrive early," Hu Fang replied. "We've been here for a few weeks waiting for you."
"Why didn't they tell ?"
Hu Fang scratched his cheek awkwardly. "Probably because they know how much you like sightseeing?"
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"Hmm." She narrowed her eyes slightly. "I don't think that's the reason… but I won't argue, since I do like sightseeing." She waved it off with a bright grin. "Anyway, let's go see the others."
Hu Fang quickly stepped forward before she could move. "Um… do you mind putting your inn away?"
"Oh. Right. Forgot."
With a casual wave of her sleeve, the three-story inn shrank rapidly, compressing until it was no larger than an apple. She plucked it from the air as if it weighed nothing and slipped it into her storage ring.
Jin Shu stared.
"…Couldn't I…?" he muttered under his breath as a sudden idea struck him.
Then he imdiately dismissed it as absurd.
Nano had uploaded an overwhelming amount of crafting knowledge from his original world into his mind. If he truly wanted to, he could probably build sothing like a spaceship.
But what would he even do with a spaceship?
Still pondering that deeply impractical possibility, he followed the group toward the city.
"When we first arrived in the desert, it was rough," Wu Ming explained as they walked. "We were constantly attacked by demonic beasts and blown around by sandstorms. We couldn't even put up a tent, let alone build anything permanent."
She gestured toward the towering walls ahead.
"After a little over a week—nearly two, we encountered the four Divine Beast clans. They helped drive the demonic beasts away. We ford an alliance—and built this Phoenix Alliance City together."
She smirked.
"You must be wondering why Phoenix cos first in the city's na, right?"
The surrounding Divine Beasts shuffled awkwardly.
Jin Shu raised a brow. He hadn't thought much of it before, but now that she ntioned it…
"Why is that?"
"Because our sect leaders beat their elders into submission!" Wu Ming declared with a mischievous laugh.
"It wasn't that bad!" Hu Fang shouted with conviction.
"…Probably," he muttered a mont after, visibly less confident.
"Your Master Realm elders ca back covered in bruises, black eyes, and broken noses," Wu Ming continued sweetly. "anwhile, our sect leaders—who are a realm lower—returned completely unscathed."
Hu Fang opened his mouth—
Then closed it.
"…That's not inaccurate," he admitted grudgingly.
Jin Shu blinked. "What happened? Why did Mom and… Master fight their elders?"
"For an alliance to work, it needs a leader. None of the clans were willing to concede that position," Wu Ming explained. "So the Vice Sect Leader proposed a solution—fight for it."
She paused for dramatic effect.
"Except she volunteered herself and the Sect Leader to face all their elders at once."
"…I see."
Yeah.
That absolutely sounded like sothing his mother would propose.
As they moved deeper into the city, Jin Shu couldn't help but marvel at its construction.
It was a seamless fusion of nature and civilization.
Earth rose naturally to form buildings. Vines and flowering plants wrapped around pillars and rooftops. Streams and ponds threaded through the streets, reflecting lantern light in shimring ripples.
The city had been built according to elental principles.
In a sense, it was alive.
Not alive in the literal sense—no consciousness, no will.
But it was inseparable from the land itself.
As long as the land endured, so would the city.
In essence, it functioned similarly to the Boundless Nature Formation he had once used against Wang Yue. Except instead of funneling energy into a single cultivator, the energy was distributed throughout the city, sustaining and reinforcing it.
"This city is incredible," Jin Shu admitted.
Hu Fang puffed out his chest proudly. "This is the power of our Divine Beast clans!"
Jin Shu glanced at Long Ling. "Why are you all here anyway?"
"To undergo a trial," she replied casually.
"In the Hidden Phoenix Realm?"
She shook her head. "We call it the Guardian Realm."
"Guardian Realm…?" he repeated.
The term stirred sothing in his mory.
He sifted through the fragnts left behind by Long Jinshu and found it—an old recollection from a clan eting in his youth. His father, Long Qing, had ntioned it once.
From what he recalled, the top four participants in the Guardian Trials would earn the opportunity to train under Lord Qilin—the acknowledged leader of the Divine Beast clans.
"How did the Guardian Trial grounds beco the Hidden Phoenix Realm?" Jin Shu asked.
"You know about the Guardian Trials?" Long Ling countered, surprised.
"I'm not your ancestor for nothing," he said lightly.
Hu Fang, however, did not find it amusing.
His expression darkened. He bristled like an offended cub, sharp eyes flashing.
"You bastard! Just because you stole our little ancestor doesn't an you can claim to be our ancestor!"
Jin Shu stopped walking.
"Little ancestor? Stole?" He frowned. "What are you talking about?"
Before Hu Fang could respond—
A familiar voice rang out from the far end of the street.
"DADDY!!"
Jin Shu barely had ti to turn before a silver blur shot toward him at terrifying speed.
He braced instinctively.
The impact slamd into his chest—but this ti he was prepared. Having experienced it more than once, he anchored his footing and absorbed the force without toppling backward.
He didn't even have ti to greet Yin'er—
Before dozens of white tigers surrounded him.
They exuded the oppressive pressure of Adept Realm experts, their killing intent thick in the air.
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