Chapter 617 Extreme Speed

Lin Xuan rarely displayed these Phoenix Wings in front of the Demon Race, so most of them were seeing them for the first time. They were all stunned, especially when they saw how enormous the Phoenix Wings were.

This required a very high concentration of Phoenix Essence Blood to achieve such a scale. The wings were even larger than those of a normal Phoenix, which meant Lin Xuan must have absorbed Spirit Grade Phoenix Essence Blood to achieve such a result.

Mortal Grade Phoenix Essence Blood could never produce Phoenix Wings of this magnitude. They were a full size larger than those of someone like Yan Cheng, who had previously led Lin Xuan to Phoenix Island. This size was enough to rival the wings of the Elders themselves, further proving that Lin Xuan had absorbed a large amount of Spirit Grade Phoenix Essence Blood.

The utterly shocked members of the Demon Race couldn’t help but turn to look at the Phoenix Race Elders, wanting to see their reactions. As expected, their expressions were incredibly sour.

“This human brat has absorbed a lot of our Spirit Grade Phoenix Essence Blood. Where on earth did he get it?”

“He probably used some dirty tricks, captured one of our people, and forcibly absorbed their Essence Blood. How else could he have gotten so much!”

“He must give us an explanation! For a human to obtain it is simply an insult to the Phoenix Race!”

The faces of the Phoenix Race Elders darkened. They turned toward Jin Wei and glared, demanding an explanation.

Just then, Si Yun couldn’t hold back any longer and stepped forward. “All of this Essence Blood was a gift from the Princess, so stop your wild accusations! It’s our own Essence Blood; we can give it to whomever we please! So what if we’re Mutated Phoenixes? Does that give you the right to mistreat your own kin? No matter what, we are still Phoenixes! What are we, some other kind of demon?!”

Si Yun finally erupted. When she was captured and taken to Phoenix Island, she had been tortured until she was covered in wounds; even now, her injuries hadn’t fully healed. She was only here to observe this time and had no intention of participating in the trial.

The Phoenix Race Elders were left speechless. While they hadn’t personally committed these acts—it was all the Fire Phoenix King’s doing—the Fire Phoenix King represented the entire Phoenix Race, so his actions were linked to them all. If they had chosen to object from the start, things certainly wouldn’t have turned out this way.

Ultimately, if they hadn’t tacitly approved, how could Si Yun have suffered such abuse? They had nearly used the Soul Searching Technique on her. If the Soul Searching Technique weren’t so utterly merciless, they truly would have gone through with it.

Of course, if the target’s soul was powerful enough, the Soul Searching Technique would be useless; in fact, it would backfire and harm the caster.

“E-Even if she gave it to him willingly, how can Phoenix Essence Blood just be gifted to a human!'” one of the Phoenix Race Elders retorted weakly.

“Lin Xuan saved the Princess’s life. Is that not reason enough!?” Si Yun shot back, staring at them coldly. “The Princess was imprisoned in the human lands by the Fire Phoenix King all this time, and you thought she had defected? How utterly ridiculous! Let me ask you, in all these years, what have we ever done to you? Nothing! Yet the Fire Phoenix King treats us like we’re not even his own kind. You’re all so obstinate! At this rate, the Fire Phoenix King will lead the Phoenix Race to its doom!”

“Enough!” one of the Elders stepped forward with a sinister sneer. “A fine sentiment, ‘led the Phoenix Race to its doom.’ All this time, she has led the Phoenix Race to ever-greater prosperity! Stop spouting such nonsense; it’s pointless. Your Princess’s bloodline is impure. Do you really think she can absorb the Heart of the Fire Phoenix? Keep dreaming!”

Clearly, this Elder was a supporter of the Fire Phoenix King; otherwise, he wouldn’t have chimed in like that.

At that moment, a sudden noise drew everyone’s attention. They looked over and saw that Lin Xuan was ready. With a powerful beat of the Phoenix Wings on his back, he shot forward!

The moment Lin Xuan took flight, countless arrows suddenly erupted from the smooth surrounding walls, closing in on him in the blink of an eye.

With a flick of his Phoenix Wings, his speed surged again, and he narrowly dodged the volley of arrows. Even with his abilities almost fully unleashed, he had only just barely avoided them. It was a close call.

However, he hadn’t flown far before more arrows shot out from all directions—dozens of them this time. This trial truly was a test of speed and Body Technique. Failing to meet the standard in either was simply suicide.

A glint flashed in Lin Xuan’s eyes as he swerved and dodged, bobbing up and down to evade the arrows coming from every direction. But he was still half a beat too slow. A few arrows grazed him, carving deep gashes into his arm and thigh, exposing the bone.

The impact made him falter, and he nearly crashed into the wall. The walls were exactly where the arrows emerged from, meaning the closer he flew to them, the harder it would be to dodge!

“Even if he absorbed Phoenix Essence Blood, it’s still hard to dodge. The Chaotic Arrow Array isn’t that easy to evade. This time he’ll surely die!”

“He absorbed Phoenix Essence Blood, but he’s not one of the Phoenix Race. A human is still a human, not a real Phoenix!”

“A mere crawler hoping to fly like a Phoenix—what a pipe dream!”

…

Seeing Lin Xuan get hit, many of the demons couldn’t help but cheer. They were hoping to see him run through by arrows. Even the Phoenix Race Elders were secretly wishing for him to be killed; his possession of Phoenix Essence Blood was a stain on the honor of the Phoenix Race!

He paid no mind to the discussions outside. A red glint flashed in his eyes, showing not a trace of fear or hesitation.

‘They’re so fast… Looks like I have no choice but to go all out…’

Lin Xuan immediately began to circulate the Cloud Return Technique. As he did, the Lin Family bloodline within him surged. He activated his Bloodline Power, which rapidly fused with the Phoenix Essence Blood until they became one!

Fully activated by the Cloud Return Technique, the Phoenix Essence Blood began to burn like ignited Essence Blood. With a sudden WHOOM, the Phoenix Wings on Lin Xuan’s back flared out, revealing an even more massive wingspan. The tunnel, which was not very wide to begin with, was now almost completely filled by his Phoenix Wings!

SWOOSH!

With a flick of his Phoenix Wings, Lin Xuan transformed into a streak of red light, shooting forward so fast that the demons with lower Cultivation levels couldn’t even track him with their naked eyes. In that instant, his speed multiplied severalfold. He effortlessly weaved through the countless incoming arrows; not a single one even managed to graze him now.

For a moment, they wondered if their eyes were deceiving them. Lin Xuan seemed to have transformed into a true Phoenix, streaking forward at a speed they found utterly unbelievable.

They had been waiting to see Lin Xuan die, but instead, he had easily dodged every arrow. And what’s more, at that incredible speed, he had passed through the entire tunnel in the blink of an eye and shot out of the exit.

This was the power of Lin Xuan’s bloodline—the ability to fuse with other Essence Blood and ignite it, creating the amplified effect of burning Essence Blood. Otherwise, the Lin Family bloodline would not be so feared and coveted by the Yan Family and the Su Family.