Very soon, Rocky and the three women followed Erica into a vast hall. They saw a coquettish woman,
easily over forty years old, and overlaid with makeup, sitting on a gilded throne at the end of the hall.
She looked much like a prostitute, but was actually the queen of the Magic Phoenix Empire.
On a seat to her left sat Felicia, who was the imperial preceptor of the Magic Phoenix Empire, and also
happened to be Erica's master.
A few other women with gray hair were sitting on the other seats. They seemed to be elders of the
empire, and their strength ranged from the premium grade of the Supernal Stage to the Divine Stage.
"Your Majesty, Prince Crimson is here!" Erica bowed respectfully to the queen, then walked towards the
side and stood still.
"Pleasure to meet you, Your Majesty, and Preceptor Felicia." Rocky stepped forward and bowed
slightly.
The three women followed suit.
"There is no need to be so courteous. After all, you are the famous Prince Crimson of the Wild Spirit
Land. I must say, you are younger than I thought of you to be." The queen smiled charmingly at Rocky,
though her eyes seemed like he were her pray.
"You were quite conspicuous the first time I met you. Even so, I didn't expect you to grow to such a high
level in just a few years. It's really unimaginable!" Felicia had long heard of stories about Rocky in the
Wild Spirit Land. Moreover, she had also heard from Erica that it was Rocky who had managed to
retrieve the spiritual treasure of the Phoenix Master Clan from the Nine-phoenix Demonic Land.
Therefore, she was very curious about him. At the same time, a part of her was wondering what kind of
experience he had had in the past few years that had made a man of just about twenty years old such
a prominent figure in the Wild Spirit Land.
"I'm flattered you think so," Rocky calmly replied.
"I hear that you have reached the Divine Stage. You must be the only spirit manipulator ever who has
achieved that feat at such a young age. If I recall correctly, we also invited you to take part in the
martial arts contest. Am I correct?" the queen asked with a flirtatious look. It was obvious that she liked
Rocky.
"You recall correctly. But I'm here on behalf of the emperor of the Holy Dragon Empire, so I won't attend
the martial arts contest. Please forgive me," Rocky declined politely.
"What? Now, if you don't attend it, it's going to be so boring! For my sake, I wish you would attend it. If
you do, I can promise you anything you want, even if you want me to have a drink with you..." The
queen was acting coquettishly towards Rocky in front of everyone.
Hearing her promise, the three women in the hall showed displeasure on their faces.
Felicia coughed to remind the queen to behave herself.
"I'm sorry to disappoint you, Your Majesty," Rocky insisted.
Refused once again, the queen seemed a bit disappointed and unwilling to accept it.
"Well then, we won't force you. However, I still hope that if it is possible, you will share some tips with
the phoenix spirit manipulators of our empire," Felicia said leniently.
Rocky merely nodded in response.
After a few more pleasantries, Rocky and the three women left the hall. Soon after they left the hall,
Erica walked over quickly and stopped Rocky.
"Miss Erica, what can I do for you?" He looked up and asked.
"Can we talk in private for a moment?" Erica glanced at the three women beside him.
Rocky's eyes narrowed slightly. He nodded and told his companions, "Go get some rest. I'll be back
soon."
The three women looked at each other hesitatingly but left.
Erica turned around and began walking in another direction, followed by Rocky.
"After you got your hands on the other half of the spiritual treasure of the Phoenix Master Clan, how did
you deal with it?" Rocky asked, although he knew that he couldn't interfere with the disposal of the
spiritual treasure.
"The Phoenix Master Clan was worried that someone might steal it, so they have sealed it for now,"
Erica replied.
"Really? That may be just an excuse." Rocky knew very well that even the Phoenix Master Clan, which
had always advocated peace, would not sit quietly when faced with situations as complicated as they
were in the Wild Spirit Land. They would protect themselves, just like the Wood Clan. Therefore, it
made sense to keep the spiritual treasure.
Hearing that, Erica turned around to look at Rocky. In fact, she hadn't expected to meet him so soon.
More than a year ago, she had witnessed the amazing strength that the man had shown in the Holy
Dragon Empire. She knew that the gap between her and Rocky was huge. Therefore, after returning
home, she had chosen to go to the Phoenix Master Clan and accept a secret form of unbearably
difficult cultivation. This was the reason she had managed to reach the Divine Stage in just about a
year.
With that cultivation method in her repertoire, she had done a lot more than what would be expected of
her. Otherwise, she would not have finished the cultivation in such a short time. Usually, it took people
about a dozen years to do that. Naturally, she had drawn support from the Phoenix Master Clan as
well. Otherwise, it would have been impossible for her to make such a shocking improvement. Just like
Sue, it had taken her only about three years to reach the level that a human would need at least twenty
or thirty years to reach, all because she had the help of the spiritual race.
And it was not like she had it easy. Theoretically and practically, it was extremely risky to improve one's
strength with the help of the spiritual race. The chances of a person dying in the process were high,
and it was difficult to do it without talent and perseverance.
Erica had managed to grow so fast because of Rocky. She was rather encouraged by his abilities.
"What did you want to talk about?" Rocky knew that Erica had something to say.
"I want to fight you," Erica said, biting her lips and looking at him hopefully.
"I have no reason to fight you." Rocky shook his head with a smile.
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