Sorry but I only accept female disciples!

At the far end of the cavern, sunlight streamed in through a wide opening in the ceiling, illuminating a single, magnificent tree that seemed to stand in the center of the cave.

And what truly caught their attention was the fruit hanging from one of the branches.

It was a single, large, reddish-orange fruit with some strange feather like patterns on it. "Is that it?"

Xue Hua gave a faint nod, her eyes never leaving the fruit. "Yeah... that's the fruit."

Looking at the fruit, Ming Yuelin's eyes trembled 'Huh... why do I feel strange?'

"Let's go and get it.. Senior Sister."

Hearing Xue Hua's words, both of them walked closer to the tree and raised their heads to look at the fruit.

"I will go and get it..."

Uttering, Xue Hua quickly began to climb the tree and reached the branch.

A faint smile appeared on her lips as she was quite excited because she could give this to her Master as a present.

As she finally reached the branch, she could feel the power of the fruit up close now, its energy almost pulsing in the air around her.

Her fingers trembled slightly with excitement as she reached out, gently plucking the fruit from its branch

As she took the fruit she glanced down at Ming Yuelin... however at this time.

"SCCCCCRCEEECHHHH!HHH!!!"

A deafening screech tore through the cavern, the sound so loud and powerful that it made the entire cave tremble. Rocks shook loose from the ceiling, falling to the ground with heavy thuds.

Huh? Xue Hua and Ming Yuelin were taken aback and raised their head to look at the big opening and saw an enormous bird coming towards them flapping its wings.

"What? I thought all the beasts were killed..." Xue Hua muttered in disbelief, her heart pounding in her chest as the creature came into view.

Ming Yuelin felt her blood boiling by looking at the enormous bird with flaming orangish red feathers around its body.

"It's a phoenix..."

The great bird flapped its massive wings, sending gusts of wind whipping through the cavern, making the leaves of the tree rustle wildly.

*woosh* *woosh* The sound of the phoenix's wings echoed through the cave as it glided down toward the tree, its sharp, glowing eyes locked on the fruit in Xue Hua's hand.

Ming Yuelin came out of her shock and yelled "Junior Sister, let's leave..."

"Yeah..." Xue Hua quickly jumped down from the tree, clutching the fruit tightly against her chest.

Her heart raced in panic 'Seems like this beast didn't leave and stayed here to protect the fruit...'

Xue Hua hurriedly jumped from the tree and prepared to run from there, however, the phoenix let out another piercing screech, its cultivation pressure flooding the cave like a tidal wave, crashing down on Ming Yuelin and Xue Hua with overwhelming force.

*gasp* Both of them gasped as the crushing weight of the pressure froze them in place.

Their bodies trembled uncontrollably, their legs barely able to support them as they were rooted to the spot in terror.

"What a pair of troublesome disciples I have..." The voice was calm, almost amused, but it carried a weight of authority that immediately lifted the crushing pressure from their bodies.

*THOOOM* In the blink of an eye, an enormous force slammed into the phoenix, sending the majestic bird crashing to the ground with a thunderous impact.

The entire cavern shook from the blow, and the walls trembled as dust and debris rained down from above.

Ming Yuelin and Xue Hua felt the cultivation pressure disappearing from their bodies and hurriedly turned their heads to look at the phoenix which was smashed to the ground.

As the dust and debris settled, a smile appeared on Ming Yuelin's lips seeing Zhang Yuan sitting on top of the phoenix, which was pressed to the ground.

"MASTER!"

With an excited smile, she ran towards him and raised her head.

Zhang Yuan glanced down at her, a faint smile tugging at the corner of his lips. "You're always getting into trouble, aren't you?" he said, his tone light but affectionate.

Taking a deep breath, Xue Hua followed suit, bowing deeply before her master. "Master... forgive us," she muttered, her voice full of guilt.

"SCRREE..." The phoenix let out a weak screech, but it was futile as Zhang Yuan's overwhelming pressure held the creature firmly in place.

Ming Yuelin couldn't help but grin as she looked at the helpless phoenix.

"Hmm..." She glanced around, searching for a way to climb onto the massive bird's wing.

Finding her footing, she quickly scrambled up onto the bird's wing, the feathers crackling under her feet as she climbed closer to her master.

"Master..." she called out, her voice softening as she neared him.

Zhang Yuan's gaze grew tender as he extended his hand, grasping her wrist and pulling her up onto his lap.

Ming Yuelin let out a soft giggle, her heart fluttering as she found herself sitting in his strong arms.

"Master~~" she purred, leaning against him as a playful smile danced on her lips.

"So, you were trying to get this fruit?"

Xue Hua gave a faint nod and bowed her head again "Yes master, it was my fault... I brought Senior Sister too... into this danger."

"I thought all the beasts were gone after the Beast wave."

Hearing this, Zhang Yuan gave a faint nod "Hmm, this Phoenix is safeguarding this phoenix fruit for its children. So, it won't leave easily."

Ming Yuelin who was on his lap raised her head "By the way master, I kind of feel weird seeing the fruit... like resonating with me."

"is it because of my Phoenix bloodline?"

With a nod, Zhang Yuan replied "Hm, the tree actually formed here from the dying corpse of a Phoenix... so this fruit has the essence of the Phoenix blood."

"Though the blood quality is very low compared to your Crimson Phoenix bloodline, it is still good."

"I actually thought of giving this fruit to you later to strengthen your bloodline... but the both of you came here before me."

Huh? Xue Hua was taken aback to hear this and glanced at Ming Yuelin 'To give to Senior Sister?'

'But... I thought of giving it to Master...'

Ming Yuelin also hesitated and glanced over at Xue Hua "Junior Sister..."

Xue Hua showed a faint smile hiding her true feeling "Why are you hesitating, Senior Sister... it will be very useful if you have it."

"Master, I came across this during the night; those guards followed me after I tried to kill Hong Shi..."

"So, now that the beasts are gone... I came to check on it."

Zhang Yuan gave a slight nod and Ming Yuelin's gaze softened "Thank you, Junior Sister..."

Patting her head, Zhang Yuan spoke "You don't have to absorb this fruit now, you can do that later..."

Ming Yuelin smiled and glanced at the Phoenix which was pressed onto the ground "By the way, master... if we took the fruit what will this Phoenix give for its children."

With a light chuckle, Zhao Tian replied "You don't have to worry about that."

"Naturally another fruit grows in the tree. It's just that two fruits can't grow at the same time."

"Now that this has been plucked, the next one will grow."

"Ohhh, I see..."

"Hm... now let's return."

...

*tap* *tap* Five people wearing distinct robes were walking through the royal corridors.

Of the five, three were men and two were women, each bearing the insignias of their respective sects

They were the five Sect masters of the top Sects in the Norther Bei kingdom who were sent to aid in the Beast Tide in the Pearl city.

Inside, the royal court was abuzz with discussion, ministers and advisors murmuring amongst themselves in low voices. Seated at the far end of the room on an elevated platform was the King of Northern Bei, a middle-aged man with sharp features and a regal bearing.

Seeing the five of them entering the court, the King and the Ministers were surprised because they just left an hour ago.

The King of Nothern Bei kingdom, a middle aged man, sitting on the throne raised an eyebrow in surprise "That was quicker than I expected..."

"Was the beast tide news false?"

"What happened?"

Wang Mun stepped forward and shook his head "No, Your Highness... the news of a large scale beast tide is true."

"But it was already cleared before we reach there."

The king gave a faint nod and spoke "It seems like those were lower spirit beasts."

Wang Mun shook his head "Not at all, my Highness... there were two Venerate Profoudn Stage spirit beasts and a King Profound Stage beast in the horde."

Wha- The people in the court were shocked to hear this and the King hurriedly asked "Then.. how did they manage to clear the beast tide without your help?"

"Apparently, there were these two people who killed the powerful beasts...the Sword Saint from Haoshaku Empire killed the Venerate Profound beasts."

"And the King Profound Stage beast was killed by a Taoist."

Hearing this, the King's gaze squinted "I was not aware that powerful people came to visit our Empire..."

"They have done a great service to our kingdom by eliminating such a threat," the King continued after a pause, his tone softening slightly. "We must properly express our gratitude for their deeds. Send an invitation for a banquet in their honor. We will host it here in the palace."

One of the ministers gave a nod "Will be done, You Highness..."

However, at this time... faint foot steps echoed through the royal corridors and the King shuddered on his throne feeling the powerful presence.

Looking at the middle-aged man who was walking into the court, he jolted from his seat and bowed "Your Majesty..."

No matter how great of a king the ruler of the Northern Bei Kingdom was, he had to bow in the presence of the Dynasty Emperor. His kingdom, after all, was but a vassal beneath the larger dominion.

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I hope you guys liked this chapter!