My avatar is becoming the final boss

Chapter 222 The Evolved Phoenix (First Update, Requesting Monthly Tickets)

Just seconds ago, the meteorite summoned by the Tunguska event shattered, scattering fragments like a torrential rain.

A Christmas sleigh weaved through the meteorite fragments, the crimson twilight casting a shadow on the face of a blue-eyed boy. His ponytail was loose, his long, snow-white hair flying wildly in the wind.

Caesar turned his head from the sled, looking anxiously at the island, his blue pupils reflecting the swaying figure.

“Li Qingping—!” he growled.

Starting from his shoulder blades, half of Li Qingping's body instantly shattered, turning into dust and dissipating. His body slowly knelt down in front of the five members of Wang Ting's team.

“Li Qingping…”

Caesar stared blankly, muttering to himself over and over again, knowing in his heart that this might be the last time he would say that name to him, but he could no longer hear it.

He suddenly recalled that when he was a child, he was locked in a castle and would often rest his chin on his hand on the windowsill. He thought the world was beautiful, but no one would play with him. He would often reach out his hand, bored, to catch the tide falling from the flying fish.

Only Li Qingping would occasionally come to see him.

The first time the two met was when the king took Caesar to meet the seven members of the royal court team.

Everyone nodded slightly and lowered their eyes, with their hands behind their backs; no one dared to meet Caesar's gaze.

Li Qingping was different, though. He raised an eyebrow curiously and stared at Caesar without moving.

Young Caesar froze, gripped his father's hand tightly, and looked at him tremblingly.

Finally, Li Qingping hesitated for a moment, then suddenly said, "Your Highness Caesar, there are still grains of rice on your face."

"Really?" Caesar paused, then wiped his cheek. "But what is a grain of rice?"

"Just kidding." Li Qingping chuckled, hands behind his back. "Where would you find a grain of rice in a miniature garden of whales?"

After that, one night the old king suddenly approached Caesar.

The old king said he liked Li Qingping very much. Li Qingping was a genius, one in a million, but his heart was not in the Little Garden. If Caesar could persuade him to stay in the Little Garden, that would be great.

Caesar didn't quite understand, but he nodded, feeling both nervous and happy.

So, with the mission of persuading Li Qingping to stay in the miniature garden, Caesar would summon Li Qingping every day and ask him to come to the castle to chat with him.

Whenever this happened, eight or nine-year-old Caesar would be on high alert, sitting up straight and adopting the posture of a monarch. He was worried that Li Qingping would look down on him like the others, and then eventually stop playing with him.

But Li Qingping was actually quite happy to chat with him, because he hated the tedious affairs of the royal court. If the third prince summoned him, he could openly slack off.

The two often sat on the bed in the bedroom chatting, or sat cross-legged under the maple tree in the yard.

Caesar loved writing poetry, but Li Qingping didn't have that kind of artistic talent. However, one day he still sat with Caesar on the edge of the bed, picked up a pen and paper, lowered his eyes and thought for a while, and wrote down the first half of the sentence.

Caesar glanced at him: "'A bird in a cage'... what's the second half of that phrase?"

Li Qingping held the pen and thought for a moment, then said he hadn't figured it out yet. Suddenly, he put down the pen and paper, leaned against the windowsill, and began to tell the Third Prince about his past.

He lost his parents at a young age, and his adoptive father died when he was six years old due to years of alcoholism. Li Qingping could only work as a follower for the local fisherman's leader, catching fish at sea with him to barely make a living.

Most of the day, Li Qingping would sit on the railing of the deck, silently gazing at the sea in the twilight.

Later, Li Qingping secretly sneaked into the Qiwen Academy and tried to touch the crystal ball used to test talent. The instructor shouted at him and turned to look at the colorful light on the crystal ball, and was stunned.

After that day, his mentor sponsored Li Qingping to enter the Academy of Wonders, and his life gradually began to improve.

But he seemed to have become even more lonely. Those who used to be close to him in the village began to keep their distance from him, because everyone knew that as long as one became a whistleblower, one would have the opportunity to join the royal army and go to the high and mighty Heavenly Court.

Li Qingping's reputation grew louder and louder, from a child prodigy to the "Red Dragon," and then he became the vice-captain of the Royal Court team, but he had fewer and fewer people around him.

He told Caesar, “I feel like I can’t breathe. When I went back to the village that time, and saw the people who used to hate me, including the fisherman who took me in, kneeling down to me, I suddenly felt that I shouldn’t stay here.”

After that, Li Qingping finally made up his mind to leave the small garden.

He couldn't create an equal world, nor could he change this cramped little garden, so he could only search for such a world, even though it might just be wishful thinking.

After hearing his story, Caesar was deeply moved and asked him, "Li Qingping, why are you telling me all this?"

Li Qingping simply said that if Caesar became king in the future, he hoped that he could personally go to the island to see those who had not been seen or heard.

Later, after Caesar and Li Qingping had known each other for a while, one time the two sat in the courtyard, silently watching the falling leaves swirling down. Li Qingping suddenly said:

"The outside world is vast, and compared to that, the miniature garden of whales is actually quite small. To claim kingship in such a place is not such a great thing."

Caesar exclaimed in disbelief, "Li Qingping, you are the first person I have ever met who dares to say such a thing."

Li Qingping simply shrugged and said, "Don't tell anyone, or I'll be beheaded."

Caesar smiled, then put a finger to his lips: "I won't tell. Li Qingping, you're my only friend. What will I do if you get beheaded?"

Li Qingping also said at the time that from the perspective of the deputy captain of the royal court team, he would naturally hope that Caesar could become the next king, because His Highness Caesar is a genius and kind-hearted, and can win the hearts of the people without the White King's Scepter.

But from a friend's perspective, he would prefer that Caesar break free from the constraints of the royal family, leave the Whale Garden, and accompany him to the outside world to see a wider horizon.

But if Caesar wants to come back after his trip, Li Qingping won't stop him.

Li Qingping loved to share stories about the outside world with him, saying that he was always the first to run after school to grab bread in the school cafeteria, and no one in the school could beat him.

He also said that he had a close friend who was a terrible person. This friend would pick fights with people every day at school. If Li Qingping didn't help him, he would always get beaten up and have black eyes. But he would still be defiant the next time and never learn his lesson.

Once, his best friend was beaten to the ground. Li Qingping deliberately conserved his strength so as not to kill the man, but he was ambushed from behind and also fell down.

Finally, the two men lay on the playground, bruised and battered, watching the sunset sink below the horizon. Students ran past them on the track, giving the two men, whose faces were swollen like pigs, strange looks.

My best friend was silent for a long time before suddenly saying, "I really envy you. You're a rich kid... Unlike me, my living expenses depend entirely on the compensation I received after my mom's accidental death. Isn't that funny? My dad even ran away from home. I might not be able to afford to go to school anymore. Actually, I wasn't cut out for school anyway. My brother and sister are much better than me."

Li Qingping thought for a moment and then said, "Actually, my house is empty, there's hardly anyone there, I just have a little more money." His best friend retorted, "You're just taking your blessings for granted."

Li Qingping said, "You too, you don't know how lucky you are. You have a good older brother and younger sister with you."

When Caesar heard this, he asked Li Qingping why he didn't tell his best friend that he was the Envoy of Strange Tales.

And... why not tell him that he's not actually a rich kid, but just a nice guy who came out of the Whale Garden?

Li Qingping shook his head and said that his best friend seemed carefree but was actually quite insecure. He was worried that telling those things would create a rift between them, so he had never said anything.

Caesar stared at him intently and said, "How can you do this? Friends should be honest with each other. Li Qingping, you're not hiding anything from me, are you? I've told you everything I know... well, although I don't know much."

Li Qingping remained silent for a long time, then shrugged and said he would tell him next time.

Caesar thought to himself that Li Qingping was always carefree and nonchalant about everything, but he would only fall silent for a long time and be lost in thought when his friends were mentioned. Perhaps Li Qingping really valued his friends?
After all, Li Qingping was very lonely. In the miniature garden, everyone only regarded him as a peerless genius and kept their distance from him. No one cared what he was thinking. Even if he didn't want to be high and mighty, he had to pretend to be high and mighty for the sake of the royal team's face. Every time he returned to the island where he used to live, the villagers looked at him with awe.

Fear and flattery are things that cannot be hidden; they will always inadvertently flow from their eyes.

Later, Li Qingping met someone who was neither afraid of him nor flattered him, and he was very happy, so he really valued that friend.

So every time Caesar saw him, he would specifically ask him, "Li Qingping, Li Qingping, have you told your friend yet?"

Li Qingping would always shrug and brush it off, saying he would tell him next time, "Your Highness, why are you more anxious than I am?"
Caesar frowned, puzzled, and asked, "You always say 'next time,' 'next time,' but when is 'this time'? Li Qingping, you don't keep your word?"

Li Qingping simply sighed helplessly, patted his head, and said:
There will always be a next time.

but now……

There won't be a next time.

Caesar watched silently as Li Qingping's severed body turned into a cloud of blood mist, dissipating in all directions. This unruly man finally bowed his head and knelt before the five members of the royal court team.

Meteorite fragments hurtled towards them, carrying a blast of scorching air as they passed by. The resulting backdraft caused the Christmas sleigh to lurch precariously and plunge into the forest, where Caesar slid off the edge. His falling body snapped off branches before finally crashing to the ground.

He rolled over in the bushes and collapsed to the ground, covered in blood.

A moment later, Caesar wiped the blood off his face with the back of his hand and slowly raised his head.

Suddenly, a whooshing sound came from above. When I came to my senses, a dark blue shark swept across the sky above the forest like a rocket.

Black water poured down from above, like a torrential rain, slapping against Caesar's face.

He couldn't tell if he was crying or just getting soaked from the rain. Unstoppable tears streamed down his pale cheeks, and his wet bangs obscured his eyes. Just then, Caesar suddenly saw a fiery red feather lying on the ground.

Those were left to him by Li Qingping, who said they were feathers from a phoenix and would definitely be useful if kept. Caesar lowered his head, picked up the feathers that had fallen to the ground, and looked at them silently.

"Aguru, I'm so useless... You must be blaming me."

He murmured to himself like a broken toy, tears streaming down his face from the shadows of his bangs, "I killed Li Qingping... It's all my fault. A piece of trash like me shouldn't have struggled in the first place. That way, Li Qingping wouldn't have been implicated..."

However, at that very moment, the phoenix feather in Caesar's hand suddenly emitted a dazzling light.

The feather's shape changed rapidly in a short time, and it felt like it was burning hot in my hand. But Caesar didn't let go; he just stared wide-eyed at the card that had appeared in his hand.

A giant bird, reborn from the ashes, slowly appeared on the card. Its eyes were so beautiful, as if reflecting all the colors of the world.

The flames burning fiercely on the card gradually healed Caesar's hands and body wounds, stitching the broken skin back together and allowing blood to flow back into his body.

At that moment, his pupils were illuminated crimson by the flames, and a memory flooded his mind like a tidal wave:

The "Phoenix" will only evolve into a "Generational Wonder" if its previous owner dies and the "Phoenix Feather" is given to someone else beforehand.

Because the previous holder, Li Qingping, had died, the fragment of the strange tale evolved at this moment.

Just like the phoenix in mythology that is reborn through death, it came into Caesar's hands.

Caesar paused for a moment, then suddenly understood. Li Qingping had long anticipated his possible death; in fact, he had been prepared to die from the very beginning.

The phoenix's flames flickered, the darker flames slowly carving out a line of text within the lighter curtain of fire:
Even a caged bird has its day of freedom.

"This is so bad... Li Qingping, you're not suited to writing poetry at all. No wonder you didn't show it to me that day."

Caesar murmured to himself, a faint smile playing on his lips, as tears streamed down his face even more uncontrollably.

The text faded away in mid-air, and then orange light illuminated every line on the back of the card, like pouring machine oil into a machine's oil tank.

He took a deep breath, gripped the "Phoenix" tightly in his hand, and then whistled.

Hearing the sound, the reindeer descended from the sky, leaped onto the Christmas sleigh, and sped off towards the whale's mouth. His long, snow-white hair billowed in the wind, his blue eyes gleamed with a chilling light, and his expression had never been so calm.

Caesar looked up at Agubaru, who was still suspended in mid-air, then sped away on his sled, reaching out to catch the cold, mutilated corpse that fell from the shark's back.

He lowered his eyes, took one last look at the damaged face, and then, as he flew toward Ruth, crushed the Generation-level Wonder in his hand.

"Phoenix—!"

As the roar subsided, orange light patterns flashed by. Amidst a sharp whistling sound powerful enough to pierce the sky, a giant ochre-red bird, enveloped in a curtain of flames, flew in and followed behind Caesar.

An overwhelming heatwave swept in, creating waves on the sea before evaporating into a scorching white mist.

Meanwhile, the dark blue shark suspended in mid-air in the distance slowly came to its senses.

Its body suddenly expanded, and its entire body was covered with a hard and cold metallic color.

Yagubaru reached a length of twenty meters, like a giant yacht enveloped in black waves, flying straight at an incredible speed.

　Asking for a monthly ticket.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)