Gao Wu: I became the minor villain that the protagonist was about to destroy.

Sui was circling the newly hatched phoenix chick, its six thin legs taking tiny steps, its compound eyes carefully examining it from all angles, muttering to itself, "Tsk tsk tsk, so this is what a phoenix looks like when it's young? It looks like a bald chicken, nothing special... Look at these wings, completely bare, just a few downy feathers; look at this head, round and smooth, without even a crest; look at this—"

Before he finished speaking, the wet baby phoenix tilted its head and glanced at Sui, then casually opened its little wing, still covered in egg yolk, and gently flapped it in Sui's direction.

call--!

A tiny whirlwind, no wider than a palm, struck Sui precisely, lifting its entire body up, making it somersault several times in the air, and then tracing a graceful parabola before slamming it against the rock wall dozens of feet away.

Sui slowly slid down the rock face, collapsing to the ground with his six thin legs pointing skyward. He stood there stunned for a full two seconds, then suddenly sprang up, letting out a piercing roar: "You—! You little chick that just hatched! How dare you hit your grandpa Sui! Do you know that your grandpa Sui started babysitting you even before you hatched! Do you know who's been protecting you for the past month! Do you know—"

To Sui's surprise, the young phoenix immediately launched into a tirade, "You damn flea, who are you calling a bald chicken?! I'm a phoenix, okay?!"

Sui was stunned. "Holy crap, you still have memories? Is that normal?!"

The young phoenix sneered, "With your brain the size of bacteria, it's hard for me to explain it to you clearly."

(╬◣д◢) "You bald chicken, are you looking for a rat?!"

"Believe it or not, your Uncle Sui will teach you a lesson and make you a bird with one kick."

The young phoenix walked towards Sui, who looked at the young phoenix, which was dozens of times larger than himself, without showing any fear.

The two then began to wrestle.

Ye Ming watched the scene before him—a flea the size of a marble and a newly hatched phoenix chick rolling around on the ground, pecking at each other and kicking each other, accompanied by a series of shouts and curses—he remained silent for a moment, then slowly raised his hand and rubbed his temples.

"...What sins have I committed?"

He took a deep breath, then suddenly raised his voice: "Enough! Stop it, all of you!"

The voice carried a hint of dragon's might, echoing throughout the secret realm.

The two figures on the ground froze simultaneously. Taking advantage of the opportunity, Sui broke free from the phoenix chick's claws, tumbling and scrambling several steps away, panting as he glared at the chick; the chick, not to be outdone, shook its ruffled downy feathers, raised its head, and looked as if to say, "I haven't had enough yet."

Ye Ming walked between the two, looked down at Sui, then at the fledgling phoenix, and said with a hint of helplessness, "One of you is a dragon soul that has lived for tens of thousands of years, and the other is a fledgling phoenix that has just hatched—combined, you are older than my ancestor. Can't you act like an elder?"

Sui snorted and turned his head away: "It attacked first!"

The young phoenix immediately retorted, "You were the one who called me a bald chicken first!"

"You were a bald chicken to begin with!"

"You're the flea! Your whole family are fleas!"

"Alright, alright!" Ye Ming quickly interrupted the escalating argument. "From now on, neither of you is allowed to argue or fight. Sui, you should say less; Xiao Feng, you too, it's not good for your health to have such a temper right after hatching."

The young phoenix tilted its head and glanced at Ye Ming, remained silent for a moment, and then snorted, which was taken as tacit agreement.

"Also, my name isn't Xiao Feng. You can just call me Chi from now on."

Sui also pursed his lips and didn't say anything more.

Ye Ming finally breathed a sigh of relief, squatted down, and carefully examined the newly hatched phoenix chick. Its downy feathers quickly became fluffy and dry after being separated from the egg, and its reddish-gold feathers shimmered with a soft luster in the firelight.

"Now that you've hatched, my promise is fulfilled." Ye Ming looked at the fledgling phoenix and said earnestly, "You're free now, you can go wherever you want. However, your strength is still very weak, and the outside world is dangerous. Are you sure you want to leave alone?"

Upon hearing this, the fledgling phoenix tilted its head and thought for a moment, then took small steps to Ye Ming's feet, flapped its wings and flew directly to Ye Ming's other shoulder.

The meaning was clear—it wanted to follow him.

Ye Ming looked at the fledgling phoenix perched steadily on his shoulder, remained silent for a moment, and then smiled helplessly: "Alright, if you want to come along, then come along. But let me make this clear first, following me won't be that easy; it's much more dangerous outside than here."

The young phoenix raised its head and let out a clear chirp, as if to say, "I'm not afraid."

Sui watched this scene from the side and snorted sourly, "Well, another one trying to steal my job."

Ye Ming ignored Sui's sarcastic remarks and instead turned his gaze to the still motionless dragon egg beside him. He walked over, squatted down, and gently stroked the surface of the eggshell, feeling the faint pulse of life within.

"Why hasn't this dragon egg hatched yet?" Ye Ming turned his head to look at the fledgling phoenix on his shoulder.

The fledgling phoenix tilted its head and stared at the dragon egg for a long time before shaking its head. "This is the first time I've encountered this. Other races used our clan's secret technique. Perhaps it needs to be nurtured for a longer time, or perhaps the phoenix fire is not pure enough and needs stronger phoenix fire to activate it."

Ye Ming was not surprised. After all, this dragon egg had been stored in the dragon clan's treasury for tens of thousands of years. Even the current dragon emperor did not know its exact origin. It was normal for a phoenix that had been trapped in a secret realm for tens of thousands of years not to recognize it.

He stood up, put the dragon egg into his storage space, and then clapped his hands: "Alright, this matter is settled, we should head out now."

Upon hearing that they were going out, Sui immediately perked up, leaping to his feet and jumping onto Ye Ming's other shoulder, his voice filled with anticipation: "Finally, we're going out! I've been so bored for the past month and a half!"

The young phoenix watched as Sui occupied Ye Ming's left shoulder, let out a dissatisfied cry, and then rubbed against Ye Ming's right shoulder, as if to assert its dominance.

Ye Ming felt the weight on both shoulders, shook his head helplessly, then turned around and walked towards the exit of the secret realm.

As Ye Ming passed through the spatial portal and returned to the fiery volcanic cave, he glanced back at the slowly closing portal behind him and breathed a slight sigh of relief.

I've got the dragon and phoenix wood.

Next up are the Earth's Core and the Star Core.