"... Finally! Some real action!" Xiaobo cracked his knuckles, flames flickering unconsciously across his fingers. "I was starting to think we'd just keep climbing ranks until we were old and married."
Yuxin scoffed. "As if you would ever find someone willing to tolerate you that long."
Xiaobo opened his mouth, then thought better of it. Mei Lan stifled a laugh behind her sleeve. Even Wei Luo smirked.
Lian Hua, standing a little apart from them as always, turned her gaze toward the distant mountains—where the silhouette of Zi Xuan Academy loomed faintly in the sky. "The Academy..." she murmured. "They say only a few return unchanged."
Zhang Xin stepped forward, his silver-ranked plate glinting under the afternoon sun. "Then we'll return changed, but not broken."
Chen Bo nodded beside him, the ever-silent shield of their group. "Where you go, I follow."
Mei Lan clasped her hands, a gentle ripple of healing energy flowing into her words. "We're stronger together. Even if the Academy tests us, we won't fall apart."
Wei Luo chuckled. "Unless Xiaobo gets us all blown up in a sparring match."
"I heard that!" Xiaobo called, then winked. "But also, not denying it."
As the group began moving toward the preparation hall to pack for departure, Zhang Xin lingered a moment longer. He looked up toward the sky, where strange clouds were gathering in unnatural swirls.
He could still feel it—the residue of that vision. The phoenix's cry, the frozen prison, the woman's voice that wasn't his mother yet pierced his heart with eerie familiarity. And then, the door in the dark.
The map piece burned faintly in his storage ring, as if alive.
He murmured under his breath, so softly the wind nearly swallowed it:
"Why do I feel like this is only the beginning?"
From the shadows of the sect wall, an old crow cawed once, then flew off—its black wings disappearing toward the mountains.
And somewhere, far from the safety of sect walls and trials designed by elders, Fan Hua, the demon leader cloaked in black flame and bone, opened his eyes in a field of corpses.
"Zhang Xin," he whispered, voice like cracked obsidian, "You have touched the map. The seal begins to break."
Behind him, a monstrous figure stirred.
And the war for the realms slowly crept out of hiding.
The first golden light of dawn crept over the horizon as Zhang Xin and his companions stood at the edge of the mountain path. Lian Hua adjusted her satchel, eyes sharp despite the early hour. The air was brisk, filled with the scent of dew-soaked grass and distant pine. It was the perfect setting for a new chapter in their journey—their long-awaited departure to Zi Xuan Academy, where fate had more trials awaiting them than they could ever imagine.
Their journey was estimated to take two to three days through rugged terrain, dense forests, and villages long forgotten by time. Spirits were high, but caution lingered like a shadow behind each step. Every member of the team—Zhang Xin, Lian Hua, Xiaobo, Yuxin, Mei Lan, Wei Luo, and Chen Bo—was aware that the road to greatness was never simple.
On the second day, just as the sun reached its zenith and the group rested near a silent stream, trouble struck.
From the forest emerged a group clad in dark grey robes, emblazoned with a crimson phoenix insignia. Their leader, a cocky cultivator named Wu Han, smirked as his gaze landed on Zhang Xin.
> "So these are the ones headed to Zi Xuan Academy?" he scoffed. "They look more like a group of herbal pickers than cultivators."
Tension crackled like static between the two teams. It wasn't long before blades of spirit energy clashed, not in a full-blown battle, but enough to show teeth. Wu Han's team was stronger, more experienced, but Zhang Xin and Lian Hua matched their aggression with sharp minds and quick reflexes. Eventually, the encounter broke off when an elder spirit beast roared in the distance—none dared challenge its territory.
After two and a half days of walking, spiritual duels, and quiet conversations under the stars, the group finally arrived at the gates of Zi Xuan Academy.
Arrival at Zi Xuan Academy
Massive jade-green gates towered before them, adorned with ancient runes pulsing with energy. The Academy was surrounded by floating cliffs, each one hosting majestic buildings suspended in mid-air. The moment they stepped inside, Zhang Xin felt a shift—a whisper in the air that only he could hear.
His Sea of Consciousness trembled. There, deep within, the golden dragon—his ancient spirit beast—lay coiled in hibernation. But for the briefest moment, its eyes flickered open.
> "Another… like me…"
A deep voice echoed in his soul before fading back into slumber. Zhang Xin's brow furrowed. Someone nearby carried a similar aura—a second golden dragon?
His gaze drifted toward the towering stairs where the Chief of Zi Xuan Academy stood, his long white robes fluttering in the wind, eyes unreadable behind a silver mask. A heavy, ancient energy radiated from him—suspicious, cold, yet vaguely familiar.
---
Rival Teams and the Testing Ground
Inside the grand hall, the newcomers were introduced to two other teams: one filled with arrogant prodigies, clearly from noble bloodlines, and another team who nodded respectfully—perhaps allies in the trials to come.
Suddenly, a loud voice boomed through the hall.
> "You call yourselves cultivators? At those levels?"
A man with scarlet robes and battle scars across his arms strode into the hall. This was Master Ruo Lin, the one chosen to test and train the new recruits. His gaze was like a blade as it fell on Zhang Xin and Lian Hua.
> "Stage 1, level 6 peak for you two. And the rest? Level 5, late stage 9?"
"Disgraceful," he growled. "If this is your best, you might as well turn back now."
The room fell into stunned silence.
Xiaobo stepped forward, bristling. "We've trained for years—"
> "And yet you still reek of weakness," Ruo Lin cut him off.
"Here's your first trial. You will face me in combat—together. Survive for ten minutes, and you stay. Fail, and you leave Zi Xuan and return to wherever you came from."
Lian Hua's eyes narrowed. "Ten minutes?"
Ruo Lin smiled darkly. "If you're lucky."