The stars dimmed as Long Tian floated, breathless, in the Sutra Realm.
His skin still shimmered from the essence exchange.
His core pulsed with a rhythm not his own.
And in his chest, the newly awakened Lust Dragon Core beat like a second heart—wild, hot, alive.
She'yan stood before him, draped in living flame, her body wrapped in motion, not fabric.
"You touched the Sutra," she said. "But now… it must touch you."
Long Tian blinked, dazed. "Wasn't that what just happened?"
She smiled, slow and knowing.
"No, Long Tian. That was your first spark. What comes now… is the test."
---
The Realm of Echoed Desire
She raised her hand, and the stars twisted around them.
The realm shifted—
The sky bled into crimson silk.
The ground softened into a bed of glowing petals.
The air thickened, fragrant with something he couldn't name, only feel.
And in the middle of it all stood a woman.
She was not She'yan.
But she wore a familiar face.
The girl from his memory.
The one who once held his hand beneath the peach blossom tree.
The one who left him when her spirit root awakened.
She stood there—barefoot, skin glowing with remembered warmth, her eyes wide with pain she never voiced.
"What is this…?" Long Tian whispered.
"A memory," She'yan said. "A fragment you buried.
A desire you never dared to face.
This is not just lust, Tian. This is you."
---
The Trial Begins
The memory-girl stepped toward him.
Her lips parted.
Not to speak.
But to breathe him in.
"Why didn't you chase me?" she asked, voice like petals soaked in sorrow.
"Why did you let me leave… before I could love you?"
Long Tian's breath hitched as the memory resurface in his mind-
The girl's thighs tightened around his waist, her body arching into his with a desperate need that mirrored his own.
Her skin was warm, so warm, and her hands roamed over his chest, tracing the lines of his muscles with a familiarity that made his heart ache.
Her lips found his again, soft and insistent, and he could feel the heat of her breath mingling with his as their bodies moved together in a rhythm that was both ancient and new.
Her fingers slid down his abdomen, brushing against the newly awakened Lust Dragon Core that pulsed beneath his skin.
The sensation sent a jolt of electricity through him, and he groaned, his hands gripping her hips tighter as he thrust deeper into her. Her moans filled the air, a symphony of pleasure that echoed in his ears and sent shivers down his spine.
"You wanted me… didn't you?" she whispered, her voice trembling with emotion.
"Yes," he gasped, his voice rough with desire. "I wanted you. I still want you."
Her lips curved into a smile, and she leaned in to kiss him again, her tongue sliding against his in a dance that was both tender and fierce.
Her hands moved to his shoulders, her nails digging into his skin as she pulled him closer, her body writhing against his in a way that made his head spin.
The air around them was thick with the scent of her arousal, and Long Tian could feel the heat of her core pressing against him, wet and inviting. He shifted his hips, angling himself so that he could feel every inch of her as he moved inside her.
Her breath caught in her throat, and she let out a low moan that sent a wave of pleasure coursing through him.
"Tian…" she breathed, her voice barely audible over the sound of their bodies moving together. "Don't stop."
He didn't. He couldn't. The Lust Dragon Core within him was a living thing, pulsing with a rhythm that matched the beat of his heart and the thrust of his hips. It was as if the core itself was driving him forward, urging him to take more, to give more, to lose himself in the pleasure that was building between them.
Her hands moved to his back, her fingers tracing the lines of his muscles as she clung to him, her body trembling with the intensity of their connection. Her breasts pressed against his chest, soft and warm, and he could feel the rapid beat of her heart as it matched the rhythm of his own.
"You're mine," she whispered, her voice filled with a possessiveness that sent a thrill through him. "You've always been mine."
He trembled.
"Yes."
She kissed him.
Not like the spirit had—divine, cosmic, mythic.
But like a real girl.
Soft. Needy. Human.
Her lips moved against his with uncertainty, then hunger.
Their lips locked again. Their hips met.
---
The Sutra Responds
She'yan watched from above, eyes narrowed—not in jealousy, but judgment.
"Do not be deceived. This is not her."
"This is your truth. And you must learn to hold it… without drowning in it."
Long Tian's mind blurred with pleasure.
The girl's thighs locked around him, her moans rising as their essences tangled in rhythm.
His Lust Core glowed violently, trying to drink from the act—
trying to convert memory into power.
"This is too much…" he gasped, trembling.
"I can't—"
She'yan's voice cut through the haze.
"Focus. Feel her… and yourself.
Pleasure is your sword now. Control it. Wield it. Or it will consume you."
He bit his lip.
His hands steadied her hips.
He slowed the rhythm.
He inhaled her cries.
Then exhaled his will.
And for the first time, he commanded his pleasure, rather than surrendering to it.
---
Breakthrough: Crimson Petal Rhythm
The girl dissolved into starlight, her final whisper echoing:
"I only left… because I didn't think you'd ever hold me like that."
And then she was gone.
His body glowed with a new symbol across his abdomen—an ancient rune in the shape of a lotus.
[Technique Gained: Crimson Petal Rhythm]
A soul-attuned rhythm technique that channels Yin Essence from a partner through breath and motion.
---
She'yan descended from the sky, this time not as a flame, but as a woman cloaked in midnight.
She knelt beside him, and for the first time, touched his cheek gently.
"You didn't drown. You danced."
"Was that really... power?" he asked, still gasping.
"That was truth," she whispered.
"And now, Long Tian… your body is ready. Your soul is open.
You've passed the first trial of the Sutra."
Her lips brushed his forehead like a blessing.
"From here… the world will never touch you the same again.
And you... will never touch the world gently."
---