The night inside the dome was quiet and dim, lit only by the gentle glow of hanging lanterns and the occasional flicker of talisman light along the curved stone walls. Shadows moved softly beneath the crystalline ceiling, and the air carried the faint scent of phoenix incense and warm herbs.
Yan Lianyu stepped out from behind a carved pearwood screen, her robes trailing quietly over the smooth stone floor. Though composed, her expression bore the faint tightness of concern eased only moments ago.
"She's resting," she said to the gathered elders. "Her flame surged too suddenly. Most phoenix cultivators evolve gradually. Xiu Lan's breakthrough... tore through the final barrier like a sword through silk."
Across the room, Elder Long Xuanji folded his arms. "So the transformation is stable?"
Yan Lianyu gave a slow nod. "Yes. But she burned through more than half her reserves to protect that boy. That kind of strain—right after achieving her true form—would've killed anyone else."
Hu Doubao hummed softly, pacing near the spirit brazier. "Good thing she's not just anyone."
Mo Yuchen stood off to the side, silent, hands clasped behind his back. His robes had been changed, hair loosely tied. His expression was unreadable, eyes lowered but attentive to every word.
"She moved without hesitation," Hu Doubao added, eyes narrowing thoughtfully. "Most phoenixes awaken in stillness. Meditation. Enlightenment. Hers was sparked by instinct."
Yan Lianyu's voice softened. "By protection."
No one replied for a moment.
***
The inner halls of the Bird Clan's Royal Castle were quiet that night, thick with expectation. Moonlight poured in through latticed windows, tracing silver lines across the polished jade floors. Incense burned in porcelain braziers shaped like songbirds, their smoke curling in thin, lazy trails.
Feng Yanzhao walked with measured steps through the side corridor that led to Princess Feng Meiyu's quarters. His mind was sharp despite the late hour, thoughts circling the radiant phoenix that had torn through the skies mere hours ago. A phoenix of such magnitude—true blood awakened, divine in flame—should only exist within the royal lineage.
Meiyu had always been the one expected to ascend.
Two palace maids bowed and opened the door as he entered. Inside, the princess reclined on an ornate chaise wrapped in a gauzy robe of rose silk, her hair half-loose, fragrant oils steaming gently beside her.
"Gēge," she said sweetly, sitting up. "You're visiting so late."
Feng Yanzhao studied her. Her skin was flushed from recent meditation, and a faint sheen of sweat was along her collarbone. But… no glow. No flame. No breakthrough.
"You didn't awaken," he said quietly, more to himself than to her.
Feng Meiyu's smile faltered. "It's close. I can feel it. Just a little more time."
He didn't answer.
Just then, a knock rapped briskly on the doorframe. Jin Luming entered, bowing.
"Your Highness. Forgive the interruption, but urgent news—" He handed over a rolled talisman scroll. "The prisoners escaped from the palace dungeons."
Feng Yanzhao's jaw tensed. "When?"
"An hour ago. The Heart Vault alarm was triggered. The Aqua Pearl trap activated."
He inhaled slowly, a cold edge entering his eyes. Then, he turned and strode toward the door, Jin Luming falling into step beside him.
Outside in the corridor, beneath the glow of floating lanterns, he said lowly, "Send word to Commander Kong Yanzhou. Have him and his hawks track the phoenix's trail. I want her found. And brought back."
Jin Luming gave a crisp nod and vanished into the shadows.
Feng Yanzhao remained still for a moment, staring out across the rooftops of the castle where the stars bled faintly through the clouds.
"A royal phoenix of that caliber… She shouldn't be out there," he murmured aloud. "That kind of flame—divine, ancestral—belongs here. In the Bird Clan. So where did she come from?"
His eyes narrowed. His voice dropped to a whisper.
"Or who has been hiding her?"
***
The room was dim, lit only by the faint shimmer of talisman lines etched along the walls, pulsing with soft energy. The windows were shuttered tight, silencing the night outside.
Mo Yuchen sat cross-legged on the floor, robes discarded down to his inner layer, revealing his masculine frame cloaked in threads of blue flame. His qi surged silently around him, the air rippling with pressure as his breathing slowed to an absolute stillness.
Then—flicker.
Along his arms and shoulders, glimmering dragon scales shimmered into view. They gleamed like sapphire steel, layered in a perfect overlapping pattern before vanishing once more beneath the surface of his skin. His eyes remained closed, but the faint smile on his lips gave away his satisfaction.
"So the Aqua Powder works on dragons too," he murmured to himself, voice dry with amusement.
Reaching into the folds of his inner gown, he withdrew a bracelet—worn, silver-threaded, its centerpiece a smooth, translucent pearl faintly veined in cloud-like mist. The Língkōng Pearl.
As it touched his palm, it pulsed.
A low, luminous glow swelled from its heart—no longer faint, but awakened. The same energy that now hummed within Mo Yuchen had reached it, awakened it.
He gazed down at it for a long moment.
"You dipped into the Aqua Pearl Pool with me," he said softly. "And now you've absorbed it too."
The pearl shimmered again, brighter this time, as if in response. A quiet warmth filled the room, almost like a heartbeat.
Mo Yuchen curled his fingers around it, placing the bracelet back on his wrist with quiet reverence.
"Use it to repair yourself," he said. "We still have a long road ahead."
Outside, the wind stirred faintly across the tiled roof.
And inside, blue fire danced in silence.
***
Morning light spilled gently into the courtyard of the elders' quarters, the magical dome above casting a subtle shimmer in the air. Mist curled along the edges of spirit-imbued garden stones, drifting lazily in the quiet calm of daybreak.
At a polished stone table beneath the canopy of silverleaf trees, Mo Yuchen sat with the elders, quietly finishing his breakfast—steamed buns, sliced fruit, and a bowl of barley porridge faintly scented with cinnamon bark. The others ate in thoughtful silence, their movements minimal and measured.
Feng Xiu Lan's seat remained empty.
She was still resting.
Once the meal was done, Mo Yuchen rose and approached Elder Long Xuanji, who had just set down a cup of morning spirit tea.
"Teacher," Mo Yuchen said. From his sleeve, he produced a silver bracelet—now missing one pearl—and placed a small pouch into Xuanji's palm.
The pearl inside shimmered softly through the cloth.
"The Língkōng Pearl absorbed a trace of the Aqua Powder while in the pool," Mo Yuchen explained. "The beast inside has begun to mend. But I thought it best for you to oversee the rest—however you judge fit."
Long Xuanji accepted the pouch with a nod, weighing it briefly. "Wise. He is still a stranger here. And we do not keep outsiders in the dome."
Mo Yuchen gave a faint smile. "Yes."
He offered a small bow, then turned and headed toward the kitchens.
***
Feng Xiu Lan's room glowed softly with sunlight, and the steady jingle of bamboo windchimes filled the space with gentle music. She sat propped near the open lattice window, a light blanket draped across her legs, her hair loose over one shoulder. Outside, the wind stirred lazily through the trees.
A quiet knock.
She turned her head as Mo Yuchen entered, carrying a wooden tray. The gentle aroma of warm porridge and lotus cakes drifted in with him.
"You brought food," she said, blinking once. "About time. I was starving but too lazy to go outside." She gladly walked to the table in the middle of her room.
Mo Yuchen set the tray down on the table without comment, then poured tea and handed her a bun.
She accepted it, took a bite, and chewed slowly—watching him.
He didn't sit immediately.
Instead, he spoke quietly, but clearly. "Thank you. For what you did last night."
Feng Xiu Lan paused, her mouth still full, then swallowed and looked at him in surprise. "Did the tall, sharp-tongued Mo Yuchen just thank me?"
His lips twitched. "Yes. But I'd prefer that in the future, you keep yourself safe instead of diving into danger."
"And you had to spoil it. Yes, Elder Mo," she said, bowing mockingly at him. Then she eyed him and asked quietly, "Would you have left me to fall in the lava?"
"Of course not! Though not bound by blood, we are all family, and—"
She cut in, "And I did exactly what you would've done. So don't convince me to do otherwise, because I won't. In fact, I'll embrace danger anytime if something happens to the people living in this dome."
He finally sat on a chair opposite her and observed her moodily munching on the food. Then he commented quietly, "Elder Lianyu said that you are a divine royal phoenix—based on your golden and crimson-lined feathers."
"Hmm," grunted Feng Xiu Lan and continued chewing.
Mo Yuchen smiled and continued, "That kind of phoenix is very rare. Very powerful."
"Divine, royal, and powerful," she said with a smirk, then laughed. "Sounds like I'm someone important."
"And what if you are?" he asked, his voice suddenly serious.
Finally, Feng Xiu Lan looked at Mo Yuchen with equal gravity. "The bigger question—or mystery—is what we're doing here. Inside a barrier, cut off from the other clans, with three Legendary Realm masters who've been teaching and looking after us for the past five hundred years."
"The mixed blood somewhat explains it in my case. But why you?" asked Mo Yuchen, his brows drawn in thought.
The unanswered questions sat heavily in the air—like long-forgotten truths waiting in silence, just beyond the edge of memory.