Bai Yefeng knelt on one knee before the pavilion gates, dust clinging to his clothes, blade planted into the stone like an unbreakable oath.
Wind rippled through the courtyard, dancing around his form as though acknowledging the gravity of his presence.
Qi Shan Wei stood before him, still reeling from everything that had happened — his father's revelation, Drakonix's evolution, Jin Wei's awakening, and now… this.
"You said," Shan Wei began slowly, "that I saved your sister."
Bai Yefeng raised his head.
His eyes were sharp, but not cruel — the kind forged under hardship, shaped by duty, and polished through loyalty.
"Yes," he said. "Three years ago. You may not remember."
Shan Wei blinked.
"I've travelled before, but three years ago I wasn't—"
"You weren't cultivating yet," Bai Yefeng said. "But destiny moves whether we walk alongside it or not."
He rose to his feet, drawing the blade from the ground.
"When my little sister was lost in the Shadowveil Forest, the elders declared her dead. The forest devours mortals — its mists poison, its beasts attack without warning."
He sheathed his sword.
"But she returned. Alive. Safe. And she told us everything."
Shan Wei frowned.
"What did she say?"
Bai Yefeng's voice softened.
"She said she was saved by a boy with silver hair and golden eyes."
Shan Wei froze.
Ling Xueyao's breath caught.
Qingyue's phoenix flame flickered.
"Impossible," Shan Wei whispered. "I didn't…"
His mind flashed —
A dream.A memory.A vision from the days Heaven marked him.
A forest.A crying girl.A hand reaching out — his hand — glowing faintly.
Drakonix chirped, eyes widening.
Jin Wei's core pulsed faintly.
Bai Yefeng nodded.
"She described you perfectly. Down to the silver hair. Down to the way your flame danced."
Shan Wei swallowed.
"But I… wasn't awakened. I wasn't cultivating. I didn't even know—"
"You didn't know your own power," Bai Yefeng said quietly. "But Heaven always did."
Shan Wei took a step back, dizzy.
He had saved someone before he knew what he was.
Bai Yefeng bowed again.
"My sister has lived these past three years because of you.My blade, my life, and my loyalty belong to you."
Shan Wei opened his mouth — but a loud roar interrupted him.
BWOOOM!!
Drakonix blasted into the air, performing a wild loop before diving down and circling Bai Yefeng with curious interest.
"FWEEEH!"
He flapped once — too powerfully.
WHOOSH—CRASH!!
Bai Yefeng was thrown backward into a tree, the entire trunk snapping in half.
Qingyue burst into laughter.
"Drakonix! You can't greet people like that!"
Ling Xueyao pressed her fingers against her forehead.
"He has doubled in power… and quadrupled in trouble."
Drakonix strutted proudly.
"Fwreee."
Shan Wei groaned.
"Drakonix, apologize!"
Drakonix chirped once.
(Fine… but only because it's you.)
He nudged Bai Yefeng's head with his beak.
Bai Yefeng coughed, brushing leaves off his hair.
"...This is your divine beast?"
Shan Wei nodded.
"Yes. This is Drakonix."
Bai Yefeng erupted into a deep bow.
"Honored Drakonix, forgive this unworthy swordsman!"
Drakonix blinked.
Then puffed his chest in satisfaction.
"Fwee."
"He forgives you," Shan Wei said flatly.
Bai Yefeng sighed in relief.
Qingyue leaned toward Xueyao.
"He talks like a sect disciple meeting an Emperor."
Xueyao murmured back.
"Well… Drakonix might become one."
Inside the Pavilion — A War Meeting Begins
The Pavilion Master, Elder Lu, and several other elders gathered in the main hall.
A large map was unrolled across a table, glowing with faint spiritual markers.
Bai Yefeng stood beside Shan Wei, silent and respectful.
Jin Wei stood like a golden statue behind him, repaired only enough to function, runes dim but alive.
Drakonix curled on Shan Wei's shoulder — too big now, but refusing to move.
Qingyue and Xueyao took seats on either side of him.
"This," Elder Lu said grimly, "is the fallout of the Heaven Decree leak."
He pointed to the map.
Red markers lit up around the region:
Bloodshade Valley
Ironwood Ridge
Silverfang Gorge
Spiritflare Sect Territory
The outer territories of three rival sects
All glowing.
All moving.
All pointing toward Cloudpierce Pavilion.
"Your enemies," the Pavilion Master said, voice heavy, "are mobilizing."
Shan Wei clenched his fists.
"How many are coming?"
"Around forty sect forces," Elder Lu said."Some small. Some… not so small."
"Forty?!" Qingyue gasped.
"That's… an army," Xueyao whispered.
"That is the purpose of a Heaven Decree," the Pavilion Master said. "Anyone who slays you will receive Heaven's Favor… or so they believe."
"But not all who come," Elder Lu added quietly, "are here to kill you."
Shan Wei frowned.
"What do you mean?"
Elder Lu tapped the map.
"Some banners are neutral. Some—unknown. Some… ancient. They aren't moving with killing intent. They are moving with curiosity."
Qingyue's eyes widened.
"They want to see what kind of monster Heaven fears."
Xueyao's jaw tightened.
"Or what kind of leader."
Bai Yefeng stepped forward.
"Several clans have elders who experienced the fall of the Crimson Comet." His voice was respectful but firm. "Some suspected it marked the birth of a prodigy. They may not want you dead."
The Pavilion Master nodded.
"But others will."
He turned to Shan Wei.
"Child… you must decide. Do we flee? Fortify? Negotiate? Or strike first?"
The room fell silent.
Everyone stared at Shan Wei.
He looked around.
At Drakonix — reborn, loyal, powerful.At Jin Wei — damaged but awakening.At Xueyao — calm and fierce.At Qingyue — blazing with fire.At Bai Yefeng — kneeling with loyalty.
His people.
"My father said he won't interfere again," Shan Wei said quietly. "I can't rely on miracles."
He placed a hand on the table.
"I choose to stand."
Drakonix chirped proudly.
Jin Wei pulsed with approval.
Qingyue grinned fiercely.
Xueyao nodded once, with soft admiration.
The Pavilion Master closed his eyes.
"Then Cloudpierce Pavilion stands with you."
A Fragment's Message
Later that evening, Shan Wei sat alone on a stone bench, turning the glass-gold shard — his father's fragment — in his hands.
It had dimmed… but not died.
As he breathed, faint light pulsed through it.
He hesitated… then placed his palm over the shard.
It flared.
A soft echo of his father's voice whispered:
"When the first of the four winds moves, prepare your heart.You will soon meet someone you were not meant to meet yet."
Shan Wei's breath caught.
"Someone… I wasn't meant to meet?"
The shard dimmed again.
He slipped it into his robe, jaw tightening.
Strange Behavior from Jin Wei
Jin Wei approached silently.
"MASTER."
"Yes, Jin Wei?"
Jin Wei paused — an unusual hesitation.
"…QUERY."
Shan Wei blinked.
"Ask."
Jin Wei's voice crackled, almost soft.
"MASTER…WHY DO YOU…PROTECT…ME?"
Shan Wei froze.
Xueyao and Qingyue, watching from nearby, turned sharply.
He stepped closer to the towering puppet.
"Because you're Jin Wei."
He placed a hand on the golden armor.
"Because you kneel for me. Because you shielded me. Because you… chose me."
Jin Wei's runes flickered like a heartbeat.
"UNDERSTOOD."
And for a moment—
Just a moment—
The puppet bowed its head not from command, but from something like… gratitude.
Night Falls — And a New Presence Arrives
The moon rose high.
The Pavilion quieted.
Drakonix shifted restlessly, wings twitching.
"Fweeee…"
Shan Wei stroked him.
"What's wrong?"
Drakonix stared at the eastern horizon.
Jin Wei's core pulsed.
"WARNING.APPROACHING ENTITY.SPEED: EXTREME."
Shan Wei stood.
Xueyao drew her sword.
Qingyue summoned her flame.
Bai Yefeng tightened his grip on his blade.
The Pavilion gates trembled—
BOOM.
Wind rushed in.
A figure streaked across the courtyard like a comet.
Shan Wei's eyes widened as the figure landed, kneeling in a single smooth motion—
Silver hair tied in a warrior's knot.Eyes sharp as blades.Robes of white and black.Aura impossibly calm yet terrifyingly deep.
He bowed low.
"Qi Shan Wei."
Shan Wei's breath caught.
"Who—?"
The man raised his head.
"My name is Qi Longye," he said softly.
"And I am… your uncle."
The world stopped.
To be Continued
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