Morning broke over North Sea City. The sea breeze swept in from the rocky shore, carrying a salty, fishy tang. Most of the leaves on the locust tree in a corner of the Shen Family's private courtyard Martial Arts Arena had turned yellow. At the breeze's touch, they rustled down onto the flagstones.
Shen Nanxun stood on the hard-packed ground at the far end of the Martial Arts Arena, its surface worn smooth and level. Bare-chested, the ten-year-old's shoulders and back were already beginning to show the sharp contours unique to a teenager.
He stood with his shoulders level, his breathing steady as a mountain.
Before him stood an iron post. It wasn't an ordinary wooden training post, but a solid iron one cast in a single piece from refined iron forged at the North Sea Legion's armory. Its shaft was thicker than an adult's thigh, its base sunk three feet into the earth, with two meters rising above ground. No cushioning covered its surface; only a dull layer of rust, worn by wind and sun.
Shen Nanxun's hands hung at his sides, fingers slightly spread. He slowly closed his eyes and settled his breathing into the deepest, slowest rhythm. In the depths of his consciousness, the nine-colored ball of light continued to revolve at an unhurried pace.
Qian Renxue sat cross-legged on a golden branch, arms folded. Through his Sea of Consciousness, her violet eyes gazed at the iron post, and her voice remained cool.
"Although his condition is unusual right now, he did give you your third Soul Ring. Now that this dragon bloodline has awakened in your body, even a mere wisp of it is enough to transform you completely."
Shen Nanxun opened his eyes. A faint, nine-colored glow flashed deep in his black pupils and vanished. He sank his waist, took a horse stance, and drew his right fist back to his hip.
He focused every bit of his intent on the hand he had clenched into a fist. His bones tightened, his muscles coiled, and the blood in his veins surged faster all at once.
He punched.
His right fist tore through the air. In its wake, the air compressed into a white shockwave visible to the naked eye. The instant his knuckles struck the center of the iron post, nine-colored patterns flashed between his fingers. The post didn't budge.
Then a crack began to spread from the point where his fist met the iron. Iron filings trickled down as the crack widened and multiplied, until the entire post let out a muffled groan, as if it could bear no more.
The iron post snapped.
The upper half spun through the air and slammed into the flagstones at the edge of the Martial Arts Arena, leaving a shallow crater.
Shen Nanxun held his punching stance as his breathing gradually grew heavier.
His third Soul Ring was gold as well, but unlike the brilliant gold of his first two, this one was dark gold. It had given him overwhelming strength.
In a corner of the courtyard, the silver-haired girl's eyes had gone wide. If Shen Nanxun had once looked like delicious food to her,
now it seemed the tables had turned.
Especially when Shen Nanxun had been practicing his punches just now—she had clearly felt that faint, elusive dragon's might.
The girl licked her lips with a wicked grin and murmured, "Fortune favors the bold! Hehe, Gu Yue, just wait till your Na'er the Invincible pins you down!"
"Eastsea City?"
Wiping the sweat from his body, Shen Nanxun stared in confusion at his eldest sister, Shen Yue, who had suddenly come over.
"Big Sis, why do I have to go there?"
In another timeline, Eastsea City had held an important place. Now he was going there too, and it all felt like too much of a coincidence.
"It's about your origins. The person who knows the truth made this request, and even I can't decide for you." Shen Yue sighed and patted his shoulder.
"She's waiting for you at the East Sea Spirit Pagoda in Eastsea City. If you want to learn the truth, you'll have to go there. But don't worry, Xiaoxun. Whatever happens, go and find out. At the very least, get your jade pendant back. Whether or not you decide to keep searching for your true identity, your sister and parents will always be there to support you."
"You have to understand, I can't stop you from learning the truth. They are your birth parents, after all."
Shen Nanxun fell silent for a moment.
"All right. I'll go."
Whatever the result, he had to find out. Somehow, he felt an inexplicable pull urging him to uncover the truth.
Perhaps it was the stir of his bloodline.
Shen Yue smiled, ruffled Shen Nanxun's hair, and said gently, "It'll be fine. Think of it as a trip. The seaside in Eastsea City is warmer, too. You can take Na'er and have some fun."
"Ah, I have to take her too?"
"Stinky Shen Nanxun, what do you mean by that?!"
At some point, Na'er had appeared at the courtyard gate and charged out, fangs bared.
"Slip of the tongue, slip of the tongue."
"Na'er, you little dog, don't bite me!"
Three months had passed since Shen Nanxun won the Star Dou Battle Net individual competition. As Shen Yue had said, the trip to Eastsea City was a good chance to relax.
To his surprise, Su Jiuyin was driving them in the Soul Guidance car.
"Wondering why I'm the one taking you there?"
Wearing sunglasses as she drove, Su Jiuyin asked with a smile.
"A little," Shen Nanxun answered honestly from the back seat. Normally, the North Sea Legion should have sent someone to protect them on the journey.
Instead, Su Jiuyin, who came from the Spirit Pagoda, was taking them. She was Big Sis's close friend, but she wasn't part of the legion.
Su Jiuyin smiled and nudged her sunglasses higher on her nose. "There are two reasons. First, I work for the Spirit Pagoda, and the person you're meeting does too. With me there, things will be easier for both sides. It's neither official business nor a personal favor—just an old acquaintance helping out. Your big sister's influence carries weight in the legion, but it doesn't go as far in the Spirit Pagoda."
She paused to turn a corner, then lowered her voice. "Second, I'm from Eastsea City."
Shen Nanxun raised an eyebrow. That was the first he'd heard of it. He knew Su Jiuyin was one of only three special-grade awakeners at the North Sea City Spirit Pagoda, and a close friend of his big sister Shen Yue, but he hadn't known Eastsea City was her hometown.
"My surname used to be Xu." Su Jiuyin's voice remained warm and even, though it had grown heavier for some reason. "I changed it to Su later, for certain reasons. I was nineteen when I left Eastsea City, and I haven't been back since. More than twenty years have flown by."
She gazed at the highway stretching into the distance. Behind her sunglasses, her brown eyes flickered with complicated feelings she would rather not revisit, then quickly settled back into their usual warmth.
Su Jiuyin glanced at Shen Nanxun in the rearview mirror. "So this trip is a little selfish on my part, too. I'm using your journey as an excuse to go home."
The car fell quiet for a while.
Shen Nanxun didn't ask what could have made a nineteen-year-old girl change her surname, leave her hometown, and never look back for more than twenty years.
Everyone had a past. Some stories were meant to be told; others were best savored alone on a certain lonely night. If Su Jiuyin didn't bring it up, he wouldn't ask.
Na'er, leaning beside him, was a little more carefree. Her short silver hair fluttered in the breeze coming through the car window.
For once, she didn't chatter. She simply pulled two Sea Salt Toffees from her pocket, unwrapped one, and popped it into Shen Nanxun's mouth. Then she put the other in her own. Their cheeks puffed up at the same time. Sweet.
Eastsea City.
Located in the eastern central region, it was a coastal city and a major port for trade and ocean voyages. It lay farther south than North Sea City, giving it a mild climate all year round. It was also a famous tourist destination.
Su Jiuyin took them straight to the East Sea Spirit Pagoda, one of the eighteen branch pagodas.
After informing the staff that she had brought the two with her, she took them directly to the upper floors in a private elevator.
They stopped on the thirty-sixth floor. It was very quiet there, with nothing but the sounds of machinery and the atmosphere of technology.
Su Jiuyin stopped at the door of one of the rooms and knocked softly three times.
"Come in." A woman's voice came from inside, calm and edged with a lazy huskiness.
The metal doors slid silently apart.
The room was a spacious observation chamber. The entire curved wall had been transformed into a huge floor-to-ceiling screen, showing a live feed from inside the Soul Beast forest maintained by the Spirit Pagoda.
Ancient trees towered overhead. Vines twined around them, and mottled shafts of sunlight filtered through the leaves. In the distance, the outlines of Soul Beasts appeared and disappeared. The image was so clear that it almost captured the faint tremor of every small Soul Beast darting through the underbrush.
There was only one chair in front of the enormous screen: a simple black leather chair, its back slightly reclined, with a slender, pale hand resting on the arm.
A woman sat there, her body turned slightly to one side, her right leg crossed elegantly over her left. One elbow rested on the arm, her chin propped on her hand. A long-stemmed glass sat between the fingers of her other hand. Red liquid swirled inside it.
Like the red wine in the glass, her long hair was a dazzling, vivid red.
Beneath that hair, her stunning face held more than just a lazy air; it carried a hint of aloofness, too. Her arresting gaze swept over the three of them, sizing them up.
Shen Nanxun could clearly feel that most of her attention was fixed on him. There was none of the pressure he had expected. If anything, she seemed more curious than anything else.
"Your Excellency, I've brought them. This is Shen Nanxun," Su Jiuyin said respectfully.
At the same time, she introduced the woman to the two of them. "This is Your Excellency Heavenly Phoenix, the person you wanted to meet."
Heavenly Phoenix?!
Heavenly Phoenix Douluo, Leng Yaozhu!
The Spirit Pagoda's vice tower master, a top powerhouse who stood at the peak of the continent.
Shen Nanxun had never imagined that she would have something to do with his origins.
Na'er seemed to sense that something was amiss. She gave a little sniff with her dog... nose, then grabbed Shen Nanxun's arm in an instant.
She watched Leng Yaozhu warily.
She looked a little possessive.
Leng Yaozhu found this amusing. She sat up a little straighter and chuckled. "I'm not a bad person. There's no need to be so wary. If you want to be precise, you should call me Auntie."
"What?"
Shen Nanxun was baffled. What did that mean? If it was true, then his birth mother had to be... Leng Yulai!?
That couldn't be right.
"We're not related by blood, but we're close enough." Leng Yaozhu murmured softly. She seemed to recall something and sank into a brief reverie.
Shen Nanxun breathed a sigh of relief. If Leng Yaozhu really were his birth mother's sister, the relationships involved would be far too tangled.
A moment later, Leng Yaozhu set her glass on the armrest and sat a little straighter. Her wine-red hair slipped from her shoulder with the movement and fell across her lap. When she lifted her eyes again, the languid look had vanished from her amber gaze, replaced by a sharp glint.
"Shen Nanxun."
"Do you want to know about your origins?"
Shen Nanxun met her gaze without looking away. "I wouldn't have come here if I didn't."
Leng Yaozhu chuckled and shook her head. "You two really are alike. Just as stubborn."
"Fine. Complete the two tasks I give you, and I'll tell you everything. Otherwise, don't expect to learn anything from me."
"Why?" Shen Nanxun furrowed his brows, unable to understand. "I don't see why I have to complete your tasks and pass a test just to learn about my own origins. It doesn't make sense."
"Whether it makes sense or not is irrelevant. Once you've completed the tasks, I'll tell you everything. Then you'll understand." Leng Yaozhu's voice remained indifferent, but she wouldn't budge. There was no room for negotiation.
A rabbit couldn't topple a tiger. His fists weren't big enough, so he could only give in.
Shen Nanxun had no choice. He nodded slightly and let out a breath. "I agree."
"Good." Leng Yaozhu turned and pointed at the screen. "Do you see her? She's my disciple. She's currently training on the Spirit Ascension Platform. If you can defeat her and her team, you'll pass the first test."
"Damn it, stinky Gu—" Na'er's voice cut off abruptly. She clapped a hand over her mouth.
Shen Nanxun followed Leng Yaozhu's finger and looked at the screen. It showed the face of a young girl.
Her black hair fell over her shoulders like ink. Her brows and eyes were cool, her dark eyes impassive. Her features were stunning, yet she carried a natural air of distance. She stood as still as a piece of cold jade beneath the moon.
It was... Gu Yue!
"Southeast. Blue Crystal Leopard, around eight hundred years old." Xu Xiaoyan crouched on a thick tree branch, gripping the Star Wheel Ice Staff. "It's fast. It seems to have sensed us and is fleeing deeper into the woods."
"Flee? It won't get far!" Xie Xie curled his lips into a grin and shot off the tree trunk like a shadow. He was incredibly fast, tapping his toes against the branches of several ancient trees as he rapidly closed in.
"Left front! It's turning!" Xu Xiaoyan's voice called down from above.
"I see it! Xiaoyan, cut off its escape route on the right!" Xie Xie was airborne, his Light Dragon Dagger already drawn.
"First Soul Skill, Ice Wheel!" Xu Xiaoyan cried. She swung her staff, sending a blue ring of light hurtling forward.
The Blue Crystal Leopard swerved left to avoid it, forced to slow for an instant.
That instant was all Xie Xie needed. He reached it and thrust his Light Dragon Dagger toward its flank.
The Blue Crystal Leopard let out a low growl and twisted aside, dodging the blade. At the same time, it swiped at Xie Xie's face with a forepaw wrapped in ice-blue Soul Power. With nowhere to push off in midair, Xie Xie didn't panic. He pressed his left hand against the leopard's swinging paw, used it to flip himself over, and landed steadily behind it.
Just then, a girl appeared directly in front of the Blue Crystal Leopard. Fireballs and ice spikes shot from around her in an instant.
They aimed straight for the leopard's face!
Under cover of the elemental attacks, the boy at the rear closed in. His hand formed a claw, and his golden dragon claw shot toward the Blue Crystal Leopard's belly.
At last, the Blue Crystal Leopard let out an unwilling whimper and crashed to the ground. Its immense body hit the earth, its ice-blue crystal armor shattering inch by inch into countless tiny points of light.
Before they had even had a chance to celebrate their victory, a deep shout rang out from the distance.
"Hand over your energy and withdraw!"
A group of five stood there. They all looked to be in their teens, and one of them was even a three-ringed Soul Elder.
They were openly hostile.
At the same time, two heads poked out from a nearby thicket. One of them pressed down the excited Silver Ahoge King with a single hand.
"Shh. The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind!"
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