Bone Dragon and Torch

East Sea Academy's curriculum was far more relaxed than Shrek's.

Every morning, Yun Zhiyu meditated. She attended lectures in the morning, practiced Fusion Forging at the East Sea City Blacksmiths Association in the afternoon, and practiced swordsmanship with Wu Nianbing in a corner of the training field at dusk—the girl's talent had exceeded her expectations. Her ice-attributed sword intent was condensed and cold, like some power not yet fully awakened, one that shared the same origin as her mother, Long Bing.

"Big Sister Yun," Wu Nianbing said as she sheathed her sword, the ice chain around her neck glimmering faintly in the twilight. "Why do you always hold back thirty percent with your sword...?"

Yun Zhiyu froze for a moment. She had not expected Wu Nianbing to notice—she had indeed been holding back, keeping every strike beneath the threshold of a Soul Elder. It was like dancing in shackles, clumsy yet necessary.

"I'm afraid of hurting you," she said with a smile, brushing it off.

Wu Nianbing shook her head. Her pitch-black eyes held a clarity that did not match her age. "No. You're hiding something, just like Father hides."

Yun Zhiyu fell silent for a moment, then reached out and rubbed her hair without explaining.

Her identity was a secret. She came from Heaven Dou City, had been born ordinary, came from an ordinary family, and supported herself through blacksmithing—this was the background she had fabricated, as bland as a glass of water and unlikely to draw anyone's attention.

Her ink-black hair, dark brown contact lenses, and concealed Torch Dragon Bloodline made her soul power fluctuations appear to belong to nothing more than an ordinary Great Soul Master, not even as dazzling as the "little geniuses" in Class One.

Their homeroom teacher, Ye Yingluo, paid her no attention.

That beautiful teacher wore an elegant qipao, with curled hair draped over her shoulders, yet her gaze always fell upon Wu Nianbing in the back row of the classroom—with complicated emotions that seemed like jealousy, yet also pity.

Yun Zhiyu knew the story behind it. Ye Yingluo had once confessed to Wu Changkong and been rejected. Ever since, she had been prickly toward anyone connected to Wu Changkong. Wu Nianbing's existence was like a needle lodged in her heart.

The "little geniuses of Class One" were another sight entirely.

Wei Xiaofeng possessed the Azure Shadow Serpent martial soul and was a rank-twenty Soul Master. Thin as a willow branch, he carried the sinuous gait peculiar to snakes when he walked. His first soul skill, Azure Shadow Stack, could turn him into three afterimages that were impossible to distinguish from the real body. He often showed it off in class, drawing shrieks from the girls.

Zhang Yangzi was a rank-twenty-one Soul Master with the Dark Illusion Demon Eagle martial soul, a control-type martial soul. He was steadier than Wei Xiaofeng, but carried the pride unique to children of great clans. Whenever his gaze swept across the classroom, it was as if he were inspecting his own territory. Darkness Control could block out light, while Eagle Strikes the Sky allowed short-distance gliding. Together, the two were nearly unbeatable among those of the same rank.

Wang Jinxi was a rank-twenty-two assault-type battle Soul Master with the Bone Dragon King martial soul. He was the quietest of the three, sitting in the corner of the classroom. Though tall, he hunched over like an immature beast suppressing some innate savagery. His skin bore a faint grayish-white cast, and his knuckles were thick. Every now and then, he would unconsciously scratch at the desk, leaving shallow marks behind.

Yun Zhiyu kept out of their way. She deliberately sat in a corner by the window, listened to lectures, took notes, and occasionally answered the teacher's questions, but she never took the initiative to show herself off. Her soul power fluctuations were suppressed at around rank eighteen—just enough to enter Class One, yet not enough to attract attention.

Until that day.

The notice for the class selection tournament was posted on the bulletin board. It was to elect the class monitor.

"Yun Zhiyu!" Wei Xiaofeng's voice came from behind her, carrying the faint hiss unique to a snake. "You're not participating?"

She turned around and saw the three of them standing side by side. Wei Xiaofeng wore an amused smile, Zhang Yangzi had his arms crossed over his chest, and Wang Jinxi kept his head lowered, his eyes on the tips of his shoes, as though he had no interest in the conversation at all.

"Not participating," Yun Zhiyu said evenly. "I'm not interested."

"Not interested?" Wei Xiaofeng acted as though he had heard a joke. Azure Shadow Serpent afterimages flickered in and out around him. "Or are you... too scared?"

Yun Zhiyu raised her eyes. Beneath the dark brown contact lenses, the slit in her violet eyes opened slightly, only to be swiftly suppressed. Looking at Wei Xiaofeng, at this character who had been nothing more than a minor extra in the original story, she suddenly found it amusing—she had once faced a Titled Douluo and fought evil Soul Masters to the death, yet now she was being provoked by a rank-twenty Great Soul Master.

"Trying to provoke me?" Her lips curved. "That's too low-level."

Wei Xiaofeng's expression changed. The Azure Shadow Serpent afterimages abruptly solidified, and all three figures stepped forward half a pace at once, carrying the anger of someone offended. "You—"

"Enough!" Zhang Yangzi interrupted him, his eyes settling on Yun Zhiyu with scrutiny.

"Wei Xiaofeng, don't embarrass yourself. If she doesn't want to participate, let her be."

He turned to Yun Zhiyu, a proud curve appearing on his lips. "But Class One doesn't need cowards. If you don't participate, don't blame us later... for not letting you play with us."

Yun Zhiyu did not respond. She turned and walked toward the classroom door, her steps steady as though she had not heard the mockery behind her.

"Wait."

A hoarse voice rang out, like sandpaper scraping rotten wood. Yun Zhiyu stopped but did not turn back—she knew who it was. Wang Jinxi, the bearer of the Bone Dragon King martial soul. In the original story, he had resonated with Tang Wulin's bloodline and ultimately become his friend. Yet now, his voice contained an almost instinctive agitation that sent a chill down her spine.

"Your martial soul..." Wang Jinxi slowly raised his head. A strange light burned in his eyes beneath his grayish-white face. "What is it?"

Yun Zhiyu turned and met his gaze.

She felt a pull—an ancient, violent aura surging from Wang Jinxi's body, like a sleeping beast turning over in its dreams and sending invisible ripples outward. That aura resonated with the Torch Dragon Bloodline inside her. It was not closeness, but a more primal tremor, one almost like the reaction of natural enemies.

The Bone Dragon King was a dragon subspecies, using bones as weapons and feeding on death. The Torch Dragon was the ancestor of dragons, controlling time, space, life, and death. When the two met, it was like a minister seeing a sovereign, like a beast seeing its king—they should have submitted. Yet the violence in Wang Jinxi's still-unawakened Bone Dragon King bloodline produced a warped sort of resistance.

"An ordinary sword martial soul," Yun Zhiyu lied without changing expression. "Is there a problem?"

"You're lying!" Wang Jinxi's voice trembled. It was not anger, but fear. His body was shaking. Fine bone patterns surfaced on his grayish-white skin, as though something were about to break out from within him. "Your bloodline... is suppressing me..."

Wei Xiaofeng and Zhang Yangzi's expressions changed at the same time. They had never seen Wang Jinxi like this—the normally quiet youth looked as though some invisible force had gripped his throat. His pupils dilated, his breathing quickened, and the bone patterns on his knuckles spread to his wrists with faint cracking sounds.

"Jinxi!" Zhang Yangzi reached out to support him, only to be flung away by an invisible force.

Yun Zhiyu's pupils contracted sharply. She knew she could not keep hiding anymore—not for herself, but for Wang Jinxi. The Bone Dragon King bloodline was on the verge of losing control beneath the Torch Dragon's pressure. If she continued suppressing it, this youth would suffer backlash from his own martial soul, his bones piercing through his organs from the inside out.

"Stand back!" she barked, her voice carrying an authority that made Zhang Yangzi and Wei Xiaofeng freeze at once.

She stepped forward. Her dark brown contact lenses shattered under the surge of soul power, revealing the slit in her violet eyes beneath. That slit opened completely. Deep in her pupils, the Torch Dragon's silhouette intertwined with Black Tortoise's serpent shadow, forming a totem that made even the Bone Dragon King bloodline tremble.

"Look at me," she said to Wang Jinxi, her voice gentle yet carrying irresistible force. "Take a deep breath. Feel my soul power. Let it enter your meridians and soothe your martial soul."

She extended her hand, palm up. A thread of violet-gold soul power slowly flowed there. It carried none of the sharpness of attack, only an ancient, almost maternal gentleness, like a massive beast licking its cub's wounds.

Trembling, Wang Jinxi placed his hand in her palm.

The instant they touched, the spreading bone patterns stopped. He felt a warm current enter through his palm and flow through his meridians into every corner of his body. Wherever it passed, the violent Bone Dragon King bloodline seemed soothed by some higher power and gradually fell silent.

His breathing steadied, and the terror in his eyes faded, replaced by a nearly vacant daze, like someone who had been saved.

"...Thank you," he said hoarsely.

Yun Zhiyu withdrew her hand. Her contacts had already shattered, so she simply stopped concealing herself. The slit in her violet eyes slowly closed, restoring the dark brown disguise—but everyone had seen it: that fleeting glimpse of silver hair and violet eyes, that fleeting moment of soul-shaking majesty.

"Now," she said, turning toward Wei Xiaofeng and Zhang Yangzi. Her voice was calm, yet carried unquestionable force. "I'll participate in the selection tournament. Who else wants to challenge me?"

The selection tournament was held that afternoon.

The training field was divided into three arenas. The students of Class One formed a circle, their gazes falling upon Yun Zhiyu with either curiosity or awe. She had changed into clean training clothes, her ink-black hair tied into a ponytail, and put on new dark brown contact lenses, though they could not hide the calm that seemed to seep from her very bones.

Ye Yingluo stood at the referee's stand, her gaze complicated. She recognized Yun Zhiyu—or rather, she recognized in her a certain aura similar to Wu Changkong's, something that made her chest tighten. Yet she said nothing and merely announced the rules: single-elimination. Winners advanced. The final winner would become Class One's monitor.

The first match was against Wei Xiaofeng.

Azure Shadow Serpent afterimages flickered across the arena as three figures lunged at Yun Zhiyu simultaneously, impossible to distinguish from one another. Cries of surprise rose from the spectators, and some even stood up, trying to see which one was the real body.

Yun Zhiyu did not move.

Her spiritual power had already covered the entire arena. Her Spirit Sea Realm senses made Wei Xiaofeng's afterimages nowhere to hide—the soul power fluctuations of the one on the left were the weakest, making it bait. The one on the right carried killing intent, making it a feint. The one directly in front of her breathed in rhythm with its heartbeat. That was the real body.

"Too slow," she said.

Dusk Dragon Flash: Instant Step! Her figure vanished from where she stood. When she reappeared, she was already behind Wei Xiaofeng's true body. She did not even release her martial soul. She merely formed a sword with her fingers and lightly tapped the side of his neck—violet-gold lightning flashed and vanished. Wei Xiaofeng's entire body stiffened, the afterimages dispersed, and he fell face-first to the ground.

"One strike..." someone murmured among the spectators.

"Wei Xiaofeng lost?"

"She didn't even release her martial soul!"

Yun Zhiyu withdrew her stance and extended a hand to Wei Xiaofeng. "Get up."

Wei Xiaofeng's face was deathly pale. His Azure Shadow Serpent martial soul trembled beneath the lingering pressure of the Torch Dragon Bloodline. He stared at her hand for a long time before finally taking it and allowing her to pull him up.

"Your Azure Shadow Stack," Yun Zhiyu said. Her voice was not loud, yet it clearly reached everyone's ears. "You distribute your soul power too evenly among the afterimages, exposing your real body. Next time, focus seventy percent of your soul power on the real body, leave only ten percent for the bait, and use twenty percent for the feint."

Wei Xiaofeng stared at her. "You... are teaching me?"

"Not teaching." Yun Zhiyu turned and walked toward the edge of the arena. "Just reminding you. People from Class One shouldn't be this weak."

The second match was against Zhang Yangzi.

The Dark Illusion Demon Eagle martial soul unfolded over the arena. Black soul power spread like a tide, obscuring half the sky. Zhang Yangzi floated in the air, his arms transforming into eagle wings. His eyes held the sharpness of one who had been provoked. "Yun Zhiyu, don't get cocky!"

Eagle Strikes the Sky!

His body became a streak of black light as he dove from above. Eagle claws tore through the air with a piercing screech. This was his strongest strike, every bit of his rank-twenty-one soul power poured into it, enough to rip through refined iron.

Yun Zhiyu looked up, the slit in her violet eyes opening slightly.

She did not dodge. Her third soul skill, Black Tortoise: Azure Abyss Sword Shield, condensed into a heavy sword-shaped shield around her. Deep blue light collided with the black eagle claws in a deafening boom. The shield shuddered violently but did not break—the Azure Sword Shield's restorative effect was at work, transforming the impact into her own soul power while also slowing her opponent.

Zhang Yangzi's movement stiffened for an instant.

That instant was enough. Yun Zhiyu moved. Dusk Dragon Flash: Instant Step brought her behind Zhang Yangzi, and Torch Dragon Breath: Nether Shadow surged from her palm. Netherworld chill wrapped around the eagle wings, slowing him and disrupting the flow of his soul power. Zhang Yangzi felt his wings become as heavy as lead, and his body plummeted uncontrollably toward the ground.

Bang—

He crashed onto the arena. His eagle wings vanished, and the black soul power receded like a tide. Yun Zhiyu knelt beside him on one knee, a thread of violet-gold lightning gathered at her fingertips, suspended half an inch before his throat.

"Darkness Control," she said calmly. "Blocking out light is meant to conceal your body, but you forgot that true experts do not rely on their eyes. Spiritual perception, aura locking—your darkness..."

She paused, withdrew her stance, and rose to her feet. "Is useless against me."

Zhang Yangzi lay on the ground, watching the drifting clouds overhead. Suddenly, he laughed. It was not a bitter laugh, but the relief of someone who had accepted defeat. "...I'm convinced."

Yun Zhiyu extended her hand and pulled him to his feet. The two stood side by side in the center of the arena. The spectators fell silent for a moment before erupting into thunderous applause.

The final match was against Wang Jinxi.

When he stepped onto the arena, he was still somewhat hunched. His grayish-white face held complicated emotions—fear, reverence, and a nearly instinctive longing driven by his bloodline. The Bone Dragon King martial soul stirred within him, not because of hostility, but submission. It had encountered a higher existence and developed a warped kind of closeness.

"I can't beat you," he said hoarsely. "I know that."

"Do you want to concede?" Yun Zhiyu frowned.

"No!" Wang Jinxi shook his head, a trace of stubbornness appearing on his grayish-white face.

"I want to... feel it once. Feel your bloodline, the real thing."

Yun Zhiyu fell silent for a moment, then slowly nodded.

She released the suppression on her Torch Dragon Bloodline.

Not all of it, only thirty percent—thirty-five percent of the Torch Dragon Bloodline had been unsealed, and she released just one-tenth of that power. Yet even so, the pressure was still like heaven and earth collapsing. Violet-gold light poured from around her body. Silver hair flickered into view within that radiance, the slit in her violet eyes opened completely, and deep in her pupils, the Torch Dragon's silhouette raised its head and roared toward the sky.

Wang Jinxi's Bone Dragon King martial soul completely lost control beneath that pressure.

His bones erupted with explosive cracking sounds. Beneath his grayish-white skin, bone patterns spread like vines, crawling from his wrists to his neck, then from his neck to his cheeks.

His body rapidly expanded. Bones pierced out from within, forming savage bone armor. His pupils transformed into vertical dragon eyes, and he released a roar that no longer sounded human.

"Bone Soul Transformation..." someone cried from the spectators. "He used his second soul skill ahead of time!"

"He's lost control! Get the teacher!"

Ye Yingluo rose from the referee's stand, her face pale. She sensed that violent aura and knew that if it was not stopped in time, Wang Jinxi would be devoured by his own martial soul and become a beast that knew only slaughter.

But Yun Zhiyu was faster.

Dusk Dragon Flash: Instant Step brought her before Wang Jinxi. She did not attack. Instead, she embraced him, spreading her arms around that savage Bone Dragon. Violet-gold soul power surged into him like a tide. It was not suppression, but soothing—an ancient, almost maternal gentleness.

"Look at me!" she said. Her voice was clear even amid the Bone Dragon's roar. "Feel my soul power. Let it enter your meridians and resonate with your Bone Dragon King. Not submission—coexistence."

Wang Jinxi's roar gradually lowered.

He felt that warm current enter through Yun Zhiyu's palms and flow through the gaps in his bones. Wherever it passed, the violent bone patterns gradually calmed, like a frenzied beast soothed by some higher power. His body slowly shrank, the bone armor withdrew into his body, and the slits in his pupils gradually faded, restoring human eyes.

"...Thank you," he said hoarsely, collapsing into Yun Zhiyu's arms.

Yun Zhiyu held him, feeling how this youth, taller than she was, seemed as fragile as an infant at that moment. She recalled the bloodline resonance between Wang Jinxi and Tang Wulin in the original story, recalled the bond that had eventually made them friends. Now, she had awakened that resonance early with her own Torch Dragon Bloodline, but she had also... changed some things.

"You lost," she said softly.

"I lost," Wang Jinxi repeated, relief in his voice.

"But... I felt it. Your bloodline, my martial soul... they were talking. They said..."

He paused, raised his head to look at Yun Zhiyu, and wore an almost devout confusion on his grayish-white face. "They said you are the king. The Bone Dragon King's king."

Yun Zhiyu fell silent for a moment. She helped him up and brushed the dust from the hem of his clothes. Her movements were gentle, like she was caring for a younger brother, yet they made Wang Jinxi's face flush slightly.

"I'm not a king," she said. "I'm Yun Zhiyu, Class One's... class monitor."