Epiphany in the Forest

In the virtual environment of the Star Dou Great Forest, Gu Yue saw Yun Zhiyu wear that expression for the first time.

It was neither the sharpness she showed in battle nor the steadiness she displayed while commanding. It was a tranquility that was almost... belonging.

Yun Zhiyu stood beneath an ancient tree that was a thousand years old, her palm pressed against its rough bark. The vertical slit in her purple eyes beneath her contact lenses had opened completely, and fragments of daylight filtering through the canopy reflected deep within her pupils.

"How..." Gu Yue had just begun to speak when an invisible force interrupted her.

It was an aura rising from within Yun Zhiyu. It was neither a fluctuation of soul power nor an extension of spiritual power, but something far older, something that seemed to share the same roots as this forest.

Her ink-black hair gently stirred in the breeze of the virtual environment, and a faint silvery-white sheen appeared at its tips—the dye fading under the agitation of her spiritual power, the unmasked truth revealed as the Torch Dragon Bloodline resonated with this "nature."

Gu Yue's black eyes abruptly froze.

She felt that aura. It was not the Golden Dragon King's violence, nor the Silver Dragon King's cold detachment, but something more primordial, as though it had been born from the chaos at the beginning of heaven and earth. The aura seeped from Yun Zhiyu's palm into the ancient tree and spread outward along its roots. Wherever it passed, the virtual plants trembled faintly, as if some dormant life had been awakened.

"Torch Dragon..." Gu Yue murmured inwardly as fragments of the Silver Dragon King's inherited memories surged forth.

Its eyes opened to make day and closed to make night. It exhaled winter and inhaled summer. The ancestor of dragons, ruler of time, space, life, and death, living as long as heaven and earth and coexisting with all things. It was not merely a "dragon." It was "nature" itself, the source of chaos that had birthed all life before Douluo Continent had split apart.

Yun Zhiyu slowly sat down with her back against the ancient tree, closing her eyes and centering herself.

Her consciousness sank into a strange state. It was neither meditation nor cultivation, but an "epiphany." The phantom of the Torch Dragon in her spiritual sea slowly opened its eyes, and its violet-gold dragon eyes resonated with a certain will within the virtual forest, like two rivers separated for countless years finally meeting at the sea.

She "saw" it.

She saw the complete Star Dou Great Forest of ten thousand years ago. She saw soul beasts running freely across the land, saw a time when the boundary between humans and soul beasts had yet to be drawn, and saw an ancient balance slowly flowing through the years. She saw Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong darting through the woods, saw their Martial Soul Fusion Skill bloom amid the canopy, and saw how their love and protection changed the entire continent's fate.

She also saw the future. She saw cracks from the Abyss spreading along the continent's borders, Shrek's flames burning beneath the night sky, countless lives vanishing in war, and herself standing atop ruins with silver hair and purple eyes, Xuanyuan in hand, yet unable to save everyone she wished to protect.

"It's still not enough..." she whispered in her epiphany. "I'm still not strong enough..."

The Torch Dragon Bloodline boiled through her meridians. It was not a violent surge, but a gentle nourishment that was almost maternal. Every inch of bone was being reshaped, every drop of blood purified. Her spiritual sea sank from a "lake" toward greater depths. At the bottom of that sea, the phantoms of the Black Tortoise and Torch Dragon intertwined, forming a steadier formation that seemed almost eternal.

Gu Yue stood to one side, complicated emotions in her black eyes.

She should have been on guard. She should have been protecting Yun Zhiyu. Yet at this moment, she could not look away. The auras of four elements circulated around her, but upon touching the faint violet-gold halo surrounding Yun Zhiyu, they instinctively submitted, merged, and resonated.

The fire element became warm streams of light, the water element condensed into soft mist, the wind element brushed over Yun Zhiyu's ink-black hair, and the earth element rose from the ground to support her body.

It was as though they were protecting some even more ancient existence.

"...Idiot!" Gu Yue murmured, though her voice carried a softness that was hard to detect. "Having an epiphany in a place like this."

She did not disturb her. She merely sat cross-legged beside Yun Zhiyu, forming a barrier around them with the four elements.

Virtual soul beasts passed through the distance, but the moment they touched that barrier, they instinctively detoured around it. The Silver Dragon King's aura, even from merely an avatar, was enough to make century- and millennium-level soul beasts keep their distance.

Meanwhile, at the other end of the forest.

Xie Xie sprinted through the bushes, his brown-gold hair scraped into disarray by branches, his dark green pupils full of panicked fear.

A Century Horned Dragon chased close behind him. Its earthy-yellow scales glimmered dully amid the trees, the horn atop its head flashing with the sharp edge of soul power. Every step it took made the ground tremble faintly.

"Is this really necessary?! I only looked at you once!" Xie Xie cursed as he ran, the Shadow Dragon Dagger flashing in his palm. "So what if you're a century soul beast?! If you've got guts, go find the class monitor!"

Naturally, the Horned Dragon could not understand him. It only lowered its body further, the light on its horn growing fiercer. It smashed through the bushes in its path and moved faster than Xie Xie had expected, rapidly closing the gap.

"Damn it!" Xie Xie gritted his teeth. The Light Dragon Dagger and Shadow Dragon Dagger left their sheaths at the same time, gold and silver light intertwining into a whirlwind around him. He turned, unleashing his second soul skills, Light Dragon Storm and Shadow Dragon Storm, simultaneously. The two tornadoes intertwined into an even more violent vortex and swept toward the Horned Dragon.

Boom—

The Horned Dragon took the storm head-on. Fine cracks appeared across its earthy-yellow scales, but it only paused briefly before charging forward even more furiously. A century soul beast's defenses far exceeded Xie Xie's expectations. Though his Twin Martial Souls were powerful, he was only a Grand Soul Master. Against a thick-skinned Horned Dragon, his attacks were little more than scratches.

"Can't beat it!" Xie Xie turned and ran again, driving the Shadow Dragon Dagger into the ground and launching himself away with the recoil. "Wulin! Tang Wulin! Where are you?!"

As if answering his call, Bluesilver Grass surged from the ground.

It did not attack the Horned Dragon. It wrapped around Xie Xie's waist and yanked him sharply backward, helping him evade the Horned Dragon's fatal horn thrust.

Tang Wulin emerged from behind a tree. His black hair and dark blue eyes framed a handsome face marked by focused gravity. Bluesilver Grass grew wildly from his palm and spread toward the Horned Dragon.

"Bluesilver Entanglement!"

The Century Horned Dragon's limbs were bound by Bluesilver Grass, and its body paused for a moment. But it possessed immense strength. Soul power flashed across its earthy-yellow scales, and after only a few struggles, it snapped every strand of Bluesilver Grass apart.

"Not tough enough!" Tang Wulin gritted his teeth. The Golden Dragon King Bloodline stirred within him, but he forcibly suppressed it. He knew that exposing the Golden Dragon King's power in the Ascension Platform would bring unnecessary trouble.

"Together!" Xie Xie landed, twirling his twin daggers in his palms. "I'll attack its left side. You control its right!"

"Got it!"

The two moved at once. Xie Xie's Light Dragon Dagger became a streak of golden light and stabbed toward the joint on the Horned Dragon's left side—the weakest point in its scales. Tang Wulin's Bluesilver Grass surged out again, this time not to bind but to weave, forming a dense net of grass around the Horned Dragon's right side to restrict its movement.

The Horned Dragon roared, and the light on its horn abruptly flared. A wave of earthy-yellow soul power spread outward. Xie Xie was blasted several steps back, a trace of blood spilling from the corner of his mouth, but he gritted his teeth and charged forward again.

Tang Wulin's Bluesilver Grass net was torn apart. Amid the flying scraps of grass, he saw the Horned Dragon's horn aimed at Xie Xie's back—

"Xie Xie! Move!"

Bluesilver Grass surged out again. This time, it did not attack but pulled. Tang Wulin violently dragged Xie Xie backward, leaving himself exposed to the horn's deadly edge.

At that moment of danger, the Golden Dragon King Bloodline surged on its own. Golden light flickered faintly beneath his skin, making him three parts faster than expected—

The horn grazed his side, leaving a bloody gash.

"Wulin!" Xie Xie's eyes reddened. "You—"

"I'm fine!" Tang Wulin gritted his teeth. A glint of gold flashed through his blue-gold eyes. "One more try! I'll restrain its horn, and you attack its eyes!"

"Its eyes?"

"Yeah! A Horned Dragon's weakness is its eyes! No matter how thick its scales are, its eyes are still soft!"

Xie Xie froze for a moment, then nodded. The two stood side by side again. The Shadow Dragon Dagger vanished in his palm, while the Light Dragon Dagger shone even more fiercely. It was bait, a ruse to draw the Horned Dragon's attention.

"Come on, big lizard!" Xie Xie shouted, carving a dazzling arc through the air with the Light Dragon Dagger. "Look over here!"

The Horned Dragon was indeed enraged. The light on its horn locked onto Xie Xie as it lowered its body to prepare a thrust. At the instant it gathered power—

Tang Wulin's Bluesilver Grass burst from the ground. It did not bind the beast's limbs, but its horn. Dense Bluesilver Grass wrapped the horn into a cocoon. Though it was instantly torn apart by soul power, it bought them a precious moment.

"Now!"

Xie Xie's figure vanished within the Light Dragon Dagger's glow. The Shadow Dragon Dagger's concealment ability allowed him to blend into the shadows. When he reappeared, he was already above the Horned Dragon's head, his twin daggers crossing as intertwined gold and silver light stabbed toward those earthy-yellow eyes—

Splurt!

The Horned Dragon let out a miserable howl. Its massive body rolled wildly through the forest, snapping countless trees apart. Xie Xie was flung away, driving the Shadow Dragon Dagger into a tree trunk to steady himself. He watched as the Horned Dragon dissolved into specks of light amid its agony. The century soul beast's energy was absorbed by both their martial souls, forming a warm current in their spiritual seas.

"...We won?" Xie Xie panted, disbelief filling his dark green eyes.

"We won!" Tang Wulin collapsed onto the ground. The wound on his side slowly healed under the Ascension Platform's rules, while the Bluesilver Grass in his palm drooped listlessly.

"We... won."

The two looked at each other and burst into laughter. Xie Xie's laughter carried the wild joy of surviving a disaster.

Tang Wulin's laughter was weary but bright with relief. They sat side by side in the forest with their backs against each other, listening to the distant roars of soul beasts and feeling the soul spirit energy within them slowly rise.

"Wulin," Xie Xie suddenly said, his voice unusually serious, "why did you save me just now?"

"What?"

"You could have run on your own," Xie Xie said, dark green pupils reflecting the forest's daylight. "Bluesilver Grass isn't as fast as the Shadow Dragon Dagger. You exposed yourself to save me and nearly got pierced by that horn."

Tang Wulin was stunned for a moment, then scratched his head. An honest smile appeared on his face beneath his black hair and dark blue eyes. "Because... we're friends."

"Friends?"

"That's what Sister Yun said," Tang Wulin said, his voice carrying a gentle warmth that was almost devout. "Friends are people who stand by each other when the other needs them. No matter how dangerous it is, they don't back down."

Xie Xie fell silent.

He thought of his lonely childhood. He thought of the high expectations his family had placed on him because of his Twin Martial Souls, and the years in which no one had ever truly understood him. He thought of the arrogance he had shown after entering East Sea Academy, and the deeply buried loneliness he had concealed beneath his swagger.

And now, this boy with Bluesilver Grass as his martial soul gave him, with the simplest words, a sense of belonging he had never known.

"...Then," he said, his voice trembling almost imperceptibly, "from now on, I'll stand by your side too. No matter how dangerous it gets, I won't back down."

Tang Wulin turned to look at him. His blue-gold eyes reflected Xie Xie's brown-gold hair, dark green pupils, and that face which usually wore an arrogant smile but now held only sincerity. He extended his hand, palm up. "Deal?"

"Deal! From today onward, you're my boss!" Xie Xie placed his hand over Tang Wulin's, the twin daggers at his waist clinking crisply together.

The two smiled at each other, then sat side by side beneath the trees to meditate, waiting for the Ascension Platform's time to end, or... for someone's arrival.

When Yun Zhiyu awoke from her epiphany, two hours had passed in the virtual forest.

Her purple eyes slowly opened. The vertical slit within them was more solid than before, and the Torch Dragon phantom deep in her pupils seemed to have grown slightly larger. Her spiritual power had risen from 510 points to 515 points. The lake of her Spirit Sea Realm had sunk further into the depths, where the Black Tortoise, Torch Dragon, and Winged Dragon intertwined into an even sturdier formation. Though her soul power had not broken through, its density had increased by a full tenth.

"You're awake?" Gu Yue's voice came from beside her, her black eyes carrying exhaustion but also relief.

Yun Zhiyu turned and saw that the four elements circling Gu Yue were far thinner than before. Clearly, protecting her for two hours had taken a great toll. Warmth rose in her heart. She reached out and took Gu Yue's hand, slowly transferring her own soul power into her. "Thank you."

Gu Yue did not pull her hand away. She merely tilted her head slightly, her black hair falling loose to hide the faint redness at the tips of her ears. "...What did you realize?"

"A lot." Yun Zhiyu rose to her feet, her ink-black hair fluttering in the virtual forest's breeze. The silvery white at its tips was more apparent than before.

"About the past, about the future, about... the path I need to walk."

She paused, looking toward a certain direction in the forest. The vertical slit in her purple eyes opened slightly. "Xie Xie and Wulin are over there. They encountered a Century Horned Dragon, but... their auras are steady. They should have won."

Gu Yue blinked. "How do you know?"

"My bloodline," Yun Zhiyu said softly, a faint curve forming at the corner of her lips. "It coexists with all things. Every tree and every blade of grass in this forest is my eyes and ears." She said no more and simply walked in that direction.

Gu Yue followed behind her, complicated emotions in her black eyes—shock, confusion, and a reverence belonging to the Silver Dragon King for a higher existence that had somehow been stirred within her.

The two passed through the forest and soon saw two figures sitting beneath a tree. Xie Xie and Tang Wulin leaned side by side, one with twin daggers laid across his knees and the other with Bluesilver Grass gently swaying in his palm. Both had their eyes closed as they recovered their soul power.

"You're hurt?" Yun Zhiyu crouched down and looked at the wound on Tang Wulin's side, which had yet to fully heal.

Tang Wulin opened his eyes, delight appearing in his blue-gold gaze. "Sister Yun! You're here! It's fine, it's fine, just a small wound!"

"A Century Horned Dragon!" Xie Xie opened his eyes as well, pride in his dark green pupils. "Wulin and I took it down together! Pretty impressive, right?"

"Very impressive!" Yun Zhiyu smiled and took out a handkerchief from her pocket, using it to wipe the blood from Tang Wulin's forehead.

"But next time, don't fight head-on. In the Ascension Platform, staying alive is more important than winning."

"Got it!" Tang Wulin scratched his head, his ears turning faintly red. "But Xie Xie was in danger. I couldn't just ignore him..."

Yun Zhiyu's hand paused.

She looked at the black-haired, dark blue-eyed boy before her. She saw how his features vaguely resembled those in the mural of Tang Wutong. She remembered everything he had sacrificed for Gu Yue in the original story, remembered that final farewell encased in ice.

She suddenly felt that the future she had seen in her epiphany might not be impossible to change—as long as these children learned to protect one another as they grew, learned to stand together, learned... never to give up on anyone.

"...You did the right thing!" she finally said, her voice so soft it seemed as though she were speaking to herself. "But next time, call me. We'll do it together."

"Together!" Xie Xie raised his hand, his brown-gold hair shining brilliantly beneath the virtual forest's daylight.

Gu Yue stood to one side, watching the scene with black eyes as the elemental power around her slowly recovered. She recalled why she had entered the Ascension Platform—to find Yun Zhiyu and protect her during her epiphany. She recalled the unprecedented, almost stubborn focus she had felt in her heart over those two hours.

"...Together!" she said softly, her voice so quiet it was nearly drowned out by the wind through the trees.

But Yun Zhiyu heard her. She turned, and their eyes met. Beneath Yun Zhiyu's deep brown contact lenses, her purple eyes met Gu Yue's black ones, while the auras of the Torch Dragon and Silver Dragon created a subtle resonance in the air.

"Together!" she repeated, extending her hand toward Gu Yue.

Gu Yue hesitated for a moment before finally placing her hand in Yun Zhiyu's palm. Their hands clasped together, ink-black and silvery-white strands of hair entwining over their shoulders, warm and cool, like an ancient covenant—or fate's gentlest gift.