The Bar.
A bird, charred black from head to tail, landed on the Bar Counter with a splat.
The Vendor frowned.
"Where did this come from—Lord Core Spirit, what happened to you?"
The Cook hurriedly picked up the Parrot.
The Retainer grabbed a bottle of Iced Water and poured it straight over the bird.
"Pah! Stop pouring. That's enough. I'm not thirsty." The Parrot slowly came to and flapped its wings with a shrawk.
It shook out its feathers on the Bar Counter.
Black ash flew into the faces of all three Ritual Executors.
The Parrot's feathers, meanwhile, regained their brilliant colors.
"Damn. That was insane."
It muttered to itself.
The three exchanged bewildered looks.
Qianqian asked, "Lord Core Spirit, what happened?"
“Xu Yuan attained Dao Comprehension successfully. That kid's already gone to carry out the Team Promotion Mission,” the Parrot said.
"As expected. The Crown's power is so great that not even Yanmen's trials could stop him," Qianqian said with a sigh.
"He didn't use the Crown," said the Parrot.
"What?" the others cried in unison.
"Yes. Trials from the outside no longer meant much to him. He needed to overcome the hurdle in his own heart—so he chose to face the trials with Swordsmanship."
"...And he succeeded in undergoing a Transformation."
The Parrot spoke.
"Did he advance to a higher realm? Or was it something else?" the Cook asked.
"I can't tell. He's different from before, anyway. Right now, he's accepted the team promotion mission and been transported to the Primordial Era."
"Just wait here."
"He's nothing like he used to be."
With that, the Parrot returned to its Birdcage, closed its eyes, curled into a ball, and began to rest.
Opening the Divine Temple of Dao Comprehension even once took a great deal of its power.
And