Zi JI's Thank-You Gift

--

Seven days after the Battle of Jialing Pass, a dark purple dragon shadow rose into the sky from the open fields outside the pass and headed north.

Zi JI maintained her dragon form. Her wingspan covered half the sky, and her dark purple dragon scales reflected the morning light. Her dragon breath landed on the open field beneath her, scorching a black mark. The soldiers in the Heaven Dou Army looked up to watch the dragon's shadow disappear into the northern mountains.

She didn't turn around.

She flew for three days and three nights from Jialing Pass to the Dragon Clan Secret Realm in the Far North. Dark purple dragon wings sliced through the clouds, and her dragon breath left a long, scorching trail behind her.

Her dragon bloodline burned under the nourishment of Immortal Power. After Nan Feng touched her dragon scales at Jialing Pass, that golden Immortal Power had been burning deep within her bloodline. The bottleneck of the Purple-Gold Dragon Emperor had long been shattered by the immortal light, the dragon scales turned from purple to purple-gold, and cyan-gold Immortal Mark emerged in the dragon's eyes.

She didn't stop.

Deep within the bloodline lies an even more ancient barrier. Above the Dragon Emperor, it has stood since the ancestors of the dragon race. The Purple-Gold Dragon Emperor is the pinnacle of the dragon race, and above that pinnacle is the Azure-Gold Dragon King. Ancient texts record that this realm has remained untouched by any dragon for tens of thousands of years.

As she landed at the entrance to the secret realm, the surrounding dragons lowered their heads.

Her dark purple dragon wings folded, and she transformed into human form. Her purple hair and purple eyes reflected the eerie light from the depths of the secret realm. Her dragon scales were a purplish-gold color, and the cyan-gold Immortal Mark deep within her dragon eyes still shone.

She walked to the deepest part of the secret realm. There was a ten-thousand-year-old icy pool, its waters formed by the confluence of the Far North ice spring and the dragon's breath. She sank to the bottom of the pool, her blood surging in the icy water, and her purple-gold dragon scales closed one by one.

She closed her eyes and guided the Primordial World Immortal Power that Nan Feng had left in her body to the deepest part of her bloodline.

A barrier has appeared.

At the end of the bloodline, a cyan-gold chasm lies across its core. That is a realm above the Dragon Emperor, something untouched for tens of thousands of years. The cyan-gold light swirls within the core, like an insurmountable obstacle.

She unleashed her Primordial World Immortal Power. The moment the golden immortal light touched the azure-gold barrier, the first crack appeared on it.

Zi JI looked up.

Something within his bloodline was ignited. The essence of the Purple-Gold Dragon Emperor surged under the celestial light, and his dragon scales began to turn azure-gold. The barrier that had been imprisoned for tens of thousands of years cracked open for the first time, and golden Immortal Mark drilled into it, peeling away the azure-gold barrier layer by layer.

The first crack shattered. Zi JI's dragon breath rose a notch.

The second crack shattered. The water in the icy pool was boiled by the dragon's breath, and the entire secret realm trembled with the dragon's roar.

The third one shattered. The following ones shattered one after another, the sounds so dense they blended into one. Golden immortal light poured in through the cracks, swallowing the entire azure-gold barrier.

Then the barrier shattered.

The final barrier dissipated into light. Zi JI's bloodline suddenly felt lighter, and the barrier that had followed the dragon race for tens of thousands of years was gone. The purple-gold dragon scales began to turn from the dragon's head to a bluish-gold color, and golden Immortal Mark covered the scales. The purple in the dragon's eyes completely changed to a bluish-gold color.

The icy pool was illuminated by a bluish-gold light. Zi JI's dragon-shaped phantom spread out to its fullest extent above the secret realm, its wingspan covering the entire Dragon Clan Secret Realm.

She leaped out of the icy pool, transforming into human form and standing by its edge. Azure-gold dragon scales floated on her body, a few strands of azure-gold hair were mixed in with her purple hair, and her dragon eyes reflected a ghostly light.

She looked down at her hands. A cyan-gold dragon breath condensed in her palm into the shape of a dragon scale, with golden Immortal Mark on it, which burned her palm.

"Azure-Gold Dragon King."

The sound echoed back through the secret realm. The Dragon Emperor's limit was broken, and the Azure-Gold Dragon King's realm stabilized under the celestial light. The origin of the dragon bloodline had completed its final evolution, and the azure-gold dragon scales were covered with Immortal Mark, while the golden light in the dragon's eyes was brighter than before.

She stood by the pool for a long time.

Then she pulled a note from her bosom. It had been written after the Battle of Jialing Pass.

The note, written in the Dragon Clan script, read, "Thank you. Plus, your Immortal Power allowed me to defeat the Purple-Gold Dragon Emperor. Next time we meet, I might be the Azure-Gold Dragon King."

She stared at the words, folded the note in half, and then unfolded it again.

When she wrote this note, the Purple-Gold Dragon Emperor was the pinnacle in her understanding. Nan Feng's Immortal Power was even more ruthless than she had imagined. That golden power not only pushed her past the Purple-Gold Dragon Emperor, but also smashed open the chasm above the Dragon Emperor. She is now the Azure-Gold Dragon King, the first in the history of the Dragon Clan.

She carefully put the note away and took out a jar of wine from the secret treasure vault.

The jar of wine had been buried for tens of thousands of years; the liquid was amber in color, and the seal was engraved with ancient dragon patterns. She placed the jar and the note together on the stone platform at the entrance to the secret realm, then turned and walked deeper into the area.

She stopped after taking a few steps.

She looked back at the wine jar and note on the stone platform. The cyan-gold dragon's eyes reflected the eerie light of the cold pool. She stood there for a while, then took out a cyan-gold dragon scale from her bosom and placed it next to the wine jar.

A line of words the size of a fingernail is engraved on the dragon scales, written in the oldest script of the dragon race: The Dragon Clan Secret Realm is always open to you.

She turned and walked into the depths of the secret realm, the cyan-gold dragon shadow dissipating in the dim light.

The secret realm returned to silence. The surface of the cold pool still rippled, and a bluish-gold light swirled on the water.

The wine jar sat on the stone platform. The note and dragon scales gleamed in the dim light. The entrance seal closed after she left, and a bluish-gold light leaked out from the crack, flashing briefly in the Far North night sky before fading away.

Three days later, at the Moonlight Pavilion in Heaven Dou City.

Nan Feng sat under the old osmanthus tree drinking tea. Tang Yuehua walked in from outside, carrying a jar of wine and a blue-gold dragon scale.

"It was sent from the Far North." Tang Yuehua placed the wine jar on the stone table and handed it to Long Lin.

"The person who delivered the item said it was found at the entrance to the Dragon Clan Secret Realm; there was also a note on the stone platform."

Nan Feng took the dragon scale. A line of ancient dragon script was engraved on the scale. He touched the lingering cyan-gold dragon breath in the scale, which was left by Zi JI when she broke through, carrying the most primal power of the dragon bloodline.

He turned the dragon scale over. On the back was a line of small characters, the oldest script of the dragon race, which only dragons and those who have inherited the Primordial World can understand.

The Dragon Clan Secret Realm is always open to you.

Nan Feng tucked the dragon scales into his sleeves and opened the seal on the wine jar. The amber-colored wine was poured into a bowl and swirled, its aroma carrying the chill of the Far North and the unique ambergris scent of the dragon race.

He picked up the bowl and took a sip. As the wine entered his throat, a warm, azure-gold sensation flowed from his throat into his stomach. It was the dragon breath that Zi JI had left in the wine when she broke through to become the Azure-Gold Dragon King.

Tang Yuehua sat opposite him, watching him put down his wine bowl.

"Zi JI has broken through?"

Nan Feng nodded. He placed the dragon scale on the stone table, its bluish-gold surface gleaming in the afternoon light. The dragon's breath still swirled on the scale, like a mark left by Zi JI after her breakthrough, delivered to him across thousands of miles.

"The Azure-Gold Dragon King," Nan Feng said.

Tang Yuehua looked at the ancient dragon script. She didn't recognize the dragon script, but she could feel the power within the dragon scales, which far surpassed that of Titled Douluo and was even stronger than the Purple-Gold Dragon Emperor that Zi JI had encountered at Jialing Pass.

She thought for a while.

"She'll probably come to Heaven Dou City next time she's here."

Nan Feng carefully collected the dragon scales, picked up the bowl, and took another sip. The amber-colored wine swirled in the bowl, and the warm, bluish-gold aroma of the wine wafted into the afternoon fragrance of osmanthus.

He looked up at the northern horizon. Across half of Heaven Dou City, only a sliver of bluish-gold shone through the clouds.

Old Huai peeked out from inside the pagoda.

"That girl broke through too?"

The Nan Feng nodded.

Old Huai snorted.

"How many people have you helped break through their limits along the way?"

Nan Feng didn't answer. He put the seal back on the wine jar and tucked it under the stone table. The cyan-gold dragon scales lay in his palm, dragon breath swirling on them. The light on the northern horizon faded, like Zi JI in seclusion deep within a secret realm, waiting for the day they would meet again.

"A toast to the Azure-Gold Dragon King." Nan Feng raised his wine bowl towards the north, tilted his head back, and drank it all in one gulp.

Tang Yuehua didn't speak. She looked at the northern horizon, where the light gradually faded away.

The leaves of the old osmanthus tree rustled in the afternoon breeze. A wine jar sat beneath the stone table, its aroma seeping from the cracks in the seal, mingling with the fragrance of osmanthus blossoms and spreading throughout the backyard of the Moonlight Pavilion.

Nan Feng retracted the dragon scales into his sleeve. A bluish-gold light flashed briefly at the cuff before fading.

He picked up his teacup and continued drinking. The afternoon light filtered through the leaves of the osmanthus tree, illuminating the shallow imprint left by the dragon scales on the stone table.