Moonlight cascaded over the still waters of the Jade Petal Lake, where lotus blossoms drifted like glowing spirits. A gentle wind danced through the reeds, carrying the scent of night-blooming orchids. Beneath a weeping willow on the lakeshore, Wang Li stood in silence, his robe fluttering like a war banner in the breeze.
He had come here alone—or so he thought.
"You've been avoiding me."
The voice was soft, like silk sliding across skin, but carried a weight heavier than iron. Wang Li turned slowly, already knowing who it was.
Feng Yuling stood behind him, dressed in a violet robe embroidered with silver snowflakes that shimmered under the moonlight. Her silver-blue eyes shimmered with a sharp light that could pierce through bone.
"I wasn't avoiding you," Wang Li said calmly, his hands tucked behind his back.
Feng Yuling took a step forward. "Then why didn't you come to the training hall? Or the alchemy chamber? Or the tower last night?"
He sighed. "Because if I did… I wouldn't have left."
For a moment, the only sound was the wind teasing the surface of the water.
Then, she whispered, "Coward."
Wang Li looked at her, eyes narrowing. "I'm not afraid of you, Yuling."
"You're afraid of what we are."
He didn't reply. What could he say? She was right.
Their relationship wasn't just complicated—it was dangerous. As the Ice Phoenix Heiress, she wasn't supposed to love. And as the bearer of the forbidden Dragonblood Vein, Wang Li wasn't supposed to live.
But still, in the eyes of fate, they had collided. Over and over again.
"I can't protect you from what's coming," Wang Li finally said. "Not from the Azure Sky Sect. Not from the Demon Vein that's awakening inside me."
"You idiot," she murmured, stepping closer until her chest pressed against his. "I don't want you to protect me. I want to fight beside you."
He opened his mouth—but the words caught in his throat.
Because her hand was already on his cheek.
Because her lips were already on his.
The kiss was cold, then warm, then utterly blazing. Her frost spiritual essence tangled with the infernal storm brewing inside him. Ice and fire met—and instead of canceling each other out, they fused, surged, exploded in his veins like divine lightning.
His cultivation core trembled.
His meridians widened.
His soul sea cracked open, revealing a deeper abyss below.
> You have absorbed the True Frostfire Qi… New Path Unlocked: Dual-Element Sovereign Body!
He staggered back, gasping, as icy mist and red lightning danced across his skin. His aura doubled, tripled—ripping through the ninth layer of the Earth Spirit Realm and smashing into the sky.
Feng Yuling stood before him, panting, her cheeks flushed.
"That," she said breathlessly, "wasn't just a kiss, was it?"
"No," Wang Li gasped. "It was… a breakthrough."
Before she could respond, the sky split open.
A crimson crack tore across the heavens, and from it descended a massive spirit beast cloaked in shadows—its eyes like burning coals, its wings spanning the entire lake. Every cultivator in the sect could feel the oppressive pressure.
"Demonic aura," Wang Li growled, drawing his newly awakened Shadowfang dagger.
Feng Yuling's face turned pale. "No. That's not just a demon beast. That's a harbinger. A scout from the Outer Abyss!"
A voice echoed from the sky—cold, cruel, and laced with mockery. "Dragonblood inheritor. Ice Phoenix heiress. Your fates are already written."
Wang Li leapt into the air, his newly empowered body glowing with frostfire light.
"No one writes my fate but me!"
He shot toward the beast like a comet, slicing through the night with a trail of violet flames and icy winds. Feng Yuling soared after him, summoning dozens of glacial lotuses that spun around her like a celestial storm.
The sky above Jade Petal Lake became a battlefield of gods.
The clash of spiritual energy shattered mountains and churned the lake into a whirlpool. Disciples below could only kneel and tremble, witnessing a battle far beyond their understanding.
At the apex of the clash, Wang Li roared and drove his dagger straight into the heart of the harbinger. For a breathless moment, the sky turned white—and then shattered like glass.
The beast exploded in a storm of black flame.
As Wang Li and Feng Yuling descended slowly, both covered in wounds and blood but still standing, a hush fell over the sect.
Then applause.
Then cheering.
But all Wang Li could hear was the soft whisper in his mind:
> "You've taken your first step. The real war… begins now."
And somewhere, deep beneath the sect grounds, a shadow opened its eyes.