After a full meal, Mo Yuchen, Teacher Xuanji, and Feng Xiu Lan stepped out of Chanzhi Xuan Restaurant onto the wide, bustling main street of Pingxiao. Feng Xiu Lan carried a cloth bundle of books she had brought to return, tucked neatly under her arm. The street was alive with movement. Farmers pushed heavy carts stacked with produce, vegetable sellers shouted out prices from behind crowded stalls, and the scent of fresh scallion buns drifted through the air.
Teacher Xuanji glanced at the sky and said, "I have a few things to take care of. I will meet you both at the exit where our carriage is parked in an hour."
Both Mo Yuchen and Feng Xiu Lan gave a polite bow. "Yes, Teacher."
The elder walked off toward the opposite street, blending into the flow of townspeople. As always, they kept their cultivation suppressed within Bird Clan territory. It was a matter of caution and habit.
The moment he was out of sight, Feng Xiu Lan turned to Mo Yuchen. "You take care of the groceries. I am going to return my books."
She did not wait for a reply and marched off with purpose.
Mo Yuchen sighed and called after her, "I will come get you when I am done."
"No need. I know my way around," she replied, her voice drifting back over the crowd.
She was too independent and far too bossy for his liking. Mo Yuchen shook his head and muttered to himself. Then, with a shrug of resignation, he turned and headed in the opposite direction.
***
Whispering Scrolls was a quiet little bookstore nestled in a shaded alley just off Pingxiao's main street. The scent of old parchment, incense, and gently worn bamboo shelves gave it the peaceful feel of a forgotten temple.
After nearly an hour inside, Feng Xiu Lan emerged, her arms full and her smile fuller. A cloth-wrapped bundle of new rented books was slung over her shoulder. Her face glowed with the unmistakable joy of someone who had just discovered another dozen worlds to escape into.
She turned toward the street, humming to herself when a sudden, low growl made her pause mid-step.
From the alley shadows stepped a man, or something like one. His hair was wild and matted, like thorns that had forgotten their place. His clothes hung in tatters, soaked with filth and years of unwashed dust. His gait was heavy, uneven, and entirely too confident.
Feng Xiu Lan blinked, then sighed.
A runaway beast. Possibly a prisoner from the northern mountains.
She didn't step back. She didn't scream. She was too well-trained for that. Instead, she felt something else entirely—pity.
He looked like a half-starved dog who had once been regal.
Still, she reminded herself of her teachers' words: Do not interfere in the matters of other clans. With a polite sidestep, she walked past him.
But the beast inhaled deeply, like catching the scent of spring.
"You carry phoenix blood," he snarled, suddenly lunging forward and grabbing her arm. His hand was rough, his grip bruising. "A rare phoenix blood will definitely grant me release."
"Let go," Feng Xiu Lan said, voice cold and still.
But the man didn't. Instead, he yanked her with animal strength.
That was a mistake.
Without hesitation, Feng Xiu Lan summoned her qi and pushed outward. Her energy flared, a golden ripple blasting from her palm. The beastly man skidded backward, landing in a crouch, stunned.
"You're in the Sky Piercing stage of the Advanced Realm?" he hissed, clearly not expecting that level of power. Then his expression twisted into fury. "No bird will stand in my way today."
And then he changed.
With a shuddering roar, his body expanded and darkened. Bones cracked, muscles snapped into new form, and wings erupted from his back. In moments, the filthy man was gone and replaced by a massive creature. A winged stallion of shadow and muscle, its mane like streaming ink and hooves thundering with spiritual energy.
Feng Xiu Lan's eyes widened in quiet awe. "You're a Xuànmǎ… A heavenly beast."
The creature snorted, steam puffing from its flared nostrils. "The Bird Clan doesn't care. They see a mixed-blood monster. A cursed thing. Not worth saving."
He charged.
She leaped backward just in time, barely avoiding the slash of one razor-sharp wing. Her bundle of books flew from her arm and scattered across the ground. She didn't reach for them.
Instead, her sword, Chìfēng, flashed into her hand, crimson-edged and fierce. The blade pulsed with qi as she blocked his next attack. Sparks exploded at the collision. The Xuànmǎ reared, unleashing a bolt of raw energy from his hooves that cracked the alley floor.
Feng Xiu Lan slid to the side and countered with a Phoenix Wind Slash, her qi spiraling in twin arcs of flame and air. The beast roared, battered by the slicing gusts.
He lunged again, this time using both wings to trap her movement. She ducked low and brought her sword upward, slicing across one wing and burning through flesh with her vital qi. The Xuànmǎ staggered back, clearly wounded.
But the effort cost her.
She gasped, her knees wobbling from the sudden drain of energy. Chìfēng trembled faintly in her grip.
Then, just over the alley wall, came the sharp, metallic clang of armor.
"Over here!" someone shouted. "The beast is near!"
A patrol. Soldiers.
And at the front, dressed in silver and blue armor, strode a tall commander with a face carved from stone, Kong Yanzhou, one of the Bird Clan's enforcers.
Feng Xiu Lan turned quickly, only to find Mo Yuchen standing behind her, calm and unreadable as always.
He blinked at the bleeding Xuànmǎ, then at the girl swaying on her feet.
"You had one job," he muttered under his breath.
"Hide him," she hissed, eyes darting to the approaching soldiers.
"What? Are you serious? They're right there."
"Mo Yuchen," she growled, "now."
With a tight jaw and a muttered curse, Mo Yuchen stepped forward. He pressed his hand to the bracelet on Feng Xiu Lan's wrist. A bead glowed, opened like a hungry eye, and sucked the injured Xuànmǎ inside.
The beast disappeared in a shimmer of light.
Mo Yuchen caught Feng Xiu Lan just as she nearly collapsed, pulling her close and lowering both of them to the ground.
"Pretend you're dying," he whispered.
"What?"
"Shh. Let me work."
When Commander Kong Yanzhou and his soldiers arrived, they found a dirt-smudged Mo Yuchen kneeling on the ground, clutching Feng Xiu Lan to his chest.
"Help us!" he cried, his voice cracking. "The beast…it ran that way. It's huge and fast…it just attacked her and vanished!"
He pointed down a narrow street, tears almost in his eyes. A little mud on his cheek made the act even more convincing.
The commander grunted, barely giving them a glance. "Track it. Move."
The soldiers surged past.
As soon as the last boot disappeared, Mo Yuchen wiped the fake tear from his eye and stood up, brushing dust from his robe.
"Was that… an actual acting technique?" Feng Xiu Lan asked weakly, blinking up at him.
"Shut up," he ordered.
He quickly put a qi nourishing pill in her mouth. It was a pity that Mo Yuchen couldn't transfer his cultivated energy to her due to their different cultivation techniques and cursed bloodlines.
Once she looked a little better, he offered a hand to pull her up.
Mo Yuchen said, "Now let's go. Before they start asking real questions."
***
The sun had dipped low by the time they returned to the edge of Pingxiao. Mo Yuchen kept close to Feng Xiu Lan, who leaned on him more than she would ever admit. Her steps were steady, but her qi was not. Still, she didn't complain.
At the gate, the wooden figurine driver bowed and wordlessly guided the carriage forward. Inside, Elder Xuanji sat with his usual calm, sipping tea from a travel cup as if the world hadn't just threatened to come crashing down in the streets.
The moment Mo Yuchen helped Feng Xiu Lan into her seat, Xuanji's eyes flicked up, expression unreadable.
His fingers, still holding the cup, slowed. Then his brows creased slightly.
"There is someone else here," he said slowly, his tone as flat and calm as still water. "A presence not of us."
Mo Yuchen tensed.
Feng Xiu Lan froze with her hand on her lap.
Xuanji's gaze moved like a drifting cloud—and landed squarely on the bracelet around her wrist.
"No strangers are allowed within the dome," he drawled, his voice low and even yet carrying a weight that made the air inside the carriage tighten.
Feng Xiu Lan swallowed and said carefully, "I didn't mean to bring him back. I just… didn't want the soldiers to kill him."
Her thumb ran over the surface of her bracelet, where one bead shimmered faintly—no bigger than a pearl, yet heavy with hidden qi.
"It's a Língkōng Pearl," she added softly. "You said anything trapped inside one isn't a threat."
Xuanji did not respond immediately. His eyes rested on the bead for a beat longer than was comfortable. Then, at last, he looked away.
"We'll talk about it later," he said, sipping his tea once more.
Feng Xiu Lan exhaled quietly.
Mo Yuchen raised an eyebrow at her but said nothing. Not now.
The carriage rolled forward, and the golden dusk turned into quiet shadows as they crossed back through the magical barrier and entered the dome.
***
As soon as the carriage rolled to a stop inside the dome, Mo Yuchen leaped off his horse like it owed him money.
In one graceful movement, he reached the carriage door and opened it with flair, offering his hand to Elder Xuanji.
"Teacher," he said with respect.
Xuanji raised an eyebrow, clearly seeing the urgency in his student's actions. He didn't need the help, but he took it anyway.
The moment Xuanji's boots touched the ground, Mo Yuchen turned without a word, marched to the other side of the carriage, scooped Feng Xiu Lan into his arms like she was made of delicate porcelain, and vanished in a blink of light.
Elder Xuanji stood quietly in the clearing, sleeves fluttering gently in the breeze. A faint smirk tugged at his lips.
"They bicker all day," he drawled to the rustling trees, "but let one of them sneeze, and the other turns into a devoted attendant."
He turned to the puppet men still holding the horses' reins. With a flick of his fingers and a murmured chant, the two wooden drivers shrank down instantly, folding in on themselves until they were nothing but thumb-sized figurines. He caught them as they floated down and tucked them neatly into his sleeve.
Then, as if nothing had happened, he strolled toward his house—utterly unhurried.
***
In Feng Xiu Lan's room, moonlight streamed through sheer curtains, casting a soft glow on her floor as Mo Yuchen appeared in a swirl of light.
He was still holding her.
She blinked slowly, eyes heavy and barely open. "Did we… teleport?" she mumbled.
"You're dreaming," he said dryly.
"No, I'm—" But her words melted into nothing as her head slumped against his chest, out cold.
He carried her to the bed and gently laid her down, pulling the blanket over her with a quiet sigh. The moment her head touched the pillow, she slipped into a deep sleep, not a single flame left in her phoenix spirit.
Mo Yuchen stood over her for a moment, arms folded, shaking his head.
"You just had to charge head-first into a heavenly beast with sky-level spiritual power," he muttered. "Thank the heavens he was half-starved and seriously injured, or you'd be a phoenix pancake by now."
He brushed a loose strand of hair from her cheek and crouched beside the bed. With careful fingers, he unclasped her bracelet—the Língkōng Pearl still glowing faintly from within—and slipped it into his robe pouch.
"Men aren't allowed in women's rooms after dark," he said in a comically prim voice, doing his best Elder Yan Lianyu impression. "If I get caught, I'll be scrubbing cauldrons with my eyebrows."
One last glance at her peaceful face.
Then, with a sigh and the quiet flicker of light, he disappeared into the night—leaving behind only silence, moonlight, and the steady breathing of the girl who'd very nearly turned herself into bird stew.
***
The next morning, inside her room, Feng Xiu Lan sat cross-legged on the floor, drenched in sweat. Her face was pale, her brows furrowed in deep concentration. Thin red flames licked across her skin, dancing like veins of fire through her meridians. The Phoenix flame, her ancestral blood, was finally awakening.
Every few seconds, a flicker of red light burst from her back and shoulders, only to sizzle and fade like a spark against a stone. Her breath came short, her hands trembled, and her lips were pressed into a tight, stubborn line.
Still, she did not stop.
***
From the hallway, Yan Lianyu stepped into the shared living room of the dome residence, her expression grave.
"She's struggling," she said simply.
Mo Yuchen, sitting on a chair a step below his elders, sprang up, "Struggling with what?"
Yan Lianyu crossed her arms. "She's close to a breakthrough, but she's fighting to reach her true blood form. She lost a lot of energy yesterday to combat the heavenly beast, so now her body is burning up with Phoenix fire. If she fails to control it…"
Long Xuanji stood from his chair slowly. "Reaching one's true blood form is the key to competing in the Academy's Star Competition," he said. "If we miss this window, Mo Yuchen and Feng Xiu Lan will have to wait another hundred years."
Hu Doubao let out a loud sigh. "By then, we'll be sitting in a rocking chair yelling at clouds."
"It's not funny," Yan Lianyu said sternly.
"I wasn't joking," Doubao replied, though the corners of his mouth twitched.
"The problem," Yan Lianyu continued, "is that she needs external support. The flame in her blood is too strong for her current body to contain. She needs the Aqua Pearl Powder to regulate the fire qi and stabilize the transformation."
Mo Yuchen frowned. "Aqua Pearl Powder?"
"It's a sacred treasure of the Bird Clan's royal palace," said Doubao grimly. "They guard it tighter than dragon eggs. Getting it won't be easy."
Yan Lianyu's eyes narrowed. "Feng Xiu Lan is a phoenix, too. Just like those royals. If anyone deserves to use that powder, it's her."
"She'll collapse before the breakthrough if we don't act," Xuanji said, his voice low. "We'll buy her some time."
He turned and walked to his alchemy shelf, picked up a smooth jade box, and passed it to Yan Lianyu.
"This is a Moon Feather Nourishing Pill. It'll calm the Phoenix flames within her body for three days, not more than that. After that, she'll need the powder."
Yan Lianyu nodded and left immediately to give the pill to her disciple.
Xuanji turned to Mo Yuchen.
"Then it's decided. You and Feng Xiu Lan will leave for the Bird Clan Palace tomorrow morning. Your goal is simple—bring back the Aqua Pearl Powder."
Doubao scratched his chin. "They won't just hand it over. You think they'll believe a couple of juniors walked in asking for their sacred medicine?"
"That's why," Xuanji said with steel in his tone, "we need to plan this. Carefully. We can't afford to lose. Not this time."
Mo Yuchen's jaw clenched.
He glanced toward Feng Xiu Lan's door.
"I'll get it," he said quietly. "No matter what it takes."
***
The next morning, Teacher Xuanji handed each of them a pill. Without a word, both Mo Yuchen and Feng Xiu Lan swallowed the medicine without hesitation.
"This is the Blood Seal Pill," Xuanji said, his voice grave. "It will hide your true blood form. No one will be able to tell you have phoenix blood," he looked at Feng Xiu Lan, then shifted his gaze to Mo Yuchen. "And you…"
He didn't finish the sentence.
Mo Yuchen's jaw clenched. Was being mixed-blood such a terrible curse that it couldn't even be spoken aloud?
"The pill's effects will last for three days," Xuanji warned. "No more."
After offering respectful bows to their teachers, Mo Yuchen and Feng Xiu Lan mounted their horses with the ease of trained warriors and rode off—faces set with quiet determination.
This was their first mission beyond the dome. The first time without their teachers by their side.
And though the journey ahead was uncertain, the elders remained behind with watchful eyes, standing still as the figures of their students grew smaller against the morning light.
"Do you think they're ready?" Hu Doubao asked, a faint crease of concern forming between his brows.
"There are few who could defeat them," Long Xuanji replied with quiet confidence.
But it was Yan Lianyu who looked most troubled. Her arms folded tightly, her voice low. "It's not strength that worries me. It's the politics, the lies… the underhanded games of those in power."