The wooden canoe gently paddled down the waterway. The pungent earthy aroma mixed with the sweet scent of the stream calmed the nerves of any man or woman seated in the longboats. Brown vines, which seemed to be untouched by time itself, hung down from the thick rocks over Shin’s head. At the end of the tunnel, there was a gorgeous light that illuminated the faces of many Spirit Venerates that led the way. It really was a breathtaking scene. Anyone facing this situation for the first time would unquestionably be spellbound. However, there was something else pressing on Shin’s mind.

“Did you notice something amiss about Ella and Emma?” The young man asked Bingying. Ever since they left for the Meijing Arctics, the twins had been rather quiet and reserved. Up until the Luminary matches, the young girls didn’t disturb Shin one bit. In fact, he could even count the number of times they talked with the fingers of one hand.

Bingying, being the person that led the twins into the Meijing Arctics, should know the answer. That’s what Shin thought, and he wasn’t far away from the truth. “I think that they’re just excited about your Trial?” Bingying replied with uncertainty in her tone. Now, Shin wasn’t a master at reading expressions, but he had spent enough time with the Pearl in the East that he understood her mannerisms. The young Luminary was hiding something.

“What did they tell you?” Shin squinted and grabbed on the girl’s wrist, his tone as cold as can be. Shin liked Bingying but compared to the safety of the orphans, the youth would never compromise.

Bingying took one look at the young man, her eyes slanted and mouth distorted. Four years ago, the young man was still a little creature that she could defeat with her eyes closed. Now, the man was strong enough to take down both Qilong Hu and her, all by himself. There was no way that the young Luminary could resist Shin’s wrath. Sighing, the girl confessed, “They told me not to say anything, at least until your Trial is over.”

“Don’t tell me...”

“That’s right...” The girl groaned. “Why do you think that High Council so readily accepted defeat? Ella and Emma have both agreed on staying in the Lantis Republic.”

“What?!” Shin cried, not willing to accept the facts. “We agreed that if I won against you guys, that wouldn’t happen!” The young man was stunned and wanted to raise his voice to start a commotion. However, in these sacred grounds, even Shin knew how to mind himself. Lowering his volume to a whisper, the boy continued to irritate Bingying.

“It’s more complicated than that!” Bingying argued. “Even if you won against all of us, there was no way that the High Council would agree to give you any benefits without something anchoring you to the Lantis Republic! Think about it from their shoes! What if you take the Trial, trigger a spirit evolution that makes you invincible and you decide to use that power solely for the sake of the Himmel Empire! It’s an unfair trade no matter how you cut it!”

Shin staggered a little. There was logic to Bingying’s words. It didn’t make sense for the Lantis Republic to sharpen a sword that could come back and stab them. “The High Council only lost the high ground in the argument once the twins decided to commit themselves to the Meijing Clan! They know how much you love Ella and Emma. If either one of them lives happily in the Lantis Republic, you won’t brandish your spear against us!”

“But! You’re ripping them of their freedom!” Shin sharply retorted.

“Shin...” The Meijing Clan’s heir shook her head. “We’re not mind-benders. We didn’t force them to sign the contract. They did everything willingly. Also, we’re not mistreating them! They’ll get to train with some of the best Ice-Elemental Spirit Users there is. The resources they get aren’t inferior to that of someone from the main bloodline and most importantly… They served you the chance to take the Trial of the Celestial Dragon.”

“T-That!” Shin was rendered speechless. Why did the twins decide to stay in the Lantis Republic? Wasn’t it because of their precious brother?

“Ella and Emma aren’t children anymore, Shin...” Bingying continued. “They made their own choices as adults. The most you can do is respect them and do your best in the Trial. At least, you won’t let them down...”

“They...” Shin glanced over his shoulder, really resisting the urge to swim back into the cove. Two of his closest family members had just sacrificed their freedom for him, and he didn’t even realise.

‘Damn it…’ The youth cursed mentally. He wanted everyone to live happily ever after in his story. After all that the orphans had been through, Shin wanted them to live unhindered by war or torment. Back in the Himmel Empire, Shin had once heavily protested the admission of any orphans into Imperius Academy. Alas, so many of them denied him.

Ella, Emma, Elyse and Fionn. They could have gone on to lead happy lives, perhaps get married and start of lovely warm family far away from the flames of battle. Yet, they chose to stay by his side, to carry the burden of the Awter Clan and the Black Masks that supported them. And most importantly, to become a pillar of hope for the young and distraught young man.

Bingying was right. Ella and Emma weren’t children anymore, and Shin couldn’t force them to do anything. He could, however, do one thing for them… And that was to become so strong that no one would ever dare to harm a single hair on their body.

The wooden canoes continued to flow downstream, ignoring the tension that had been building up in Shin’s mind. As he was still examining the lives of his two sisters, the boat that he was in came to an ancient stone dock. The rocks that were holding up the pier looked to be falling apart, but by some miracle, they didn’t creak when the Spirit Venerates got off their canoe. One by one, the High Elders, Clan Masters and Spirit Saints took off, and only Shin and Bingying remained in their boat. Calmly holding the youth’s hand, Bingying said: “Come… We’re here...”

The air was moist, and the temperature, cooling. Being cultivators harnessing the power of the Eight Scions of Water, all the members in the Lantis Republic universally took many deep breaths in, filling their lungs with as much water elements as they possibly could. Though Shin was still feeling mad about the twins going behind his back to restrain their own freedom, just one whiff of the sweet air made the young man a little drunk as his mood rapidly improved.

“Shin, summon out your Spirit.” Longyu Tian walked over and dragged the young man into the front. They were all here for Shin’s Trial, it made sense that he was the star of the congregation.

“Summon my Spirit?”

“If you don’t show proof of your bloodline, the Guardian will rip your head cleanly from its shoulders. No exceptions.” Longyu Tian explained briefly. All around her, the Lantis Republic members had all summoned out their Spirits.

The Colossal Leviathan. The Divine King Serpent. The Abominable Cthulhu. The Seven-Headed Hydra. The Enigmatic Narwhal. The Obsidian Xuanwu. The Heavenly Sturgeon. The Sovereign Koi.

All the Eight Scions of Water were present. For respect, every single soul in the group was forced to shrink their Spirits until they were less than fifteen centimetres tall. It was funny to see scary beings like the Abominable Cthulhu becoming as small as a girl’s plush toy, but that wasn’t important. Shin raised his right palm up and summoned out the adorable little cerulean Koi. Once it was aware of its surroundings, the Spirit in Shin’s hands flapped both its fins in complete excitement, even doing a somersault in the air. If not for its restriction to stay with Shin, the youth was sure that the Sovereign Koi would run straight forward disregarding its owner.

“It’s quite cheery, huh?” Longyu Tian remarked, her Golden Sovereign Koi swimming right above her palms as well, though it was moving a little more sluggishly. From a distance, if one observed both the Spirits, they would assume that the pair were a mother-son duo. The tired mother and energetic son duo.

“Sorry, it’s hard to control it...”

“No need to apologise!” Longyu Tian laughed. “It’s just a curious little Spirit… I really wonder if it can trigger a spirit evolution.”

“That would be for the best...” Shin didn’t hide his intentions. He really wanted the Sovereign Koi to become much stronger than it presently was.

“Curious...” Longyu Tian continued to examine the adorable little cerulean Koi. However, she didn’t have much time to give a full analysis. Holding onto Shin’s free hand, the woman said, “Either way, stay close. Don’t be alarmed when we reach the Celestial River.”

“Huh?”

Before Shin even had a chance to ask what she meant, the congregation had already moved forward into the light. Cave rock soon became replaced with the dazzling radiance of the morning sun. The whispers of beetles were hushed out by the ever flowing water that continued to bombard the backdrop. Ten steps later, the entire Lantis Republic side was greeted by a gorgeous porcelain water basin. Instead of having the regular colour of water, the deep lake sparkled as if the stars were twinkling within its holy site.

And then… Shin saw it…

A water basin couldn’t magically appear without a source. Leading down till the pool, there was a shimmering river flowing down from the town of the mountains. Just like the lake before it, the river was radiating a colour that Shin had never witnessed before. It was a combination of green, white, azure, yellow, auburn…

A dazzling sight for the eyes, no doubt. However, Shin could barely admire the Celestial River in all of its grandeur before the rocky earth began to shake. Typically, if there were an earthquake, those at the Spirit Spectre realm and above would take to the skies to stabilise their conditions. Despite that, none of the Spirit Venerates dared to lift their feet a single centimetre. The four Spirit Saints, the ones that topped every power chart in the Lantis Republic also remained rooted to the ground. Thus, youngsters such as Shin and Bingying didn’t dare to fly as well. They bent down, some even kneeling to lower their centre of gravity. That was how impactful the shaky cove was.

‘What’s going on?’ Shin cried inwardly. The rest of the High Elders and Spirit Venerates were calm, but those beneath their realm felt a little apprehension. They knew what was to come, and they were scared out of their wits.

ROOOOAAAARRRRRRR!!!

Thunder clapped even though the sky was as bright as the angelic heavens. Shin, unable to bear it anymore, fell down onto his knees as a speedy shadow emerged from the bottom of the Celestial River basin. Shin’s face turned as white as chalk, and his entire body was screaming out in fear. The figure continued to climb out from the pool, showing off all of its azure scales in the process.

The High Elders and Clan Masters all bowed their heads in reverence with cupped fists. On the other hand, the Spirit Saints simply lowered their heads just a little. Every single soul from the Lantis Republic showed their respect for the being, one way or the other. Shin, who was already kneeling, didn’t need to lower his head anymore, giving him a chance to see the mighty creature in all of its glory.

Four sharp nails on its right, three on its left. The enormous beastly head of the serpentine creature breathed out a foul-scented mist, contorting many of the younger generation’s faces. Still, they didn’t dare to look away. Who would? They had heard of that mythical creature many times before; however, no one has actually come face to face with one.

Taking two big gulps, Shin accurately muttered to himself:

“The Azure Dragon...”