Chapter 71: Embers of Unity – The Calm Before the Divine Storm

The sanctuary pulsed with low, golden light—neither divine nor mortal, but something in between. Chen Ming sat cross-legged at its center, shirtless, bathed in warmth that radiated from the pool of Balanceflame beneath him. The crystalline energy shimmered with layers of orange and violet, flickering like firelight wrapped in moonlight.

Lanmei stood at the edge, arms folded, her sapphire gaze fixed on him. "You're stabilizing it faster each time."

"I think it wants to be stable now," Chen replied quietly. "Like it's… not just reacting to me anymore. It's listening."

She stepped forward, kneeling beside him. Her hand brushed his shoulder—not with heat, but with restraint. "We can feel it, you know. Every time you get closer to becoming the God of Yang… we feel it like it's happening to us too."

A soft laugh echoed from the corridor. "That's because it is," Ye Yue said, emerging in a pale silken robe. Her hair was unbound, silver falling like moonlight down her back. "We're not separate from him. We never were. We're threads in the same tapestry now."

Chen opened his eyes, voice low. "That's why I brought you both here. Before the next stage… before the Divine Tournament begins… I wanted one moment. Just us. Not for training. Not for power. Just for us."

Lanmei hesitated only a breath, then moved to his left. Ye Yue to his right. The sanctuary held its breath as the three sat together, hands linked, eyes closed.

Within the spiritual connection, they no longer felt separate bodies—but a single shared warmth. Desire mingled with peace. Power curled around love.

"You've changed," Ye Yue murmured in the mindscape. "But the part that reached for me that first night… it's still there."

Chen turned to her, a quiet reverence in his gaze. "You gave me permission to grow. You didn't have to. You still don't."

Lanmei's voice joined them, softer than he'd ever heard it. "But we do. Not just because of love. Because we believe in what you're becoming."

Their lips found each other slowly. No rush. Just connection—silent promises exchanged through soft sighs and trembling fingertips.

The night that followed was not just passion, though it held that too—it was intimacy honed by trials, forged by faith. Their bodies intertwined, but their spirits did too, feeding the Balanceflame's growth.

And when sleep finally claimed them, Lysaria's whisper touched the edge of Chen's dreams.

"You've chosen well, God of Yang. But remember—what you love is also what they'll try to take."