Chapter 5: Yin Yang Divine scriptures.

Outside, the council hall had grown restless. Three hours had passed, and their patience had begun to wane. Murmurs of speculation filled the vast chamber. Did the discussion between Kieran and Baixue take an unexpected turn? Had they reached an impasse? Or worse... had she struck him down in some final act of humiliation?

But just as doubts began to fester, the doors swung open. All eyes turned toward the two figures walking in hand in hand, their presence commanding an immediate hush over the room.

Xue Ying's usual icy demeanor was softened by the slight blush on her cheeks. And beside her, Kieran was radiating an aura of newfound strength, his previous air of indifference replaced with unshakable confidence.

"The engagement will not be canceled," Long Chen declared, "I ask the elders to prepare the formal arrangements and send word to the Song family."

The hall fell into stunned silence. The Frozen Lotus Palace disciples, who disdained Kieran's name, could now only stare in disbelief. Their idol, the unparalleled genius of their sect, had chosen the man deemed a worthless cripple.

Even the elders, who had come prepared to sever ties, found themselves unable to utter a word of protest after seeing the determination in Xue Ying's eyes.

Draco Long and Ryuji Long exchanged glances before turning to Long Chen. "This is what you want?" the family head asked, his tone unreadable.

"Yes, I am sure." Kieran looked at Baixue with a smile before nodding.

The Long Clan elders were skeptical, wondering if there was a conspiracy to be found in this, but since they didn't see anything to be gained from Long Chen, they chose to believe in Baixue's sincerity and offered their full support. The wedding will be arranged, and the Long Family will prepare everything.

The Frozen Lotus Palace stepped out of the hall, their pristine white robes flowing like snowdrifts behind them. A veil of frost seemed to follow in their wake, but it could not mask the simmering emotions beneath the surface. Some whispered among themselves, others kept their silence, their gazes darting toward the figure walking beside Baixue.

Kieran Long.

He walked before them, his hand gently holding Baixue's, escorting her toward the courtyard the Long Clan had prepared for them. Though no overt declarations had been made, his newfound presence was impossible to ignore.

Their destination was a refined but modest inner courtyard within the inner court of the Long Clan's estate. It was an honor, not many guests were permitted to reside so deep within clan territory.

Some of the Frozen Lotus disciples, unable to restrain themselves, allowed hushed scorn to slip from their lips.

"To think the future Saintess would walk hand-in-hand with a man like that…"

"Even if she's marrying him, must she be so... open about it?"

Their disdain was short-lived. Baixue's pace halted.

A frigid pressure washed over them like a tidal wave, making their blood freeze. Her cold eyes turned toward the offending voices—not with rage, but with piercing disappointment.

"Silence," she said.

That single word was enough. The murmurs died. The once-proud disciples stood in quiet shock, chastised not by harsh rebuke, but by the cold truth that Baixue was serious. Even more jarring than her stern gaze was the blush that still lingered on her cheeks—faint, but visible. Their ice princess had shown emotion. And not just any emotion.

Affection.

"Oh, Master~ If only they knew their Saintess isn't quite so... untouched anymore."Sindra's voice echoed in Kieran's mind with a wicked lilt. She giggled, clearly enjoying the mayhem the two had caused.

As they reached the courtyard gate, Kieran paused, handed Baixue a jade slip, leaned close, brushing aside a lock of silver hair to whisper into Baixue's ear. "It'll help refine the Yang energy you're still holding inside... and raise your cultivation."

His breath tickled her ear.

Baixue's breath caught. Her cheeks turned crimson again. The disciples, once more, froze in disbelief. The Saintess was… blushing again?

Kieran smiled faintly and turned to leave, walking away just as Lady Meiyun approached Baixue with narrowed eyes.

"You've made quite the scene," Meiyun said coldly, waiting until Kieran was out of earshot. "Do you understand what this means? The Palace Master will not approve of this... alliance."

Baixue didn't flinch.

"This decision is mine to make. Not the Palace's," she said evenly. "And not yours."

"You carry the title of Saintess—"

"I carry the name Song," Baixue cut her off. "The Song family has agreed to this engagement. My master will listen to reason when I explain it to her. Until then… I am entering seclusion. Do not disturb me."

Without another word, she turned and entered the building and chose a room for herself, her jade slip clutched tightly in her hand.

Far across the clan estate, Kieran entered his secluded courtyard at he foot of the back mountain. The air here was still and sacred, untouched by the affairs of clans and palaces. The moment he stepped within, he sank into a cross-legged position atop the stone platform beneath the old peach tree.

He closed his eyes, his divine sense diving inward, entering the sphere.

The seed he had tossed into the heart of the sphere, the core of the Phoenix Tear fruit, had sprouted. A young tree stood where there had once been only emptiness, its bark a deep bronze, its leaves a fiery red, pulsing faintly with life. Flames flickered at the edges of each leaf, dancing gently.

He stared in awe.

"So... this is what became of the excess energy," he murmured before exiting the sphere.

He could feel the sphere slowly releasing refined energy into his body, timed to perfection. The moment that chi flowed into him, his body's cultivation technique—the Divine Dragon Scripture—awakened.

His breath quickened. For the first time in his life, he could feel the Chi of the world flowing around him. It sang. It shimmered. It called.

"My spiritual roots healed," he whispered. "The flow…I can feel it… I can finally cultivate."

Sindra gathered the shattered pieces of the cocoon that formed around Kieran when he awakened and put them inside the sphere.

As the fragments dissolved into pure energy, the phoenix tree grew rapidly, its roots spreading wide and its branches multiplying. Sindra broke off the branches, planting them around the tree. Soon ten saplings were growing, each blazing with life.

"Oh, Master's going to love this little surprise," she sang, skipping between the trees like a child in a candy grove.

Meanwhile, in the Frozen Lotus residence, Baixue sat alone in her chamber, already seated on a frost-carved meditation platform. She placed the jade slip to her forehead.

A torrent of knowledge flooded into her mind—"The Yin Dragon Scripture." It was vast, profound, and it immediately resonated with her. As she activated the technique, the dragon tattoo on her navel moved, as she absorbed the Yang essence Kieran had left within her.

And then—

Shock.

Her eyes snapped open.

"Four times… faster?"

Her cultivation speed had accelerated so dramatically that her heart trembled. Her pores opened as impurities flushed out of her body, her skin taking on a radiant sheen as the sweat slid on her body. The technique was transforming her from the inside out, refining her meridians, enhancing her spiritual foundation.

"Seven days…" she whispered. "That's all I'll need to reach the peak of the Kardia Realm."

Her cheeks burned again, not from shyness this time, but from the heat that still lingered in her womb—the warmth of Kieran's Yang essence, now being slowly refined into pure energy for her cultivation.

Back in his courtyard, Kieran's body trembled as the last vestiges of the Phoenix Tear Fruit fused with the Yin energy he had taken from Baixue. The Divine Dragon Scripture roared to life again. His meridians expanded. His bones strengthened. His blood burned with golden light.

Sindra's eyes sparkled as she watched from inside the sphere.

"You're changing, Master. Becoming stronger…"

She turned her gaze toward the growing garden. The ten phoenix trees now stood tall, radiant with crimson flame. The energy from the sphere accelerating their growth.

"And soon, you'll see. This is only the beginning."