Silver Breath and Iron Wings

As the final auction bell faded into the night, Lin Yuan turned to the prince and bowed.

"Don't worry. If I can't pay you back… my Master will."

He added, almost shyly, "Or my brother will pay. "

Then he looked to the sky, pulling out a jade slip.

"Please send a message to my sect leader. Tell her… to pick me up. Bring my ship."

The prince blinked. "You… have a ship?"

With calm steps, Lin Yuan walked to the section where the women waited.

"Don't be afraid," he said gently. "If you want to leave… you can go now. No one will stop you."

Silence.

Finally, a tall demon woman with short, graying hair stepped forward. Her eyes were calm, but old—too old.

"We… have no cultivation left." Her voice was steady. "We are broken. I only want to say… we are not innocent."

Lin Yuan looked at her, listening.

She continued, "I killed humans. Many. But not because I wanted to. I followed orders. Others behind me did it for vengeance. We're not proud."

Then she pointed to a group of 15 young girls.

"They are innocent. Raised by humans to be sold. War orphans, never saw a true demon. Please… treat them like you would any human girl."

Lin Yuan's gaze softened.

"Then you already have a good heart, if you can still care like this. Let me speak to the others."

Later, he sat beside an old dwarf man, inspecting the tools and iron boxes nearby.

Lin Yuan brought out a thin, spiraled Heaven Perching Tube he'd bought during the beauty contest, gifted by the Evergreen Holy Land's Holy Son.

"Can you improve this?" Lin Yuan asked eagerly.

The old man squinted. "You're just trying to say I'm useful, huh? Listen, I'm no genius. And you don't even seem that interested in this stuff."

He tapped the barrel.

"See this mark? That means you need to ignite a soul-fire to activate it. You've never used it once."

Lin Yuan scratched his head, embarrassed.

The old man laughed. "Don't worry. My son loves these things. He has an upgraded version too."

He grabbed another old man by the wrist.

"This is my son."

Lin Yuan blinked. "…You both look the same."

At that moment, the prince returned, commanding the maids to serve a hot meal.

They sat under the stars, chewing and laughing, recounting the madness of the auction.

They joked, teased, even quarreled a bit over who would've won their "last fight" if things had gone differently. Both agreed: no serious injuries. Just pride.

A booming sound broke the laughter.

Lady Qingxuan descended from the sky on a massive spirit boat, radiating elegance and sharp authority.

She stepped down, eyes scanning the group. "So… how many slaves did you buy this time?"

Lin Yuan frowned.

"Don't call them slaves."

She turned to the prince with a grin. "And you, little fat boy. What about you?"

The prince opened his mouth—then stopped.

Qingxuan smirked. "Lin Yuan, shouldn't you tell me not to call a prince 'fat'?"

Lin Yuan replied, deadpan, "But he is fat."

Then added, sweetly, "Senior Sister, you're skinny."

Qingxuan raised an eyebrow. "You just don't know what beauty mean. I'm skinny because I'm beautiful."

She turned to the prince again. "Second Prince, I heard you're getting married.And have a thousand maids?"

Lin Yuan suddenly stood, clearing his throat like an elder.

"Let me give you one last piece of advice." He looked the prince dead in the eye.

"You gave them a home, yes. But they all love you."

"You can't love all of them back. You eat their food, sleep in their care. But their hearts are starving."

"Just look—one of them sliced a single blueberry into 100 pieces just to show how much she cherishes you."

"Give them something better than blind hope. Give them value. Let them run a business. Let them find purpose."

"If they succeed—maybe they'll find someone who loves them back someday."

The prince sat in stunned silence.

"I will give you a sun holy stone as a payment. I'll recharge it twenty times. That should be enough."

The prince understand.

"She's wealthier than me."

Lin Yuan loaded the divine metals, soils, and the rescued people onto the massive spirit boat.

Lady Qingxuan, hands on hips, watched him board.

She called out, "Don't think about lin Yuan too much."

Second prince blinked. "Huh?"

Qingxuan smiled knowingly. "I suggest you think about the Taiyin Holy Lady. That little charm she has? It comes from the blood of a Nine-Tailed Heavenly Fox,nor her own."

Behind them, the prince lowered his gaze.

He understood now.

No woman will love a man poorer than her.

And today… he was poorer than Lin Yuan.

He turned to his maids, who were still watching Lin Yuan sail away.

He grinned, eyes gleaming.

"I understand now. Let's open a business. Make money. And…"

He shouted after the boat, laughing:

"I know your weakness, Little Yuan'er!"

The spirit boat sailed smoothly under the dusk-streaked sky, its hull humming with gentle qi vibrations as clouds drifted below. Lin Yuan leaned against the railing, hair blowing softly in the wind, his eyes scanning the horizon.

Just as he was beginning to relax, a creaking step approached from behind.

The old dwarf craftsman he'd rescued earlier adjusted his toolbelt and cleared his throat.

"Girl" he said bluntly. "I've got an idea."

Lin Yuan blinked. "That usually means trouble."

The old man ignored him. "I think I can modify a small ship. Just big enough for ten people. If I get it right, it'll fly faster than a Golden Rock Bird."

Lin Yuan turned fully, face full of doubt. "Impossible. Those birds are faster than most elders on a flying sword."

The old man grinned, showing a few missing teeth. "That's because you're thinking like everyone else. My prototype is made with ordinary metal. But the trick isn't in the material—it's in how we fly. Flying swords force us to stand, fight wind resistance. But if we stay inside the vessel, enclosed and shaped to split the air like a spear…"

He waved his hand and drew a rough outline in the air with spirit energy—a narrow, sleek frame like a dart. "…less air drag. Less spirit loss. All speed."

Lin Yuan narrowed his eyes. "And the energy supply?"

"Exactly why I came to you." The old man pointed at the deck. "I need the energy-converting formation from this spirit boat. If you give me that, and some capital… I can build it. "

Lin Yuan raised a brow. "Then I want to sell the invention ."

"Of course. And I don't care if you say you invented it. I'm too old to argue."

Lin Yuan shook his head. "I don't like lying."

He smiled slightly. "I'll give you the funding. Just do your best.If you just focus on speed we can control direction. You can give a wings with it.I will give you after we drop you in the city."

Before the old man could speak again, Lady Mingyan speak in his mind."Good idea, Yuan'er. Check your storage bag. Lady Baihua already sent the formation blueprint."

Lin Yuan reached into his pouch and pulled out the rolled jade slip.

He blinked.

"Wait… Mom, if you can just put something into my storage bag like that… couldn't someone steal from a bad guy's bag too?"

Lady Mingyan say,"That's called theft.We're not thieves."

Lin Yuan ask for some sprit stone from Lady Qingxuan. And she say she can give only 1000 high grade sprit stone.

---

A few hours later, the spirit boat descended outside a city on the border of the sect's territory. Lin Yuan stepped off with the old man, handed him a sealed pouch.

"Inside is the formation blueprint… and a thousand high-grade spirit stones."

The old man's eyes gleamed. "Enough for parts, workshop time, and ten failed attempts."

Lin Yuan smiled. "Then succeed on the eleventh.I will give you more but I don't have enough money now. "

---

Returning alone to the sect, Lin Yuan was summoned by the Sect Leader herself.

They stood beneath the moonlit branches of the Taiyin Spirit Tree. Her robes shimmered faintly under the lunar glow.

"Lin Yuan," she said softly. "Do you wish to enter the Inner Sect now?"

He hesitated.

She continued, "When we first brought you in, the agreement was simple. You'd train in the outer sect. Eventually, we'd send you away. But now, you've grown. And the rules… change."

Lin Yuan bowed his head. "I don't want to stay. I want to enter the Holy Land."

Her expression didn't change, but her voice grew softer.

"You should know… once you begin merging with Taiyin Qi… your body will begin to change. Slowly. But surely. It will… feminize. Especially your bones, voice, and inner meridians."

He looked her in the eye.

"I'm all right with that."

A long silence passed between them, filled only with the rustling of distant branches.

Then she nodded, and drew a silver scroll from her sleeve.

---

🌀 Moonlight Rooting – Stage I: Breath of Silver Dew

That night, under her guidance, Lin Yuan sat cross-legged upon a flat stone in a secluded glade, bathed only in moonlight. Sect Leader watched silently from a distance.

He opened the scroll and read its first stage.

> Step 1 – Breath of Silver Dew:

Learn to absorb moisture and passive Yin Qi from moonlit air, initiating physical and spiritual connection to lunar energy.

"Breathe slowly," he told himself. "Let go of heat. Inhale moon."

He imagined the air as silver mist. Visualized drawing it in.

At first, nothing happened.

Then the air shifted.

He exhaled. A wisp of white mist floated from his lips.

He began again—inhale… hold… exhale.

His skin cooled. His pulse slowed. A strange clarity crept into his mind, like a frozen lake finally settling into stillness.

He felt something gather around him. Not cold. Not warmth. Just—quiet.

A silver droplet rolled down his cheek. Dew. Not sweat.

---

The Sect Leader speak to herself "He will change. It won't be fast, but it will happen.

By the time the moon reached its highest point, Lin Yuan opened his eyes. They glowed faintly silver, like the surface of a pond under starlight.

"Breath of Silver Dew," he whispered. It's heard. How will I know about my progress.

His journey into Taiyin cultivation had just began.

---End of CChapWould you like the next chapter to be "Stillness Meditation", or a scene of Lin Yuan returning to check on the old man's prototype ship and the community he's forming with the rescued dwarves ddddwdwd