The Dragon Palace moved like a beast with many heads, each whispering in its own tongue. The rebellion in the northern trenches had not been quelled. Though Taiyi's strategy brought temporary peace, the undercurrents were darker than ever.
That night, he stood before a map carved into jade, studying the battlefields by candlelight.
"Your plan humiliated Ao Shen," came a voice from the shadows.
It was General Ao Lei, the Dragon King's most loyal hound, a man whose armor never left his shoulders.
"He will not forgive you easily."
Taiyi placed a white stone on the map. His tone was mild.
"Forgiveness is unnecessary. What matters is that the palace survives. The rebels grow stronger because someone feeds them from within."
Ao Lei's gaze sharpened. "You speak of treachery?"
"Not speak," Taiyi said, tapping the map. "Prove."
He pushed the black stone forward, landing on the trench routes where the rebellion had begun. The move seemed casual, but its meaning was clear—Taiyi had already traced the flow of weapons and supplies.
Ao Lei frowned deeply. "If you are right, then the rot is closer to the throne than I imagined."
Taiyi's smile was faint, his words soft.
"Then let us cut the rot before it poisons the heart."
But when Ao Lei left, Taiyi's calm expression slipped for just an instant. His hand clenched. His eyes shut as fragments of memories flickered in his mind.
That battlefield in his dreams… that crimson shadow he could never reach. Why did his heart ache whenever he closed his eyes? Why did his blood burn whenever he touched a blade?
Taiyi wished to find an answer to all these questions but for now he found none. Ever since he came to the East Sea he has been trying to find out about his true identity.
He has visited the place where he was found many times but he found nothing that could help him.
He whispered to the silence:
"Who… am I truly?"
The candles flickered, as though the sea itself held its breath.
After letting out a long sigh, Taiyi turned to stare at the sky.
"I wonder how the outside world is?" Taiyi said. All along he has heard stories of a world outside the East Sea and from what he knew the world outside was something different.
Each time he stared at the sky he could feel it. He could hear it albeit faint. Something was calling out to him and he wanted to know what it was.
"Adopted father, what is found on the other side of the sea?" Taiyi had once asked the dragon king who only stared at him.
"Be careful of what you seek. The East Sea is larger than you think so you can not traverse it anytime soon unless you become a full dragon," the dragon king had replied.
No one knows but Taiyi has long cultivated to the peak of the immortal realm and if not for the fact that he has yet to form his dragon beas he would've long left. With the East Sea in chaos he already has a plan in motion.
He wants to explore the outside world but he must first unite the East Sea before he leaves. He has hidden his fangs long enough so it is now time to come to the light.
"This battle I must win it at all cost," Taiyi said as he went back to his study room.
The shadows that hide in the East Sea will soon face the light and Taiyi would not spare them. He could feel his blood boiling. Chaos awaited him but he wants to transcent the chaos.
---
In the Phoenix Realm, the aftermath of Feng Jiu's victories was chaos. The clans could not ignore her power. Some bent the knee in awe, while others sharpened their talons, whispering of danger.
Her sister Feng Xia called another council.
"The barrier is weakening," Feng Xia said, her wings folded with regal composure. "But to force it open risks collapse. If we expose our realm before we are ready, the enemies of old may descend again."
A murmur passed through the phoenix elders. They remembered the wars, the slaughter, the sealing that saved them yet left them caged.
But Feng Jiu's eyes burned brighter than flame.
"Are we birds to remain in a gilded cage forever?" she asked. "If danger waits beyond, then so too does destiny. I will not live shackled."
Her words struck like lightning. Some elders roared in protest.
"Arrogant girl! Do you think power alone makes you worthy?"
"You endanger us all with childish dreams!"
But Feng Jiu only spread her crimson wings, her feathers scattering sparks that hissed against the black stone.
"Dreams?" Her voice was sharp as steel. "If so, then I would rather die chasing them than rot safely in chains."
The silence that followed was deafening. Feng Xia studied her long, her face unreadable, before dismissing the council.
Later, when the halls were empty, Feng Xia stood alone with her sister. Her voice was soft, heavy with a weight only rulers knew.
"You remind me of him," she whispered.
Feng Jiu blinked. "Him?"
Feng Xia shook her head, as though realizing she had spoken too much. Instead, she reached out, brushing her sister's hair.
"Your fire is beautiful, Jiu'er. But flames that burn too fiercely draw storms."
Feng Jiu closed her eyes briefly, fighting the ache in her chest. Storms, cages, forgotten faces in her dreams—it mattered little. Her wings were meant for the skies.
And somewhere beyond this barrier, she knew, someone was waiting. She didn't know who it was apart from the fact that that person was important.
She stared at the barrier for a long time before she turned and left. She was never a coward and she will not be.
As she returned to her room, something inside her snapped causing her to stand in place.
The essence of being a fire phoenix is being pure,holy and unfeeling. She knew that but had she ever understood it. She never wanted to he bound by anything.