The Measure of a Dragon
The door sealed behind them with a soft, final click, leaving them in the serene, cloud-ringed space with one of the continent's pillars of power. The air hummed with a quiet density, not of oppression, but of profound, contained vitality—the aura of a Level 98 Transcendent Douluo.
The Heavenly Phoenix Douluo, Leng Yaozhu, rose fully from behind her desk. Her movement was fluid, effortless, each gesture radiating a lifetime of cultivated grace and absolute authority. Her fiery red hair seemed to hold its own light against the backdrop of sunlit clouds.
Her warm, assessing smile remained, but her eyes—an intense, intelligent amber—held a depth that made Yao Xuan feel transparent. They swept over Gu Yue with unmistakable fondness before settling on him with a calm, piercing focus that missed nothing.
"So, you are Yao Xuan," she said, her voice melodious yet carrying undeniable weight. "My disciple speaks of you with a frequency and… particularity… she reserves for few things."
Gu Yue, standing beside him, did not blush outright. Instead, a faint, almost imperceptible warmth touched her cheeks. She held her teacher's gaze, her own silver eyes composed, but the subtle straightening of her posture betrayed a hint of self-consciousness. 'She is observing him. Assessing everything. I must remain analytical. Yet… I hope he meets her expectations.' The conflict between her role as an observer and her genuine regard was a quiet tension in her frame.
"It is an honor to be in your presence, Heavenly Phoenix Douluo," Yao Xuan replied, offering a respectful bow that was deep but not servile. He met her eyes when he straightened, acknowledging her power without being cowed by it.
"Polite. Centered." Leng Yaozhu's smile deepened a fraction. She took a slow step around her desk, her gaze never leaving him. It was a physical assessment, but one that seemed to gauge spirit as much as physique. "Your aura is remarkably consolidated for a Great Soul Master. Not just soul power, but the cohesion of your bloodline and the latent pressure in your spiritual field… Impressive. Gu Yue's discernment, it seems, is as sharp as ever."
"You are too generous, senior," Yao Xuan said, his mind racing. 'She perceives the layers. The Ancestral Dragon's nature may be hidden, but its quality is palpable to someone of her cultivation.'
"Generosity has little to do with fact," she replied, stopping a few paces away. The gentle warmth in her tone didn't soften the sharpness of her inquiry. "Gu Yue mentioned your martial soul manifests as a nine-colored dragon. Our Pagoda's records, however, list a lizard dragon variant. I am curious about the discrepancy."
Yao Xuan had prepared for this. "The record is correct, senior, for the child I was. My initial awakening revealed a grayish-white form with only level five innate soul power. The tester's conclusion was logical. The transformation occurred upon my breakthrough to Soul Master. I can only consider it a… secondary awakening."
Leng Yaozhu's amber eyes flickered with keen interest. "A delayed evolution. Rare, but not unheard of when a potent bloodline lies dormant." She nodded slowly. "Would you indulge me? A mere glimpse of its released form. I wish to sense its character."
"Of course."
Yao Xuan centered himself. He didn't need a grand spectacle. He drew a steady breath, and with a focused thought, summoned his martial soul.
There was no violent eruption of energy. Instead, points of nine-colored light coalesced from the air around him like gathering stellar dust, flowing together to form the majestic, sinuous shape of the Ancestral Dragon. It hovered protectively behind him, not as a raging phantom, but as a manifestation of serene, ancient authority. Its scales shimmered with a subdued, internal radiance, and the air in the high-altitude room seemed to grow still, as if paying homage.
Leng Yaozhu did not react overtly. Yet, for a single heartbeat, her unwavering poise intensified, her gaze sharpening to a razor's edge. Yao Xuan felt it—a minute, instinctive response from the supreme phoenix bloodline within her, a recognition of something equally primordial and noble. A subtle, approving hum resonated in the space between them.
"A spirit of profound dignity," she observed, her voice measured. The Ancestral Dragon shimmered and dissolved back into motes of light. "Its presence speaks to its pedigree. Gu Yue's report was not exaggerated."
She turned her attention fully back to Yao Xuan, the informal assessment shifting to formal purpose. "My disciple also informed me of your desire to join the Spirit Pagoda, and of your… deliberate choice to decline the Tang Sect's overtures. This is significant."
"My aspirations align with the Pagoda's vision for the future, senior," Yao Xuan stated, his tone firm and clear. "I believe this is where I can develop my abilities to their fullest potential, for the greatest benefit."
"Well spoken." Leng Yaozhu's expression was one of satisfied contemplation. "Genius is welcomed everywhere, but discernment and loyalty of choice are rarer treasures. The Pagoda rewards both. You would have access to the finest resources, guidance, and platforms to realize that potential." She paused, her gaze turning professionally stern. "However, protocol remains. To formally enroll a talent of your projected caliber, a comprehensive baseline assessment is required. This is not distrust, but necessity—for your safety and our records. Do you understand?"
"Perfectly, senior. I am ready."
"Good. Then follow me."
She led them from the cloud-soaked office back into the sleek interior of the tower. Their procession was swift and silent, staff members halting and bowing as the Deputy Tower Master passed. Yao Xuan walked beside Gu Yue, their shoulders occasionally brushing. He glanced at her; she met his look, her eyes conveying a silent message of reassurance and focus. 'The test is a formality, but also a true measure. Show her everything you are.'
They arrived at a private elevator with doors of brushed gold. Leng Yaozhu placed her palm on a sensor; intricate blue light patterns cascaded from the point of contact before the doors slid open. The interior was spacious, lined with subtly glowing panels that hummed with advanced soul conduction energy.
The descent was swift. When the doors opened again, they entered a realm of cutting-edge science. The corridors here were lined with silver alloy, pulsing with soft blue light from embedded conduits. The air smelled of ozone and precision.
The final destination was a spherical chamber with walls of matte silver. An array of sophisticated instruments occupied the space, operated by a small team of technicians in Pagoda uniforms. They snapped to immediate, respectful attention upon Leng Yaozhu's entrance.
"Proceed with a full-spectrum physiological and spiritual baseline scan on this candidate," she instructed, her voice echoing softly in the chamber. "Classification: Celestial Tier. Data stream to be encrypted for my eyes only."
"By your will, Heavenly Phoenix Douluo!"
The technicians' eyes widened almost imperceptibly at "Celestial Tier," their glances at Yao Xuan shifting from curiosity to profound respect laced with awe. To be personally escorted by the Deputy Tower Master for a top-secret baseline… this boy was no ordinary recruit.
One technician guided Yao Xuan to a capsule-like device. "Please recline here, candidate. The scanner will map your soul power channels, spiritual sea density, and fundamental physical matrix. It is non-invasive."
Yao Xuan complied. The lid closed, immersing him in a soft, purple luminescence. He felt a cool, tingling sensation pass through him, a feeling of gentle, omnipresent scrutiny that probed not with force, but with exquisite accuracy. It was the Spirit Pagoda's technological might made manifest.
Seconds later, the light faded, and the lid opened. A technician retrieved a small, crystalline data chip from a port and presented it to Leng Yaozhu with a bow. "The raw data stream, encrypted as ordered, Your Majesty."
She took the chip, her fingers closing around the tiny repository of his quantified self. "Proceed to the kinetic impact suite," she said, her eyes already holding a new layer of knowing.
The next station featured a massive, reinforced plate connected to a complex array of dampeners and readout screens. "Candidate Yao Xuan," a technician said, "please strike the target with your full, unassisted physical strength. No martial soul fusion."
Yao Xuan nodded, rolling his shoulders. He stood before the plate, centering his weight. This was more than a test of muscle; it was the first, explicit display of the power woven into his very bones by the Ancestral Dragon's legacy. He drew his fist back, not with theatrical wind-up, but with a coiled, efficient tension that gathered the strength of his entire body into one point.
Across the chamber, Gu Yue watched, her violet eyes fixed on him, utterly still. Leng Yaozhu stood with the calm of a mountain, the data chip in her hand, waiting to see the dragon's proof made tangible.