The Eastern Domain of the Vast Sky Continent, the Dragon Taming Academy.
The annual "Day of Dragon Source Awakening" was always the liveliest time at the academy. At the center of the square stood an ancient stone stele ten zhang tall, with nine stone dragons coiled around it, their mouths all facing a central crystal sphere—the Source Testing Crystal. Sunlight refracted through the crystal into a multicolored halo, falling upon the tense and expectant faces of every young person present.
"Next, Lin Feng!"
The voice of the proctor elder in blue robes boomed. A tall, thin少年 (shàonián - young man) stepped forward trembling and placed his hand on the crystal sphere. After three breaths, the sphere glowed with an earthy yellow light, and the eyes of one stone dragon on the stele lit up faintly.
"Yellow Rank, third grade, Earth Dragon lineage. Qualified, stand to the right."
Scattered applause rose from the crowd. The少年 (shàonián) sighed in relief, almost staggering over to the queue of qualified candidates.
At the back of the line, Yun Che stood quietly, out of place amidst the surrounding noise. His washed-out, grey homespun clothes stood out starkly among the brocade robes and finery of the young masters from noble families. Several peers cast strange glances his way, whispering amongst themselves.
"Look, that's the son of the former Palace Lord, Yun Qianshan..."
"I heard his father disappeared three years ago chasing those 'Soul Reavers', he's probably..."
"Shh, keep it down. But it is strange. Palace Lord Yun was a Heaven Rank Dragon Descendant back in his day. How could his son be seventeen and still not have awakened?"
Yun Che acted as if he hadn't heard, his gaze fixed on the Source Testing Crystal, but his hands clenched悄悄 (qiāoqiāo - secretly) within his sleeves.
His father vanished when he was fourteen. Everyone expected him to inherit his father's astonishing talent and awaken early. But three years passed, and the "Dragon Source" within him remained like stagnant water, without a ripple. The talk within the academy shifted from expectation to pity, and finally to veiled mockery.
"Next, Yan Xi!"
The crowd automatically parted a path. A少女 (shàonǚ - young woman) in red strode forward, her fiery red hair tied in a high ponytail, her eyes carrying an innate boldness. She didn't even glance at the proctor elder before placing her hand directly on the crystal sphere—
*Boom!*
The sphere instantly erupted into crimson flames, the temperature in the entire square soaring. Three stone dragons on the stele lit up simultaneously, a dragon-roar-like hum resonating through the sky!
"Hea-Heaven Rank, first grade! Flame Dragon lineage!" The proctor elder's voice trembled with excitement. "Three-dragon resonance! Unseen in a century!"
The crowd exploded into an uproar. Yan Xi withdrew her hand, the flames extinguishing as she did. She turned and walked toward the qualified queue, pausing slightly as she passed Yun Che.
"Still not giving up?" Her voice was low, audible only to the two of them.
Yun Che looked up: "And you still haven't given up on telling me to give up?"
Yan Xi gave a light humph and continued walking, the red hem of her clothes brushing the ground. Yun Che understood her meaning—the Yan and Yun families were old allies. After his father's disappearance, Yan Xi was one of the few who still spoke to him, albeit always in this别扭 (bièniu - awkward) way.
The awakening ceremony continued. Some were joyful, others sorrowful. The qualified stood to the right, those who failed to awaken left with bowed heads. The sun gradually dipped westward, and the crowd in the square thinned.
"The last one, Yun Che."
All eyes instantly聚焦 (jùjiāo - focused). Yun Che could feel the complex emotions in those gazes—pity, curiosity, schadenfreude. He took a deep breath and walked toward the Source Testing Crystal.
The moment his hand touched the冰凉的 (bīngliáng de - ice-cold) crystal surface, the familiar sense of emptiness washed over him. Three years,整整 (zhěngzhěng - exactly) three years. Every test was the same: the crystal sphere remained unresponsive, the stele silent as a tomb.
One second, two seconds, three seconds...
The crowd began to stir.
"As expected..."
"What a shame for Palace Lord Yun's legacy..."
"Shouldn't the result be announced?"
The proctor elder shook his head with a light sigh, about to speak—
A sudden突变 (tūbiàn - anomaly) occurred.
It wasn't the crystal sphere glowing, but the air around Yun Che began to distort! With him at the center, invisible ripples spread outwards. The newly awakened Dragon Descendants all felt a simultaneous悸动 (jìdòng - palpitation) in their Dragon Sources!
Uncontrollable flames leapt half a foot from Yan Xi's body; the ice crystal pendant at Su Luo's waist abruptly frosted over with寒霜 (hánshuāng - frost); even the steadiest Shi Yue felt the ground