The Celestial Path Academy, now housed within the massive, upgraded Cloud-Drifter Flying Boat, sliced through the atmosphere like a jade needle. Below them, the lush greens of the Azure Empire had given way to the unforgiving, shimmering heat of the Great Southern Desert. This was a land of ancient ruins, hidden oases, and the territory of the Silver-Sand Kingdom—a place where the laws of the Empire held little weight.
Lin Fan stood at the prow of the ship, his green robes whipping in the wind. His eyes were fixed on a massive swirling vortex of sand in the distance.
[Divine Library: Scanning Environment...]
[Detection: High-density 'Yin-Soul' Energy. A Rank-4 Secret Realm is opening.]
[Warning: Multiple High-Rank signatures detected. One signature matches a Stage 9 Cultivator with a 'Heavenly-Tier' Bloodline.]
"Teacher, the air feels... heavy," Mu Tie said, stepping up beside him. The boy had grown taller, his aura now cold and sharp like a glacier. "The frost in my blood is reacting. There's something powerful buried in those sands."
"It's a Secret Realm," Lin Fan explained. "The 'Tomb of the Sun-King'. Every fifty years, the shifting sands reveal its entrance. It contains the Sun-Source Core, which is exactly what Ling'er needs to complete the second stage of her Phoenix Awakening."
Just then, a roar echoed across the sky. From the clouds above them, a magnificent chariot pulled by four Golden-Maned Lions descended. The chariot was made of solid silver, and surrounding it were hundreds of female warriors clad in mirrored armor, riding winged desert stallions.
"Halt, sky-travelers!" a voice boomed—a voice that was melodic yet carried the weight of absolute command. "You have entered the airspace of the Silver-Sand Queen. Lower your vessel and pay the toll, or be cast down into the dunes!"
The Encounter with the Desert Queen
The flying boat slowed as the lion-drawn chariot pulled alongside. Standing on the chariot was a woman who looked like she was carved from the very essence of power. She wore a crown of desert glass, and her crimson silk robes flowed around her like a river of blood. Her skin was the color of rich honey, and her eyes were a piercing, cold emerald.
This was Queen Medusa (not the monster of myth, but a name feared across the Southern Continent). She was the first of the legendary figures Lin Fan's destiny was intertwined with.
[Divine Library: Scanning Target...]
[Name: Medusa. Rank: Stage 9 (Peak) Cultivator.]
[Bloodline: Heavenly Medusa Bloodline (Dominating Type).]
[Status: Suffering from 'Soul-Thirst'. Her bloodline is too powerful for her current soul rank, causing her to lose consciousness every full moon.]
Lin Fan looked at her, his expression remains unbothered. "Queen Medusa, I presume? I am Lin Fan, a Master Teacher. We are simply passing through to visit the Great Library. We have no interest in your sands."
Medusa's emerald eyes narrowed. She had never been addressed so casually. "A Master Teacher? You look like a penniless scholar who found a lucky boat. And you have the audacity to look me in the eye?"
She waved a hand, and the pressure of a Stage 9 cultivator slammed into the flying boat. The wood groaned under the weight. Mu Tie and Ling'er struggled to stay upright, but Lu Bao simply stepped forward, his Bottomless Void absorbing the pressure like a sponge.
"Teacher, she's a bit grumpy, isn't she?" Lu Bao grunted, still chewing on a piece of dried spirit-meat.
Medusa's eyebrows shot up. Her pressure was enough to make Stage 7 experts kneel, yet this fat boy was eating?
"Interesting," she murmured, her gaze shifting back to Lin Fan. "You have strange students, scholar. But the Toll must be paid. If you wish to pass, you must leave that flying boat behind. My army needs a new flagship."
"I have a better offer," Lin Fan said, stepping onto the railing of his boat, seemingly unaffected by her aura. "I can cure your Soul-Thirst."
The silence that followed was absolute. The Amazonian warriors drew their bows, but Medusa raised a hand to stop them. Her emerald eyes flickered with a hint of vulnerability before turning back into ice.
"How do you know of that?" she hissed. "Only my personal physicians know."
"Your physicians are looking at your body," Lin Fan said, pointing to his own head. "I am looking at your soul. Your bloodline is 'Dominating,' but your soul-cultivation is 'Passive'. It's like trying to keep a sun inside a glass bottle. Eventually, the bottle cracks."
Medusa flew from her chariot, landing gracefully on the deck of the flying boat. She was tall, nearly as tall as Lin Fan, and she radiated an intoxicating scent of sandalwood and ozone.
"If you are lying, I will feed you to the lions," she whispered, her face inches from his.
"And if I am right," Lin Fan countered, "you will provide my students with safe passage and the keys to the Great Library of the Sands."
The Secret Realm: A Trap of Shadows
Before Medusa could answer, the sand vortex in the distance exploded. A pillar of black light shot into the sky, turning the sun-drenched air into a murky twilight.
"The Tomb has opened early!" Medusa shouted, her commanding tone returning. "And something is wrong. That is not Sun-Qi. That is Shadow Energy!"
[Warning: The Demon Tribe's 'Shadow-Seekers' have infiltrated the Secret Realm.]
"The Demons..." Lin Fan's face darkened. "They are trying to steal the Sun-Source Core to plunge the Southern Continent into eternal darkness."
"We cannot let that happen," Medusa said, her hand resting on the hilt of a curved scimitar. "Scholar, if you truly have the skills you claim, come with me. My warriors cannot fight Shadow Energy, but a Master Teacher might have a way."
"Mu Tie, Ling'er, Lu Bao—prepare for battle," Lin Fan commanded. "This is your first 'Life-and-Death' trial. Mu Tie, your frost will be the anchor. Ling'er, the sun inside that tomb is your destiny. Lu Bao, you are the wall between our students and the darkness."
Inside the Tomb of the Sun-King
The group, along with Queen Medusa and her elite guard, descended into the heart of the vortex. The entrance to the tomb was a massive gateway of obsidian, carved with warnings in a language that had been dead for ten thousand years.
[Divine Library: Scanning Ancient Script...]
[Translation: 'Only the Heart of Light can tread where the Shadow dwells. Beware the Mirror of Flaws.']
Inside, the temperature was a strange mix of blistering heat and soul-chilling cold. The walls were lined with mirrors made of polished soul-stone.
"Do not look at the mirrors!" Lin Fan warned. "They are the 'Mirrors of Flaws'. They don't reflect your face; they reflect the deepest errors in your cultivation and turn them into physical phantoms."
But it was too late for some of Medusa's guards. They glanced at the glass, and suddenly, shadowy versions of themselves stepped out of the mirrors—beings with the same power but fueled by the "Deadly Poison" of their own mistakes.
"What is this madness?" Medusa shouted, her scimitar flashing as she cut down a shadow-copy of a guard. "They fight with our own techniques, but without the delays!"
"Lu Bao! Take the center!" Lin Fan shouted.
Lu Bao stepped into the hall of mirrors. He looked at a mirror, and a shadowy, fat version of him stepped out. The shadow-Lu Bao opened its mouth to suck in the Qi of the room.
"Hey! That's my move!" Lu Bao complained. He didn't use a technique. He simply ran at his shadow and gave it a massive bear hug.
[Divine Library: Synthesis Logic—Void vs. Void.]
Because Lu Bao's body was a Bottomless Void, and the shadow was made of his "flaws," Lu Bao simply... swallowed the shadow. His stomach rumbled loudly.
"Ugh... tastes like burnt buns," Lu Bao burped.
Mu Tie and Ling'er followed Lin Fan's instructions, closing their eyes and fighting purely by sensing the "Flaws" in the shadows' movements, guided by Lin Fan's voice.
"Mu Tie, three o'clock! Strike the knee! Ling'er, above you! The Phoenix doesn't fear its shadow!"
The Chamber of the Sun-Source
They reached the central chamber, a vast dome where a miniature sun hung suspended in the air. But the sun was being strangled. Five figures in hooded black robes were standing around it, chanting in a discordant tongue. These were the Demon Shadow-Seekers.
"Humans... and the Medusa Queen," the lead Demon hissed, his face hidden behind a mask of smoke. "You are too late. The Sun-Source is ours. Soon, the Southern Continent will be a playground for our Lord."
The Demon raised a hand, and the shadows in the room converged into a massive, three-headed Shadow-Hydra. It was a beast of Stage 9 power.
"I'll handle the hydra!" Medusa roared, her emerald eyes glowing. She transformed—her lower body turning into a massive, silver-scaled serpent tail, her hair becoming a crown of living vipers. She was a Goddess of War.
As Medusa clashed with the hydra, the chamber shook. Rocks fell from the ceiling, and the ground cracked.
"Ling'er, go!" Lin Fan pointed to the strangled sun. "The Demons are using a 'Void-Lock' array. Only a Phoenix's Nirvana fire can break it. I will provide the path!"
Lin Fan stepped forward. He didn't draw a sword. He raised his hand, and his Three Divine Halos expanded, merging into a single, blinding ring of light.
[Teacher's Skill: The Sovereignty of Truth!]
Lin Fan's Qi exploded, but it wasn't physical force. It was a wave of pure "Corrective Energy." Every shadow in the room flickered and dimmed as Lin Fan's library projected the Perfect Form of the environment.
"Mu Tie! Protect her!"
Mu Tie stood at the base of the Sun-Source, his frost forming a dome that repelled the Demons' shadow-bolts. Ling'er flew toward the sun, her red robes transforming into wings of fire.
"Nirvana... Rebirth!" Ling'er cried out.
She slammed into the Sun-Source. The black ropes of shadow energy resisted, but Ling'er's fire was fueled by the Celestial Phoenix Nirvana Law Lin Fan had taught her. The fire turned from red to white-hot.
K-BOOM!
The "Void-Lock" shattered. The miniature sun flared with a brilliance that blinded the Demons.
"NO!" the lead Demon screamed as his body began to dissolve in the holy light. "The Master Teacher... we were not told of a Master Teacher in this realm!"
Within seconds, the Demons were incinerated, and the Shadow-Hydra vanished into mist.
The Aftermath and the First Wife's Debt
As the tomb began to stabilize, the Sun-Source Core descended into Ling'er's chest, completing her second awakening. She landed softly, her aura now radiating the warmth of a summer afternoon.
Queen Medusa transformed back into her human form, though she was breathing heavily. The fight had triggered her Soul-Thirst, and she began to sway.
Lin Fan caught her before she hit the ground.
"The battle is over, Medusa," he said softly.
He placed a finger on her forehead and channeled a stream of Holy Qi synthesized from the Sun-Source's leftovers. He wasn't just healing her; he was "Teaching" her soul how to expand to match her bloodline.
[Divine Library: Soul-Expansion Protocol...]
[Status: Stabilizing Heavenly Medusa Bloodline.]
Medusa's emerald eyes fluttered open. She looked at Lin Fan, and for the first time, there was no arrogance, no commanding tone. There was only awe—and something deeper.
"You... you really did it," she whispered. "The thirst... it's gone. I feel... whole."
She sat up, looking at the Master Teacher who had saved her kingdom and her life.
"Master Lin Fan," she said, her voice now warm and melodic. "You spoke of a 'Toll' earlier. I think I owe you much more than a flying boat."
She stood up and, in front of her shocked warriors, bowed deeply to Lin Fan.
"The Silver-Sand Kingdom is now an ally of the Celestial Path Academy. And as for the keys to the Great Library... they are yours. Along with my personal protection."
She looked at him with a dominating, yet playful smile. "But don't think this makes us equals, scholar. A Queen never forgets a debt... or a man who can tame a goddess."
The Academy Ranks Up
Back on the flying boat, the group was celebrating. Mu Tie had reached Stage 5, Ling'er was at Stage 6, and Lu Bao had somehow managed to "digest" a piece of the Shadow-Hydra's tail, giving him a weird, shadowy glow.
[Ding! Quest Complete: Save the Southern Sun-Source.]
[Reward: Academy Reputation +50,000.]
[Reward: System Update... Preparing for Level 4.]
Lin Fan sat in his cabin, looking at a map of the world. He now had the support of a Stage 9 Queen and the resources of a desert kingdom.
"One wife down," Lin Fan chuckled to himself, though he knew the path to the other six would be much more complicated. "Next, we head to the Great Library of the Sands. Ten billion books... and hopefully, a clue to where the Demon King is hiding."
As the flying boat sailed over the silver dunes toward the Great Library, Lin Fan looked at his hand. He could feel the Sovereign Archive growing stronger.