The incident at the Mystic Realm had been brewing for a full week.
The academy’s investigation teams came and went. Senior students were pulled in for support, and even several Class A instructors were dispatched to guard the perimeter of the Mystic Realm. The academy suddenly felt much quieter, with fewer footsteps echoing through the hallways. That evening, a notice was posted on the bulletin board: the entire school was to be dismissed for an indefinite period, with resumption to be announced later.
Xuan Xi stood in front of the bulletin board, staring at the notice. So they were on break? And there was no telling when classes would resume. She suddenly had a lot of free time.
She sent a detailed account of what had happened to her foster father and waited for his reply. The Communication Stone vibrated. It was a response from him: “What? Break so early? I’m traveling with some old friends and won’t be home for a while. Don’t bother coming back. Just rest well at the academy.”
Xuan Xi stared at that message for a few seconds. She had originally planned to go home. She hadn’t seen her foster father since arriving at the academy, and this break seemed like the perfect chance to visit. But instead, he had gone off on his own without her.
She leaned against the headboard of her bed in the dormitory, staring at the ceiling. The academy was closed, and her foster father wasn’t home. Where could she go during this break?
The Communication Stone vibrated again. This time it was a message from a friend, whose avatar was an ice-blue snowflake. “I heard the academy is on break. Do you have any plans for the next few days?”
Xuan Xi typed: “I wanted to go home, but my foster father isn’t there. I don’t have any plans right now.”
A reply came almost immediately. “Then come to my place. My mother is a descendant of the Eastern Dragon race. She has some books and records about the Eastern Dragons. Maybe we can find something related to your origins.”
Veralis’s mother—the woman who had married into the West from the Eastern Dragon Domain. The things she had might be far more than what Xuan Xi currently knew. Perhaps Veralis’s mother could help her.
Just as she was about to reply, a hand reached from behind her and took the Communication Stone.
Xuan Xi turned around. SigrdrÃfa had come out of the bathroom at some point, looking down at the chat history on the screen. Her eyes glimmered in the light.
“When did you come over?” Xuan Xi asked.
“While you were spacing out at the ceiling.” SigrdrÃfa didn’t take her eyes off the screen. “So, Veralis invited you to her house?”
“Yeah.”
“Because her mother has Eastern Dragon bloodline and might find clues about your origins, right?”
“Yeah.”
SigrdrÃfa handed the Communication Stone back to her. “Are you going?”
“I want to.” Xuan Xi said.
SigrdrÃfa was silent for a moment. “Then I want to go with you.”
“Can you? Veralis only invited me—”
“It’s not safe for you to go alone.” SigrdrÃfa’s tone was flat. “Her house is in the Dragon Domain near the Central Continent. That area has been unstable lately, you know that.” She paused, eyes wide as she looked at Xuan Xi. “And last time you collapsed during Dragon Transformation, we still haven’t figured out why. If something happens again at her place, at least I’ll be there with you.”
Xuan Xi looked at her, at the still-dripping silver-white hair, at Sige’s lips pressed into a thin line. She wanted to say “It’s fine,” wanted to say “I can do it myself.”
But whenever she saw SigrdrÃfa’s face, those words just wouldn’t come out.
Xuan Xi sighed. “Alright, let’s go together.”
SigrdrÃfa picked up her own Communication Stone and sent someone a message.
A few seconds later, Xuan Xi’s Communication Stone vibrated. It was a reply from Veralis: “That one of yours wants to come too?”
Xuan Xi stared at the phrase “that one of yours” for a few seconds. She typed a line, “She’s worried it’s not safe.” Deleted it. “She wants to come too.” Deleted it. In the end, she just sent, “Yeah.”
Veralis didn’t reply, but Xuan Xi knew she had seen it. Just as she was about to start washing up, the Communication Stone vibrated again. It wasn’t Veralis this time, but a message from SigrdrÃfa, who was out on the balcony.
“After we go to Veralis’s place, let’s go to my place too.”
Xuan Xi paused and looked toward the balcony. The silver-white figure was sitting in a lounge chair, holding her Communication Stone, also looking back at her through the balcony door.
Xuan Xi: “Does your family know?”
“They do now.”
“…You just told them?”
“Yeah.”
“What did they say?”
“They said welcome.”
Xuan Xi stared at the reply for a long time. SigrdrÃfa’s family—the House Edelstein, ranked among the top three in the Dragon Domain—would welcome a “Bloodline-Less” dragon? Impossible. Behind those words, there must have been many conversations she didn’t know about, things SigrdrÃfa had shielded her from.
“What did you tell them?”
“That you’re my friend, that you want to come.” SigrdrÃfa paused. “I guaranteed them that you’re worth meeting.”
Xuan Xi typed a line: “Alright, then I’ll go.”
At two in the afternoon, Xuan Xi and SigrdrÃfa stood at the academy gate waiting for Veralis. The sun beat down directly overhead, shortening their shadows into dark dots. Xuan Xi wore a new dark cyan long robe—the one Sige had bought her that weekend. The silver cloud patterns shimmered faintly in the sunlight. She hadn’t wanted to wear it at first, thinking it was too formal, but Sige said she wanted to see it.
SigrdrÃfa stood beside her in a light gray casual outfit, her silver-white hair tied in a low ponytail, revealing the fair skin of her nape.
A pale golden figure approached from a distance. Veralis wore an ice-blue dress today, her light blonde braid draped over her left shoulder. She stopped in front of them, her ice-blue eyes first glancing at Xuan Xi, then at SigrdrÃfa.
“Let’s go.” Veralis said.
The three of them walked side by side along the footpath. Xuan Xi was in the middle, SigrdrÃfa on the left, Veralis on the right.
As they neared the Teleportation Array, SigrdrÃfa slowed her pace. She moved to Xuan Xi’s right side, opposite Veralis.
Xuan Xi saw Veralis’s eyebrow twitch, but she said nothing.
The light of the Teleportation Array faded. Xuan Xi opened her eyes.
The scene before her was not what she had imagined. She had thought Veralis’s home would be like an ancient family estate—with towering castles, old walls, and lands stretching beyond sight. But what appeared before her was just a quiet manor, perched on a hill, surrounded by vast fields of blue flowers.
“This is the territory of the Frostmark Family.” Veralis’s voice came from beside her. “Certainly not as grand as those ancient families, but it’s enough.”
The three of them walked along the gravel path toward the manor. Xuan Xi was in the middle, SigrdrÃfa on the left, Veralis on the right. No one spoke. Only the sound of wind blowing through the flower fields and distant bird calls filled the air.
A person stood under the manor’s porch. She was a middle-aged female dragon in human form, with black hair streaked with silver. Her eyes were deep blue—not Veralis’s icy blue, but a deeper lake blue. She wore a simple, elegant dress, a light gray shawl draped over her shoulders, standing in the shadow of the porch.
“Mother.” Veralis stepped forward, slightly turning to reveal Xuan Xi and SigrdrÃfa behind her. “These are my classmates, Xuan Xi Hellas and SigrdrÃfa von Edelstein.”
Lady Frostmark’s gaze fell on Xuan Xi. Her deep blue eyes paused on her face—specifically, on the Destiny Mark beneath her right eye.
Xuan Xi had seen that look before. The shopkeeper had looked at it, the proprietress of the Eastern snack stall had looked at it, and Veralis had looked at it too. But Lady Frostmark’s gaze was different. She seemed to truly recognize the origin of this mark.
“Please, come in, both of you.” Lady Frostmark’s voice was soft, carrying a warmth that felt out of place in this continent. “The tea is already steeped.”
The living room was small but warm. Fire blazed in the hearth, the wood crackling. Several paintings hung on the walls—some landscapes, some portraits, and one depicting a dragon coiled in the clouds, its body long, wingless, with five claws. Xuan Xi’s gaze lingered on that painting.
“That’s a painting of an Eastern Dragon.” Lady Frostmark’s voice came from behind her. “My mother painted it. She came from the Eastern Dragon Domain. After she married my father, she never went back.”
Xuan Xi turned around. Lady Frostmark stood behind her holding a tea tray, the firelight reflecting in her deep blue eyes. “That Destiny Mark on your face—my mother had one too, because she was a descendant of a collateral branch of the Azure Dragon Clan.”
The living room fell silent for a moment. Another piece of wood crackled in the hearth.
“Do you know about the Azure Dragon?” Xuan Xi asked.
“A little.” Lady Frostmark set the tea tray on the coffee table and sat down in an armchair. “When my mother was alive, she told me many things about the Eastern Dragon Domain. She said the Eastern Dragon Domain is not on this continent.”
Lady Frostmark picked up her teacup. The light golden liquid swayed gently in the white porcelain. “It lies across the Storm Sea, facing the Human Kingdom across the water. From the easternmost port of the Western Dragon Domain, with favorable winds, it takes nearly two months to sail. If you encounter a storm—and the Storm Sea has storms year-round—it might take half a year, or you might never arrive at all.”
The fire in the hearth blazed, the wood crackling. Lady Frostmark’s voice seemed especially gentle in the firelight.
“And besides, the proud Eastern Dragons disdain sharing territory with any race. The entire Eastern Dragon Domain is inhabited only by dragons. Oh, no, that’s not quite right—there are other races: humans, Beast Tribe, Elf Tribe. But they don’t share the territory as equals. They are… subordinates. In the cities of the Eastern Dragon Domain, they only have residency rights, and every year they must pay tribute to the dragons, obey their commands, and live by laws set by the dragons.”
“All under heaven, no land not the king’s.” Xuan Xi softly recited the line that Teacher Cecilia had quoted in class.
Lady Frostmark glanced at her and nodded. “Yes, that’s exactly it.”
She set down her teacup, her fingers lightly stroking the rim. “The dynasty of the Eastern Dragons is called the ‘Azure Dragon Dynasty,’ with the Azure Dragon Clan at its head. It has been passed down for countless generations. The Azure Dragon Clan is the foremost of the Five Main Direct Bloodlines. The other four are divided by geographic direction into the Four Directional Dragon Kings. Each has its own territory and its own duties. The heads of the Four Directional Dragon Clans form the Council of Elders, and above the Council is the Dragon Emperor of the Azure Dragon lineage.”
“Dragon Emperor…” Xuan Xi repeated the words, feeling a strange weight on her tongue.
“The Dragon Emperor is the supreme ruler of the Azure Dragon Dynasty. Each generation is inherited by the Azure Dragon direct bloodline. Below the Dragon Emperor, there are layers of enfeoffment, with strict hierarchy.” Lady Frostmark’s gaze fell on the Destiny Mark beneath Xuan Xi’s right eye. “And the Azure Dragon direct line has a characteristic—the Destiny Mark. Every generation of the Azure Dragon direct bloodline is born with innate markings beneath the right eye. The number of markings increases as the bloodline awakens, until the nine-marked one becomes emperor.”
Xuan Xi’s fingers unconsciously touched the markings beneath her right eye. Two. Nine marks made an emperor. She still had seven levels to go to reach “emperor.” That was not a path she could walk in a short time—perhaps never.
“But why does it stop Xuan Xi’s Dragon Transformation?” SigrdrÃfa’s voice came from the side, her eyes fixed on Lady Frostmark. “When Xuan Xi undergoes Dragon Transformation, the Destiny Mark glows and suppresses her transformation. Do you know why?”
Lady Frostmark was silent for a moment. “I know a little, but not much. My mother left some notebooks with records. I can show them to you. Veralis, go to the study and bring them over.”
Veralis came back from the study carrying a thick stack of notebooks, placing them on the coffee table. The covers were yellowed, the edges worn, and some pages had even come loose, carefully resewn with thread. Veralis opened the top notebook, flipped to a certain page, and pushed it in front of Xuan Xi.
“Here.” Her finger pointed at a line of text.
The handwriting was in an ancient Eastern script. Xuan Xi stared at the line for a few seconds, her lips moving slightly.
“The bloodline of the Azure Dragon is born with the Destiny Mark. The mark is both proof of the bloodline and a sealing lock to protect the body. It does not pass to non-lineage, nor does it open before its time.”
“What does that mean?” SigrdrÃfa asked.
Xuan Xi translated for her: “The Azure Dragon’s bloodline is born with the Destiny Mark. The Mark is proof of the bloodline and also a lock that protects the body. It won’t appear in those who are not of the Azure Dragon bloodline, and it won’t open until the right time.”
Lady Frostmark nodded. “My mother wrote in her notes that because the Azure Dragon bloodline is too powerful, it cannot be borne in childhood. So the Destiny Mark seals most of the power during childhood, gradually releasing it as one ages and grows stronger. Forcibly breaking the seal can result in unconsciousness at best, or damage to the source at worst.”
“When will it be unlocked?” Xuan Xi asked.
“I don’t know.” Lady Frostmark said. “Each person’s time is different. Perhaps when you are strong enough, or when your bloodline senses some kind of call.”
Xuan Xi’s fingers lightly rubbed the page.
“Can I borrow these notebooks to take back and read?”
Lady Frostmark smiled gently. “Of course. These notebooks are just gathering dust here. Better to give them to someone who needs them.”
Xuan Xi hugged the stack of notebooks to her chest, the edges of the paper pressing against her arms. Lady Frostmark watched her movements, a look in her deep blue eyes that was hard to describe—like relief.
“How alike.” She said softly.
Xuan Xi looked up. “Like who?”
“Nothing.” Lady Frostmark shook her head. “I heard my mother mention something. The last bloodline of the Azure Dragon direct line was named Ao Lan. During the Civil War in the Azure Dragon Dynasty three hundred years ago, she fled west with her young daughter and was never heard from again.” She looked at Xuan Xi’s face, her gaze roaming across her features. “My mother said that those of the Azure Dragon direct line all carry something in their brows and eyes that can’t be put into words. It’s a kind of responsibility—the burden of carrying an entire dynasty.”
Xuan Xi lowered her head and looked at the notebooks in her arms.
“Then do you know… what happened to her later?”
Lady Frostmark was silent for a long time. “I don’t know. But my mother once said, ‘The bloodline of the Azure Dragon will never break. One day, it will return.'”
She looked at Xuan Xi, her deep blue eyes like two warm stars in the firelight. “Perhaps it has already returned.”
Xuan Xi’s fingers paused on the rim of her teacup. “Then… why did your mother leave the Eastern Dragon Domain?”
Lady Frostmark smiled. “Because of love. My mother fell in love with my father, a Western Dragon. Such a union was absolutely forbidden in the Eastern Dragon Domain. The collateral branches of the Azure Dragon Dynasty were not allowed to marry out, let alone marry so far away to the West. So she eloped with my father and never went back.”
“Did she regret it?”
Lady Frostmark looked at the fire in the hearth for a while. “She regretted not being able to bring more things out—those Eastern books and notes, those memories of the Eastern Dragon Domain. But she never regretted marrying my father.”
The fire in the hearth blazed, the wood crackling.
“And you?” Xuan Xi asked. “Do you want to go see the Eastern Dragon Domain?”
Lady Frostmark picked up her teacup and took a sip. “I used to think about it every day when I was young. Later, I stopped. Even if I went, what could I do? The people my mother knew are no longer there. I don’t know a single person there. That place is just a name to me now, not a home.” She set down her teacup and looked at Xuan Xi, her deep blue eyes calm. “But you’re different. Your home is there.”