Chapter 15 – The Return to Azure Sky
The black-gold flames had long faded, yet their echo lingered in the air like an aftershock. The once-fiery Blazing Wolf Mountain now stood silent — scorched earth, molten rivers hardened into obsidian, and the shattered remains of the Tower of Furnace glowing faintly in the dawn.
Baifang stood at the base of the ruins, his spear still humming with residual lightning. The storm had died, but his pulse hadn't. He could feel it — the pressure, the dominance, the awakening.
He muttered under his breath, "So you finally did it, huh, Yin Jin…"
A silhouette emerged through the rising heat haze.
Yin Jin walked out slowly, shirt in tatters, his body marked with glowing gold and black sigils that twisted like living flames. Two mirrored tigers of burning gold prowled across his back, their eyes flickering as if alive. His aura had changed — heavier, colder, and divine.
Baifang exhaled in disbelief and whistled.
> "Damn… remind me not to fight you for fun anymore."
Yin Jin gave a faint smile, his black-gold eyes dimly glowing.
> "Took me three days inside. Only one passed outside, right?"
> "Yeah," Baifang said, resting his spear on his shoulder. "While you were burning towers, I was cleaning up the rest of the beasts. You're welcome."
They both chuckled, the exhaustion of their separate battles melting away in that brief moment of peace. But peace didn't last long.
From above, a group of Azure Sky Academy patrol elders appeared, their robes fluttering as they descended on flying talismans. The air hummed with their spiritual might.
> "What happened here?" one barked. "We detected a divine-grade fluctuation!"
"The tower—destroyed?" another gasped. "Was it an incursion? A failed test?"
Baifang and Yin Jin exchanged a glance.
Yin Jin bowed slightly, his voice calm.
> "We encountered a transcendent beast within the tower. The trial continued… though it got out of hand."
The elders murmured among themselves, scanning the area. The scorch marks, the shattered terrain — it all looked like the aftermath of a divine battle. Yet no sign of external interference existed.
> "To produce such destruction within a contained test…" one elder muttered, "it's beyond what even high-grade disciples can manage."
Baifang grinned faintly.
> "Guess we passed, then?"
The leading elder frowned, but nodded curtly.
> "You've both survived. That alone proves your worth. Return to the Academy — the Head Instructor will want a report."
With a wave of his sleeve, a spiritual platform formed beneath them. The wind surged as Yin Jin and Baifang were lifted into the sky, heading toward the distant towers of Azure Sky Academy.
---
As they soared, Baifang crossed his arms behind his head and looked at Yin Jin.
> "So… gold and black flames now? What're you calling that thing?"
Yin Jin gazed into the clouds, his expression unreadable.
> "It's not just flame anymore. Something inside me… woke up. A power that feels ancient."
> "Ancient, huh?" Baifang smirked. "Then I guess the rest of us should start training before you start breathing fire on the elders."
Yin Jin's lips curved slightly.
> "If they push too hard, I just might."
They both laughed, their voices carried by the wind.
Far below, the mountain range still smoked, whispering tales of a battle no one at the academy would believe.
And far above, the two rising stars of Azure Sky streaked across the horizon — one wreathed in lightning, the other in black-go
ld flame.
Neither knew it yet, but their return would shake the entire academy to its core.