Chapter 24: The Dark Dragon’s Wrath and the Codex’s True Power
The grate above slammed open, and Lord Xiao descended into the chamber—his body twisted by dark qi, his skin a sickly gray, his eyes glowing with the same red light as the Shadow Wraiths. In his hand, he clutched the Azure Dragon Pearl, its surface crackling with black energy, and around him swirled a vortex of dark qi, strong enough to make Lin Yue’s hair stand on end.
“Foolish child,” Lord Xiao sneered, his voice now a mix of human and something deeper—guttural, beastly. “You think cutting off the ley line will stop me? The pearl has already given me the Dark Dragon’s power. I am beyond your petty tricks.”
He raised his hand, and a bolt of dark qi shot toward Lin Yue. Lin Yue dodged, the bolt striking the stone wall behind him, leaving a smoking crater. He gripped his sword, his dragon qi flaring bright—no more hiding, no more sheaths. This was the moment he’d trained for.
“Long Xuan,” he thought, “the fail-safe technique. How do I activate it?”
Long Xuan’s voice was urgent, but steady. “The pendant—hold it up to the pearl. The codex will recognize the key. But be warned: it will drain your dragon qi. All of it. You’ll be defenseless afterward.”
Lin Yue nodded, pulling the jade pendant from his neck. He held it high, and the pendant began to glow—soft at first, then bright, matching the blue of his dragon qi. The Azure Dragon Pearl in Lord Xiao’s hand flickered, as if repelled by the pendant’s light.
Lord Xiao’s eyes widened. “The key! You have the key!” He roared, sending a wave of dark qi toward Lin Yue. “Give it to me, or I’ll kill your father first!”
Lin Yue glanced up at the grate—his father was still there, his bound hands clenched, but his eyes calm, encouraging. “Don’t let him distract you,” his father shouted. “Focus on the pearl! That’s his weakness!”
Xiao Yu charged from the side, her dagger glowing with fire runes, aiming for Lord Xiao’s back. “I’ll keep him busy!” she shouted. “Do it, Lin Yue!”
Lord Xiao spun, swatting Xiao Yu aside with a wave of dark qi. She crashed into the wall, gasping for breath, but she pushed herself up—her resolve unbroken. “You’ll have to kill me first,” she spat.
Lin Yue’s heart raced. He couldn’t let Xiao Yu get hurt. He couldn’t let his father die. He took a deep breath, focusing all his will on the pendant and his dragon qi. “Codex,” he whispered, “show me the way.”
The pendant’s light exploded, and a surge of dragon qi poured from Lin Yue’s dantian—more than he’d ever summoned, bright enough to fill the chamber. The codex’s symbols appeared in the air around him, glowing blue, and the fail-safe technique flooded his mind: a sequence of movements, a chant, a sacrifice.
He began to move, his sword swirling with dragon qi, following the codex’s guidance. Lord Xiao roared, sending bolt after bolt of dark qi toward him, but the codex’s symbols formed a shield, blocking each attack. “No!” Lord Xiao screamed. “This can’t be! I am the Dark Dragon!”
Lin Yue reached the center of the chamber, directly in front of Lord Xiao. He held the pendant out, and the dragon qi from his body merged with the pendant’s light, forming a beam that shot toward the Azure Dragon Pearl. The pearl screamed— a high, shrill sound—and its dark qi began to dissipate.
Lord Xiao stumbled, clutching the pearl. “Stop! You’ll destroy us both!”
Lin Yue didn’t stop. He thought of his father, trapped for three years. Of the disciples who’d fought beside him. Of the realm, at risk of being burned to ash. He poured more dragon qi into the beam, feeling his strength fade—his legs shaking, his vision blurring—but he kept going.
Slow. Steady. Strong.
The pearl cracked. A bright light burst from it, and the Dark Dragon’s soul— a swirling mass of black and red—erupted, screaming. Lord Xiao fell to his knees, his body shrinking back to its human form, the dark qi leaving him. “I’m sorry,” he whispered, before collapsing, unconscious.
The Dark Dragon’s soul lunged toward Lin Yue, but the pendant’s light wrapped around it, pulling it back into the cracked pearl. The pearl fell to the floor, its dark qi gone, now just a dull, white stone.
Lin Yue collapsed to his knees, his dragon qi completely drained. He felt empty, weak, but alive. Xiao Yu ran to him, falling to her side. “You did it,” she said, her voice breaking. “You stopped him.”
From above, the grate opened, and his father climbed down—his bonds cut, his face filled with tears. He knelt beside Lin Yue, pulling him into a hug. “My son,” he said, his voice thick. “I’m so proud of you.”