Chapter 42: Home and a New Beginning
Azure Cloud Sect was alive with celebration when they returned. The disciples cheered, the alliance leaders bowed, and Elder Mu pulled Lin Yue into a hug. “You did it,” he said, his voice proud. “You sealed the Dark Dragon. The realm is safe.”
Lin Yue held up the jade box, the five fragments now a single orb of blue light. “The fragments are one. The Dark Dragon’s soul is gone. We’re safe— for good.”
That night, they held a feast in the main hall. Disciples, alliance leaders, and friends gathered to eat, drink, and celebrate. Xiao Yu danced with Lin Yue, his father laughed with Elder Mu, and Ling told stories of their journey to the younger disciples.
As the feast ended, Lin Yue walked to the Spirit Spring— the place where it all began. He sat by the water, the jade box open in his hand. The five fragments glowed, their light reflecting on the spring’s surface.
Long Xuan’s voice echoed in his mind, soft and warm. “Your journey is over. The Dark Dragon is sealed, and the realm is safe. You’ve grown from a boy into a leader— into a hero.”
Lin Yue smiled, closing the box. “It wasn’t just me. It was all of us. Xiao Yu, my father, Wen, Ling— everyone who believed in me.” He looked up at the moon, which hung low over the spring. “What happens now?”
“Now,” Long Xuan said, “you live. You train the disciples, you help the alliance, you enjoy the peace you fought so hard for. The codex’s power is yours, but you don’t have to carry the weight of the realm alone anymore.”
Lin Yue stood, walking back to the sect. The disciples were still celebrating, their laughter echoing through the valley, and Xiao Yu waited for him at the main hall’s door. “Come on,” she said, taking his hand. “The night’s still young.”
They walked together, hand in hand, through the sect’s gardens. The cherry blossoms fell around them, soft and white, and the stars twinkled above. Lin Yue felt a sense of peace— a sense of home.
The journey had been long, the fights hard, but it was worth it. The Dark Dragon was sealed, the realm was safe, and he had the people he loved by his side.
Slow. Steady. Strong.
That’s how he’d won. That’s how he’d live.
And as the sun rose on a new day, Lin Yue knew— this was just the beginning of a new chapter. A chapter of peace, of joy, of new adventures.
And he was ready.