The Azure Dragon Codex ⁽⁴²⁾

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…

They left the cave as the sun set, the five fragments safe in the jade box. The Whispering Gorge was quiet now, the wind’s whisper soft, and they walked to the nearby village— small, with wooden houses and a central square— as the stars began…

The southern road stretched ahead like a ribbon of dirt, winding through forests and valleys as spring fully bloomed. Lin Yue’s team traveled light—packs filled with dried meat, healing herbs, and the map of the Southern Mountains—their pace steady but purposeful. Xiao Yu had joined…

The road south from Frostport wound through rolling hills, the snow growing thinner with each step until it disappeared entirely, replaced by patches of green grass pushing up through the soil. Spring was coming, slow but sure, and the air smelled of fresh earth and…

The walk back to Frostport was quieter than the journey north—no Bone Eaters, no howling wind, just the soft crunch of snow under boots and the faint glow of the jade box in Lin Yue’s coat. The sun had set by the time they reached…