Chapter 290: Fated Opportunities (I)

The eastern depths of the blessed secret realm held a sight that would have sent any knowledgeable martial artist into a frenzy.

Diana Eunice Lunareigh stood before an enormous pool of boiling blood, her amethyst eyes reflecting its crimson surface. Thick bubbles rose and burst across the pool, releasing wisps of red mist that twisted through the air like living serpents. The surrounding ground was scorched and shattered, with enormous claw marks gouged into the earth and deep furrows that stretched for miles. Even the distant mountains had been reduced to broken heaps of stone, bearing the unmistakable traces of a battle that had once shaken heaven and earth.

Yet the most astonishing sight was not the pool itself, but the two enormous remains surrounding it.

On one side lay the husk of a dragon, its skeletal body stretching across the ruined landscape. Its scales had long since lost their luster, and its bones were cracked in countless places, but the majesty it had possessed in life had not completely disappeared. On the opposite side rested the remains of a phoenix, its wings spread across the ground like a pair of fallen suns. Its feathers had withered into ashes, leaving behind a skeletal frame that seemed to have been frozen in the final moment of its existence.

They had fought each other.

There was no need for Diana to know their history to understand that much. The devastation surrounding them spoke clearly enough, and the pool between their corpses was the final proof of their mutual destruction. Their blood had mixed during their final struggle, and their essences had gathered in the lowest depression of the battlefield, refusing to dissipate even after an immeasurable passage of time.

More astonishingly, those essences were still fighting.

Every time the crimson liquid boiled, streaks of golden light and scarlet flames surfaced within it. A dragon’s roar and a phoenix’s cry seemed to echo faintly through the mist, their wills clashing against one another despite the deaths of their original owners.

For most martial artists, this pool would have been an extraordinary treasure, but it would also have been a potentially lethal hazard. The remaining blood essence was far too powerful, and its conflicting properties could easily destroy someone who attempted to absorb it without the proper foundation.

For Diana, however, it was almost as though the secret realm had prepared this opportunity specifically for her.

She possessed the Dragon and Phoenix Martial Physique, a rare constitution that allowed her to inherit the strengths of both mythical creatures. Although her bloodline had already awakened and provided her with tremendous power, it had yet to reach its full potential. She could feel that her physique still possessed room to grow, and the blood essence before her was precisely what she needed to advance it further.

The dragon’s essence would strengthen her body and deepen the power sleeping within her blood, while the phoenix’s essence would complement it, allowing her vitality and regenerative potential to develop alongside her physical strength. More importantly, if she could harmonize the two opposing essences, she could refine the foundation of her physique itself rather than merely increasing its power.

A stronger foundation meant greater potential in the future. It would make every subsequent advancement smoother and allow her to reach heights that would otherwise remain beyond her grasp.

Diana understood the value of such an opportunity immediately.

She removed her armor and carefully placed it beside the pool before stepping into the boiling blood. The moment it touched her skin, an overwhelming heat surged through her body, followed by a violent chill that seemed to freeze her bones. Her Dragon and Phoenix Martial Physique reacted instinctively, releasing golden radiance and brilliant crimson flames that spread across her body.

The pool responded to her presence. Its surface churned violently, and the two conflicting essences surged toward her as if recognizing something familiar. Diana gritted her teeth as the blood rose around her waist, then her shoulders, until she was submerged up to her neck.

Pain immediately tore through her body. It felt as though countless dragons were attempting to crush her bones while phoenix flames burned through her blood, forcing every trace of impurity out of her body. Her chakra surged uncontrollably, and the two forces repeatedly collided within her, threatening to tear apart the harmony she had spent years establishing.

Diana did not retreat.

She had faced countless dangers during the Imperial Ranking War, and she had not survived by running away whenever something hurt. If anything, this was the sort of opportunity she had dreamed of obtaining, one capable of changing her future rather than merely helping her win another battle.

"I’m not leaving until I’ve absorbed every last drop," she muttered, closing her eyes as her physique began to devour the blood essence.

The pool boiled harder, and the dragon and phoenix remains trembled as though their final struggle had begun anew. Diana remained in its center, her silver hair floating across the surface, golden light and crimson flames coiling around her body. She had no idea how long the process would take, but she had already made her decision.

She would endure it to the end.

Lily Anne Heartveil had been separated from Ren for quite some time.

Unlike Diana, whose destination had announced itself through a powerful, almost overwhelming presence, Lily’s calling had been strangely gentle. It was a quiet pull from somewhere deep within her heart, a sense of familiarity that grew stronger with every step until she arrived before the ruins of an ancient temple.

The structure was in terrible condition. Its outer walls had collapsed, its pillars were cracked, and weeds had grown between the broken stones. Faded carvings covered what remained of its entrance, depicting a female figure whose features had been worn away by time. Lily could not tell who the deity was supposed to represent, but the moment she approached the temple, an indescribable feeling of closeness spread through her chest.

It was not the reverence she might feel before a powerful expert, nor the excitement of discovering a valuable inheritance. It was something far more personal, as though a part of herself had been waiting here for a very long time.

She entered without hesitation.

The interior was just as ruined as the outside, with broken statues and shattered offerings scattered across the floor. Yet at the center of the main chamber stood a cherry blossom tree, its branches covered in delicate pink flowers. Beneath it rested a bed carved from pale jade, its surface smooth and spotless despite the decay surrounding it.

The contrast was almost absurd. Everything else had suffered the passage of time, but the bed looked as though someone had cleaned and maintained it every day. Not even a speck of dust rested upon its surface, and the cherry blossoms above it remained fresh and vibrant, their petals drifting through the air without ever withering.

Lily approached slowly, her peach-blossom eyes fixed on the bed. Something inside her throbbed, sending a clear instinct through her body: lie down and sleep.

She hesitated for only a moment. The place did not make her feel threatened, and the strange familiarity in her heart had only grown stronger since entering the temple. Trusting that instinct, she sat on the jade bed, lay down beneath the cherry blossoms, and allowed her eyes to close.

The moment she fell asleep, the temple changed.

A soft pink radiance emerged from Lily’s chest, accompanied by a pure white glow that spread across her body. Her Sacred Grade Stainless Heart Martial Physique had always granted her exceptional comprehension, mental resistance, and unusually pure chakra. It was a constitution that allowed her to understand techniques with remarkable clarity while protecting her mind from external interference. Yet even with those advantages, her physique had remained within the limits of its original awakening.

Now, something deep within it began to stir.

Her heartbeat slowed, and each beat sent a wave of light through her bloodstream. Her chakra circulated without the slightest obstruction, growing increasingly transparent as impurities and imperfections were gradually stripped away. The energy no longer merely flowed through her body; it responded to her thoughts and instincts with an almost unbelievable precision, as though the distance between understanding and execution had begun to disappear.

The cherry blossoms reacted first. Their petals stopped falling and instead floated around Lily in a gentle spiral, each one glowing with a faint white-pink radiance. Then the broken carvings across the temple began to shine, revealing patterns that had remained hidden beneath centuries of erosion. The blurry female deity above the entrance seemed to gain a little more definition, though her face remained indistinct, as if the temple itself refused to reveal her identity.

Within Lily’s mind, countless impressions surfaced and vanished.

She glimpsed movements she had never learned, principles she had never studied, and countless variations of sword thrusts that unfolded with startling clarity. They did not force themselves into her understanding as a foreign inheritance would. Instead, they passed through her consciousness like memories she had forgotten, each one leaving behind a faint but permanent impression.

Her Stainless Heart Martial Physique was changing.

The first signs were subtle: her breathing became perfectly steady, her chakra settled into an extraordinary state of purity, and the faint fluctuations of her emotions no longer disturbed her inner balance. Then a thin, luminous pattern appeared over her chest, centered above her heart. It resembled a delicate blossom formed from white and pink light, its petals opening and closing in time with her heartbeat.

The pattern spread gradually, tracing faint lines across her skin before sinking beneath it. Her physique was not simply growing stronger. Its ability to comprehend, resist interference, and refine her chakra was reaching a new level, as if the boundaries that had limited its original awakening were being carefully dismantled.

The temple’s remaining spiritual energy flowed toward her, not in a violent torrent but in a steady stream. The jade bed glimmered, and the cherry blossom tree released a warm, gentle aura that settled over Lily like a blanket. For the first time, the power hidden within her constitution began to awaken beyond its original limits.

Lily slept peacefully, unaware of the transformation taking place within her.

She had not come here seeking a stronger physique, nor had she understood the true purpose of this ancient temple. She had simply followed the calling that touched her heart, trusting an instinct she could not explain.

Yet that decision had brought her to an opportunity capable of changing her future.

Beneath the cherry blossoms, her Sacred Grade Stainless Heart Martial Physique entered a second awakening, and the foundation of her talent began to transform.