SUPREME ARCH-MAGUS

Sea Ancestral Temple…

Within a closed chamber, a warm glow danced atop the luminous blue pearl lamps. The first Naga princess, Neela lay upon a sea-silk bed formed from the ribs of a sea serpent, her head rested against Kent’s bare chest, her fingers idly tracing the golden hue of his skin.

They had just completed a sacred dual cultivation ritual, one rooted in passion and purpose. The extreme Yang energy Kent carried had stabilized her condition, merging with her Yin essence in harmony rather than chaos. Her limbs were light, her breath calm, her soul—finally at peace.

Sweat filled her entire naked body and dripping from soft curves.

“You…” she murmured, her voice no longer brittle with fatigue, but soft with curiosity. “You didn’t come here just to heal me, did you? Why did you come to this sea ancestral temple on the first note?”

Kent’s eyes opened slowly. The golden flecks within them shimmered like sunlit waves.

“No,” he said after a moment. “I came here because of a fight. A fight I should’ve lost.”

Neela lifted her head slightly, resting her chin on his shoulder. “I’m really curious. Tell me.”

Kent exhaled. “It happened in the Immortal Living Pool Academy, far from here. I fought an Arena battle against someone called Lee Dong, a Peak mid earth cultivator who had a grand master rank weapon. I was able to match him in the entire fight. But I took a severe damage along with my enemy. I was supposed to die like that… but your sister Nyara intervened.”

“My sister?” Neela blinked. “She saved you?”

“Yes,” Kent nodded. “At the final moment, she fed me a life saving pill, and brought me here—to this temple. She said she needed my help… that I had a role to play in changing the fate of the Naga Clan. But she wouldn’t say what that role was. Only that I needed to prove myself first.”

Neela sat up abruptly, her bare back catching the silver moonlight that streamed through the coral lattice window.

“Prove yourself?” she whispered. “But to do what exactly?”

Kent leaned up on one elbow, watching her with calm eyes. “I don’t know. She hasn’t told me yet. She only said “I must show my worth, prove my power, and then she’ll reveal the task that could either save or doom this clan.”

Neela’s fingers curled over the bed sheet. Her heartbeat quickened.

“There’s only one thing… one task that could change the fate of the Naga Clan,” she said, more to herself than him. “To awaken the dormant ancestor god sealed beneath the Ocean Abyss. The one who carries the Sea God Legacy.”

She turned to look at him, her brows furrowing with disbelief.

“But that can only be done by a human… with scales. A beast form. A hybrid born with great inheritance. Those were the conditions I know. You’re not—” she paused, then narrowed her eyes. “You’re not that person. Right?”

Kent was silent as he understood the conditions she just mentioned. He realized why Nyara selected him in the first place. “The scale!”

“What did you say?” Neela asked in confusion.

Then, without a word, Kent stood and stepped away from the bed.

Neela watched as he raised his arms and drew a deep breath.

In a shimmer of energy, his skin shifted.

Golden scales erupted across his arms and chest. His fingers lengthened into clawed digits. His eyes turned into slitted irises, and from his back burst faint phantom wings—not yet fully formed, but carrying the imprint of a royal dragon bloodline. His form grew more radiant, more ancient.

Neela’s breath hitched.

She stepped back, a hand to her mouth.

“You… You are the fated one…”

“Maybe! I also don’t know.” Kent said.

Suddenly Neela’s gaze turned down as she watched Kent’s transformed manhood. As he was not wearing any clothes, she was able to see the raised dragon pole which cultivated her cave in human form.

“Never use that on me!” She exclaimed as she turned away with a short giggle.

Kent exhaled, returning to his human form with a flash of light.

“I also don’t know why I am here! Your sister didn’t tell me anything till now. But I will do anything to repay the favor!.” Kent said.

Neela turned, walked to the window, and stared out toward the abyss.

“You don’t know, kent. This is a big story. That ancestor god… he fell asleep willingly to escape the curse of the Sea emperor’s betrayal. He sealed the legacy and took the fate of the sea with him. We’ve been dwindling ever since. Every few centuries, a prophecy arises. That someone would come—someone with beast blood, but human wisdom. Someone who would awaken him and unite the sea clans.”

She looked over her shoulder.

“Now I understand why my sister brought you here. But Kent… you must not do this.”

Kent’s brows furrowed. “Why?”

Neela walked toward him, her face pale with fear. “Because it’s suicide! The seal itself drains life force. The ocean will fight you. The spirits will test you. And the ancestor god… if he deems you unworthy, he won’t just reject you. He will consume you.”

Kent stepped closer, his expression resolute.

“Interesting! It is a greater risk than I thought. Let it be… I will do it.”

“Why?!” Neela cried. “You’ve already saved me! You don’t owe us anything!”

Kent’s voice lowered.

“Because I can’t stay weak. I lost everything once. My identity, my command. I need to reclaim it. And the weapon I need—the only one strong enough to withstand the wrath of the Sovereign Heavens—can only be forged in the Sea Flame Forge and that too with the help of a Muni Naga.”

Tears welled in Neela’s eyes.

“Then let me help you. I will gather my best artisans. My vault has sacred relics—shell armor blessed by moon priests, tear pearls of invulnerability, water lotus barriers. I will give you every protection we have. Just promise me… don’t rush it.”

Kent smiled faintly.

“I don’t plan to die just yet.”

Neela stepped forward and hugged him tightly.

“You better not,” she whispered. “Because if you die, I swear I’ll find your soul and kill myself.”

They stood like that for a while. The moonlight watching from above, and the sleeping sea below unaware that its fate was beginning to stir.

Slowly their hug intensified and their bodies met once again. His lips tasted her pink node.