The midday sun bathed the upper plateau of the Floating Mountain in brilliant, crystal-clear gold.
A hundred thousand spectators filled the vast flat stone slab terrace outside the Thousand-Floor Celestial Pagoda. Colorful silk pennants representing four mortal empires and seventy-two traditional sects flapped gently in the mountain breeze. It mixed with the silver-and-black wolf banners of the Myriad Spirit Safe hall. Fragrant woodsmoke from hundreds of festival tea pavilions rose into the azure sky. He carried the mouthwatering scent of roasted sesame chestnuts, sweet bean cakes, and simmered ginger broth.
At the center of the terrace, the grand bronze transit platform flared with soft sapphire light.
As the spatial runes settled, Lin Xiao stepped onto the flat stone slabs in his scholar avatar, his azure-gray linen robes moving with unrushed ease. Beside him walked Yan Zixuan, his folded-steel sword sheathed at his hip, his star-iron tower shield resting across his back. His head held high with calm, humble dignity.
The moment their boots touched the terrace, a thunderous fanfare of sky bronze horns echoed across the peaks.
High in the sky, Xiao Long uncoiled his hundred-meter sky dragon body through the clouds. With a playful flick of his sapphire whiskers, the rain sovereign spun two huge water-spouts in mid-air. It caught the sunlight to paint twin rainbow auroras across forty leagues of open sky. Below the rainbows, Da Peng perched atop a towering black glass spire, his thirty-meter golden wings spread wide in royal greeting, his amber eyes shining with…
