Mirror Dream Tree

Saisei City.

The Silver Moon Pavilion.

In a private room of the restaurant, several people drink wine and share food around a long table.

Suddenly, Haruki, the leader of the law enforcement officers who went to arrest Bai Yanli, slams his hand down, making the plates rattle.

"Half an hour into this meeting," he growls, "and still no word from Sato."

The man next to him frowns as a few drops of wine splatter onto his sleeve.

"Haruki," the man says, "what's going on? You look like you've seen a ghost."

Another leans forward. "You've been tense all evening. What happened?"

"Wasn't this the day Sato planned to detain the Bai family member at school?" a third asks.

Haruki's face darkens, fear lurking behind his eyes even as anger burns on the surface.

He had reached the true core realm reluctantly, relying on shortcuts only available in the western continent—engraving spell matrices into his spiritual core to force an advance.

Unlike those who comprehended an artistic conception and broke its limits, his path relied on mastering a partial fourth-level spell and feeding himself vitality-rich resources until his core could sustain the matrix.

The process had taken nearly everything he had, and this path locked him at the initial true core realm forever unless he could acquire unimaginable amounts of treasure.

He'd come across the ocean under his family's orders, hoping to rise further.

With their support, he'd secured a prestigious post as one of the academy's law enforcement leaders.

And now, by crossing a spiritual master, all of that was crumbling before him.

One of the men looks at Haruki's grim face and sighs. "That expression says the plan failed."

"How could it?" someone asks, voice sharp. "No one at the academy can stand against you. Even the other spiritual masters at the school agreed to Sato's action."

The official from the city lord's office leans in, voice low. "Haruki… did you offend the new spiritual master who joined the academy today?"

Haruki stays silent, his lack of an answer making the others shift uneasily.

One of them leans forward and asks, "Who is this Spirit Master?"

Before Haruki can speak, the door opens.

Sato Ren, the group's leader and Sura's father, enters the room and shuts the door behind him.

He looks around at the assembled faces and asks, "What are you all talking about?"

Someone at the table replies, "We were wondering which Spirit Master caused your plan to fail — and why."

An official chimes in, "I only know his title: Dragon Master."

That catches everyone's attention, and one asks, "Dragon? What kind of title is that?"

Sato takes his seat at the head of the table and says, "Have you heard of the transformation technique?"

A few nod, some with serious expressions, some with quizzical glances toward those who seem more informed.

The official takes this as his cue. "Let me explain," he says, looking around to make sure he has everyone's attention.

"Six months ago, someone advanced to the True Core realm after mastering a full-body second-level transformation spell called Wind Swan."

A few lean in, interested.

"How did that happen?" one asks.

"I don't know all the details," the official says with a shrug, "but it caused an uproar. Even now, people flock to the Hoshino family hoping to learn the spell."

"You mean that spell can produce True Core realm spiritualists one after another," someone says in awe.

Another grumbles, "That's impossible. The Hoshino family wouldn't dare share that spell — why would they give away a treasure that could produce True Core cultivators continuously?"

"Exactly," someone agrees. "And they didn't. But Hoshino Minami, who created the spell, is teaching the transformation technique at the Grand Spiritual Academy. That spell is based on the technique."

Someone else frowns. "That means the Dragon Master must have learned it too."

Another asks the question everyone's thinking. "But Hoshino Minami is only a True Core spiritualist. How could someone become a master of the transformation technique if even Hoshino Minami hasn't reached the Spirit Master realm?"

Haruki finally snorts. "The Hoshino family can brag all they want, but don't believe they created the transformation technique."

The official laughs darkly. "You fool. Do you really believe a Spirit Master would let someone steal their creation and live? The council would obliterate the Hoshino family if they ever dared."

Sato, who knows the full story, says calmly, "There are two creators of the transformation technique. Hoshino Minami is the one who grasped the artistic conception of transformation and will become a master anytime with the Rule of Transformation. But the Dragon Master created the technique itself and divided it into stages. He became a Spirit Master through his Rule of Vitality."

The official frowns. "Then, shouldn't his title be Vitality Master?"

Sato smiles thinly. "He chose his title after the beast he transforms into."

One of the men glances around uneasily. "So… do we change our target, or do we keep moving against the Bai Family?"

Haruki leans forward. "We can't touch the Bai Family anymore. Bai Yanli — their most talented daughter — is now part of the Dragon Master's family. And the Dragon Master's family name is Matsuda. Don't forget that."

Someone mutters, "I know where the Dragon Master's home is."

All eyes swing toward him as he continues, "My wife told me yesterday she saw a strange beast—like a flying lizard—over the estate next to ours. The family there is also named Matsuda."

Sato steeples his hands thoughtfully. "Then let the Bai Family go. Our next goal is the Cui clan. Their bloodline comes from the winged-wolf clan, and rumour says they'll side with the Five Ancestors Axis."

The official grunts, "The Cui were once nobles in a Mong kingdom up north. Even now, they control Red Iron Mountain — their ancestral stronghold. But how do we strike at them and take Red Iron Mountain for ourselves?"

Another one shakes his head. "The plan we had for the Bai Family — marrying their most talented daughter, then wiping them out on the wedding day — won't work this time. The Cui clan never allows anyone without their bloodline into Red Iron Mountain."

The room falls quiet as everyone waits for Sato Ren's next words.

Sato Ren sets his glass down and says calmly, "Zen, Jin — the two of you will scout all the Cui family members in the city. Meng will send you their names and addresses. In a week, we'll meet again to make our plan."

He finishes his wine, places some coins on the table, and rises. "Today's drinks are on me."

Haruki hesitantly speaks up, "Sir, wait."

Sato arches a brow. "What is it?"

Haruki bows his head slightly. "I… offended the Dragon Master. Can you help me?"

Sato regards him for a moment, then says, "My master told me the Dragon Master is looking for a snake-type beast. I heard a Red Jade Python was recently brought to the Great Beast Pavilion. If you hurry, you may obtain it and earn his favour."

Haruki brightens and rushes out of the room.

Sato bids everyone farewell and departs as well.

---

A week later, in his research lab at the academy, Merin examines the Red Jade Python — a Great Beast capable of generating flames so intense they can melt stone.

He holds out a hand, and a bright red flame blooms at his fingertip.

He shuts his eyes, and in his mind-space, five intricate spell matrices appear. One glimmers with scales like jade, one shapes into a serpent's muscular body, one mimics its eyes and forked tongue, and one contains its signature flame.

The five matrices merge into a single complex formation, and outside his mind, Merin's body twists and lengthens into the form of the Red Jade Python.

He skips straight to the second stage of transformation, his mastery making the process effortless.

He doesn't mimic its life origin yet — the bell rings below in the training field, and students begin assembling.

He concentrates his mental energy to float upward and glides toward the staircase, then into the training hall.

When he enters the practice arena, students stare in awe as a Red Jade Python glides across the air and settles onto the platform.

They recognise their teacher by the unique fluctuation of his mental energy — every master's mental energy aura is distinctive and nearly impossible to fake.

Merin coils himself on the dais and raises his serpentine head, his eyes glowing with intelligence as he surveys the gathered students.

He speaks calmly, "All of you already know what to do — begin."

They settle cross-legged on the ground, and slowly, the stone beneath them glows red as phantoms of beasts rise behind them.

Unlike those here for the transformation technique class, these are all half-yao — his research subjects for crafting a cultivation path tailored to them.

While Merin watches, his thoughts drift to the idea of Warlocks and Blood Wizards from old stories, wondering if that concept could inspire a new path for half-yao.

Before he can do that, though, one critical hurdle must be solved.

The first stage of any spiritual cultivation — orthodox or heretical — is sensing one's spirituality in the flesh, which all of them can do.

But the second stage — gathering that spirituality into the mental space or dantian — is where they always stumble.

Half-yao bodies contain two kinds of spirituality.

Outwardly, they appear unified, but within, the energies are split and unequal.

The beast-blood energy is vastly more powerful than their human spirituality, and their mental strength is too weak to merge them into one stable source.

He watches as the beast phantoms one by one vanish, leaving exhausted students gasping, hands on the floor to brace themselves.

They all have low-purity bloodlines and couldn't even become great samurai, exactly why he requested them from the academy.

He hoped their simpler bloodlines would make them easier to guide toward this new path.

Merin releases a healing spell across the room, and colour returns to their faces as their strength is replenished.

They'll be ready to attempt the forbidden technique again soon enough.

As they begin their practice once more, phantoms of beasts rise behind each of them.

Merin permits them to use the Blood Burn technique, knowing it is one of the few ways they can truly master their own blood — though perfecting it is nearly impossible without a capable healer to restore their bodies exactly as they were before the technique.

Mastering their blood is only the first step; what comes next is unclear even to him.

Yet he knows that if they can pass this threshold, he will find a path for the second stage.

For now, his role is to heal them continuously so they can push toward this first completion as quickly as possible.

If even one student succeeds and reaches full mastery, he'll have the insight to craft the next level of their cultivation path.

When the session ends and the students leave, Merin lies on the ground and returns to his own practice.

He hasn't gone home for days, consumed by his research.

With his eyes closed, he slowly guides the transformation of his cells.

He appears as a Red Jade Python, but deep inside, his cells still bear the blueprint of a human.

To reach the third stage of the transformation, those cells must truly become like the Red Jade Python's.

Only then will he mimic its life origin and fool the world into seeing him as a beast rather than a man.

He must remain in this Red Jade Python form for as long as the process requires — a single interruption would reset all progress.