A divine beast's legacy was a curious thing. They normally did not leave it behind as they knew that it could land in the hands of their enemies, particularly the humans. They only left behind a legacy if they had no other choice. Perhaps they held great regrets before death and were unwilling to die. Perhaps they or their clan was facing a great danger that they could not hope to defeat.
Whatever the reason, a divine beast's legacy represented their last hope, a hope that their legacy would live on no matter what. The baby Blue Dragon's source of fire was its undying legacy, its sadness, unwillingness to die, and its desire to save Arcadia. This Shining Dragon's source of light had to have an equal, if not greater reason.
Chen Wentian was happy that he had finally discovered the origin of the First Light of Zhulong. But what he discovered next made him elated.
This source of light contained a fragment of the original soul!
There was no mistake. He felt a distinct pull towards the source of light within his soul realm. The soul was old, it was faint, but it was far more powerful than anything he had ever dealt with. This fragment of a soul belonged to an adult dragon with infinite wisdom. It wasn't immature and silly like the baby blue dragon. As such, he dared not try to absorb it. He would certainly lose out and lose his life in the process.
While Chen Wentian pondered the circumstances of this Shining Dragon, Ming Mu was still explaining various aspects of the First Light of Zhulong. The clan head explained that the so-called first three stages of the First Light of Zhulong that mortal members of the clan practiced were nothing more than a poor imitation. The true immortal Dao was bestowed directly by the source of light and nobody else, not even the clan head, could reveal its secrets.
"Alright, I've spoken enough, time for the Trial of Light." Ming Mu said.
"Trial?" Chen Wentian asked.
"Don't worry. It is not dangerous. The First Light will cast its power over you to test your talent and compatibility for the immortal Dao of the First Light of Zhulong."
"Yes, clan head."
"Good, let's begin."
Ming Mu raised both hands and several colors of light shot out. There was blue, green, gray, and red. They all coalesced around the ball of white light and were smoothly absorbed.
A few moments later, there was a pulse of spiritual energy from the ball of light. Chen Wentian's vision turned white as he felt an immeasurable power enter his mind.
"Descendant of the Ming Clan, your Trial of Light has come!" A deep voice spoke to him within the blinding light.
The voice seemed to be speaking a strange hissing language but he could understand it clearly as human speech. Behind the voice was a power that was approximately at the Spirit King Realm. For a fragment of a dead soul to be still at the Spirit King Realm, the original soul was a supreme immortal dragon, a fearsome being that had few enemies in the world.
If he wanted to absorb this Shining Dragon soul, he would have to be at the Spirit King Realm at least and even then, success wouldn't be guaranteed. The risk was too great. He already had the Blue Dragon soul so he had no urgent need for another dragon soul.
While he debated with his greedy heart, the voice of the soul fragment continued to speak, "Mortal, you are on the verge of immortality and you are ready to learn the full secrets of the First Light of Zhulong! This one's divine Dao is one of light. Light is simply a combination of all five of the core elements of Wuxing; fire, earth, metal, water, and wood. To truly master light, you must be compatible with all five elements. This is beyond difficult for humans and the best any descendant of the Ming Clan has ever managed is four out of the five. Let's see how well you can do!"
With that, the white world around Chen Wentian changed into five different colored lights. The first was a deep ocean blue light. It was the power of water that represented flexibility, coolness, and wisdom. The next was a forest green light. It contained the power of wood which represented healing, blooming, nobleness, and benevolence. The third was a steel-gray light. It contained the power of metal and represented longevity, fortitude, and resilience. The fourth was a sunny yellow light. It represented wealth, growth, fealty, and honesty. The last was a blood-red light. It represented power, destruction, and bravery.
All five lights swirled around Chen Wentian, pummeling his body and melding with his spiritual energy. It was like he was being deconstructed by this divine power of light and put back together bit by bit. He lost track of time and could do nothing, letting this mortal body to the whims of the Shining Dragon soul…
Chen Wentian opened his eyes sometime later. The blinding lights had disappeared. He was still in the secret room and Clan Head Ming Mu was staring at him expectantly. The ball of light remained in the middle, glowing softly.
"Well? How did it go?" Ming Mu asked.
Chen Wentian extended his hand and five weak rays of light shot out, each a color of Wuxing, before they all melded together and became white.
"This… This…" Ming Mu's expression was one of complete shock, "This… is Wuxing! You brat, you are compatible with each element of Wuxing?"
"Reporting to clan head," Chen Wentian replied with a bow, "I have indeed passed the Trial of Light and am compatible with each element of Wuxing. The First Light has already bestowed me with the complete First Light of Zhulong."
Ming Mu suddenly burst out in laughter, "Hahaha! Good, good, good."
He said good several more times, patting Chen Wentian on the back.
"Xiao He, you brat, you lucky brat," Ming Mu said, his voice now filled with affection, "That incident with Long Yifei did not ruin your future but unlocked your true talent. I'm glad. You are the future of the Eastern Light Clan. Your talent is better than mine and all of our ancestors. Oh, I assume you the First Light has already told you what you have to do now?"
Chen Wentian answered, "Yes, clan head. Light is darkness. Darkness is light. Yin and yang. Yang and yin. They are opposite sides of the same whole. Men are yang. Women are yin. Men of light are supported by women's yin. Since I am compatible with each element of Wuxing, I have to find five suitable Dao companions to cultivate the true Dao of the First Light of Zhulong."
"That's right! Your old clan head only has four Dao companions. You will be the first person in the clan who has to get five Dao companions. You have to work hard!"
"The true Dao requires us to find multiple Dao companions depending on our talent. Why does the mortal version of the Dao speak of only one? Why didn't you stop me from pursuing Long Yifei?" Chen Wentian asked.
"Hahaha. That's just a harmless lie to keep mortal clan members away from the truth. As for Long Yifei, she is a genius-level talent with an affinity for ice. In other words, she would have been your Dao companion for the element of water."
Chen Wentian nodded and brought up another related matter, "Clan head, one more thing. I remember that the immortal Dao of the Rainbow Canyon Temple is called the Wuxing Color Transformation. The First Light of Zhulong also involves Wuxing. This can't be a coincidence."
"That's right. The first ancestor of the Rainbow Canyon Temple was actually an elder of the Eastern Light Clan. The temple was simply a convenient way for us to seek out suitable Dao companions of the five elements for our own use. Any bad reputation that arises over the years all get put on the Rainbow Canyon Temple and the Eastern Light Clan's reputation remains untarnished."
"I understand." Chen Wentian said.
"Good, looks like you have an interesting adventure ahead of you, finding five women and convincing them to be your Dao companions. Remember that it's not about speed but quality. A Dao companion with low talent is worse than no companion at all." Ming Mu said.
"Yes, clan head."
"I will have Rainbow Canyon Temple send you a list of potential candidates. Head out as soon as possible."
"Yes!"