Inside the Grand Hall of the Xiao Clan, a solemn stillness pervaded the air. At the head of the chamber sat the Xiao Clan Patriarch, his imposing figure was draped in flowing ceremonial robes with golden dragon embroidery. His sharp eyes which carried the weight of countless years of wisdom flickered with an unreadable expression.
In front of him, the luxuriously crafted jade table stretched before him, his grand seat set apart from the rest, his seat was larger and more imposing, a silent testament to his authority. On either side of the table, nine elders sat with similar dragon embroidered robes, only that their's wasn't golden but silver, their seats were evenly divided, everything seemed to be in order, except the third seat on the right was empty.
A few of the elders at the table sat in silence, their fingers tapping against the table lightly yet impatiently as their patience was continually wearing thin. Others exchanged glances with their expressions shifting between irritation and intrigue. Some of them merely waited, unwilling to voice their discontent. But one… one person saw an opportunity.
The second seated elder on the right, Elder Xiao Zhen, a man with sharp features and cold, calculating eyes suddenly stood up from his seat with rage evident on his face.
"Patriarch," he began, his tone seemingly respectful but carrying an unmistakable edge, "forgive me for speaking out of turn, but..."
Before he could complete his sentence, a loud noise erupted from outside.
Bang!
The massive doors of the Grand Hall burst open as a figure stumbled in. A young disciple directly rushed in drenched in sweat, his breathing was ragged but he still composed himself as best he could before falling on one knee, his chest rising and falling violently. He had clearly ran a great distance to get here.
All eyes turned toward him, the tension in the room shifting in an instant. One of the elders immediately stood up and slammed his palm on the jade table in rage.
"Impudent! How dare you barge in here like that"
"P-Patriarch!" the disciple gasped, barely able to catch his breath. "Come quick, T-The Third Elder's courtyard something is happening!" the raging elder's question was directly ignored by the kneeling disciple.
Elder Zhen who's words were cut short was about to fly into a fit of rage as well, his face twisted into a scowl. The moment he had been waiting for, the chance to turn the Patriarch against the Third Elder by pointing out his fault was now lost.
The hall, which had just been filled with barely concealed impatience was now completely still, every eye pierced countless holes into the disciples body as they eagerly awaited him to speak, for him to barge into a meeting between the elders and even the patriarch then what he had to say ought to be heaven defying, or else...
The Patriarch's sharp and piercing gaze narrowed slightly but no sign of anger could be seen on his face. "Speak."
The disciple swallowed hard. "Auspicious signs! Patriarch just moments ago, the sky began to stir. The skies above the Third Elder's residence turned golden, and an overwhelming pressure descended from the heavens! a-and I swear I heard the cry of a celestial dragon!... His wif... his wife..." the disciple struggled to speak as he gasped for air violently.
The hall fell into an eerie silence, only desperate gasping sounds could be heard. The elders present exchanged glances, their expressions shifting from doubt to shock, even the formerly raging Elder Zhen and co wore completely stunned expressions.
The Patriarch's fingers slowly tightened around the armrest of his chair. His voice, calm yet carrying an undercurrent of suppressed emotion, asked, "And the Third Elder's wife?"
"She… she has gone into labor," the disciple uttered, his voice trembling, one couldn't tell if it was because he was tired or astonished. "The child… is about to be born."
A single beat passed, and then the Patriarch rose to his feet. His vast spiritual aura, restrained for decades, surged like a tidal wave, shaking the very foundation of the hall.
The Patriarch who always seemed calm and collected was currently trembling all over, he waved his hand indicating for the elders to follow him before rushing out of the Grand Hall.
-----
Currently many people from the Xiao Clan were gathered outside a courtyard, the gates of said courtyard were opened but none of the people outside dared to enter... this was after all the courtyard of an elder level figure. They bustled and clamored loudly, creating a lively atmosphere as they marveled at the spectacle that was occuring in the sky.
A deep golden hue had swallowed the previously blue sky, turning it completely golden, phantoms of celestial dragons dancing in the rain were projected from the sky as faint dragon roars echoed endlessly.
Bang!
The sound of thunder burst through the clouds as if announcing the arrival of a god as the phantom of an Azure Dragon that was almost twenty times the size of the other dragons charged through the clouds with a vicious roar, the pressure it exuded was incomparably heavy and boundless but it didn't have any maliciousness or intension of suppression, or else everything present would be killed instantly!
"Oh god, what is that?"
"It-it... It's the Azure Dragon!"
"What!? For the Azure Dragon to appear as an auspicious sign... Just what monster has our third elder birthed?"
"The heavens have seen the decline of my Xiao Clan and sent us a savior!"
Heated discussions broke out amongst the excited disciples as they discussed the spectacle in the sky, they were obviously very shaken by it. At this moment the Azure Dragon began to twist, turn and swirl around the courtyard that everyone was gathered before, after continuing to dance around the courtyard for a little more than ten breaths it slowed down and descended gently into the courtyard.
The courtyard wasn't very big, at least it was smaller than the Azure Dragon phantom however as the Azure Dragon slowly descended it began to rapidly shrink in size. The only inhabitants of the courtyard currently were a man, a woman and a maid. The man had on a luxurious silver robe on his person, it was decorated with dragon engravings flying across it in a dancing motion similar to the one that the other elders wore, his eyes were filled with incredulity as he stared at the sky, the woman beside him on a bed had only just received her baby from the maid when she noticed the Azure Dragon phantom charging straight at her... Or rather, charging at the baby in her hand.
"Ahh..."
Her supple lips parted slightly in shock, she hurriedly covered her mouth with her palm as if in fear of ruining the heavenly blessings being bestowed on her family, most especially her new born son. She was an extremely beautiful woman, she had a small round face and a tiny nose that made her look younger than she actually was, her supple pink lips added contrast to her snow like skin making her looks even more eye-catching, but her radiance was completely overshadowed at this moment by the overwhelming might of the Azure Dragon phantom.
The Azure Dragon had already shrunk to a size that could barely fit into the courtyard, and at this point it ancient and proud eyes were locked with that of the infant's, as if perplexed by something, the infant's mouth made an "O" shape and it's head tilted slightly in an overwhelmingly cute manner, seeing that the huge shining object that was the Azure Dragon phantom was currently so close to it, it didn't have any bit of fear or resistance, on the contrary there was a deep sense of intimacy and familiarity, the infant reached out it's left hand in an attempt to touch the Azure Dragon however it was at this moment that the Azure Dragon moved!
ROAR!
An earsplitting roar shook the foundations of the thousand year old Xiao Clan as the Azure Dragon surged up into the sky once more, this time, it shrunk at an even faster pace until it was only at the length on an infant's hand and charged enthusiastically at the infant who had his left hand outstretched. The tiny Azure Dragon phantom slowly wrapped around the infant's left arm as it crawled up all the way to its shoulder.
"Ah-goo-hoo-hoo." The infant let out what seemed like a laugh and tried to use its other hand to grab at the Azure Dragon phantom however it had already dissipated and all that was left was a dragon tattoo with its tail on the back of the infant's left fist and a body that wrapped around his entire arm with it's head resting on the infant's shoulder. It glowed azure for a while then returned to the original black color before vanishing into it's skin.
The moment the Azure Dragon fully merged with the infant, an unnatural stillness overtook the courtyard. It was as if the entire world had paused to witness this divine occurrence. The golden hues that had swallowed the sky gradually began to fade, the celestial dragon phantoms dissipating like mist at dawn, leaving behind only stunned silence.
And then—
"WHAT JUST HAPPENED!?"
"It vanished into the child's body!"
"The heavens have truly blessed our Xiao Clan… "
"It's a Divine Baptism…! This child will definitely become a dragon amongst men!"
What everyone had failed to notice was that the child's black hair actually began to turn silver from its roots, but it was slow and subtle which made it even easier for them to miss.