The wyvern stood close beside Isshin, its massive wings folding in as its golden eyes swept the area, searching both for its stolen egg and any prey that might dare approach. Despite the tense atmosphere, Raijin remained calm. He had already sensed the creature's turmoil and found a way to soothe it.
Most beings, whether beast or human, carried two sides within them. Just as humans could walk the path of righteousness or fall into corruption, so too could beasts lean toward destruction and malice or toward balance and life.
A small loon-shaped form of Raijin emerged into reality. This time, it wasn't a mere projection in Isshin's mind, but Raijin himself manifesting. Yet, limited by the restrictions of Isshin's body, he could only appear in a miniature form. The wyvern immediately noticed the little figure standing beside the pillar. But instead of roaring or striking, it stilled.
It understood.
Raijin's aura was not threatening but carried the weight of a celestial being. To the wyvern, his presence was both superior and divine, something far above ordinary creatures. That silent recognition was enough. The wyvern did not attack instead, it lowered its hostility and waited.
"I will help you recover your egg," Raijin said evenly, his small form radiating steady lightning. "But there is a catch. We need your aid as well. Isshin must cultivate the Thousand-Strike Thunder here."
The wyvern paused, its chest rising and falling with heavy breaths. Then, after a moment's stillness, it agreed with a low rumble. With a single beat of its wings, it ascended, circling silently above Isshin as a guardian, hidden in the clouds.
Isshin moved deeper into the ruins and soon spotted two men crouched behind a rock with the egg wrapped in cloth beside them.
"Hey… how are you guys doing?" Isshin said casually as he approached.
The two men jolted. One of them hissed in panic.
"Fool, hide! Do you want to die? There's a wyvern around here!"
Isshin ignored their warning and kept walking slowly. "I'm actually lost. Do you kno—"
Before finishing his words, he struck. His sword flared with thunder qi, slashing at the nearest man's neck. But the man reacted instantly, a qi shield sparking to life around his throat. The blade cut deep but failed to decapitate him.
The second man lunged, his sword slicing toward Isshin's left side.
With a flash step, Isshin retreated, thunder sparking beneath his feet. Lightning surged outward as he expanded his Thunder Domain, filling the area with crackling arcs of suppression.
The two men realized they could not hesitate if the domain fully settled, they would be trapped. They launched themselves at him, blades and palms brimming with energy.
Isshin met them head-on. Sword in hand, he invoked Sword of Raijin: One Slash, clashing against one man's weapon with a burst of thunder. The other man thrust out his palm and shouted:
"Eight Trigram Palm!"
Isshin countered immediately, his left hand bursting with lightning as he unleashed his Thunder Palm. For a brief moment he held both enemies at bay. sword against sword, palm against palm.
But they were both Nascent Soul cultivators, just like him, and their combined force began to overwhelm him.
The earth shook.
With a deafening crash, the wyvern landed behind Isshin, its massive form sending a shockwave through the ruins. Its maw opened, fire surging out in a blazing torrent that consumed the swordsman. Screams tore through the air as the man's qi defenses shattered, his body engulfed in flame.
Seizing the chance, Isshin twisted his blade and struck. His thunder qi sliced clean across the throat of the palm cultivator. The man clutched his neck in agony, collapsing to the ground, his screams soon fading.
Silence returned, broken only by the crackle of lingering thunder and the wyvern's heavy breaths. The stolen egg lay just behind the rock where the men had hidden it.
As Isshin sheathed his blade, his eyes narrowed. The robes on the corpses were embroidered with the insignia of the Wudang Sect. His expression darkened. Wudang was known throughout the world as a righteous Daoist sect, famed for their elegant swordsmanship and yin-yang arts. For them to be here stealing eggs like bandits was deeply troubling. At first, Isshin wondered if they had simply stolen the clothes. But the Eight Trigram Palm just now was unmistakable. It was a true Wudang technique.
He exhaled, setting the thought aside for now.
"I shall assist you, as the Celestial One requested," the wyvern rumbled after carefully taking back her egg and returning it to her nest.
She then told Isshin the truth: the Thousand-Strike Thunder would descend in one week, at the very heart of the temple. If Isshin wished to claim its power, he must be ready.
Isshin bowed his head slightly. "Do you have a name?"
The wyvern lowered her head, her scales glimmering faintly in the temple light. "We do not name ourselves until we attain our human form."
Isshin was surprised. Though beasts like this could reign over mortals, in the end their most perfect and universal form was still the human body two arms, two legs, a vessel capable of walking the Dao.
Before he could leave, the wyvern made one more request.
"My child will hatch within a month. I wish for the Celestial One to bless it." Her golden eyes turned toward Raijin's small form. "Your blessing will grant my offspring protection and potential. Not unlike the gifts you grant this human but for my child, it may one day grant the chance to ascend to celestial heights."
Raijin gave a solemn nod. "When the time comes, I will."
With the promise made, Isshin departed, stepping deeper into the temple grounds. He glanced up at the crumbling spires and silent statues, his thoughts lingering on the Wudang Sect, the coming thunderstorm, and the path he must walk.
In a week, the Thousand-Strike Thunder would fall.