Awakening of the Ancient: Rise of the Fallen

"So this is perfectly normal?" Xu Ming inquired as he glanced at Elder Wu.

"It's rare, but it's nothing special. It doesn't mean anything," Elder Wu told Xu Ming.

"Oh, thank you for explaining. I'll go back then," Xu Ming replied as he turned back.

"Congrats for breaking through. I have high hopes for you," Elder Wu told Xu Ming who thanked him before leaving.

Xu Ming removed the cloak as he left since he didn't need to hide it anymore.

"Hey, who is that guy? Doesn't he look like that kid?"

"He sure does. Is he the brother of that kid?" 

The other disciples found Xu Ming's face familiar and they thought that the boy was Xu Ming's brother. Xu Ming's senses were even sharper than before and he could hear them, but he didn't bother explaining and simply walked back.

Xu Ming walked back to his room and fell down to his bed as he breathed in relief.

"Fortunately, this wasn't anything strange. I'm glad that I don't need to worry about it. I can cultivate and grow strong in peace," He muttered softly.

Soon, he fell asleep. It had been around 4 days since he slept. He slept soundly and after so long, he finally found himself back in the same dream.

He was in a dark place with that same 5-year-old boy and the small Ice Phoenix.

The boy looked towards Xu Ming as if he was able to see him.

"You're back. You seem better," The boy said to Xu Ming.

"Yeah, you helped me last time and I wasn't in pain anymore," Xu Ming replied even though he realized that the boy couldn't hear him.

"That's good," The young boy replied.

"You can hear me?" Xu Ming asked in shock.

"Yes," The boy answered without any expressions on his face.

"Nice. How did you recognize me? Don't I look older?" Xu Ming inquired.

"I don't know," The boy replied.

"Is this really just a dream? How did you heal me if this is a dream?" Xu Ming asked the boy.

"Dream?" The young boy looked at Xu Ming curiously.

"Dream means something that you see after you sleep. Something that's not real," Xu Ming explained as he felt like the boy didn't know the concept.

"I'm not real?" The boy asked innocently.

"Ah, that's not what I mean. I don't believe that this is just a dream. Where is this place?" Xu Ming further inquired.

"I don't know," The boy answered.

"You made that ice phoenix, how were you able to?" Xu Ming changed his question.

"I don't know," The boy repeated.

Xu Ming just looked at that boy in confusion. He wondered if the boy knew anything or not.

"You seem so strong, can't you leave this place?" Xu Ming tried changing the approach.

"Leave?" The boy inquired.

"Yes, Leave. Leave this place. Leave this darkness. The world outside is so pretty. Why don't you go outside?" Xu Ming asked.

A face flashed before the boy's eyes. He didn't know the person who that face belonged to, and he just sat there in confusion.

The face that had flashed before his eyes for an instant was the face of Yue, Xu Ming's mother, and his wife who was in a coma. He didn't have any memories and didn't recognize her.

"Outside is pretty?" He asked Xu Ming.

"Yes. Outside is so pretty. There are so many people outside. There are beautiful trees and nature. There's also light outside, unlike this dark place," Xu Ming said.

"Light?" the boy muttered. A voice echoed in his ears.

"All I want for my baby is for him to never face the darkness. He should be the light instead. The light that shines upon the world. Light… Ming… My baby shall be called Ming… Xu Ming," 

The boy looked everywhere in confusion as he wondered why he was hearing these words. Who was whispering in his head?

"Light? Ming?" the boy said in confusion.

"Ah, right. Light also means Ming. That is my name as well. I'm Xu Ming. I am sorry, I forgot to ask your name. What is your name?" Xu Ming inquired. 

He didn't find it strange that the boy had spoken his name as his name was also a word for light.

"My name?" The young boy fell in deep thought as he tried to remember.

"I don't know," He ultimately said.

"Have you lost your memory? Where are your parents? What are you doing in this dark place?" Xu Ming kept asking questions.

The boy kept trying to remember and his head was starting to ache.

"I can't remember," He screamed loudly as his headache got worse.

Before Xu Ming could even apologize, the dream broke.

He woke up and found himself on his bed.

"That shouldn't be a dream. I must find out why I see the boy when I sleep. Who is he? How is he related to me?" Xu Ming muttered as he looked towards the door.

*****

As Xu Ming was thrown out of the place, that young boy still kept holding his head. It took half an hour for his headache to calm down.

His blue eyes looked lost as he looked at the ice phoenix.

"Did he leave?" the boy said as he didn't see Xu Ming.

The Ice Phoenix just looked confused. It was unclear if she could understand him or not.

"Outside... Light?" The young boy muttered as he looked into the dark distant horizon.

He stood up and started walking. He walked away from the darkness and towards the darkness. He didn't know where outside was, but he hoped to find it.

The Ice Phoenix flew after him.

*****

Back in the Ice Phoenix Clan, it was the Coronation Ceremony of Lexi.

Every Ice Phoenix was there inside the Royal Palace. In fact, some people from the Royal Clan of other God Beast Race were there as well.

The Second Young Master of the Black Tortoise Clan was here with some of his followers. The Crown Prince didn't come.

The First Princess of the White Tiger Clan was also here. Although she was the first princess, she didn't hold any power in the Royal Clan. It was decided that the next King of the White Tiger Clan would be her elder brother, the Crown Prince.

Only the Nine-Tailed Fox Clan sent the next in line to be the ruler. The Crown Princess of the Nine-Tailed Fox Clan herself was here.

There were many clans that didn't send anyone. Azure Dragon Clan and the Qilin Clan were the ones amongst them. Even the Phoenix Clan didn't send anyone.

The Azure Dragon Clan was said to be the strongest God Beast Clan, closely followed by the White Tiger Clan.

All the other clans were strong on their own, but none of them could compare to the Azure Dragon Clan or the White Tiger Clan.

It had always been that way, but there was a time when the Azure Dragon Clan and the White Tiger Clan had fallen and lost a lot of their strength. They fell down in rankings and became the weakest clans amongst the God Beast Clans.

There was a time when the White Tiger Clan and the Azure Dragon Clan were the strongest, but it was said that a single cultivator had caused their downfall.

No one remembered what exactly happened, but the little bit of information that was passed down from generation to about talked about how these clans had offended a fierce existence.

They had underestimated the person and offended him, but that turned out to be the biggest mistake of their lives. That person came like a demon god and caused massive destruction. No one could face him. Fortunately, he didn't kill everyone in the clan. Some weak members managed to survive.

It took them thousands of years to regain their former glory, but they managed to recover after such a long time.

Even after all this happened, there were still a few in the leadership of these clans that still had arrogance.

It was said that the person that caused the destruction had died, thus they stopped being humble and returned to their old practices. They didn't believe that another person like that man could appear.

The White Tiger Clan was still somewhat humble despite their arrogance as they did the minimum they could to maintain relationships with the other clans, but the Azure Dragon Clan thought of them as the king amongst the God Beasts. That's why they didn't even send anyone here.

"Everyone! Thanks for coming here! I would like to welcome you to the Coronation of my daughter. She will be the new Queen of the Ice Phoenix Clan," The Queen said as she welcomed everyone.

The members of the Ice Phoenix clan cheered.

The royal members of the other clans simply nodded their heads to her words as if they were giving her acknowledgment.

The Queen looked towards her daughter as she smiled.

She removed the Crown from her head and placed it over the head of her daughter.

Everyone started clapping and congratulating.The Queen looked towards her daughter as she smiled.

She removed the Crown from her head and placed it over the head of her daughter.

Everyone started clapping and congratulating.