THE REAL PROTEGE-Chapter 527: FOLLOWED, WATCHED, AND ENVIED

Ling Li Breaks the Silence

It was Ling Li who finally moved. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

She lifted her teacup with perfect composure. The porcelain made a soft, deliberate sound against the saucer.

She took a measured sip. Then, in her usual calm tone, she asked—

"How do you know so much about Otako?"

The question was simple.

Too simple. But everyone in the room knew it carried weight.

Even Red turned slightly.

Even Four Eyes sharpened his focus.

Ling Li’s gaze was steady, but there was something else beneath it.

Curiosity. Yes.

But also—

Scrutiny.

"You describe details," she continued gently, "that even I am not aware of."

Her words were subtle.

But the implication was clear.

The Azure Dragon had described internal states.

Private realizations.

Moments no outsider should have observed.

"And some of those events," Ling Li added lightly, though her eyes did not soften, "even I was clueless."

That line shifted the atmosphere.

Four Eyes’ pulse quickened.

’Even I.’

The Azure Dragon regarded Ling Li for a long moment.

Then—

He smiled. Not amused. Not evasive.

Just honest.

"When Otako and his father went to the Grave of Falling Suns..."

He folded his hands calmly before him.

"I was there."

The room stilled again. Mushu’s brows furrowed.

"You?" Fatty blurted out.

The Azure Dragon nodded.

"I may be the head of Mystic Mountain," he said evenly, "but sects being annihilated overnight are not something I can ignore."

His tone sharpened slightly.

"We can never be safe if we do not understand what threatens us." A moment flashed through his mind: the collapse of an honored sect he once called an ally, the stunned silence after finding only ashes where a generation had gathered dreams. It was not just the duty of a leader, but of someone who had witnessed loss firsthand. To him, failing to unravel a threat like Otako was not an option — it would mean repeating mistakes that cost too much to bear.

Ren felt a subtle chill.

That was not curiosity. That was responsibility.

"I investigated the ruins myself," the Azure Dragon continued. "The collapsed tribulation was... unnatural."

Red nodded faintly. "We heard whispers of it."

"I remained there," the Azure Dragon said, gaze drifting slightly as he revisited the memory, "waiting to see if any trace remained."

His expression darkened briefly.

"I expected to find remnants of an external force.

A hidden enemy. A divine weapon. Some anomaly."

He paused.

"But who would have thought..."

His lips curved faintly.

"The one who returned was the young Otako."

The room tightened again.

Ling Li’s fingers stilled against her teacup.

"I watched him," the Azure Dragon said softly.

"Day and night."

Fatty blinked. "You... what?"

The Azure Dragon chuckled lightly.

"I was curious." The understatement was almost comical.

"At first, I observed from afar.

Then... I found myself more interested than I intended."

His sapphire eyes glinted faintly with nostalgia.

"I watched him meditate in the ruins.

I watched him study fracture patterns in broken meridians.

I watched him refine qi compression.

Day after day.

Night after night."

Shun leaned forward slightly.

"You just... watched?"

The Azure Dragon laughed softly.

"Of course not openly."

Red smirked.

"You followed him."

The Dragon’s grin widened.

"Yes. I became Otako’s little fan."

Fatty choked.

"You? A fan?"

The Dragon gave a hearty laugh.

"Why not?" His tone grew playful.

"I have lived long enough to recognize genius when I see it."

Shi Min’s gaze flickered faintly.

"I followed Otako’s tracks quietly," the Azure Dragon continued. "He did not know."

Ling Li’s eyes narrowed ever so slightly.

’Or did he?’

The Azure Dragon leaned back.

"I tried to replicate his cultivation method."

Fatty’s eyes widened.

"You did?!"

The Azure Dragon nodded solemnly.

"And failed."

Red burst into quiet laughter.

"Repeatedly!"

The Azure Dragon sighed dramatically.

"I compressed qi the way Otako did."

He shook his head.

"Every time, I ended up spitting blood."

Fatty couldn’t hold it in.

He laughed loudly.

"You?"

"Yes, me."

The Azure Dragon shrugged.

"My meridians could not tolerate the precision. My internal stability was insufficient.

And my body—" He paused.

"—was not built the way Otako was."

Shi Min absorbed every word carefully.

"So you could only watch," Ren said softly.

The Azure Dragon nodded. "Yes. I watched.

And envied."

He gave a self-deprecating chuckle.

"Hays... I can only watch and envy Otako as he advances."

The tone was light. But the admission was not small.

To envy another cultivator required humility.

Ling Li’s mouth twitched faintly.

Almost imperceptibly.

She lifted her teacup again, taking a sip to conceal her amusement.

Four Eyes noticed that.

He always noticed that.

"You followed him all the way through his immortal threshold?" Mushu asked carefully.

The Azure Dragon nodded. "I watched the tribulation."

"Otako did not resist. He studied."

The Azure Dragon’s gaze grew distant.

"I saw the moment the Book of Reincarnation faltered."

Even Red looked surprised at that detail.

Ren’s breath caught.

"And you never revealed yourself?" Shun asked.

The Dragon shook his head slowly.

"No."

"Why?" Lily asked.

The Dragon’s expression grew serious.

"Because even then...

Otako was already beyond my interference."

The words landed heavily.

Ling Li lowered her gaze slightly.

Four Eyes’ suspicion deepened further.

Because there was something unspoken there.

The Azure Dragon had watched.

Followed. Envied. Failed to replicate.

And yet—

He spoke of Otako not with rivalry. But respect.

The hall settled into a quieter silence now. Not the suffocating silence from before.

But something heavier. More intimate.

Because now—

Otako was no longer a distant myth.

He had been watched. Observed. Admired. Envied.

By the head of Mystic Mountain himself.

Fatty leaned back again, exhaling.

"So basically," he muttered, "even dragons can’t copy him."

Red smirked.

"Especially dragons."

The Azure Dragon chuckled.

Ling Li set her cup down carefully.

Her expression remained serene.

But something in her gaze shimmered faintly.

Not pride. Not relief. Something deeper.

Four Eyes saw it.

And his certainty grew.

The mountain breeze resumed gently. But none of them were the same as before.

Because the story had shifted.

From legend. To proximity.

And proximity—

It was always more dangerous than myth.

As the last echoes faded, Four Eyes stared at the floor, a knot forming in his chest. The legend was no longer distant. Its pulse beat in the same room as their own. He wondered, half in awe, half in fear, how one was supposed to live side by side with a presence the world itself could not contain. That question lingered in the silence long after the conversation ended.

The garden hall was still heavy with prophecy.

Even after the Azure Dragon’s laughter faded... even after his admission that he had secretly followed Otako like an admirer trailing a comet... the air had not quite lightened.

The koi pond shimmered in silence. The bamboo rustled faintly.

Each person sat in their own thoughts.

Otako. Mask. Prophecy. Acceleration.

Love. Silence.

Two Dragons And A Phoenix

Then—

A sudden streak of crimson cut across the sky.

At first, it looked like a slash of paint across blue silk — fluid, brilliant, impossibly alive.

Everyone’s attention shifted upward at once.

The sky above Mystic Mountain bloomed into motion.

A phoenix.

Petite in silhouette — yet radiant — trailing ribbons of crimson fire like brushstrokes on a masterful painting. The phoenix wings did not merely beat; they curved and unfurled as though shaping the air itself. The sunlight caught on her feathers, turning them molten gold at the edges.

Just beneath her—

Two dragons glided in perfect synchronization.

Their bodies undulated like living rivers.

One shimmered in brilliant yellow, pearlescent scales reflecting sunlight like jewels catching the eye. Each scale seemed individually etched with faint golden patterns, radiating quiet majesty.

The other burned deep red, darker and sharper in temperament, with flame-kissed scales that flickered faintly at the edges.

They did not flap clumsily.

They commanded the sky.