Chapter 36: Little Gold Awakens
Time: Late Afternoon (Inside the Farming Space).
Location: The Spirit Rice Paddies.
The artificial sun hung motionless in the white void, casting a relentless, golden glow over the twenty acres of thriving crops. The air was thick and humid, filled with the sweet scent of ripening Spirit Rice and the earthy aroma of the Mutated Yams.
However, despite the abundance, there was a subtle stagnation in the air.
Luo Feng stood knee-deep in the paddy, flicking his finger.
Zip.
A needle of compressed Metal Qi shot out, skewering a black beetle the size of a thumb that was gnawing on a rice stalk.
"Another one," Luo Feng frowned.
These were Qi-Eating Beetles. They were a common pest in high-energy environments. Usually, the circulating Yang energy in the air kept them sluggish and unable to reproduce. But for the last two months, the "sun" of this world—Little Gold—had been buried underground. Without the Fire Crow's daily patrols radiating intense heat, the balance of Yin and Yang had shifted slightly, allowing the pests to multiply.
"We need fire," Luo Feng muttered, crushing the beetle under his boot.
He looked toward the edge of the fields.
Luo Xia was sitting there on a woven mat, meditating. Next to her, in the sturdy Cloud-Silk Wood crib, sat Luo Tian.
The two-month-old infant was awake, silent as always. He was gripping the bars of his crib with terrifying strength, his dark eyes watching his mother with intense focus. He seemed to understand that she was doing something important.
Luo Xia was trembling.
She had been stuck at the peak of Qi Refining Layer 2 for weeks. Her body, reconstructed by the Spirit Milk and Mutated Yams, was overflowing with energy. She just needed to push through the final mental barrier.
"Focus, Xia," Luo Feng whispered from the field, not wanting to disturb her with a shout. "Don't fight the Qi. Guide it."
Luo Xia took a deep breath. She wasn't a warrior like Luo Feng. Her cultivation was gentle, like water. She visualized the energy in her Dantian not as a fire, but as a rising tide.
She drank a small vial of Spirit Surge Wine (diluted version) that Luo Feng had prepared for her.
Hum.
The energy hit her system.
Instead of pain, she felt a wash of coolness. The barrier in her meridians dissolved like sugar in hot water.
Whoosh.
A soft, blue ripple of Qi expanded from her body, blowing her hair back. The grass around her mat bowed gently.
She opened her eyes. They were clearer, sharper. Her skin glowed with a renewed, jade-like luster.
"I... I did it," she whispered, looking at her hands.
Luo Feng smiled and began to walk toward her. "Congratulations. Qi Refining Layer 3. You are now stronger than most street thugs in the city."
Luo Xia beamed. "I feel lighter. I can see the veins on the leaves from here."
"Baa!"
From the pasture, Silver and Snow, the two Cloud-Horn Goats, bleated in approval. Even the animals respected a breakthrough.
But before Luo Feng could reach her to celebrate, the ground lurched.
RUMBLE.
It wasn't a small vibration. It felt like an earthquake.
Luo Feng froze. Luo Xia grabbed the crib instinctively to steady it.
"What is that?" she gasped.
Luo Feng's eyes snapped toward the west. Toward the Red Clay Area.
"He's awake."
The Eruption.
The mound of red clay, which had sat silent and hardened like a kiln for two months, suddenly glowed.
It didn't glow red. It glowed white.
The heat radiating from it was instantaneous and searing. The air above the mound distorted violently.
CRACK.
A fissure appeared on the top of the hardened clay dome. A beam of golden light shot out, piercing the sky of the Farming Space.
BOOM!
The mound exploded.
Shards of red clay, hot as shrapnel, blasted outward. Luo Feng waved his sleeve, creating a wall of Qi to shield his wife and son from the debris.
From the center of the dust and smoke, a silhouette rose.
It wasn't a scramble. It was a slow, majestic ascent.
"Caw..."
The cry was low, resonant, and vibrated in Luo Feng's chest.
Little Gold emerged.
He had changed.
If before he was a raptor, now he was a monster. His size had doubled—his wingspan was now easily two meters. But it wasn't just the size.
His feathers were no longer black with gold tips. They were now a deep, metallic obsidian that seemed to absorb light, while the edges of his wings and tail feathers burned with a perpetual, smokeless golden flame.
On his head, a crest of three golden feathers stood up like a crown.
[System Assessment]
[Target: Mutated Fire Crow (Little Gold)]
[Rank: Qi Refining Layer 4 (Mid-Stage Spirit Beast)]
[State: Evolution Complete.]
[Attribute: Sun-Fire / Metal.]
The bird hovered in the air, his wings beating slowly. With every flap, a wave of hot wind rolled over the farm. The temperature in the entire twenty-acre space rose by five degrees instantly.
Luo Feng stepped forward. "You kept us waiting."
Little Gold turned his head. His eyes were no longer simple black beads. They were pools of liquid gold, burning with intelligence and arrogance.
He spotted Luo Feng.
Swoosh.
He dove.
Luo Xia flinched, pulling the crib back. "Careful!"
But Little Gold didn't crash. He pulled up at the last second, landing gracefully on the wooden fence post three meters away. The wood instantly charred black under his talons, smoke rising in thin wisps, but he controlled the heat enough not to turn it to ash immediately.
He looked at Luo Feng and bobbed his head. It was a bow. Acknowledgment of the Master.
"Layer 4," Luo Feng walked closer, ignoring the heat radiating from the bird. "You've crossed the threshold. You have unlocked your spiritual wisdom."
"Caw," Little Gold replied softy. It wasn't a random noise. The tone conveyed a clear emotion: Hunger.
Luo Feng laughed. "Of course. You sleep for two months, wake up a King, and the first thing you want is a snack."
He reached into his pouch and tossed a Mutated Exploding Chili.
Little Gold caught it mid-air. Gulp.
Usually, the bird would screech in excitement. This time, he just swallowed it calmly. The massive fire energy of the chili was nothing to him now. It was just a warm appetizer.
The First Meeting.
Little Gold then turned his gaze to the crib.
He had sensed the new life before he went to sleep, but this was the first time seeing the hatched "chick."
He hopped from the fence to the ground, folding his massive wings. He walked toward the crib with a strange, waddling gait that belied his deadliness.
Luo Xia tensed up, her hand hovering over the baby. "Husband..."
"It's fine," Luo Feng said calmly. "He knows the pack hierarchy."
Little Gold reached the crib. He was tall enough now to peer over the railing.
Inside, Luo Tian stared back.
The two-month-old baby didn't cry. He didn't flinch at the giant bird that smelled like a volcano.
Luo Tian's dark eyes locked onto Little Gold's burning golden eyes.
The baby reached out a chubby hand. He tried to grab the bird's beak.
Little Gold blinked. He seemed surprised by the audacity of the tiny human. He lowered his head slowly, allowing the baby's hand to touch the hard, black keratin of his beak.
Luo Tian grabbed it. His "Iron Grip" activated. He squeezed.
Little Gold didn't pull away. He endured the squeeze, his throat making a low, purring sound. He recognized the strength. This tiny thing wasn't prey. It was a predator cub.
"Caw," Little Gold nudged the baby's hand gently, then pulled back.
"He likes him," Luo Feng grinned. "And Luo Tian didn't try to break him. That's progress."
The Flame Stream.
"Alright," Luo Feng clapped his hands, breaking the moment. "Family reunion is over. You have work to do, bird."
Luo Feng pointed to the rice paddies.
"While you were sleeping, the pests came back. Qi-Eating Beetles. They are hiding under the leaves."
Little Gold looked at the field. His golden eyes narrowed. He felt the tiny, parasitic signatures of the beetles. To a Fire Spirit, they were disgusting blemishes on his territory.
He took flight.
Flap.
He hovered ten meters above the crop field.
"Show me your new trick," Luo Feng commanded. "Don't just blow them up. Don't burn the rice."
It was a difficult order. A fireball would incinerate the bugs, but it would also destroy the harvest.
Little Gold didn't open his beak wide. He opened it slightly.
He inhaled. The golden feathers on his neck lit up.
FWOOSH.
It wasn't a ball. It was a beam.
A continuous, highly compressed stream of liquid fire shot from his beak. It looked like a laser made of lava.
Little Gold swept his head. The Flame Stream sliced through the air with surgical precision.
He aimed between the rows of rice. The beam didn't touch the plants. It grazed the soil, heating the air instantly.
Pop. Pop. Pop. Pop.
The sound was like firecrackers.
Hundreds of black beetles hiding under the leaves were instantly flash-fried by the passing heat. They didn't even have time to scurry. They simply curled up and turned to ash.
Little Gold swept the entire acre in ten seconds. The Flame Stream was continuous, controlled, and terrifyingly hot.
When he stopped, the air above the field shimmered. Not a single leaf of Spirit Rice was scorched. But on the ground, a layer of black beetle ash fertilized the soil.
"Flame Stream," Luo Feng nodded, impressed. "High compression. Sustained output. That's much more dangerous than a fireball. A fireball can be dodged. A stream can chase you."
Little Gold landed back on the fence, looking smug. He preened a feather, waiting for praise.
"Good job," Luo Feng tossed him another chili. "But don't get arrogant. That took 10% of your Qi reserve."
The Preparation.
The farm felt alive again.
With Little Gold awake, the Yang energy in the space surged. The stagnation vanished. The plants seemed to perk up instantly, absorbing the warmth radiating from the bird.
Luo Feng stood with his family.
Luo Xia was glowing with the power of Layer 3.
Luo Tian was chewing on his fist with the strength of Iron Bones.
Little Gold was preening his Layer 4 feathers.
And Luo Feng himself was at the Peak of Layer 5.
"We are strong," Luo Xia said, standing up and holding her son. "Stronger than we were yesterday."
"We have to be," Luo Feng turned his gaze to the white void, thinking of the dark city outside.
The encounter with the thugs had been a warning. The Alchemy Guild was mobilizing. The Bandits were watching. The peace of Green Willow City was a thin sheet of ice, and it was beginning to crack.
"Little Gold," Luo Feng called out.
"Caw?"
"Eat your fill," Luo Feng said, his voice cold. "Tonight, we patrol the real world. I want the Alchemy Guild to know that the Phoenix Spirit Pavilion has a guardian."
Little Gold's eyes flashed. He understood violence. He understood territory.
He let out a screech that promised fire and death.
Luo Feng put his arm around his wife and looked at his son.
"Let them come," Luo Feng whispered. "We are ready."
The farming space was no longer just a sanctuary. It was an armory. And the weapons were polished and ready for war.
[End of Chapter 36]