The endless white world remained silent.
Neither of them moved.
The child continued looking at the tiny white lizard.
Then—
she smiled.
A simple—
carefree smile.
"...Tiny."
Small feet slowly carried her forward.
One careful step after another.
There wasn't the slightest trace of fear.
Only curiosity.
Lizarius remained where he was.
Watching.
Calculating.
The child stopped only a short distance away.
Her head tilted once again.
Silence.
Lizarius offered no response.
Instead—
his soul perception quietly swept across the child's soul.
Not forcefully.
Not enough to cause harm.
Only enough to observe.
Countless fragments drifted before him.
Simple memories.
Simple emotions.
Simple thoughts.
Like scattered leaves floating across the surface of a tranquil lake.
His consciousness moved among them.
One memory after another quietly unfolded.
---
A warm room.
The same cradle.
The graceful woman gently carrying her.
"...Mama..."
The child's own understanding naturally attached itself to the image.
Another memory.
Several maids laughing softly while playing with her.
Another.
Being carried through a garden filled with blooming flowers.
Another.
Falling asleep beneath the warm afternoon sun.
None of them contained cultivation.
None concealed hidden secrets.
Only the ordinary life of a child barely two years old.
His consciousness continued searching.
Filtering.
Looking only for one thing.
Several more memories drifted past.
Then—
a different scene appeared.
---
The memory continued unfolding.
A quiet hall.
The child sat peacefully in her mother's arms.
Several clan elders stood nearby.
At the center—
an elderly man gently rested one hand upon the child's head.
His cultivation had reached the **Foundation Establishment Realm**.
A stream of spiritual sense quietly flowed into the child's body.
The hall remained silent.
Several breaths passed.
Then—
the elder's eyes suddenly widened.
"...Hm?"
The child's mother immediately looked toward him.
"Elder...?"
"...Is something wrong?"
"...Does she not possess a spirit root?"
The elder slowly withdrew his hand.
His gaze lingered upon the little girl.
Then—
he slowly shook his head.
"...No."
"Quite the opposite."
"The child possesses a spirit root."
A brief pause followed.
"...And not an ordinary one."
Several elders immediately straightened.
The elder continued.
"...A high-grade three-element spirit root."
Silence.
Several elders exchanged glances.
One of them slowly nodded.
"...Excellent aptitude."
Another quietly stroked his beard.
"...With proper cultivation..."
"...Reaching the Core Formation Realm should not prove difficult."
The child's mother finally released the breath she had unknowingly been holding.
A relieved smile blossomed across her face.
"...Thank heavens..."
The elder, however—
didn't respond.
Instead—
his brows slowly drew together.
"...Strange..."
The woman's smile gradually faded.
"...Elder?"
He looked at the child once again.
His spiritual sense swept across her body a second time.
Then—
a third.
His expression became increasingly solemn.
The hall gradually fell into silence.
One of the elders frowned.
"...Did you discover something?"
The Foundation Establishment elder slowly withdrew his hand.
"...Yes."
A brief pause.
"...The child possesses a bloodline."
The atmosphere instantly changed.
"...A bloodline?"
Several elders looked toward one another.
The elder slowly nodded.
"...I can clearly sense its existence."
"...But..."
His brows furrowed even deeper.
"...I cannot identify it."
Silence.
"...Meaning?"
The elder remained quiet for a moment before answering.
"...Ordinarily..."
"When examining an inherited bloodline..."
"I should at least be able to determine its category."
"...Its purity."
"...Or some characteristic unique to it."
He slowly shook his head.
"...This one..."
"...Reveals nothing."
"My spiritual sense can confirm only one thing."
"...A dormant bloodline exists."
"...Nothing beyond that."
The hall fell completely silent.
Even the other elders had no explanation.
One of them finally spoke.
"...Should this matter be reported to the Patriarch?"
The elder nodded immediately.
"...Yes."
He turned toward the child's mother.
"...Until this bloodline awakens..."
"...Raise her as you normally would."
"...Do not attempt to stimulate the bloodline."
"...And do not spread news of this beyond the clan's upper ranks."
His gaze slowly swept across everyone present.
"...From this moment onward..."
"...Everything discussed within this hall..."
"...Remains confidential."
Everyone present lowered their heads.
"...Understood."
The memory gradually faded.
The endless white world quietly returned.
---
Lizarius remained hovering before the little girl.
She simply looked at him.
Then smiled once more.
"...Tiny."
Silence.
Lizarius continued watching her.
Several long breaths passed.
His thoughts no longer lingered on the memories.
Instead—
they settled upon the child herself.
*...If I wait.*
His gaze remained calm.
*How long would it take?*
Years.
Perhaps many years.
Long enough for the dormant bloodline to awaken.
Long enough for her to begin cultivating.
Long enough for the ability to perceive True Names to gradually manifest.
His thoughts quietly calculated.
*By then...*
*My own evolution will have continued.*
*I may no longer have any interest in this bloodline.*
Another possibility followed.
*Or...*
*I may encounter another bearer before then.*
The world was vast.
Bloodlines, though rare, were not unique.
If the Namewright Bloodline had appeared once—
it could appear again.
Or perhaps—
another bloodline with similar abilities existed somewhere else.
Waiting...
Was not his only option.
His thoughts gradually settled.
*If I cannot obtain it now...*
*Then I simply will not obtain it.*
No attachment surfaced.
No disappointment.
Only acceptance.
Silence.
Yet—
his gaze remained upon the child.
Another thought slowly emerged.
*...But why?*
He had consumed humans before.
Old men.
Young adults.
Cultivators.
Mortals.
Male.
Female.
None of it had affected him.
Only...
Children.
The instant the thought of harming one arose—
that familiar restraint returned.
Not physical.
Not absolute.
Yet enough to alter his decision.
His eyes narrowed ever so slightly.
*...Why?*
He quietly examined himself.
The human memories remained buried deep within his consciousness.
Most never surfaced.
Only fragments emerged whenever circumstances called for them.
*Is it instinct...?*
*Like the instinct living beings possess to protect their young?*
He immediately discarded the conclusion.
*...Insufficient evidence.*
He had observed too few species.
Too few behaviors.
Too few examples.
A single phenomenon was insufficient to establish a rule.
Silence returned.
His gaze remained upon the child.
She looked back at him without the slightest trace of fear.
Then—
she slowly reached out both tiny hands.
As though inviting him to come closer.
"...Tiny..."
Her innocent voice softly echoed through the endless white dreamscape.
Lizarius quietly watched the outstretched hands.
His thoughts remained perfectly calm.
*...No hostility.*
*No fear.*
*No caution.*
The child simply smiled.
A smile so ordinary—
that it held no calculation whatsoever.
Only the pure curiosity unique to a young child.
His golden eyes remained fixed upon her.
*...Curious.*
Not because of her bloodline.
Nor because of her talent.
But because—
even within his own dreamscape—
where instinct alone often revealed one's truest nature—
the child showed no fear toward him whatsoever.
She merely saw...
A tiny white lizard.
Nothing more.
Silence.
His gaze remained upon the child.
*Regardless of the reason...*
*The result remains the same.*
*For now...*
*I cannot bring myself to consume one.*
The thought quietly settled within his mind.
Not as a conclusion.
Only...
As another observation.