The morning sunlight filtered softly through the misty air above Hidden Mist Island. Bai Tian Long had returned to his courtyard, the events of the past days still echoing in his bones like the reverberation of distant thunder. Yet, as he stepped across the threshold into his private cultivation quarters, there was no hesitation.
He did not begin by reviewing martial arts techniques, nor did he touch the encyclopedias or beast taming books he had brought from the clan's cultivation pavilion. Instead, the first thing he did was summon his first contracted beast.
He raised his hand and willed it.
A faint gray formation circle appeared in front of him—etched in spirals of subdued beastly runes and pulsing with a soft silver light. This was the formation mark of a First-Order Imperial Beast Taming Student. As he grew stronger, the mark would evolve—from gray to green, then to gold, and beyond.
From within the formation, a small roar echoed out, soft but confident.
The Rosegold Flame Lion Cub emerged.
Though its body was still slender and lacking in developed muscle, its majestic little mane shimmered with hints of rosegold brilliance. The embers dancing at the tips of its fur were faint but noble, carrying the latent pride of a future monarch.
Bai Tian Long knelt before it and smiled.
"Since we're lifelong partners now," he said softly, "Let's start with something important: a name."
The cub tilted its head, watching him with expectant eyes.
Bai Tian Long pondered, trying several names aloud.
"Yanhu… no, too ordinary. Xinyan? No... too gentle. Flameheart? That's too fierce."
Then it struck him.
"Bai Tian Yan," he said at last. "Clear Sky Flame... White Heaven Flame. Your name shall be Tian Yan. Little Yan, for short."
The cub gave a soft growl of agreement, its tiny tail swishing with pride.
At that moment, in the Beast Taming Space, the Void Thunder Eagle Egg trembled gently, as if jealous of all the attention the cub was receiving. Bai Tian Long sensed it and laughed.
"You want a name too, huh?" he said, walking over to the hovering egg that crackled faintly with traces of purple lightning.
Though it had not yet hatched due to lacking a Spatial Qi Baptism, the eagle egg already had sentience—an inborn trait of its Saint Beast Emperor Bloodline.
He placed his hand gently on the smooth, warm shell.
"You'll get your name when you hatch, alright? It'll be a mighty one. But for now—focus on absorbing that spatial qi."
The trembling stopped. The egg's aura stilled, resuming its slow and steady absorption. In the nurturing environment of the Beast Taming Space, the egg's incubation time had already shortened thanks to his awakened F-rank innate talent skill: Spatial Qi Sensitivity.
He turned to Little Yan next.
"Keep training, absorb the energy here—and help guard the egg. You two are family now."
The lion cub roared softly in agreement, and Bai Tian Long felt a flicker of warmth in his chest.
Then, turning away, he sat cross-legged before his jade table, his expression sharpening.
"I need to prepare. I have two clear goals for this month."
His hands clenched.
"First: to read and absorb everything I brought back from the clan's pavilion—especially the Dragon Tiger Body Technique and those volumes of cultivation encyclopedias."
The technique was said to contain 18 movements, each named after either a dragon or a tiger. Mastery of all 18 movements in a single breath would allow one to attain the Initiate Mastery Realm—equal to the first level of Qi Concentration. More importantly, mastering even the first few stages could awaken a dormant spiritual root, if one was fated to have one.
"Second: I need to find a suitable mortal beast."
His eyes gleamed as he summoned the Eye of Knowledge, flicking across the empty courtyard.
He recalled the details of his F-rank Past Life Talent Skill: Split Soul Avatar. It could only be activated by finding a completely non-cultivated mortal beast—no bloodline, no contract, no cultivation at all.
Such a creature would act as the vessel for his soul's split—allowing him to form an avatar that, while weak at first, would grow alongside him and provide feedback just like a contracted beast.
"An avatar… A second self. One that I can train in martial arts, cultivate, or even hide in danger."
The system had explained that such avatar techniques were usually reserved for Nascent Soul cultivators and beyond. But his soul's unique memory and talent had allowed him to awaken it early.
A single mortal beast. That was all he needed.
"So, that's the plan. Read, learn… and search."
He stood up slowly, the wind rustling through the bamboo screens of his room. The Beast Taming Space pulsed faintly in the back of his consciousness, reminding him that he was no longer alone.
His path was no longer blocked by the lack of a spiritual root or the absence of a martial foundation.
He had allies.
He had power.
He had time.
He is only destination was peak
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While Bai Tian Long made his quiet resolutions on the Hidden Mist Island, far away in an ancient, mist-cloaked forest nestled deep in the Southern Desolate Range, Bai Zenyu stood before a towering stone gate buried halfway in moss and ancient ivy.
He exhaled slowly.
This was it—the place whispered of only in fragments, protected by fierce beasts and time-worn formations. Though some in the Bai Family remembered it merely as a fabled treasury stocked with emergency resources, Bai Zenyu had long suspected there was more. And now, standing before the jade-inlaid threshold marked with nine family sigils and the ancestral flame of the Bai clan, his suspicions were confirmed.
A faint echo trembled in the air as a carved inscription came to life with spiritual light:
"Only bloodline and tribulation may open what was sealed in fire and oath."
He stepped forward. The gate pulsed, scanning his soul and essence. A low rumble followed—then the stone doors split open, revealing a dark passage lined with flickering flame orbs.
"So... it really is an inheritance ground," Bai Zenyu murmured.
Inside, the air thickened with residual pressure—the will of countless ancestors engraved into spiritual trials. Each test would challenge not just his strength, but his intent, his perseverance, his soul resonance.
Perfect.
He needed pressure—he needed heat. The bottleneck to the forbidden 10th Stage of Qi Condensation Realm had weighed upon him for days now, a wall of glass just out of reach. Unlike common cultivators, Bai Zenyu was retracing forbidden paths—a cultivation route he once walked in his previous life, only to stop at the 12th forbidden stage. This time, he would walk it all… all 13.
But before that, this inheritance.
"If I pass all the trials... not only will I inherit the legacy of my forefathers, but I'll have access to the family's emergency spiritual resources... enough to rebuild a foundation worthy of reaching Nascent Soul again."
As he stepped into the corridor, runes activated along the walls and the first challenge gate formed ahead—a test of elemental balance, with fire and water, wind and earth swirling in counterpoint.
He grinned.
His sword emerged, glowing faintly with multicolored light. The Five Elements Sword Technique shimmered along its edge—its thunder attribute crackling in anticipation. Though the full Thunder Sword Technique could only be accessed after the 9th stage, he had already grasped its echo.
The time had come.
"Come," he said to the gate. "Let the dead test the living."
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