The Bloodline Stone cracked apart with a thunderclap that echoed across the testing platform like a celestial gong. Fragments glowed red-hot, then dimmed as they clattered to the floor.
Qin Zhen stood amid the smoking remains, his expression unreadable, his black robes fluttering in the residual force. Around him, silence reigned. No whispers. No laughter. Only awe and fear.
The crowd of disciples remained frozen, eyes wide, jaws slack. No one moved until a sharp voice cut through the haze like tempered steel.
"Qin Zhen. You are to appear before the Inner Council. Immediately."
The words rang from above. Elder Liu, a hawk-eyed figure in the ceremonial red-and-silver of the Qin Inner Hall, stepped forward from the high dais. His voice brooked no defiance.
Moments later, two enforcers in silver robes descended the stairs. Their movements were fluid and precise Bone-Refining cultivators at the fourth layer, easily capable of flattening most outer disciples with a single strike.
The crowd parted as they approached.
One of them spoke, voice cool. "Come quietly."
Qin Zhen didn't flinch. He didn't protest. In truth, he welcomed it.
It's time.
Inner Council Hall Qin Clan Ancestral Peak
The chamber loomed above him a perfect circle ringed by twelve jade pillars, each carved with the history of the Qin Clan. Scenes of ancient wars, celestial beasts, oaths taken under blood moons. Gold-veined jade glistened under floating lanterns.
In the center of the stone platform sat six elders, their seats raised on a tiered dais. Most were ancient, with long beards, robes of distinction, and the weathered dignity of centuries. At the highest tier sat a man whose presence silenced even the ambient qi.
Elder Mo.
He was the Grand Elder older than three generations of clan heads, the final judge in clan affairs that touched upon bloodlines or tradition. His eyes, narrowed and unreadable, bore into Qin Zhen like twin needles.
Elder Mo spoke first.
"You claim to be Qin Zhen," he said, voice quiet but firm. "Yet the Bloodline Stone did not simply light for you. It cracked. That is no ordinary reaction."
Qin Zhen remained standing, posture straight. He met their gazes without fear. "I am Qin Zhen."
A second elder leaned forward a woman with gray hair braided over one shoulder. Her eyes glinted with sharp intellect.
"Then tell us," she said, "how you awakened a bloodline that should not exist. The Abyssal Devourer lineage has been extinct since the First Era."
Another elder scoffed. "That's assuming he didn't steal it."
Qin Zhen's tone didn't waver. "I was born with it."
Murmurs rose. One elder frowned deeply. "Impossible. You failed your bloodline test three years ago."
Qin Zhen allowed himself a small smile. "Did I?" he asked. "Or were your tools simply too primitive to detect it?"
[System Alert]
Truth Detection Aura Active – Lies Will Trigger Punishment
Suggestion: Speak partial truth
He felt the tingling hum in the air a subtle web of spiritual intent spun by the Grand Elder. It curled around him like invisible chains, testing his heartbeat, his breath, the purity of his qi.
He inhaled slowly.
"I did not know what lay dormant inside me until yesterday," he said. "The seal was old. Ancient. I don't know who placed it or why. But once I resumed cultivation, the bloodline stirred. And then it… awakened."
The aura pulsed around him.
No punishment.
Elder Mo stroked his beard slowly. "How very… convenient."
Another elder growled. "It is dangerous, Grand Elder. Do you remember the last cultivator born with that bloodline? The devastation he wrought?"
A third nodded. "The Abyssal Devourer does not cultivate in harmony. It consumes. It is a lineage of annihilation."
"And yet," Elder Liu interjected, "he shattered the Bloodline Stone. Such power cannot be denied. The seal was clearly suppressing his beast vein. Perhaps even protecting the rest of us from it."
Qin Zhen said nothing, letting the elders speak.
But his fists remained loosely clenched.
He wasn't surprised by their suspicion. The Abyssal Devourer had once devoured cities swallowed entire spirit beasts and even low-tier worlds in the old wars. It was no gentle power. It was violent. Hungry.
And yet... it was his.
After several moments of debate, Elder Mo raised one hand. Instantly, silence fell.
"You will be watched, Qin Zhen," he said finally. "Closely. Should you step beyond the clan's code, should your bloodline awaken in ways we cannot control... you will be erased."
Qin Zhen inclined his head in a shallow bow. "I expected no less."
[System Update]
Clan Rank: Upgraded Inner Disciple
Access Granted: Beast Vein Library (Level 1), Cultivation Hall, Inner Arena
[New Quest Available]
Title: "Claim Your Beast Technique"
Objective: Choose a compatible cultivation art from the Beast Vein Library
Time Limit: 48 hours
As Qin Zhen turned to leave, Elder Mo's voice followed him, soft but clear.
"Your father would have been proud."
He froze mid-step.
For just a second, the calm in his eyes flickered.
"…Then he wouldn't have left me behind," Qin Zhen replied, voice low.
He didn't turn around. He walked out, robes trailing behind him like a shadow stretched thin by the setting sun.
That Night Inner Disciple Courtyard
The room smelled of new incense and polished stone.
Qin Zhen sat cross-legged beneath an open moonlit window in his newly assigned courtyard. It was spacious, far cleaner than anything in the outer hall, with spirit-inscribed tiles and a qi condensation array humming faintly beneath the floorboards.
Still, it didn't feel like comfort.
It felt like containment.
They fear me.
He could feel the invisible threads of spiritual surveillance tucked into the beams above. Elder Mo wasn't bluffing. They would watch his every move.
But they were too late.
The seal is broken. The path is open.
He activated his system interface.
[Main Questline Unlocked]
Title: Echoes of the Abyss
Primary Objective: Uncover the truth behind your sealed past
Secondary Objective: Locate the Abyssal Heaven Sect's last disciple
Progress: 3%
A name appeared beneath the objectives.
"Xue Lian – Location: Unknown"
He stared at the name, a flicker of recognition passing through him.
The silver-haired girl… in the snow.
She had known something. He could feel it the calm in her voice, the certainty in her presence. She wasn't afraid of him. She had been waiting for him.
And now, the system confirmed it.
She was part of it.
Qin Zhen stood, walking to the window.
Outside, stars burned faintly in the night sky. A silver moon drifted high above the mountains full, solemn, watchful.
Somewhere beneath that sky, a forgotten sect stirred. Old enemies whispered in the dark. The Abyssal Heaven Sect was not as extinct as the world believed.
And neither am I.
He closed his eyes and let the night wind pass over him.