Forged in Agony, Tempered by Resolve
The quiet cultivation room at Donghai Academy was a sanctuary of focused energy, a stark contrast to the chaotic violence of the simulated forest. Here, the only sounds were the low hum of the environmental formation and Yao Xuan's own steadying breaths. He sat cross-legged on the cool floor, his consciousness focused inward on the system interface hovering in his mind's eye.
A wave of profound anticipation, clean and sharp, washed over him. 'Finally. The threshold.' The battles within the Spirit Ascension Platform—the relentless Flame Lions, the breathtaking, terrifying confrontation with the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear—had yielded their bounty. The power was here, waiting to be claimed.
He recalled the system's promise: at 20%, new horizons would open. The active ability "Ancestral Dragon Chaos Qi" and the passive enhancements "Intermediate Ancestral Dragon Body" and "Left Claw Dragon Transformation." Their names alone spoke of a significant evolution, a deeper integration with the primordial legacy he carried.
He had waited for this moment, for the safety and privacy of the academy. The Spirit Pagoda's sensors were too penetrating, their curiosity too keen.
"Yes," Yao Xuan affirmed, his mental voice firm.
The points vanished. In their place, a torrent of pure, radiant evolutionary energy flooded his meridians. It was not soul power, but something more fundamental—a catalyst for the divine. It surged toward the dormant, potent core of his being, where the essence of the Ancestral Dragon slumbered.
The reaction was immediate and violent. The Ancestral Dragon bloodline, as if starved for this exact nourishment, devoured the energy. A brilliant, nine-colored luminescence erupted from beneath Yao Xuan's skin, painting the sterile walls with shifting, majestic hues. Heat radiated from him in waves, raising the room's temperature noticeably. Deep within, the second layer of his blood energy circulation—a complex, ethereal lattice of light—stirred from its dormant state and began to spin, slowly at first, then with gathering speed.
ROAR!
Ten minutes later, a dragon's roar—silent to the outside world but world-shattering within the confines of his soul sea—echoed. It was the sound of a barrier shattering.
A dam broke inside him.
Molten power, the raw, untempered might of the Ancestral Dragon, erupted from the depths of his bloodline. It felt like liquid starfire racing through his veins, searing every nerve ending, scalding his muscles, threatening to cook him from the inside out. The pain was absolute, an all-consuming agony that eclipsed any injury he had ever sustained. It was hellfire given form, and he was the crucible.
"Ghhh—!" A strangled, hissing breath escaped his clenched teeth. His body arched, tendons standing out like steel cords on his neck. Sweat poured from every pore, instantly soaking his training clothes and forming a dark halo on the floor beneath him. His face contorted, a mask of utter torment.
'So hot! No… I must endure!'
The thought was a frail raft in a sea of pain. His will, hardened by countless trials, wavered on the precipice of unconsciousness. His fingers dug into his thighs, nails threatening to break skin.
Then, through the blinding white haze of suffering, two faces shimmered into clarity.
Gu Yue. Her silver eyes, usually so composed, filled with the stark fear he had seen from the observation room. The memory of her cool fingers pressing against his hand, a silent anchor.
Na'er. Her trusting, bright smile from their days in Aolai City, the absolute faith in her "Big Brother Xuan" that had been his first real purpose in this world.
'For them. I cannot break here. I must become stronger. To protect that look in Gu Yue's eyes… to preserve Na'er's smile. I WILL NOT FALL!'
The love—familial, deepening, destined—became his armor. It focused his scattered will into a diamond point of defiance. With a groan that was part agony, part determination, he pushed back against the consuming fire. He actively triggered Ancestral Dragon Possession. Dragon scales, shimmering with newfound density, erupted across his skin, his body hardening to better contain the cataclysm within.
Mind screaming, he wrestled control. He forced his consciousness to guide the raging torrent, to funnel the chaotic starfire into the rapidly expanding second layer of blood energy circulation. The nine-colored threads of light within him thickened, multiplied, and wove themselves into a vast, intricate, and stunningly beautiful internal tapestry. Each thread absorbed a fragment of the devastating power, cooling it, integrating it, making it his own.
The process was one of brutal alchemy. His body was the forge, his will the hammer, and the ancestral power the primordial ore being beaten into a new, stronger shape.
An hour passed. An eternity of measured, excruciating seconds.
Finally, the inferno began to recede. The searing pain dulled to a deep, throbbing ache that spoke of profound transformation. The brilliant light under his skin faded, leaving his body steaming gently in the cool air.
The notifications were anticlimactic bells after the storm. Yao Xuan slumped forward, catching himself on trembling arms. He gasped, drawing in huge, ragged breaths of blessedly cool air. He was drenched, as if he had emerged from a lake. The floor around him was a testament to his ordeal. Deep, crescent-shaped indents marked where his nails had pressed into his palms, and his muscles quivered with residual shock.
"Finally… it's over," he rasped, the words scraping his raw throat.
The price had been horrific. But as his breathing slowly steadied, he began to feel the difference. It wasn't just more power; it was a fundamental upgrade. His soul sea felt vaster, calmer, the soul power within it denser and more vibrant. The blood energy thrumming through his revitalized circulation was a deep, powerful river compared to the stream it had been. His physical body, even exhausted, felt more substantial, as if his very cells had been reinforced with adamantine.
A faint, triumphant smile touched his cracked lips. It was worth it. Every second of agony.
He pushed himself stiffly to his feet, his soaked clothes clinging unpleasantly. "A shower first," he muttered, his voice still hoarse. "Then… we see what this new body can really do."
The path ahead was clear. The second limit was broken. The abilities awaited his command. And the motivation—the silver-eyed girl who was his past, present, and future—burned brighter than any dragon fire within his heart.