Night settled over the wilderness like a heavy veil.
The moon was thin, its pale light barely touching the earth through drifting clouds.
The spirit horses rested quietly, their bodies radiating faint spiritual warmth. Even after half a month of travel, they showed no exhaustion.
Lin Fei sat beneath a crooked pine, his posture straight, his expression calm.
His long dark hair stirred in the night breeze, and the faint vertical slit in his pupils reflected the moonlight like a blade hidden in shadow.
Around him, the other young recruits whispered, practiced, or slept.
He simply breathed.
Ancient.
Still.
Unmoved.
Lin Yuanding distributed small brown pills to each youth.
"Bigu Pills," he said. "One will sustain you for a month."
The others hesitated.
Lin Fei swallowed his without a word.
Hunger was irrelevant.
Comfort was irrelevant.
Only the path mattered.
As the night deepened, a few of the more fortunate recruits sat cross‑legged, circulating their meager spiritual roots. Li Feiyu practiced martial forms in the shadows, his movements sharp and disciplined.
Lin Fei watched him for a moment.
"A good heart."
Then he closed his eyes.
Deep within his soul, the Heaven‑Falling Seal pulsed once—
a faint ring of drifting golden calligraphy forming in the darkness.
Root: Ninth‑Rank
Physique: Dao Dragon Physique — Dormant
Bloodline Strength: Unawakened
The characters dissolved like mist.
Lin Fei exhaled softly.
"Not yet."
Dawn had barely touched the horizon when the world suddenly split open.
Shu—shu—shu—!
Dozens of crystalline ice spikes burst from the earth, streaking toward the group with lethal precision.
"Enemy attack!" Lin Yuanding roared, flames erupting from his palms as he intercepted the first volley.
The Lin Family cultivators reacted instantly—
earth walls rose, water curtains shimmered, fire burst forth.
But they were outnumbered.
Three youths were impaled before they even understood what was happening. Their bodies fell from the spirit horses like broken dolls, blood soaking into the dirt.
Lin Fei's breath caught for a moment.
Not fear.
Recognition.
"This… is the world of cultivation."
Cruel.
Cold.
Unforgiving.
A man in a flowing blue robe emerged from the torn earth, frost swirling around his boots.
"Lin Yuanding," he sneered, "did you think you could bring these seedlings home without the Shui Family's permission?"
Lin Yuanding's expression darkened.
"Shui Hanjiang. You dare ambush us on Qingzhu Mountain's road?"
The blue‑robed man laughed, cold mist curling from his fingertips.
"You were careless. That is all."
He clapped his palms together—
and a storm of ice blades erupted toward the recruits.
The Shui Family cultivators followed, their techniques sharp and frigid, like winter rivers cutting through stone.
A wind blade slipped through the defenses.
It struck the youth beside Lin Fei—
splitting him cleanly in half.
Warm blood splashed across Lin Fei's cheek.
For a heartbeat, the world went silent.
Then—
Another blade shot toward him.
Lin Fei did not move.
He had no time.
But Li Feiyu did.
He lunged, knocking Lin Fei aside as the blade sliced through the air where his neck had been.
Lin Fei blinked once.
"Thank you," he said quietly.
Li Feiyu grinned despite the chaos. "Stay alive."
Some of the youths panicked.
"I want to go home!"
"Don't kill me!"
"Run—run!"
Two tried to flee the protective circle.
They died instantly—
their bodies pierced by fire, ice, and wind before they took ten steps.
Lin Fei watched without expression.
"Without strength, one's life is lighter than grass."
Deep within him, the Dao Dragon Physique pulsed faintly—
a sleeping beast shifting in its dreams.
Just as the Lin Family's defenses began to crumble, a sharp whistle cut through the sky.
Figures descended from the direction of Qingzhu Mountain, robes fluttering like falling snow.
Shui Hanjiang clicked his tongue.
"Reinforcements. Withdraw."
He vanished into the earth, his followers scattering like shadows.
A woman in white descended beside Lin Yuanding, her robes fluttering like drifting snow.
Her presence was like a winter lotus blooming in moonlight—
pure, cold, breathtaking.
"Father, are you hurt?" she asked, her voice soft as flowing water.
Lin Fei's gaze lingered on her for a moment.
Not desire.
Not infatuation.
Just quiet acknowledgment.
Lin Qingxue.
The Lin Family's treasured daughter.
A cultivator whose aura was as clear and cold as her name.
Around him, the surviving youths stared at her in stunned silence.
Lin Fei simply lowered his eyes.
The path ahead was long.
And he had no intention of being distracted.
With the danger passed, the group resumed their journey.
Eight recruits had died.
No one mourned them.
Such was the world they had entered.
Lin Fei mounted his spirit horse, his expression calm once more.
The wind brushed his hair aside, revealing the faint vertical slit in his pupils.
Inside his soul, the Heaven‑Falling Seal pulsed again—
as if sensing the bloodshed.
"Strength," Lin Fei thought.
"I need strength."
Qingzhu Mountain awaited.
And with it, the first step toward awakening the dragon within.