The storm had passed, but the tension in the air had not.
Lin Tian and Su Xueyao emerged from the shadowed woods as dawn's first light crept over the ridge. In the distance, Moonshadow Mountain stood tall and cold, like a sleeping beast veiled in mist. Its jagged peaks pierced the sky, ancient and unmoved by the passage of time.
"Once we enter, they'll judge everything," Su Xueyao said quietly. "Your blood. Your soul. Your right to stand among us."
Lin Tian didn't flinch. "Let them."
They climbed for hours, ascending winding paths flanked by stone wolf statues and crumbling runes. Warriors in grey armor watched them from the shadows. Whispers followed every step they took.
"Is that him?"
"He smells like vampire blood."
"Why did the princess bring him here?"
Su Xueyao's steps never faltered. But Lin Tian felt the weight of their suspicion with every breath.
He tried not to look at the expressions carved into the rock—heroes of the clan, legendary beasts, symbols of unity. For a moment, he wondered what his mother had thought when she first climbed this path. Did she feel like an outcast too? Or had she been proud?
The air grew colder as they ascended. Frost covered the last few steps leading to the sanctuary gates. Two massive wolf statues stood as guardians, their eyes glowing faintly with embedded spirit stones. When Lin Tian passed between them, the energy rippled through his bones.
They arrived at the Council Sanctuary—an immense stone hall carved directly into the mountain face. Etchings of wolves in mid-hunt covered the walls, frozen in time. The hall smelled of burning incense, cold stone, and old secrets.
Inside, dozens of warriors and elders stood in tense silence as the pair entered. At the end of the hall sat three crescent-shaped thrones, each occupied by an elder robed in thick ceremonial fur, eyes like sharpened blades.
Behind them stood a tall woman clad in silver and moonlight.
Liu Qingning.
High Priestess of the Wolf Clan. Her expression was calm, but her presence sent a chill through the room.
"Su Xueyao," one elder began, voice like cracking ice, "you return from exile with a stranger bearing corruption. Explain yourself."
Xueyao stepped forward, chin held high. "This is Lin Tian. He carries the Wolf Emperor's mark. He saved my life—and may hold the key to saving us all."
A ripple of murmurs spread through the crowd.
An elder scoffed. "He reeks of vampire filth. You expect us to believe he's a savior?"
"He saved me from three vampire assassins. Alone," Su Xueyao snapped.
Lin Tian stepped forward. "That blood saved both our lives. You can hate it, but it's mine now. I didn't choose it—but I'll use it to protect the people she cared for."
Liu Qingning descended from the dais and approached him. Her gaze never left his. When she stood before him, she reached out and placed two fingers against his chest.
A pause. A flicker of light. Her expression changed.
"His blood sings," she whispered. "This is no mere hybrid."
She turned to the Council. "I knew Lin Wanqing. Her power, her choices—they left scars on this clan. But this boy... her son... is not her curse. He may be her final answer."
Lin Tian looked up. "You knew my mother?"
Liu Qingning nodded, eyes distant. "She and I were rivals. And sisters. We dreamed of different futures. Perhaps... you are what she sacrificed everything to build."
The eldest elder growled. "If he carries that woman's madness, we should seal him away before her corruption spreads again."
Su Xueyao stepped between them. "If you lay a hand on him, you'll answer to me."
Her voice rang through the hall. Gasps echoed around them. But she didn't flinch.
Another elder frowned. "You would challenge tradition for him?"
"I challenge cowardice dressed as tradition," she said coldly.
The hall grew silent.
Liu Qingning raised her hand. "Let the soul judge him. Call for the Resonance Trial."
A stone door behind the thrones began to grind open, revealing a deep stairwell carved into the mountain. Faint blue runes pulsed along the walls, lighting the descent.
"The Wolf Soul Resonance," Qingning said, voice solemn, "is not a test of strength, but of truth. It will look into his heart. If he lies—if he carries malice or weakness—it will devour him."
*System Alert: Main Quest Updated: Wolf Soul Resonance Trial Activated.*
*Objective: Survive the ancestral trial. Status and bloodline acceptance at stake.*
"I accept," Lin Tian said. His voice rang clear and unwavering.
"Then it begins," Qingning said.
Lin Tian turned to Su Xueyao. She stepped closer, her eyes unreadable.
"I'll be waiting outside," she said. "Come back alive. If you die in there, I'll kill you again myself."
He smirked. "Deal."
He stepped into the stairwell. Cold wind rushed past him as the doors began to close. The light faded behind him. Only the pulsing glow of the ancient runes remained.
Each step downward felt heavier. The walls whispered in ancient tongues. Shadows moved where they shouldn't. At the bottom, a vast circular chamber opened up, filled with a silver mist.
A massive stone slab floated in the center, etched with glowing glyphs. Bones—old, cracked, some not even human—lined the edges of the chamber.
The spirit of the Wolf Ancestor awaited.
A voice boomed, not aloud, but in his very soul.
"Who dares ask the judgment of the blood?"
"Lin Tian," he answered. "Son of Lin Wanqing."
"You are tainted."
"I am what your world made me."
Silence. Then, a wind stirred. The silver mist thickened, coalescing into ghostly shapes—wolves of light and shadow, circling him.
"Show us your truth," the voice commanded.
Lin Tian stepped onto the stone slab. The glyphs flared.
Visions hit him.
His mother, screaming in defiance. A man cloaked in red fangs. Su Xueyao bleeding under moonlight. His own face, shifting—wolf, human, vampire, nothing.
The wolves snarled. They lunged.
He stood his ground.
"I am not her," he shouted. "I am not a tool. I am not a curse. I am ME!"
A blast of energy erupted from him. The wolves vanished. The mist dispersed.
Silence fell.
Then the voice returned, calmer now.
"You carry the blood of the forsaken. But your will is your own."
*Trial Passed.*
As he collapsed to his knees, exhausted, the chamber lit up with golden light.
Far above, in the Council Hall, the runes on the walls pulsed in recognition.
Liu Qingning smiled faintly. "He lives."
Su Xueyao's shoulders finally relaxed.
But not everyone looked pleased.
The eldest elder turned to the others. "He has passed. But now comes the true question: what do we do with a weapon?"