Jayden sat cross-legged in the heart of the Silent Cradle, his body still smoldering with divine energy.
The awakening had changed everything.
His bones no longer cracked under pressure — they rang, like tempered steel. His skin glimmered faintly with golden chi lines that pulsated with every heartbeat. The Dragon Form wasn't just an inheritance… it was a rebirth.
Lena stood at the entrance of the tomb, arms crossed. Her eyes scanned the cracked ceiling overhead, still humming with power.
"You're different now," she said softly.
Jayden opened his eyes, which flickered gold. "I feel it too. The Dragon Form… it rewrote my body."
"No," Lena said. "It revealed your true self."
He rose slowly, fire licking his shoulders before fading into silence.
"The martial world won't ignore this."
"They already haven't."
Meanwhile, in the Frostiron Peaks
Far to the north, beyond the civilized megacities and gang-choked alleys, a frozen fortress sat carved into the mountains. Inside, black-robed cultivators gathered around an ice coffin — and within it lay a man untouched by time.
His face was carved like ice, and his chest bore a seal etched in dragon language — the same language as Jayden's scroll.
At the center of the chamber, a massive sigil pulsed faintly.
A voice spoke, carried by the wind.
"The Dragon Form has awakened…"
The sigil cracked.
The ice coffin began to melt.
And the man inside opened his eyes, glowing with blue fire.
Back in the City: Martial World Awakens
News of the tomb's unsealing spread like wildfire.
Old sects stirred. Rival clans began sending emissaries, some in hopes of alliance, others in fear. The Council of Hidden Clans — long silent — called for an emergency summit. In the underground forums of martial cultivators, one phrase began circulating:
"The heir has awakened."
Jayden and Lena returned to the outskirts of the city under disguise. But as they stepped through the gates, they were met by a familiar face.
Mason.
The youngest elder of the Ember Lotus Sect.
One of Jayden's former rivals — and one he had defeated in a refining duel two chapters ago.
He stood tall, arms folded, flame tattoos now burned deeper into his flesh.
"I want a rematch," Mason said.
Jayden raised an eyebrow. "Didn't you get crushed last time?"
"I've advanced to Core Formation Stage since then," Mason snapped. "And I've trained with the Eightfold Furnace Masters. I'm not just here for pride — the Ember Lotus wants to test the heir."
Jayden's chi flared slightly. "Fine."
Lena stepped aside with a sigh. "Just don't burn the street again."
Alchemical Arena: Battle of the Flames
They stood across from one another in the underground arena beneath Ember Market, surrounded by roaring cultivators and hidden elders cloaked in mist.
The challenge:
Refine a fourth-tier Flameheart Pill in under ten minutes.
Failure would result in loss of face.
Victory? Immense prestige.
Jayden summoned his god-tier flame, letting it hover above his palm like a dancing comet. Mason did the same — his flame smaller, but controlled and precise.
The ingredients were brought out:
Phoenix Root, Glimmering Petal, Dragon Salts, and Nightshade Bark.
Mason began immediately — grinding, fusing, and swirling the materials with clinical speed.
Jayden, on the other hand… just sat.
The crowd murmured. Was he stalling?
Then—
He opened his palm, summoning a second flame.
Gasps filled the room.
"He's dual-wielding fire spirits!" someone yelled.
Jayden smirked. "Let's make this interesting."
With one flame purifying and the other fusing, he danced between movements like a martial artist in a pill battle. The golden hue of the concoction began to solidify faster than even Mason's.
Nine minutes in — Mason's pill burst from the cauldron, glowing red.
"Done!" he shouted.
Jayden let his pill rise slowly… glowing gold and silver at once.
It didn't burst.
It hovered.
A perfect fourth-tier pill, stabilized with celestial balance.
A Master Refiner sitting in the judge's panel stood in awe. "That's not a Flameheart… that's a Heaven-Blood variant!"
Mason stared in disbelief.
Jayden crushed his own pill to dust and walked past Mason.
"Still chasing," he said.
A Letter from the Past
That night, Jayden received a sealed envelope.
The wax bore the sigil of the Azure Moon Sect — one of the Seven Grand Houses, thought to be extinct after the Clan Purge seventeen years ago.
The letter read:
"Xuan Jayden.
You are walking the path of fire, but the wind has not yet tested your flame. Come to the Stormveil Summit. If you wish to truly awaken the second form… you must survive The Trial of Winds.
— Elder Raen, Azure Moon"
Lena looked over his shoulder. "That's a suicide invitation."
Jayden smiled.
"I've already walked through fire," he said. "What's a little wind?"
Final Scene: The Awakening of the Ice-Born
Back in the Frostiron Peaks, the ice man stepped from the coffin. Elders knelt around him.
One spoke: "Lord Kael… it has begun."
Kael's eyes burned with icy blue flame.
"The Dragon Bloodline has appeared again," he said coldly.
"Then I shall do what I failed to before… I will end it."
He looked to the southern sky.
"Let the heavens bear witness. I am coming."