The air outside the nest was colder than the cavern, yet somehow heavier.
Long Yan—once Shen Yu, now reborn as a hatchling of a forgotten dragon lineage—stepped beyond the charred stone walls of his birthplace. His claws dug into cracked volcanic earth, still warm with residual heat. The world before him was not the vibrant cultivation lands he remembered from his past life.
This place was wrong.
Mountains hung like broken teeth along the horizon. Twisted trees, gnarled and blackened, clawed at the sky. The air stank of decay, not just physical rot—but spiritual. The taint of the abyss was thick here, seeping into the soil and choking the qi.
He had read of these places in old records. Abyssal Rift Zones—deadlands where spiritual balance had fractured, corrupted by the will of something ancient and monstrous. No sane sect would build near them.
But then again, no sane dragon would be reborn here either.
[Environmental Warning: Abyssal Rift detected nearby. Spiritual energy corrupted. Cultivation affected.]
"System," Long Yan said inwardly, scanning the desolate terrain. "Why was I reborn in such a place?"
[Answer: Unknown. Cause of reincarnation remains unresolved. Priority: Survival, Evolution, Sovereign Path Initiation.]
He narrowed his eyes. "Of course."
Though he spoke with indifference, the tension in his muscles never eased. He had been calculating in life, and death hadn't changed that. Every breath he took was assessed. Every scent, every vibration in the ground filed into mental observation.
Two things were immediately clear:
One, this region was a death zone.
Two, he was not alone.
It started with the scent of blood.
Not beast blood—but human. Fresh. Tangled with burnt herbs and spiritual residue. Not far.
He crouched low and moved silently across the ridges. His body was small, weak, but stealth came naturally—his dragon form designed to prowl before it soared.
Below, through a shattered clearing between two bent stone pillars, he saw them.
A group of five cultivators. Or what remained of them.
Two were already dead—one cut clean in half, the other lying still, eyes glassy. Another was half-impaled on a tree trunk, coughing blood. A fourth—young, possibly barely in the Foundation Realm—was fending off an abyssal beast with a flickering spirit blade. The final figure, cloaked and unmoving, lay farther back, unconscious or worse.
The beast itself was malformed—a cross between a bear and a mantis, with chitinous armor and spiritual rot leaking from its claws. It hissed and lunged, its strikes faster than the young cultivator could keep up with.
He'd die in seconds.
Long Yan didn't move.
Not yet.
Emotion didn't stir in him. He did not feel compelled to save strangers for the sake of goodness. Not anymore. But calculations raced in his mind. The way the cultivator fought—desperately, but not foolishly. Defensive techniques. Efficient dodges. Not sect-trained, but experienced.
The cloaked figure on the ground twitched slightly.
Still alive.
That made two survivors.
Two lives for one debt? Allies are currency in this world.
Even pawns can buy time.
Decision: Engage.
He launched.
The beast never saw him coming.
With a surge of qi-enhanced speed, Long Yan barreled into its side, sinking his claws deep into the creature's eye. It roared, rearing back, trying to swat him off. The cultivator, surprised, wasted no time—he slashed across its exposed throat.
Blood sprayed.
The beast collapsed in a writhing mess of limbs and ichor.
[Beast Slain: Lesser Abyssal Ravager.]
[Essence Absorbed. Dragon Vein Progress: 21%.]
[Skill Acquired: Flicker Step (Tier 0).]
The young cultivator dropped to one knee, panting, blade quivering.
Long Yan turned toward him, his eyes glowing faintly in the dim light.
They stared at each other—beast and man.
"You…" the cultivator muttered. "You saved me?"
Long Yan didn't reply. He simply stared, unmoving.
Then, he turned and walked away, toward the cloaked figure who had begun to stir.
The cultivator didn't stop him. He didn't even dare breathe too loud.
The figure on the ground groaned softly as Long Yan approached. A young woman, perhaps no older than nineteen, lay bruised and bleeding beneath her cloak. Her qi flow was erratic but alive. Her spiritual meridians were intact—barely.
Her eyes fluttered open.
For a second, panic crossed her face—but it didn't last.
Not at the sight of the dragon.
She just stared.
"You're… not abyssal," she whispered.
Long Yan tilted his head. "No. But I'm also not human."
She gave a weak smile. "You speak. Dragons… shouldn't speak."
He could have laughed. "And yet, here I am."
[System Notification: New Interaction Detected.]
[Optional Quest: Form First Alliance – Reward: System Expansion (Ally Support Interface)]
Interesting.
This world didn't give things freely. If the system offered a feature for building alliances, then it had likely predicted this interaction. Was it sentient? Or simply reactive?
Either way, the girl would live—if she had purpose.
"What is your name?" he asked, his voice steady.
"…Luo Yanling," she whispered. "Disciple of the Obsidian Fang Sect. Or what's left of it."
So this region had once been protected.
"And your sect?" he asked.
"Destroyed. Abyssal beasts poured out of the Rift two weeks ago. Our elders tried to hold the gate." She shook her head. "They failed. Everyone died. We were scouting for remnants when we were ambushed."
Her gaze drifted toward the corpses of her comrades.
Long Yan said nothing. He did not offer condolences.
"We can't stay here," she muttered, forcing herself upright. "The scent of blood will draw more."
He admired her willpower.
Calculating quickly, he nodded. "There's a cave system not far. It will provide shelter for now."
"You're… staying?" she asked, surprised.
"Temporarily," Long Yan replied. "I need materials. And answers. You need protection."
Luo Yanling studied him. Her instincts were torn between fear and trust.
But in the end, logic won.
"Then we have a deal," she said softly.
Hours later, they rested in a stone alcove hidden behind fallen cliffs. Luo Yanling had collapsed into healing meditation. Long Yan stood watch, his thoughts spinning.
[Optional Quest Complete: Form First Alliance]
[System Expansion Unlocked: Ally Support Interface]
[Ally Detected: Luo Yanling | Cultivation: Mid Foundation Realm | Status: Injured]
[New System Function: Parallel Growth | Shared Combat Boost +5% when within range.]
"Interesting," Long Yan murmured.
The system adapted. The bond gave him more than combat advantage—it opened doors. Resources. Progress. Potential.
He turned to look at her. She was strong-willed, but not reckless. She could grow. Possibly beyond his current strength—at least, for now.
He didn't plan to be attached. Attachment led to betrayal.
But strategy?
That he understood.
"Rest well," he whispered. "You'll be useful."
And so, the dragon hatchling—indifferent but not unkind—continued down the path toward sovereignty, forging allies not from emotion, but design.
The ashes had not yet cooled.
But the sovereign had already begun to rise.