The path to the sect was not a road.
It was a scar—burned into the land by fire, claw, and chaos.
Long Yan moved silently, his smaller dragon form perched on a boulder as his eyes scanned the desolate terrain ahead. The sun—pale and distant—cast a red haze across the ashen sky. Burned trees stood like skeletal watchmen along the winding trail that had once led to the Obsidian Fang Sect.
Now, it led to a grave.
Behind him, Luo Yanling walked with her head lowered, wrapped in a tattered cloak, spiritual fluctuations faint but slowly stabilizing. Her wounds had closed, but her posture remained tense—not from pain, but memory.
"The outer gates were just beyond that ridge," she said softly, her voice tight with restraint.
Long Yan didn't answer. He had no attachment to this place. No nostalgia. But he observed her reaction, studying the subtle tremble in her fingers, the set of her jaw.
Grief suppressed. Pain turned inward. Efficient.
He respected that.
[System Alert: New Zone Entered – Ruins of the Obsidian Fang Sect]
[Potential Materials Detected: Abyssal Ore, Obsidian Coal, Spiritual Debris]
[Side Quest Available: "Forge First Alloy – Ebony Scale Plate"]
The system's timing was, as always, strategic.
He scanned the surroundings again. The remnants of defensive formations crackled weakly across half-collapsed towers. Blood stained the crumbled tiles. Burned corpses—human and beast alike—littered the courtyards.
This hadn't been a battle. It had been a massacre.
Luo Yanling didn't speak as they passed a half-crushed statue of the sect's founder. Her eyes lingered only for a second before moving on. Sentimentality, but not weakness.
They entered what was once the forge hall.
It was in better condition than expected—likely reinforced by sect elders to prevent spiritual backlash. Blackened shelves of raw ore still lined the walls. Tools lay abandoned mid-crafting. The floor bore the marks of violent struggle, but the core structure remained intact.
Long Yan stepped into the center, his claws clicking against stone. A pulse of familiarity hummed through his body—resonance. The dragon within recognized the forges.
He shifted.
Bones cracked. Flesh twisted. With a ripple of black mist, his dragon form shrank and rearranged, forming the silhouette of a young man—tall, lean, dark-haired, with scaled forearms and glowing golden eyes.
He took a steady breath and opened his palm.
[Dragon Form (Partial) – Human Shell Activated]
[Current Control: 31%]
Luo Yanling froze behind him.
"You're… human?" she asked, voice barely above a whisper.
"Not exactly," he replied calmly. "But this is easier for crafting."
She blinked, recovering. "Right."
Her voice didn't carry fear—just curiosity. That, too, he noted.
Long Yan moved to the central forge and examined the stone kiln. It was inactive, but salvageable. Ashes still clung to the walls. A few pieces of obsidian coal remained in the bin beside it—enough to start.
[Quest Objective: Purify Obsidian Coal – In Progress]
"Start gathering remnants," he instructed, gesturing to the shelves. "Ore fragments, beast bone dust, anything with spiritual residue. We'll need it for crafting."
She hesitated only a second before nodding and obeying.
Trust was a currency—slow to build, easy to spend.
The fire roared to life.
Long Yan fed the obsidian coal into the forge, guiding his qi into the runes etched along the kiln's edge. It responded, drawing in corrupted spiritual energy and burning it clean through dragon breath.
[Purification 68%... 87%... Complete.]
He retrieved the serpent-scale fragments from the beasts he'd slain and placed them into the forge alongside the refined coal. A low hum vibrated through the chamber.
[Forging Sequence Initiated – Ebony Scale Plate]
[Choose Alloy Focus: Defensive | Balanced | Aggressive]
He didn't hesitate. "Balanced."
He wasn't building for brute strength—not yet. Flexibility and adaptability mattered more now.
The system reacted. A translucent interface hovered before his eyes, displaying forging progression as qi-infused smoke coiled upward.
Sparks flew. The temperature surged. The alloy fused under the weight of intent.
[Forging Complete – Ebony Scale Plate Created (Tier 1)]
[Effect: +15% Resistance to Abyssal Qi | +8% Physical Defense | Scale Resonance Enabled]
He withdrew the armor—a black chestplate shaped with angular ridges, faintly humming with dragon energy. The scales shimmered slightly when exposed to light, like polished volcanic glass.
He held it out toward Luo Yanling.
"For you," he said simply.
She blinked in surprise. "Why?"
"You'll fight better protected," he replied, as if it were obvious.
"You could use it yourself."
"I'll forge better."
She took it slowly, hands brushing his. A faint warmth spread across her fingers from the plate.
"…Thank you," she said softly, studying him. "You're hard to read, you know."
"I prefer it that way."
They camped that night in the forge hall, guarded by fading warding stones and piled debris. Luo Yanling dozed lightly near the kiln's warmth. Long Yan sat cross-legged nearby, refining the energy he had absorbed earlier.
[Dragon Vein Progress: 29%]
Still too slow.
He needed more essence. Stronger beasts. Perhaps a core from something above Tier 1. But the deeper into the Rift Zone he went, the more unstable his human form would become. His cultivation was still non-existent. Only the system kept him grounded.
His eyes flicked toward the sleeping Luo Yanling.
A human ally. Capable. Loyal—for now.
He did not feel affection. Not yet. But he felt usefulness. And the beginnings of something else—a quiet respect.
She doesn't slow me down.
She adapts. She learns.
If she survives… she might be more than a tool.
The thought lingered longer than expected.
He stood and stepped outside, climbing a collapsed wall that led to the tower's roof. From there, he gazed out across the wasted landscape. Beyond the ridge, clouds swirled unnaturally—marking the edge of the Abyssal Rift.
It pulsed like a heartbeat.
He had felt it from the moment he awakened in this world. A pull—not just of energy, but fate. Something in the Rift called to him.
[System Alert: Hidden Quest Unlocked – Origin Echo]
[Abyssal Rift is linked to host's reincarnation. Investigate the core.]
[Warning: Entering Rift Zone prematurely may result in death.]
"Of course it's tied to me," he muttered, a thin smile touching his lips.
Everything in this world—his body, his system, his power—had been born in shadow and fire.
And the abyss… was part of that fire.
Dawn broke, casting a thin silver light across the ruins.
Luo Yanling stirred as he returned, eyes bleary but alert. She wore the Ebony Scale Plate now, adjusted to fit over her robes. It pulsed faintly with warmth—resonating with his system.
"Where were you?" she asked, stretching stiff limbs.
"Scouting."
She nodded, brushing dust from her cloak. "What now?"
He met her gaze.
"We head toward the Rift. I need a beast core—something strong. And answers."
Her brow furrowed. "That's suicide."
"It's calculated risk."
"You don't even have a proper cultivation base yet."
"I will," he said. "Soon."
A pause.
"And me?" she asked. "Why take me with you?"
"You're useful," he replied evenly. "You learn fast. You follow orders. And you haven't tried to kill me."
A small smirk tugged at her lips. "That's the nicest thing anyone's said to me since my sect died."
They set out again, side by side.
Not friends.
Not yet allies.
But moving together—not from affection, but purpose.
And in this world, that was far rarer than love.