CHAPTER 32 — THE BLOOD SIGNAL
Jason Wu stumbled out of the blinding light and back into the Nexus Chamber—knees weak, chest heaving, body trembling from the aftershocks of facing his primordial ancestor.
He looked up.
Lan Yuren, Wei Qing, Leon, and Li Xueyin stood where he'd left them—tense, anxious, weapons raised.
Leon saw Jason first. His eyes widened. "HE'S ALIVE! AND NOT IN FLAMES! I OWE LAN YUREN FIVE SPIRIT STONES!"
Lan Yuren shot him a glare. "You bet on his survival?!"
"I bet on the *probability*," Leon muttered.
Jason coughed, "Guys… focus."
Li Xueyin rushed toward him, scanning his injuries. "You're hurt. Your meridians are shaking. Did the trial—?"
Jason forced a grin. "Let's just say my ancestor believes in tough love."
Longwu Sword vibrated smugly at his side.
["You have survived what should have killed you fifteen times over. I'm mildly impressed."]
Jason groaned. "Thanks, Longwu. That means a lot. Emotionally."
But then—
He noticed something else.
The Sleeper—the giant armored being—was no longer sitting.
It was standing.
And staring directly at him.
Its golden eyes, once calm, now blazed with something more intense. Almost frantic.
Wei Qing whispered, "Jason… something changed when you came back."
Li Xueyin tightened her grip on her talismans. "The Sleeper's energy surged. Whatever happened in your trial… it triggered something."
The floor shook violently.
*THUMP.*
Jason steadied himself. "Sleeper? Trial's over. I passed. So, what now?"
The Sleeper lifted its massive head.
And spoke with a voice that echoed like a collapsing mountain.
**"THE BLOODLINE HAS AWAKENED."**
Leon fainted on the spot.
---
### THE SLEEPER'S WARNING
The Sleeper stepped forward, stone fragments falling from its armor as ancient seals broke.
**"The First Wu has marked you.
The Primordial Path stirs.
And now—your enemies will move."**
Jason frowned. "Enemies… plural?"
The Sleeper nodded.
**"A shadow organization has pursued the Wu lineage for millennia.
It was dormant.
Watching.
Waiting."**
Lan Yuren stepped between Jason and the Sleeper. "Who are they?"
The Sleeper raised its sword.
Blue energy rippled across its blade.
**"Those who fear the Wu bloodline. Those who seek to erase it from existence.
You encountered their fragments—half-grown puppets—earlier in your journey."**
Jason stiffened.
"That… masked cultivator in Chapter 18? The one whose body dissolved like dust?"
Wei Qing gasped. "The ones with the distorted qi signatures!"
Longwu Sword growled,
["Yes. The Fake-Blood Puppeteers."]
Li Xueyin blinked. "The what?"
["Don't ask. Your sanity won't like the answer."]
Jason frowned. "If those were fragments… what's their real power?"
The Sleeper answered:
**"They can track Wu blood.
Across worlds.
Across realms.
Across dimensions."**
Everyone froze.
Li Xueyin swallowed. "Jason… that means… from now on, anywhere you go—"
Jason finished the thought. "They'll follow."
Leon woke up from fainting, heard that sentence, and fainted again.
---
### THE BLOOD SIGNAL
The Sleeper lowered its colossal sword tip to the ground.
*THOOM.*
A blue circle erupted around Jason's feet—spiraling, glowing, rising up his legs like ethereal flames.
Jason staggered. "What—what is this?!"
Li Xueyin shouted, "Energy signature! It's scanning you! Like an identification beacon!"
Longwu cursed,
["The trial branded you! They can sense the activation!"]
Jason panicked. "Can we turn it off?!"
But the Sleeper answered firmly.
**"No.
This is the mark of the Wu inheritor."**
Lan Yuren grabbed Jason's shoulders. "Then at least tell us what it *does*!"
The Sleeper's eyes dimmed.
**"It awakens your path.
Strengthens your foundation.
Opens the next gate of cultivation beyond mortal comprehension."**
Jason blinked. "That sounds great."
The Sleeper continued.
**"And it also broadcasts your existence to every enemy of the Wu across the realms."**
Jason froze. "…That sounds less great."
Leon (still half-conscious) lifted a finger weakly. "So we're… doomed?"
Wei Qing tightened her grip on her spear. "No. It just means we need to prepare."
Li Xueyin nodded. "We defend Jason. We build formations. We—"
But the Sleeper shook its head.
**"You cannot defend him.
This dungeon… was the last safe place.
Now that the blood signal is active—their scouts are already on their way."**
Jason's breath caught. "Already?!"
The Sleeper pointed toward the exit corridor.
A faint crack ran along its walls.
Another.
And another.
Like claws tapping stone.
Lan Yuren stepped forward instinctively. "We fight them here!"
But the Sleeper stretched a hand outward, creating a glowing portal.
**"No.
You must leave now."**
Jason hesitated. "What about you?"
The Sleeper lowered its head.
**"I will break the bridge.
Destroy the entrance.
And stall your pursuers."**
Li Xueyin gasped. "You'll… sacrifice yourself?"
The Sleeper said nothing.
Instead, it knelt before Jason Wu, lowering its massive sword in a gesture of honor.
**"Descendant of Wu.
Walk the path.
Reignite what was lost."**
Jason's throat tightened.
"…Thank you."
The Sleeper rose.
**"Go."**
The portal pulsed brighter.
Claws scraped stone again—closer now.
The team grabbed Jason and rushed into the portal as the platform shook violently.
Just before the light swallowed them, Jason looked back—
The Sleeper raised its sword, roaring as shadowy silhouettes slammed into the chamber.
Then—
Silence.
And the portal closed.
---
### OUTSIDE THE ABYSS
Jason crashed onto solid ground.
They were back at the entrance of Hollow Abyss, the sky swirling with storm clouds.
Leon groaned. "We made it! We're alive! Jason isn't kidnapped by cosmic assassins yet!"
Longwu Sword hummed softly.
["Boy… things will get worse before they get better."]
Jason exhaled.
"…Let them come."
Because for the first time—
He didn't feel like prey.
He felt like someone who could fight back.