The rain stopped before dawn.
Mist rose from the mountain paths, drifting lazily through the outer disciple courtyard. The Azure River Sect looked the same as it always had—ancient, indifferent, and vast.
Yet Li Yuan felt it clearly.
The world had shifted.
Not violently.
Not visibly.
But subtly, like a river changing its course beneath the surface.
---
Chen Yue slept lightly these days.
Li Yuan noticed it immediately. Her breathing was steady, her complexion calm, but her spiritual energy no longer dispersed naturally into the surroundings. Instead, it circulated inward, forming a gentle, closed loop.
It was protective.
Instinctive.
"This isn't normal," Chen Yue said one morning, her voice low. "I don't feel weak at all."
Li Yuan nodded. "Because you aren't."
He did not say more.
Some things were better left unspoken.
---
The first sign came three days later.
An outer disciple slipped while carrying spirit water near their residence. The barrel should have shattered, wasting the precious liquid.
Instead, it rolled harmlessly to a stop.
No one questioned it.
But Li Yuan saw the faint distortion in the air—the brief, almost imperceptible correction.
Luck alignment, he thought.
The system was no longer just reacting.
It was adjusting probability.
---
He summoned the interface that night.
---
[Eternal Progenitor System]
Bloodline Status: Awakening
Descendant Influence: Pre-manifestation
Active Effects:
• Minor causality correction
• Environmental smoothing
• Hostility dilution
Note:
The world unconsciously prioritizes the continuation of the bloodline.
---
Li Yuan stared at the final line for a long time.
"So even the world doesn't want this child to fail," he murmured.
The system did not respond.
It did not need to.
---
Attention followed.
Not obvious attention—but glances that lingered a little longer, elders who frowned faintly when their gazes passed Chen Yue, stewards who hesitated before assigning her work.
No one could point to a reason.
Which made them uneasy.
One outer elder summoned Chen Yue for a routine examination.
Li Yuan waited outside.
Too calmly.
Inside, the elder frowned repeatedly as he checked her condition.
"Your body is… balanced," he muttered. "Too balanced."
Chen Yue said nothing.
The elder waved her away eventually, clearly dissatisfied.
Li Yuan met her outside.
"What did he say?" Li Yuan asked.
"That nothing is wrong," Chen Yue replied. "But he didn't believe it."
Li Yuan nodded.
They sense it, he thought. But they can't grasp it.
---
That night, Li Yuan felt it.
A pull.
Not physical.
Existential.
The system interface unfolded without warning.
---
[Eternal Progenitor System]
[Legacy Authority: Initial Node Forming]
Warning:
From this point onward, external forces may unconsciously interfere.
Recommended Action:
Maintain low visibility.
---
Li Yuan exhaled slowly.
"So even you're cautious now," he said.
The system remained silent.
---
He adjusted immediately.
He stopped attending public cultivation sessions. He avoided elders. He altered his daily routes through the sect. Chen Yue followed his lead without question.
Their world shrank deliberately.
And the sect… allowed it.
Because nothing forced the opposite.
---
Late one night, Chen Yue woke him.
"Li Yuan," she whispered.
He opened his eyes instantly.
Her expression was calm—but focused.
"I can feel it," she said. "Something is… gathering."
Li Yuan sat up.
The air in the room felt heavier, yet strangely gentle, like a tide drawing inward.
He summoned the system.
---
[Eternal Progenitor System]
[Critical Phase Entered.]
The First Descendant will imprint upon the world.
Legacy Type: Undetermined
Bloodline Direction: Pending
Note:
Observer interference probability increasing.
---
Li Yuan's eyes darkened.
"Observers?"
The system answered for the first time without being prompted.
---
[Not all attention comes from people.]
---
Silence filled the room.
Chen Yue looked at him. "What does that mean?"
Li Yuan shook his head slowly.
"It means," he said, "that what we're doing matters more than just this sect."
Outside, far above the Azure River Sect, clouds drifted in unfamiliar patterns. Spiritual currents bent ever so slightly toward the mountain, unnoticed by those without the sensitivity to feel them.
Something ancient stirred.
Not awake.
But aware.
Li Yuan placed a hand gently over Chen Yue's.
"No matter what happens," he said quietly, "remember this—nothing gets to decide our future for us."
She nodded.
"I trust you."
The system interface flickered once.
---
[Eternal Progenitor System]
[The world has acknowledged the bloodline.]
---
Li Yuan closed his eyes.
The silence before growth had ended.
Now—
The world was making room.
---