The Azure River Sect did not celebrate the trial's end.
Officially, it was labeled a failure—an unfortunate miscalculation caused by degraded ancient formations. Casualties were minimized, survivors compensated, and the matter was quickly sealed.
Too quickly.
That alone told Li Yuan everything.
---
The sect had understood something was wrong.
But understanding without clarity bred fear, and fear preferred silence.
Li Yuan was left undisturbed.
Which was never a good sign.
---
Days passed.
Li Chen grew quietly.
Too quietly.
He slept often, but when awake, his gaze followed movement with unnerving precision. He did not babble. He did not cry unless hungry. And when he grasped something, his fingers held firm—as though the concept of "letting go" had not yet entered his understanding.
Chen Yue watched him constantly.
"He doesn't feel like a child," she said once, half-joking, half-worried.
Li Yuan did not smile.
"He is a child," he replied. "But he exists… correctly."
---
The system interface appeared more frequently now.
Not warnings.
Updates.
---
[Eternal Progenitor System]
Bloodline Growth: Stable
World Attention Index: Rising
Current Threat Profile: • Local Powers: Cautious • Regional Forces: Unaware • Upper Realm Echoes: Monitoring (Passive)
Note: Continued concealment will grow increasingly costly.
---
"So hiding becomes harder the more we succeed," Li Yuan murmured.
That was acceptable.
Success was never meant to be invisible.
---
The price came one night later.
The sky darkened abruptly.
No clouds.
No storm.
Just darkness—deep, unnatural, pressing.
Li Yuan stood instantly.
The system flared.
---
[Eternal Progenitor System]
WARNING.
External Pressure Detected.
Type: — Fate Weight Projection —
Source: Unlocalized (Upper Realm Layer)
Effect: • Environmental stress • Psychological pressure • Legacy suppression attempt
---
Chen Yue gasped, clutching her chest.
Li Chen whimpered for the first time since birth.
The air felt heavy—as if the world itself leaned down, testing whether they would collapse under its presence.
Li Yuan stepped forward.
Enough.
---
He did not release qi.
He did not invoke authority.
He simply stood.
Straight.
Unyielding.
---
The pressure intensified.
Walls creaked.
Spirit lamps flickered.
The spirit tree outside shuddered, leaves falling like rain.
Li Yuan raised his head and spoke.
Not loudly.
But clearly.
"I exist," he said.
"And therefore, so does my bloodline."
---
The world froze.
The system reacted violently.
---
[Eternal Progenitor System]
CRITICAL EVENT!
Progenitor Declaration Registered.
Effect: • Fate Weight Neutralized (Partial) • Legacy Assertion Recorded
Consequence: • Upper Realm Awareness Escalated • Bloodline Marking: Applied
---
A sharp pain flared briefly at Li Yuan's chest.
Not physical.
Conceptual.
A mark burned into existence itself.
Then—
The pressure vanished.
The darkness receded.
The sky returned.
---
Li Yuan exhaled slowly.
Chen Yue collapsed into a chair, shaking.
Li Chen fell silent again, eyes wide but calm.
Too calm.
The system delivered the aftermath.
---
[Eternal Progenitor System]
Bloodline Mark: Confirmed
Effect: • Bloodline cannot be erased quietly • Fate corrections will require direct cost • Major events will increasingly involve the progenitor
Note: From this point onward, neutrality is impossible.
---
Li Yuan smiled faintly.
"So they've named the price."
---
The sect reacted the next morning.
An emergency council was convened.
This time, Li Yuan was not summoned.
He was invited.
---
The sect master himself sat at the head of the hall, expression grave.
"You've crossed a line," the sect master said calmly.
Li Yuan bowed. "I stood still."
The sect master laughed softly.
"That's exactly the problem."
He leaned forward.
"The heavens noticed you last night. And when they notice something in a lower realm… it becomes everyone's problem."
Li Yuan met his gaze.
"Then why invite me?"
The sect master's eyes sharpened.
"Because if disaster is coming," he said, "we want to stand on the right side of it."
---
Outside the hall, disciples whispered.
Inside, fate shifted.
The Azure River Sect made its choice.
---
That night, Li Yuan stood beneath the spirit tree with Li Chen in his arms.
The tree bent slightly.
Not in submission.
In acknowledgment.
Li Yuan looked up at the stars.
"Come," he said quietly.
"I'm done pretending."
---
Far beyond the world.
Something ancient smiled.
"So the seed speaks."
---