The night after the ridge tremor, the Liu Clan estate did not sleep.
Cracks in the northern earth were sealed temporarily by formation arrays. Guards rotated in doubled shifts. Disciples whispered about omens and buried curses.
But the true tremor was not in the soil.
It was inside Lin Xiao.
He sat alone in his chamber.
Mu Yin had returned to her quarters reluctantly after ensuring his breathing stabilized.
The third fracture lingered like a hairline split across glass.
Not open.
Not closed.
Waiting.
The golden shard pulsed slowly within his consciousness.
Not wild.
Not raging.
Measuring.
The buried fragment had forced pressure against the seal.
The imperial prince had tested dominance.
Two forces pushing from different directions.
And yet—
The seal had not shattered.
It had adapted.
Lin Xiao exhaled slowly.
He closed his eyes.
Descended inward.
The interior of his meridians no longer resembled blocked stone corridors.
They resembled layered scales.
Each fracture had revealed new patterns beneath.
Not chaotic.
Structured.
The seal was not simply a lock.
It was architecture.
He guided golden qi toward the third fracture.
Pain surged instantly.
But controlled pain.
He did not force it.
He allowed Yin memory to surface.
Mu Yin's stabilizing cold.
He recalled the flow between them.
Balanced heat.
Balanced cold.
He replicated the pattern alone.
Golden qi did not burst outward.
It spiraled.
Condensed.
Compressed against the fracture.
The third crack widened—
Cleanly.
A rush of refined energy surged through his body.
His breath caught.
Bones vibrated faintly.
Muscles tightened.
Skin flushed briefly gold before settling.
Mid Body Refinement.
He did not collapse.
He did not explode.
He stabilized.
The golden shard pulsed once—
Satisfied.
At that same moment—
Far within Longhuang City—
Three figures stood inside the inner imperial council chamber.
Long Jin.
Long Wei.
And another.
Long Xiu.
The black mirror between them shimmered faintly.
"He advanced," Long Wei said calmly.
Long Jin's expression remained unreadable.
"Mid Body Refinement."
Long Xiu smiled faintly.
"Without imperial method."
Silence settled.
Long Jin finally spoke.
"If he reaches Core Formation without guidance, his blood will destabilize."
Long Xiu's gaze remained fixed on the mirror.
"Or evolve."
Long Wei folded his arms.
"Some within the court advocate elimination."
Long Jin's eyes darkened.
"Which faction?"
"The Third Prince's branch."
Long Xiu's smile widened slightly.
"Of course."
The Third Prince feared irregular bloodlines.
He built his power on purity.
Long Jin turned away from the mirror.
"We do not move yet."
"And if the buried fragment beneath the estate rises fully?" Long Wei asked.
Long Xiu answered softly.
"Then we observe who survives."
Back in Liu Clan estate—
Mu Yin felt the shift instantly.
She rose from her meditation.
Ran toward Lin Xiao's chamber.
She arrived just as golden light faded from beneath the door.
He opened it before she knocked.
His aura had changed.
Subtle.
Denser.
Controlled.
"You broke through," she said.
"Yes."
"How?"
"Structure."
She studied him.
His pupils were normal.
But deeper.
Less reactive.
The golden shard no longer thrashed behind his eyes.
It watched through him.
"Your seal?" she asked.
"Still intact."
"But different."
"Yes."
Elder Liu Zheng arrived moments later.
He sensed it too.
Mid Body Refinement.
Impossible pace.
"You should not advance so quickly," the elder said quietly.
"I did not rush," Lin Xiao replied.
The elder believed him.
That unsettled him more.
Across the estate—
Liu Ming woke from unconsciousness beneath his bed.
Sweat drenched his body.
The buried voice had not left him.
"You failed."
Liu Ming clenched his jaw.
"I tried."
"You hesitated."
The memory burned.
He had wanted Lin Xiao to break the fragment.
To lose control.
To be consumed.
Instead—
Lin Xiao had refused.
Again.
The voice whispered colder now.
"Bring him again."
"I cannot."
"Then bring her."
Liu Ming's breath hitched.
Mu Yin.
The thought twisted his stomach.
"She stabilizes him," the voice continued.
"Remove her."
Silence.
Liu Ming's hands trembled.
"I…"
"You seek strength."
"Yes."
"Then choose."
The voice faded.
Leaving only darkness.
Liu Ming stared at his shaking fingers.
Jealousy hardened.
Ambition eclipsed doubt.
He stood.
The next evening—
Mu Yin trained alone near the inner pond.
The water reflected moonlight softly.
Her Yin flow was steady now.
Controlled.
She did not hear Liu Ming approach.
He moved carefully.
No overt hostility.
No open challenge.
He carried a thin vial.
Colorless liquid.
He poured it silently into the pond upstream.
The substance dissolved instantly.
Odorless.
Invisible.
Mu Yin knelt to adjust her posture.
Her hand dipped into the water.
A faint ripple spread.
Then—
Her breath caught.
The Yin within the pond reacted unnaturally.
Cold intensified violently.
Not natural flow.
Distorted.
Her meridians convulsed.
Frost exploded outward uncontrollably.
She staggered backward.
Pain unlike any before surged through her veins.
The stabilizing balance she had built collapsed.
The golden alignment with Lin Xiao snapped.
She gasped—
Then collapsed.
The frost spread wildly across the pond's surface.
Liu Ming stepped forward, eyes wide.
He had not expected such violent reaction.
The buried voice whispered faintly in his mind—
"Good."
Lin Xiao felt it instantly.
The golden shard surged in alarm.
He ran.
The courtyard stones cracked beneath his feet as he moved.
He reached the pond—
Frost covered half the ground.
Mu Yin lay unconscious.
Her Yin had spiked beyond control.
The seal within him reacted violently.
Not rage.
Fear.
He knelt beside her.
Her skin burned with freezing energy.
He placed his palm against her chest.
Golden qi flowed.
The imbalance was extreme.
Artificially triggered.
His eyes flicked briefly toward Liu Ming standing rigid nearby.
Understanding dawned instantly.
"You."
Liu Ming stepped back.
"It was not meant—"
The golden shard flared.
Not measured.
Not controlled.
The third fracture widened violently.
Pressure exploded outward.
The pond shattered.
Water turned to steam instantly.
Liu Ming dropped to his knees.
The buried fragment beneath the ridge trembled in excitement.
"Break."
Lin Xiao ignored it.
He focused entirely on Mu Yin.
He forced golden qi inward.
Not explosive.
Condensed.
Stabilizing.
Her Yin thrashed violently.
He tightened the flow.
Aligned heat precisely along disrupted pathways.
The seal screamed in resistance.
Too much.
Too fast.
Blood ran down his nose.
But he did not withdraw.
"Breathe," he whispered to her.
Her chest convulsed.
Then—
Slowly—
The frost receded.
The violent surge weakened.
Her breathing stabilized.
The golden shard pulsed in steady rhythm.
Not dominance.
Protection.
Mu Yin's eyes fluttered open weakly.
"You…"
"Yes."
Her gaze sharpened faintly.
"Water…"
He turned slowly toward Liu Ming.
The courtyard air thickened.
Not ancient fragment.
Not imperial dragon.
His.
Liu Ming scrambled backward.
"I— I only—"
"You poisoned the balance," Lin Xiao said quietly.
"I wanted strength!"
"And so you would destroy it?"
Liu Ming's face twisted.
"You break stones! You draw princes! You—"
The golden pressure intensified.
Elder Liu Zheng arrived.
"What happened?"
Lin Xiao did not look away from Liu Ming.
"He chose."
The elder understood enough.
His gaze hardened.
Liu Ming paled.
The buried fragment beneath the ridge pulsed violently in agitation.
"Break."
Lin Xiao closed his eyes briefly.
He felt it.
The temptation.
Destroy Liu Ming.
Silence the threat.
Advance further.
He exhaled slowly.
When he opened his eyes—
The pressure eased.
He stood.
"Confine him," he said calmly.
Elder Liu Zheng nodded once.
Zhao Kang seized Liu Ming immediately.
The buried voice shrieked faintly in frustration—
Then went silent.
Later that night—
Mu Yin rested.
Stable.
Weak.
But alive.
Lin Xiao stood beneath the elm tree alone.
The third fracture had widened from forced use.
Mid Body Refinement stabilized fully.
The seal had shifted again.
Not cracking blindly.
Reinforcing structure.
He understood now.
The golden shard was not merely power.
It responded to choice.
To restraint.
To alignment.
Not to rage.
Not to impulse.
He looked toward the capital's distant horizon.
The empire watched.
Princes calculated.
Buried fragments tempted.
He had nearly lost control tonight.
Not to the fragment.
Not to the prince.
But to anger.
That was more dangerous.
The golden shard pulsed quietly.
Agreeing.
Lin Xiao closed his eyes.
"I will not borrow crowns."
The wind stirred faintly.
No answer came from beneath the earth.
For the first time—
The buried fragment remained silent.
Far away—
Long Jin received word of the estate incident.
He listened quietly.
"Mid Body Refinement confirmed," Long Wei concluded.
"And he restrained himself," Long Xiu added softly.
Long Jin turned toward the palace balcony.
"Good."
He looked toward the eastern horizon.
"Let him grow."
"For now."
Back in Liu Clan estate—
Lin Xiao opened his eyes slowly.
The seal was no longer a prison.
It was becoming a path.
He had crossed into Mid Body Refinement.
Not through rage.
Not through devouring.
Through structure.
Through choice.
The empire would test again.
The buried fragment would tempt again.
Liu Ming had fallen.
But others would rise.
And he—
Was still unfinished.
Uncrowned.
But no longer fragile.