The days that followed passed without disturbance.
No one questioned Li Yuan's choices. No elder summoned him. No sudden fortune descended from the heavens. The Azure River Sect continued to function exactly as it always had—indifferent, orderly, and vast.
And that was precisely what made it dangerous.
Li Yuan understood this better than anyone.
In his previous life, it was during this quiet period that people like him slowly fell behind, buried under routine and complacency until they became invisible.
This time, he used the silence.
---
He and Chen Yue adjusted to living together with surprising ease.
Their shared residence was small—barely larger than a single outer disciple room—but it was clean and quiet. A single window faced the lower slopes of the mountain, where spiritual energy was thin but stable.
They did not rush anything.
They cultivated separately, discussed techniques in the evenings, and shared simple meals prepared from sect rations. There was no grand romance, no heated passion.
Only consistency.
And consistency, Li Yuan knew, was the most dangerous force of all.
Chen Yue cultivated diligently. Her pace was still slow, but it was steady. Unlike before, she no longer looked anxious when others advanced ahead of her.
Li Yuan noticed the change immediately.
"You're calmer," he said one evening.
Chen Yue smiled faintly. "I don't feel like I'm racing toward a wall anymore."
Li Yuan nodded.
That was exactly the effect he wanted.
---
On the seventh night after their union, Li Yuan felt it.
A subtle shift.
He was circulating spiritual energy when a faint warmth spread through his dantian—not the violent surge of a breakthrough, but something deeper.
He opened his eyes.
The system interface appeared without being summoned.
---
[Eternal Progenitor System]
Bloodline Status: Nascent
Stability: Increasing
[Passive Effect Activated: Bloodline Resonance]
Effect:
• Cultivation efficiency slightly increased when within proximity of bonded bloodline members
• Mental stability improved
• Minor resistance to deviation
---
Li Yuan stared at the text.
No dramatic power increase.
No cultivation realm jump.
Just… reinforcement.
He exhaled slowly.
"This is how you grow," he murmured. "Quietly."
The system did not respond.
---
Weeks passed.
Outer disciples came and went. Some failed assessments and were expelled. Others were promoted to inner disciple trials.
Li Yuan remained exactly where he was.
To outsiders, he was unremarkable.
To the sect, he was forgettable.
But beneath the surface, something was accumulating.
---
One afternoon, as Li Yuan returned from tending the herb fields, he overheard voices near the outer disciple exchange pavilion.
"…Inner Disciple Zhao is recruiting attendants again."
"I heard he rewards loyalty generously."
"Better than rotting in the fields forever."
Li Yuan paused briefly.
Inner disciples often took outer disciples as attendants—servants in all but name. It offered faster access to resources but crushed independence.
In his previous life, he had considered it.
Desperately.
This time, he walked on.
Short-term gains destroy long-term foundations, he reminded himself.
That night, Chen Yue brought it up.
"Some people say we're wasting time," she said quietly. "They think we should attach ourselves to an inner disciple."
Li Yuan looked at her.
"And what do you think?"
She hesitated. "I think… I'm tired of being borrowed."
Li Yuan smiled faintly.
"Good," he said. "Because we're building something that doesn't borrow power."
---
That same night, the system activated again.
---
[Bloodline Event Approaching.]
[Condition: Bloodline expansion detected.]
Li Yuan's breath slowed.
"Already?"
The system continued.
[Physiological synchronization confirmed.]
[Probability of First Descendant: Increasing.]
Li Yuan closed his eyes.
This was faster than he had expected—but not unexpected.
The system was not urging him forward.
It was observing.
Waiting.
---
Days later, Chen Yue sat across from him, unusually quiet.
"Li Yuan," she said after a long pause. "I… I think something is changing."
He looked at her carefully.
Her spiritual energy felt different—calmer, more cohesive.
"When did you notice?" he asked.
"Two days ago," she replied. "I thought it was cultivation at first, but… it feels different."
Li Yuan nodded slowly.
"I think so too."
They sat in silence.
No joy.
No fear.
Only understanding.
That night, as Li Yuan lay awake, the system appeared one final time.
---
[Eternal Progenitor System]
[Milestone Imminent.]
[The First Descendant will redefine your legacy.]
[All future trajectories will branch from this point.]
---
Li Yuan stared into the darkness.
In his previous life, he had struggled to survive alone.
This time—
Someone would come after him.
And nothing would ever be the same again.
---