The road to the Liu Clan estate was longer than Lin Xiao remembered.
Or perhaps his body was simply weaker than before.
The morning sun had barely risen when Zhao Kang arrived to escort him. No formal carriage. No ceremony. Just a simple cart used for transporting goods between Qinghe Village and the nearest township.
Lin Xiao sat quietly in the back.
His mother's figure grew smaller behind him.
He did not look back.
Attachment clouded judgment.
He had learned that lesson in another lifetime.
The golden shard within his soul pulsed faintly.
Watching.
The Liu Clan estate stood atop a modest hill overlooking the surrounding fields. Not grand enough to rival imperial families, but powerful enough to dominate this region entirely.
Stone walls.
Armed guards.
Banner bearing the Liu insignia — a silver serpent coiled around a spear.
Dozens of youths gathered within the outer courtyard.
Today was a routine evaluation day.
Promising talents from surrounding villages were tested for potential recruitment.
Lin Xiao stepped down from the cart slowly.
Whispers began almost immediately.
"That's him?"
"The sick one?"
"I heard he can't even circulate qi."
Zhao Kang walked ahead without explanation.
The crowd parted.
At the center of the courtyard stood a waist-high stone pedestal.
Upon it rested a smooth black orb the size of a human head.
The Blood Resonance Stone.
It reacted to lineage.
Most villagers produced nothing more than a faint shimmer.
Those with diluted bloodlines might trigger a flicker.
Rare talents—
Produced visible reaction.
At the edge of the courtyard stood Elder Liu Zheng.
Late-stage Body Refinement.
Sharp eyes.
No patience.
Zhao Kang bowed slightly.
"This is the boy."
Elder Liu Zheng studied Lin Xiao from head to toe.
"You are Lin Xiao?"
"Yes."
"Blocked meridians?"
"Yes."
Murmurs spread again.
Elder Liu Zheng snorted softly.
"And yet Zhao Kang claims he sensed fluctuation."
Lin Xiao said nothing.
The elder gestured toward the pedestal.
"Place your hand upon the stone."
Lin Xiao walked forward.
Every step felt heavy.
The golden shard remained quiet.
Watching.
Waiting.
He placed his palm against the cool black surface.
For a breath—
Nothing happened.
A few youths chuckled.
"I knew it."
"Waste of time."
Then—
The stone vibrated faintly.
A ripple of pale light spread across its surface.
The courtyard fell silent.
The ripple deepened.
Silver lines flickered.
Elder Liu Zheng leaned forward slightly.
"That is…"
The light shifted.
Not silver.
Not crimson.
Gold.
Faint.
But unmistakable.
The Blood Resonance Stone trembled violently.
Cracks spidered across its surface.
Lin Xiao's pulse spiked.
The golden shard reacted.
Pressure surged through his sealed meridians.
Pain exploded in his chest.
The light intensified—
Then—
The stone shattered.
A shockwave rippled outward.
Dust filled the air.
Several youths stumbled backward.
Elder Liu Zheng's eyes widened.
Silence.
Broken only by the sound of stone fragments rolling across the courtyard floor.
Lin Xiao lowered his hand slowly.
Blood trickled from his palm.
The golden pressure vanished as quickly as it had appeared.
Whispers erupted.
"What was that?"
"Gold?"
"No, impossible—"
"Dragon?"
Elder Liu Zheng's expression hardened immediately.
"Silence!"
The courtyard fell still.
He stared at Lin Xiao carefully.
The boy's aura was weak.
Almost nonexistent.
His meridians clearly obstructed.
Yet the stone had reacted violently.
"Where did you inherit your blood?" the elder asked sharply.
"I do not know," Lin Xiao replied honestly.
Because he truly did not know.
Not fully.
The elder studied him a long moment.
Then he gestured to two guards.
"Take him to the inner testing chamber."
The courtyard buzzed with tension.
Inner chamber testing was not routine.
It was reserved for rare bloodline evaluation.
Or dangerous anomalies.
Inside the inner hall, the air felt colder.
More controlled.
Carved runes lined the walls.
At the center stood a second device.
Smaller.
More refined.
A crystalline pillar filled with faint liquid light.
Elder Liu Zheng approached it personally.
"This measures resonance stability," he said calmly.
"Unstable bloodlines are… problematic."
Lin Xiao understood the implication.
Unstable meant disposal.
He stepped forward again.
His heartbeat remained steady.
Fear was inefficient.
The golden shard pulsed once, as if amused.
He placed his hand upon the crystal pillar.
At first—
Nothing.
Then the liquid light inside the pillar trembled.
Thin threads of gold appeared within it.
They swirled slowly.
Measured.
Contained.
Not explosive.
Elder Liu Zheng's eyes narrowed.
"Controlled resonance…"
He turned slightly.
"Zhao Kang."
"Yes, Elder."
"Report the fluctuation you sensed."
Zhao Kang swallowed subtly.
"It felt like dragon pressure. But… not imperial."
The hall grew colder.
Not imperial.
That phrase was dangerous.
The Crimson Dragon Empire tolerated no rival dragon blood.
Elder Liu Zheng turned back to Lin Xiao.
"Look at me."
Lin Xiao met his gaze calmly.
For a brief heartbeat—
His pupils flickered.
Vertical.
Gold.
Then normal again.
Elder Liu Zheng froze.
He had seen it.
Clear as day.
Not illusion.
Dragon pupils.
But wrong.
The imperial dragon blood produced crimson aura.
This was—
Old.
Unrefined.
Uncrowned.
The golden threads inside the crystal pillar slowly dimmed.
Stabilized.
Then settled completely.
The device did not crack.
Did not explode.
It endured.
Elder Liu Zheng stepped back.
"This bloodline is incomplete," he said slowly.
"Fragmented."
"Dormant."
Zhao Kang exhaled subtly.
"So… not threat?"
Elder Liu Zheng's expression remained unreadable.
"Not yet."
He looked at Lin Xiao again.
"Your meridians are sealed."
"Yes."
"Deliberately."
Lin Xiao said nothing.
The elder's gaze sharpened.
"You did not force open that crack alone."
Lin Xiao remained silent.
The golden shard pulsed once.
Pressure brushed lightly against the elder's senses.
Subtle.
Testing.
Elder Liu Zheng suppressed a chill.
This was beyond Body Refinement.
Beyond normal lineage.
He turned away slowly.
"Enroll him."
Zhao Kang blinked.
"Elder?"
"Observe him. Train him lightly. Do not push his meridians."
His eyes flicked back to Lin Xiao.
"And report any further fluctuation immediately."
Lin Xiao bowed slightly.
"Thank you, Elder."
But inside—
He was calculating.
They had noticed.
Not fully.
But enough.
If the empire ever learned of this—
They would not hesitate.
Dragon blood outside imperial control was unacceptable.
As he stepped outside the hall, sunlight struck his face.
The youths stared at him differently now.
Not with mockery.
With uncertainty.
With fear.
One boy stepped forward hesitantly.
"You broke the stone," he muttered.
Lin Xiao met his gaze calmly.
"It was fragile."
The boy swallowed.
High above, beyond the estate walls—
A single black bird perched upon a distant branch.
Its eyes shimmered faintly.
Shadow pooled briefly beneath it.
Far away—
Within Longhuang City—
Long Xiu opened his eyes slowly.
He felt it clearly now.
Not a fluctuation.
A confirmation.
Golden.
Fragmented.
Dormant.
He smiled faintly.
"So the Uncrowned one truly lives."
He turned toward the direction of the rising sun.
"The game changes."
Back in the Liu Clan courtyard—
Lin Xiao felt the golden shard settle once more into quiet observation.
Not dominating.
Not consuming.
Waiting.
He understood now.
The seal was not merely suppressing power.
It was regulating something vast.
If fully unleashed in this fragile body—
He would die instantly.
He needed strength.
Foundation.
Control.
Step by step.
Not devouring.
Not rushing.
But ascending.
Because today—
The stone reacted.
Tomorrow—
The empire would notice.
And when they did—
They would not come with tests.
They would come with fire.
Lin Xiao's fingers tightened slightly.
Once, he had walked Shi Dao.
This time—
He would walk a path no one had crowned.
An Uncrowned Dragon would rise.