Three days after the sparring match, the Liu Clan estate felt different.
Quieter.
Tighter.
Whispers traveled faster than footsteps.
The shattered Blood Resonance Stone had already been replaced, but everyone remembered.
And everyone remembered the pressure.
Lin Xiao trained alone now.
A smaller courtyard had been assigned to him behind the main compound. Fewer eyes. Fewer risks.
But not fewer watchers.
He stood beneath a lone elm tree, breathing slowly.
Inhale.
Guide.
Exhale.
The crack in his lowest meridian remained thin but stable.
He no longer forced it.
He fed it.
Tiny strands of ambient qi, filtered through breath, slipped carefully through the crack.
Each strand felt like dragging a blade across raw flesh.
But it worked.
Pain dulled over repetition.
Control strengthened.
Inside his consciousness, the golden shard pulsed steadily.
No longer thrashing.
No longer dormant.
Observing.
Waiting.
Footsteps approached.
Elder Liu Zheng entered the courtyard, expression unreadable.
"You feel it, don't you?" the elder asked quietly.
Lin Xiao opened his eyes.
"Yes."
"Imperial presence has entered Qing River Prefecture."
The words landed like distant thunder.
Lin Xiao did not react outwardly.
Inside, the golden shard pulsed once.
He remembered crimson fire.
Execution.
Dragon Vein Flame burning through flesh.
"They move quickly," Lin Xiao said.
Elder Liu Zheng studied him carefully.
"Too quickly."
Silence stretched.
The elder stepped closer.
"An imperial envoy arrived this morning. Officially, they are inspecting taxation records."
"Unofficially?" Lin Xiao asked.
"They are searching."
"For me."
"For fluctuation."
The elder did not deny it.
"You broke a Blood Resonance Stone," he said calmly. "That cannot be hidden long."
Lin Xiao looked toward the estate wall.
"So what do you intend to do?"
Elder Liu Zheng held his gaze.
"I intend to observe."
Not protect.
Not betray.
Observe.
Fair.
Lin Xiao nodded slightly.
"That is wise."
The elder's brows twitched faintly.
Few youths spoke so evenly about imperial attention.
"You will not leave the estate," Elder Liu Zheng said. "Until I understand their purpose."
Lin Xiao inclined his head.
Elder Liu Zheng turned to leave, then paused.
"Control it."
Lin Xiao understood.
The seal.
The pressure.
"If it erupts again," the elder added softly, "I will not be able to stop what follows."
That evening, crimson banners entered the Liu Clan gates.
Four riders.
Black armor edged with red.
At their center—
A young man in imperial robes.
Long Wei.
Second-tier imperial branch.
Early-stage Core Formation.
Too powerful for a rural inspection.
His horse stopped before the estate entrance.
Elder Liu Zheng stepped forward to greet him.
"Welcome to Liu Clan."
Long Wei dismounted gracefully.
His eyes were sharp.
Measuring.
He did not waste words.
"I sensed fluctuation in this region," he said plainly. "Not imperial."
The courtyard air grew colder.
Elder Liu Zheng bowed slightly.
"We experienced minor bloodline instability among youths."
Long Wei's gaze sharpened.
"Minor instabilities do not crack resonance stones."
The elder remained composed.
"The boy is unstable. Weak body. Blocked meridians."
"Yet you did not report."
A beat of silence.
Elder Liu Zheng met his eyes calmly.
"I chose to confirm before alarming the capital."
Long Wei studied him.
Then smiled faintly.
"I will confirm personally."
Night fell heavy over the estate.
Lin Xiao sat within his chamber, eyes closed.
He felt it clearly now.
A new presence.
Sharp.
Imperial.
Crimson.
Not ancient like the golden shard.
Refined.
Disciplined.
Trained to dominate.
The golden shard stirred in response.
Not fear.
Recognition.
Challenge.
Lin Xiao inhaled slowly.
"Not yet," he whispered inwardly.
The shard pressed outward.
Pressure rose along the inner seal.
Heat flared.
He forced it down again.
Balance.
Precision.
Control.
Footsteps stopped outside his chamber.
Knuckles tapped lightly against the wooden door.
"Lin Xiao," came a calm voice. "Open."
Not Elder Liu Zheng.
Imperial.
Lin Xiao stood carefully.
Every movement deliberate.
He opened the door.
Long Wei stood there alone.
No guards.
No armor.
Only quiet authority.
"You are the boy," Long Wei said, eyes scanning him.
"Yes."
"You shattered the stone."
"Yes."
"Blocked meridians."
"Yes."
Long Wei stepped closer.
He extended a hand.
"May I?"
Lin Xiao did not step back.
Long Wei placed two fingers lightly against his wrist.
Qi flowed instantly.
Refined.
Crimson.
Imperial.
It entered Lin Xiao's meridians without resistance.
Then—
It hit the seal.
A tremor passed between them.
Long Wei's eyes sharpened immediately.
"What is this?"
His qi pressed harder.
Testing.
The golden shard reacted violently.
Pressure surged upward.
The chamber walls creaked.
The candle flame flickered wildly.
Long Wei's crimson qi collided with something vast and uncrowned.
For one breath—
The room vanished.
Long Wei saw it.
Golden pupils.
Endless.
Ancient.
Not imperial dragon.
Not submissive.
Not contained.
His heart skipped.
The pressure withdrew instantly.
Lin Xiao staggered half a step but remained upright.
Long Wei pulled his hand back slowly.
Silence.
The two stared at each other.
"That is not Liu Clan blood," Long Wei said quietly.
"No," Lin Xiao replied.
Long Wei's gaze sharpened further.
"Nor is it imperial."
"No."
"Where did you inherit it?"
Lin Xiao held his gaze evenly.
"I do not know."
That was the truth.
Long Wei studied him for a long moment.
"You are fortunate," he said finally.
"Fortunate?"
"That your meridians are sealed."
Lin Xiao did not respond.
Long Wei stepped back.
"If that pressure were fully unleashed, this estate would not remain standing."
The golden shard pulsed in faint agreement.
Long Wei turned toward the doorway.
"I will report that the fluctuation is unstable and contained."
Lin Xiao's eyes narrowed slightly.
"And why would you do that?"
Long Wei paused.
Then looked back over his shoulder.
"Because imperial dragon blood does not bow to broken fragments."
A faint smile touched his lips.
"And I would prefer to see what grows."
He left without another word.
Outside, under moonlight, Long Wei mounted his horse.
His guards awaited instruction.
"We return at dawn," he said calmly.
"No arrests?" one guard asked.
Long Wei shook his head.
"Not yet."
His gaze drifted back toward the estate.
Golden.
Ancient.
Uncrowned.
If the capital discovered this prematurely—
The boy would be dissected.
Burned.
Refined.
Better to let him grow.
Better to see whether he becomes threat—
Or weapon.
Long Wei's eyes gleamed faintly crimson.
"Let the princes fight first," he murmured.
"And then…"
"…we shall see which dragon rises."
Inside his chamber, Lin Xiao sank slowly to the floor.
The seal trembled faintly but held.
The golden shard no longer raged.
It was alert now.
Awake.
Interested.
Imperial dragon blood had touched it.
And it had not retreated.
It had not bowed.
Good.
Lin Xiao exhaled slowly.
The empire had noticed.
But not moved.
Not yet.
He had time.
Not much.
But enough.
He pressed his palm against his chest.
"You wanted challenge," he whispered inwardly.
The golden pressure hummed faintly.
"Well."
His eyes hardened.
"The empire just knocked."