Morning came quietly to the Ao Clan.
The storm had passed during the night, leaving the mountains washed clean. Mist clung to the cliffs surrounding the clan, and droplets of water hung from the leaves like tiny crystals.
For most of the clan, it was an ordinary morning.
For Ao Longtian, it was anything but.
He stood alone on the highest terrace of the eastern residence, staring at the horizon.
Something had been bothering him since the night before.
The black stone.
It remained on the table behind him.
It had not moved.
It had not spoken.
It had not released even the slightest trace of spiritual energy.
Yet Longtian could feel it.
It was waiting.
He picked it up.
The instant his fingers touched its surface, a faint vibration passed through his body.
Candidate recognized.
Longtian's eyes narrowed.
"You're still here."
No response.
He turned the stone over.
Nothing.
"Very well."
He placed it back down.
"I can wait too."
A voice came from behind him.
"You've never been good at waiting."
Longtian smiled.
Ao Lian stepped onto the terrace.
She looked different.
Not dramatically.
Her face remained the same.
Her voice remained the same.
But her presence had changed.
The demonic energy inside her no longer leaked uncontrollably.
It flowed beneath her skin like a second bloodstream.
Longtian looked at her carefully.
"You survived."
She rolled her eyes.
"Nice to see you too."
"How do you feel?"
"Stronger."
"How much?"
"I don't know."
She raised her hand.
A strand of crimson-black energy wrapped around her finger.
The nearby stone railing cracked.
Ao Lian immediately released the energy.
Longtian stared at the damage.
"That's considerable."
"I wasn't trying to break it."
"I know."
She looked at him.
"Is that bad?"
"No."
Longtian smiled.
"It's useful."
Ao Lian crossed her arms.
"That's exactly what worries me."
"Why?"
"Because whenever you call something useful, someone usually ends up regretting it."
Longtian laughed.
"That's unfair."
"Is it?"
He thought about it.
"Perhaps."
Ao Lian noticed the black stone.
"What is that?"
Longtian picked it up.
"I don't know."
"That's unusual."
"Very."
She reached toward it.
The moment her finger came within an inch of the stone, it began glowing.
Both of them froze.
Golden light spread across its surface.
A single line appeared.
Then another.
Then another.
Ten faint symbols emerged.
Ao Lian pulled her hand back.
The glow vanished.
Longtian stared at the stone.
"It reacted to you."
Ao Lian frowned.
"Did it?"
"Yes."
"What does that mean?"
"I don't know."
"You say that often."
"I'm discovering a lot of things."
She laughed.
"At least you're honest."
Longtian placed the stone into his sleeve.
"We're going to find out."
"How?"
"The clan's records."
"You've already searched them."
"Not all of them."
Ao Lian's expression changed.
"You're going into the forbidden vault."
"Yes."
"Father will object."
"He can object."
"Longtian."
He looked at her.
"What?"
"You're becoming arrogant."
"No."
He smiled.
"I'm becoming confident."
The forbidden vault was beneath the ancestral hall.
Few people knew it existed.
Even fewer had permission to enter.
Longtian descended a narrow stone staircase with Ao Lian and Gu Ren behind him.
The walls were covered in ancient formations.
Some had been damaged by age.
Others were still active.
Gu Ren carried a lantern.
"The vault hasn't been opened in thirty years."
Longtian glanced back.
"Why?"
"The patriarchs decided most of its contents were useless."
"That sounds like something people say before discovering something valuable."
Gu Ren smiled.
"That was my thought as well."
They reached a stone door.
Six characters had been carved into it.
Only the blood of Ao may enter.
Longtian placed his hand against the door.
Nothing happened.
He frowned.
Ao Lian stepped forward.
"Move."
Longtian looked at her.
"You think your blood will work?"
"There's only one way to find out."
She placed her hand beside his.
The door immediately responded.
Crimson light spread across the carvings.
The stone doors opened.
Gu Ren stared.
"Interesting."
Longtian looked at him.
"You didn't expect that?"
"I expected the door to reject us."
"Why?"
"Because that formation predates the current bloodline records."
Longtian looked deeper into the vault.
"Then perhaps the records are wrong."
The three entered.
The vault was enormous.
Shelves stretched into darkness.
Thousands of scrolls filled the walls.
Weapons rested inside sealed glass chambers.
Ancient tablets sat beneath layers of dust.
Longtian's eyes widened.
"For a useless collection, this is impressive."
Gu Ren chuckled.
They spent hours searching.
Most records concerned ordinary cultivation techniques.
Body refinement.
Sword techniques.
Formation manuals.
Alchemy.
Pill refinement.
Nothing about the stone.
Nothing about the mysterious bloodline.
Then Ao Lian called out.
"Longtian."
He turned.
She stood before an ancient shelf.
"What?"
"Look."
She pulled out a thin black scroll.
There was no title.
Longtian took it.
The moment he touched it, his bloodline reacted.
The scroll opened by itself.
Only one sentence remained.
When the heavens send a stone, do not mistake it for a gift.
Longtian's expression became serious.
He read the sentence again.
"That's not helpful."
Ao Lian looked at him.
"It is if the stone was sent."
Longtian slowly looked toward his sleeve.
The treasure.
She continued.
"Someone sent it."
"Yes."
"Someone who knows about you."
"Yes."
"And they want something."
Longtian smiled.
"Now you're thinking."
Ao Lian frowned.
"I was thinking before."
"Not like this."
She punched his shoulder.
"You're annoying."
Longtian laughed.
Then the vault shook.
Dust fell from the ceiling.
Gu Ren immediately drew his sword.
"Someone is attacking the clan."
Longtian's expression hardened.
They rushed toward the staircase.
The main gate of the Ao Clan had been surrounded.
The Wang Clan had returned.
But this time they had not come with a dozen guards.
They had brought nearly two hundred cultivators.
Black banners covered the mountainside.
At the center stood Wang Zhi.
Beside him was an older man wearing dark green robes.
The man's cultivation pressure was immense.
Ao Longtian recognized him immediately.
Wang Clan Elder.
A Soul Formation cultivator.
Wang Zhi pointed toward the main hall.
"Where is Ao Longtian?"
The gatekeeper refused to answer.
The elder beside Wang Zhi stepped forward.
"You have three breaths."
The gatekeeper trembled.
Then a voice came from behind him.
"One."
Everyone turned.
Ao Longtian walked through the gate.
"Two."
He smiled.
"Three."
The Wang Clan elder's face darkened.
"You think this is amusing?"
"A little."
Wang Zhi stepped forward.
"You humiliated me yesterday."
"You came back."
"I came for Yun Mei."
"She's not here."
"Where is she?"
"Why?"
"Because she belongs to me."
Longtian's smile disappeared.
"No."
The single word carried enough force to silence the courtyard.
Wang Zhi clenched his fists.
"Then I'll take her."
"You can try."
The Wang Clan elder released his cultivation.
The entire courtyard shook.
Several Ao Clan disciples collapsed.
Ao Longtian remained standing.
His bloodline awakened.
Black-red energy covered his body.
The elder's expression changed.
"That's not cultivation."
"No."
Longtian raised his hand.
"It's something better."
The elder attacked.
A massive spiritual palm descended from the sky.
Longtian stepped forward.
He didn't dodge.
He punched.
The collision shattered the stone beneath his feet.
The spiritual palm broke apart.
The elder was thrown backward.
Everyone stared.
Longtian looked at his fist.
The impact had left a shallow cut.
A drop of blood fell.
He watched it hit the ground.
Then something strange happened.
The drop disappeared into the stone.
Longtian felt his bloodline respond.
His eyes narrowed.
His blood was interacting with the land.
Another discovery.
He looked toward the Wang Clan.
"Interesting."
Wang Zhi stared.
"What are you?"
Longtian smiled.
"That's what I'm trying to figure out."
Suddenly—
a roar echoed from the sky.
Everyone looked upward.
The clouds had begun rotating.
A golden object descended through them.
Even the Wang Clan stopped moving.
The object fell silently.
Closer.
Closer.
The pressure it released was unlike anything any of them had experienced.
Then it stopped above the Ao Clan.
Longtian stared.
The black stone in his sleeve began burning.
The treasure had found its destination.
A golden beam struck the ground.
Boom!
The entire mountain shook.
Everyone was thrown backward.
Longtian remained standing.
Barely.
The golden object floated before him.
It was no longer a black stone.
It had transformed.
A strange circular artifact hovered in the air, covered in ancient markings.
Ten seals surrounded its surface.
The first seal began glowing.
A voice entered Longtian's mind.
Candidate confirmed.
Longtian's eyes narrowed.
Trial One.
The courtyard disappeared.
The Wang Clan disappeared.
The Ao Clan disappeared.
For one brief instant, Longtian found himself standing in complete darkness.
Then a single sentence appeared before him.
Survive without using cultivation.
Longtian laughed.
"You picked the wrong person."
The darkness trembled.
The first trial began.
Outside the trial, everyone watched Longtian stand motionless.
Wang Zhi whispered:
"What happened to him?"
Ao Lian stepped forward.
"Don't touch him."
The Wang Clan elder looked at her.
"Who are you?"
Ao Lian's crimson eyes met his.
"His sister."
The elder felt something cold crawl down his spine.
Not because of her words.
Because of her aura.
It was demonic.
But controlled.
Perfectly controlled.
The elder slowly stepped backward.
"What happened to you?"
Ao Lian smiled.
"Something wonderful."
Above them, the mysterious treasure continued glowing.
The second seal remained dark.
The third remained dark.
All the way to the tenth.
Only the first had awakened.
And somewhere far beyond the mortal realm, a heavenly guard watched the trial begin.
He smiled.
"Let's see what the demon-blooded mortal is really worth."
Another guard looked uneasy.
"And if he passes?"
The first guard's smile faded.
"Then we have a much bigger problem."
Inside the darkness, Ao Longtian stood alone.
No spiritual Qi.
No demonic energy.
No bloodline.
Nothing.
Only his body.
And somewhere in the distance—
footsteps began approaching.
Longtian smiled.
"So that's the game."
The footsteps became louder.
Something moved in the darkness.
Longtian lowered his stance.
"Come."
The first trial had begun.