Years passed quietly under the misty peaks of the Verdant Mist Sect. Long Tianyan, once the heir to a mighty legacy, grew up as a normal boy, unaware of his true origin. Adopted by Elder Yan—a strict but caring woman—he trained with the other disciples, though his cultivation seemed slow. At sixteen, he had only reached the 4th Layer of the Bone Tempering Realm, far behind his peers.
Others mocked him, calling him talentless. He was often humiliated during training, seen as a pity case taken in by the sect. His meridians seemed weak, and he failed every spiritual awakening test. But Elder Yan never gave up on him. "Even roots hidden under stone can one day split mountains," she would say.
Tianyan was quiet and thoughtful. He didn't remember his past, but he often had strange dreams—visions of burning skies, golden dragons, and a man covered in blue-gold flames who always whispered:
"When the stars tremble, you must rise."
He always wore an old pendant shaped like a dragon scale. It had faded with time, but he felt strangely connected to it. Unaware of that, the pendant once held back the heavens—and inside him, a sealed dragon bloodline still slept, waiting.
Far away, Zhou Li watched from the shadows, guarding silently. He had sealed Tianyan's powers long ago to protect him. Now, as Tianyan endured pain and ridicule, the day was drawing near when the seal would break… and the world would once again hear the roar of the heir of Nine Flames.
That night, under the pale moonlight, the torment reached its peak. A group of disciples, resentful of Long Tianyan's silent defiance despite his weakness, dragged him to the mountain's edge. Mocking laughter echoed as they pushed him off the cliff. As his body fell, battered by wind and stone, he thought it was the end. But just before he hit the jagged rocks below, the pendant on his neck burst into golden light.
Time froze.
He found himself floating in a vast ocean of stars—his Spiritual Sea. At its center bloomed a glowing nine-petalled lotus, and above it hovered a colossal dragon soul, coiled and majestic. One of the Nine Ancestor Dragons had awakened.
With a roar that shook his soul, the dragon's power surged through him, breaking the first seal on his bloodline. His body trembled as dormant power erupted within—bones cracked and realigned, muscles tore and reformed. He broke through directly to the 7th Layer of Bone Tempering Realm, and under the dragon's guidance, began cultivating the first part of an ancient and forbidden technique—" Nine-Heaven Ascension Scripture ". With it, his strength soared, pushing him into the 3rd Layer of the Spiritual Sea Realm within his spiritual consciousness.
Even unconscious, he fought—teeth clenched, spirit unyielding—as waves of spiritual pressure pressed down on him. The dragon soul watched in silence as Tianyan showed the courage of a true heir, refusing to submit even in agony.
Six months passed in silence.
When Long Tianyan opened his eyes again, he was beneath the waterfall where Elder Yan had once trained him. Memories of the dragon surged back, and within his Spiritual Sea, the ancestral soul reappeared.
"You have questions," it said, voice deep and ancient.
Tianyan nodded. "Who… are you? And what am I?"
The dragon answered, "I am one of the Nine Primordial Ancestor Dragons. The others remain sealed within the lotus, buried in slumber. Long ago, the heavens feared our rising power and sealed us. You carry our Imperial Dragon Bloodline, the purest among all. You are our final hope."
"Then… how did I end up in the Lower Realm?" Tianyan asked.
"I do not know," the dragon said gravely. "I am injured—my memories are fragmented. Someone powerful sealed your identity and sent you here for protection. Even I cannot fully see the truth."
It coiled slowly, its light dimming. "If I recover even seventy percent of my power, no one beneath the heavens could challenge me. But now, you must grow. Awaken the rest of us. Only then your past and your destiny will be revealed."
The nine-petalled lotus pulsed again in his mind, a silent promise of what was to come.
Tianyan clenched his fist. "I'll do it. No matter what."
The dragon nodded. "Then go, child. Survive… and rise."