Beneath the surface of Kun Island, past strata unmarked by time, a realm stirred. Though the skies above remained calm—bathed in the gentle hues of late afternoon—deep underground, a different light pulsed. One that had not flickered in millennia.
Xuan Le, the Hallmaster of Astral Command, stood at the edge of the Library of Treasures' ancient vault. Beside him was Bael Trin, Director of Ethereal Engineering and one of the few living cartographers capable of deciphering leyline fluctuations through dimensional logic. Between them hovered intricate projection rings, lines of jade light outlining subterranean currents, glowing maps drawn in the aether itself.
"The convergence begins here," Bael murmured, brushing aside an illusory grid to reveal flickering vortex points beneath the bedrock. "But this is not a natural nexus. These lines… they were bound, not formed."
Xuan Le's gaze sharpened. "Not an anomaly then. A design."
Bael nodded. "Or perhaps a trap that became a cradle."
A series of old seals were undone—glyphs of preservation, threshold locks, and elemental bindings placed by ancient hands. As each dissolved under Bael's guidance, the air grew heavier with latent willpower. They descended further, eventually stepping into a cavern hidden beneath the heart of Kun Island, one not marked on any official map or historical record.
It was here they saw it.
An immense vault carved by neither tool nor claw, but formed by controlled leyline collapse. At its center rested a relic unlike anything seen in the modern age: a cauldron of vast size, blacker than volcanic stone, etched in radiant veins of gold and sapphire. Its surface shimmered with living script, reacting faintly to their presence.
Xuan Le stepped forward, observing the slow, rhythmic pulse emanating from within it.
"It's sleeping," he said.
"No," Bael corrected. "It's remembering."
They approached with caution. Xuan Le extended his hand, letting starlight qi brush against the vessel. The response was immediate. Energy flared. The ground trembled subtly. A defensive barrier rose for an instant—then stopped. It had recognized him, but it did not welcome him.
"This relic is alive," Bael whispered, awe in his voice. "Or at least, semi-sentient. It's not just a container—it's a gatekeeper. And… something else is here. Multiple energy traces. Can you feel them?"
Xuan Le closed his eyes. "Beast souls. Slumbering… no, locked. Time-locked."
They withdrew quickly, contacting the State of Records. An urgent summons was sent.
Within the hour, Su Mengtian, Yueying, Ji Yeyan, and Xu Tian arrived. The underground chamber now pulsed stronger with their presence, reacting most intensely the moment Su Mengtian stepped across the threshold.
A low hum filled the space. Lightning crackled faintly around his feet.
Suddenly, the vault groaned. A resonant tone echoed like the toll of a bell. Bael Trin staggered. Ji Yeyan instinctively dropped into a defensive stance. Then—the door sealed itself.
Light burst. In the next instant, Ji Yeyan, Bael, and Xuan Le were forcefully expelled from the vault—teleported outside by a mechanism none could track. Only Su Mengtian and Yueying remained.
Silence fell.
Yueying clutched Su Mengtian's arm as she steadied herself. "What just happened?"
"The relic chose," he said. "It's not finished yet."
Within the chamber, the cauldron rose several feet from the ground. Symbols along the walls flared into motion, each depicting a beast lost to history. A spectral wind coiled around them, and then—
The soul of a beast emerged.
It was majestic, vast beyond comprehension. Its wings shimmered with stars, and its body glowed with mirrored scales—silver and blue, like polished moonlight. A voice not spoken, but felt, entered their minds.
It asked, *Who calls upon memory?*
Su Mengtian stepped forward, his voice firm. "I do."
He released a restrained pulse of his Thunder Guardian Dragon aura. Lightning arced, and the beast soul quivered—not in fear, but recognition. It lowered its massive head.
Yueying gasped, stepping back. "This presence... It's familiar. Too familiar."
The beast turned its gaze to her. A low sound echoed through the chamber—not aggression, but sorrow. It drifted forward slowly, fading into her spiritual form. Her knees buckled. Su Mengtian caught her before she collapsed.
Then, the vision came.
Flashes of an ancient war. A divine beast soaring above burning temples. A girl—so like Yueying—watching as her ancestor was bound in blood to a dying wyrm.
She gasped awake. "That beast… it's the progenitor of my family's bloodline."
Su Mengtian nodded. "And it's waiting for you to claim it."
But the soul drifted back into the cauldron, as if still undecided.
At that moment, Xu Tian's voice echoed from behind them. Somehow, he had re-entered.
"That relic," he said, eyes focused on the cauldron, "is the Ancient Bloodline Cauldron."
Su Mengtian turned. "What is it exactly?"
Xu Tian took a step closer, the air bending subtly around his form. "It was forged during the final days of the Sovereign Beast Courts. It extracts bloodlines from living or dead beasts, purifies them, and grants them to chosen vessels—if their will is strong enough. It was once used to create some of the most powerful dual-bloodline cultivators in the world."
"Why here?" Yueying asked.
"Because Kun Island was once a testing ground. A sanctuary for what they called 'blood-forgers.' This cauldron was buried after the fall of the Courts. Its power—too great, too dangerous."
Su Mengtian stepped forward, eyes locked on the relic. "You said it requires a binder."
Xu Tian nodded. "Only one can control it. Otherwise, it corrupts. Bind it, and it will never act against you."
Su Mengtian walked to the cauldron and pressed his palms to its surface.
Lightning exploded from his body.
The chamber roared.
Flames of memory and beasts of smoke circled overhead. A mark seared itself into his right palm—a dragon curled around a cauldron.
Then all went still.
Xu Tian exhaled. "It's done. You're now its master."
Yueying stood shakily. Her aura had changed—finer, sharper, resonating faintly with the soul they had seen. She stepped to the edge of the cauldron and placed her palm on it.
Nothing happened.
The soul did not reappear.
Su Mengtian shook his head. "It wants you to grow. You're not ready… yet."
Yueying nodded. "I'll become worthy."
The chamber quieted. Arcane locks resealed themselves. Outside, Xuan Le and Bael waited anxiously.
When the doors opened, and Su Mengtian stepped through with Yueying at his side and a newly forged binding sigil on his palm—the future of Kun Island had changed.
Not only had a relic of sovereign beasts been rediscovered, but a weapon of boundless potential now lay in the hands of the one who needed it most.
And somewhere deep within the chamber's stone, a whisper still lingered:
"We remember your blood."