The Library of Treasures was quiet.
Even amidst its ever-present ambient glow—runes flaring in and out across suspended scripture scrolls, memory-bound manuals, and light-infused jade tablets—the atmosphere inside the arcane vault was solemn. Su Mengtian stood at the center of it all, sleeves rolled, posture stiff with urgency.
He had spent the last seven days buried among forgotten tomes, deciphering fragmented techniques from the long-extinct beast clans, ancient sovereign legacies, and even hybrid martial scripts composed during the Calamity Era. Despite the breadth and magnificence of what surrounded him, nothing he uncovered felt... enough.
Not when he was suppressing the Ancestral Void Ape God bloodline—the very essence of his former life's strength.
Not when the world around him was rising in threat.
He flipped open a final binding—Spiritual Collapse Doctrine of the Hollowfang Sky Tyrants—but even its devastating internal force mechanism would require too much Void affinity to cultivate.
A sigh.
Su Mengtian turned, only to find Xu Tian, silent and watchful, leaning against one of the ancient obsidian support columns of the archive vault. The First Guardian of the Heavenly Spear Alliance realm was always calm, even when the sky trembled. Yet his eyes now held a faint concern.
"You've been at it for a week," Xu Tian said, voice even. "Looking for strength that isn't your own."
Mengtian didn't answer immediately. He closed the floating tome, letting it hover back to its original place in the air.
"I can't use it," Su Mengtian said finally, his voice low. "The Ancestral Void Ape God bloodline… I can't reveal it. Not now."
Xu Tian gave a slow nod. "Then what exactly are you hoping to find?"
Su Mengtian turned toward him fully. The flickering lights of the archive shone across the crimson edges of his cloak.
"A path to strengthen without revealing it. Something hidden, rare—untraceable."
Xu Tian tapped a knuckle on the marble. "You do have one thing… something most would die to possess."
Su Mengtian blinked. "You mean the…"
Xu Tian gave a small smile. "The last few drops of True Blood from the Island Bearing Kun. The same drops you kept from the Kun Island Treasury."
Mengtian's eyes widened slightly. "I thought they were too unstable. Their essence was corrupted from age and spiritual erosion."
Xu Tian stepped forward now, hand extended, fingers curled as if conjuring old echoes. "They are—but you also have the Ancient Bloodline Cauldron."
A beat of silence passed.
Su Mengtian's gaze sharpened. The cauldron, discovered deep beneath the island's leyline chambers and claimed through the confrontation with the time-locked beast souls, was now bonded solely to him. Its origin was mythical. It could extract bloodlines, refine impurities, and elevate potential to near-divine levels.
"You're saying..."
"Use the Cauldron," Xu Tian said firmly. "Purify the True Blood. Awaken a fragment of the Kun Race's power. If fortune favors you, you may gain something the world has not seen in a thousand years."
Mengtian's mind spun. "What tier bloodline are we talking about?"
Xu Tian folded his arms. "King-tier at the lowest. Primordial-tier at the greatest."
A moment passed. Then Mengtian nodded.
Inside the sealed ritual chamber beneath the Heavenly Soul Palace, Su Mengtian prepared the Cauldron. It sat at the center of a formation etched in starlight and soulfire, golden rings pulsing from it like a heartbeat. A blood-red crystal vial—holding the last remnants of the Island Bearing Kun's True Blood—hovered above.
He breathed deep and let spiritual power pour into the cauldron.
The ritual had begun.
The blood inside the vial cracked like it had life, resisting purification, unleashing echoes of long-lost memories. Spiritual illusions twisted into the air: images of the great Island Bearing Kun rising over oceans, battling astral predators, shrouded in mist and thunder.
Mengtian stayed focused. He fed more energy, channeling his cultivation through the carved runes. The Cauldron responded.
After six hours, the blood began to clarify. The primal screams within it faded, replaced by rhythmic waves of ancient beast-song. Golden-blue liquid emerged from the vial—no longer corrupted, but reformed.
The purified essence floated inside the Cauldron, glowing with the symbol of the Kun Race: a spiral tide etched in lightning.
Xu Tian entered then.
He nodded with approval. "Eight hours. You did well. Now comes the hard part."
Su Mengtian stood, sweat trickling from his brow. "I'll need your protection."
"I'll guard the gates myself," Xu Tian said. "Go. The world will not interrupt this."
Within the innermost cultivation room of the Heavenly Soul Palace, Su Mengtian activated a vast awakening array. It was powered by both the Heavenly Spear Alliance's leyline core and dozens of supreme-grade spirit stones.
A single drop of purified Kun blood hovered before him.
He sat, centered his spirit, and let the blood merge with his being.
Time slowed.
Pain struck like lightning through his limbs, then retreated, then returned tenfold. Visions stormed his mind—endless skies, floating islands, a beast that roared with enough force to split dimensions.
The Kun-Peng.
Part divine whale. Part celestial bird. A creature of both oceans and heavens.
His body trembled. Bones shifted. Blood vessels screamed. His heart nearly stopped twice. And then—light.
The sky above the Heavenly Soul Palace ignited.
Storm clouds, thunder, auroras, and waves of spectral feathers bloomed into existence.
All ten Hallmasters looked up.
Phairos Den, watching from the Sanctuary of Eternal Remembrance, murmured a prayer.
Department directors paused mid-task.
Yueying's eyes widened, her hand clenching the edges of her veil.
Even civilians far in the outer towns could see the sky shift—ribbons of starlight descending like divine blessings.
They whispered in awe, "He's awakening again…"
Inside, Su Mengtian's consciousness met the final gate of the Kun Race's inheritance.
A last trial.
A celestial mirror appeared—reflecting all three bloodlines in his body. The Thunder Guardian Dragon. The Void Ape God. And now… the dormant Kun-Peng essence.
He offered it no resistance.
With a final roar echoing across both worlds, the bloodline merged into his being.
When Su Mengtian opened his eyes, they shimmered with twin tidal halos.
A quiet voice outside broke the silence.
"Divine-tier," Xu Tian said, voice hushed, almost reverent.
He entered slowly, watching Mengtian rise from the circle.
"You survived."
"I did."
"You're now the only being alive with a third bloodline. And all of them… divine."
Su Mengtian nodded.
"Let the world believe I awakened only a second. Let the balance hold. We will need that deception."
Xu Tian's smile was thin, but his eyes burned with pride.
"Then we walk forward… Sovereign of the Spear."