The forest beyond the inner sect walls was not meant for ordinary disciples.
Even most core disciples only came here under elder supervision or during mission trials. The beasts inside were too wild, too strange — some born from natural Qi corruption, others from failed spiritual experiments sealed away decades ago. It was the one place where rules didn't matter.
And that's exactly why Wang Lin was here.
He moved between towering trees with soundless steps, the air thick with damp mist and the scent of old blood. His robe clung lightly to his frame, but even that didn't make a sound. The birds in this part of the forest didn't sing. They watched from twisted branches with intelligent, fearful eyes.
He had been walking for an hour. Not tracking prey — just walking.
Feeling.
Letting the new power in his veins settle.
And then it happened.
A pulse.
Not from his own body.
But from the earth.
It vibrated once — faint, like a heartbeat buried deep underground.
Wang Lin stopped.
"Did you feel that?"
"Yes."
"Spiritual resonance?"
"More than that."
"Direction?"
"Beneath you. Thirty feet. Obstructed by stone and roots."
Wang Lin narrowed his eyes and knelt, pressing a palm against the soil. The ground was damp, soft, and overgrown. But the pulse came again.
Stronger this time.
Faster.
Like a heartbeat calling to him.
He dug.
Barehanded at first — pulling away earth and root, breaking through old vines with clenched fists and spirit-charged strikes. Stone gave way as he tunneled deeper into the earth. The mist above him faded as darkness swallowed the tunnel.
Then his fingers brushed something cold.
Hard.
Smooth.
He scraped away the rest of the soil — and found it.
A single egg.
Roughly the size of a human skull, dark gray with swirling lines of silver that shifted faintly as he stared. The surface was warm. Breathing. Alive.
And the moment his fingers closed around it—
The pulse inside his own bloodline responded.
Blue light surged up his arm. The egg glowed back in rhythm.
A perfect match.
"Long Shan—"
"...I don't know what that is."
Wang Lin froze.
Long Shan never hesitated.
Never.
"It's not from the universal shop."
"Not a beast classified by the celestial archive. Not a spirit tool. Not a remnant."
"But it's... connected to you."
"Deeply."
Wang Lin lifted the egg out of the ground.
It vibrated once more — and then settled. Quiet. Still.
He held it close and stood.
Even the mist had gone silent.
"What does the system say?"
A panel appeared in the air — but the usual details were absent. Instead, it read:
[???]
Origin: Unknown
Resonance: Active
Status: Dormant
Bond: Wang Lin (Confirmed)
Compatibility: 100% (Celestial Dragon Bloodline Signature Match)
Hatching Condition: ???
Time Remaining: ???
"You're telling me... it's mine, but you can't even see what it is?"
"It's not blocked by power. It's blocked by something deeper. Older."
"Like what?"
"Like it was never meant to be identified. Not until it chooses to be."
Wang Lin stared at the smooth surface.
It didn't hum anymore.
But he could feel it in his chest — as if it was now a second heartbeat, perfectly in tune with his own.
"Can you at least tell me if it's dangerous?"
"Everything strong is dangerous."
He sighed.
Then smirked.
"Guess that makes it family."
He tucked the egg carefully inside a cloth wrap and slid it into the hidden pocket near his belt, layering it with faint Qi threads for warmth.
"Can anyone else sense it?"
"If they're lucky — only faintly. But if they're sensitive to bloodline pulses like this, they may get curious."
"Then they'll be warned once."
"And if they don't listen?"
"Then they'll be erased."
Back at Pavilion Seventeen, he placed the egg gently into a carved recess within his private meditation chamber — an alcove surrounded by low-burning spirit crystals and steady Qi circulation.
The egg pulsed once when it touched the stone.
Then went still.
Wang Lin sat in front of it, arms crossed, watching it like a sentry.
"I don't know what you are," he murmured. "But whatever woke you… is inside me too."
The egg gave no reply.
But it didn't need to.
They understood each other now.
"Long Shan."
"Still can't read it."
"That's fine."
"Why?"
Wang Lin leaned back against the wall, closing his eyes.
"Because it came to me. Not them. Not the sect. Not the heavens."
He smiled.
"Just me."