The moment the Universal Shop opened, the light in Pavilion Seventeen dimmed.
Not the candles. Not the sun.
Something else.
Something deeper.
Wang Lin sat still in the center of his chamber, the egg hovering inches above his palm in a steady pulse of pale-blue glow. His breath was calm, steady — but his pulse spiked when the system's panel rippled.
The usual blue shimmer turned red at the edges.
A tab appeared.
[LOCKED CONTENT: OVERRIDE ENGAGED]
[ACCESS GRANTED – CELESTIAL BLOODLINE THRESHOLD BREACHED]
"Wang Lin—stop.
This wasn't supposed to open yet."
He didn't blink.
"Too late. It's open now."
The tab unfolded itself without his command. Three options flickered onto the display, then quickly vanished — all except one.
Just one.
And it wasn't an item.
It was a name.
[Item: ECHO OF QIRAN]
The moment Wang Lin looked at it, the air in the room changed.
The walls trembled.
The egg let out a soundless hum.
"...No.
Wang Lin, close it.
Now.
He didn't.
"What is it?"
"That isn't a skill. It's not a weapon. It's not even a creature.
It's a sealed memory.
A piece of a being that nearly erased the Celestial Dragon Line itself.
"And it's in the shop?"
"It was never supposed to be.
The system never unlocked it. The bloodline did."
Wang Lin stared at the red-glowing text again.
[Cost: 0 SP – WARNING: Activation irreversible.]
He touched it.
The moment he did—
The floor cracked.
A red glyph exploded from beneath his feet, carving a circle into the stone like a ritual brand. Wind howled inside the chamber, and a thousand distant voices echoed across his skull — none human.
He didn't scream.
He stood.
The egg glowed brighter now. It spun slowly, casting flickers of white light that collided with the red glyph, creating pulses of force that shattered vases and blew open the windows.
Then it stopped.
Silence.
And from the center of the red glyph, something rose.
Not a creature.
Not a man.
A shadow.
Its body was hunched. Its arms dragged behind it like chains. Its face was hidden in smoke.
But its voice…
"You are not him," it rasped.
"No," Wang Lin said.
"I am worse."
The shadow laughed.
Not madly.
Knowingly.
"I am Qiran," it whispered. "I remember the dragons. I broke their wings."
Wang Lin stepped forward.
The air bent.
The egg pulsed again, brighter, hotter.
The shadow flinched — the being that once made Celestial Dragons fear flinched.
"You shouldn't be able to summon me," it hissed.
"I didn't summon you," Wang Lin said coldly.
"I claimed you."
He raised his hand — and in a flash, slammed his palm forward.
Crushing Palm – Augmented.
The shadow roared.
The glyph shattered.
The chamber exploded.
Stone walls blew outward as if detonated from the inside. The roof caved, spirit runes broke, alarms echoed across the inner sect.
From every nearby peak, disciples turned.
"What was that?!"
"Pavilion Seventeen! It's—gods above!"
But when the dust cleared…
Wang Lin stood in the crater.
Unburned.
Unbroken.
The egg hovered behind him, now coated in gold veins across its shell.
The shadow was gone.
And from above, a voice boomed—
"WANG LIN!"
A blur fell from the sky. A figure in white robes, spear in hand — a core disciple known across the sect.
Yi Fei. Rank 3.
He landed hard, spear pointed directly at Wang Lin's heart.
"You've destroyed sect property. You've triggered sealed formations. Stand down!"
Wang Lin didn't speak.
He didn't flinch.
And he didn't wait.
Dragon Step – Instant Dash.
He vanished.
Yi Fei's eyes widened.
Wang Lin reappeared mid-air above him, palm glowing blue.
Internal Echo – Return Impact
He slammed his elbow down on Yi Fei's back.
CRACK.
The core disciple screamed.
Spiritual armor fractured. He hit the ground face-first, spear spinning out of reach.
Wang Lin landed beside him.
"You drew first," he said calmly.
"I finished."
Yi Fei coughed blood. "You're mad… you're not even—"
Wang Lin raised his hand again.
Yi Fei raised both arms in surrender.
"No more!"
More disciples arrived. Dozens. Surrounding the crater.
But no one moved.
Not even the elders yet.
Because what stood in the center of that crater was not the same boy who entered the inner sect two weeks ago.
This was something else.
Wang Lin reached behind him and raised the egg into the air.
The golden lines along its shell pulsed.
And all across the sect, every spirit beast, every formation crystal, every cultivation pool shivered.
Because they all felt it.
The birth of something that did not belong here.
"Wang Lin…"
"I know," he whispered.
"They'll all come now."
"Then let them."