The light from the ancient tree faded, its silver runes flickering out one by one.
Zian sat cross-legged before the now-silent egg, sweat beading on his brow. The brief contact with the Sovereign's will had left him drained—spiritually and mentally.
Yet within him, something had changed.
His spiritual veins—once brittle from his shattered dantian—were now partially mended. Thin strands of silver-black qi coursed through him, reinforcing his body like steel threads through silk.
He could feel life returning to places long thought dead.
But the cost of this miracle soon became clear.
Crack.
Pain shot through his chest as one of his main qi veins fractured under the weight of the new energy. Not spiritual qi—beast qi, raw and untamed.
"I'm not ready to contain it," Zian muttered, gritting his teeth.
The Sovereign's core wasn't healing him—it was rebuilding him into something different.
Not a human cultivator.
Not a beast.
Something in between.
A Fang-Bearer.
Memory Echo – The First Fang
Within his mind's eye, Zian saw a memory not his own.
A young boy—barefoot, bleeding—stood before a dying beast the size of a mountain. The creature had no eyes, no mouth, only a jagged maw of void-like teeth.
"If you accept this gift, you will walk alone. Heaven will curse you. Mortals will fear you. Beasts will kneel... or die."
The boy reached out.
Touched a single tooth.
It pulsed once—and fused to his palm.
Zian gasped, the vision fading.
He looked down.
His palm now bore the faint outline of a curved fang—black, etched into his skin like a brand.
"First Fang… accepted," he murmured.
Outer Forest – Predators Stir
The screams of the devouring trees had drawn attention.
A new beast prowled the Grove's edge—a tiger-wolf hybrid with molten eyes and plated bone armor along its spine. Around it, six smaller beasts circled, their hides steaming with fire qi.
[Scorchbone Hunting Pack – Mid-Earth Rank]
Zian sensed them before they arrived.
The black fang in his palm twitched.
"Feed me," it whispered. "Prove your place."
He stood slowly, gaze hardening.
"I'm done running."
The Battle – One Against Seven
The pack struck fast, coordinated like trained killers. The alpha lunged first, jaws glowing red, aiming for Zian's throat.
But he moved faster.
Panther Step. Corpse Flame. Fang Strike.
His body flickered through the trees as a trail of violet fire lit up the forest.
He drove his fist into the alpha's jaw, bursting it into a flaming geyser of blood and bone. Two more beasts followed, snapping and snarling—but Zian rolled beneath their claws, swiping upward with a clawed hand now coated in beast qi.
Slice.
One head fell. The other howled, only to be silenced by a kick that cratered its ribcage.
His body ached. His veins screamed.
But the Fang pushed him forward.
"More."
By the time the last beast collapsed, Zian was kneeling—drenched in black blood and glowing faintly.
The alpha's beast core rolled from its chest cavity, cracked but intact.
Zian picked it up.
"Devour it," the Fang whispered.
And so he did.
Inner Transformation – Fang Awakening
The moment the beast core entered his mouth, Zian's body convulsed.
Not with pain—but adaptation.
The beast core didn't resist. It melded into his blood, seeping into every limb, reinforcing muscle, bone, and qi pathways. Unlike human cultivators who refined slowly through meditation, Zian's body devoured and rebuilt instantly.
He wasn't just borrowing beast power.
He was becoming it.
His claws grew slightly sharper. His eyes burned brighter. His pulse thundered like a beast's roar.
And inside the egg—still nestled in the hollow of the ancient tree—a flicker of movement stirred.
The Sovereign was watching.
Elsewhere – Shen Clan, Inner Halls
Shen Zian's name was spoken for the first time in years.
Shen Xiang, the new heir, stood before the clan elder's circle with blood on his hands and pride in his eyes.
"Zian is alive," he declared. "I felt the corpse flame during my trial. And something else... something ancient."
Elder Shen Bei narrowed his eyes.
"The Fang Path was sealed generations ago."
"Then it's unsealed now," Xiang replied coldly.
"Should we hunt him?" another elder asked.
Shen Xiang smirked.
"No need. He'll come to us. The path he walks leads straight back to the clan."
"When he returns…" he added, turning away.
"…I'll be the one to kill him."