Chapter 75 – A Family's Truth
A year had melted away since the day Lin Xuan had knelt the lion emperor to the earth.
Now the same clearing trembled with a different tension — not of hostility, but of judgment.
The beasts had gathered in a wide ring beneath the noon sun, fur and scales glinting, the air thick with their mingled scent and the hum of anticipation.
Every pair of eyes fixed on the human who had survived their forest, bled with them, and somehow become one of their own.
Lin Xuan stood barefoot at the circle's center.
A map of scars crossed his body — silver lines of battles won and nearly lost.
His cultivation remained sealed, yet the quiet pulse of strength in his stance said otherwise.
Behind him, the faint mark of the Celestial Unity Crest shimmered like a living sigil.
He looked calm, but his breathing was deep, measured — the calm of someone who had already accepted pain as a companion.
Across from him loomed Huangdi the Golden Roar.
The lion's mane burned like molten sunlight, each strand alive with heat.
When he growled, the ground itself seemed to recoil.
"Prove your worth, human," the emperor thundered, voice rolling like stormclouds.
From high among the trees, Anika watched in silence, her raven hair stirring with the breeze.
She did not speak, but the faint gleam in her eyes told him she believed he would not fall today.
Lin Xuan exhaled, a small smirk ghosting across his face.
"I respect loyalty," he said, tone steady, almost amused. "Let's see if your emperor deserves it."
The words were still hanging in the air when Huangdi moved — a flash of gold and fury.
The lion's claws raked down like twin blades of light.
Lin Xuan dropped low, channeling the rooted stillness of Xiangzun the Earthshaker.
The ground buckled under the clash, dust bursting outward in a ring.
His arms shook from the impact, but his footing did not break.
He pivoted, sliding aside with Huli's swiftness, the Celestial Glide turning his evasion into a streak of motion.
The lion whirled, roaring again.
A second strike came, faster, heavier.
Lin Xuan twisted, the sound of claws cutting air brushing his ear.
He drove a fist up, the Sky-Reaching Claw learned from Yuanmo the Stonefist, connecting with the lion's shoulder.
The impact cracked through the forest like a drumbeat.
Huangdi staggered two steps before regaining balance, teeth bared, eyes burning brighter.
What followed was not a duel but a storm.
Hours bled together as man and beast clashed, the earth beneath them clawed into trenches.
Lin Xuan's breath came ragged, each movement an act of will.
He wove together every lesson the forest had given him — the grounded strength of elephants, the cunning of wolves, the patience of tigers.
Blood painted his arms where claws had found purchase, yet he smiled through it, exhilarated.
He feinted left, ducked under a swipe, then drove his elbow up in a Crimson Fang Strike.
A shockwave of red energy burst from the point of impact, snapping the lion's head aside.
Before Huangdi could counter, Lin Xuan vanished into a blur — a Shadow Step Dodge, the air rippling in his wake.
The lion's tail lashed through empty space.
Minutes stretched into what felt like eternity.
The beasts around them had grown silent, the roars replaced by the low thrum of awe.
Finally, Lin Xuan gathered what remained of his strength, planting both palms against the earth.
He called upon Heaven-Pressing Slam, every muscle screaming as he channeled his final reserve downward.
The ground caved, dust erupting as Huangdi was driven to his knees.
Silence followed.
The lion's growl faded into a weary rumble.
Lin Xuan stood above him, chest heaving, eyes steady.
"You're emperor," he said softly, "not because you're strongest — but because they believe you are. Don't lose that faith."
The words hung like a commandment.
For a long breath, Huangdi's golden gaze met his.
Then the lion dipped its head.
A single gesture of surrender — and respect.
The gathered beasts roared once more, but this time the sound was not a challenge.
It was a coronation of sorts — a beastly acknowledgment that this human had become something beyond human.
The sun had begun to fall when the clearing emptied.
Lin Xuan's legs threatened to give, but he stayed upright until the last roar faded into the trees.
Only then did he allow himself to sag to one knee, the taste of iron on his tongue.
Anika was already there.
She dropped from her perch and knelt beside him, her hand warm on his blood-coated shoulder.
"Enough, husband. You've proven it."
He gave a hoarse laugh, half breath, half disbelief.
"Don't call me that… not when I look like I crawled out of a grave."
She smiled faintly. "Then crawl back into life, stubborn man."
Together they limped toward the healing caves.
The forest had fallen quiet, save for the crackle of insects and the heavy rhythm of distant wings.
Inside the cavern, the air was cool and thick with the scent of damp moss.
Beasts shuffled around them, bringing herbs, water, and silence.
Lin Xuan crushed the herbs between his palms, mixing them into a paste that stung like fire when pressed to his wounds.
Anika watched, then joined him, grinding leaves with deft, practiced motions.
By dusk, both he and Huangdi were bandaged.
The lion lay on its side, breath deep but steady, the once-golden mane darkened with moisture.
Xiongdi the Ironhide watched from the cave mouth. "He'll live," the bear rumbled. "So will you."
Lin Xuan nodded, too tired to speak.
For three days, the forest healed.
When at last Lin Xuan's strength returned, he sat cross-legged in the cave's heart and released the seals on his cultivation.
Power surged through him — pure, disciplined, untainted by arrogance.
The Celestial Unity Crest flared faintly; the beasts lifted their heads as if feeling the pulse.
His realm rose smoothly to the Fifth Layer of Profound Heavenly Realm.
He opened his eyes, meeting Yinlong's golden stare.
"I'll share what I've learned," he said. "Not commands — teachings. Will you learn?"
The wolf lowered its head. "We will."
One by one the others echoed the vow.
In the stillness that followed, something ancient settled between them — a covenant of strength.
Seasons turned.
Leaves fell, snow came and went, and with each sunrise the forest changed shape under Lin Xuan's hand.
He trained the beasts not as subordinates but as comrades.
Yinlong mastered silent strikes through the trees; Xiongdi learned to absorb and redirect blows like stone; Huli danced through the air with blades of wind curling from its claws.
Their roars shook the valleys — not of rage, but of pride.
In the evenings, Lin Xuan sat before his small furnace, crafting pills from roots and minerals the beasts fetched.
The cave air filled with the sweet-bitter tang of alchemy smoke.
Sometimes Anika joined him, quietly handing him vials, other times simply watching, a soft smile playing on her lips.
He did not ask her to leave anymore.
By the end of the second year, his cultivation reached the Sixth Layer.
The power sat comfortably within him, not burning, not wild — his heart calm, his instincts disciplined.
One sunset he called them all together.
"My path continues elsewhere," he said. "The lessons stay here."
Yinlong tilted its head. "You'll return?"
"When the forest calls," Lin Xuan replied.
The beasts answered with roars that rolled across the canopy like thunder.
Even Huangdi bowed his massive head.
"Go, human," he rumbled. "The wild remembers its brother."
The journey back to civilization felt surreal after years of wind and fur.
The forest opened into plains, the scent of pine giving way to dust and grass.
Anika walked beside him in silence, her presence steady as the crimson ring on his finger flickered with faint lightning.
When the familiar silhouette of the Liu Clan gates appeared on the horizon, his steps slowed.
Inside those walls waited family — and questions he had avoided too long.
The gates creaked open before he could knock.
"Brother Lin!" a voice cried.
Liu Yue ran to him, her hair bound with a crimson ribbon, her smile bright enough to pierce the years between them.
She threw her arms around him, squeezing until he almost laughed.
"We felt you through the rings! You really came back!"
Behind her came Luo Shuang and little Liu Yang, not so little now — taller, the glaive in his hands humming faintly.
For a moment, Lin Xuan simply looked at them — mother, sister, brother — and let the world stand still.
Then Yue's gaze shifted to Anika, standing a step behind him.
Her brow furrowed. "Who's she?"
Lin Xuan hesitated. "We'll talk inside."
The Liu Clan hall smelled of sandalwood and old memories.
Scrolls of calligraphy lined the walls; light filtered through latticed windows.
The family sat around a low table, the silence thicker than incense smoke.
Luo Shuang's silver hair shimmered as she poured tea with trembling hands.
Yue's fingers drummed nervously against her cup.
Yang leaned his glaive against the wall but didn't let it out of reach.
Lin Xuan sat opposite them, posture straight, the Celestial Unity Crest faintly glowing through his robes.
Anika stood at his side, calm, unreadable.
When Luo Shuang finally spoke, her voice was gentle but heavy.
"Xuan'er, you brought someone home. Tell us who she is."
Before he could answer, Anika stepped forward.
"My name is Anika," she said softly, bowing slightly. "I am Lin Xuan's wife."
The word struck the room like thunder.
Luo Shuang's teacup rattled; Yue's mouth fell open.
Yang straightened, eyes narrowing. "Wife? Since when?"
Lin Xuan groaned. "She's not— I mean— it's complicated!"
He shot Anika a look that begged for mercy. "You really had to say it like that?"
Anika only smiled, serene as moonlight.
"I only speak truth."
Luo Shuang lifted a hand. "Enough. Sit, both of you. Explain."
So he did.
He told them about the Black Tomb Tower — how four years ago it had embedded itself in his sea of consciousness, how a voice had guided him through its labyrinth, how that voice had taken form as the woman beside him.
"She knows about Ren," he finished quietly. "About Ren. About things I've never told anyone."
He hesitated. "I don't know if she's real or part of the tower's will. But she's saved my life more than once."
Silence followed, broken only by the crackle of the incense.
Liu Yue's eyes softened. "If the tower's tied to you, maybe she's part of it. Let's not decide in a day."
Liu Yang nodded reluctantly. "If she helps, she stays. But I'll be watching."
Luo Shuang set her cup down with a soft click.
"Xuan'er, our family bows to truth, not titles. If she claims to share your path, let her prove it in time."
Anika inclined her head.
"I will," she said simply. "The tower's echo is only the beginning. You'll see the rest soon."
Lin Xuan exhaled, tension leaving him at last.
He looked around the table — at his mother's weary smile, his junior sister's curious eyes, his junior brother's guarded respect — and felt the strange peace of a warrior returning from war.
Whatever waited beyond this night, he was not alone.
The air in the hall lightened.
Outside, wind stirred the chimes, carrying the faint scent of tea and rain.
Within those walls, a fragile but real family breathed as one again — and in the quiet between heartbeats, the next chapter of their fate began to turn.