Time lost its meaning inside the cave.
Days blurred into weeks. Weeks folded into months.
Shen Yuan did not count them.
He measured progress instead—by how smoothly spiritual energy flowed through his body, by how clearly he could sense the forest beyond the cave walls, by how the quiet pressure that had once bound his existence grew thinner with each cycle of cultivation.
The first seal had been only the beginning.
Once its outer layer weakened, the others revealed themselves naturally—no longer hidden, no longer abstract, but present, like knots waiting to be untied.
Shen Yuan approached them the same way he approached everything else.
Slowly.Precisely.Without impatience.
The second seal unraveled during a dawn cycle.
Not with pain—but with warmth.
As spiritual energy circulated through his blood, something deep within it responded. His heartbeat shifted, gaining a subtle rhythm it had never possessed before. The blood in his veins resonated faintly, carrying a sense of depth and continuity far older than his current body.
Shen Yuan opened his eyes.
"So this is bloodline suppression," he murmured.
"Confirmed," the Primordial Edict System replied."Bloodline awakening initiated."
There was no violent surge.
No burning agony.
Instead, his body adjusted—bones strengthening imperceptibly, flesh refining itself with quiet efficiency. His recovery speed increased. His tolerance sharpened. His life force stabilized at a level far beyond before.
Not flashy.
But foundational.
The third seal broke weeks later.
This one targeted perception.
Shen Yuan felt it dissolve while meditating—not as a sensation, but as absence. The mental fog he had never known was there simply… vanished.
The world sharpened.
Spiritual energy patterns became clearer. Elemental fluctuations revealed structure. Even demonic residue no longer felt chaotic—just unrefined.
He understood now why others struggled.
They weren't blind.
They were half-awake.
"Innate comprehension restored,"the system noted.
Shen Yuan exhaled slowly.
"So this is what it feels like to think without chains."
The final seals resisted the longest.
They guarded everything else.
Affinity.Secondary talents.The limits imposed on growth itself.
Breaking them was not a single event—but a gradual erosion.
Purification followed purification.
Spiritual energy was refined until not a trace of impurity remained. Beast-tainted residue was separated, cleansed, and integrated safely. Even demonic power, once feared, became balanced fuel rather than corruption.
Shen Yuan's body shed weakness entirely.
Muscles rebuilt themselves.Meridians widened and stabilized.Organs strengthened until circulation became effortless.
One day, as he completed another cycle, Shen Yuan felt something condense.
Not pressure.
Not pain.
Stability.
At the center of his body, refined energy folded inward—layer by layer—until it formed something solid, enduring, and self-sustaining.
A core.
Shen Yuan opened his eyes.
"Core Formation achieved," the Primordial Edict System confirmed."Foundation quality: Exceptional."
Shen Yuan did not smile.
He simply breathed.
He stood slowly.
His movements were effortless now, every step grounded, every breath synchronized with the world around him. The cave that had once felt like shelter now felt… small.
Not confining.
Just finished.
He extended his senses outward.
The forest beyond the vines revealed itself clearly—beast territories, energy currents, demonic remnants, distant dangers.
None of them felt overwhelming.
They felt… manageable.
Shen Yuan turned his gaze inward one last time.
No impurities.No seals.No suppression.
His body was renewed.His bloodline awake.His talents unbound.
He was whole.
"System," Shen Yuan said calmly, "status of the Authority Zone."
"Stability nearing expiration," it replied."Continued residence unnecessary."
Shen Yuan nodded.
"That's fine."
He stepped toward the cave entrance, stopping just short of the invisible boundary. Outside, the world waited—violent, indifferent, and unchanged.
Shen Yuan adjusted his robes, expression steady.
"I can survive now," he said—not as hope, but as fact.
"Confirmed,"the system replied.
Shen Yuan took one final breath.
Then he stepped forward.
Out of safety.Out of obscurity.And into the cultivation world—no longer as prey, but as someone who could stand within it.