The courtyard of the inn was silent when night fell over the Imperial Capital, but inside one of the rented rooms, the world was anything but quiet.
Jun's aura—carefully suppressed for years—finally began to tremble uncontrollably.
He sat cross-legged on the floor, the air around him shimmering. His perfected foundations tightened, condensed, and then—
Boom.
A tidal wave of qi exploded outward, shaking the wooden beams overhead. His blood burned, two dormant forces roaring awake like ancient beasts freed from chains.
His Heaven-Devouring Bloodline flared first, spiraling black-gold patterns across his skin.
His Primordial Phoenix Bloodline burst next, a crimson-gold flame rippling beneath his veins.
But this time, they didn't flare halfway and settle like before.
This time they awakened completely.
The two forces twisted together, merging into one massive bloodline spike that shot straight into the sky like a beacon.
Jun exhaled slowly as he stepped into the 11th Realm. Power surged through his muscles, his senses sharpened, and his very presence grew deeper—he felt like a sleeping god opening one eye.
Then—
A crisp mechanical chime echoed in his consciousness.
[Descendants System has awakened.]
[Bloodline synchronization… complete.]
[Host is now eligible to establish a lineage.]
Jun didn't speak. He simply opened his eyes, their colors shifting—black-gold in the right, crimson-gold in the left.
He could feel it.
Someone else noticed.
THE IMPERIAL PALACE
Inside the Emperor's private cultivation chamber, Emperor Tianlong's eyes shot open.
For years he had sensed faint traces of that familiar bloodline—a whisper here, a fading pulse there—always too far, always uncertain. He knew his son was alive, but not where.
But now?
Now the bloodline flame burned like a sun exploding at dawn.
He rose to his feet instantly, robes billowing from the sheer force of his released aura.
"…This is no mistake," he whispered.
"That is my son. And he is not outside the borders… not in the nearby cities…"
His heart pounded, blood boiling with excitement, relief, and disbelief.
"He's inside the capital."
A hint of a trembling smile touched his usually expressionless face.
"Jun'er… you're home."