Qingyun Mountain rose like a jade pillar piercing the heavens, its peaks wrapped in drifting immortal mist.
On the vast white jade square below, hundreds of young men and women sat cross‑legged, their faces twisted with fear, joy, confusion, or despair as they endured the Heart‑Testing Platform.
Lin Fei sat among them.
His hair fell to his shoulders, dark and slightly wild.
His eyes were black — too black — with a faint vertical slit hidden deep within the pupils.
Not enough to draw attention.
Not yet.
His face was ordinary, almost forgettable.
But his presence…
Calm.
Still.
Ancient.
As if he had lived far longer than eighteen years.
A sharp pain stabbed through his mind.
Lin Fei inhaled softly as memories surged like a flood:
- mountains shrouded in mist
- years passing like drifting snow
- the loneliness of a long life
- the quiet pursuit of the Dao
- the fall of clans and the rise of new ones
- a final moment of silence before death
He opened his eyes.
The world felt both familiar and distant.
He had awakened his past‑life memories.
Not techniques.
Not arts.
Not power.
Only the weight of experience.
The depth of understanding.
The calm of someone who had lived far too long.
And deep within his chest, something ancient stirred.
The Heaven‑Falling Seal.
A faint golden ripple spread through his soul.
Then—
Not a window.
Not a screen.
Not a system.
But an ancient scripture, written in drifting golden characters, rose from the depths of his soul like dragons emerging from a primordial sea.
They circled him once, leaving faint trails of Dao‑light, then arranged themselves into a flowing ring of calligraphy.
The ring read:
"Heaven‑Falling Seal — Soul Reflection."
Within the circle, more characters formed, written in a style older than any sect:
Name: Lin Fei
Age: Eighteen
Root: Ninth‑Rank Mortal Root
Physique: Dao Dragon Physique — Dormant
Cultivation: None
Bloodline Strength: Unawakened
The characters glowed softly, then dissolved into motes of golden light, sinking back into his soul.
Silent.
Mysterious.
Completely natural to the world of cultivation.
Lin Fei lowered his gaze slightly.
"A soul‑mirror… nothing more."
"Someone woke up early! His Dao heart is firm!"
The examiners murmured in surprise as they noticed Lin Fei opening his eyes before everyone else.
He rose when his name was called.
He stepped onto the Heart‑Testing Platform.
The stone pulsed once.
A faint, weak light rose — barely visible.
The examiner frowned.
"…9th‑rank spiritual root."
Whispers erupted instantly.
"Ninth rank?"
"That's the lowest."
"He'll never cultivate."
"What a pity."
Lin Fei's expression didn't change.
Inside, he simply noted:
"As expected.
This body is weak."
But weakness was temporary.
Deep within him, the Dao Dragon Physique pulsed faintly — sealed, dormant, waiting.
As Lin Fei stepped down, the platform trembled ever so slightly.
The examiners exchanged glances.
"…His Dao heart is unusually stable."
"With such a root? Strange."
Lin Fei didn't look back.
He had no interest in their confusion.
Around him, the other candidates woke from their illusions, shouting, crying, laughing, or trembling.
A few approached him.
"Lin Fei, when did you wake up?"
"I woke up earlier," he replied calmly.
He recognized them:
- Hong Yi — 8th‑rank root
- Han Lin — 7th‑rank root
- Li Feiyu — 7th‑rank root
- Xiao Xiyue — 4th‑rank root
- Zhao Qingqing — 6th‑rank root
They had traveled together, but only Han Lin had spoken to him often.
Lin Fei remained polite, distant.
Inside, he thought:
"Their paths will diverge soon."
A Qingyun Sect deacon floated into the air and read the names of those accepted.
One by one, names were called.
Han Lin.
Xiao Xiyue.
Zhao Qingqing.
Excitement erupted.
Then silence.
The list ended.
Lin Fei's name was not on it.
He exhaled softly.
Not disappointment.
Not anger.
Just acceptance.
"A sect is one path.
But not the only one."
Behind him, others cried or cursed as they were told to leave the mountain gate.
Hong Yi stared at the glowing sect in despair.
Li Feiyu clenched his fists in frustration.
Lin Fei simply turned and walked away.
His hair swayed gently in the wind.
His vertical pupils glimmered faintly.
Inside, he thought:
"The Dao Dragon Physique grows through bloodline.
Through children.
Through descendants."
A clan…
A legacy…
A future that would outlast sects and empires.
The bamboo forest rustled as if bowing to him.
The world had no idea—
A dragon had begun to wake.