The mist of the Earth Dew Pond still clung to the air like a sacred breath. Long Tian sat silently at its edge, eyes closed, body radiant with a faint aura of qi. The hidden cave had become a cradle—where a dragon shed his old shell, and something divine began to awaken.
He opened his eyes, golden and steady.
> "Status."
The air rippled. Ancient golden text unfolded before him in the air like the whisper of a divine scroll.
---
[Dragon Ascension System – Status Interface]
Name: Long Tian
Race: Eastern Azure Dragon (Hatchling)
Cultivation: Qi Condensation – Azure Heart Core (Stage 1)
Bloodline Awakening: 12%
Body Tempering: Dragon Bone – Early Tier
Soul Trait: Dragon Soul (Resonance – 5%)
Subordinates:
• Bai Xue – Mythical Grade (Nine-Tailed Fox Descendant) – Loyalty: 95
• Yan Yue – Mythical Grade (Flameborn Qilin) – Loyalty: 90
> [Beginner's Gift Pack Available. Claim Now?]
He exhaled slowly. "Claim."
Light flared above his claws. Three golden motes of power emerged from the void, each humming with ancient energy.
---
[Beginner's Gift Pack Rewards Unlocked:]
1. Subordinate Seal (x3)
High-grade soul seals capable of forcibly enslaving spirit beasts up to three tiers higher than the host.
Initial Loyalty: 50 (Resistant by default). Use of seal establishes full control but may provoke hatred or rebellion unless tamed.
Unused seals remain dormant until summoned.
2. Spirit Qi Gathering Formation (Tier 1)
A spiritual formation core that passively draws ambient qi into a radius. Ideal for establishing personal cultivation territory.
3. Talent Trait: Verdant Touch (Wood Element)
Grants affinity with plant life and nature qi. Enables growth stimulation, environmental healing, and symbiosis with forest terrain.
---
As the rewards integrated into him, Long Tian's scales pulsed with warm green light. Roots stirred beneath him, and the moss along the cavern wall thickened as if bowing to his presence.
The Verdant Touch settled into his core like a whispering breeze.
He looked down at the glowing Subordinate Seals floating before him—each inscribed with the coiling mark of an Eastern Dragon.
Behind him, Yan Yue approached, hooves silent against stone, his mane faintly aflame. Though two years older, the qilin knelt with a warrior's reverence, bowing his proud head.
"You don't plan to use those seals on us, do you?" he asked, voice deep.
Long Tian shook his head. "Never. Not on those who've already chosen me."
Yan Yue smiled faintly. "Good. I follow not a cub—but a king in the making."
Bai Xue padded to his side, silver eyes soft. "You could have forced others... but you never even tried with us. That's why we choose to follow you."
Long Tian's claws clenched gently over the sealed orbs. "These will be used when mercy isn't an option."
He raised the Qi Gathering Formation Core and embedded it in the cavern floor. Green light rippled outward as qi density thickened. A domain was born.
"This is our beginning," he said. "This cave, this pond, this forest—it will become our sanctuary, our territory. We grow here, we train here, and when we step out again…"
His golden eyes narrowed like sharpened blades.
"…we conquer."
A dragon with divine blood.
A fox with lunar frost in her veins.
A qilin who bowed only to kings.
And three empty seals, waiting for the beasts too proud to kneel without force.