The frost no longer spread uncontrollably.
That alone was enough to change the atmosphere of the Liu Clan estate.
Whispers still followed Lin Xiao.
They always would.
But now—
They followed Mu Yin as well.
The two trained together at dusk and dawn, when fewer eyes lingered. Elder Liu Zheng kept distance but never left them unwatched.
Lin Xiao stood opposite Mu Yin beneath the elm tree once more.
Their palms met.
Yin flowed.
Golden answered.
This time—
There was no eruption.
No steam.
No violence.
Instead, the qi currents spiraled between them like twin streams weaving into a single channel.
Lin Xiao felt it clearly now.
The second sealed pathway trembled.
Not from force.
From alignment.
The golden shard pulsed in steady rhythm, no longer slamming against the seal like a caged beast.
It had learned.
Or perhaps—
It approved.
Mu Yin inhaled slowly.
Her usual frost aura had thinned to a faint shimmer hugging her skin.
"I can circulate three breaths without pain," she whispered.
Lin Xiao felt heat surge gently along his spine.
"And I can circulate without rupture."
They held position longer.
Longer than before.
Until—
Crack.
A clean fracture echoed inside Lin Xiao's meridians.
Not explosive.
Not catastrophic.
A second pathway opened.
Golden qi flowed in thin, controlled threads.
Mu Yin gasped softly.
Her eyes widened.
"The pressure changed."
"Yes."
It had.
The golden shard no longer pressed wildly against the inner gates.
It expanded carefully.
Testing new boundaries.
Elder Liu Zheng stepped forward immediately.
"You advanced."
"Yes," Lin Xiao answered.
"To what level?"
"Low-stage Body Refinement."
The elder's brows twitched.
Impossible for a boy with blocked meridians only days prior.
Unless—
He glanced at Mu Yin.
Balance.
Yin countered excess Yang.
The seal did not suppress alone.
It regulated.
He exhaled slowly.
"You must conceal this."
Lin Xiao nodded.
"Of course."
But concealment was fragile.
Especially in a clan where envy grew quickly.
Across the outer courtyard, Liu Ming watched.
His ribs still ached faintly from their earlier exchange.
He had felt the pressure that day.
He had felt humiliation.
Now he watched frost fade from Mu Yin's skin.
Watched Lin Xiao stand straighter.
Watched qi circulate where none should.
Jealousy sharpened into something darker.
He turned away quietly.
That night, he slipped from the estate walls.
Not toward the village.
But toward the old stone ridge beyond the fields.
A place rarely visited.
There, beneath twisted pine trees, stood a weathered stone marker half-buried in earth.
Liu Ming knelt before it.
Pressed his palm against its surface.
"Senior," he whispered.
The stone trembled faintly.
A crack formed.
From beneath the ground, cold air seeped upward.
Not Yin.
Not dragon.
Something else.
Old.
Dormant.
A voice answered from below.
"Why disturb my rest?"
Liu Ming swallowed.
"There is one within the clan."
"Unstable blood."
"Dangerous."
Silence lingered beneath the soil.
Then—
"I felt it."
The voice was thin.
Ancient.
Contained.
"You are weak."
"I can grow."
"You seek strength?"
"Yes."
"For revenge?"
"For survival."
A pause.
Then—
"Bring him."
Liu Ming's heart pounded.
"Yes."
The earth stilled once more.
Unaware of the conversation beneath the ridge, Lin Xiao and Mu Yin continued refining their circulation patterns.
The second fracture stabilized.
Golden qi now flowed in thin loops across two pathways.
Not overwhelming.
Not explosive.
Mu Yin's Yin current no longer froze surfaces instinctively.
It layered gently along the flow, tempering excess heat.
"This feels…" Mu Yin searched for the word.
"Natural," Lin Xiao finished.
She nodded.
"Yes."
Inside, the golden shard pulsed with deeper resonance.
It was no longer merely reacting.
It was adapting.
The seal did not feel like a prison now.
It felt like a structure unfolding layer by layer.
As if—
Something beneath it had not yet awakened.
Lin Xiao's instincts sharpened.
The ground beneath the courtyard vibrated faintly.
He paused mid-breath.
"Do you feel that?"
Mu Yin frowned slightly.
"The earth?"
"Yes."
It lasted only a moment.
Then vanished.
Elder Liu Zheng noticed their stillness.
"What is it?"
Lin Xiao closed his eyes briefly.
"Something below."
The elder's gaze shifted subtly toward the estate's northern ridge.
He had felt faint tremors there once before.
Years ago.
When Mu Yin was first brought to the clan.
He said nothing.
But suspicion settled quietly.
The next day, Liu Ming approached Lin Xiao openly.
"Senior Brother," Liu Ming said, voice unusually polite.
Lin Xiao regarded him calmly.
"Yes?"
"There is a place beyond the ridge."
"A meditation ground."
"Stronger earth qi."
He gestured toward the hills.
"You should see it."
Mu Yin's gaze sharpened slightly.
"Why?" she asked.
"For growth," Liu Ming replied.
His smile did not reach his eyes.
Lin Xiao watched him carefully.
Predator instincts stirred.
The golden shard pulsed once.
Not warning.
Curiosity.
He nodded.
"Lead."
Elder Liu Zheng was away inspecting outer patrol routes.
The opportunity was too convenient.
Which meant—
It was intentional.
Lin Xiao did not hesitate.
Growth rarely came without risk.
They walked beyond the estate walls.
Through fields.
Toward the ridge.
Mu Yin remained close.
Her Yin presence steady against his side.
The pine trees thickened.
The air cooled.
Liu Ming stopped before the half-buried stone marker.
"This is it."
Lin Xiao's eyes narrowed slightly.
The ground here felt hollow.
He stepped forward.
Placed his palm against the stone.
It trembled instantly.
The earth cracked.
A fissure split open.
Cold air surged upward—
But not Yin.
Not natural cold.
Ancient.
Dormant.
The ground beneath them collapsed.
All three fell into darkness.
They landed hard upon stone.
Lin Xiao rolled and rose immediately despite the pain.
Mu Yin steadied herself quickly.
Liu Ming scrambled backward.
The chamber around them was circular.
Carved.
Old.
Symbols etched along the walls.
Not dragon.
Not imperial.
Different.
At the center stood a stone altar.
Cracked.
Sealed.
From within it—
A pulse echoed faintly.
The golden shard reacted immediately.
Not violently.
Recognizing.
Mu Yin inhaled sharply.
"This place…"
Lin Xiao stepped closer.
The symbols along the altar glowed faintly in response to his presence.
The voice from beneath the earth whispered again.
"So."
"You came."
Liu Ming swallowed and stepped aside.
"I brought him."
Lin Xiao did not look at Liu Ming.
He studied the altar.
"What are you?"
A faint laugh echoed through the chamber.
"Forgotten."
"Buried."
"Uncrowned."
The word echoed deliberately.
The golden shard flared.
Recognition.
Not of dragon.
Not of imperial lineage.
But of something older.
Something sealed beneath earth.
"You are not dragon," Lin Xiao said calmly.
"No."
"You are not Yin."
"No."
"Then what?"
Silence lingered.
Then—
"I am what remained when crowns were chosen."
The chamber trembled faintly.
Mu Yin stepped closer to Lin Xiao instinctively.
Liu Ming stared in awe.
The voice continued.
"You carry fragment."
Lin Xiao's pupils flickered gold.
"Yes."
"And the girl carries cold."
"Yes."
"Then the seal cracks."
Lin Xiao's breathing slowed.
"You know of the seal."
A faint rumble answered.
"We all know of seals."
The altar split further.
A thin sliver of dark crystal became visible beneath the stone.
"Break me," the voice whispered.
Liu Ming stepped forward eagerly.
"Yes, break it! Release the power!"
Mu Yin's grip tightened on Lin Xiao's sleeve.
"This feels wrong."
The golden shard pulsed.
Not in warning.
But in caution.
Lin Xiao stepped closer to the altar.
He did not reach for it.
Instead—
He knelt.
Placed his palm against the cracked surface.
Closed his eyes.
The golden shard met the pulse beneath the earth.
Two ancient fragments.
Not aligned.
Not hostile.
But not unified.
"You were sealed for a reason," Lin Xiao said quietly.
The voice beneath the altar fell silent.
The chamber trembled harder.
"Break me," it urged again.
Liu Ming shouted, "Do it!"
Lin Xiao opened his eyes.
"No."
The word echoed sharply.
The golden shard pulsed in agreement.
The altar vibrated violently.
The dark crystal beneath it glowed brighter—
Then dimmed.
The chamber stilled.
"You refuse?" the voice asked, colder now.
"I refuse to release what I do not understand," Lin Xiao replied calmly.
"You are not crowned."
"I do not need to be."
Silence.
Long.
Heavy.
Then—
"Wise."
The crystal dimmed completely.
The fissure in the ceiling began sealing itself slowly.
The chamber was closing.
Liu Ming panicked.
"What are you doing? That was power!"
Lin Xiao rose calmly.
"Power without understanding is bait."
He turned toward the narrowing fissure.
"Climb."
They escaped just as the chamber sealed fully beneath earth.
The ridge returned to stillness.
Liu Ming stood frozen.
"You threw away strength."
Lin Xiao looked at him evenly.
"No."
"I refused a trap."
Mu Yin exhaled softly.
"You felt it too?"
"Yes."
The golden shard pulsed once.
Satisfied.
Beneath the ridge—
Something had tested him.
Something ancient.
Something uncrowned but buried.
And he had refused.
Far away—
Long Xiu's black mirror rippled violently for a brief moment.
He smiled faintly.
"You chose restraint."
"Interesting."
Back at the estate, Lin Xiao stood beneath the elm tree once more.
The second fracture remained stable.
The seal did not crack further.
The golden shard was quieter now.
Not restless.
Not raging.
It had measured the buried fragment—
And declined it.
Mu Yin stood beside him.
"That thing will wake again," she said softly.
"Yes."
"And next time?"
Lin Xiao's eyes hardened.
"Next time, we will be stronger."
The empire watched.
Ancient fragments stirred beneath earth.
Assassins moved in shadows.
But he would not rush.
He would not kneel.
He would rise—
Without crown.