The road to the nearest town was little more than a worn path winding through crooked trees and creeping mist. Birds scattered as Ling Canglong and Han Lie walked, the young dragon-wolf cub resting on Canglong's shoulder like a fluffy ornament that occasionally yawned sparks of white light.
For a long while, neither of them spoke. The events of the previous night still hung over them like a shadow.
Han Lie finally broke the silence.
"Canglong… when that rogue attacked you, something burst out of you. Something that feels terrifying."
"I know," Canglong answered quietly. "I felt it too."
"It wasn't just power," Han Lie said. "It made the trees tremble, the beasts flee. Even I felt like I was standing before a Deity."
Canglong said nothing. He remembered the sound inside his skull, that deep, ancient heartbeat. It felt like something within him was watching the world through his eyes.
They continued on until the forest thinned and rooftops appeared. Stone Creek Town. A dusty marketplace, wooden houses, and a crowd of mortals and low-ranked cultivators moving through muddy streets.
Canglong had barely taken ten steps inside when trouble found them.
"Hey. You two."
A group of young men in dark blue robes stood blocking the street, arms folded, wearing smirks that never meant anything good.
The insignia on their robes showed a coiling serpent blade: Iron Serpent Sect. A minor local sect known for bullying, extorting, and behaving as if they ran the province.
The leader stepped forward. His hair was oiled, his expression self-satisfied.
"That little beast on your shoulder," he said, pointing at the dragon-wolf. "It's rare. I'm taking it. Hand it over and I might let you two leave with your legs."
Han Lie muttered, "We've been in town for ten breaths…"
Canglong sighed. "We don't want trouble."
"That's too bad," the leader sneered. "Because we do."
His hand shot out toward Canglong's shoulder, grabbing for the dragon-wolf
And froze in midair.
Not because Canglong moved. Not because the cub reacted.
But because the young man suddenly collapsed to his knees, eyes wide in terror, clutching his skull as blood trickled from his nose.
"W-what… what is this… pressure…?" he gasped, voice cracking.
His companions staggered backward, pale and trembling, as if an invisible hand was squeezing their souls.
Han Lie's eyes widened sharply.
It was happening again.
The air around Canglong shimmered just faintly, just for an instant as if unseen waves rippled outward from his body. The townsfolk felt nothing. Mortals couldn't sense it.
But cultivators could.
This was spiritual pressure.
No more than that.
A sea of consciousness so vast and heavy that even a glance from it crushed lesser minds.
Canglong himself looked confused. He hadn't done anything. The pressure seemed to leak from him instinctively, like breathing.
The Iron Serpent disciples collapsed like dolls with cut strings.
"What… are you?" one of them stammered, voice shaking.
Canglong shook his head. "Just someone passing through."
He turned to leave.
A trembling hand grabbed his ankle.
"Forgive us, senior, please forgive us!"
Han Lie dragged the disciple away by the collar. "Senior? He's not even a cultivator yet."
The disciple fainted.
By the time they walked away, the entire street was silent. People whispered behind them, staring with wide eyes.
Canglong touched his forehead.
"What just happened?"
Han Lie took a slow breath.
"Your sea of consciousness… It's not just strong. It's monstrous. A mortal body shouldn't be able to contain something like that."
"Is it dangerous?" Canglong asked.
"Yes," Han Lie answered simply. "To everyone around you."
They walked on.
That ancient heartbeat pulsed once in the depths of Canglong's mind, like a sleeping dragon shifting in its slumber.
Han Lie glanced at him with a mix of awe and fear.
"Canglong… if this continues, the heavens might not be the only things trying to kill you. The entire cultivation world will fear you."
Canglong didn't answer.
But deep inside, he felt something cold awaken.
If the world feared him…Then the world should stay out of his way.