The invitation changed everything.
Once a cultivator was invited instead of summoned, the balance of power had already shifted—quietly, irreversibly.
Li Yuan understood this better than the Azure River Sect ever could.
---
The sect master's private hall was sealed by seven layers of formations. Not defensive ones—isolating ones. Sounds, spiritual fluctuations, even faint causal ripples were cut off.
Only five people remained inside.
The sect master.
Two grand elders.
Li Yuan.
And silence.
---
"You carry something the heavens dislike," the sect master said at last.
Li Yuan did not deny it.
"Dislike is acceptable," he replied. "Hatred requires fear."
One of the grand elders inhaled sharply.
The sect master laughed instead.
"You're arrogant."
"No," Li Yuan said calmly. "I'm precise."
---
The sect master's smile faded.
"The mark on you," he continued, "it wasn't subtle. Upper-realm observers noticed. That means sooner or later, someone will descend—or influence a descent."
Li Yuan nodded. "Yes."
"And when that happens," the sect master said, voice heavy, "this sect will either become your shield… or your grave."
---
Li Yuan finally spoke with weight.
"That depends," he said, "on whether this sect believes in borrowed futures—or built ones."
Silence stretched.
Then one grand elder spoke.
"You're asking us to gamble against the heavens."
Li Yuan shook his head.
"No," he corrected gently. "I'm offering you a seat beside them."
---
The air shifted.
Not qi.
Decision.
---
The sect master leaned back slowly.
"You won't dominate us," he said.
"I won't need to," Li Yuan replied. "You'll grow faster by standing near me than beneath anyone else."
That was not persuasion.
It was inevitability, stated plainly.
---
Minutes later, the sect master exhaled.
"The Azure River Sect will not interfere with your path," he said. "And if pressure comes…"
He paused.
"…we will delay it."
Li Yuan bowed deeply for the first time.
"Then you've chosen wisely."
---
Outside, news spread carefully.
Li Yuan's residence was upgraded—officially for "safety."
Resources arrived quietly.
Formations strengthened subtly.
Not protection.
Preparation.
---
Li Chen turned one month old.
On that day, something strange happened.
No celebration.
No phenomenon.
No omen.
Instead—
Li Yuan felt weight settle into his soul.
The system appeared, solemn.
---
[Eternal Progenitor System]
Descendant Milestone Reached.
Age: One Month
Status: Stable
Bloodline Effect Unlocked:
— Bloodline Memory Drift (Dormant) —
Description: Future descendants may unconsciously access fragments of ancestral will during critical moments.
Note: This effect will strengthen with each generation.
---
Li Yuan's breath slowed.
"So even memory obeys the bloodline."
---
That night, Li Chen laughed.
Not randomly.
Not reflexively.
He laughed while staring at Li Yuan.
The sound was soft—but it echoed.
Not in the room.
In concept.
---
Far away.
In a realm layered above reality.
An immortal paused mid-calculation.
"…That laugh," he murmured.
Another opened his eyes.
"A child?"
"No," the first replied. "A lineage."
---
Back in the lower world, Li Yuan held his son, eyes calm.
"Laugh now," he whispered. "The world will give you fewer reasons later."
The child laughed again.
The stars flickered.
Just once.
---
The system delivered one final message for the night.
---
[Eternal Progenitor System]
Era Classification Updated.
Previous Status: — Background Variable —
Current Status: — Emerging Axis —
Meaning: From this point onward, history will bend around the bloodline.
---
Li Yuan looked out over the sleeping sect.
"No rush," he said quietly.
"Eras are patient things."
---