The Liu Clan estate did not sleep easily that night.
Imperial presence had left at dawn, but tension remained.
Guards doubled patrol routes.
Servants whispered in corners.
Elder Liu Zheng ordered all outer gates sealed before midnight.
Lin Xiao remained inside his assigned chamber.
But he was not resting.
He sat cross-legged, back straight despite lingering pain.
The crack in his lowest meridian had widened slightly since the imperial inspection.
Not by force.
By reaction.
When Long Wei's crimson qi touched the seal, something inside had awakened further.
The golden shard now pulsed with steady rhythm.
Not wild.
Not unstable.
Focused.
It had recognized imperial dragon blood.
It had not submitted.
That alone was dangerous.
Lin Xiao inhaled slowly.
Qi drifted faintly through the crack.
Controlled.
Measured.
But tonight—
Something felt wrong.
He opened his eyes.
The air was still.
Too still.
Even insects outside had gone quiet.
His instincts sharpened.
Not fear.
Predator awareness.
The golden shard pulsed once.
Warning.
A faint sound.
Wood creaking.
Roof tile shifting.
Lin Xiao did not look upward.
He simply stood.
Slowly.
Three heartbeats later—
The ceiling exploded inward.
A black figure dropped silently, blade aimed at his throat.
Assassin.
Trained.
Efficient.
Lin Xiao twisted sideways.
Too slow.
The blade sliced across his shoulder.
Blood sprayed.
Pain flared violently.
The assassin landed smoothly and lunged again.
No words.
No hesitation.
Core Formation aura suppressed carefully.
Not imperial uniform.
Not clan attire.
Independent.
Hired.
Lin Xiao's body was too weak to withstand prolonged exchange.
He ducked beneath a second strike.
Kicked at the assassin's knee.
No effect.
The assassin's elbow smashed into his ribs.
Crack.
Something broke.
Lin Xiao staggered.
The seal reacted instantly.
Pressure surged.
The golden shard roared within his consciousness.
Not sound.
Will.
The assassin sensed it.
He froze for half a fraction.
That was enough.
Lin Xiao's pupils turned vertical.
Gold flooded his vision.
The room distorted.
Heat erupted from his chest.
The assassin slashed downward—
The blade met resistance.
Not metal.
Not qi shield.
Something denser.
Ancient.
The floor beneath them fractured outward in a circular pattern.
The walls trembled.
The assassin gritted his teeth and pushed harder.
"Die," he hissed.
Lin Xiao's breathing turned ragged.
The seal cracked.
Not a metaphor.
A real fracture.
Deep within his meridians, something split open.
Qi exploded outward uncontrolled.
Not crimson.
Not refined.
Raw gold.
The assassin's aura shattered.
He staggered back as pressure slammed into him.
Behind Lin Xiao—
A vast golden silhouette manifested briefly.
Uncrowned.
The assassin's instincts screamed.
This was not target elimination.
This was annihilation.
He lunged forward desperately, aiming to end it quickly—
Lin Xiao did not move.
He simply looked at him.
The pressure intensified.
The assassin's knees buckled.
His blade dropped.
For one terrifying instant—
The golden shard pressed fully against the seal.
The crack widened.
Meridians tore.
Blood erupted from Lin Xiao's mouth.
The chamber door burst open.
Elder Liu Zheng entered.
His qi flared outward in a controlled wave.
"Enough!"
He slammed his palm against the floor.
Earth qi surged upward.
A stabilizing formation activated instantly.
The golden pressure halted.
Not suppressed—
Stalled.
Lin Xiao collapsed forward.
The assassin attempted to flee—
Zhao Kang intercepted him at the doorway.
Two exchanges.
Clean.
Precise.
The assassin fell, neck broken.
Silence returned.
But the air still vibrated faintly.
Elder Liu Zheng turned toward Lin Xiao.
The boy lay unconscious.
Golden aura flickering faintly across his skin.
The elder knelt.
Placed two fingers against Lin Xiao's pulse.
His eyes widened slightly.
"The seal…"
It was no longer intact.
Not fully.
A fissure ran across its structure.
The golden shard pulsed calmly now.
Satisfied.
Interested.
Dangerous.
Zhao Kang wiped blood from his sleeve.
"Who sent him?"
Elder Liu Zheng's expression hardened.
"Not imperial."
"How can you tell?"
"Imperial assassins do not leave corpses."
He looked at Lin Xiao again.
"This was private."
Someone testing.
Someone eliminating risk quietly.
Long Wei?
Unlikely.
He would not move so crudely.
Then—
A prince.
A rival branch.
Or someone in the shadows.
Hours later, Lin Xiao's consciousness returned slowly.
Pain.
Everywhere.
He inhaled sharply.
His meridians felt different.
Raw.
Open.
One additional pathway had fractured through.
Not stable.
But real.
He forced his eyes open.
Elder Liu Zheng sat nearby.
"You nearly died," the elder said calmly.
"Yes."
"You nearly destroyed this estate."
"Yes."
"You are not afraid."
Lin Xiao stared at the ceiling.
"Fear wastes energy."
The elder studied him for several breaths.
"The assassin was not imperial."
"I assumed."
"You are being hunted."
"Yes."
Silence.
Elder Liu Zheng leaned slightly forward.
"Do you know by whom?"
"No."
That was partially true.
He suspected.
But suspicion without proof was noise.
"The seal cracked," the elder said quietly.
"I know."
"If it breaks entirely, you will lose control."
Lin Xiao turned his head slowly.
"No."
The elder's brows furrowed.
"You believe you can dominate it?"
"No," Lin Xiao said calmly.
"I believe I can align with it."
The words were not arrogant.
They were precise.
Elder Liu Zheng felt a faint chill.
This boy did not speak like a village youth.
He spoke like someone who had walked peaks.
"Imperial presence will return," the elder said.
"And next time, they will not test."
Lin Xiao closed his eyes briefly.
"Then I must be stronger before they do."
Far away—
In Longhuang City—
Long Wei received word of the assassination attempt.
His expression did not change.
"So someone grows impatient," he murmured.
He looked toward the direction of Qing River Prefecture.
"You survived execution once."
"Survive this."
His crimson qi flickered faintly.
Behind him, banners bearing the imperial dragon stirred in the night wind.
In another chamber, hidden deeper within the palace—
Long Xiu stood before the black mirror.
The surface shimmered violently.
Golden ripples.
Unstable.
Expanding.
He smiled faintly.
"The seal cracks."
He turned away from the mirror.
"Good."
"Grow."
"Break."
"And when you do…"
"…we shall see whether you burn the empire."
Back within the Liu Clan estate—
Lin Xiao sat alone again by dawn.
Bandages wrapped around his ribs and shoulder.
His breathing steady.
Inside—
The golden shard was no longer merely waiting.
It was awake.
Alert.
Present.
The fissure in the seal allowed more qi to circulate.
Dangerous.
But empowering.
He raised his hand slowly.
A faint golden shimmer gathered around his fingertips.
Not explosive.
Controlled.
He lowered it again.
Not yet.
Too soon.
The empire moved.
Assassins tested.
Bloodlines stirred.
He had no crown.
No army.
No allies.
Only a fractured seal.
And something ancient that refused to bow.
Lin Xiao's eyes hardened.
Once, he devoured to rise.
This time—
He would rise without kneeling.
And when the empire came with fire—
They would discover something terrifying.
Not a crowned heir.
Not a tame dragon.
But an Uncrowned one who chose when to burn.