The journey back to the Lin Estate was marked by a chilling phenomenon: the streets of the Qingzhu Valley, usually teeming with life, went silent as Lin Fei passed. Every window shutter slammed shut; every rogue cultivator lowered their head. They didn't just fear his strength; they feared the Unknown.
THE ANATOMY OF THE AWAKENING
Inside his carriage, Lin Fei closed his eyes, his internal vision focused on the Abyssal Dragon Soul Core. The white scales had left a new residue in his marrow—a crystalline silver essence that made his bones feel as dense as collapsing stars.
* Physical Feedback: The clash with the Foundation Ancestors had acted as a "hammer" to his "steel." His physical vessel had successfully compressed the 4th-stage Qi into his cells.
* The Secret: Because he used Physicality rather than Technique, the observers couldn't categorize his power. To the world, he wasn't a "cultivator" in the traditional sense; he was a Primal Variable.
> "Foundation Establishment is but the refinement of Qi," Lin Fei mused. "But the Saint Demonic Dragon Body is the refinement of Reality. My fist didn't just break their swords; it broke the laws of their world."
>
THE OBSESSION OF QINGXUE
Opposite him, Qingxue sat rigid, her hands gripped so tightly her knuckles were white. She looked at Lin Fei—the man who was supposed to be a "Ninth-Rank Trash"—and felt a terrifying, magnetic pull.
"You didn't use a single movement technique," she whispered, her voice trembling. "You just... walked through their attacks. Your skin didn't even bruise against spirit-grade steel."
Lin Fei opened one eye, the silver vertical pupil momentarily flaring with a cold, lunar light. "Steel is only as strong as the will behind it, Qingxue. Their wills were brittle. Their steel followed suit."
THE RIPPLE EFFECT: THE SECTS STIR
While Lin Fei returned to his courtyard, the "Echo" of the market reached the surrounding peaks.
* The Violet Cloud Sect: In the Hall of Thousand Cranes, a Gold Core Elder crushed his jade tea cup as he listened to a spy's report. "White scales? Shattering spirit swords with bare fingers? This isn't a human art. Send a Shadow-Disciple. I want his blood sampled."
* The Iron-Blood Hall: The Sect Master, a man known for his own brutal body cultivation, stood up from his throne of iron. "A 4th-stage boy with the strength of a Yao King? If we cannot recruit him, we must grind his bones into medicine before he reaches the Foundation Stage."
THE SOVEREIGN'S RETURN
As Lin Fei stepped back into the Southern Courtyard, the Abyssal Dragon-Demon Sovereign Scripture groaned with a new hunger. The Dragon Heart-Scale was now a part of him, but it was a seed that needed more "soil" to grow.
"The legend is born," Lin Fei said, looking at the plum tree in his garden. "The Ancestors will hide, the Sects will spy, and the Patriarch will tremble."
He sat beneath the tree, the silver mist beginning to rise from his skin once more. The hunt was over, but the War of the Sects was just beginning.
The "White Scaled Monster" is now a regional legend, drawing the predatory eyes of Gold Core masters from the Great Sects. Lin Fei needs to prepare his family and his own body for the inevitable arrival of these higher-tier hunters.
What is the Sovereign's next move to solidify his "Forbidden Zone"?
* The Array of the Void: Lin Fei uses the energy from the Dragon Heart-Scale to cast a Sovereign Shadow Array over the entire Lin Estate, turning the manor into a literal black hole for any intruder's Qi.
* The Bloodline Awakening: Lin Fei decides to use his new "Sovereign Essence" to forcibly elevate the bloodlines of his wives, ensuring they can stand by his side when the Great Sects arrive.
Which path shall we take?