One year had passed since Evan arrived in this world.
One year since he had opened his eyes in a stranger's body.
One year since he realized that the impossible had happened.
Reincarnation.
The thought still felt surreal sometimes.
Evan sat on a soft cushion placed in the middle of a quiet room. The windows were open, letting warm sunlight spill across the wooden floor.
From the outside, birds could be heard chirping.
Peaceful.
Too peaceful.
Evan blinked slowly as he stared at his tiny hands.
Still small.
Still chubby.
Still very much the hands of a baby.
Inside his mind, however, was a completely different story.
One year…
One entire year in this strange world.
He had spent most of that time doing three things.
Sleeping.
Crawling.
And listening.
Listening carefully to every conversation Lyra had with others in the city.
Because information was power.
And Evan desperately needed it.
He had already confirmed several things.
First, this world truly practiced cultivation.
Second, his mother was someone extremely important.
And third—
He was apparently someone equally important.
Even though he had already guessed that part.
Evan sighed internally.
No pressure.
Across the room, Lyra stood near the window, watching him quietly.
Her long black hair moved gently with the breeze as her sharp eyes studied the small child sitting on the cushion.
Today was an important day.
For the past year, she had patiently waited.
Waiting for the prince's body to mature enough.
Waiting for the right moment.
And today—
She would finally test his talent.
Lyra walked toward Evan slowly.
Her expression remained calm, but inside she felt a small amount of nervousness.
He is Her Majesty's son.
There is no way his talent will be ordinary.
She knelt down in front of him.
Evan tilted his head slightly.
"Ba?"
Lyra smiled faintly.
"Yes, yes, my prince."
She gently placed a hand on his head.
"Today we are going to test something important."
Evan blinked.
Test?
His interest immediately rose.
Wait… are we finally doing cultivation?
Lyra continued speaking, her tone soft.
"Normally, cultivators begin training much later."
"But the bloodline of the Celestial Veyndral Bloodline is… special."
She slowly raised two fingers.
A small glow of spiritual energy gathered around them.
"This is called Qi."
The air in the room shifted slightly as invisible energy began to gather.
Even though Evan could not see it clearly—
He could feel it.
A strange warmth in the air.
Like something alive was moving around them.
It was the same strange sensation he had felt before.
Lyra noticed his reaction and smiled.
"Good."
"It seems the young prince can already feel spiritual energy."
That alone was extremely rare.
Most children could not sense Qi until they were several years older.
But Evan was already reacting to it.
Lyra gently placed her hand against his chest.
"Now relax."
She began guiding a small stream of Qi toward Evan's body.
"This will only test your spiritual roots."
"It will not harm you."
The moment the Qi touched Evan—
Everything changed.
Evan felt it instantly.
The warmth entering his body felt like electricity rushing through his veins.
His eyes widened.
Wait.
WAIT.
THIS FEELS—
The Qi inside his body suddenly began moving on its own.
Not slowly.
Not gently.
Violently.
The spiritual energy Lyra sent into him exploded outward like a storm.
Lyra's eyes widened.
"What—?!"
The room suddenly trembled.
The air filled with swirling currents of Qi.
Evan's small body began glowing faintly.
His hair lifted slightly as the surrounding energy spiraled toward him.
Evan panicked internally.
WHAT IS HAPPENING?!
He tried to move.
But his body refused to cooperate.
Instead—
His tiny hands began waving wildly.
"Babababa!!"
Lyra quickly grabbed his shoulders.
"My prince! Calm down!"
But the Qi in the room had already gone crazy.
Spiritual energy poured into Evan's body from every direction.
Like a spiritual whirlpool forming around him.
Lyra's expression turned serious.
This isn't normal.
Even the most talented cultivators did not absorb Qi this aggressively.
Evan looked like a tiny black hole sucking in spiritual energy.
Evan's internal thoughts were much less dignified.
I DIDN'T SIGN UP FOR THIS!
"BAAA!"
He flailed his arms.
Which only made things worse.
The Qi surged again.
The windows rattled violently.
Lyra immediately released her cultivation aura to stabilize the room.
"Enough!"
She slammed her palm lightly onto the floor.
A sealing formation appeared beneath them.
The formation quickly suppressed the raging Qi.
The storm of energy slowly began calming down.
Evan collapsed backward onto the cushion.
"…ba."
His tiny chest rose and fell as he stared at the ceiling.
Inside his mind—
Evan groaned.
I think I just almost exploded.
Lyra stared at him silently.
Her mind was racing.
What she had just witnessed…
Was completely abnormal.
She slowly reached out and placed her hand on Evan's chest again.
This time, she carefully examined his body.
Her eyes slowly widened.
Inside Evan's dantian—
The Qi inside his dantian had already begun forming a faint vortex.
Not just that.
The energy inside it carried faint streaks of silver light.
Lyra froze.
Silver light?
That made no sense.
The Celestial bloodline was known for celestial energy… but not this much. Not for a child.
But what she saw was undeniable.
A faint crackle echoed inside the vortex.
Lyra whispered.
"…Impossible."
Evan looked up at her.
"Ba?"
Lyra stared at him.
Her mind connected several memories.
The royal bloodline.
The legends.
And one forbidden story she had heard long ago.
A story about a bloodline that had disappeared from history.
The Heavenly lineage.
Her gaze slowly sharpened.
"…My prince."
Evan blinked.
Lyra leaned closer.
"Do you know what you just did?"
Evan happily slapped the floor.
"Ba!"
Lyra sighed.
"Of course you don't."
She stood up slowly.
Her thoughts were heavy.
If her suspicion was correct—
Then Evan's existence would shake the entire cultivation world.
Not just because he was Elara's son.
But because his bloodline might be something far more terrifying.
Evan, meanwhile, had already moved on.
He found a random wooden spoon nearby.
And began chewing on it.
Maintaining the act of a baby was harder than he expected.
Lyra turned back toward him.
Her expression slowly softened.
"…Still."
A small smile appeared.
"He's still just a baby."
But the moment she said that—
A tiny spark of silver lightning suddenly jumped from Evan's hand.
Crack.
The wooden spoon turned into black ash.
Evan stared at his empty hand.
Then looked at Lyra.
"…ba?"
Lyra froze.
Her eye twitched slightly.
"... My prince."
Evan smiled proudly.
Lyra sighed deeply.
Then she muttered quietly to herself.
"…What kind of monster did Her Majesty bring into this world?"