Azure Continent, East Wasteland, Hidden Dragon City.

Quinn Family, Council Hall.

“Emmett Quinn, today you’re stripped of the position of Young Master. Any objections?”

The one speaking was the Grand Elder of the Quinn Family, white-haired, face stern.

“Why?”

The boy in white, around fifteen or sixteen, asked calmly. His eyes held a calmness beyond his age.

“Your dantian is ruined. With you leading, where does our family go from here?”

The elder’s voice was cold.

“Why was it ruined?” Emmett shot back.

If not for fighting for the family, how would he have been ambushed and crippled?

The elder sighed. “This pains me too. But for the greater good of our clan, for all our people, I had no choice.”

Emmett looked around. Thirteen elders, all avoiding his gaze.

His heart grew cold. After risking his life so many times for the family, was this how they repaid him?

“I started training at eight. Reached Postnatal Stage Three at ten. When my father passed last year, I trained harder—

At fifteen, I hit the peak of Postnatal and made a name in Hidden Dragon City.

I led countless battles, brought endless gains to this family.”

“Do any of you still remember that?”

“I can step down. But my sister, Sophia... she’s born with a cold body. Pain attacks her every half month, bone-chilling agony. Only Flame Essence Serum can ease it.”

“I can give up everything—except her supply of the serum.”

His voice turned sharp as he stared at the elders.

That position never mattered to him. He only wanted it to protect his sister.

“What a joke!”

Someone scoffed at the door.

A black-robed boy, same age as Emmett, strode in. “You’re useless now. Can’t bring any value to the family. Yet you still expect priceless serum for your burden of a sister?”

“She’s a drain. Let her suffer alone.”

“Maddox Quinn,” Emmett narrowed his eyes and looked back to the elders.

So, the family tossed him aside… to crown Maddox instead.

“Hmph. Glad you figured it out,” Maddox sneered.

“From now on, I call the shots. You and your sister? Get nothing from us.”

They were born on the same day.

But one became Young Master with a clan leader for a father. Emmett had it all—resources, fame…

And Maddox? Always second-best. Always beneath Emmett.

Now, with Emmett disabled, what did he have left to fight over?

Emmett ignored Maddox and turned back to the elders.

“I gave everything to this family, earned endless rewards.

If my sister loses the serum, she’ll break in a month.”

“What do you say?”

The elders’ eyes flickered—but all turned to Maddox.

Maddox lifted his chin, smirking coldly.

“I say no. Make me Young Master, and my word is law. Don’t like it? I’ll walk.”The elders stayed silent for a beat, then nodded, agreeing with him.

Emmett Quinn stared at them, eyes cold, heart sinking.

So this was it. Ruthless and heartless.

His sister's life meant nothing to them.

“Hmph, you’re a cripple now, your sister’s the same. Useless, both of you,” Maddox Quinn sneered, smug and arrogant. “I haven’t kicked you out already — that’s me being generous as the new heir.”

“Cripple? You think you’ve earned the right to spit that word at me?” Emmett’s voice iced over.

Maddox chuckled darkly. “Emmett, you’ve been called the top genius for years and actually believed it, huh?”

“We were born the same day, same hour. When we arrived, a dragon soared over the Quinn estate. Divine signs blanketed the skies. They said it meant the arrival of a child of destiny.

“You shot up fast with the clan’s resources, built your so-called legend in Hidden Dragon City. Everyone thought you were the chosen one.”

“But no one knew the truth. The dragon signs were for me. I was always beneath you in everyone’s eyes — for fifteen years. But now, it’s time to take back what’s mine.”

Maddox’s voice dripped with resentment. His aura surged — strong, fierce. He was at the peak of the acquired stage too.

He’d always trailed behind Emmett. Now, after just a month apart, their cultivation was even?

“Surprised?” Maddox sneered, pressure building. “This is just the beginning. I bet you didn’t expect this.”

As he finished, his aura shifted again. Behind him, a scarlet dragon shadow emerged, exuding immense dragon might.

The elders' expressions shifted — some thrilled. The Grand Elder’s eyes lit up like stars.

True Dragon Bloodline — no doubt.

They’d always thought Emmett was the chosen one. His progress had torn through records. They figured he'd awaken the bloodline within a year.

But then, a month back, Maddox revealed everything. It shattered their assumptions.

That’s why they dumped Emmett so harshly, backing Maddox instead.

In Canglan Continent, every cultivator knew the ranks — Acquired, True Profound, Spirit Form, Core Condensing, Divine Flame, Creation, Saint, and finally, Emperor.

Each rank had nine levels.

Even one level was a chasm.

And among them, bloodline cultivators were rare legends. Talented beyond reason, every one of them was a prized weapon to any great sect.

They outclassed their peers with ease — destined for greatness.

“Now you see? Those signs all those years ago — they were mine. You stole fifteen years of my glory. Today, I’m taking it all back.”

Maddox stood tall, dragon shadow hovering, aura pressing like a monarch’s.

“I see.” Emmett narrowed his eyes. That truth hit harder than he expected. Maddox… was a bloodline cultivator.

But Emmett didn’t flinch. He stepped forward, voice cold. “If I beat you, hand over the Flame Marrow Liquid.”

“Beat me?” Maddox laughed, mouth twisting. “Keep dreaming.”He stomped forward hard. Behind him, the shadow of a red dragon let out a low roar. His bloodline had awakened—just the early stage, but the boost was massive, already beyond the ninth realm of acquired stage.

“I accept!” Maddox Quinn growled, swinging a brutal fist straight at Emmett Quinn. The air ripped apart, force tearing in all directions.

Emmett’s face hardened. His fist clenched with a crack. No retreat. Fist to fist.

Head-on clash.

“He’s finished,” the Grand Elder muttered, shaking his head. The power gap was sheer—blocking that punch head-on? Like trying to stop a carriage with a twig.

Then his eyes twitched. The fists closed in, but Emmett shifted slightly. Maddox’s punch slammed straight into Emmett’s chest.

Crack!

Clear sound of bone breaking. Emmett spat blood and staggered.

A smug grin curved Maddox’s lip. “You're nothing but—”

Before he could finish, his expression froze.

Emmett’s eyes flared with fury. Teeth gritted, body trembling, but he didn’t fall back. Instead, he stepped forward.

One step!

His iron fist shot out like a hammer, heading straight for Maddox’s skull with no guard left.

At the peak of the acquired stage, brute force was key. A strike with the strength of nine bulls—each one five hundred pounds. Over four thousand pounds straight to the head—what would that do?

“Stop!” the Grand Elder’s face turned pale. True Profound Realm. His aura burst out, Qi leaving his body, forming a giant phantom hand that snatched at Maddox, trying to pull him back.

Too late.

Emmett’s punch grazed Maddox’s scalp, tearing out a chunk of skin. Blood poured.

The force shook Maddox to his core. In that flash, staring death in the face, he let out a trembling, broken cry—his whole body shivering in fear, face bloodless.

He thought he’d just died.

So cold.

Chilled to the bones.

“Emmett Quinn, how dare you try to kill a Quinn bloodline fighter?” several elders shouted, faces sweaty, voices trembling.

“Hah,” Emmett snorted, face calm and cold. “What’s talent worth, if he's never tasted blood or fire? On a real battlefield, I could crush him a hundred ways.”

He turned and strode toward the great hall’s exit, voice echoing behind him. “You lost. Don’t forget my sister’s Infernal Marrow Liquid.”

Silence fell over the hall. Shock froze every face.

No one expected Emmett to take such a brutal hit and still counter, risking it all.

That kind of ruthlessness—even without his dantian, if he’d stayed whole, his potential wouldn’t be too far from a bloodline cultivator.

“Aaah!” Maddox clawed his way out of the fear, screeching with rage. Blood ran across his face, making him look like a specter.

Even after awakening his bloodline… he still lost to Emmett?

Disgrace.

Utter disgrace.

“You mustn't be discouraged, young master,” someone said behind him. “Your strength already surpasses his. It’s just the experience you lack.”

“Experience can be learned. Innate talent is born. One day, you’ll far outclass him.”"A month from now is the family trial. By then, the Young Master's bloodline will be fully awakened. No matter how experienced Emmett Quinn is in combat, killing him will be effortless," the Grand Elder said reassuringly.

If Maddox Quinn’s bloodline had been fully awakened already, that punch… Emmett would’ve been crushed.

“Crack!” Maddox clenched his fist hard under his sleeve, his eyes savage like a cornered beast. He spat coldly, “In one month, I’ll rip his head off!”

...

Outside the hall, the autumn wind bit sharply. Emmett staggered, a muffled grunt escaped his lips as blood burst from his mouth. The pain in his chest made sweat bead on his forehead.

That punch was brutal. Bloodline cultivators—truly overwhelming.

Clenching his teeth, he pushed through the pain and returned to his quarters. Without a word, he downed a blood-red healing pill. The pain eased quickly, but the dense energy within slipped away just as fast, vanishing before it could take root.

A trace of bitterness crept onto his face. “That black-robed freak used a silver needle, pierced my dantian and left a hole. I… I can’t store any mystic energy.”

With the body tempered postnatally, strength forged in flesh and blood, one could sense mystic energy and absorb it into the body. That’s how you stepped into the True Mystic Realm—a leap beyond mortal limits.

Emmett had been close. He could already sense the energy of the world. In three days, he’d have crossed the threshold… if not for that damn hole.

Now no matter how much he tried, energy slipped through like water through a sieve. His future was cut off.

"Maddox lost this time, he won’t take it lying down. One month from now, the entire clan will watch us clash at the family trial."

"His bloodline just awakened, his talent’s surged. I’m stuck. A month from now… how do I stop him?”

Emmett knew his rival well—petty, vindictive. And in front of everyone, Maddox would come at him with everything. To take revenge. To prove himself.

And if he died? His sister would be left alone—frail, sickly. She wouldn’t last long without him.

His mind filled with despair. But he clenched his fists and tried once more—channeling mystic energy, praying for a miracle.

Nothing.

Energy came in, slipped away just as fast. Still empty.

“…Hmm?”

Suddenly, his expression changed. Though the energy escaped, something shifted in his dantian.

He focused inward. What he saw froze him in place—his dantian glowed with a golden light. And in the center…

A dragon? No—it was a sword. A golden, dragon-shaped miniature blade.

“That sword… the Eastern Sovereign Sword… the blade of the strongest cultivator in Donghuang!”

Emmett’s heart pounded.

The Eastern Sovereign—unmatched in the region for ten thousand years. Revered and feared. His portrait appeared in countless temples—and always, at his side, that golden dragon-sword.

The Eastern Sovereign Sword.

“Eastern Sovereign Sword? What a joke!”

A deep, ancient voice thundered in his mind.

“You, a nobody I once casually pointed out some moves to, not even worthy as a nominal disciple—and you think you can wield me?”