Sovereign Ascendent: Bloodline Unleashed

The golden sunlight filtered in through the wide windows of the Su household's martial courtyard at Huayin village. At fifteen, Su Mengtian's body radiated a raw, compressed power that far exceeded the average bloodline cultivator his age—though no one knew it. The smooth polish of the black training spear in his hands gleamed with his sweat as he flowed through dozens of spear forms, each motion not just efficient, but precise to the level of military execution.

He moved like a weapon trained in war—because he was one.

Though reborn in a world where power stemmed from bloodlines and awakened beasts, Su Mengtian never relied solely on what he would be granted at awakening age. Instead, he built himself the same way he did in his past life: brick by brick. His breath was steady, core tight, and every step radiated the calm of a predator at rest.

Every sunrise, he ran ten kilometers carrying steel weights. Every night, he sparred against automated puppet warriors set to advanced patterns. His mind retained every trick and counter from his previous life—urban warfare, anti-monster tactics, stealth kill techniques. What his peers would spend years learning through near-death battles, he had already lived, died, and mastered.

A shadow moved behind the courtyard columns.

"You've improved again," came a voice.

It was Su Lian, his anut in the village—tall, elegant, with sharp, hawk-like eyes. She always knew when Mengtian reached a new level. She was like a mother to Su Mengtian, she'd raised him with silent respect and a distant kindness ever since his rebirth.

He stopped the spear mid-spin and gave her a shallow nod. "I adjusted the balance on the weighted tip. It works better for mid-thrust rotations."

She studied him for a moment. "You're barely fifteen, yet you move like a veteran. What are you chasing so desperately?"

He held her gaze. "Perfection."

She didn't press. She never did. But she did say, "Make sure you don't burn everything in the pursuit. Even fire needs rest."

He gave a nod—half obedience, half evasion.

That night, beneath the moonlight, Su Mengtian sat atop the training roof, legs crossed, bare chest rising and falling in rhythm with his breath. His inner world surged—flowing like molten silver through his veins. A scaled pattern briefly lit under his skin, vanishing before the moonlight could betray him.

The First God-tier Bloodline—an ancient legacy forged from a beast soul in his past life—was already fused deep inside him. But his public bloodline awakening would not happen until he turned seventeen and entered Crimson Sky Academy.

He would not reveal his secret now. Not until it was necessary.

Instead, he would let the world think he was just another late bloomer. And when the time came—when he awakened alongside the other students—only then would he begin the rise of his true reign.

He clenched his fists.

Tonight, as he meditated, something else stirred inside him. A low rumble—like a distant thunderclap—echoed through his core. Lightning crackled beneath his skin. A second power, silent and hidden since his rebirth, now stirred uneasily within.

But its true nature remained veiled. Even to him.

He crushed it with will alone. Not yet. Not here.

Four months later, a letter arrived in the Su household sealed with the Imperial Crimson Mark—a five-clawed blood phoenix and a radiant lion insignia of the nation's most prestigious academy.

Su Lian opened the envelope with slow precision.

It said To: Su Mengtian of the Eastern Sector You are hereby invited to attend Imperial Crimson Sky Academy, Advanced Combat Track. Date of Reporting: One week prior to Bloodline Awakening Day. Honor. Discipline. Glory.

She handed him the scroll.

"Congratulations," she said.

Su Mengtian read the letter. There was no excitement on his face. His mind was already on preparation—how to mask his first bloodline. How to cloak the ancient aura that threatened to erupt from his body with every training session.

He had begun wearing spiritual suppression talismans. He adjusted his breathing technique to mimic the presence of a weaker core. He even trained with metal weights sewn into his clothes, disguising his natural speed and force.

He became a mask. But beneath it—flames roared. 

Thousands of students from across the empire gathered at the sprawling, mountain-cradled campus. It was not a school—it was a citadel built to breed champions.

Su Mengtian wore simple, dark robes, tied tightly at the waist. His footsteps were silent, movements fluid as he joined the central assembly plaza.

His entrance didn't attract attention. That was good.

He scanned the crowd, noting their bloodline levels instinctively. Third-rank tiger kin. Partial phoenix blood. Earth-armored turtle shell variants. Some nobles, some ferals. He saw them all—and judged them unworthy.

Until his eyes locked on a familiar silhouette.

Long black hair like a river at night. Silver eyes burning like tempered frost.

Bai Yueying.

His breath hitched. The Bai Yueying of this life stood by the capital elite, her uniform bearing the mark of the Moonblood Clan—one of the seven ruling noble houses.

She hadn't seen him yet.

He turned away immediately. His heart throbbed—not from pain, but something worse. Restraint.

In this life, she hadn't met him. Not really. Not yet.

He would let her discover the truth in time. Not through memories—but through his deeds.

Bloodline Awakening Ceremony – One Week Later,

The Awakening Hall was a vast obsidian dome, glowing with magic runes and beast soul amplifiers. Students stood in formation, placing a single drop of blood on the center pillar of their assigned pedestals.

Mengtian's pulse slowed. The moment was here.

He was assigned Pedestal 44—far from Yueying's location.

Good.

One by one, students began awakening. Beast projections roared from the altar—lions, tigers, hydras, birds of flame. Some fell unconscious. Some wept from joy. Others screamed in pain.

Finally—it was his turn.

He stepped forward.

Whispers echoed around him.

"Who is that?" "Never seen him before." "Must be some outsider..."

He placed a single drop of blood on the pedestal.

Nothing happened at first.

Then—the ground split.

A thunderous roar erupted from beneath the hall, shaking the rune-laced walls.

A massive war dragon head formed in midair, its golden eyes radiating cold sovereignty. A crown of bone. Fangs like swords. A long body wreathed in volcanic storms.

The students screamed and fell back.

The professors leapt to intervene—but the dragon froze in place, as if held back by an invisible seal.

Mengtian stepped away, hiding his pain. The storm inside him had been unleashed—not fully, but enough to taste the edge of that second, unknown force.

The dragon blood inside him wanted to surge, to devour the hall and declare dominance.

But he forced it back—like a king taming his own wrath.

What they saw was the War Dragon bloodline.

But the truth was deeper. Beneath that illusion, cloaked behind dozens of seals, another force watched and waited.

And it would awaken—soon.

The illusion faded.

Silence followed.

One professor finally cleared his throat. "War Dragon Bloodline... rare, but possible."

Another whispered, "That... was not a normal war dragon."

Yueying looked toward him, frowning faintly. Something about him stirred unease in her heart.

Su Mengtian bowed his head, eyes closed, lips calm.

The second power remained unnamed.

Even to him.