The nine dragon statues moved.
Not like stone.
Not like summoned phantoms.
Like ancient beasts waking from a sleep older than civilizations.
The moment the chains shattered, the miniature cosmos trembled violently.
Ancient draconic pressure spread in every direction.
Lin Shuan's breath stalled.
Each dragon was colossal, mountain-sized, carved in different forms, each radiating a different oppressive aura.
One carried blazing golden flames in its eyes.
One was wrapped in thunder.
One radiated killing intent sharp enough to cut thought.
One seemed formed from black abyssal mist.
And all nine—
were staring at him.
Hungry.
Tian Wuchen stood with hands behind his back.
Calm.
As though watching weather.
"Body Refiner Rank," he said quietly, "is not merely refining flesh."
His voice echoed.
"It is tempering bones, blood, organs, spirit… until the body itself becomes a weapon."
He looked toward the dragons.
"They will do the tempering."
Lin Shuan swallowed.
"…All nine?"
Tian Wuchen gave that dangerous smile.
"Yes."
Then—
The first dragon roared.
And battle began.
The fire dragon descended first.
Its claw swept downward like a falling mountain.
Lin Shuan used Lightning Immortal Path.
Thunder exploded underfoot.
CRACK.
He vanished.
Appeared above the dragon's head.
Golden Emperor Fist.
BOOM.
His punch landed.
The dragon barely moved.
Lin Shuan's eyes widened.
Then the thunder dragon attacked from behind.
A tail strike sent him flying.
Blood sprayed.
Before he could rise—
three dragons attacked together.
Fire.
Thunder.
Abyss.
The battlefield became chaos.
Sky Dragon Smash.
Golden Dragon Smash.
Golden Emperor Fist.
Absolute White Frost.
Lightning.
Everything erupted.
But these dragons were relentless.
They did not allow breathing.
Did not allow thought.
Only survival.
For seven days inside the miniature cosmos—
Lin Shuan did not rest.
He was beaten.
Burned.
Frozen.
Crushed.
His arms fractured.
Ribs cracked.
His skin tore open countless times.
Yet—
each time he rose.
Again.
And again.
And again.
After another brutal defeat, Lin Shuan collapsed to one knee.
Panting.
Covered in blood.
One dragon sneered.
Another circled.
Like predators testing prey.
Lin Shuan spat blood.
"…Master…"
"…are they trying to kill me?"
Tian Wuchen answered serenely,
"No."
A pause.
"Only break you."
That was somehow worse.
Weeks passed.
Something changed.
Lin Shuan stopped fighting nine separate dragons.
He began reading patterns.
Their rhythms.
One tested defense.
One tested speed.
One tested endurance.
One punished hesitation.
One punished pride.
This was not battle.
It was layered refinement.
A furnace.
And he was metal.
One day—
during combat—
something inside him shifted.
A calm emerged.
The Frost Divine Heart pulsed.
Steady.
The void became silent.
Everything slowed.
Nine dragons attacked—
but Lin Shuan moved.
Not faster.
Clearer.
Lightning flashed.
Frost spiraled.
Golden fists descended.
BOOM.
He struck one dragon's jaw.
CRACK.
Stone scales shattered.
For the first time—
a dragon was damaged.
Tian Wuchen's eyes narrowed.
Progress.
From then—
madness.
Lin Shuan became obsessed.
Punch after punch.
Technique after technique.
He fought until unconscious.
Awoke.
Fought again.
The dragons shattered his body—
and rebuilt it through pressure.
His muscles grew denser.
Meridians stronger.
Frost circulation smoother.
Even dragon blood within him seemed maturing.
At the climax—
all nine dragons attacked together.
A final trial.
The miniature cosmos roared.
Lin Shuan stood at center.
Breathing slowly.
No fear.
Only resolve.
He whispered—
"…Come."
Nine roars answered.
Battle erupted.
Lightning Immortal Path.
Flash Crossing.
Sky Dragon Smash.
Golden Dragon Smash.
Golden Emperor Fist.
Everything merged.
Again—
that self-created fusion appeared.
Twin dragon souls—
white and gold—
spiraled around imperial fist.
BOOOOOOM.
One dragon shattered.
Then another.
Then another.
Lin Shuan fought like a mad emperor.
Bleeding.
Laughing.
Roaring.
Punching through dragon skulls.
Freezing wings.
Breaking stone bodies.
Until—
the ninth dragon charged.
Largest of all.
Mountain-breaking.
Lin Shuan gathered everything.
Compressed all power into one fist.
Golden Emperor Fist—
Mountain Breaking Form.
He punched.
Silence.
Then—
BOOOOOOOOOOM.
The ninth dragon exploded.
Fragments rained through the void.
And all nine were gone.
Destroyed.
Silence returned.
Lin Shuan stood swaying.
Covered in wounds.
Smiling.
He had done it.
Then—
his body shook.
A violent energy surged inward.
Tian Wuchen's gaze sharpened.
"It begins."
Lin Shuan dropped to his knees.
Pain erupted in dantian.
Luo Essence flooded inward.
Compressing.
Condensing.
Forming.
Again.
Again.
Again.
Inside his dantian—
energy spun into a vortex.
Then—
solidified.
A core.
Radiant.
Dense.
Alive.
His Luo Essence Core.
Energy Core Rank.
Breakthrough.
The entire miniature cosmos trembled.
Lin Shuan roared as aura erupted.
Body Refiner—
gone.
Energy Core Rank—
born.
Tian Wuchen nodded.
"As expected."
Lin Shuan panted.
"…What… is this…"
Tian Wuchen said,
"The beginning of a true cultivator."
He looked toward Lin Shuan's dantian.
"One day…"
"That core becomes an Immortal Seed."
"And with it…"
"Even death cannot fully erase a warrior."
Lin Shuan stared inward in awe.
A universe had opened.
Two months passed.
Lin Shuan stabilized Energy Core Rank.
Combat improved again.
He believed the hardest training was behind him.
He was wrong.
Of course.
He should have known.
One day—
Tian Wuchen stood strangely silent.
Watching distant stars.
Too silent.
Lin Shuan frowned.
"Master?"
No answer.
Then—
the void trembled.
A hiss.
Ancient.
Cold.
Predatory.
Lin Shuan turned.
And froze.
Something was watching him.
Golden scales.
Serpentine body.
Dragon horns.
Eyes like primordial suns.
A dragon…
snake.
Its pressure—
Immortal Seed Peak.
Lin Shuan's blood turned cold.
"…What is that…"
Tian Wuchen said nothing.
The beast attacked.
Instantly.
Too fast.
Its jaws opened—
killing intent real.
Actual.
Genuine.
And then—
Lin Shuan's forehead seal exploded.
Ancient light erupted.
For the first time since the heart seal was broken—
it activated.
Because this—
was real murderous intent.
The seal blazed.
A terrifying ancient force stirred.
Lin Shuan's pupils widened.
But before anything erupted—
Tian Wuchen moved.
One finger.
Tap.
Everything froze.
Even the beast.
Even the seal.
Silence.
Tian Wuchen's voice turned cold.
"Enough."
The dragon snake halted instantly.
Then withdrew.
Lin Shuan staggered.
Heart pounding.
"…Master…!"
"What was that?!"
Tian Wuchen actually looked pleased.
"Your final test."
Lin Shuan nearly exploded.
"That thing tried to eat me!"
"Yes."
The dragon snake attacked daily after that.
And unlike the dragon statues—
this creature was alive.
Cunning.
Cruel.
Ancient.
It ambushed.
Bit.
Coiled.
Poisoned.
Toyed with him.
Sometimes defeated him in moments.
Sometimes hunted him for days.
This was no training dummy.
This was survival.
And far harder than everything before.
Yet—
Lin Shuan adapted.
Again.
Lightning.
Frost.
Fist.
Core energy.
Everything evolved.
He fought the beast across floating planets.
Frozen storms.
Void rivers.
Sometimes losing horribly.
Sometimes drawing blood.
Once—
he punched it so hard the beast hissed in outrage for hours.
Tian Wuchen laughed.
Rare.
Genuine.
"You angered it."
"…Good."
Then—
final battle.
The dragon snake descended.
Its immortal aura crushing worlds.
Lin Shuan stood alone.
Energy Core Rank blazing.
They clashed.
For three days.
Neither yielding.
At the end—
Lin Shuan used everything.
Golden Emperor Fist.
Frost.
Dragon force.
Lightning.
And his new Energy Core.
One overwhelming strike.
BOOOOOOM.
The beast was blasted back.
Silence.
It stared at him.
Then—
lowered its head.
Submission.
Lin Shuan blinked.
"…I passed?"
Tian Wuchen smiled.
"Yes."
The dragon snake glowed.
Shrank.
And shrank.
And shrank.
Lin Shuan stared in disbelief.
The monstrous immortal beast—
became…
a tiny dragon-serpent no larger than an arm.
Golden.
Adorable.
Curled up.
Blinking.
Then—
slithered onto Lin Shuan's shoulder.
Lin Shuan stood frozen.
"…What."
Tian Wuchen laughed.
"This…"
"…is your reward."
Then finally—
he revealed the secret.
"This creature existed when chaos ruled."
"It should have died with that age."
"But survived."
"I found it."
"Raised it."
"Waited."
Lin Shuan looked at the tiny beast.
It stared back proudly.
Then bit his sleeve.
Possessively.
Tian Wuchen said,
"It chooses no one."
"It chose you."
Lin Shuan smiled slowly.
Reached out.
The tiny creature wrapped around his arm.
Warm.
Alive.
Friend.
Not trial.
Companion.
He whispered—
"Lin Xu Longshe."
Tian Wuchen lifted brow.
"A grand name."
Lin Shuan grinned.
"I'll call him Longshe."
The little beast hissed approvingly.
As if agreeing.
For the first time—
Lin Shuan was not alone.
Disciple.
Cultivator.
Warrior.
And now—
partner.
He stroked Longshe's head.
"…We'll grow stronger together."
Longshe curled against him.
Sleeping.
As though it had always belonged there.
But Tian Wuchen's eyes looked far away.
Seeing future storms.
He said quietly—
"Lin Shuan."
"You have passed every trial I set."
Frost.
Dragons.
Lightning.
Fist.
Beast.
Companion.
Energy Core.
All complete.
Lin Shuan smiled.
"So training is finally over?"
Tian Wuchen looked at him.
Then smiled dangerously.
Lin Shuan immediately regretted asking.
"…No."
Of course.
Tian Wuchen pointed toward distant cosmic darkness.
There—
a gate began forming.
Ancient.
Boundless.
Covered in godly runes.
Lin Shuan stared.
"What is that…"
Tian Wuchen answered—
"The road beyond the empire."
"…Your true path begins there."
And beside Lin Shuan—
Longshe opened ancient golden eyes.
As if recognizing destiny.
The Frost Divine Heart beat.
The Energy Core spun.
And in silent cosmic darkness—
a legend took another step toward becoming something far greater than even gods expected.