Two days passed since Lin Sheng had entered the Azure Lotus Sect. He now trained in the Starflame Chamber, a hidden cultivation zone submerged in layers of celestial fire and suffused with millennia-old spiritual arrays. The air shimmered with oppressive heat and ambient spiritual pressure. It was a place where ordinary cultivators burned before taking a single breath.
Lin Sheng sat cross-legged, his breathing calm, as flames licked at his robes. He was immersed in meditation, absorbing the fire essence into his dantian with frightening efficiency.
The system's voice echoed in his mind, mechanical yet reverent:
"Sign-in activated. Reward: Nine-Star Meridian Expansion Pill."
He swallowed the pill without hesitation. A searing pain followed, as though his internal channels were being torn open and rebuilt. He gritted his teeth but did not falter. His meridians expanded in width and depth, glowing like molten rivers under his skin. His spiritual energy surged, flooding every inch of his body.
The chamber's walls responded. Ancient glyphs on the walls pulsed with renewed life, reacting to his evolving bloodline. The room trembled as a hidden mechanism activated. An altar emerged from the center, bathed in blue and violet light. On the altar rested a sealed stone tablet, etched with archaic star runes.
A ghostly voice reverberated within Lin Sheng's soul. It was warm, regal, and undeniably familiar—his ancestor.
"If you've reached this point, my descendant, then our blood remembers. The Eternal Star Bloodline is not merely noble—it is divine. Embrace it, and awaken your celestial form."
Lin Sheng stepped forward and pressed his palm against the tablet. A torrent of star energy erupted, lifting him off the ground. His bones glowed with pure light. His hair flowed as if underwater, and his body floated above the altar.
Behind him, twelve radiant wings of astral essence unfolded, illuminating the chamber in silvery brilliance. His pupils turned silver, and an aura of absolute sovereignty surrounded him. His physical form had transformed. He had become something more than human—something closer to a deity.
The system's voice chimed once more:
"Bloodline Awakening Complete: Astral Monarch Form Unlocked. Temporary stat boost x10. New abilities unlocked: Cosmic Dominion, Gravity Step, and Astral Regeneration."
As the light faded, Lin Sheng descended, landing softly. His wings slowly dissolved back into his body, but the energy within him had changed irreversibly.
He looked at his hands, flexing them. "This... this is only the beginning."
Unseen, high above the sect, several celestial watchers observed the awakening. A robed figure among them whispered, "He has the Astral Monarch bloodline... as foretold. The balance is shifting."