The component crystals were all there. But Lin Mu could tell something was different. His eyes narrowed as he saw that the black crystal had changed.
Its size was smaller.
Lin Mu’s breath caught slightly as he compared it to the original.
’A tenth smaller.’
It was undeniable.
The Bloodline Shackle...
Had been reduced.
For a brief moment, Lin Mu felt a surge of emotion.
Excitement mixed with relief.
"It works," he said.
The first success.
The first proof that his method was viable.
He did not stop there.
He immediately began the next iteration and this time, his control was sharper. His understanding was deeper thus the process moved faster.
Another week passed before the next result came.
Lin Mu repeated the unraveling.
The crystals formed.
One.
Two.
Three.
He froze.
There was no fourth.
The black crystal...
Was gone.
Lin Mu stared at the result, his mind momentarily blank.
Then realization struck.
He had done it.
The Bloodline Shackle... Had been completely removed!
Lin Mu stood still for several moments after confirming the final result, his gaze lingering on the three crystals that floated gently above the table. The absence of the fourth crystal carried more weight than its presence ever had. What once represented an unbreakable limit had now vanished under his method.
"Hah..."
A faint breath escaped him.
He did not celebrate loudly, nor did he allow his emotions to surge uncontrollably. But there was no denying the satisfaction that settled within him. This was not just a theoretical success. This was proof. A path had been opened where none existed before.
"They deserve to know," Lin Mu said quietly.
Without delay, he sent out a call.
The message traveled swiftly through the formations of the sanctum, reaching the elders who had been waiting for any sign of progress. Lin Mu did not need to specify who should come. The importance of his call alone ensured that the right people would respond.
He waited.
Five minutes passed.
The space within the chamber shifted subtly.
Two figures appeared from the doors.
Huoyang, the Flame Fur Ancestor.
Yinglei, the Frost Fox Ancestor.
The moment they arrived, they froze. It was not Lin Mu’s words that halted them... It was his presence.
They looked at him... and felt something impossible.
The aura surrounding Lin Mu had changed.
No, it had not changed.
It had merged!
The Nature Energy that flowed through the Heart Tree was now deeply intertwined with Lin Mu’s own being. It did not simply surround him. It moved with him, responded to him, existed in harmony with him.
To the two ancestors, it felt as if they were not looking at a human cultivator.
But at the Heart Tree itself.
Their instincts stirred.