Night hung like a heavy veil over the quiet town of East Dawn. Every rooftop, every streetlamp, every shadow seemed to merge into a single, dark stillness. But inside a small room on the second floor of an old apartment building, stillness was the last thing Lin Tian felt.
His heart continued to pound even minutes after waking.
His chest burned with a strange heat, not painful—but powerful.
Almost alive.
Lin Tian sat up, pressing his palm against his sternum.
Thump… thump… thump…
It beat too strongly, like a giant drum resonating inside him.
“What’s happening to me…?” he whispered into the darkness.
Sweat trickled down his forehead.
The dream replayed in his mind with terrifying clarity—the burning valley, the crimson flames, and that colossal dragon whose voice felt ancient enough to shake mountains.
“Awaken…”
“Dragon Vessel…”
The voice echoed again in his mind, deep and heavy.
He tried to convince himself it was just a nightmare.
But no nightmare felt so real that it left heat spreading under the skin.
To calm himself, Lin Tian opened the window. Cold air rushed in, brushing past his face, but the heat inside him didn’t fade—it roared stronger, like a hidden fire reacting to the night.
And then it happened.
A sudden sharp pain shot through his spine.
He gasped, grabbing the windowsill to keep himself from falling.
“Ugh—what the…?!”
His veins glowed faintly under his skin—thin red lines like molten metal running through his arms and neck.
Lin Tian stared in horror as the lines pulsed.
A burning sensation spread across his back and his vision blurred for a moment. When he blinked, something moved beneath his skin like coiled energy forcing its way outward.
Just for a split second—
glimmering scales appeared on his collarbone.
Not big.
Not monstrous.
But unmistakably dragon scales, glowing crimson before fading away.
He stumbled backward and fell onto the floor.
“No… no… this can’t be real…”
But his hands were trembling, and the heat still surged.
It was real.
Every part of his body screamed it was real.
Breathing heavily, Lin Tian squeezed his eyes shut, trying to steady himself.
Why me? Why now? What is this?
He had never been special.
Never strong.
Never important.
Just a normal student often ignored or bullied.
So why would an ancient dragon call him?
His heartbeat gradually calmed, though the lingering heat refused to disappear entirely. It felt as if something inside him had cracked open—an ancient seal breaking ever so slowly.
After a long while, exhaustion washed over him, turning his thoughts fuzzy.
He finally collapsed onto the bed, gripping the blanket tightly.
Little did he know—
his awakening had already been sensed far beyond his room.
---
Far away, in a mist-shrouded mountain range on the outskirts of the city, an old shrine stood untouched by time. At the very top of the shrine, a young woman dressed in white meditated under the moonlight, her long black hair flowing like river silk.
Her name was Li Yuan.
Her eyes snapped open as she felt a faint surge of power ripple through the air, as if carried by the wind.
That energy—
that pulse—
was unmistakable.
“Dragon Vein aura…” she whispered.
She stood up quickly, her expression tense.
“This can’t be… The Dragon Vein should have been sealed ages ago. How could it appear now… in this city?”
The moon reflected in her sharp, calm eyes.
She focused her senses, letting the residual energy trail guide her.
The source pointed straight toward the crowded urban district—
toward East Dawn High School.
“So… the Vessel has awakened.”
Her cloak fluttered as she stepped into the shadows.
The Immortal Palace had given her a mission:
Find the Dragon Vein Vessel. Protect it if necessary.
Eliminate it if it threatens the mortal world.
Li Yuan breathed out lightly.
“Let’s hope the Vessel is someone who can still be saved.”
---
Meanwhile, back in his room, Lin Tian tossed and turned in uneasy half-sleep. Every time he closed his eyes, the dragon’s voice echoed again.
“You cannot run from fate…”
“You are chosen…”
Lin Tian shook his head violently.
“Chosen for what? I don’t want this… I just want a normal life…”
But destiny does not ask for permission.
Lights flickered outside his window, and a gust of wind slammed against the glass as if reacting to his turmoil.
The heat in his chest suddenly pulsed once more—
this time accompanied by a faint, resonating hum, almost like a growl whispering beneath his ribs.
He clutched his chest.
“Please… stop…”
But the heat didn’t listen.
All he could do was curl up under the blanket, trembling as the energy swirled inside him like a dragon turning in its sleep.
Eventually, despite the fear and confusion, fatigue overpowered him.
His eyelids grew heavy.
Just before sleep took him, a quiet thought slipped into his mind:
If this is real… if a dragon truly chose me…
Then my life will never be the same again.
Outside, the moon hung overhead—
calm, silent, and unaware that the ancient Dragon Vein had just awakened in the body of an ordinary boy.
---
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