The Immortal Heir; The Absolute Cheat

Chapter 10

The blinding pillar of golden light that shot from Kai’s chest tore through the ancient canopy of the Whispering Wilds, slicing the midnight sky wide open. The dense, suffocating columns of liquid gold illuminated the forest for miles, casting long, violent shadows across the terrain.

Deep within his anatomy, an absolute structural revolution was taking place. The Divine Dragon God Bloodline had hit its 10% threshold, triggering the first major evolution phase. Kai’s bones were fracturing, snapping, and reforming into a dense, crystalline structure that was entirely far beyond human limitations. His human blood was being systematically boiled away, replaced by a heavy, pulsing liquid gold that hummed with a primordial, draconic resonance.

[Ding! First Major Evolution Phase completed.]

[Your physical body has transcended the Mortal flesh limit.]

[Permanently unlocked: Draconic Sight (Allows host to perceive spiritual energy flows and hidden micro-flaws in real-time).]

[Your passive trait 'Dragon Scale Armor' has evolved into 'Sovereign Dragon Hide' (Rank 1).]

Kai exhaled a long, heavy breath. A thick plume of golden smoke drifted from his lips, instantly scorching the grass at his feet. He opened his eyes. The dull pupils of his human past were entirely gone, replaced by vibrant, icy-blue vertical slits that burned with an unholy, absolute dominance.

He didn't just see the forest anymore; he saw its literal code. He could see the residual red strands of fire-mana floating off the ashes of the dead inner disciples, the heavy brown earth-energy anchoring the massive, defeated carcass of the Iron-Spined Behemoth, and the faint, panicked blue spiritual signature of his sister hidden on the rocky ridge nearby.

"Kai!" Meiling’s voice broke the silence as she scrambled down from the rocky outcrop, her tattered red bridal gown dragging through the dirt. She stopped ten paces away, her hands trembling as she looked at him. The terrifying pressure rolling off his skin was so immense that she could barely force herself to take another step. "Your eyes... your presence... what happened to you?"

"I changed," Kai said, his voice carrying a subtle, low-frequency vibration that made the surrounding trees rustle. He consciously willed his aura to retract, pulling the heavy pressure back into his core until he looked like an ordinary, albeit exceptionally sharp, eighteen-year-old youth. "The Iron-Blood Sect wanted to bury me in the dark. Instead, they forced me to wake up."

He walked over to the colossus of the Iron-Spined Behemoth, his boots leaving perfectly dry, scorched imprints in the damp earth. The massive beast was a Tier 6 boss, and its extraction had pushed Kai’s stats into a realm that defied all logical cultivation progression.

He called up his status panel with a single thought.

[STATUS PANEL: THE GLITCH GOD]

Host: Kai

Realm: Mortal Cultivator (Tier 5 - Perfected Core)

Bloodline: Divine Dragon God Bloodline (10% - Evolved)

Spiritual Roots: Tier 1 Heavenly Devourer Roots

Elemental Aptitudes: Lightning (Low), Fire (Low), Earth (Medium)

Current Traits: Shadow Veil (Rank 2), Venom Resistance (Tier 1), Sovereign Dragon Hide (Rank 1), Blood-Frenzy (Tier 1), Earthen Aegis (Tier 1), Draconic Sight (Active)

A cold smile cut through the dirt on Kai’s face. At Tier 5 with a perfected draconic core, his actual combat efficiency was already high enough to slaughter standard Tier 7 or Tier 8 experts. But he knew that wouldn't be enough. The pillar of light he had just unleashed was essentially a giant beacon for every high-tier entity within a hundred leagues.

[Ding! Warning: The celestial anomaly caused by your bloodline evolution has alerted multiple high-level entities.]

[Detecting rapid movement from the North: Iron-Blood Sect Grand Elder pursuit force. Estimated time of arrival: 12 minutes.]

[Detecting a separate, unknown high-tier energy signature approaching from the East. Danger Level: Extreme.]

"Twelve minutes," Kai muttered, his vertical slits narrowing.

"Kai, we have to move," Meiling said, her survival instincts screaming as she looked toward the northern sky, where the distant clouds were already turning a volatile, angry red—the signature fire-mana of the Iron-Blood Sect's highest authorities. "The Grand Elders... if they find us like this..."

"Let them come," Kai said, his voice deathly calm. He reached down and gripped the hilt of a fine, steel-tempered saber left behind by one of the dead inner disciples. "But we won't fight them on their terms. We need to navigate deeper into the Whispering Wilds. The system mentioned a region called the Forbidden Valley of the Smiths. If we can reach it, we can use the terrain to bottle them up."

Before they could turn to leave, a sudden, unnatural wind swept through the clearing, instantly extinguishing the remaining embers of Kai's breakthrough fire. The ambient mana in the air froze, turning so cold that Meiling’s breath crystallized into white mist.

From the eastern treeline, the shadows didn't just stretch—they parted.

A figure stepped out into the open space, walking with a grace that didn't belong to the mortal realm. She wore elegant, flowing robes of deep emerald and silver, her long, silver-white hair catching the faint moonlight. Her ears were delicately pointed, and her eyes were two pools of infinite, ancient starlight.

High Priestess Ilya.

She didn't radiate a loud, explosive aura like the High Elder or Deacon Fang. Instead, her presence was like the deep ocean—silent, crushing, and absolutely boundless. Her starlight eyes locked onto Kai, specifically staring at the faint golden scales still visible on the back of his hands.

"An anomaly born from a cursed core," Ilya spoke, her voice sounding like the harmony of distant silver bells, yet carrying a weight that made Kai’s Sovereign Dragon Hide instinctively tighten. "You are the one who shattered the laws of the Heavenly Dao tonight, little dragon."

Kai didn't retreat. He shifted his stance slightly, placing himself directly between the mysterious elf and Meiling, his hand tightening around the hilt of his saber as his Draconic Sight actively scanned her for a micro-flaw.

[Ding! Threat Analysis: High Priestess Ilya.]

[Cultivation Realm: Unknown / Past Mortal Limits.]

[Warning: Active scanning aborted. Target possesses conceptual concealment. Direct confrontation results in a 100% casualty rate.]

"Who are you?" Kai asked, his voice dripping with an icy, defensive edge.

Ilya looked at his defensive posture, a faint, cryptic smile touching her lips. "Someone who has been waiting ten thousand years for a glitch in the world's matrix. And it seems, little dragon, that you are exactly the absolute cheat I need."