His fingers met the shard.
The air around them dropped a full ten degrees.
The shard ignited. Not into flame, but into radiance. Its ember-like light flared brilliant gold and crimson, and then…
His body drank it in.
The shard shattered in his palm, releasing threads of fire-qi. They dove into his veins, flooding his limbs, chest, spine, and skull.
His breath caught. His muscles seized. It was like being struck by lightning and submerged in boiling water all at once.
But despite what Feng Jiai might've thought, Quinlan touching the shard wasn't an accident at all. He did it on purpose. He knew why he was here: to learn these elemental combat arts.
'Might as well get started then,' he thought, trusting his primordial body to do the assimilation for him.
Quinlan's breath came ragged, trembling between clenched teeth. The fire-qi was tearing through him.
