Li Yan stayed behind in the aftermath of the Trial, the temple ruins still surrounded by golden embers that fluttered like fireflies around him. The air was thick with lingering energy. Every breath he drew was warmer, fuller—charged with the power of the Flame of Rebirth.
The guardian's body had disintegrated, leaving nothing but silence and the brazier, now motionless.
But within him, everything was changed.
He gazed at his palm. The incandescent burning lotus sigil pulsed gently, the radiance of which harmonized with the pulse of his own heart. He closed his fist and focused internally, calling forth the new fire within.
A cloud of gossamer flame exploded out of his fingertip, ethereal but somehow uncompresible. It radiated not just warmth, but an unsettling aura of cleansing. He felt it — this flame did not destroy. It cleansed. It could purify, elevate.
"Is this… the total potential of Celestial Flame?" he panted.
He sat cross-legged in the debris, eyes closed to better monitor the shifts inside. His sea of spirit had expanded exponentially, a massive flame now raging where there had once been a gentle flicker. His inner fire, orange and wild, had become crimson-gold, slow-rotating, absorbing and balancing the trial's energy.
And then beyond that—his foundation for cultivation had exploded.
[Cultivation Level Increased: Mid Foundation Realm → Late Foundation Realm]
[New Flame Technique Learned: Phoenix Soul Baptism – Rebirth Technique]
The moment his consciousness marked it, a flood of data poured into his mind.
Phoenix Soul Baptism. A rare technique learned by few who had managed to survive the holy fire. It allowed the practitioner to recover from fatal wounds, even when on death's door, by starting a spiritual rebirth by flame.
"Another miracle…" he breathed, barely able to hold back the wave of gratitude and awe.
But even as he let his guard down, a sharp presence suddenly flashed at the edge of his spiritual perception.
He was not alone.
He rose slowly, taking in the destruction. From the group of trees beyond the jutting pillars, a figure emerged—tall and refined, in white robes with silver frost embroidery.
Su Ling.
Her pale blue eyes locked onto his, a subtle tension in her stance. Her long hair drifted in the breeze like trailing snow.
"You survived the Trial," she said. "I had my doubts."
Li Yan gave her a half-smile. "You doubted me? I'm offended."
She approached him, air around her congealing into coolness as her Ice Qi automatically responded to meet his blaze. But her step contained no hostility—just curiosity.
"Fire—that fire—is different now," she murmured, furrowing her eyes. "You've changed."
"So have I," he countered. "I can feel your aura—it's colder, yet steadier. Stronger."
Su Ling nodded. "I arrived at the Core Formation Realm two days ago."
Li Yan's eyebrows shot up. "Already?"
She didn't respond right away. Instead, she stared at the brazier, now frozen.
"That location," she said. "It's not safe. Ancient. The Flame of Rebirth… shouldn't exist during this era."
Li Yan's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean?
Su Ling stared into his eyes, now somber. "The Flame of Rebirth was sealed centuries past, after the last Flameborn Cultivator, who burned half a continent during his Awakening. Only one sect was able to protect it." She paused. "The Ancient Flame Sect."
Silence enveloped them.
Li Yan's mind whirled. The Ancient Flame Sect—his father's stories, the broken inheritance he never truly understood. Was this truly his?
"I need answers," he said quietly. "About them. About myself."
Su Ling studied him for a moment, then stepped closer.
"Then you'll need to be stronger than ever. Because the moment that mark was burned into your hand, your fate changed."
He looked at the mark, feeling its heat again.
"What's coming?" he asked.
She turned her gaze toward the distant mountains. "I don't know. But I've seen the signs. Others have felt it too. The balance between sects is shifting. A war is coming."
And then, she looked at him, her voice softer.
"And people like you… like us… we'll be caught in the center."
Elsewhere — A Distant Mountain Peak
Dark clouds circled a black fortress hidden in the folds of a cursed mountain range.
Within, a man sat on a throne of bones, his face concealed behind a silver mask with runes of fire.
He opened his eyes. They blazed with violet fire.
"The boy has awakened," he said.
A shadow knelt before him. "Shall we move, master?
"Not yet," replied the figure behind the mask. "Let him think he is growing stronger. Let the fire consume him gradually. And when he is prepared—" the crack in the mask opened wider, showing a grotesque smile inside—
"—we shall burn his soul."