Ten years passed.
No one in the world knew that a cultivation-less outcast still walked among the living inside the Forbidden Land.
Luan, cloaked in darkness, roamed with beasts that could erase cities. He grew not in Qi, but in mind, spirit, instinct, and flame.
He faced countless trials:
The twin-headed Drake Serpents of the Echo Marsh
The sentient Crystal Golems that guarded ancient tombs
The Verdant Eclipse Owls, who saw through souls and fed on regrets
His greatest moment came when a Dreadborn Hydra cornered him. Near death, as its venom surged toward his heart, the black flame ignited — a colossal shadow burst forth.
Not the figure from before… no, this was different. Pure wrath. It obliterated the Hydra in one pulse.
Then, silence. The shadow vanished. But from that day, Luan began sensing it more — the presence within the flame. Watching. Guarding.
Even as the figure inside his consciousness remained still, its aura began to seep out — faint… yet familiar.