The night at Skyrect Sect was unusually quiet. The stars blinked solemnly above, and a calm wind rustled the ancient willow trees lining the inner disciples' courtyard. But within Lin Xun's chamber, the silence was nothing but a sheath over turmoil.
He sat cross-legged, golden firelight pulsing from his body in quiet waves. The Hidden Flame Scripture etched itself deeper into his meridians, like petals blooming one by one. Each layer revealed a new truth—a new trial.
His cultivation had soared.
But so had the weight of what he'd awakened.
His dream was no longer survival.
It was legacy.
Power.
Dominance.
And above all—truth.
---
The next morning, as the sun bled into the sky, Lin Xun was summoned to the Pavilion of Elders.
Five ancient figures sat in a circle. Their eyes sharp. Their expressions unreadable.
Elder Qingxue spoke first. "Your performance in the Trial was… unexpected."
Another elder chimed in, "Your techniques… they do not match our recorded arts."
Lin Xun bowed respectfully. "I followed my flame."
Silence fell.
They couldn't deny his talent. Nor could they accept it blindly.
Elder Hao finally broke the tension. "You have been appointed a Core Disciple. You will now train under the direct supervision of the Flame Pavilion, and your quarters shall be moved to the Crimson Summit."
Lin Xun nodded. "I accept."
As he turned to leave, Elder Qingxue's voice reached him. "There are eyes upon you, Lin Xun. Eyes that see far beyond this mountain."
He didn't respond.
But he felt it.
The gaze.
It came from afar—beyond borders, beyond flame. Like the petals of fate turning slowly toward him.
---
The Crimson Summit was a place reserved for the elite of the Skyrect Sect.
Here, disciples studied divine arts. Fought with Dao weapons. Formed bonds with beast spirits and tempered their souls in the Forge of Stars.
Lin Xun arrived under mixed reactions.
Some welcomed him as a rising star.
Others whispered of favoritism. Of tricks and hidden bloodlines.
But few dared to confront him directly.
Until they did.
---
Three days into his training, while practicing Fourth Petal – Ashen Lotus Reversal, Lin Xun was approached by a tall youth draped in crimson robes.
His name was Fang Yunhai, and he was ranked fourth among the core disciples.
"I heard you're the Broken Flame inheritor," Yunhai said, twirling a silver spear lazily. "I also heard you made Elder Hao break a jade token."
Lin Xun remained calm. "And?"
"That means they fear you." Yunhai smiled, wide and sharklike. "I want to see why."
Without warning, he struck.
---
The courtyard exploded.
Lin Xun deflected the spear with a flick of flame, sliding back only an inch. Yunhai's movements were refined—he moved like a coiled python and struck like lightning.
But Lin Xun's flame was no longer ordinary.
He unleashed the Fifth Petal – Lotus Spiral Descent.
Flame turned to mist, then into spears of fire that circled and struck from all angles.
Their battle raged for ten minutes.
By the end, Fang Yunhai's spear was cracked, his arm trembling.
"You… are not just a prodigy," Yunhai muttered, staring at Lin Xun. "You're something else."
Lin Xun simply bowed.
And walked away.
---
Later that evening, he received a scroll sealed with a lotus sigil.
From her.
The girl from the Jade Blossom Sect.
Her name was Mei Qianxue.
Inside the scroll was a single line of poetry.
> "Flames that burn in silence consume louder than thunder."
He read it thrice.
And smiled.
---
In the shadows of the mountains, the Skyrect Sect's enemies stirred.
The Heavenly Abyss Sect, long dormant, received reports of the Broken Flame Inheritor's reawakening.
Within a black palace carved into the side of a dead volcano, a gaunt man with black eyes opened a jade slip.
He whispered, "Lin Xun…"
A blade of frost pierced his palm.
"Son of the Phoenix Tyrant. How are you still alive?"
---
Back at Skyrect Sect, Lin Xun walked to the edge of the Crimson Summit, watching the moon rise. His thoughts were no longer of small victories.
His path had shifted.
He now stood on the line between memory and prophecy.
But then a shadow arrived.
A girl in white.
Mei Qianxue.
She floated to the summit like wind-borne snow. Her eyes shimmered like starlight through mist.
"You read my words?" she asked softly.
"I did."
"What did you hear?"
"That we both carry torches not meant to be shared."
She laughed—soft, distant.
"I came to warn you," she said, suddenly serious. "The other sects are moving. Your flame is awakening things that were meant to stay buried."
He nodded. "I know."
She stepped closer. "But I'll watch. Even if they call it betrayal."
He looked into her eyes and saw it—
A loneliness that mirrored his.
---
Days passed.
Lin Xun dived into training like a starving man at a feast.
He mastered the Sixth Petal – Ember Mirror Pulse, a technique that allowed his flame to absorb and reflect attacks like a mirror of living fire.
The elder artisans reforged his sword—embedding the Moon Core within the hilt.
He named it Ash Lotus.
Meanwhile, rumors spread.
In the outer cities, bandits carrying the mark of the Heavenly Abyss Sect began targeting Skyrect disciples.
One was found dead—his core missing.
Another vanished.
War was brewing.
The elders felt it.
But Lin Xun—he embraced it.
---
One night, Elder Qingxue summoned him.
"We received a message from the Crimson Smoke Ridge. A rogue cultivator claiming to hold the legacy of the Phoenix Tyrant is slaying sect envoys."
Lin Xun froze.
"My father's name…"
"You will investigate. Alone."
A test.
Or a trap.
Lin Xun bowed.
"I accept."
As he turned to leave, Qingxue's voice called again.
"And Lin Xun…"
"Yes, Elder?"
"Your flame… will decide more than your fate."
---
The journey to Crimson Smoke Ridge took three days.
The terrain was rugged—mountains shrouded in red mist, rivers boiling with sulphur. No moonlight touched this land.
On the final night, Lin Xun stood at the edge of a black crater. Inside, flame flickered.
And a man stood there.
Tall. Bald. Eyes burning like comets.
He turned, smiling.
"You look like him."
"Who are you?" Lin Xun asked.
"I knew your father. He wasn't a tyrant. He was a king."
"Liar."
The man laughed. "Then draw your blade, boy. Let me prove it."
And Lin Xun did.
Ash Lotus flared.
The flame of the Broken Lineage roared again.
And from the shadows beyond the crater, dozens of eyes watched—
Sect spies.
Assassins.
Rival heirs.
And Mei Qianxue.
The petals had begun to fall.
And war was blooming.