The rain fell like spears upon the jade steps of the Skyrect Sect, but Lin Xun stood unmoved, his gaze fixed upon the towering gates that separated mortals from legends. The scent of ozone and charred wood mingled in the air, as lightning streaked overhead in blazing arcs—yet none dared challenge the figure before the gate.
Moments ago, he had declared his name—not with pride, but with the cold precision of truth.
"Lin Xun. Son of flame and frost. I need no recommendation."
The words had silenced the wind itself.
The gray-robed disciple who stood at the gate scoffed once more, but his sneer had thinned, tinged now with uncertainty. There was something in Lin Xun's eyes that unsettled even seasoned warriors—an untamed duality, fire and ice trapped in harmony, storm and silence wrapped in flesh.
"You speak like the world owes you a throne," the disciple said at last, voice less mocking now, "but the Skyrect Sect does not bend to bloodlines or bravado. This is a place of death and destiny. What do you offer, Lin Xun?"
Lin Xun's fingers brushed the surface of the ring on his hand—the Emberblood Flame Seal pulsed in response.
"I offer what the heavens fear and the earth denies," he whispered. "A seed not sown by mortals, but forged by flame, frost, and betrayal. Let me in... or try to stop me."
The disciple's mouth tightened. He turned to a jade orb embedded beside the gate and pressed his palm against it. Qi surged from the orb like ripples from a struck bell, sending a silent signal deep into the sect.
After a tense pause, the runes on the gate shimmered and spun. The air thickened. A deep rumble echoed from the mountains themselves.
Then, the gate began to open.
But it was not to welcome Lin Xun.
It was to test him.
Boom!
A wave of searing heat and chilling wind erupted from within the opening—two elemental beasts surged forth, conjured by the sect's ancient guardian array. One, a wolf of blue-white ice with fangs like frozen daggers; the other, a flaming serpent with eyes like molten gold.
"They will measure your worth," the disciple said, stepping back. "Survive, and Skyrect will consider your name."
Lin Xun didn't hesitate.
He drew in a breath, summoning the twin flames within his dantian. His body ignited—not with fire alone, but with a harmonious dance of frost and heat, swirling in perfect rhythm around his limbs.
He met the beasts head-on.
The ice wolf struck first, faster than a shadow, jaws wide to freeze his heart.
Lin Xun twisted mid-air, his right palm bursting into sapphire frost. He met the bite with a strike—Frost Vein Burst!
The wolf yelped, its mouth cracking from the inside as frost veins ruptured within.
But there was no time to gloat.
The fire serpent crashed down like a comet, its coils lashing the earth into molten craters. Lin Xun rolled to the side, then leapt with a battle cry.
He poured all the fury of betrayal and hope into a punch—Flamecore Ascension Fist!
His fist struck the serpent's head with a deafening blast, a mixture of cold flame and searing frost tearing through the beast's illusionary body.
With one final roar, the elemental beasts shattered into motes of light.
Silence.
Then, slow claps echoed through the fog.
A figure emerged from the gate. A woman—tall, elegant, dressed in flowing crimson robes that shimmered like burning silk. Her face was masked, but her eyes burned with amused curiosity.
"You are either a fool," she said, "or a storm in the making."
She flicked a token toward him. It hovered midair before descending into Lin Xun's palm.
"Welcome to Skyrect Sect, outer disciple Lin Xun."
Lin Xun bowed slightly, eyes still sharp. "Thank you, Elder."
The woman turned and vanished into the mist.
The gate, now fully open, revealed the path ahead—zigzagging through mountains, lit by floating lanterns and watched by unseen eyes.
The Skyrect Sect had accepted him—but it had not welcomed him.
---
Within the Sect
Days passed.
Lin Xun was given a cave dwelling near the edge of the outer sect, its stone walls cold and bare. No warm welcome. No mentors. Only the silence of competition.
Each day, hundreds of new disciples trained under blazing suns and brutal expectations. Lin Xun spent his mornings absorbing qi from twin-element cores, his afternoons refining techniques left to him through his mother's ring.
Each night, he sparred.
Sometimes with blades.
Sometimes with thoughts.
But always with purpose.
And then came the challenge.
---
Skyrect Trial Grounds – Three Days Later
The Trial Grounds were carved into the heart of the mountain—a colossal arena encircled by carved dragon bones and elemental crystals.
Here, outer disciples earned their place.
Or lost it.
Lin Xun stepped into the circle as murmurs rippled through the crowd. His name had already begun to circulate.
"Flame and frost?"
"Is he the one who passed the gate beasts alone?"
"Trash bloodline… or something deeper?"
His opponent, Lei Zhen, was a thunder-wielding prodigy from a minor celestial clan. Tall. Arrogant. Known for defeating ten men at once.
He sneered. "The only flame you'll taste today is shame, worm."
Lin Xun said nothing.
The gong sounded.
Lei Zhen struck first—lightning erupting from his fists, dancing across the arena in jagged arcs. The ground quaked as his Storm Tiger Palm slammed down.
Lin Xun met it—not with raw force, but with elemental control.
He dodged at the last second, letting the flame beneath his feet push him sideways, then countered with Frozen Ember Blade, a crescent slash of mixed elements from his palm.
The attack caught Lei Zhen off guard—frost gnawed at his bones while heat burned his skin.
He screamed. "What kind of technique is that?!"
Lin Xun advanced, eyes glowing.
"You wouldn't understand. It's born of pain… and purpose."
One final move—Frostfire Spiral Break—a technique combining rotation, burst qi, and dual affinity.
The clash ended with Lei Zhen flat on the ground, unconscious.
Gasps filled the air.
A name began to spread like wildfire.
Lin Xun.
Not just a disciple.
But a threat.
---
Elsewhere, Within the Inner Sect
In a high pavilion surrounded by ancient trees, two figures watched the battle unfold through a floating water mirror.
One, the same crimson-robed elder who had accepted Lin Xun.
The other—a girl.
Her face was masked, but her aura was extraordinary, the kind that bent air and silenced spirit beasts. Her robes bore the mark of the Lotus Throne Sect—a sect said to rival the Skyrect in age and mystery.
She said nothing for a while.
Then, softly, "His flame… is unstable. But it sings. And the frost hums like a lullaby."
The elder glanced at her. "You see something in him?"
"I see what the world will fear," the girl replied. "And perhaps… what it needs."
---
Far below, in
his cold stone dwelling, Lin Xun meditated once more, his flame and frost still warring, still singing.
But now… the song had an audience.
And the world had begun to listen.