The flames slowly faded.
Yan Mu collapsed onto the cold stone floor of the altar, steam rising from his body. His clothes were scorched, his skin covered in shallow burns—but his eyes were no longer the same.
They glowed faintly… like two golden embers.
For a long moment, he lay motionless, trying to process what had just happened.
His body felt foreign.
He could sense something burning inside him—not his Qi… something deeper.
> "Is this... the Flame Core?" he whispered, pressing his hand to his chest.
A small, golden lotus spun within his dantian, wrapped in thirteen swirling flame lines. Each line pulsed with unfamiliar power—ancient, wild, and overwhelming.
Then it appeared.
A faint screen—no larger than his palm—materialized before his eyes, made entirely of floating fire-light.
---
🔥 [Flame Inheritance System Activated]
Current Rank: Flame Embryo
Bloodline Detected: Dormant Xiao Yan Lineage [3.7% Awakened]
Flame Core: Incomplete Heavenly Flame (Name: Scorching Void Spark)
Next Rank: Ember Soul (Progress: 0%)
> Tasks to Evolve:
Refine 1000 strands of Wild Flame Qi
Awaken Hidden Flame Vein
Slay a Fire-Type Magical Beast (Min Rank: 5-Star)
---
Yan Mu blinked.
> A system...?
He had heard of ancient techniques and flame spirits—but a flame cultivation system speaking to him like this?
This was beyond any Dou Technique or Heavenly Flame inheritance he had ever heard of.
> "Is this... what that voice meant by 'Flame Inheritance Cycle'?"
He tried to stand, but the moment he did—flames exploded around him. Not from the altar—but from his own body.
---
🔥 [Warning: Flame Core Instability Detected]
His body ignited uncontrollably. He screamed and fell back to the ground, struggling to suppress the power trying to break out of him.
At that moment, a voice echoed from the entrance of the valley.
> "He actually awakened the altar?"
A figure approached, cloaked in black with silver flame tattoos running down his arms. His presence alone made the air ripple.
Yan Mu turned his head weakly, blood dripping from his lip.
> "Who... are you...?"
> The man smiled coldly.
"A descendant of Xiao Yan, huh? I can't let you live."
He raised his palm—fire gathering into a sharp lance of black flame.
But before it could strike—
> BOOM!
A pillar of scarlet fire erupted from Yan Mu's chest, deflecting the attack completely.
The man's eyes widened. "That… that's not normal Dou Qi!"
Yan Mu stood slowly, golden fire now dancing around his body, his eyes burning with awakened fury.
> "I don't know what's happening to me... but if you're here to kill me—"
His voice steadied.
> "Then burn with me."
---