The Thousand Flame Pill Festival was an annual event of pride for the Searing Cloud Sect—disciples across all ranks competed in pill refining, with elders watching to select future alchemic prodigies.
But this year, the flames would burn more than herbs.
They would lure prey.
They would test loyalty.
They would kill.
---
The Festival Begins
Crowds filled the Crimson Plaza. Colorful banners waved, pill furnaces blazed across the platforms, and a dozen elders took seats in the observation tower.
Elder Yan Wuheng sat in the center—smiling gently, his hands folded within snow-white sleeves. No outward malice, no sign of suspicion.
But Liu Shen saw through it all.
> He's wearing a new soul warding ring.
He's brought a silent killer into the competition—one who hides their soul like a whisper.
Rin stood beside Liu Shen, scanning the competitors. "There are thirty disciples. Five from the inner sect. The rest… unremarkable."
"Except her." Jin Mu pointed.
A tall girl with braided silver hair and a blank expression.
Her flames burned cold. Her furnace emitted no sound.
> "Name's Bai Ye. Records say she's an orphan from the northern mines. But her qi pattern doesn't match. She's masking it."
Yun Rou narrowed her eyes. "She's the one."
Liu Shen nodded once.
> "Let the game begin."
---
The Soul Puppeteer
Each disciple was given the same herbs: spirit thistle, skyroot, and two fire blossoms. The task? Refine a stable healing pill with dual flame properties.
Easy for most.
But Bai Ye didn't touch her ingredients. Instead, her hand moved in slow, deliberate gestures—forming runes, not alchemical seals.
Liu Shen's eyes sharpened.
> Soul-weaving.
> She's not an alchemist. She's a puppeteer.
Suddenly, her cauldron shattered.
Gasps erupted.
Flame smoke rushed out—dense with soul-marked ash.
Disciples collapsed in seconds.
Not dead—just unconscious. Controlled.
> "Soul Parasites!" Yun Rou hissed.
Rin summoned protective wards around Liu Shen instantly.
But Bai Ye's voice cut through the chaos, emotionless.
> "Demon Sovereign Liu Shen. My master sends his regards."
She pointed a bony finger. A swarm of shadow strands shot toward Liu Shen like serpents.
---
The Flame That Devours
Liu Shen didn't move.
Instead, he released a single breath.
The air shimmered.
> Crimson Sovereign Flame – First Form: "Ash Within Silence."
The entire plaza froze.
Time didn't stop—but flame did.
The soul strands turned to dust in mid-air.
Bai Ye's eyes widened for the first time.
She tried to run.
But the Silent Flame Widow stepped from her shadow—and drove a burning dagger through her back.
> "Puppets don't run," she whispered.
Bai Ye's body convulsed—and exploded into ash.
Only her core remained: a black lotus gem.
Liu Shen caught it between two fingers.
---
Message in the Core
As he activated the gem, a single voice whispered in his mind:
> "I see you, Liu Shen. Your soul still rots with pride."
> "You can burn the shadows—but the root still lies in the Throne of Witherlight."
Liu Shen closed his fist.
So it was true.
Holy Blade Emperor Qin Wuya had reawakened the ancient seat of corruption—the same place Liu Shen once burned down in his first life.
> "Then we'll burn it again," he whispered.
> "But this time, I'll start with your disciples."