Fallen Star World, the dungeon of the Su Clan in Canglan City.
The smell of rust mixed with moldy damp wind drifted into his nostrils. Seventeen-year-old Su Ye leaned against the cold stone wall, iron chains embedded in his wrists, and blood beads dripped from his fingers to the ground—he was the "sinner" of the Su Clan. His father, the former clan leader, had been framed for collaborating with the enemy and betraying the country, and he himself had been imprisoned for three years for "possessing an evil artifact."
"Clang!" The dungeon door was kicked open. Su Ming, the young master of the Su Clan, walked in with a whip, followed by a group of servants: "Su Ye, father asked me to 'take care' of you—today is the clan sacrifice ceremony, and a bastard like you deserves to rot in this mud." The whip lashed at Su Ye's back with a strong wind, tearing open old wounds and soaking his coarse prisoner's clothes with blood.
Su Ye stared fiercely at the "Canglan Token" around Su Ming's neck—that was the token his father had used to guard the border back then, and now it had become the "evidence" of the Su Clan's treason. Suddenly, the old scar on his chest burned, and a black flame seed embedded in his flesh emitted a faint golden-red glow—this was something his father had stuffed into his hand on his deathbed three years ago, saying, "This is the remnant seed of the Heavenly-Burning Flame; do not activate it unless you are in a life-or-death situation."
"Buzz—"
The flame seed suddenly exploded! Golden-red flames wrapped around Su Ye, and the iron chains instantly melted into molten iron. He only felt a sharp pain in his consciousness, and countless runes about "flame techniques" poured into his mind crazily. His broken meridians actually reorganized in the flames, and even gave birth to "flame meridians" that could devour spiritual energy!
"This is... the awakening of flame meridians?!"
A golden-red flame pattern appeared in Su Ye's palm—that was the "natal flame phase" that only ancient flame cultivators could awaken! From the fragments of the flame seed, an old voice sounded: "Boy, I am the remnant soul of the Heavenly-Burning Flame Lord. This flame is my inheritance..."
Su Ming stepped back in shock: "Y-You... How could you have a flame phase?!"
Su Ye raised his eyes, his gaze cold enough to burn everything: "Three years in captivity—it's time to settle the score today."