---
Dawn spilled across Cloud-Ridge Mountain like molten amber.
Mist drifted between terraces, veiling the temples in gauze. From every courtyard rose the rhythm of breath, the whisper of qi moving through hundreds of bodies. The sect felt alive, pulsing to a single heartbeat.
Ria knelt beside the mirror-lake below the training halls. Her reflection shimmered—hair silver in the new light, eyes bright with inner fire. The small sun of her Core pulsed behind her navel, steady and patient. Each breath drew in mountain qi; each exhale returned it brighter.
> Core Progress — 11 % → 12 %
Qi Stability: High.
She opened her eyes. "It's louder now," she murmured.
Ren sprawled nearby, half-awake, a training staff under his head for a pillow. "Louder? All I hear is you breathing like a waterfall."
She smiled. "Not my breath. The mountain's."
He sat up, squinting toward the peaks. "Right. Because mountains totally hum back when you meditate."
"They do if you listen long enough."
Ren chuckled, but the sound faded as he noticed the faint halo forming around her body—silver and gold twisting together like twin flames. "Ria… you're glowing again."
---
The bells of the sect rang, low and clear. Disciples gathered on the upper terrace. Instructor Kao waited for them, robe hem snapping in the wind. "Today," she announced, "you begin Dual-Flow Circulation—the step that separates novices from cultivators. Yin and Yang. Two rivers. Let them cross, but never collide."
She struck the ground with her staff. Lines of blue fire spread outward, forming circular sigils beneath every disciple.
"Sit. Draw the mountain's breath through one palm, the sky's through the other. If you are unbalanced, you will know immediately."
The students obeyed.
Ria closed her eyes. Cool air slid into her lungs; warmth followed. Inside her, the Core brightened, spinning faster. When she reached for the mountain's qi, she felt its weight—slow, grounded. From the heavens came light qi—sharp, bright, restless. The two currents entered her body in unison.
For a heartbeat they fought.
Then, without warning, they synchronized. A ringing tone filled her skull. Her Core split—not in fracture but in birth—two orbits circling one another: a golden sun and a silver moon. They spun faster, feeding each other.
> Dual Core Resonance Detected.
Core Progress — 12 % → 14 %.
Qi Compression: Double Rate Active.
A gasp escaped her lips. Light rippled across the terrace. Nearby disciples blinked in astonishment as her aura expanded outward like dawn chasing shadow.
Instructor Kao's eyes narrowed. "Maintain control, Ria! Let one flow lead and the other follow."
Ria forced her breath to slow. The twin lights steadied, orbiting in perfect rhythm. The sensation was dizzying—every heartbeat carried twice the power it had moments before.
Across the field, Ren watched open-mouthed. "Is she supposed to do that?"
Kao's answer was a mutter. "No one is."
---
When practice ended, the terrace still hummed with residual light. Ria sat trembling, sweat slick on her palms. The two cores glowed within her like twin suns behind fog. She could feel them feeding each other—one mortal, one divine, cycling endlessly.
Ren jogged over, hair tousled. "Congratulations! You've officially broken physics."
"Just breathing," she said weakly.
"Yeah? The air disagrees."
Instructor Kao approached, staff tapping stone. "You advanced twice in one session. That should take a year. What are you, child?"
Ria met her gaze. "Someone trying to learn."
Kao studied her for a long moment, then nodded. "Then learn faster than you burn. Dual Flow can consume those who rush."
---
By midday, rumors raced through Cloud-Ridge. "A disciple formed twin cores!" whispered some. "Two suns in one dantian!" said others. The elders convened in the crystal hall. Ria was summoned.
Elder Hanzo regarded her over the edge of his scrying mirror. Twin points of light spun slowly in the reflection of her chest. "Your resonance is unique," he said. "But such speed carries danger. Yin and Yang must remain in balance. Should one outpace the other, your body will tear apart from within."
"I can hold it," Ria said quietly.
"Perhaps. Yet you are weaving a new path. Remember: the universe itself balances on dualities—day and night, birth and decay, order and chaos. To move twice as fast is to step twice as close to the edge."
She bowed. "Then I'll learn to dance on it."
Hanzo's smile was brief but genuine. "Then may the mountain catch you if you fall."
---
That night the Boundless System awakened fully, lines of light cascading through her mind like rainfall.
> System Update — "Twin Flame Protocol."
Core Progress — 14 % → 16 %.
Growth Rate: ×2 Confirmed.
Potential Arc Projection: 1 000 Realms / Infinite Expansion.
The words blurred as energy surged through her veins. She closed her eyes and found herself again inside the Web of Worlds. Only now its lights had doubled—every filament mirrored, forming two overlapping universes. When she moved, the reflections followed.
From those reflections, she saw glimpses of futures yet unborn:
A city adrift above storm-clouds where she would forge a third core of lightning.
A forest realm whose spirits would teach her to divide her soul and travel as wind.
A world of endless night where her flame would ignite the sky for a thousand years.
A final horizon—beyond counting—where two suns would merge and sing the Dao's last note.
Each vision burned into her heart before fading. The Web whispered:
"The Weaver of Worlds must learn to balance her own light."
---
She woke gasping. Moonlight poured through the window. Ren dozed nearby, a scroll balanced on his face. Quiet laughter bubbled from her lips. Even in dreams he couldn't stay serious.
Her Core still glowed—steady, strong, alive. She touched her abdomen and felt both suns respond: warmth and coolness in equal measure.
Ren stirred. "You're shining again. Should I fetch a bucket of water or just admire the view?"
She threw a pillow at him. "Neither. Sit. You'll help me."
He blinked. "Help you not explode?"
"Exactly. Your Mirror Core balances mine. When we circulate together, the resonance stabilizes."
He groaned but sat cross-legged opposite her. "Fine. But if I start glowing too, we're both explaining this to Kao."
They joined hands. Qi flowed between them—gold from him, silver from her—spiraling into a single stream that wrapped them both in soft radiance. The twin suns within her steadied. The mountain itself seemed to sigh in relief.
> Dual Synchronization Complete.
Core Progress — 18 %.
System Note: Balance Achieved.
---
When the light faded, they sat breathing quietly, dawn just touching the windows. Ren opened one eye. "So… did we just invent couple cultivation?"
She blushed. "It's resonance training."
"Sure," he said, grinning. "Resonance."
Despite herself, she laughed. The sound carried out over the terrace, mixing with the first cries of morning birds.
Outside, Elder Hanzo watched from the corridor. "Two suns," he murmured. "If they keep harmony, they may light the thousand worlds."
He turned away before they noticed, the faintest smile ghosting his lips.
---
Ria looked east as sunlight spilled through the mountains. The world glittered beneath the rising day. Inside her, the twin suns revolved in silent song, their rhythm promising unending paths ahead.
She whispered to the horizon, "If every step doubles, then every realm will hear our fire."
The Boundless System pulsed softly:
> Quest Update — The Path of a Thousand Flames.
Progress: Chapter 26 of 1 000 +.
Current Core Progress — 18 % (Accelerated Rate Active).
She smiled. The mountain wind lifted her hair; the first light of the day kissed her face. Somewhere far beyond the sky, countless worlds trembled in answer, waiting for the twin suns to rise.
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