Chapter 16: Flames of Rebirth

The night was hauntingly quiet as Li Yan stood in the ruins of his last battle, the ashes of his last fight still smoldering gently around him. The Celestial Flame inside him burned gently, as if in recognition of his latest win. His body hurt, his muscles tense from the exertion of battle, but his mind was keener than ever. He had moved another step ahead—not only in cultivation but in the dynamics of power.

But as he looked up at the darkening skies, he knew his journey was only going to become more dangerous.

He took a deep breath and turned away from the ravaged clearing and began to walk through the dense forest. The giant trees loomed over him, their twisted trunks scarred from past conflicts. The wind rustled through the leaves, and on it came the scent of burned wood and something more—something ancient.

Then, suddenly, a wave of energy rippled through the air.

Li Yan stopped. His senses were yelling warning, yet there was a familiarity to the energy. Wild but warm, out of control but alluring. He followed the sensation, his steps careful but optimistic, until he reached a place that took his breath away.

Before him stood a temple in ruins, its stone pillars cracked and overgrown with moss. Strange, glowing runes throbbed along the broken walls, their symbols shifting as though alive. At the center of the ruin stood a massive brazier, filled with wild golden and crimson fire that burned in odd, unnatural patterns, its flames casting ominous, writhing shadows across the temple floor.

Li Yan's heart raced.

He had already seen this fire previously.

Not in this lifetime, but in dreams—echoes of a distant past buried deep inside him, visions of a long-forgotten thing.

The moment he stepped ahead, a voice called out—deep, powerful, and old.

"Who dares to awaken the Sacred Flame?"

The air trembled as the flames in the brazier surged, assuming the shape of a colossal guardian. A warrior's form it was, its face hidden in living fire, its eyes molten gold that seared Li Yan's very soul. Its voice boomed like thunder, its authority echoing across the centuries.

Li Yan clenched his fists but did not back down. "I am Li Yan, disciple of the Celestial Flame Sect."

The guardian's fiery eyes faltered. "Celestial Flame?" It let out a low, rumbling chuckle. "That sect was corrupted long ago. You do not deserve the flame."

Li Yan's breath caught in his throat, but his determination was unshaken. "Then let me prove myself."

The guardian thought about it for a moment, then nodded. "Very well. If you can succeed at the Trial of Rebirth, you may take the flame. But be warned—many have tried. All have failed."

Without hesitation, Li Yan stepped forward.

And the fire consumed him immediately.

The Trial Begins

Pain.

Unlike anything he'd ever known.

The golden flames did not only scorch his flesh—they burned his soul. His veins caught fire as if they were filled with liquid fire, his bones shattered from the sheer force, and his skin seemed to melt layer by layer.

But the physical pain was nothing compared to what came afterward.

Memories flooded him—each one piercing like a dagger to his heart.

He envisioned himself as a child, struggling to master even the simplest of cultivations as all the others passed him by. He saw the looks of disappointment in his father's eyes, the whispers of "useless" and "waste" from his fellow disciples.

He recognized the betrayal, the moment that he was discarded, left on his own at the peripheries of the sect.

"You are weak."

"You will never exceed your limitations."

"The darkness will consume you."

The voices murmured, louder, smothering him. The flames did not just burn—they stripped him naked, forcing him to relive every failure, every doubt, every fear.

For a second, he wished to give up. To allow the fire to consume him, to embrace the fact that maybe he was never destined for greatness.

But then—

A voice.

Not the whispers of doubt. Not the mocking laughter of his past.

Yet his own voice.

"True power doesn't destroy. It preserves. It's what you choose to preserve that matters."

His eyes popped open.

The ache was not erased but was instead greeted. He accepted it. He did not wrestle the flames. He absorbed them.

A surge of power blazed within him, his body absorbing the fire rather than fighting against it. The golden flames mingled with his Celestial Flame, their energies merging, re-shaping him from the inside out.

He was no longer the same Li Yan.

When the flames finally died down, Li Yan stood remade. His robes were lost, burned to ashes, but his body pulsed with a new energy. His veins shone softly with golden light, and on his right palm, a mark had formed—a sigil in the shape of a burning lotus, its petals cycling between flame and light.

The guardian knelt down before him. "You have passed," it rumbled. Li Yan slowly exhaled. He was more powerful, not just in capability, but in will. His flames were no longer just an external force—they were a part of him now, infused with the primal Flame of Rebirth. However, before he could bask in his victory, the guardian's voice turned grave. "You are not the only one who desires the flame. Your greatest enemies are already in motion." Li Yan's expression hardened. The fight was far from finished.