chapter 8: The Meeting of Flames and Destiny
Xiao Tian's casual grin didn't falter even once as he walked toward the grand throne where Flame Empress Huo Lian sat.
Each step he took echoed across the silent arena.
Thousands of disciples, elders, and sovereign guards watched breathlessly, as if witnessing the very heavens rearranging themselves.
The ground leading to the Empress's throne was made of ancient scarlet jade, veins of molten fire flowing under it like the blood of the earth itself.
As he approached, the flames around the Empress seemed to part — not in anger, not in hostility — but as if welcoming an equal.
Flame Empress Huo Lian stood there, her divine figure bathed in golden fire.
Her appearance was utterly mesmerizing:
Hair: A waterfall of brilliant crimson strands flowed down to her waist, each strand flickering with a life of its own like living flame.
Eyes: Her sharp, phoenix-shaped eyes were a mesmerizing blend of gold and scarlet, glowing with the authority of one who commands fire itself.
Dress: She wore an imperial robe embroidered with fire lotuses, crimson dragons, and golden phoenixes, each stitch seemingly alive.
Aura: Her presence was overwhelming yet graceful — like a flame that could either warm your soul or reduce it to ashes.
Beauty: She was hailed as the 5th Most Beautiful Woman in the Cultivation World, and seeing her in person made that title feel like an insult — she was beyond mere words.
When Xiao Tian stopped just ten steps away, he twirled his bamboo stick once and rested it lazily over his shoulder, flashing a smirk.
"Yo, Empress. You called for me?" he said, with the kind of cheeky tone that would get most men burned alive.
The crowd held its breath.
Flame Empress Huo Lian, whose temper was said to burn sects to the ground for the slightest disrespect, merely raised one slender eyebrow.
"Are you always this audacious?" she asked, her voice soft yet carrying a weight that pressed against everyone's hearts.
Xiao Tian shrugged, as if he were talking to a neighbor and not a supreme Empress.
"Only on good days. And today feels... exceptionally good."
For a brief second — so brief that many thought they imagined it — a tiny smile curved at the corner of Empress Huo Lian's lips.
It wasn't a mocking smile. It wasn't a furious smile.
It was… genuinely amused.
The Flame Empress, who hadn't smiled genuinely in decades, had smiled at a nameless rogue cultivator.
Shock rippled through the audience like an invisible earthquake.
---
The Ceremony of Recognition
A golden-robed elder stepped forward, trembling slightly under the Empress's gaze.
He held an ancient scroll tied with red silk.
He unrolled it with both hands trembling slightly and read aloud:
> "By the decree of Flame Sovereign Hall, and under the watchful gaze of the Heavenly Dao, we hereby recognize Xiao Tian as the Bearer of Destiny — the one who has conquered the Seven Infernos without falling, without flinching."
The scroll shined brightly, imprinting Xiao Tian's name across the heavens for a brief moment.
The cultivators gasped.
Even among the ancient records, no one had ever crossed the Seven Infernos with such casualness — it was considered a near-impossible feat.
---
The Reward
Flame Empress Huo Lian raised her hand.
A crimson flame, purer than anything anyone had ever seen, floated above her palm.
> "This," she said, "is the True Origin Flame — the first fire born at the dawn of the world."
Gasps echoed everywhere.
The True Origin Flame was a myth — the ultimate treasure for any fire cultivator.
It was said to purify all flaws, strengthen one's spirit, and create an indestructible foundation.
To even touch it was to be blessed.
To absorb it… meant stepping into a whole new realm.
---
Her Offer
"Xiao Tian," she said, her voice resounding like a sacred bell,
"You have three choices:"
1. Take the True Origin Flame and leave — becoming a rogue cultivator blessed by heaven itself.
2. Swear loyalty to the Flame Sovereign Hall — and be raised as a future Sect Lord.
3. Challenge me directly — and if you win... claim anything your heart desires.
The crowd erupted into whispers.
Challenge the Flame Empress herself?
That was insanity!
Even top-tier sect masters wouldn't dare.
But when they looked at Xiao Tian…
They saw a lazy smirk widening.
A mischievous glint flickering in his eyes.
---
Xiao Tian's Choice
He tapped his bamboo stick twice against the ground, thinking aloud:
"Hmm... Option one is boring. Option two is restricting. Option three sounds..." he grinned wider, "fun."
He looked straight into the Empress's golden eyes and said:
> "I challenge you, Empress."
"A Challenge that Shakes the Skies"
The moment Xiao Tian's words echoed —
"I challenge you, Empress." —
the entire grand hall plunged into absolute silence.
It was as if the heavens themselves paused to listen.
Even the floating islands above the sect trembled slightly, sensing the madness that was about to unfold.
The elders of Flame Sovereign Hall, ancient figures who had cultivated for centuries, widened their eyes in disbelief.
Many of them instinctively circulated their qi defensively — the mere clash of two powers at this level could annihilate the weak in an instant.
Yet amidst the storm of emotions, Xiao Tian stood relaxed, almost lazily twirling his bamboo stick between his fingers, as if challenging a supreme Empress was as casual as ordering tea.
Flame Empress Huo Lian narrowed her brilliant phoenix eyes.
For the first time in decades, genuine interest flickered in her gaze — not anger, not disdain, but pure, thrilling curiosity.
> "You truly dare?" she asked softly.
Each word of hers carried the weight of an erupting volcano.
Xiao Tian grinned, his eyes shining with mischief and unshakable confidence.
> "Life's short," he said casually, "Might as well dance with fire while I still can."
A faint chuckle — melodious and dangerous — escaped the Empress's lips.
It was the kind of sound that could make mountains crumble and rivers boil.
> "Very well," she said, rising from her throne.
As she stood, the entire hall seemed to tilt toward her, as if gravity itself bowed before her majesty.
---
The Duel Commences
Without a grand announcement, without a mediator, the duel began.
In the cultivation world, when two beings of supreme will faced each other, the heavens themselves acted as witnesses.
A giant circle of golden flame manifested around them —
an Arena of Heaven's Flame, born naturally from the Empress's aura.
No disciple, no elder, dared to breathe too loudly lest they disturb the sacred clash.
Flame Empress Huo Lian moved first.
With a single flick of her sleeve, countless lotus-shaped fireballs bloomed around her — each petal sharp enough to slice mountains, each center burning with heavenly fire that could incinerate souls.
They rotated around her gracefully, like a thousand suns orbiting their queen.
Facing this apocalyptic sight, Xiao Tian merely tilted his head lazily and grinned wider.
> "Nice flowers," he said. "Let me show you mine."
Without any extravagant gestures, without even summoning grand techniques, Xiao Tian lightly tapped his bamboo stick against the ground.
BOOM!
The earth cracked.
A wave of pure, ancient energy exploded outward.
From the shattered ground rose ethereal shadows — phoenixes, dragons, tigers — creatures of pure will and qi, responding to his call.
They roared silently behind him, forming a chaotic but majestic army.
The crowd gasped.
This wasn't normal fire qi.
This was something far older. Far purer.
Something… primordial.
---
First Exchange
The Empress extended her fingers.
One lotus broke free, flying toward Xiao Tian like a meteor tearing through space.
Xiao Tian didn't dodge.
Instead, he flicked his bamboo stick once — a casual, almost lazy gesture.
CLANG!
The flaming lotus shattered like fragile glass.
The shockwave from the clash flattened several distant mountains outside the sect.
Even the Grand Elders had to raise defensive barriers to protect the spectators.
The Empress's eyes sharpened slightly.
> "Interesting," she murmured.
---
The Flames Stir
Now serious, Empress Huo Lian raised both hands.
The sky darkened.
The sun vanished behind storm clouds of scarlet and gold.
A single gigantic flame lotus — bigger than a mountain — descended slowly.
It wasn't just a technique.
It was an entire world of fire, pressing down.
The elders watching trembled.
> "The... [Ancestral Flame Lotus]...! She's using the forbidden technique passed down from the Ancient Flame Gods!"
If Xiao Tian had even a sliver of fear, he didn't show it.
Instead, he smiled.
He lifted one hand lazily toward the sky.
A simple motion.
A single, relaxed motion.
And yet — the ground beneath him cracked open, revealing ancient runes glowing beneath the sect, hidden for millions of years.
From the center of Xiao Tian's palm, a single streak of light shot upward —
brighter than the sun, purer than heaven's fire.
A voice — not Xiao Tian's, but something ancient and wild — roared across the heavens:
> "The Heavens bow before True Freedom!"
The Ancestral Flame Lotus collided with the light.
The sky split open.
The stars in the day sky were momentarily visible.
---
Conclusion of the Duel
When the light and flame faded, the two figures stood alone amidst a ruined arena.
Everything else — the ground, the jade path, even the golden pillars — had been vaporized.
Only Xiao Tian and Flame Empress Huo Lian remained, untouched.
The Empress smiled — a smile full of admiration and a strange… softness.
> "You win, Xiao Tian." she said.
A collective gasp ran through the watching disciples.
The Empress… had admitted defeat?
---
Her Decision
Flame Empress Huo Lian extended her hand.
From her finger, a small flame detached —
more brilliant than anything seen before.
It floated toward Xiao Tian, surrounding him, merging with him.
At that moment, Xiao Tian officially became the Master of the True Origin Flame.
But more than that —
a bond, invisible yet unbreakable, tied him faintly to the Empress.
A bond that destiny itself had woven.
Not of master and servant.
Not of sect and disciple.
But something far deeper.