Chapter 33: Embers of Resolve
Qin Yuyan knelt beside him, her eyes scanning the perimeter in a slow, rhythmic pattern. Her fingers lightly tapped a defensive formation plate half-buried beneath the soil — an array she had constructed using the last of her personal stash of tier-2 talismans and a few leftover beast cores.
The danger hadn't passed. Not truly.
The assassins who had ambushed them were gone, but she knew how these things worked — like serpents, the truly dangerous ones always struck twice.
Her grip tightened on her jade-handled alchemy dagger.
>You took that saber like you didn't care if it killed you."
"I didn't. Not if it meant you lived."
Those words haunted her.
He'd meant them.
And that terrified her more than the assassins.
"Foolish man…" she whispered, voice trembling. "You don't even know who I am."
She glanced toward the forest edge again. Silent. Clear.
For now.
She took a deep breath and sat cross-legged on a stone, back straight, still poised to strike at the first sign of danger.
She leaned back against a tree trunk, one hand resting near Lin Chen's side, close enough to react instantly if someone — or something — breached the perimeter.
And as the minutes crawled by, her mind drifted — pulled into memories long buried under layers of silence.
She looked at her hands. Slender. Steady. Soaked in blood more times than she could count.
Twenty Years Ago…
The Imperial Palace of the Azure Phoenix Dynasty stood atop a golden cliff, overlooking rivers of cloud. A Tier 4 superpower that ruled over dozens of Tier 3 dynasties, its strength was built on the power of one bloodline — the Nine-Petaled Phoenix Vein.
And Qin Yuyan was born from that bloodline.
Not just a noble.
A princess.
The seventh daughter of Emperor Qin Wutian, a peak Nascent Soul cultivator known as the Phoenix Tyrant. From the moment she first cultivated, her physique revealed itself: the Yin-Searing Flame Body, a rare dual cultivation constitution that emitted potent yin essence capable of refining yang qi through touch alone. A perfect complement to fire-path techniques, and irresistible bait to every dual cultivator above Core Formation.
She was no flower to be plucked and traded. She was born with the a legendary dual cultivation physique rumored to be able to nurture a partner's cultivation threefold during intimacy, and produce limitless pure yin essence — a living furnace that could empower Nascent Soul experts.
From the day her physique awakened, her life had been shackled.
At age fifteen, she broke through to late Qi Condensation. At seventeen, Foundation Establishment. Genius. Heir to a monstrous physique. Alchemical talent unmatched.
So of course… they tried to control her.
"You will marry the crown prince of the Blackstone Dynasty" said her father
A tier 4 dynasty of these caliber as their dynasty rulling the neighboring region
The crown prince of the Blackstone Dynasty was a popular Womanizer, she couldn't imagine herself getting married to Him
So she ran.
One night, beneath a blood moon, she escaped with only her storage ring and a single Tier 3 talisman gifted long ago by her father — Heaven-Breaking Phoenix Seal.
She escaped under the cover of night, burning a Tier 3 spatial talisman gifted by her mother to rip open a passage across the dynasty's sealed skies. The pursuit had been brutal. But she made it out
She fled across regions, and entered the region governed by a Tier 4 sect, then eventually joined the Crimson lotus pavilion, a Tier 2 power where no one recognized her name.
There, she rebuilt herself. Pill by pill. Year by year.
Her reputation grew. Her concoctions cured rare poisons, enhanced breakthroughs, even saved a dying Core Formation elder. Eventually, she became an inner Sect Elder.
But then came Grand Elder Yao Cheng —The Grand Elder of the Crimson lotus pavilion— an old fox, eventually discovered her hidden physique. He schemed silently for years, a Core Formation cultivator in hiding. he wanted her for one thing: to become his dual furnace, so he could break through to Nascent Soul.
So he poisoned her tea.
And she, ever cautious, sensed something was wrong too late. Her cultivation was sealed. Her dantian clogged with toxin threads. Helpless.
The night he came for her, she activated her last resort — the talisman.
The resulting explosion reduced the Grand Elder's soul to ashes.
But she was too weak to run far. She collapsed.
When she awoke… she was inside the Mystic Realm, chained by the shadowind syndicate, a tier 3 assassin organisation that has been sent to capture her by her supposed fiancee, they forced her to refine pills everyday with the treat that they will hand her over to her fiancee. Her hands were blistered from concocting pills endlessly. They fed her enough to survive, forced her to refine until she passed out.
Years blurred.
Until a boy arrived.
Lin Chen.
He had stumbled upon the temple she was imprisoned in. He killed two Shadowind lackeys in one blow. He broke her chains. He carried her out even as the entire cavern collapsed behind them.
She had wanted to die.
But he made her want to live again.
---
A breeze pulled her back to the present.
Qin Yuyan opened her eyes.
No tears fell. She'd cried all of them out years ago.
She looked at Lin Chen — the boy who wielded a sword like thunder, who smiled even when bleeding out, who stood between her and death without hesitation.
He didn't know her past.
But he accepted her anyway.
"Maybe I'm the fool," she whispered, brushing hair from her face.
in the distance, a branch snapped.
Suddenly — a sharp rustle.
She was on her feet instantly, fingers already forming seals.
Three shadows moved between the trees. — too slow.
She drew a crimson talisman and flung it toward the lead beast. Fire bloomed like a lotus — the explosion sent flaming shards in all directions.
The others shrieked and fled.
She turned back, heart racing.
Lin Chen hadn't stirred. His trance continued.
But she stood taller now, eyes burning with renewed resolve.
"I won't lose you," she whispered. "Not like I lost everything else."
The wind answered her call with a gentle gust, carrying away the blood.
And in that moment, she realized something terrifying.
She was no longer just guarding a man.
She was falling for him.
"I owe him my life," she whispered. "And still… he doesn't know."
Behind her, the qi around Lin Chen surged briefly. Then settled.
[Healing 52% Complete. Qi Channels Restored: 3/12]
She felt the change. The rhythm of his pulse. The internal push of his dual inheritance stabilizing.
"But deep beneath that pain…
…was potential that eclipsed any prince, any genius, any dynasty she'd ever known.
And somehow, fate had bound her to him.
"Lin Chen…" she whispered, brushing his hair aside gently. "You saved me. But if I survive this… I will do more than repay you."
Her eyes hardened.
"I will stand beside you."
She has always longed for a family of her own, get married, have children and to live a peaceful life away from all the chaos of the world..
"I guess it isn't too late to start now, is it?"
She blushed a little
[End of chapter 33]