Flame vs. Steel
Dawn had not yet broken.
But the Conclave Summit was already stirring.
A challenge had been issued—formal, public, and dangerous.
Li Ren of Iron Echo Sect stood alone in the center of the Trial Grounds, surrounded by watching disciples and silent elders. His twin sabers glinted silver under the moonlight.
"Kai of Emberheart," his voice rang out cold and clear, "face me. Or hide behind your legend."
Silence.
Then—
Fire.
Kai emerged from the shadows, flame rising with every step.
His robe flowed behind him, scorched at the edges. Gold light pulsed at his heart—evidence of the Phoenix Doctrine now flowing through him.
He stopped a few feet away from Ren, gaze unwavering.
"You want to test my path?" Kai asked. "Fine. But don't call it a duel…"
"Call it a lesson."
The elder overseeing the challenge raised a hand.
"This match is unranked, unjudged, and unbounded. Retreat or defeat determines the end."
His hand dropped.
"Begin."
Li Ren struck first.
His sabers blurred—one high, one low, both infused with vibrating steel qi that could shear through rock. His footwork was perfect, forged in the Iron Echo's millennia-old style.
Kai met him without stepping back.
He caught the first saber with a burning palm—bare-handed—and spun under the second, igniting flame beneath his feet to launch upward.
Mid-air, he extended his arm, and the Ash Core Flame spiraled outward, forming a serpent of fire that lashed toward Ren's flank.
Ren sliced it in half—once, twice—faster than eyes could track.
"He's improved," Kai thought, flipping backward into a crouch.
"But not enough."
Round two came with fury.
Ren began spinning strikes, his sabers humming like songsteel. Each strike forced Kai back—yet Kai's flame didn't flicker. Instead, it twisted, flowing with each attack, growing brighter.
Then, Kai spoke.
"Your technique is perfect," he said. "But you lack one thing."
"What?" Ren snapped.
Kai closed his eyes.
"Evolution."
He exploded forward—not with brute strength, but grace. Fire curved around his body, forming wings.
He ducked Ren's next strike and drove his palm into the ground.
The flame surged beneath Ren like a geyser—catching him mid-stance and launching him into the air.
Kai soared after him, flame spiraling around his arm. The crowd gasped as he spun in midair, his fist colliding with Ren's chest in a phoenix-shaped burst.
BOOM.
Ren flew across the field, crashing hard, his blades falling from his hands.
The elder stepped forward, raising his hand.
"Enough! Match is over!"
Kai landed without a word, his flame fading slowly.
Ren struggled to sit up, coughing blood—but alive.
"You… weren't this strong before…" he gasped.
Kai looked down at him.
"I wasn't meant to be."
That morning, no one dared challenge Kai again.
And far above, hidden in the Conclave's highest tower, the elder leaders watched silently.
One turned to the others.
"We've waited too long," she said.
"It's time to awaken the Final Trial."