Quiet Embers, Loud Resolve
After putting away the Phoenix Alloy Cauldron into his inventory, Xiao Ranyu didn't rush to buy weapons or boost his combat stats.
Instead, he searched for something quieter.
> "System," he thought, "show me pills for long-term vitality restoration. Something that strengthens inner life force… for someone fragile."
Dozens of options flickered before his eyes. Names, colors, tiers—but only one made his heart pause.
---
> [Spirit Spring Jade Essence Pill – Tier 4]
Formulated to restore weakened constitutions caused by long-term illness or damaged meridians.
Gradually strengthens Qi roots and replenishes inner vitality over time.
Price: 1,200 Points
---
> "Perfect," he murmured.
That evening, under a silver-drenched sky, he stepped quietly into his mother's room.
She lay still beneath the moonlight—softer than a whisper, pale as fading snow. Her breathing was shallow, her frame light enough to be carried by wind.
Without a word, he placed the jade-green pill between her lips.
At first… nothing.
Then a flicker of warmth bloomed beneath her skin. Her fingers twitched. Color returned to her cheeks like sunrise over frost.
It wasn't a miracle.
But in the weeks that followed, she sat up more. Laughed more. Walked through the garden without needing someone to lean on.
For Xiao Ranyu, no technique or realm could match that.
---
The next five years passed in silence.
No fights. No titles. No glory.
While others chased breakthroughs like gamblers at a golden table, Xiao Ranyu chose to vanish.
He failed more pills than he kept. Burned herbs by the dozens. Tamed flame after flame—not through power, but persistence. Until they no longer roared, but responded like breath.
He became an alchemist.
Not by title.
But by truth.
And the world didn't notice.
---
By age eleven, Xiao Ranyu no longer looked like a child. His face had sharpened—high cheekbones, a refined jawline, and eyes that glowed with restrained heat. His black hair fell just past his shoulders, tied loosely with red silk.
His body was lean. Toned. And moved with the kind of grace one doesn't learn—but earns.
Not boyish.
Beautiful, in a quiet, unsettling way.
---
Then, one silent morning deep within the mountains behind the Xiao Clan estate—
> BOOM—
A ripple of scarlet flame burst from a remote cavern. The air twisted. The earth shivered.
And at its center, a boy sat cross-legged, his body aglow.
A soft chime echoed in his mind.
> [Breakthrough Achieved: 9-Star Dou Spirit]
---
Xiao Ranyu opened his eyes.
Embers danced within them—not wild, but precise.
He exhaled.
The air seemed to yield before him.
His presence wasn't overwhelming. It didn't shout.
It commanded.
> "System," he said, quietly. "Open Host Panel."
---
[Host Panel – Xiao Ranyu]
Age: 11
Cultivation: 9-Star Dou Spirit
Physique: Eternal Flame Vassal Body
Flame Affinity: A – Excellent (+)
Technique: Sovereign Flame Scripture (Heaven-tier High, Evolvable)
Profession: Alchemist – Tier 4
---
[Combat Skills]
Infernal Mirage Steps – Earth-tier (Perfect)
Sun-Destroying Palm – Earth-tier (Perfect)
Molten Tyrant Fist – Earth-tier (Perfect)
Flame Emperor's Wrath Body – Earth-tier (Perfect)
[Sword Skill]
Solar Rupture – Ninth Heaven Flame Slash – Earth-tier (Unstarted)
> A 7-form evolvable sword technique powered by Heavenly Flames.
[Weapon]
Emberfall Edge – Scarlet-black longsword. Indestructible. Flame-bound. Dormant.
---
[Heavenly Flames]
Mysterious Yellow Flame – Refined
Bone Chilling Cold Flame – Dormant
Gold Emperor Incineration Flame – Dormant
---
[Points: 1,037,840]
Breakdown:
+10,000 (Breakthrough – Dou Spirit)
+11,110 (Alchemy Tier-Up)
-30,000 (Herb Losses, Failed Refinements)
+1,000,000 (Fate Alteration Bonus)
---
He should've felt satisfied.
An 11-year-old Dou Spirit. Tier 4 alchemist. Triple Heavenly Flame host. A legendary body and system. A future brighter than stars.
But…
He wasn't smiling.
He leaned back against the warm cavern wall and stared at the fire-veined ceiling.
> "All this cultivation," he whispered, "and not a single real battle."
No true spar. No enemy that had forced him to bleed, to doubt, to survive.
His growth had been clean. Too clean.
He remembered something Yao Lao once said in the novel:
> "A flame grows strongest in chaos—not stillness."
His lips curled.
> "I became strong… in theory."
> "But theory doesn't bleed."
He sat up slowly.
Something in his chest stirred. Not flame. Not power.
Hunger.
> "For the next two years—I won't cultivate. I won't refine."
> "I'll live."
He looked to the horizon. Beyond the clan. Beyond these walls of comfort.
> "I want to eat food I've never tasted. Meet people I want to protect. See the sky without it being framed by stone."
Then, his eyes sharpened.
> "And when that's done… I'll walk into the Magic Beast Mountain Range."
No system assistance. No realm breakthroughs.
Just him.
His fists.
And the wild.
Because true strength was not born in peace.
It was forged in fire.