After hours of relentless training with the Ashfang blade, Soyang stood within the heart of the Ashborne Crucible. The room pulsed with faint crimson veins etched into black stone, glowing faintly with ancient spiritual energy. The forge was no longer just a tool—it was awakening, resonating with Soyang's presence.
As he stepped deeper into the sanctum, the System chimed in coldly:
[System Notification: The 'Phoenix Ascension' technique has been detected.]
[Warning: This is a temporary beast-cultivation technique. To initiate it, user must possess high-quality beast blood or remains. Recommendation: Begin with the Blood Infusion Phase.]
Soyang narrowed his eyes. He recalled the scroll—an ancient, almost torn piece of beast hide—that he had obtained from the Gorilla King deep in the Hollowfang Jungle. That stupid, howling gorilla... turned out to be useful after all.
He retrieved the scroll and unrolled it carefully. Symbols that seemed alive writhed and shifted across the surface, forming words and diagrams. The first step was simple, in theory: "Consume the blood of a higher-tier beast to activate the foundational body-refining stage."
From his storage ring, Soyang took out a vial of thick, dark red liquid—the blood of a Peak-Tier Ironhide Gorilla, still brimming with spiritual ferocity. Without hesitation, he uncorked it and swallowed the entire vial.
Immediately, his body reacted.
His veins bulged. His breathing turned ragged. His skin flushed an angry crimson. A burning pain spread through his limbs like molten lava.
He dropped to his knees, palms pressing against the cold stone floor of the Crucible. He gritted his teeth as the energy rampaged through his meridians like a wild beast. Muscles trembled, bones creaked, but Soyang endured.
Minutes passed like hours.
Suddenly—boom! A pulse of power erupted from him. His clothes tore apart under the sudden expansion of muscle and spiritual pressure. Sweat rolled down his now chiseled form. His body shimmered with condensed qi and brute strength.
With labored breaths, he stood and walked over to a nearby stone. His hand clenched into a fist, and he slammed it forward.
Crack!
The boulder exploded into fragments, shattered from the sheer force.
"I feel... powerful," Soyang whispered, his voice low and rough. "Overflowing with energy."
[System Notification: First phase of Beast Tempering Complete. You may now attempt the second stage—'Soul Merge with Winged Beast Essence'. Begin refinement of Phoenix Wings.]
Soyang nodded solemnly and took out the prized relic: a pair of majestic, fiery wings—charred, yet still pulsing with dormant divinity. These were the remnants of a Fallen Phoenix, slain during the Great Beast Hunt centuries ago.
He began the refinement process, channeling his qi into the wings.
But the moment he started, a violent screech echoed through the Crucible. A translucent soul burst from the wings—the lingering will of the Phoenix!
The soul dove at Soyang like a streak of fire, aiming to devour his spiritual sea. But a flaming barrier, generated by the Crucible itself, flared to life and blocked the attack. Protected, Soyang smirked and raised a single finger.
"Die."
He thrust forward, and a crimson beam shot from his fingertip, piercing through the Phoenix's soul. It shrieked in agony, wounded, its power rapidly fading.
But Soyang stopped short of destroying it completely. He knew—if the soul was annihilated, the wings would lose their power. They'd become nothing more than decorative feathers.
The soul weakened, ceased resisting. Gradually, it yielded to Soyang's will.
He resumed the refinement. This time, the process demanded everything. Blood vessels burst. Qi surged violently. Agonizing pain wracked his spine as the wings fused with his flesh. He roared—no, screamed—his voice echoing through the Crucible.
He nearly collapsed. His body trembled on the brink of failure. But then—
Memories surged. Betrayal. Lies. The women who smiled sweetly while stabbing him in the back.
The anger fueled him.
He gritted his teeth, eyes burning like embers. "You think you broke me?" he whispered. "No. You made me unstoppable."
Time passed. The pain dulled. His breathing slowed.
Then—
Shhhhhh!
Winds howled.
The fusion was complete.
Massive flaming wings unfurled from his back. Glowing veins of phoenix energy pulsed through the feathers. He flapped once—and the force knocked over half the Crucible's weapons, sending them clattering across the floor.
Soyang rose slowly, floating into the air.
His body was bare, muscles hardened and gleaming with refined power. His wings spread wide, casting a fiery glow against the stone walls. The setting sun filtered through the Crucible's skylight, bathing him in a blood-red glow.
For a moment, time stood still.
A red comet soaring within a sacred forge. A man reborn—not just in body, but in purpose.
The forest was ancient, wild, and untouched—an ocean of dark green beneath the dying light of the sun. Towering trees clawed at the sky, their twisted trunks thick as fortresses, their roots coiled like serpents beneath the soil. It was the perfect place to vanish… and to test the kind of power the world wasn't ready to see.
Soyang stood at the center of a secluded clearing, bare-chested and silent, his body still humming from the recent fusion. Blood-crusted cuts ran along his spine where the wings had fused. His breathing was calm, but every exhale carried heat.
Behind him, two massive wings unfurled.
They weren't just wings—they were weapons, blazing and divine. Ash-black feathers laced with red-gold streaks shimmered with latent flame. Each twitch of the wings stirred the air, sending ripples through the grass and leaves.
The System broke the silence.
[System Notification: Phoenix Wing Integration—72% Stable. Qi Consumption: Extreme. Physical Toll: High. Initiating Combat Calibration Mode.]
Soyang raised an eyebrow. "Good," he muttered. "Pain makes it real."
With a sudden boom, he launched into the sky, the ground beneath his feet cracking from the force. In the next instant, he tore through the canopy, leaving behind a burst of leaves and shattered branches.
The forest blurred below. Soyang twisted, flipped, and spun through the open air, each movement sharper than the last. He was clumsy at first—the wings pulled against his balance, made his flight staggered and uneven—but he adapted quickly.
Minutes passed. The awkwardness disappeared.
He flew faster. Harder. Higher.
Then, like a hawk diving on prey, he folded the wings inward and dove straight down, wind screaming past him. At the last possible second, the wings exploded open, arresting his fall and sending a gust outward that flattened a ring of trees.
He landed hard. Dust and leaves flew in every direction.
"Again."
This time, he didn't just fly. He fought the air itself. He punched as he soared. He flared the wings while spinning, creating flaming shockwaves. Feathers tore loose mid-flight—then turned into red-hot blades that circled him in a deadly dance.
[Phoenix Trait Activated: Featherblades. Control Level: Basic. Offensive Potential: High.]
Soyang directed them with his fingers, launching one at a thick boulder. The blade pierced straight through, leaving a glowing molten hole.
His smile returned. Cold. Dangerous.
Then he dropped from the sky again, landing before a massive tree—the largest he could find. He cracked his knuckles and tightened his fists.
"No wings. Just raw force."
He struck.
BOOM!
The tree snapped, not from the trunk—but from the sheer shockwave of his punch. The air itself shattered bark.
Sweat poured down his body. His chest heaved. The wings flickered, dimming slightly as his qi dipped.
[Warning: Wing Synchronization Approaching Limit. Risk of Systemic Burnout: Moderate.]
But Soyang didn't stop.
He pushed harder.
Even when his muscles screamed. Even when blood dripped from his nose. Even when his qi sea began to tremble under the strain.
Because pain didn't scare him anymore.
Not after betrayal.
Not after crawling through the ashes of humiliation, fueled by nothing but spite and survival.
Every breath was a declaration. Every flap of his wings, a defiance.
And then—it happened.
He flapped once, hard. The wings responded not with strain… but with synergy.
He vanished from sight.
A sonic boom echoed through the forest as Soyang reappeared midair, hovering high above, body glowing faintly red under the sunset. His wings fully spread, casting a divine shadow over the canopy.
The wind stilled.
Time felt frozen.
In that moment, he was no longer a innocent boy.
He was something more.
A weapon forged from fury. A fallen star reborn in fire.
A phoenix without mercy.
Chapter end , thankyou