Lightning cracked across the sky like the roar of a forgotten god.
Feng Chan stood before the colossal stone gates of the Sealed Battlefield, their ancient carvings pulsing faintly with spiritual energy. The air here was different—heavier, denser, saturated with the remnants of countless cultivators' blood and ambition. It was said that even the strongest Saints had vanished behind those gates, never to return.
And now it was his turn.
His fists clenched. Behind him, the wind howled.
> "No going back now," he muttered.
> "Are you ready for this?" came a voice behind him.
Bai Mei had followed him all the way from the sect, her robes already stained from the earlier skirmishes. Her usually calm demeanor now held the sharp tension of battle.
Feng Chan didn't turn to face her. "No. But that never stopped me before."
The gates suddenly trembled. A low groan echoed through the valley as the seals began to unravel—one by one—each unleashing a wave of killing intent that could drive weaker men mad.
> "Heaven help us," Bai Mei whispered.
> "Heaven abandoned us long ago," Feng Chan replied.
With a deep breath, he stepped forward and pressed his palm to the final seal.
It exploded in a blast of ancient light.
The doors opened.
---
Inside the Sealed Battlefield
The world shifted.
The sky turned crimson. Black lightning danced between broken mountain peaks. Rivers of molten spirit energy flowed through the cracked earth like veins of a dying beast.
Feng Chan stepped inside, and instantly, he felt it—the weight of legacy.
> "This place... it's alive," he said.
The battlefield wasn't just ancient—it was conscious. Watching. Judging.
As he moved deeper, visions flashed before his eyes. Cultivators of the past. Battles that defied logic. Techniques that shattered the heavens. And in all of them—pain.
> "Why am I seeing this?"
A voice echoed from the void.
> "Because you must understand what it means to truly defy the heavens."
He spun around—but no one was there.
> "Show yourself!"
> "Soon."
---
Elsewhere – Dark Temple of the Main Villain
The villain's lips curled into a smirk.
> "He has entered the battlefield."
Xie Ran kneeled beside him, her hands stained with sacrificial blood.
> "Shall I send the shadows?"
> "Not yet," the villain replied. "Let him struggle. Let him burn. The more he bleeds, the easier he is to mold."
> "And the Primordial Flame?"
> "It's awakening. Soon… it will choose."
Xie Ran hesitated. "And what if it chooses him?"
The villain's smile vanished. "Then we destroy the world… and start again."
---
Back in the Battlefield – Edge of the First Trial
Feng Chan found himself standing before a mirror.
It was ancient, cracked, and floating in midair.
A voice whispered from it.
> "What do you fear, Feng Chan?"
He saw images—his family being slaughtered, Ying Yue walking away without looking back, his master's face disappearing in smoke.
He fell to his knees.
> "I don't fear failure," he growled. "I fear losing everything before I even become strong enough to protect it."
The mirror cracked further.
> "Then prove it. With blood."
A monstrous shadow erupted from the glass—an amalgamation of his regrets, failures, and nightmares. A test of the soul.
And he fought.
---
Meanwhile – At the Heavenly Watchtower
Master Tianyi looked into the divination pool, his brows furrowed.
> "He's already reached the First Trial."
The Grand Elder beside him inhaled sharply. "That fast?"
> "The battlefield is accelerating," Tianyi said. "The heavens are watching."
> "And you still haven't told me who he really is."
Tianyi remained silent.
Because even he wasn't sure.
---
Within the First Trial – The Shadow of the Self
Feng Chan gritted his teeth as his blade clashed against the monster born of his own darkness.
It was him. But twisted. Its eyes burned with hatred. Its movements mirrored his own, but faster—more vicious. As if every moment of self-doubt, every betrayal, every humiliation had forged a better warrior... just not one on his side.
> "You think you're strong?" the shadow spat.
"You think pain makes you righteous? You're just a child who couldn't accept weakness!"
Their swords met again. Sparks flew. The battlefield cracked beneath their feet.
Feng Chan slid back, panting.
> "I've... changed."
> "No. You've just buried your pain. But in this place, nothing stays buried."
The shadow lunged again. Feng Chan parried, barely keeping up.
Then suddenly—he dropped his weapon.
The shadow paused.
> "Giving up?"
Feng Chan raised his hand and clenched his fist.
> "No. I'm accepting you."
The battlefield trembled.
> "You are me," Feng Chan said. "Every failure. Every tear. Every time I screamed in silence while the world laughed at me."
> "I hated you," he said softly. "But you kept me alive."
The shadow faltered. Its eyes widened.
And then—it shattered into shards of black mist.
The first trial... was complete.
---
The Heart of the Battlefield
As Feng Chan moved forward, the scenery changed.
Golden ruins towered around him now—remnants of a forgotten sect, one rumored to have trained warriors capable of challenging gods.
In the center stood a platform... and atop it, a single black lotus.
Its petals shimmered with chaotic energy—alive, sentient, waiting.
He approached.
The moment his foot touched the platform, voices filled the air.
> "He's not ready."
"He's too unstable."
"He carries the scent of betrayal."
Feng Chan growled. "I've heard enough."
He touched the lotus.
A flash of light engulfed him.
---
Flashback – The Moment Before Ying Yue Left
"You don't belong in the world I'm from," Ying Yue had said coldly.
Her silver eyes never wavered.
> "Until you carve your name into the bones of the mainland... we are nothing."
> "Don't come looking for me."
She had turned her back, vanishing into golden mist.
That moment had shattered him more than any wound.
But now, here he stood. With strength earned through blood, bone, and fire.
And even if Ying Yue never returned to his side—
He would still walk forward.
---
Elsewhere – The Villain's Throne Room
The villain stirred. His golden eyes snapped open.
> "He touched the lotus."
Xie Ran trembled. "Is it... reacting to him?"
> "No. It's judging him. And the verdict... will change the balance of the realms."
He stood, the chains wrapped around his throne clinking with each movement.
> "Prepare the next trial. If Feng Chan survives this... he may just awaken something we buried long ago."
> "And if he fails?"
"Then the heavens can rest easy. For now."
At the Edge of the Second Trial
Feng Chan collapsed, coughing blood.
The lotus had shown him visions—not of power, but of truth. About his bloodline. About his father's betrayal. About the clan that once ruled in silence.
He wasn't just some abandoned son from the North.
He was something more.
Something dangerous.
The ruins around him began to shift again—opening a gate made of bones and gold.
"Second Trial," he muttered, rising to his feet.
"Bring it on."
A massive creature roared in the distance.
And so... he walked forward.
The Second Trial – The Weight of Power
The gates creaked open, and a suffocating pressure blanketed the air.
Feng Chan stepped into a colossal arena. The sky above was sealed by swirling black clouds, and at the center stood a behemoth—a dragon carved of obsidian and flame, its eyes like molten suns.
"The Trial of Power," a voice echoed. "To carry destiny... one must be strong enough to shatter the world."
Feng Chan's breath hitched.
The dragon roared.
The blast of energy alone sent him skidding back, blood dripping from his lips. His body screamed with pain, but he forced himself up.
"Pain is temporary. Destiny is eternal."
He charged.
---
The Duel of Titans
His sword clashed against the beast's claws. Sparks exploded like stars falling from the sky.
SLASH!
DODGE!
COUNTER!
Feng Chan summoned everything—his martial arts, his spirit energy, his rage, his longing.
The beast retaliated with firestorms and illusions. Visions of Ying Yue appeared in the flame, whispering:
> "You'll never be enough."
He nearly faltered.
> "You are weak."
He stumbled.
> "You don't deserve to reach me."
He collapsed.
> "You were always beneath me."
He screamed.
> "ENOUGH!"
A brilliant golden aura erupted from him—his true spirit, awakened.
From his back, a phoenix silhouette soared—part flame, part starlight.
He stood tall once more, eyes blazing with divine light.
> "I don't need to reach you, Ying Yue," he growled.
"I just need to reach... my peak."
With a mighty roar, he slashed upward. His blade cut through fire, through illusions, and finally... through the dragon's heart.
The beast collapsed in a thunderous quake.
Silence followed.
> Trial Passed.
---
The Judgment Hall – Observers in Shadow
In a realm beyond mortal sight, the ancient guardians watched through crystal mirrors.
> "He defeated the beast of the Second Trial?"
> "Impossible. No outsider has done that in a thousand years."
An elder with a cracked mask whispered, "He bears the mark... The same bloodline we feared. The prophecy stirs again."
> "Should we stop him?"
> "Fools. No one can stop what's already begun."
---
Back at the Battlefield
Feng Chan fell to one knee. His body was wrecked, but his will burned brighter than ever.
A golden path extended before him, leading to the Third Trial.
But this time... he wasn't alone.
He sensed it.
Someone—something—was watching him from the shadows.
And it wasn't an enemy.
It was her.
---
Elsewhere – Ying Yue's Hidden Sanctuary
Ying Yue stood before a frozen pond, her reflection flickering.
She had seen it all.
The first trial. The second.
His growth.
> "He's changing... becoming more than I expected."
A voice behind her whispered, "You said you'd cut him off."
She didn't turn. "I did. And I meant it."
> "But?"
> "But if he reaches the Third Trial... then even I won't be able to stop what comes next."
The reflection in the water changed.
A mirror.
And within it—Master Tianyi's face.
---
Final Scene – Master Tianyi's Secret Chamber
Master Tianyi opened a scroll covered in ancient symbols.
His eyes, calm and unreadable, scanned the final line.
> "When the boy awakens the Heavenroot Flame, the old world shall burn… and from its ashes, the true heir shall rise."
He looked up.
> "So it begins."
The Gathering Winds of Fate
Feng Chan stood at the edge of the shattered arena, his breath ragged, his body bruised, yet his eyes—clearer than ever. The golden path before him pulsed with ancient energy, winding upward toward the mountain's heart.
Behind him, the battlefield trembled as the obsidian dragon's remains dissolved into stardust, carried away by winds not born of this world.
> "You've done well, boy…"
The voice echoed again—but this time, not from the arena's stone, not from an illusion.
From within him.
He gritted his teeth. "Who are you?"
> "A remnant of your bloodline. The world may have forgotten me… but I have never forgotten our oath."
---
Flashback – The Forgotten Ancestor
He saw it. A vision.
A great war. Skies bleeding. Realms collapsing.
A lone man standing against gods—eyes like galaxies, wielding a sword forged from fate itself.
> "My name... was Feng Xian. The world called me the Starbreaker."
> "And now, my descendant, the path I walked calls to you."
Feng Chan gasped. "This... is in my blood?"
> "Yes. That is why they fear you. That is why they seek to control you—or destroy you."
The vision shattered.
---
In the Hall of Swords – Ying Yue's Decision
Far away, Ying Yue walked down a corridor lined with ancestral swords—each one tied to her clan's deadliest secrets.
She stopped before a broken blade. Its hilt bore the name: "Chen Yue."
> "My mother's sword," she whispered.
A voice behind her—her clan's Grand Matriarch—spoke coldly.
> "He is awakening, Ying Yue. The more he grows, the closer he comes to uncovering the truth we buried."
Ying Yue didn't respond.
> "You still love him," the elder hissed.
She closed her eyes. "I cannot afford love. Not anymore."
> "Then kill him. Before the truth consumes us all."
Ying Yue opened her eyes.
> "If I must… I will."
---
Back at the Battlefield – The Spirit of the Trials
A final voice rang out across the arena—calm, deep, and final.
> "Feng Chan, by conquering the Trial of Power, you have earned entry into the Third Realm: the Flames of Heavenroot."
> "Few walk this path. None return unchanged."
> "You now carry the Mark of the Eternal Flame."
A burning lotus symbol formed on his chest—glowing gold and red, burning into his skin, his soul, his destiny.
Feng Chan winced, but did not scream.
He stood tall, fists clenched.
> "Let the Third Trial come."
---
Unknown Location – Master Tianyi's Chamber
Master Tianyi closed his eyes and whispered to the wind.
> "The bloodline has awakened."
> "The Starbreaker's heir walks again."
A figure in the shadows stirred. A woman cloaked in darkness.
> "Shall we stop him?"
Tianyi shook his head. "No. Let him walk the path."
> "Even if he destroys us?"
> "Especially then."
---
Final Line
High above the realm, in a place untouched by time, a godlike figure opened one eye.
He smiled.
> "Feng Chan. It's finally your turn."
To be continued...