The system pulsed softly in the dark.
Not loudly. Not with a chime.
Just enough to wake Chen Mu in the middle of the night.
[System Alert: External Energy Signature Detected – Tier Unknown][Proximity Triggered Trace Left at Ember Vault Site]
He blinked — metaphorically — and scanned the ring's sensory field.
Nothing in the hut. Nothing outside it either.
But something had passed through Ember Ridge not long after they left.
Something that felt.
That listened.
That remembered.
"They followed the flare," he muttered.
"What flare?" Lin Tian asked groggily, sitting up from his mat.
"The Vault sent out a pulse when I connected. We knew that. But someone found the trail it left behind."
Lin Tian's expression turned cold. "Sect?"
"Maybe. Or someone worse."
[+3 BP for honest recognition of legacy danger.]
Bluff Points: 141 → 144
By morning, the outer sect was buzzing.
But not about the Vault. Not directly.
Instead, the talk was about a new guest — a visiting elder from a remote branch sect, stationed briefly at the eastern watchtower. Nobody knew their name.
But they knew what he'd done:
—Called two inner disciples to spar before dawn.—Sent one to the infirmary with a fractured core.—Left no signature Qi behind.
And when asked why he came?
"To observe the recent talent fluctuations."
Lin Tian tightened his grip on his satchel when he heard that.
"Observing talent, huh?" he muttered.
"He's here for us," Chen Mu said. "Or more precisely—for me."
That evening, a new message arrived.
Not a summons.
A gift.
A scroll placed at the foot of Lin Tian's hut, wrapped in crimson thread and bearing no seal.
He opened it carefully.
Inside was a single line:
"Power attracts attention. But fire attracts judgment."
And below that: a flame spiral, rendered in perfect calligraphy.
Chen Mu hovered in silence for a long time.
Then said, "That's Vault script. High-tier. Pre-division era."
"You mean... older than the sect?"
"I mean from when my sect still had disciples alive."
The system buzzed again.
[System Trigger: Contact With Ancillary Flame Seal Detected][Legacy Progression Route Option Unlocked: Flamebound Oath (Sealed)][Requirement: Spiritual Trial – Acceptance of Inner Flame]
Chen Mu groaned. "Of course it wants an oath."
"What kind of oath?"
"The dangerous kind. One where you let the legacy decide if you're worthy."
[+2 BP for ritual knowledge drop.]
BP: 144 → 146
Lin Tian didn't hesitate.
"Let's do it."
Chen Mu blinked. "You serious?"
"I came this far because I believed you were more than a voice. Now I know that's true. So if we're doing this—if we're going to keep climbing—I want the flame to know I'm not running from it."
Chen Mu smiled quietly.
"Alright. Let's burn a little brighter."
They prepared the ritual at the old prayer ring behind the disused training yard. A circle of cracked stone with just enough spiritual residue to hold a projection.
Chen Mu projected the Spiral Array.
Lin Tian knelt inside.
[Initiating Legacy Flamebond Trial...][Subject: Lin Tian][Witness: Chen Mu – Legacy Anchor][Requirements: Endure, Accept, Resonate.]
The fire came down without warning.
It didn't burn skin.
It burned doubt.
Lin Tian gasped as memories twisted — old failures, years of mockery, the pain of forcing Qi through cracked roots, the fear that he was only growing because someone else was cheating fate on his behalf.
He stood through all of it.
The fire shifted.
Now it was belief.
His voice.His hands.His ring.
"Master..." he whispered.
And the fire answered.
With light.
Not heat. Not pain.
Just recognition.
[Trial Complete.][Oath Accepted.][New Trait Acquired: Flamebound (Disciple)][Spiritual Bond: Strengthened]
[+4 BP for successful legacy resonance.]
BP: 146 → 150
Back in the hut, Chen Mu accessed the panel.
[System Status Panel – Chen Mu (Ring State)]
Bluff Points: 150Soul Strength: 8Current Vessel: Refined Jade Core Ring (Stabilized)Abilities:
Voice of Authority Lv.1
Soul Tap (1/day)
Resonant Presence (Passive)
Flame Memory Projection Lv.2
Ash Spiral Palm (Fragment)
Manual Access: Beginner Cultivation Manual (Simulated)Current Objective: Protect Lin Tian – Legacy-BoundDisciple Status: Qi Initiation – Mid Stage (Flamebound)Legacy Flag: Ignited – Hidden Flame Echo (Stabilized)Known Array: Spiral Fire Refinement (Integrated)New Entry: Ember Vault (Active Node, Accessed)Legacy Route: Flamebound Oath – Progressing
Outside, someone watched the hut from the shadows.
A hooded figure in gray. Hands clasped behind their back.
They said nothing.
But in the dark, a ring on their finger shimmered faintly with a spiral of its own — inverted.
And across the ridge, a hawk spiraled high into the air, headed straight for the inner sect.