The summons came the next morning.
It was not written on paper.
It was carved directly into the stone step outside Lin Tian's hut, traced by spiritual flame:
"Ember Spiral: Inner Courtyard. Sunset."
No name. No seal.
But it wasn't a request.
Chen Mu hissed. "They're formalizing contact. That's not good."
"Because?"
"Because if they can't figure you out quietly, they'll make you explain it publicly."
"And if I don't go?"
"You'll disappear."
Lin Tian stared at the spiral carving for a long time.
Then turned away, went back inside, and began meditating.
"I'll go when the sun touches the wall."
That evening, he climbed the stone stairs to the Inner Courtyard of the Burning Path, a long-avoided pavilion layered with fire suppression glyphs. Only elders walked here freely.
He wasn't stopped at the gate.
No one greeted him.
But someone waited inside.
A woman sat alone on the highest dais, dressed in deep crimson. Her hair was snow-white, coiled atop her head like a crown. Her eyes were ember-bright.
Elder Yu.
One of the three Flame Judges.
It was said she had not taken a disciple in twenty years.
She did not look impressed.
"You," she said, "are making noise."
Lin Tian bowed low.
"I am following the path I was given."
"No one gave you this path."
She stood. The air shifted around her. Heat without flame. Pressure without movement.
"You are cultivating in a legacy not recorded in our records. You have claimed techniques not taught within this sect. And now the Spiral answers you."
Chen Mu whispered, "She knows more than she's saying."
"I found the Vault," Lin Tian said.
"No," Elder Yu replied. "The Vault found you."
[+3 BP for naming the power dynamic.]
Bluff Points: 150 → 153
She descended the dais slowly, until she stood a single pace away.
"I will ask you only once. Is the voice in the ring bound to a known sect?"
"No."
"Is it divine?"
"No."
"Is it dangerous?"
Chen Mu pulsed.
Lin Tian said, "Only to those who try to control it."
That gave her pause.
Then: a smile. Small. Calculated.
"You are clever."
"I'm a student."
"Not anymore."
She handed him a scroll.
"This is a temporary clearance. You may access the Lesser Ember Archives for the next seven days. Any scroll you take out must be declared. Any formation you trigger must be logged. If you damage anything, you will be erased."
"I understand."
"And Lin Tian…"
"Yes?"
"You are not the only fire waking up."
Later that night, back in the hut, Lin Tian stared at the clearance seal.
It shimmered faintly in red-gold. Proof of invitation. Proof of danger.
"They're watching," Chen Mu said.
"I know."
"We need to act before someone else stakes a claim on this legacy. You're now a threat and an asset."
"Then we stop hiding," Lin Tian said.
"We can't fight the whole sect."
"Not yet. But we can get ready."
The next morning, they entered the archives.
The Lesser Ember Wing was hidden beneath the main library — a sealed passage guarded by two Formation Wardens who checked the scroll and ignored Lin Tian after.
The archives were… quiet.
No students.
No elders.
Just the soft hum of fire-glyph lanterns.
Chen Mu guided him.
"Left. Down. Hall three. Stack nine."
"You've been here before?"
"I think so. Or maybe somewhere like it."
They found a fragment.
A crumbling scroll that spoke of spiral flame pathways. Lost techniques. Mentions of a sect that dissolved long before this one was founded.
And a name:Hidden Flame.
Not as a rumor.
As a founding member of the original ancestor alliance.
Chen Mu pulsed.
"They erased us."
"They built over you."
"No," Chen Mu said. "They took our name and used it as mortar."
[+4 BP for historical revelation.]
BP: 153 → 157
Back in the hut, Lin Tian tried a stance from the fragment.
A simple pivot-and-burst motion, like a flame coiling in retreat before exploding outward.
It was incomplete.
But when he performed it—
—his Qi didn't just move.
It sang.
[Technique Recognized: Spiral Ember Step (Fragment)][Note: Movement technique — flame-assisted evasion.][Integration: 41%]
"You just invented a dodge roll," Chen Mu said flatly.
"It works."
"I hate how much it works."
[+2 BP for dumb genius execution.]
BP: 157 → 159
They weren't alone for long.
By nightfall, a note had been pinned to the door with a spirit-thread needle.
It read:
"We saw the spiral. We remember the fire.There are others.We are listening.— F.H."
Chen Mu flared.
"…F.H."
Lin Tian glanced at the ring.
"Hu?"
"No. This is older. A signature from the vault walls."
"You sure?"
"Yes."
Chen Mu hovered in silence.
Then said quietly: "We're not the only remnants."
[System Status Panel – Chen Mu (Ring State)]
Bluff Points: 159Soul 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)
Spiral Ember Step (Fragment)
Manual Access: Beginner Cultivation Manual (Simulated)Current Objective: Investigate "F.H." and Legacy SurvivorsDisciple 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