The border to Sect Zone 9 was marked by a single stone arch, inscribed with ancient script:
> Only the worthy walk this fire.
Only the chosen pass unburned.
Yue squinted at the base of the arch. "No guards. No wards."
Bo Ren hummed. "Because they don't need them. That symbol there—see it?"
A spiral flame sigil sat carved into the base stone. It radiated a dull heat.
"It's a Soul-Weighing Array," Bo explained. "Those with weak intent turn back. Or burn."
Zhao Kai grinned. "Sounds fun."
Jiang Han didn't slow. He walked straight under the arch.
Nothing happened.
The flames flared briefly—then bowed to him.
The others followed close behind.
Lin Yao, Zhao Kai, Yue… even Bo Ren.
All passed.
But the temperature rose with every step they took.
---
The Pilgrimage Path
They reached a wide mountain trail—winding along cliffs, open to the sky. Scorch marks lined the stones. Every hundred meters, statues of kneeling monks stood, arms raised as if offering something unseen.
"What are those?" Yue asked.
"Former candidates," Bo Ren replied.
Nobody spoke after that.
As they continued, they encountered the first Trial Marker—a giant brazier, standing unlit in the center of a circular plaza.
Carved into the stone were instructions:
> Light the brazier using nothing but soul flame.
If your intent falters, so will your fire.
If it burns impure, you shall join the stone.
Zhao Kai raised a brow. "So who's going first?"
Jiang Han stepped forward.
He raised a hand, fingers steady, and drew in a breath.
Then he summoned the flame.
But not the usual crimson blaze of Ember Fang.
This time—it came from within.
A deep orange-gold, tinted with memory. Pain. Hope. A whisper of the Sovereign Echo.
The flame hovered above his palm—
—then surged forward and ignited the brazier.
The fire exploded upward in a column twenty feet high.
The Trial Marker shimmered.
> First Threshold Passed.
The kneeling statues around the plaza bowed.
Yue let out a low whistle. "That felt… ceremonial."
Bo Ren frowned. "That's because it is. The flame recognizes him. He's already part of the test. Whether he wants to be or not."
---
The Dream Fog
The second challenge came hours later.
They entered a canyon narrow and dark, where no wind reached. At its center lay a white mist that shimmered with soul essence.
Lin Yao stepped near it—and staggered.
She gasped, eyes fluttering.
Jiang caught her. "What is it?"
She breathed fast. "Voices. All around. Whispering everything I regret."
Bo Ren's face darkened. "Dream Fog. Rare spiritual anomaly. Extracts doubt from the soul and turns it into illusion."
Yue drew an arrow. "So how do we get through?"
"Not by fighting," Bo said. "But by believing."
Jiang nodded and took the lead again.
As they entered the fog, the whispers began—soft, chilling, seductive.
> You could've stayed dead.
You'll never be enough.
She'll die because of you.
You burned worlds once. You'll do it again.
Jiang Han felt the fog tug at his flame.
But now, something new burned within him.
The Echo of the Flame Sovereign.
The Furnace of the Soul.
And most of all—the knowledge that he had saved one life already.
He shouted, voice strong.
> "I am Jiang Han.
I died. I returned.
And I burn for them—not for glory!"
His flame surged outward.
Gold-orange soul fire swept the canyon.
The Dream Fog screamed—and evaporated.
The whispers vanished.
His team stood—whole.
Bo Ren gave a rare smile.
"Your resolve is becoming heavier. Like a king's."
---
Nightfall – Camp by the Ember Trees
They made camp under a grove of trees with bark that glowed faintly in darkness—Ember Trees, fed by old ley lines.
Jiang Han sat apart from the group, eyes fixed on a page he had torn from the Emberlight scroll.
The name: Tian Xue.
He didn't know her face.
But he felt the weight of her existence already.
Not just because she might be a vessel.
But because… she reminded him of himself, long ago.
Alone. Awakened. Chosen without asking.
---
Zhao Kai plopped down beside him. "You look like a man ready to run into a volcano."
Jiang smirked faintly. "Not far off."
"She could be a trap, you know."
"I know."
"Or the flame could consume her."
"I know."
Zhao leaned back. "Then why go?"
Jiang stared up at the stars.
Because for the first time, he was no longer just fighting to survive.
He was fighting to change fate.
> "Because someone has to stop the gods from playing with fire."