The Firebone Mountains had always been a place of peril, where only the daring or the desperate dared tread. Lin Xun was both. Days had passed since the flame beast encounter, his body now stronger, his spirit sharper. The Flame-Frost Dual Cultivation technique was growing more refined with every passing hour, and the aura that once flickered faintly within him now surged with steady force.
He was no longer the outcast crawling from rubble.
He was the hunter.
Deep in the canyon, surrounded by spiritual fog, Lin Xun sat on a jagged rock, eyes closed, sensing the flow of the elements around him. Fire danced beneath the earth's crust. Ice drifted within the cold mountain winds. He had begun to hear their whispers—one wild, the other composed. He knew his true path required unity between the two.
> "Still forcing chaos into order?" came a voice behind him, smooth and amused.
Lin Xun's eyes snapped open. In an instant, he turned, fire lacing his palm.
But he didn't release the strike.
Before him stood a young man robed in dark azure, sleeves fluttering without wind. His presence was overwhelming, calm but firm, as though the very mountain bent to his will.
> "Who are you?" Lin Xun asked cautiously.
> "Wei Qing. Inner disciple of the Skyrend Sect. I've been watching you," he said with a half-smile. "Your flame and frost… most unusual. Rare. Dangerous."
Lin Xun's brows furrowed. "You followed me?"
> "Not quite. The beasts that fled from you whispered of imbalance. I came to see for myself. I wasn't disappointed."
Wei Qing tossed something to Lin Xun—a jade talisman, inscribed with the mark of a soaring dragon split by lightning.
> "That's a sect invitation," he added. "The Skyrend Sect accepts only monsters. I think you qualify."
Lin Xun stared at it in disbelief. "Why me?"
> "Because you're raw power wrapped in rage. But also because our sect thrives on chaos. We teach you to master what others fear."
> "And if I refuse?" Lin Xun asked flatly.
> "Then the bounty hunters currently trekking up this slope will likely find your corpse before I return," Wei Qing said, his smile never fading.
Lin Xun closed his fist around the talisman. He didn't say thank you. He didn't have to.
The choice was already made.
---
By nightfall, Lin Xun was on the road, guided by the jade talisman's pull. The Skyrend Sect was hidden deep within the Everreach Peaks, behind veils of illusion and storm barriers. No ordinary traveler could find it.
Wei Qing had long vanished into mist.
As Lin Xun walked through the narrow gorge, the scent of blood reached him. Bodies lay scattered—mercenaries, bounty hunters, perhaps even rogue cultivators.
All cut down by one blade.
Lin Xun recognized the pattern instantly. Swift, clean, decisive.
> "They're already coming," he muttered.
He pressed onward.
Hours passed until a massive gate rose before him, forged from stormstone and veined with lightning. Above it, a carved emblem—half dragon, half sword.
A voice echoed from the mountain.
> "Name."
> "Lin Xun."
The gate trembled. A surge of lightning cracked the air, and then… silence.
> "The storm has acknowledged you. Proceed."
The gates opened without a touch.
And Lin Xun stepped into the realm of monsters.
---
The inner sanctum of the Skyrend Sect was unlike anything he'd imagined. Mountains floated in the sky, chained by glowing inscriptions. Waterfalls defied gravity, flowing upward. Training fields shimmered with elemental turbulence.
Cultivators walked in pairs and groups, each emitting fierce auras—some cloaked in wind, others sparking with metal, flame, or shadow. He felt like a mortal among immortals.
And yet…
As he passed, many turned to look. Whispers followed him.
> "Is that the dual-element brat?"
> "He's too old to be a beginner."
> "I heard he killed a Flamebeast with his bare hands."
> "Hmph. Let's see how long he lasts."
Lin Xun ignored them. He had no time for envy or malice.
He had come to dominate.
---
He was given quarters at the edge of the sect's outer ring—a modest stone chamber with a cultivation array carved into the floor. A sect robe. A scroll of sect rules. And a black token marking him as a "prospective disciple."
The next test was the Outer Sect Trials—held in three days.
> "If you survive it, you're in. If you fall… well, the mountain eats many," the elder had said with a laugh.
That night, Lin Xun sat by candlelight, reading through the sect's legendary martial techniques. Among them were several that resonated with his soul:
Emberstorm Steps – a movement art that fused fire and wind.
Frozen Soul Domain – a defensive frost barrier that could halt spiritual techniques.
Heavenrend Flame Core – a forbidden technique that required the fusion of two opposing cores.
He closed the scroll and breathed deeply. This was his path now. His beginning.
But fate, as always, had other plans.
---
At dawn, as he trained by a cliff edge, a strange fragrance hit the air—like orchids and thunderclouds.
A soft voice followed.
> "You must be Lin Xun."
He turned.
She stood tall, robed in white silk, a veil covering her face. But even behind it, her presence was majestic. Graceful. Powerful. Unreachable.
Her aura was vast, ocean-deep.
> "Who are you?" he asked.
> "Yun Fei. Inner disciple of the Cloud Phoenix Sect," she said gently.
His breath caught. Even he had heard of that name.
The Cloud Phoenix Sect was a myth among sects—rumored to stand on floating palaces above the Ninth Heaven. Their disciples were said to be divinely blessed. Untouchable.
> "Why are you here?" Lin Xun asked, trying not to falter.
> "You're stirring the heavens, Lin Xun. And when the heavens stir… we listen."
She turned and began to walk away, but paused.
> "I hope you survive the trials. I look forward to watching you grow."
She vanished like mist.
Lin Xun stood frozen, the flame in his chest roaring.
She was a star in a sky he had never dared to touch.
And now she knew his name.
---
That night, dreams came.
Of fire that split mountains.
Of ice that froze suns.
Of a man—tall, clad in silver armor, his face cloaked in divine light.
> "My son…" he whispered, reaching out.
Lin Xun woke in a cold sweat.
His
path had only just begun. But the heavens were already watching.
And so were his enemies.
He rose, gripping the jade token tight.
The world would soon remember his name.
Lin Xun—the buried genius born to dominate.