The sect was alive with whispers.
After the Flame Duel, Long Feng had become a name carried on the lips of even the highest inner court disciples. Some feared him. Others wanted to challenge him. And a few… wanted him dead.
But not with swords.
With silence.
---
A Quiet Threat
A week passed.
On the surface, everything appeared calm. Long Feng resumed his cultivation in the Alchemy Tower, his flame growing steadier with each passing day. The Eternal Ember had begun to stir strange memories in him—fragments of ancient scriptures and lost alchemy techniques from his divine life before.
But even as he refined pills and absorbed spirit herbs, he could feel it:
A shadow in the sect.
An unnatural silence in the wind.
An unfamiliar heartbeat during training.
> They sent more than one.
The first assassin was just the beginning.
He didn't say a word to Mei Ling. Not yet. She had begun awakening traces of her own spiritual flame, and her foundation was fragile. He couldn't risk shaking her focus.
So he waited.
Watched.
And baited the trap.
---
The Poison in the Tea
It happened in the disciple dining pavilion.
After a long session of flame control exercises, Long Feng sat at a table near the outer courtyard. A young female disciple placed a small tray of spirit-nourishing soup and herbal tea beside him with a gentle bow.
Her voice was sweet. Familiar.
"Senior Brother Long Feng, your usual."
He looked up.
She smiled—modestly, politely.
Too politely.
> He didn't recognize her.
Not from the outer court, inner court, nor the alchemy halls.
She turned to leave.
Long Feng dipped a finger into the tea—just lightly—and pretended to take a sip.
The scent was almost perfect.
Almost.
He smiled faintly.
> Blackshade Dust. Tasteless. Heat-activated. Only lethal to those with high fire Qi.
They tailored it for me.
He rose slowly, cup still in hand, and walked after the girl through the crowd. She moved toward the storage corridor behind the kitchens—quick, smooth, head down.
But she didn't make it far.
Long Feng spoke, voice quiet.
> "You dropped your mask."
The girl stopped walking.
Then turned… and grinned.
Her face shifted—skin rippling, hair darkening, eyes bleeding red.
> "Took you long enough."
---
Cornered Flame
The corridor darkened as the two stood face to face, cut off from the main courtyard.
"You poisoned me in front of a hundred disciples," Long Feng said calmly.
"I'm not here for subtlety anymore," she replied.
Her hand flicked—and three black daggers flew forward, each coated in curse poison. Long Feng didn't move.
> "Ember Step."
With a single step, his body blurred into golden fire, dodging all three and reappearing behind her.
She spun with unnatural speed—her hand twisting in a snake-like gesture.
A blast of violet fog exploded from her palm, enveloping the hallway in toxic mist.
> "Die, fake flame!"
> "Eternal Ember – Sealing Breath."
Long Feng inhaled.
The entire corridor trembled as the fog was sucked into his lungs—and burned within him. His chest glowed faintly, runes appearing across his torso.
The woman froze.
"…You… you consumed it?!"
He stepped forward, eyes glowing.
> "You walked into the forge of a true alchemist."
"Let me show you what flame was meant to do."
---
The Fire That Judges
With a flick of his hand, Long Feng summoned a single drop of golden flame. It hovered above his palm—small, almost harmless-looking.
The assassin laughed.
"Is that all?"
Then she screamed.
The flame dropped.
It didn't touch her skin—but her shadow caught fire first. Her feet began to melt. Her blood turned to steam inside her body.
> "No… stop—!"
> "You wanted my death," he whispered.
"But I give you purification."
Her final scream echoed through the corridor before silence returned.
When the flame vanished, nothing remained but ash… and a silver token.
Long Feng bent to pick it up.
---
A Token from the Shadows
The token was etched with the mark of Blackshade Hall—but on the reverse side was something far more troubling:
A carving of a lotus in flame, surrounded by nine stars.
His eyes narrowed.
> "That symbol… That's from the Upper Realm."
Memories surged—faint and painful. The Lotus Flame Sect. One of the old divine clans… supposedly wiped out during the Godfall Wars.
What were they doing involved with assassins in the lower realms?
> Unless… someone knows I've returned.
---
Return to Silence
That night, Long Feng stood in his courtyard, watching the moon alone.
The token sat beside his teacup, untouched.
Mei Ling entered quietly, sensing something different in the air. She said nothing at first, just joined him at the stone table.
"I saw the flames earlier," she said finally.
"I let them burn."
"Was it them again?"
He nodded.
She looked down. "Why don't you tell the elders?"
He met her eyes.
> "Because I need them to keep coming."
She frowned. "What do you mean?"
> "Only when they believe I'm unguarded… will they send the one I truly want."
She was quiet for a long moment.
"…Who?"
His answer was soft.
> "The one who killed me last time."
---