The Crimson Flame Sect bell rang before dawn.
Its chime was different this time—not the slow toll of mourning, nor the urgent clang of battle.
This was the sound of opportunity.
This was the sound of the Flame Trials.
---
Return from the Ashes
Long Feng walked through the outer gates in silence. No guards challenged him. No one even noticed his return.
But Mei Ling did.
She had been sitting on the stone bench near the lotus pond, arms wrapped around her knees, unable to sleep the entire night.
The moment she saw him, she stood.
"You left without telling me," she said softly.
He paused a few feet away, unsure what to say.
"I had business outside."
"You could have told me."
"I didn't want to put you in danger."
Her voice trembled. "And what if something happened to you?"
He looked away. "Then I didn't want you to see me broken again."
A long silence stretched between them.
Then she stepped forward and gently pressed a small jade bottle into his hand. It was warm.
> "I waited for you anyway."
---
The Announcement
The sect square was packed by morning. Elders, inner court disciples, outer initiates—everyone stood facing the raised platform where Elder Hua Tian's voice echoed across the valley.
> "Three weeks from today, the Flame Trials shall begin."
A murmur rippled through the crowd.
> "Only thirty disciples will be chosen to enter the Molten Sky Pagoda, an ancient inheritance ground that tests flame control, spiritual will, and inner conviction."
Long Feng's brow furrowed. That name—Molten Sky Pagoda—he'd heard of it in his past life. A relic from the Upper Realm that somehow found its way into the mortal world.
> "Those who survive… will not only become elite core disciples, but may unlock ancient flame legacies left behind by divine cultivators."
That explained the sudden tension in the air.
Every ambitious disciple just saw a gate to immortality open.
> "Selection begins in five days."
---
A New Flame Awakens
That night, Mei Ling sat in her quiet room, staring at the small flame crystal Long Feng had given her weeks ago.
He hadn't said much when he handed it over.
> "Keep it close. Sleep with it under your pillow. When it gets warm… wake up."
Now it pulsed softly, glowing a dull orange.
Her spiritual veins were trembling. Her heart beat faster than usual. And her breath fogged the air, though the room wasn't cold.
She placed the crystal in front of her and sat cross-legged.
> "Alright then… let's see what you're hiding."
She closed her eyes.
---
Inner Flame – Mei Ling's First Awakening
The moment she focused inward, her spirit dived into darkness—then flame.
A sea of golden fire swirled around her spiritual core. But unlike Long Feng's wild inferno, hers was calm… like a lantern in a storm.
She saw herself in the center of that fire, a younger version—scared, uncertain, fragile.
But as the flames licked her body, something changed.
> A lotus bloomed on her palm.
Small. Translucent. But real.
She opened her eyes with a gasp.
Her body was glowing.
From within.
She hadn't just awakened a basic flame root.
She had awakened a Divine Yin Flame Physique — a rare body type once known to exist only in the ancient Lotus Flame bloodline.
> "But that's impossible…" she whispered.
Then she remembered something Long Feng said days ago:
> "There are no coincidences in cultivation. Only karma."
---
Meanwhile… in the Elder Hall
Behind the sealed walls of the Elder Hall, Elder Bai Wen watched a floating mirror filled with swirling shadows.
He had seen the Flame Duel. Watched Long Feng rise. And now… he'd felt the stirrings of Mei Ling's awakening.
He clenched his jaw.
> "Both of them… why now?"
The shadow behind him whispered.
"She is the girl. The one from the flame dream…"
"Then we move sooner than expected," Bai Wen said coldly. "Prepare the array. Before the Trials begin… we silence them both."
---
Morning After – Two Flames, One Path
Long Feng found Mei Ling standing at the edge of the training ground the next day, eyes brighter than usual.
"You felt it," he said.
She nodded slowly. "I… saw it too."
"What did you see?"
"A lotus. In flame."
He raised an eyebrow.
She gave a nervous smile. "You didn't mention it might hurt."
"I didn't want to scare you off."
She stepped closer.
"I'm not scared of pain."
"Good."
Then she looked up at him and asked the one thing he didn't expect.
> "Will you train me?"
He paused.
Then gave a small nod.
"Come tomorrow. I'll show you what it means to truly touch fire."
---