The fifth floor didn't have walls.
It didn't have ground.
It was… nothing.
A sky of black flame stretched infinitely above, and below was a pit of swirling soulfire — white, blue, gold, and even void-colored. Floating platforms of flame hovered between them, forming a winding, unstable path. There were no enemies, no puzzles, no illusions.
Just one trial.
> "Step forward," a voice spoke into the hearts of every disciple who reached the floor.
"And cast your soul into your flame. If your spirit is true, you will pass. If it is false… you will vanish."
---
Rules of the Soul Trial
Long Feng stood silently, staring into the endless fire ahead.
The voice returned:
> "You may not help each other. You may not speak. You may not lie.
You are not judged by strength, but by your soul's truth."
Mei Ling was three steps behind him, her hands trembling faintly.
Xue Yiran stood ahead, already walking across the platforms, eyes unwavering, body calm.
Each disciple had to ignite their inner flame, offer it to the trial, and walk forward while revealing one truth — one buried feeling — that defined their path.
Those who lied would burn.
---
Long Feng Steps Forward
He stepped onto the first platform.
Nothing happened.
Then the next.
Still silent.
But on the third, the fire surged beneath him and rose in a ring around his chest — white at first, then crimson, then… black.
His voice was called forth — against his will.
> "Speak your flame."
Long Feng closed his eyes.
And then, his words fell out of him.
> "I am afraid… of becoming cold.
Of losing myself to war again.
Of becoming the monster they once feared me to be."
The flames around him pulsed.
And allowed him to continue.
Mei Ling's breath caught behind him.
---
Mei Ling's Trial
She stepped forward next.
On her second platform, her flame trial began.
The ring of flame formed around her legs, spiraling upward until it reached her throat.
> "Speak your flame."
Her lips trembled.
> "I… I hate that I'm weak.
I hate that no matter how far I climb, I'm always behind him.
And I'm scared… that I'll be forgotten."
The flames flickered violently — then calmed.
Long Feng didn't look back.
But she knew he heard.
---
Xue Yiran's Path
Farther ahead, Xue Yiran walked without pause.
On her fourth step, her trial came.
> "I never wanted to awaken the Phoenix bloodline," she said coldly.
"I wanted to be forgotten.
But now… now I want to rise.
If he is truly fate's flame, then let my fire test his."
Her fire flared gold.
It didn't judge her.
It bowed to her.
---
Collapse Begins
Not all disciples passed.
One by one, screams echoed behind them — bodies disintegrated in white-hot soulfire as lies were spoken:
> "I only want power." Burned.
"I have no fear." Burned.
"I don't love her." Burned.
By the time Long Feng reached the end of the trial path, only five disciples remained.
---
Mei Ling Breaks
At the final platform, Long Feng stepped onto the gate flame — a glowing seal that pulsed with pure soul Qi.
Behind him, Mei Ling froze.
The flame trial rejected her last step.
> "You have not finished," the voice said.
Mei Ling fell to her knees.
Tears trembled on her lashes as her flame flickered in confusion.
> "I'm scared… I'm scared that I'm not worthy.
That no matter how strong I become, I'll never stand next to him.
That he'll leave me behind."
The fire screamed around her.
And then — settled.
---
Long Feng Turns Back
He turned his head slightly.
Just enough for her to see the corner of his mouth.
> "Then catch up," he said softly.
"Because I'm not leaving anyone behind."
She gasped.
Her flame stabilized.
She passed.
---
The Final Seal
At the center of the last platform, a flame altar rose.
All five survivors stepped forward. Long Feng, Mei Ling, Xue Yiran, and two unfamiliar inner disciples from other sects.
The altar opened — revealing a sphere of pure Soul Flame Crystal, a sacred treasure used to form spirit flames into cultivation cores.
The voice echoed one last time.
> "Only one may absorb it.
Let the strongest soul take it."
The crystal pulsed.
Xue Yiran moved first.
But the moment she touched it—
—it burned her palm.
She winced and stepped back.
Mei Ling tried. The flame cracked but rejected her.
The other two disciples didn't even try — their souls weren't strong enough.
Long Feng stepped forward.
He reached out, and the flame bent toward him.
Not in submission…
…but in recognition.
> "He carries the Heaven-Breaker Soul," the voice declared.
"The flame is his."
---
Outside – Elders Panic
Bai Wen watched, face pale.
> "He took the Soul Flame.
He really… took it…"
An elder beside him said hoarsely:
> "We cannot let him live to reach the sixth floor."