Dawn had dyed the sky an almost ethereal gold, while a dense spiritual mist covered the stone paths leading to the Great Plaza of the Sacred Spirit. That day was special, and not just because of the ceremony: the land itself seemed to hold its breath.
Xiu Wang, dressed in her new white robe with crimson borders—a symbol of having passed the Trials of Spiritual Ascent—remained silent. Beside her, a sea of new disciples murmured, laughed nervously, or simply tried to control their emotions. But Xiu heard nothing. Her concentration was like a constant flame, impossible to extinguish.
A familiar voice brought her out of her meditative state.
Lan Yin'er, her eyes shining:
"Xiu, do you know what they're saying? That one of the core elders of the Sky Sword Pavilion will come to observe. And that the Flame Pavilion will bring an ancestral artifact to test bloodlines."
Xiu just nodded with a slight nod.
Xiu Wang:
"That doesn't interest me. I just want to move forward."
Yin'er looked at her for a moment, wanting to say something more, but decided against it. There was something about Xiu that made her feel insignificant and safe at the same time, like a warm and dangerous flame. She didn't know whether to admire her… or fear her.
The Great Plaza of the Sacred Spirit was so vast that it could hold more than five thousand people. At its center, an ancient jade platform rose like the heart of an ancient spiritual formation. There stood the Crystal of Origin, a translucent monolith filled with inscriptions that floated within as if alive.
The elders began to arrive one by one. Their robes, symbols, and auras were enough to make even the proudest bow their heads. Some were silent, others imposing, but all powerful.
The murmuring ceased as the most feared elder descended from the sky, enveloped in golden fire.
Elder Lei Tian, in a thunderous voice:
"The Alignment Ceremony begins. Welcome to the path that will mark your destiny. Today you will learn your affinity, your potential, and… your limits."
One by one, the young men were called. Each placed their palm on the crystal, waiting for it to react. Some managed to make the artifact glow with faint colors, others barely elicited a reaction.
Time dragged on. And then, a voice rang out:
"Xiu Wang."
Everyone turned. The crowd parted without a word.
The young woman strode forward. The wind fluttered her robes, and her every movement seemed guided by a force older than herself. There was something different… something that not even the elders could define.
Xiu placed his palm on the crystal.
For a second, nothing happened. Some disciples were already smiling with restrained mockery.
But then… the crystal changed.
First, a faint red. Then, a scorching crimson. And finally, black. A vivid, deep black, filled with flames that swirled as if a small, fiery universe were being born.
A lotus of dark fire manifested, floating above her head. The crystal runes burst from the monolith and floated around her as if recognizing her.
"A living manifestation!!!"
"That hasn't happened in centuries…!!!"
Elder Lei Tian, descending immediately:
"What lineage is that? That lotus… doesn't belong to any current school. It's too ancient. Too… dangerous."
Xiu lowered his hand, and the lotus disappeared, as if it had never been there. But the echo of its presence still hung in the air.
Xiu Wang:
"I have no lineage. Only… this."
Elder Lei Tian, looking at her seriously:
"It's not 'only'. Your fire isn't common. It's a spiritual inheritance… forgotten by history."
"From today on… you will belong to the Heavenly Flame Pavilion. But make no mistake, child: even here, fire can devour those who do not understand it."
Hours later, in the halls of the Pavilion, as the disciples were led to their new rooms, Xiu walked in silence. He observed the symbols carved into the walls, the eternal flames that burned without fuel, the carvings of fiery dragons and ancient pacts.
It was then that he felt it.
A presence. Dark. Sophisticated. It wasn't murderous, but it was… different. Too different.
Turning down a lonely corridor, he saw it.
A hooded young man with eyes like obsidian and an aura as restrained as an abyss. His presence clashed with everything he had felt until now.
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"Xiu Wang. Your flame… has awakened something that shouldn't have stirred in this place."
Xiu Wang:
"Who are you?"
Mo Yeyan:
"Mo Yeyan. And let's just say… I came here for you."
Xiu took a step back. Not out of fear, but something worse: doubt. That aura… wasn't human. Not completely. It was something his flame recognized, not as an enemy, but as… equal.
Mo Yeyan:
"I'm not from this academy. Not officially. But there are forces at work… and you've just become a part of it."
Xiu Wang:
"I'm not a part of anyone."
He smiled.
"That… remains to be seen."
And with a smile impossible to read, he disappeared.
That night, Xiu couldn't sleep. The flame within her throbbed. As if a forgotten memory—not her own, but one of her blood—were trying to awaken.
"What am I… really?" she whispered to the sky.
The moon, now pale, didn't respond. But in the distant mountains, an enormous shadow moved. Watching. Waiting.
And so, unknowingly, the fates of entire clans began to tilt… over the mere existence of a young woman with a fiery gaze.