Cindralore – The Sovereign Elemental Outer Academy
Ignisyr, The Flame-Forged Continent
Year 3015 of the Pulse Era
Everything was burning.
Not from fire—but from disbelief.
A boy stood in the middle of a wide, open courtyard paved with volcanic obsidian. Around him, red banners fluttered with a lion sigil engulfed in flame. Distant eruptions echoed like thunderclaps across the sky. Tall basalt towers loomed, pulsing with heat runes. Students in red-gold robes sparred with flaming halberds and beasts made of molten stone.
And he?
He stood frozen, out of place, dressed in... jeans.
"Where the hell am I?"
That was the first thing Jiǎng Mùchéng said—blinking behind cracked glasses, sweat trailing down his chubby cheek. A faded hoodie clung awkwardly to his short frame. Around him, no one seemed to notice the obvious outsider—because everyone else was absorbed in their training. Their cultivator auras shimmered with flame, thunder, or water.
Suddenly—
Zzzt.
A sharp flicker cut through his vision.
A black screen appeared, hovering midair in front of him. Not a projection. Not AR. Not VR.
It was real.
📜[SYSTEM BOOT SEQUENCE: CORE-AI INTEGRATION]
Welcome, Jiǎng Mùchéng, to the realm of Elarion (伊拉瑞恩) – The Elemental Pulse of Creation.
This is a cultivation-based dimensional world consisting of five continents and a central island. You are now in:
🔥 Ignisyr (焰熠洲) – The Flame-Forged Continent
Current location: Cindralore – Sovereign Elemental Outer Academy
⚙️ SYSTEM MODE: QUEST-BASED EVOLUTION
Objective: Survive, Grow, and Ascend
Transformation Protocol: "Project Reforge"
Starting Element: Iron (初始元素:铁)
Starting Beastpulse: Locked
Cultivation Path: ☯ Pulseforging Ascension (15 stages)
Mùchéng blinked. "This is... not a dream, right?"
✅ Confirmed. Your body has been molecularly restructured for compatibility with Elarion's Laws of Elemental Pulse.
⚠️ NOTE: You have been teleported from your former technological world due to a spatial instability caused by an experimental AI blackhole generator of your own creation.
His heart sank. That... experiment.
The one that was only supposed to be a simulation.
🌐 Additional Info: Cultivation Realm Stages:
Pulse Awakening (觉脉) – Sense your elemental and beastpulse.
Pulse Embodiment (身脉) – Manifest traits. ...
Primordial Pulse (太初脉) – Become one with element & beast. Become a god.
🏫 Cindralore Academy Information:
You are currently in the Outer Academy, where beginners are tested for potential.
Advancement requires: Elemental Awakening, Beastpulse Contract, Combat Ranking.
Elite Classes begin at Level 4 cultivation and above.
Top students can access the Inner Flame Sanctum.
The screen paused. Then pulsed once more:
Your current stats:
Age: 16 (biological reset complete)
Body Type: Low Constitution
Strength: Poor
Beastpulse Compatibility: Unknown
Element Affinity: 92% Iron
Luck: ...Undefined
🔧 Immediate Mission:
Unlock your Pulse. Survive your first assessment.
Reward: Beastpulse compatibility scan & Physical Reinforcement Sequence
"Wait. I'm sixteen again?" he muttered, staring at his now-smaller hands. His limbs were pudgy but youthful. He felt weak, but… not broken. In fact, he could almost feel the air buzzing.
But before he could think more—
BOOM.
A thunderous explosion rocked the sky above the academy. Fire dragons coiled in midair as two students clashed atop floating flame platforms.
"BEGINNER, GET DOWN!"
Someone grabbed him and yanked him aside as a flying flame talisman shot past.
Jiǎng Mùchéng fell flat onto the blackstone tiles. His eyes widened as the world of cultivators exploded to life in front of him.
And so it begins—the journey of an Iron-born soul in a world of elemental fire.
Where gods are forged… or shattered.
Jiǎng Mùchéng lay sprawled across the obsidian ground, blinking at the heat shimmer rising from the tiles. His breath caught in his throat—not from fear, but from the pressure.
Two students hovered above him, their bodies wreathed in elemental radiance. One stood atop a coiling serpent of living flame, the other upon gust-blurred wings of glowing jade wind.
Both were staring at him like he had lost his mind.
"Who the hell walks straight into a duel zone?" the flame user snapped, flicking his wrist. A ring of scorched stone circled him like a broken sun. "Do you want to die, rookie?"
The other, a tall girl with silver hair swept by emerald gales, narrowed her eyes. "I've never seen him before. What class are you in?"
Jiǎng scrambled up and dusted off his robe—which, for some reason, now bore the same flame-lion insignia as everyone else. But the fabric felt oddly untouched, like it had only just been woven.
📜[SYSTEM UPDATE: IDENTITY CAMOUFLAGE ENABLED]
You are recognized as:
📛 Name: Jiǎng Mùchéng (蒋暮尘)
🏷️ Academy Tag: Outer Academy – Class 9-D
🎖️ Rank: 217 out of 219
⚙️ Status: "Non-Spiritual" (Zero elemental reaction detected until now)
👁️ Visibility: Obscure Presence Trait active — no one remembers your past existence.
Note: You did exist in this world. But you were the weak, forgotten one. The system suppressed your growth to protect your identity.
Today is the true beginning.
Jiǎng's heart pounded. So even he had no idea how long he had been here.
📡 SYSTEM SCAN – COMBATANTS LOCKED
🔥 Name: Huǒ Chén (火辰)
– Rank: 3rd in Outer Academy
– Level: 4, 7-Stars
– Element: Pure Flame
– Beastpulse: Crimson Scale Pyrosnake
– Trait: "Blaze Serpent Veins" – boosts fire arts with venom coiling
🌪️ Name: Fēng Yùxiāo (风雨霄)
– Rank: 2nd in Outer Academy
– Level: 4, 8-Stars
– Element: Wind · Mist Hybrid
– Beastpulse: Mistveil Sky Manta
– Trait: "Aether Shear" – converts air into slicing pressure blades
Jiǎng's gaze darted from one to the other.
"Rank... two and three?" he whispered, nearly choking. "Then who the hell is one?!"
The two top-ranked students looked like gods mid-battle—bodies glowing, weapons humming, auras distorting the air.
And yet here he was, a chubby nobody who just got booted from a tech lab into a world where people fused with beasts and burned mountains for fun.
Fēng Yùxiāo suddenly descended, landing lightly in front of him. Her eyes, pale blue and sharp as obsidian, locked with his.
"You're lucky Huǒ Chén missed. That flame whip can melt bones." She glanced at his badge. "Class 9-D... the bottom?"
"I…" Jiǎng gulped. "I was just walking and then—"
"I don't care," Huǒ Chén interrupted. He floated down on coiling fire and let his beastpulse—an enormous snake made of red-gold lava—hiss at Jiǎng with open jaws. "This duel was sanctioned. Interfering is punishable."
📜[SYSTEM PROMPT – RESPONSE SEQUENCE UNLOCKED]
Do you wish to: ⬜ Grovel for forgiveness
⬜ Attempt to escape
⬜ Awaken your Pulse (Initiate Project Reforge)
⚠️ Warning: Early awakening may overload body.
Potential reward: Elemental Spark and Beastpulse scan.
"You've got some nerve," Huǒ Chén growled, stepping forward as fire coiled around his fists. His beastpulse flickered behind him, lava-dripping fangs curled in irritation. "Interrupting my duel, standing there like a fool, then acting brave?"
Jiǎng Mùchéng stumbled back instinctively, eyes wide. "I–I said I was sorry. I didn't mean to—"
"Then kneel and beg properly."
And without warning—
CRACK!
A flame-cloaked fist smashed into Jiǎng's face.
The impact sent him sprawling across the blackstone tiles. The crowd gasped—but no one moved. No teacher stepped in. No protection came.
He barely had time to groan before Huǒ Chén stepped in again.
WHUMP!
A solid kick slammed into his ribs.
Jiǎng coughed violently, rolling onto his side. His chest burned. His pride shattered.
And yet, no one stopped it.
Only Fēng Yùxiāo, floating above the ground like a wind-carved jade statue, narrowed her eyes. "Huǒ Chén," she said, voice calm but cold, "it was an accident. You already landed your hit."
"He walked into our duel and disrespected both of us," Huǒ Chén snapped. "He deserves to know what it means to challenge fire."
"He didn't challenge you," she retorted, descending slowly. "He panicked. Look at him—he's not even awakened."
The crowd remained frozen. A few Outer Academy students glanced away, uncomfortable. Some whispered, others snickered.
But Jiǎng heard none of it. His ears rang. His cheek burned. His heart pounded—
Not from the pain.
But from humiliation.
He wanted to disappear.
He wanted to crawl away.
He wanted to scream.
"You were the worthless one. The weakling. Everyone's stepping stone."
That voice—faint, but deep—echoed in his soul.
"But not anymore."
Around him, everything went silent.
The mockery. The scorn. Even the pain.
All he heard... was the hum of awakening.
He clenched his fists. His knuckles whitened. His nails dug into the stone.
All around them, students had stopped training.
Dozens of eyes locked on the unknown robed boy who dared interrupt a duel between top combatants.
He could run.
He could beg.
He could curl up and vanish into the earth.
But something deeper—something forged in circuits, failures, and late-night code—burned inside him.
Burn through it.
He looked up, blood dripping from his nose. His voice shook, but it did not break.
"I didn't mean to interrupt… but if you want to punish me, then let me stand. Let me awaken like the rest of you."
Fēng Yùxiāo tilted her head, curious.
Huǒ Chén smirked, cracking his knuckles. "Awaken? You?"
📜[SYSTEM PROMPT – CORE INITIATION ACCEPTED]
✅ SELECTED: Initiate Project Reforge
🩸 Beginning Elemental Core Resonance…
🧬 Body compatibility recalibrating…
⚙️ Beastpulse Seal Unbinding…
Suddenly, a sharp CRACK echoed—not from a strike, but from within Jiǎng himself.
His spine arched. His eyes widened.
Then—
He screamed.
Not from fear.
Not from Huǒ Chén.
But from the fire igniting inside his bones.
His pulse surged. His breath grew ragged. His veins pulsed with silver-black light. Sparks of metallic qi shimmered around his skin, like ghostly embers.
⚙️ Iron Pulse Detected
🔓 Unlocking Base Beastpulse – Tier: Mutant Type
🐅 Identified: Ironhowl Steel Tiger (铁啸钢虎)
Trait: "Steel Spine Resilience" – boosts physical durability and pain resistance
Awakening Level: 1-Star (Pulse Awakening Stage)
As Jiǎng fell to one knee, his body began to change.
His arms—once soft and pale—tightened with dense muscle.
His eyes—once dim and fearful—glinted with a new sheen of metallic silver.
A faint shimmer of blackened iron swirled beneath his skin like a rising forge.
He looked up.
His gaze now met Huǒ Chén's directly.
Not with anger.
Not with fear.
But with resolve.
The Iron Mind had awakened.