Chapter 36: Shadows Cast by Legends
The clang of fists echoed across Emberlight's upper terrace training ring. Morning mist clung to the stone tiles as Ren gasped for breath, his shirt soaked through, muscles burning with exertion.
Vale stood before him with arms crossed, her gaze sharp as ever.
"Again," she ordered.
Ren gritted his teeth and raised his fists.
The last week had been a crucible. Every day Vale pushed him further than the last — shattering his comfort zone, breaking bad habits, sharpening instincts forged in the shadow of another. But today… was different.
He was adapting.
The moment her foot twitched, Ren slipped left and struck out. Vale's palm caught his wrist, but he spun with the momentum and swept low. She jumped — barely — and grinned.
"Finally thinking for yourself," she said. "Again."
He charged.
⸻
Later, after the sun had risen fully, Ren sat on the cliffs, towel draped around his neck, eating dried meat and rice buns between deep breaths.
His growth wasn't just physical. He felt his perception changing. Each spar with Vale, each solo meditation, each correction—he was evolving.
Not into Kai. Into something else.
A force of his own.
⸻
Meanwhile…
Far beyond Emberlight, in the shadowed halls of the Jade Maw Sect, whispers swirled like fog.
"He vanished?" growled Elder Xiang, slamming a jade flask onto the arm of his throne-like seat.
Auron Veyron's former sect master leaned forward. "Three months. No sightings. No trails. Our scouts and informants have found nothing — or have failed to report back."
A cold silence spread.
"You think he's dead?" another elder asked.
"No," Xiang muttered. "If he were dead, the world would feel it."
At the back of the chamber, a black-cloaked woman emerged from the shadows. "I planted a high-tier tracer on his blood the night of the final match. It went dead two days later. Interference of a kind I've never felt. Not natural."
Elder Xiang's eyes narrowed. "He's hiding. Training."
There was a long pause.
"Or ascending," someone said quietly.
The room tensed.
A name not spoken lightly. A threat that had grown too fast, too clever, too dangerous.
"If he returns… he may not be something we can control anymore."
Elder Xiang nodded grimly. "Then we'll continue to prepare. Quietly. And if the storm rises again… we'll be ready."
⸻
Back in Emberlight…
Ren blinked in surprise as Instructor Vale handed him a sealed envelope. The council's golden crest shimmered faintly on the surface.
"A message?" he asked.
"An invitation," she replied.
He opened it.
" To Ren Caelus of Emberlight Sect,
By recommendation of Instructor Vale and approval of the Council of Flame,
you are hereby invited to represent Emberlight at the Inter-Disciplinary Tournament of Rising Suns — a gathering of elite initiates from the Five Pillar Sects. The trials will test your strength, spirit, and wisdom in open combat and strategic engagement.
Prepare accordingly. "
– Councilor Durn, Council of Flame
Ren's breath caught. "This is… big."
"It's a political stage," Vale said. "One meant for rising stars."
"Shouldn't it be Kai?"
Vale shook her head slowly. "Not this time."
A flicker of something unreadable passed through her eyes.
"He's left the battlefield. Now it's your turn to step forward."
Ren looked down at the letter again.
The torch had been passed. Not through words. But through absence.
He stood up, spine straight, resolve like iron.
"Then I'll carry the name forward."
Vale smiled faintly. "Good. Because the whole continent's going to be watching."