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Chapter 2: The Hidden Flame
Han Yufei wasn't the type to speak much. Most people thought of him as a quiet father, just another overworked man doing what he could to support his family.
But he was more than that.
He had been watching Kai.
Something had changed in the boy. He trained like a soldier, spoke like a man who had seen too much, and moved like a ghost. It wasn't just talent—it was purpose.
And Han Yufei knew what that meant.
One night, after Kai had gone to his room, Han Yufei found Luo Lan in the kitchen, sipping tea. She looked tired, her eyes a little distant.
"He's different now," Han Yufei said quietly.
Luo Lan glanced at him. "He's growing up."
"No," he said, sitting down. "He's already grown. He hides it well, but I can see it. His eyes… they're cold. Too cold for his age."
Luo Lan looked down at her cup. "He came to me asking about the Falsified Sky Sutra. He knew the name. I didn't tell him. No one did."
Han Yufei's fingers curled around his tea cup.
"So it's time," he said.
Luo Lan looked at him. "Do you think he's ready?"
"He's more ready than I ever was."
There was a long pause. Then Han Yufei stood up and walked to the back wall. He pressed his palm against a hidden scanner. The wall slid open with a soft hiss, revealing a steel case.
Inside was a blood-red crystal and an old, handbound book.
Han Yufei took both and placed them on the table.
"This is the Blood Pulse Sutra," he said. "It's not like the Falsified Sky Sutra. It's violent. Raw. It draws power from pain and pressure. I never taught it to anyone. Not even you."
Luo Lan looked at it with narrowed eyes. "That technique eats away at the body. If used wrong, it can destroy him."
Han Yufei nodded. "Yes. But used right, it can make him unstoppable."
---
Kai sat in the living room the next morning when his father entered, holding the book and the crystal.
"I have something for you," Han Yufei said, placing the items on the table. "This is the Blood Pulse Sutra. My legacy."
Kai looked at them, calm as ever. "Why now?"
"Because you're not just a boy anymore," Han Yufei said. "And because you're walking a path that's full of death. The Sutra will help you survive."
Kai reached for the book, flipping through the first few pages. It was written in code—strange characters that shimmered slightly in the light. But he could understand them. His past-life experience let him break patterns fast.
"This will take time," he said.
Han Yufei nodded. "I'll train you. Myself. I won't go easy on you."
Kai met his father's eyes. "I don't want easy."
---
The training began that same evening.
While his mother continued teaching him the subtle movements of the Falsified Sky Sutra—focused on misdirection, illusion, and deceptive power—his father's training was the opposite.
Brute force. Speed. Blood pressure control. Muscle tension. The Blood Pulse Sutra activated hidden power in the veins, surging strength throughout the body in bursts, even if it tore tissue in the process.
"Again," Han Yufei said as Kai collapsed after a set of breathing cycles.
Kai wiped blood from his lip and stood back up. "Again."
The pain was intense. Muscles screamed. Veins bulged unnaturally. But Kai didn't stop. Pain was a reminder that he was growing.
"Feel the pulse," Han Yufei said. "Feel it in your bones. Don't fight it—ride it."
Kai inhaled, then began the next cycle.
---
Luo Lan watched from a distance. The boy's body was changing faster than expected. His presence grew sharper. His eyes colder. But what scared her more was how quiet he remained. He didn't complain. He didn't ask for rest. He just trained.
One night she sat beside him during a rare quiet moment.
"Are you angry at the world?" she asked.
Kai didn't look at her. "No. I just know what's coming."
She placed a hand on his shoulder. "Then don't forget who you are while chasing power. Don't become what you're trying to fight."
He said nothing.
---
Han Sen, meanwhile, still ran around carelessly. Kai would pass him in the hallways at school and shake his head. The boy joked, played, and ignored his teachers. He was cheerful and kind—but weak.
Kai thought, If he doesn't change soon, he'll die the moment he enters the sanctuary.
But he said nothing.
Han Sen, in return, barely noticed Kai. Just called him "Cold Guy" once and laughed with his friends. Kai didn't care. The world wasn't going to care about Han Sen's jokes when monsters came for his throat.
---
Weeks passed.
Kai mastered the first layer of the Blood Pulse Sutra. He could feel his power surging now—every muscle responding like a weapon. He was faster, stronger, more durable. The Falsified Sky Sutra's techniques made his movements unpredictable and fluid. The two arts didn't just coexist—they enhanced each other.
One night, after a brutal spar with his father, Kai sat bleeding in the training room.
"You didn't hold back," he said quietly.
Han Yufei smirked. "You want to live in this world? Then don't expect kindness."
Kai nodded, wiping blood from his brow.
"Good," his father said. "Next time, strike me for real."
---
And so the cold fire in Kai's veins grew hotter. His path was one of silence, blood, and shadows.
But he was no longer walking it alone.
He now had the power of two of the most forbidden Sutras in the Alliance.
And he was just getting started.
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End of Chapter 2