The next morning, Lin Xun sat cross-legged in the center of a broken training field, eyes closed, his body shivering despite the sun's heat.
A strange energy coursed through him—half of it burning like wildfire, the other chilling like a winter storm.
> "Balance… I need to balance them."
The inheritance within his ring wasn't meant for someone untrained. Most cultivators spent years perfecting one element. But he had two, both trying to dominate the other.
It was like trying to ride two rampaging beasts in opposite directions.
But Lin Xun refused to break.
> "I have to survive. I have to dominate."
He remembered what the ring said—Emberblood Flame Line. The old stories whispered about a bloodline that merged flame and frost, creating a unique core capable of explosive power and divine technique fusion.
That blood ran in his veins.
He meditated for hours, channeling spiritual energy slowly, controlling each breath, each pulse of qi.
Until…
> Ding!
[Breakthrough Initiated: Foundation Realm - Stage 1]
His body convulsed.
Flames erupted from his arms, frost condensed around his shoulders. The stone beneath him cracked.
He opened his eyes—one glowing crimson, the other icy blue.
> "I did it…"
He stood, panting, soaked in sweat and steam. The pain was unbearable—but he was no longer the same weak boy they had cast out.
He had taken his first step on the true cultivation path.
And he hadn't even scratched the surface of the inheritance.
---
Suddenly, movement.
A figure approached the ruins—a cloaked man, covered in dust and travel gear.
Lin Xun tensed.
> "Who's there?"
The man lowered his hood.
An old face, lined with age and grief.
> "You survived," he said softly. "Thank the heavens…"
Lin Xun's eyes narrowed. "Who are you?"
> "Your mother's old friend. I arrived too late. But I bring news—and warning."
He tossed a scroll onto the ground.
Lin Xun picked it up and unfurled it.
A bounty notice. His face. His name.
> Wanted: Lin Xun. Alive – 5,000 spirit stones. Dead – 10,000.
> "The clan has branded you a heretic," the old man said grimly. "They fear what you've inherited. They'll send hunters. Assassins."
Lin Xun's fist trembled.
> "Then I'll kill them first."
---
As the sun dipped below the horizon, Lin Xun stood at the edge of the village.
Behind him—ashes. Ahead—a long road, soaked in blood and revenge.
He sheathed his makeshift sword. The ring on his finger pulsed again.
He would head to the Firebone Mountains, where rumors spoke of beast cores and rogue cultivators.
He would grow.
He would dominate.
And he would bury the name they once spat on—until it burned in legend.
---