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"Flames may die, but some wills linger within the ash."
The jade box trembled in Su Yang's hand, the Soul-Fused Fire Nourishment Pill within pulsing with light—not just alchemical glow, but a deeper, soulful radiance. The same kind of light he had only seen when invoking the petals of his Karma Fire Body.
> "If you're hearing this… then you've inherited my final will."
The voice was old, tired, but carried dignity—a whisper sealed into the pill itself. Su Yang's breath slowed as the message continued, words not spoken aloud but reverberating directly in his soul.
> "My name is Wu Tianzheng. If you've refined this pill… then you've succeeded where even I failed. Listen closely—there isn't much time."
Su Yang's eyes narrowed as the voice entered deeper into his spirit sea. Around him, the flame within his dantian stirred as though bowing in recognition. Even Max, resting on the nearby stone bed, perked up and let out a low, alert growl.
Su Yang placed the pill back in its box, sat cross-legged, and let his spiritual consciousness sink into the flickering memory echo.
---
Within the Soul Flame Imprint—
Everything around him turned red and gray. Su Yang stood on a battlefield of ash. Ruined cauldrons, broken pills, shattered furnaces—symbols of a sect's forgotten war. In the center stood a man with his back turned. Long black robes embroidered with a golden cauldron, and white hair flowing like snow.
The man turned around slowly.
Wu Tianzheng.
His features were sharp but worn by time. Deep bags under his eyes. Fire scars on both hands. Yet despite the exhaustion, his presence radiated power.
> "You're younger than I expected," the figure said, not with surprise—but sadness.
> "You're not truly me, are you?" Su Yang asked calmly.
The man chuckled. "Only a shade. I don't have long before this memory burns out."
Su Yang didn't speak, waiting.
> "I sealed my experiences—flame memories—into that pill. The real pill was never meant to be medicine. It was a key. A test."
He raised a hand and summoned flame threads that danced in the air, each thread whispering with ancient runes.
> "Soul Flame Alchemy isn't just about purity. It's about inheritance. Every flame that touches soul essence leaves behind a trace."
The battlefield around them began to flicker—showing images of other sects, other pills, other deaths.
> "The Valley Master thinks the legacy I left was destroyed. But it wasn't. I buried it within a concept—Soul Flame Resonance. You passed the first step."
Su Yang narrowed his eyes. "And the next?"
Wu Tianzheng's image began to flicker.
> "You'll have to strengthen your soul flame further. Not just through cultivation, but by understanding people—their regrets, their hopes. Flame and soul must become one."
> "And when you've burned bright enough…" he stepped forward, his image already becoming translucent, "…go to the Obsidian Cauldron Ruins beneath the Seventh Flame Peak. My true legacy lies there, hidden in the last array I ever carved."
He raised one hand, pressing a glowing brand toward Su Yang's forehead.
> "When your flame reaches its third petal… this mark will guide you."
Su Yang didn't flinch. The brand merged into his skin, and the vision began to collapse.
> "Beware… not all elders are loyal to the Valley…"
> "And if they learn you carry my soul memory…"
> "They'll try to silence you—again."
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Reality – Su Yang's Cultivation Chamber
He gasped, eyes snapping open. Sweat poured down his face. Max barked once, leaping to his side. The pill inside the jade box had dulled—its purpose complete.
But the burning brand was still glowing faintly on Su Yang's forehead, invisible to normal eyes—but visible to him in the system interface.
> New Trait Unlocked: Soulbrand – Flame of Remembrance
Su Yang stood slowly and wiped his brow.
> "I… inherited the soul memory of Wu Tianzheng?"
He glanced at the jade box again, then toward the flame script in his own hand. Everything he'd gained, everything he now knew—it all came with a cost.
> "I need to grow faster. Stronger. If there are enemies within the sect, I can't afford to wait."
> "And I need to hide this brand… until I'm ready."
He looked at Max, who tilted his head as if asking, Are we in danger again?
Su Yang gave a tired smile. "Always."
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Later That Night – Valley of Harmonious Fire
Su Yang stood atop a ridge overlooking the flame-fed forest. The lava rivers glowed beneath the stars. In his hands, he held two small items: one was a pill he had already refined for his next breakthrough, and the other was the last remaining piece of Thunderleaf Vine, one of the herbs used in the Soul-Fused Fire Nourishment Pill.
> "I wonder… if there's more to his techniques than just spiritual resonance."
He fed the pill to Max, who was approaching his own spirit evolution, then carefully placed the Thunderleaf Vine near Zi Shu in the Spirit Land—letting her instincts guide whether she needed it.
Everything, now, felt more… purposeful.
> "A dead man's soul flame… and a legacy that could reshape alchemy itself."
He exhaled slowly and turned back toward the cave entrance.
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