The wind that swept through the mountains carried the scent of mist and pine, but to me, it smelled faintly of defeat. My robes, once pristine white and stitched with the golden insignia of my sect, clung to me like rags. They were torn, stained with dirt, and smeared with the faint traces of dried blood. Every step I took down the rocky path echoed with a hollow sound in my heart.
The world I had known, the world that once knelt beneath my name, felt like a distant dream now.
"Ling Xuan, the fallen prodigy," they would whisper. "Once a dragon among men, now a crippled sparrow."
Their words haunted me more than any wound.
I tightened my grip on the hilt of the sword at my waist—not out of pride, but out of habit. This blade had been my partner in countless battles, a witness to glory and shame alike. Yet now, even it felt heavy in my grasp, as though ashamed to remain at my side.
The sun had dipped low behind the jagged peaks, casting long shadows across the narrow trail. My breath steamed in the chilly mountain air. Below lay the sprawling valley of Azure Cloud City, the center of my sect's influence and the heart of my shame. I could already imagine the whispers that awaited me upon my return.
How did it come to this?
Just a year ago, my name shook the younger generation of the Great Flame Empire. I was the youngest disciple in centuries to break into the Meridian Tempering Realm, hailed as a genius blessed by the heavens. Elders praised me. Rivals envied me. The sect master himself had patted my shoulder and said, "Ling Xuan, the future of the sect rests in your hands."
And then, as swiftly as fire devours dry grass, everything collapsed.
It happened in the Endless Dream Trial. A forbidden inheritance ground said to be woven from the dying thoughts of an ancient Dream Empress, Yu Mei. Legends said countless geniuses had entered, yet few emerged alive. I, foolishly confident, walked in expecting glory.
Instead, I stumbled out half-dead, my cultivation shattered, and my dantian scarred beyond repair. The elders' faces had shifted from anticipation to cold disappointment. Disciples who once bowed now laughed behind my back. My fiancée's clan annulled our engagement within a week after they heard news of it, their messenger sneering as he delivered the scroll.
And Yu Mei? That name lingered in my mind like a whisper, though I had never seen her. Just a fleeting warmth in the depths of despair, a soft voice that promised something… before silence claimed me.
I didn't tell anyone about that voice. Who would believe me?
"Pathetic," I muttered to myself, stumbling as my foot caught a loose stone.
Pain shot up my leg, but I forced myself forward. The road ahead was steep, the path back to Azure Cloud Sect winding like a coiled serpent through cliffs and forests. It was quiet save for the wind and the distant cries of nocturnal beasts stirring from their dens.
A howl echoed from somewhere below, sharp enough to make my blood run cold. I rested my hand on my sword. Once, that sound would have excited me—I would have hunted the beast for its core and added another trophy to my name. Now, I doubted I could fend off even a low-ranked spirit wolf.
Shame gnawed at me like a persistent insect.
I had been Ling Xuan, Heaven's Chosen. Now I was Ling Xuan, the cripple.
As the stars emerged in the ink-black sky, I stopped at a cliffside to rest. The moon hung fat and silver, spilling pale light over the land below. Azure Cloud City glittered faintly in the distance like a cluster of fireflies.
I sat on a boulder, my body aching, and let my gaze wander up at the constellations. The Veil of Dreams stretched faintly across the sky, a shimmering curtain of ethereal blue and violet lights said to be remnants of a divine realm that once touched this world. Cultivators often meditated beneath it, hoping to glimpse enlightenment.
I'd once felt that connection. Now, it felt distant, as if the heavens themselves had turned their gaze from me.
"I was supposed to be someone," I whispered.
The night was silent, save for the rustling leaves. Then… a warmth stirred in my chest, faint but undeniable.
It was a flicker of heat, buried deep where my shattered dantian should have been cold and lifeless. I straightened, brows furrowing.
Impossible.
I closed my eyes, sinking my awareness inward. My spiritual sense brushed against the familiar emptiness of my ruined core, but beneath that void… there was something.
A flame.
It wasn't physical fire, nor was it spiritual energy. It was something older, deeper, coiled around my soul like a sleeping serpent. Its heat pulsed softly, in rhythm with my heartbeat.
And then I heard it—a voice, distant yet clear.
"Awaken."
I jolted upright, nearly stumbling off the boulder. My sword clattered against the stone.
The voice was feminine, soft as silk, but laced with authority. It was the same voice I'd heard in the Endless Dream Trial—the one I'd dismissed as a hallucination.
"Who's there?" I hissed, scanning the darkness.
No answer came from the forest, only the distant hoot of an owl. Yet within my mind, the warmth pulsed again, stronger this time, and the world seemed to blur.
When my vision cleared, I was no longer on the cliff.
I stood in an endless plain of white mist, the sky above a swirling ocean of purple and gold light. The air was thick with a fragrance I couldn't place, like blooming flowers and burning incense.
And in the center of this dreamlike expanse stood a woman.
She was barefoot, her long hair cascading like a waterfall of black silk. Her robes shimmered like moonlight, every thread carrying a faint glow. A veil concealed her face, but her presence alone radiated such majesty that I felt my knees buckle.
"You…" I whispered.
She turned toward me, and even through the veil, I felt her gaze pierce me to the soul.
"Ling Xuan," she said softly. "You have fallen far."
The words stung, though her tone carried no malice—only a quiet sadness, as if she'd been watching me for a long time.
"Who are you?" I demanded, though my voice trembled.
She tilted her head slightly. "Once, they called me the Dream Empress. Yu Mei."
The name struck me like thunder. The legendary founder of countless alchemical arts, the woman whose inheritance countless geniuses had died seeking. The very trial that had ruined me was said to be her legacy.
And now she stood before me.
I took a step back, my instincts screaming that this was beyond me.
"Why… me?" I managed.
Her veil shifted slightly, and I sensed a faint smile beneath it. "Because destiny is not so easily severed. Even a broken vessel can carry flames."
I clenched my fists. "I'm crippled. My dantian—"
"Is shattered," she finished gently. "Yes. But what was broken can be reforged."
Her words sent a chill through me.
She raised her hand, and in her palm, a flame appeared. It wasn't like any fire I'd seen before. Its color shifted constantly—azure, crimson, gold, and black, flickering like a dream. The heat rolling off it was terrifying yet comforting, as if it recognized me.
"This is the Flame of Dreams," Yu Mei said, her voice a whisper that echoed through the realm. "A flame born from thought, capable of transcending reality itself. I chose you, Ling Xuan, not for what you are… but for what you could become."
I swallowed hard, my heart pounding.
"Why me?" I asked again, almost pleading.
Her gaze softened. "Because when all others saw the trial as a treasure vault, you… sought answers."
I froze. She was right. I hadn't entered the trial just for glory—I'd wanted to understand the strange connection I'd always felt to the Veil of Dreams, the sensation that something in the heavens called to me.
"You carry a spark the heavens fear," Yu Mei continued, stepping closer. "And that spark has chosen me as its guide."
The flame in her palm drifted toward me, hovering before my chest. My breath quickened as its warmth seeped into me, filling the void where my dantian had been shattered.
Pain exploded through my body.
I gasped, doubling over as fire raced through every vein, burning yet not consuming me. My vision blurred, and for a moment, I thought I would faint. But then the pain shifted into something else—a surge of clarity, like every part of my body was being reforged.
"Endure it," Yu Mei's voice said softly, though her tone carried steel.
I gritted my teeth, forcing myself to remain conscious. Images flashed in my mind—vast battlefields lit by roaring flames, an ancient palace suspended between realms, Yu Mei herself standing alone beneath the Veil, her eyes filled with sorrow.
Then, as suddenly as it began, the pain faded.
I opened my eyes to find myself kneeling, my body trembling but… whole. The emptiness in my core was gone. In its place was a flicker of warmth, a flame that pulsed with life.
"You…" I whispered hoarsely, looking up at Yu Mei.
She inclined her head. "You now bear the Flame of Dreams. But remember, Ling Xuan… fire is both creation and destruction. Whether you rise or fall will depend on your heart."
Before I could speak, the world began to dissolve. The mist swirled, the sky dimmed, and Yu Mei's form grew faint.
"Wait!" I shouted. "What do I do now?"
Her voice echoed as she vanished.
"Cultivate. Learn. Survive. And when the time comes… seek me."
I gasped and opened my eyes. The cliffside, the moonlit valley, the chill mountain breeze—they all rushed back to me. My sword lay at my side, and I was drenched in sweat.
But the warmth in my chest remained.
I closed my eyes, focusing inward. There it was—the flame, small but alive, coiling around my soul. My shattered dantian wasn't just repaired—it was… different. Stronger.
A laugh escaped my lips, sharp and bitter. "So this is fate's idea of a joke."
Once, I had been cast aside, written off as a cripple. Now, I carried something beyond mortal comprehension. But I wasn't foolish enough to think this was salvation. No, this was only the beginning.
The world would come for me when it learned what I carried.
I tightened my grip on my sword and rose to my feet. The path ahead was steep, but I felt no fear now. The Veil of Dreams shimmered faintly above, and for the first time in months, I felt its gaze upon me—not with disdain, but with curiosity.
"Very well," I murmured to the night. "Let's see where this fire leads."
And with that, I stepped forward, the faint glow of the Flame of Dreams flickering in my soul.