Time dragged on.
It had been nearly an hour since Wu Chen entered the guest room. He sat quietly, lost in thought, hoping everything would go smoothly—hoping he could stay out of trouble this time.
But fate, as always, had other plans.
The door burst open.
"Senior! Save me!"
The sudden shout made Wu Chen flinch. He turned sharply toward the noise—and froze.
"Liu Xi?" he muttered. "What the hell…?"
The man stumbling in looked half-dead—face pale, drenched in sweat, robes torn and soaked in blood. Yet the panicked voice was unmistakable.
"Senior, someone's trying to kill me!" Liu Xi gasped, clutching the doorframe. "An assassin—please, you have to help me!"
Blood dripped down his arm as he staggered forward.
Before Wu Chen could react, another figure appeared in the doorway—a man in a black cloak, face hidden beneath a hood. His mere presence made the air grow colder.
The stranger's voice was low and calm, but every word carried a chill.
"Well now… two people to disappear."
Wu Chen's eyes narrowed. That voice… it sounded like Xiao Yan.
No—his aura was different. Colder. Sharper. This was Yao Lao in control. And if the story was right, Xiao Xun'er was probably watching from the shadows.
A knot formed in Wu Chen's stomach. The situation was far worse than he thought. He wasn't just caught in the middle—he was a witness neither side would let live.
What now?
Wu Chen clenched his jaw, mind racing.
Damn it, Liu Xi. Of all people, why'd you run here? You're supposed to be dead already—and now you've dragged this mess straight to me.
He let out a slow sigh, shoulders relaxing as if the whole thing were nothing more than an inconvenience.
"Well," he said, sounding bored, "this just got interesting."
He straightened his robe with deliberate care, pretending not to notice the killing intent hanging in the air.
"You really couldn't have picked a quieter hour for drama, Liu Xi?"
"Senior—please!" Liu Xi grabbed at his sleeve like a drowning man clutching a rope.
Wu Chen gave him a calm, almost amused look. Inside, he was calculating distances and escape routes, but outwardly he looked like someone too tired to care.
Then he turned to the hooded man.
"And you," he said lazily, "ever heard of manners? You don't just barge into someone's room uninvited. At least tell me your name first. A bow would be nice too."
The figure didn't move. Only his hand twitched—a tiny, trained motion that reeked of menace.
Then, in a voice as sharp as a blade, he spoke.
"Etiquette? In a place like this?"
He gave a dry, joyless laugh. The air grew heavier, heat pressing against Wu Chen's skin like invisible needles. This wasn't normal qi—it was something else.
The cloaked man—Xiao Yan's body under Yao Lao's control—moved with chilling calm. His cloak rippled like smoke as he raised his hand. A spark ignited at his fingertips.
In an instant, a blue-white flame roared to life. Not ordinary fire, but the Bone-Chilling Flame—a Heavenly Flame whose nature was both searing and freezing, simultaneously burning flesh while chilling the soul.
Its duality made it instinctively dominate all other flames, bending them to its will, and its gaze alone carried a silent, lethal judgment.
A serpent of fire struck first at Liu Xi, then swept toward Wu Chen. The air twisted violently, beams above them darkening, silk curtains curling and blackening.
Liu Xi screamed and fell to his knees.
"S-Senior! It's a Heavenly Flame! We're dead!"
His robes caught fire at the edges as he grabbed at Wu Chen's leg, trembling violently. As an alchemist, he knew—this wasn't something you could block. Heavenly Flames devoured both body and soul.
Wu Chen's calm expression faltered. His heartbeat thundered.
A Heavenly Flame? Already?
Then a metallic chime rang in his mind.
[Extreme Threat Detected: Heavenly Flame (Bone-Chilling Flame Variant). Estimated Lethality: 100%. Conversion Opportunity: Massive Greed Points if intercepted and absorbed. Emergency Defense Available: 500 Greed Points for "Greed Devour Barrier."]
Damn it, he cursed inwardly. He'd planned to keep a low profile, playing the aloof senior while milking the Jia Lie clan for points. But this—this was Yao Lao flexing his power.
No time to think.
"Activate Greed Devour Barrier. Spend 500 points—full power."
The backlash hit like a punch to the gut.
[Current Greed Points: 450 → -50 (Overdraw Mode Active – 10% interest per minute).]
Still, Wu Chen didn't hesitate. He raised his palm, and from deep within, something dark unfurled—a hungry mist streaked with gold. It spread out like a living shadow, meeting the Heavenly Flame head-on.
The collision was silent. No explosion, no thunder—just stillness.
The invisible chilling fire stopped inches from Liu Xi's face, frozen as if trapped in thick tar. Then its light began to dim, its icy heat vanishing, every fragment of the dual-natured flame devoured by the black-gold mist.
Only silence remained.
Liu Xi sobbed softly, shaking all over. The smell of burnt wood filled the air.
The hooded figure took a step back, shocked. The hood slipped just enough to reveal Xiao Yan's youthful face—but the voice that came was Yao Lao's, trembling with disbelief.
"What… what is this?"
Inside the ring, Yao Lao's spiritual sense shuddered. That casual strike should've vaporized them. Heavenly Flames bowed to no one—they were destruction itself. Yet this man had devoured it. Effortlessly.
Impossible, he thought. No formation, no artifact. That aura—it's not Dou Qi. It's something darker. A devouring art? Who is he?
For a moment, Xiao Yan's own mind flickered through the control. Teacher… did I miss? Yao Lao quickly forced him still.
"You," Yao Lao said coldly, "are no ordinary person. That thing—where did it come from? Speak, or I'll burn you both to ash."
Liu Xi, still kneeling, looked up at Wu Chen in awe.
"S-Senior… you stopped a Heavenly Flame? With your bare hand?! Impossible! I've studied flames my whole life—nothing can survive that! You're… you're a monster! A legend!"
He crawled closer, grabbing Wu Chen's robe with shaking hands.
"Please, Senior—take me as your disciple! I'll do anything! Just save me!"
Wu Chen ignored him. The black mist faded, leaving golden sparks hanging briefly in the air. The system's voice chimed again.
[Defense Successful. Absorbed: 15% Heavenly Flame Essence. +1,247 Greed Points (Debt cleared; Surplus: 697). New Skill: "Flame Greed Imprint" – +20% fire resistance for 24 hours. Warning: Concealment compromised by 40%.]
Not bad. Wu Chen's lips curled slightly. The gamble had paid off.
He yawned lazily, as if bored of the whole thing.
"Origin? Please. I'm just a traveler who hates interruptions."
His tone was light, mocking.
"As for your little flame trick… cute. But next time, make sure it doesn't bite you back."
He flicked his fingers, releasing a small wisp of blue fire. It floated for a moment before bursting softly, scattering frost across the assassin's cloak.
The cloaked figure—Xiao yan—froze. The frost left behind by the returning wisp cracked across his robe, sounding like quiet, mocking laughter. Under that invisible grip, Xiao Yan's body trembled.
Yao Lao's spiritual sense pushed deeper, trying to see what kind of being stood before him—but what he found made no sense. There were no clear signs of life or soul, only empty layers, like echoes inside an endless void. It was old, hungry, and far beyond anything he understood.
Liu Xi still clung to Wu Chen's sleeve, shaking, his mind broken by what he had just seen—a Heavenly Flame obeying another's will.
"Senior… you're… you're beyond legends. Please, I beg—"
"Quiet."
Wu Chen's tone was flat, irritated. He brushed Liu Xi off like dust and looked at the hooded figure before him. His eyes gleamed faintly beneath his hood.
"Even lost souls think they deserve my attention now?" he said lazily. "Go back to whatever ring or shadow you crawled from, old ghost. I'm not interested."