Chapter 16 – The Price of Ascension
The air inside the cavern grew still. Every sound vanished—the drip of water, the whisper of wind, even the rhythm of Tianlan's heartbeat.
He sat cross-legged on the stone floor, eyes closed, surrounded by circles of ancient runes that pulsed like veins of light beneath his skin. The Heaven-Breaking Sage watched silently from the throne.
( "Forget everything you know about cultivation," the sage said.
"The Forbidden Art doesn't gather spiritual energy. It steals it—from your future, from fate itself." )
A flicker of unease crossed Tianlan's face, but he didn't open his eyes.
( "To defy Heaven," the sage continued, "you must first consume the part of yourself that still fears it." )
The runes flared, and pain struck like lightning.
Tianlan's body convulsed; his veins glowed crimson as golden dragon scales rippled beneath his skin. He felt the weight of a thousand memories—the screams of his clan, the flames of their destruction, his helplessness that night.
Then, beneath the agony, a whisper: Do you yield?
He gritted his teeth until blood dripped from his lips.
( "I don't yield. Not now. Not ever." )
---
Days turned into weeks.
Within that timeless cavern, Tianlan lived between life and death.
He devoured celestial essence torn from fallen stars, refined his bones with molten qi, and tempered his soul through illusions of endless slaughter. Each cycle stripped away something human—his warmth, his hesitation, his mercy.
The sage guided him without mercy.
( "Pain is the language of power," the old man said. "Learn to listen." )
Sometimes Tianlan's screams echoed through the valley for days. Other times, he sat in complete silence, his aura cold enough to freeze air.
On the fiftieth day, his spirit cracked open.
A second heart formed in his chest—an Ethereal Core, glowing with dragon-shaped light. The moment it appeared, the cave trembled, and Heaven itself shivered.
Lightning flashed across the Earth Realm. Mountains split, rivers reversed. The clouds twisted into the image of a golden dragon coiled around a crimson sun.
Every cultivator in the realm stopped and looked up in terror.
( "He's alive," someone whispered.
"The Rebellious Heir of Heaven has awakened." )
---
Inside the cavern, Tianlan opened his eyes.
They no longer held only the color of storm clouds—they now burned with twin halos of gold and red, like the merging of dragon and flame.
The Heaven-Breaking Sage rose from his throne for the first time.
( "You've done it," he said softly. "The First Gate of Ascension is open. You now stand beyond mortal limit—but remember, Tianlan… every step upward demands a sacrifice." )
Tianlan stood slowly, his aura surging like an ocean in storm. "What kind of sacrifice?"
The sage's expression darkened.
( "The closer you climb to Heaven, the more it will take from you—memories, emotions, even names. The gods ensure that no one reaches their throne without becoming something unrecognizable." )
Tianlan smiled faintly. "Then I'll carve a throne with no name."
---
That night, he stepped out of the cavern for the first time in months.
The air outside was different—heavy with energy, trembling beneath his presence.
He looked up at the stars, each one pulsing like a heartbeat.
( "The Earth Realm can no longer hold me," he murmured. "The path leads upward." )
And in the heavens far above, seven rulers turned their gaze toward the mortal world—feeling, for the first time, the pulse of fear within their divine hearts.