## Chapter 12: Peak Fire Spirit Body
Li Tianchen stood in the courtyard, quietly grinding herbs with a stone mortar. The motion was steady, unhurried, but his senses were elsewhere—spread thin across the world like invisible threads.
The qi of heaven and earth was still thin.
Yet it was no longer stagnant.
It flowed unevenly now, gathering in certain places, dispersing in others. Like ice beginning to crack beneath sunlight, the world was approaching a point of irreversible change.
"Soon," Li Tianchen murmured.
If the world awakened, then cultivators would emerge—by chance, by luck, by madness. Those without guidance would either soar briefly or collapse violently. Ordinary people would be caught in between.
His family could not be left to fate.
The last herb was crushed into paste. Li Tianchen wiped his hands, stored the prepared ingredients, and left the courtyard.
His target was clear.
Li Tianhao was in his room, sprawled across the bed, phone hovering inches from his face, thumbs moving at lethal speed.
"Victory—ah—no, no, NO—"He groaned. "Stupid teammates."
Li Tianchen knocked once and entered without waiting.
"Tianhao."
"Brother?" Li Tianhao glanced up lazily. "If you're here to lecture me about sleeping early, I promise I'll ignore you respectfully."
"Come with me," Li Tianchen said.
Li Tianhao squinted. "That's exactly what a suspicious person would say."
Li Tianchen turned and walked out.
"…Wow, zero persuasion skills," Li Tianhao muttered, but he got up and followed anyway.
They entered Li Tianchen's room.
The door closed.
The air changed.
Li Tianhao stopped mid-step. His brows furrowed. "Why does it suddenly feel like… I walked into a very expensive air conditioner?"
Li Tianchen waved his hand casually. A thin veil of qi sealed the room.
Sound vanished.
Even dust seemed to hesitate.
Li Tianhao's eyes widened. "Okay. Either I'm dreaming, or you finally stopped pretending to be normal."
"The world is going to change," Li Tianchen said calmly.
Li Tianhao stared at him.
Then laughed.
"Brother, did you watch too many movies again? Last time you said that, it was about the stock market."
"This is different."
"Oh? Is this the 'end of the world' version or the 'secret martial arts society' version?"
Li Tianchen sighed.
He raised his hand slightly.
Without touching anything, the wooden chair beside Li Tianhao creaked—then sank into the floor by an inch, legs cracking audibly.
The floor spiderwebbed.
Pressure rolled outward like a silent wave.
Li Tianhao's laughter died instantly.
"…Brother," he said slowly, "I want to clarify something very important. Since when do you ignore the laws of physics?"
Li Tianchen released the pressure.
The chair stopped sinking.
Silence returned.
Li Tianhao swallowed. "Okay. New rule. I believe you. Completely. Wholeheartedly. Please don't do that again."
"Good," Li Tianchen replied. "Sit."
Li Tianhao sat.
Carefully.
Very carefully.
Li Tianchen stepped forward and took his brother's wrist.
Li Tianhao stiffened. "Is this the part where you tell me I've been chosen?"
"Yes."
"…I knew it."
Li Tianchen sent a thin thread of qi into his brother's body.
The reaction was immediate.
The qi did not scatter like it would in an ordinary mortal.
It ignited.
Warmth surged outward, flowing through meridians as if they had been waiting for centuries. A faint heat gathered beneath Li Tianhao's skin, subtle but unmistakable.
Li Tianchen froze.
His eyes narrowed.
Then widened.
Then—
He stared.
For a full three breaths.
Li Tianhao blinked nervously. "Brother… your face is doing something weird."
Li Tianchen didn't answer.
He deepened his perception.
What he saw made no sense.
A Fire Spirit Body.
Not damaged.
Not incomplete.
Not diluted.
Condensed, stable, blazing quietly like a furnace banked under ash.
Peak tier.
Li Tianchen's mind stalled for half a heartbeat.
Spirit roots and spirit bodies were ranked from waste,low, medium,high,peak,supreme,transcendent and finally legendary divine. Even high-tier physiques were rare. Peak-tier ones were treasures fought over by immortal sects. Supreme-tier could determine the fate of a generation.
Transcendent produced saints.
Divine was legend.
And yet—
His younger brother.
Who once tried to microwave instant noodles without water.
Had a peak-tier Fire Spirit Body.
Li Tianchen let out a short laugh before he could stop himself.
Li Tianhao jumped. "WHY are you laughing like a villain?!"
Li Tianchen released his wrist and took a step back, rubbing his face.
"…Absurd," he muttered.
Li Tianhao frowned. "Is that good absurd or 'I'm about to die' absurd?"
"Good," Li Tianchen said. "Annoyingly good."
Li Tianhao straightened immediately. "So I'm talented."
"Yes."
"How talented?"
Li Tianchen considered his words carefully.
"If you were born elsewhere, sects would fight wars over you."
Li Tianhao's jaw dropped. "You're lying."
"I am not."
Li Tianhao processed this for exactly two seconds before grinning ear to ear. "I KNEW IT. All those years of hard work—"
"You mean gaming."
"—mental training," Li Tianhao corrected smoothly.
Li Tianchen flicked his forehead.
The resulting shock made Li Tianhao stumble backward and clutch his head.
"OW! What was that for?!"
"To remind you," Li Tianchen said evenly, "that talent without discipline becomes ash."
Li Tianhao sulked. "You could've just said 'don't get cocky.'"
Li Tianchen turned and retrieved several prepared herbs, placing them on the table.
"Tianhao," he said, serious now. "What I'm about to give you is not a game."
Li Tianhao nodded slowly. "I figured. Games don't usually come with invisible pressure fields."
"The path ahead will hurt," Li Tianchen continued. "And you will want to quit."
"…How much hurt?"
Li Tianchen thought.
Then answered honestly.
"You will regret every life choice that led you here."
Li Tianhao stared at the herbs. "Brother, I suddenly feel very attached to my normal life."
Li Tianchen smiled faintly. "That life is already gone."
Li Tianhao sighed deeply. "I hate destiny."
"Good," Li Tianchen said. "Hatred burns well with fire."
Li Tianhao looked up sharply. "Wait—fire?"
"Yes."
"…Like, actual fire?"
"Like your body is a furnace pretending to be human."
Li Tianhao paused.
Then laughed nervously. "That explains why I always overheat."
Li Tianchen ignored him and began arranging the herbs.
"This will be a cleansing and awakening process," he said. "I cannot let your body awaken naturally. That would be too violent."
Li Tianhao swallowed. "Violent how?"
"You might explode."
"…YOU COULD'VE LED WITH THAT."
Li Tianchen continued calmly. "Sit cross-legged."
Li Tianhao hesitated, then obeyed.
As the herbs were processed, the room filled with warmth. Not heat—comforting warmth, like standing near a hearth.
Li Tianhao's expression shifted.
"…Brother," he said slowly, "why does this feel like something inside me is stretching?"
Li Tianchen's eyes sharpened. "Endure."
The Fire Spirit Body responded.
A faint glow surfaced beneath Li Tianhao's skin, like embers beneath charcoal.
Li Tianhao clenched his teeth. "It burns… but not badly. More like—like I'm waking up."
Li Tianchen nodded.
"A miracle indeed," he murmured.
Not only was the Fire Spirit Body peak-tier—it carried an anomaly. A compatibility so high that the awakening was smooth, controlled, almost gentle.
Even in the Immortal World, such a case would be recorded in history.
Li Tianhao panted lightly. "Brother… am I glowing?"
"Yes."
"…Is that bad?"
"No."
"…Cool."
Li Tianchen almost smiled.
When the process ended, Li Tianhao collapsed backward onto the bed, exhausted but alive.
"…I feel amazing," he whispered. "Like I could run forever."
Li Tianchen looked at him steadily.
"This is only the beginning."
Li Tianhao groaned. "Why does everyone who says that sound terrifying?"
Li Tianchen turned away.
Because now, things were real.
The world was changing.
And his useless little brother—
Had just stepped onto a path that would set him ablaze.
Whether he rose as a legend—
Or burned himself out—
Would depend on what came next.