Wu Tan City stirred early, but its heart never truly woke.
It pulsed with quiet desperation—merchants haggling with forced smiles, guards pretending their presence meant safety, nobles clinging to dwindling bloodlines like dust-choked banners. And within this growing city stood the Xiao Clan, once proud, now desperate to reclaim former glory.
I walked through the stone corridor of the Xiao estate with silent steps. Whispers followed me like smoke.
> "That's him… the 'crippled' one who crushed Xiao Feng…"
> "I heard he used fire Dou Qi. But he was supposed to be weak, wasn't he?"
> "Old Man Xiao must've found him a secret art."
I didn't correct them.
Let them guess.
---
In the privacy of my small courtyard, the Ash Born System flared to life.
> Phoenix Flame Core Sync: 15%
Physical Dou Qi Refinement: 64%
Next Milestone: Breakthrough to Dou Zhe
> Skill Tree Expanded: Ash Phoenix – Tier 2 Unlock at Dou Zhe
I paced the stone floor.
A month ago, I couldn't even ignite a basic Qi flow. Now, I felt like a furnace walking in human skin.
But I also knew what came next.
The Dou Zhe Pill.
Even Xiao Yan needed help reaching that first true stage. Without pills or heavenly intervention, a bottleneck was common.
But the system had other plans.
> New Task Unlocked: Ember Trial – Solo Advancement Ritual
Forge a Dou Zhe core without external aid. Risk: High. Reward: +Extra Inheritance Sync
> Would you like to initiate the trial?
I paused.
> Yes.
---
Ember Trial: Hidden Flame Cavern – Midnight
The system guided me to the edge of Wu Tan City, near a collapsed mine long abandoned after a fire-type Magic Beast incident.
Perfect.
I descended into the Hidden Flame Cavern using Ember Step bursts, lighting the walls with faint purple sparks. The deeper I went, the hotter the air became.
Molten stone. Dormant beast bones. Ash still fresh after years.
At the center of the cavern, a floating glyph pulsed from an old altar.
The moment I stepped into the circle, the system surged.
> Trial Initiated: Survive Flame Heart Rebirth
Fire erupted from every direction.
I screamed—not from pain, but from the pressure.
My bones cracked. My skin steamed. The Qi within me boiled like oil ready to combust.
Then the flame turned inward.
Not to destroy—
> To forge.
---
I saw visions.
Of a sky aflame with wings made of sunfire.
Of a beast falling from the heavens, feathers burned to ash by time and war.
Of a single ember drifting across the void… and entering a child's soul.
Me.
> You are reborn of ruin. Rise, flame-child.
When I opened my eyes, the altar had cracked. The glyph vanished.
And within my dantian, a golden-red spiral of energy pulsed—smaller than a coin, but dense with unimaginable power.
I had become… a Dou Zhe.
---
System Notification:
> Breakthrough Successful: Dou Zhe (1-Star)
• +Flame Core Stability
• +Ash Phoenix Inheritance Sync (24%)
• +Trait: Burning Recovery (Passive)
> Sustain injuries below critical threshold? Trigger regenerative flame pulse once per day.
> Tier 2 Skills Available Soon
---
As I climbed out of the cavern, the fire around me cooled.
But something else had ignited.
Far away, in the depths of the Tagan Desert, a snake queen stirred in her slumber.
In a distant mountain range, a sealed beast yawned within dragon bones.
And in the Xiao Clan… I returned as more than a son.
I returned as a flame reborn.
---
[End of Chapter 3]