Yun Jin bit down hard on her lower lip. Blood welled up, sharp and bitter.
She had said it herself—she would save Qin Ping.
She had promised—she would protect everyone.
And now?
Her potential second disciple, the one she had chosen, the one she saw potential in… was about to be killed. Right in front of her.
And she?
Was she really just going to watch?
All this time, she had pinned her hopes on the Law of Fire. On breaking through. On enlightenment.
She had told herself it was the only way.
That she needed to grasp the Law first before she could act.
To hell with the Law of Fire.
Was that really her only path?
Was her will, her strength, her very existence… so meaningless without it?
Gao Jingxuan had just forced himself to rise. Had summoned power from the depths of his soul.
Then what about her?
Was she not Yun Jin?
Dark qi crackled to life around her, violent and restless. She reached for the Tai'a Sword and wrapped her fingers tightly around the hilt.
Come, then.
She had defied the heavens before. Again and again, she had survived the impossible.
Would she really falter now?
Would she let her disciple die? Let her people be slaughtered?
Never.
With a cry that tore through the vortex like thunder, Yun Jin drew her sword.
She poured everything she had into the swing.
The blade roared with power.
The vortex trembled, but held.
Then strike again.
And again.
Her dantian shuddered. Her Primordial Soul cracked.
No matter.
Let it break.
Yun Jin made her choice.
She ignited her own Yuányīng.
A surge of raw power exploded within her. Pain screamed through every fiber of her being—but she didn't stop. She couldn't stop.
She slashed once more, with fury and desperation fused into divine will.
The blood-red vortex split.
Just barely. A tear in the sky. A wound in the formation.
But it was enough.
Without hesitation, Yun Jin burst forward like a streak of flame erupting from the void.
From the heart of the storm, she emerged, blood-soaked and defiant, sword gleaming with searing light.
The girl from the blood net was still suspended in midair, limp and dying.
Yun Jin appeared beside her in a flash and caught her.
Below, Xue Daoren froze.
His pupils shrank in disbelief.
She broke through…?
This was absurd. Utterly insane.
Yun Jin was only in the Unity realm. And yet she had shattered the Blood Vortex—his greatest domain, powered by the blood sacrifice of millions.
He stared up at her as if seeing her for the first time.
A crimson comet streaked through the sky—leaving behind a trail of ash and light.
All around, the disciples of the Blood Dao Sect turned pale.
That woman…
She had escaped the Sect Master's vortex.
And not by outside help or divine artifact.
She had torn her way out.
As if the blood vortex meant nothing.
If she were a Mahayana cultivator, that would've been terrifying.
But she wasn't.
She was still in the Unity realm.
What kind of monster was this?
Gao Jingxuan, dazed and half-conscious, gazed at Yun Jin.
His clarity was already slipping, but when he saw her emerge, he couldn't help but smile faintly.
Good.
The Yun Sect Master was still alive.
"You are quite the surprise," Xue Daoren said coldly.
But Yun Jin didn't spare him a glance.
She was focused inward, sensing the changes within her body. A strange light flickered in her eyes.
"Young Master… you…" The voice of the Tian Po Sword trembled in her mind.
Earlier…
He had tried to shatter the vortex with all his might.
But Yun Jin hadn't even considered that route.
From the moment she appeared, she had sealed him in the depths of her consciousness.
It was only after she burned her Primordial Soul and Yuányīng that the Tian Po Sword broke free.
His heart was filled with pain.
Just another thousand years.
Just a thousand more years, and the Wushuang Sect would have gained an invincible sect master. The human race would have had an unmatched powerhouse.
But now…
She had thrown herself into ruin.
Even if she survived this, in the future…
The Tian Po Sword was steeped in grief.
Then suddenly—
"Huh?"
What…?
Wasn't her Yuányīng and Primordial Soul supposed to be collapsing after that suicidal move?
Why were they suddenly recovering—restoring themselves like they had just consumed a divine elixir?
And not just recovering—
They were returning to full strength instantly.
The Tian Po Sword's eyes filled with shock.
At that moment, scorching elemental forces began to flood toward Yun Jin.
Though five elemental forces had always coexisted in this world, at this moment, crimson flames appeared, manifesting in physical form.
The fire elements—
They danced, they cheered, they surged toward Yun Jin in ecstatic waves.
Even the blood mist that had filled the sky was forced to recede.
Xue Daoren stared blankly.
What was happening?
Fire elements were… materializing in the air?
And more than that—
It had always been cultivators who sought out and absorbed the elements, never the other way around.
Now, the fire elements were racing toward Yun Jin of their own volition.
Xue Daoren wondered if he was losing his mind. He could even faintly sense emotions in those elements.
Joy.
Elation.
And… eagerness to please?
Were the fire elements actually… sucking up to a human?
What kind of nightmare was this?
The fire elements in the city weren't enough. Flames from beyond the city surged in like a tidal wave.
Xue Daoren's expression changed.
"This is bad."
The first wave of fire was stopped at the edge of the demonic blood formation.
But more followed. A second wave. A third.
Wave after wave of fire slammed against the barrier.
With a deafening boom, the formation shattered.
The fire elements burst through, racing toward Yun Jin like children reuniting with their queen.
Yun Jin remained expressionless. She raised her hand, and the fire elements eagerly gathered in her palm.
Then, with a simple motion, she waved.
"Go," she said coldly.
Wave after wave of fire slammed into the formation's boundary like an ocean of flame. And finally—
BOOM.
The barrier collapsed.
The fire surged in.
An unstoppable tide.
A roaring inferno that swept through the city, yet touched no innocents.
The flames bypassed the mortals entirely and flew to Yun Jin.
They gathered at her feet, around her hands, across her shoulders, clothed her in a suit of blazing armor that shimmered like molten gold.
In that instant, the heavens burned behind her.
She stood against the red sky, cloaked in flame, sword in hand.
A goddess.
A sovereign.
A queen born of fire.
The mortals stared up in stunned silence.
"Is… is that a celestial being?"
"It's Fairy Yun. She's become divine."
The crowd erupted in cheers.
Bathed in the flickering light of the inferno, Qin Ping stared at Yun Jin in a daze.
His lips trembled uncontrollably.
The elements surged.
And bowed to their ruler.
The fire element… had found its master.
Yun Jin—
Had comprehended an entire Law.
The Law of Fire.
A complete Law.
A realm long thought accessible only to those in the Mahayana stage.
And she had grasped it while still in the Unity realm.
The Law of Fire—capable of purging all evil.
Qin Ping's eyes grew red with emotion.
Fate, after all, had not abandoned him.
Indeed.
Yun Jin was the future of the Imperial cultivation world.
So long as they followed her—so long as they witnessed her reshape this world—they would have lived full and meaningful lives.
He didn't know whether he'd live to see that day. But as long as someone did, it would be enough.
"The Law of Fire!" The Tian Po Sword's voice was distant, almost dazed. "Young Master… it's the Law of Fire!"
He had followed the Wan Dao Saint for many years and witnessed countless moments of enlightenment.
This—this was the sign of fully mastering a complete Law.
And so—
The fire elements across the heavens and earth had come to greet their sovereign.
With no other master of the Law of Fire in existence, Yun Jin was now the true Queen of Flame.
"This feels… rather nice," Yun Jin murmured, calmly feeling the power coursing through her.
To comprehend a complete Law—such a sensation was ineffable.
Her cultivation hadn't increased much.
But she was now at least a hundred times more powerful than before.
With a single thought, all fire elements in the world would answer her command.
Ignition.
Wildfire.
Blazing flame.
Flame Dominion.
Flame Mastery.
The five supreme Intents fused into one.
Her fire now transcended the limits of ordinary flame.
What she possessed—
Was the true fire of purification.
With it, she would burn away all evil in this world.