Ficool

Chapter 5 - Chapter 4: Cauldron Ritual Manual

Li Fan sat alone under the crumbling roof of the servant's quarters.

The rain had passed, but the chill remained, creeping through the cracked walls and seeping into his bones. The events of the courtyard still echoed in his mind: Li Shen's arrogance, the crushing defeat he handed out like a divine judgment — and the stunned silence that followed.

But none of it mattered now.

Li Fan's focus wasn't on vengeance. It was on what lay ahead.

He closed his eyes and sank into stillness. Slowly, breath by breath, he sank inward. Not into Qi — for he had none — but into the strange world that had awakened within him.

And there it was again.

Floating in the void behind his thoughts — the Cauldron Mark.

It hovered in his consciousness like a brand upon his soul. Glowing with ancient bronze light, it bore the shape of a cauldron encircled by nine rings, each carved with indecipherable runes.

When his mind touched it, something changed.

The world went silent.

His breathing stopped. His heart slowed. And in that impossible stillness, the manual opened.

> "The path of the Hegemon begins with rejection — by the world, by Heaven, by the Dao."

"Therefore, it creates its own laws."

Lines of golden script unrolled before his mind's eye — not written on parchment, but etched into space itself. The words shimmered, shifting through meanings older than language. But somehow, Li Fan understood.

This wasn't just a technique.

It was a philosophy.

A declaration of war against the weakness of the flesh and the tyranny of fate.

The first nine scrolls were labeled as:

1. Earth Cauldron – Bone Tempering

2. Fire Cauldron – Blood Purification

3. Water Cauldron – Muscle Rebirth

4. Wind Cauldron – Nerve Awakening

5. Thunder Cauldron – Meridian Forging

6. Metal Cauldron – Skin of Steel

7. Heaven Cauldron – Divine Organs

8. Void Cauldron – Soul Integration

9. Hegemon Cauldron – Law Embodiment

He had completed the first.

But the second would be harder. Much harder.

> "To awaken the Fire Cauldron, you must purify your blood in flame. Not alchemical flame, nor spiritual — but true, elemental fire. The trial must take place within a natural flame basin, where the earth still breathes."

Li Fan's eyes opened, the weight of understanding heavy on his chest.

There were no such places within the inner courtyard. Not even in the Li Clan's fire-forging halls.

But he remembered an old servant's tale—whispers told to frighten children.

A ruined volcanic temple hidden beyond the Jade Spine Mountains. A place sealed off centuries ago because it devoured every cultivator who entered. A place even the elders feared to tread.

The Scarlet Demon Forge.

It was real.

And it was the only place within reach where he could awaken the Fire Cauldron.

He stood up, bones still warm from the trial of the Earth Cauldron. His body was far from healed. His skin still bore bruises, his arms ached, and he hadn't eaten properly in days.

But the fire was in his blood now. Literally.

He grabbed his satchel, packed the dried rations he had left, a water pouch, and a tattered outer robe.

If he was going to step onto the Hegemon's path, he couldn't afford comfort. He couldn't afford hesitation. He couldn't afford safety.

The Forge awaited.

And the trial of flame was just beginning.

More Chapters