Back in his secluded bamboo hut, Lu Chen sat cross-legged upon his simple bed, eyes closed as he mentally cataloged the Mirror's rules.
'One reflection per month. No stacking—if I skip this cycle, it's lost forever.'
The implications settled in his mind with cold clarity. This wasn't a cheat granting omnipotence. It was a strategic instrument—free intelligence on cultivation paths, potential pitfalls, hidden opportunities. And as a transmigrator, his greatest advantage had never been raw talent. It was comprehension. The ability to see patterns others missed.
'The "me" in that reflection isn't truly me,' he reasoned calmly. 'Merely a possibility branching from my current state. A data point to be analyzed—not a soul to be pitied.'
He exhaled slowly, a faint smile touching his lips. Emotional attachment to alternate selves was a luxury cultivators couldn't afford. In the vast world, sentimentality got you killed.
"Begin reflection," he willed silently.
[Ding! Reflection commencing...]
[1st Year] • Cultivated diligently at the Northern Spiritual Academy • Broke through to the Divine Soul Stage after three months, manifesting your Divine Soul within your Aura Sea • Exceptionally granted core disciple status among the Five Great Academies • Transferred to the Northern Azure Spiritual Academy to continue cultivation
[2nd Year] • Slain an Azure Sky Flame Beast during a territory expedition • Refined its Soul Essence into your Divine Soul, fusing spiritual energy with residual heavenly flame • Ranked thirty-ninth on the Earth Ranking—a remarkable feat for your age • Broke through to the Heavenly Fusion Stage, becoming a rising star within the academy • Declined advances from junior female disciples, maintaining single-minded focus on cultivation
[3rd Year] • Broke through to the Heavenly Transformation Stage • Ascended to the Heavenly Ranking of the Northern Cang Spiritual Academy • Politely declined courtship from a senior female disciple, sensing hidden complications beneath her charm • Drew both respect and quiet criticism for your unwavering dedication
[4th Year] • Stabilized foundation at the Heavenly Completion Stage • Received word that Mu Chen had already broken through to the Sovereign Stage and departed the Five Great Academies months prior • Felt a cold weight settle in your chest—first genuine doubt since transmigrating • Questioned whether your talent was truly inferior, or if Mu Chen had encountered unimaginable opportunities beyond your reach
[5th Year] • Confronted the Three Sovereign Disasters Stage • Overcame the Physical Body Disaster Stage—your flesh reforged through excruciating tribulation • Emerged with a tempered, resilient body capable of withstanding greater spiritual energy density
[6th Year] • Endured the Spiritual Energy Disaster Stage • Spiritual energy purged impurities violently, nearly shattering your meridians • Through sheer willpower, stabilized the chaos and emerged with denser, purer spiritual energy
[7th Year] • Stalled at the Divine Soul Disaster Stage, unable to pass its third grade • Left the academy to wander the continent, seeking breakthrough opportunities • Frustration mounted with each passing month of stagnation
[8th Year] • Cultivated while traveling across the continent • Accumulated combat experience against beast hordes and rogue cultivators • Progress remained minimal—you hovered at the threshold of advancement without crossing it
[9th Year] • Same as the eighth—diligent cultivation yielding diminishing returns • Began questioning whether you'd reached your natural limit
[10th Year] • Discovered the legendary Ice Jade Lotus deep within the Frozen Peaks • Consumed its essence and shattered the barrier of the Divine Soul Disaster Stage's third grade • Failed to condense your Sovereign Sea due to lack of Sovereign Spiritual Liquid—a resource monopolized by great powers • Remained trapped between stages, neither progressing nor regressing
[11th Year] • Wandering near the borders of the Endless Fire Territory, encountered an ordinary outer disciple • Impressed by your cultivation insight despite your low stage, he sponsored your entry into the territory • Inside, you were astonished to find most disciples practicing the Burning Technique as their core cultivation method—not merely a supplementary art
[12th Year] • Upon inquiry, learned this was the will of the Flame Emperor, sovereign ruler of the Endless Fire Territory • After ascending to the Great Thousand World, he witnessed his people's stagnation—lacking spiritual veins, they progressed at a snail's pace • He refined his personal Burning Technique, shattering the ancient precedent that only Sovereign Stage cultivators could absorb beast Soul Essence • His innovation allowed cultivators to absorb Heavenly Flames directly from heaven and earth, using the flames to temper their physical bodies through their Divine Soul—effectively forging artificial Heavenly Flame spiritual veins • With sufficiently potent Heavenly Flames, these cultivators could rival geniuses born with human-grade, earth-grade, heaven-grade, or even god-grade spiritual veins • This became the bedrock of the Endless Fire Territory's strength
[13th Year] • Accumulated sufficient merit through territory missions • Exchanged for the Burning Technique—the Flame Emperor's improved version • Before even reaching the Sovereign Stage, absorbed the Myriad Beast Heavenly Flame—one of twenty-three Heavenly Flames personally collected by the Flame Emperor in the lower planes • Fundamentally altered your cultivation path
[14th Year] • Recognizing your potential with the Burning Technique, territory elders arranged a marriage alliance between you and the granddaughter of a ninth-grade Sovereign • You accepted—not out of desire, but cold calculation for cultivation resources and protection • Gained access to the Heavenly Flame Body cultivation method, a Sovereign Celestial Body ranked ninety-seventh among all known bodies • Cultivated diligently, your power growing steadily under your spouse's family's patronage
[15th–16th Years] • Continued refining the Heavenly Flame Body • Reached Sovereign Stage Grade 3 through combined merit of flame absorption and body refinement • Maintained cordial but distant relations with your political spouse
[17th Year] • The extraterrestrial evil races launched a full-scale invasion of the Endless Fire Territory • You fought valiantly on the front lines as a Grade 3 Sovereign • During a critical battle, your spouse's grandfather—prioritizing his bloodline's survival—ordered a strategic retreat that abandoned your position • Surrounded and overwhelmed by demon emperors, you perished on the battlefield, your Sovereign Sea shattered by a concentrated strike
[Reflection terminated: Death at age twenty-six]
[From this reflected fate, three boons crystallize. Select one to manifest in your present:]
[Part 1, Burning Technique (Flame Emperor's Improved Version)] [Part 2, Heavenly Flame Seed, Myriad Beast Heavenly Flame (Sealed)] [Part 3, Sovereign Celestial Body – Heavenly Flame Body Cultivation Method (Rank 97)]
[Make your selection.]
Lu Chen opened his eyes. The reflection's narrative faded from his mind like receding tide, leaving only cold analysis in its wake.
'Twenty-six years… dead on a battlefield after becoming a political pawn.' He exhaled slowly, not with anger, but with sharpened resolve. 'That path held promise—the Burning Technique, the Heavenly Flame Body—but its fatal flaw was dependence on others' goodwill. In cultivation, reliance is death.'
His gaze settled on the three options floating before his soul.
The Sovereign Celestial Body method? Useless now—he remained years from the Sovereign Stage. Attempting to cultivate it prematurely would invite heavenly tribulation and likely shatter his meridians.
The Burning Technique? Valuable… but he possessed only one reflection this month. The technique could potentially be acquired later through merit within the Endless Fire Territory itself—assuming he ever chose to join.
But the Myriad Beast Heavenly Flame…
A Heavenly Flame Seed—sealed, stable, portable. Absorbable before reaching the Sovereign Stage thanks to the Burning Technique's innovation. And crucially—it contained the bloodlines and souls of ten thousand beasts. With sufficient comprehension, he might reverse-engineer its composition… perhaps even isolate individual beast Soul Essences without hunting.
'If I can refine specific beast Soul Essences early—before the Divine Soul Stage—I could accelerate my breakthrough dramatically,' he realized, mind racing with possibilities. 'The risk is high… but the reward justifies it. This isn't dependence on others—it's self-reliant optimization.'
"I choose Part 2," Lu Chen declared firmly. "The Heavenly Flame Seed—Myriad Beast Heavenly Flame."
The moment the words left his lips, a translucent jade bottle materialized before him, hovering in midair. Lu Chen's hand snapped out, catching it with practiced ease. Within the bottle, a crimson flame pulsed gently—shifting, flowing, its form subtly resembling ten thousand beasts stampeding across an ancient plain.
Simultaneously, knowledge flooded his mind:
Myriad Beast Heavenly Flame: Forged from the fused souls and bloodlines of ten thousand beast species. One of twenty-three Heavenly Flames collected by the Flame Emperor within the lower planes. Contains inheritances of fire-attribute, earth-attribute, and wind-attribute beast clans. Sealed state stable for three years.
Lu Chen carefully tucked the jade bottle into his spatial bracelet—no regret shadowing his choice. As a transmigrator, his greatest advantage had never been raw talent or cheat codes. It was comprehension. The ability to see patterns others missed.
And the moment he'd learned this flame contained ten thousand beast bloodlines… a bold hypothesis had ignited within him.
'If I can isolate individual beast Soul Essences from this flame before reaching the Divine Soul Stage… I might shatter the natural order of cultivation itself.'
Whether it would succeed remained uncertain. But in cultivation, as in life—calculated risks separated the extraordinary from the ordinary.
...
One month later.
The Black Abyss.
Located in the southern reaches of the Northern Spiritual Realm, this forbidden zone remained largely untouched by human activity. Thick, poisonous miasma perpetually shrouded its primeval forests, while venomous insects and giant serpents ruled its shadowed depths. Even seasoned experts of the Spiritual Rotation Stage dared not venture deep without preparation.
Lu Chen stood at the forest's edge, gazing into the gloom ahead. Before him stretched an ancient woodland cloaked in darkness, its canopy so dense that grayish miasma pooled above the treetops like stagnant fog. This miasma carried a virulent poison—merely inhaling it could corrode meridians and rot the lungs of unprepared cultivators.
From his spatial bracelet, Lu Chen retrieved a small jade vial. He swallowed the antidote within—bitter herbs that immediately warmed his dantian. Next, he secured a leather mask lined with purified cotton soaked in neutralizing agents over his nose and mouth. Finally, he drew a black robe over his body, its fabric treated with miasma-repelling herbs.
Only then did he step across the boundary stone marking the Black Abyss's entrance.
The moment he crossed, a bone-deep chill seeped through his robes, causing his blood to run cold. Spiritual energy instinctively surged within his meridians in response. He activated the low-grade spiritual-grade technique he'd been cultivating—Flame Manipulation Technique—and crimson spiritual energy flickered across his skin. The unnatural cold receded instantly, replaced by a steady, comforting warmth.
He pressed forward, senses sharp, every step measured.
After a quarter-hour of cautious travel, a sudden tremor vibrated through the earth beneath his feet. Lu Chen's body reacted before his mind fully processed the threat—his toes pushed off the ground, launching him backward just as a massive shadow erupted from the withered leaves ahead.
A gigantic serpent, scales black as midnight, lunged with terrifying speed—fangs bared, venom dripping from its maw.
Lu Chen's expression remained calm. Spiritual energy surged down his arms, crimson light enveloping his fists like molten metal. He didn't retreat further. Instead, he met the serpent's charge with a single forward step and a devastating right cross.
Shocking Fist!
BOOM!
The serpent's skull shattered under the impact—two fist-sized holes punched clean through its head. But the true devastation came a heartbeat later: the shockwave erupted within its body, vibrating through bone and organ alike. The creature convulsed once, then collapsed into a shapeless mass of bloody pulp.
"Mid-phase Spiritual Rotation Stage—Black Nether Serpent," Lu Chen murmured, identifying the beast from prior research. Then he paused, slapping his forehead with a wry smile. "Foolish. I forgot the most basic precaution."
From his spatial bracelet, he retrieved a small pouch of insect-repelling powder—refined from five poisonous herbs known to deter serpents and insects alike. He sprinkled a generous amount over his robes and boots, the sharp scent immediately dispersing into the humid air.
Satisfied, he continued deeper into the Black Abyss—toward a secluded valley he'd marked on his map. A valley rumored to harbor Azure Sky Flame Beasts.
'Time to test my hypothesis,' he thought, fingers brushing the jade bottle hidden within his spatial bracelet. 'If I can refine even one beast Soul Essence before the Divine Soul Stage… the entire cultivation world will never see me coming.'