Lighthouse in the Dark Night

On the second floor of the teahouse, at a table by the window.

Su Chen held his teacup, his fingertips sensing the faint warmth radiating from the ceramic wall.

Down on the long street, the crowd surged; those who had previously gathered in front of the Xiao Clan estate to gawk had long since mostly dispersed, leaving only a few busybodies craning their necks, peering fruitlessly toward the tightly shut gates.

The atmosphere inside the teahouse, however, was quite lively.

"Tsk tsk, you didn't see it—the Misty Cloud Sect's entourage, it was truly magnificent!"

"Need you say? The number one sect in the Jia Ma Empire! For them to come to our Wutan City, it really brings glory to our humble abode!"

"I just wonder, what business do they have with the Xiao Clan? Judging by the atmosphere, it didn't look like they were there to propose marriage."

A burly mercenary lowered his voice, a look of schadenfreude on his face.

"Heh, what good could it be? Have you forgotten that genius of the Xiao Clan? Three years ago, he was a prodigy the likes of which Wutan City hadn't seen in a century, reaching the rank of Dou Practitioner at twelve! But what happened later? His cultivation regressed instead of advancing; three years later, I'm afraid even the third stage of Dou Disciple is a stretch for him!"

"Are you saying... the Misty Cloud Sect is here to annul the engagement?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the people at the neighboring tables collectively gasped.

Annulment.

For a family that had once been glorious, this was no different than the loudest of slaps to the face.

Su Chen took in all these discussions, his face devoid of any ripples. He simply sipped his tea quietly, his gaze crossing the long street to land on the heavy gates of the Xiao Clan estate.

He was waiting.

Waiting for a storm to erupt in full.

Waiting for a voice destined to resound across the entire continent.

Time slipped away, drop by drop, amidst the swirling fragrance of the tea.

Just as the atmosphere in the teahouse grew increasingly noisy and the crowd's speculations about the Xiao Clan's future became more unbearable.

A sudden, irrepressible commotion erupted from the direction of the Xiao Clan estate.

It was a chaotic sound mixed with exclamations, angry rebukes, and arguments; though it came from a distance, it remained clearly audible.

The teahouse fell silent in an instant.

Everyone froze, their movements ceasing as they looked in unison toward the window.

The commotion came as quickly as it went.

In just a few breaths, it returned to silence, as if everything that had just happened were merely an illusion.

But the more it seemed so, the more it piqued everyone's curiosity.

"Did the talks collapse?"

"Eight or nine out of ten! I told you, how could an existence as lofty as the Misty Cloud Sect tolerate their future son-in-law being a piece of trash who can't even cultivate Dou Qi!"

"Now, the Xiao Clan has truly lost all face..."

Jeering laughter, full of schadenfreude, rang out in the teahouse without any attempt at concealment.

Su Chen set down his teacup.

He knew the internal conflict had already ended.

What followed would be the final, and proudest, counterattack of the youth who had been humiliated to the extreme.

He did not look out the window again.

He slowly closed his eyes, his mind like water, sinking into that familiar, void space located in the deepest part of his consciousness.

The ancient Stone Platform floated in the center, unchanging through the ages.

The entire space was as quiet as the origin point before the birth of the universe.

Su Chen's consciousness, like a patient hunter, lay in wait.

He was waiting for a signal.

A signal that only he could capture.

One breath.

Two breaths.

Three breaths.

At that very moment!

Without warning!

BOOM--!!!!

Su Chen's entire consciousness space shuddered violently!

It was a terrifying upheaval that defied description!

If the Stone Platform's reaction when he had analyzed the beast fire earlier was merely a ripple on the surface of a lake.

At this moment, this void of space felt as if it had been violently struck by a star falling from beyond the heavens!

The entire space was twisting, wailing in agony!

The ancient, primitive Stone Platform at the very center erupted with an unprecedented, blindingly intense white light!

That light was no longer gentle, no longer comforting.

It was filled with a kind of forcibly awakened, instinctual... yearning! And excitement!

Hum, hum, hum—!

The countless mysterious runes on the surface of the Stone Platform seemed to come alive; they flowed frantically and flickered at high speed, forming a massive, constantly rotating vortex that seemed intent on devouring this entire void!

Su Chen's consciousness was as insignificant as a lone boat in this unprecedented storm, ready to be capsized at any moment!

He could not comprehend what was happening at all!

He didn't even have time to react!

Just then!

A wisp of aura.

A wisp that was extremely faint, yet pure and noble to the extreme, seemed to pierce through infinite space and dimensions, forcibly captured and dragged into the vortex of rotating runes from the real world!

It was a wisp of... flame aura!

The moment it appeared, the entire riotous space of consciousness suddenly froze!

Cold.

It was a bone-chilling cold that originated from the depths of the soul!

It felt as if it could freeze all things, freeze time and space, and freeze all vitality!

It was worlds apart from any beast fire Su Chen had ever encountered!

The fire of the Fire Rock Lizard was impure and violent.

But this wisp of aura was pure, restrained, and carried a king-like aloofness and dominance that seemed to tower above all other fires!

It was too weak.

As weak as a candle flame about to be extinguished.

Yet its essence, its "status," was so high that it made Su Chen's soul tremble!

It was like...

The night.

In the endless, pitch-black night that represented the countless mortal fires of the Dou Qi Continent.

It was the only lighthouse!

That lighthouse, though distant and faint, had its light pierce through all the darkness, clearly and firmly locked onto and marked by the Stone Platform!

"Unknown high-level fire source detected..."
"Category: Heavenly Flame (fragmented soul body)"
"Analyzing name... Analysis failed..."
"Energy characteristics: Extremely Yin, extremely cold, capable of tempering the spirits of all things..."
"Status: Dormant, extremely weak..."
"Warning! Detected strong, unyielding will triggering this fire source!"

Lines of intermittent, blurred information were branded into Su Chen's mind as if carved by fire!

Heavenly Flame!

These two words exploded in the depths of his soul like a divine thunderbolt descending from the nine heavens!

On the second floor of the teahouse.

Clatter—!

A crisp shattering sound rang out suddenly, instantly breaking the noise of the room.

Everyone's gaze was drawn over in unison.

In the booth by the window, a thin, frail youth sat frozen, his face deathly pale.

At his feet lay a shattered white porcelain teacup, with brown tea and leaves splattered across the floor.

"Customer, are you alright?"

The waiter hurried over with a rag, a hint of annoyance on his face.

The youth seemed not to hear him.

He remained in that same posture, eyes wide, his pupils still holding a trace of extreme shock and horror that had yet to fade.

His chest heaved violently, each breath as if he were trying to squeeze every last bit of air from his lungs.

Cold sweat slid silently down his temple.

"Gu... guest?"

The waiter called out once more.

Su Chen's body gave a violent jolt.

It was as if he had just awakened from a deep dream, snapping back to reality.

The clamor of the surrounding crowd, the waiter's impatient urging, the aroma of tea... all his senses flooded back to him.

He lowered his head, glancing at the mess on the floor, then at his own hand, which was still trembling slightly and held nothing at all.

That... that wasn't a hallucination!

He forcibly suppressed the tsunami of shock surging within his heart, fished a few silver coins from his robe, and spoke with a voice that carried a trace of imperceptible hoarseness.

"My apologies, my hand slipped. Is this... enough for the damages?"

Seeing the dazzling silver coins, the displeasure on the waiter's face vanished instantly, replaced by a beaming smile.

"More than enough, more than enough! Please, take your time, guest, I'll clean this up right away!"

Su Chen paid him no further mind.

He sat down slowly, hiding his hands beneath the table and clenching them into tight fists, his nails digging deep into his palms, using the pain to maintain his final shred of composure.

He scanned his surroundings rapidly.

The other patrons merely glanced his way before returning to their gossip about the Xiao Clan.

No one.

Not a single person had sensed that terrifying aura from a moment ago, an aura capable of freezing the very soul.

It was as if, in the entire world, only he had experienced that baptism and storm on a spiritual level.

He exhaled a long, stale breath, struggling to stop his body from trembling.

His gaze locked once more, with lethal intensity, upon that silent mansion across the street.

At this moment, within his perception.

Within his consciousness space.

That "lighthouse," forcibly marked by the Stone Platform, sat with absolute clarity deep within that mansion!

There was no mistake.

There could be no mistake!

That status, which stood above all other flames, that chilling and overbearing aura of extreme cold...

It could only be the legendary flame that devoured all things and incinerated souls...

Ranked eleventh on the Heavenly Flame Ranking...

Bone Chilling Flame!

And its master...

Yao Chen!

Just then!

Creeeak—!

The tightly shut gates of the Xiao Clan were flung open once again with a violent force!

A thin, stubborn figure charged out from within!

The youth's clothes were slightly disheveled, his refined face flushed a deep red, and those black eyes, usually somewhat dim, were now burning with a raging fire of indignation and defiance!

He ignored the strange gazes cast his way, staring only at the gate behind him, and roared with a voice that was nearly a scream!

"Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river!"

"Do not bully the young because they are poor—!!"

The voice rolled outward like a thunderclap!

And at that very moment.

Su Chen clearly perceived it.

Inside the Xiao mansion, the lighthouse representing the "Bone Chilling Flame" was stirred by the youth's soaring spirit; it flickered slightly, and then... it began to move!

It followed the youth who had charged out of the gates, step by step, slowly approaching the direction where he sat!

Su Chen's heart felt as if it were about to leap out of his chest!

He watched the youth, whose face was filled with humiliation and resentment, yet whose spine remained straight as a rod.

He watched the plain, unassuming black ring upon the youth's finger.

Everything matched.

Su Chen's lips trembled slightly.

He muttered to himself in a voice that only he could hear.

That voice carried endless shock, along with an irrepressible tremor known as ecstasy.

"It can't be wrong..."

"This is..."

"The true Heavenly Flame!"