Flame Pattern Ring

As the first light of dawn barely touched the horizon, a caravan like a torrent of steel stood ready outside the west gate of Wutan City.

Over a hundred guards clad in uniform black attire exuded a fierce aura, their long blades reflecting a cold, biting glint under the rising sun.

They were the elite caravan of the Mite'er Family; usually, such a formation was only deployed when escorting goods worth over a million.

Yet today, they were escorting only one person.

Ya Fei, dressed in a fiery red qipao, looked like a burning flame in the morning breeze.

She handed a heavy storage bag to Su Chen.

"Inside are all the intelligence reports, maps, and a brand-new identity you require."

Her voice was crisp, carrying the efficiency characteristic of a queen of the business world.

"From today on, you are 'Mr. Yan', a mysterious traveling merchant roaming the various regions of the empire. This identity is flawless and sufficient to withstand scrutiny from any faction in the empire."

Su Chen took the storage bag and nodded.

"Much obliged."

"Take care on your journey."

Ya Fei's red lips uttered only these four words.

There were no superfluous exhortations, nor any reluctant attempts to make him stay.

Between them, such things had long since become unnecessary.

Su Chen turned, preparing to board the luxurious carriage crafted from black ironwood.

"Wait."

Ya Fei's voice came from behind him.

Su Chen's footsteps halted, and he turned around.

He saw Ya Fei looking at him, her captivating peach-blossom eyes seeming, at this moment, even brighter than the dawn on the horizon.

"I have something to give you as well."

Su Chen's movements stalled.

Ya Fei moved with graceful steps, walking up to him.

An intoxicating fragrance wafted toward him.

She extended her slender, delicate hand, and resting in her palm lay a ring, pitch-black in its entirety.

The material of the ring was neither gold nor jade, and engraved upon its surface was a lifelike flame pattern, appearing both ancient and mysterious.

"This storage ring is the highest quality piece in the Mite'er Family collection. Its internal space is vast, and its special material can block most spiritual sense probes."

Ya Fei held the ring out.

"Your journey to the Great Desert is fraught with danger; perhaps you will find use for it."

Su Chen looked at the ring but did not take it immediately.

From beneath the shadow of his bamboo hat came a steady voice.

"There is no need."

"I have already prepared a storage ring for myself."

As he spoke, he extended his own hand.

Resting in his palm lay a ring as well.

The style of the ring was remarkably similar to the one in Ya Fei's hand, bearing a seventy to eighty percent resemblance.

It was pitch-black, and engraved upon its surface was the same flame pattern.

However, the flame pattern on the ring in Su Chen's hand seemed more vivid, as if it possessed life, flowing slowly across the surface.

Ya Fei's movements froze in mid-air.

She looked at the ring in Su Chen's hand, and for the first time, a trace of astonishment appeared on her alluring, beautiful face.

"This..."

"This ring is for you as well."

Su Chen offered no explanation, instead gently placing the ring from his hand onto the delicate palm Ya Fei had yet to retract.

The two rings lay side by side on her snow-white palm.

The difference was immediately apparent.

The one in Ya Fei's hand, while a treasure, seemed like common iron meeting a divine weapon when compared to the one Su Chen produced, instantly paling in comparison.

"What is the meaning of this?"

Ya Fei's willow-leaf brows furrowed almost imperceptibly.

She did not understand why Su Chen would reject her kindness only to present her with an even better ring.

"Between you and me, we are allies."

Su Chen's voice remained steady.

"My departure this time has no set return date. Everything in Wutan City is entrusted to you. Your safety is my safety."

He paused, his gaze falling upon the ring he had crafted resting in Ya Fei's palm.

"This ring is called the Flame Pattern Ring."

"It has two functions."

Ya Fei's heart skipped a beat.

She could sense that although Su Chen's tone was indifferent, the information contained within it was anything but simple.

"Try injecting a wisp of Dou Qi into it."

Su Chen gestured.

Ya Fei was half-skeptical.

But out of trust for Su Chen, she followed his instructions and slid the Flame Pattern Ring onto her slender index finger.

As the ring touched her skin, a warm, smooth sensation spread; it fit perfectly, as if it had been custom-made for her.

She took a deep breath, mobilized the crimson Dou Qi within her body, and cautiously reached out toward the ring on her finger.

Hum—!

The very instant her Dou Qi made contact with the ring!

A strange sensation, impossible to describe in words, surged violently from the ring and flooded her entire body in an instant!

Ya Fei's body trembled violently!

On her face, which could topple kingdoms, all composure and calm were replaced in that moment by an unconcealable shock!

She felt it!

She clearly felt it!

The fire-attribute Dou Qi that had been circulating steadily within her body was, at this moment, as if injected with a catalyst, its flow rate surging out of thin air!

It was no illusion!

It was a real, tangible increase of at least ten percent!

Ten percent!

What a terrifying concept this was!

It meant that the speed at which she cast any Dou Technique would be ten percent faster than an opponent of the same level!

It meant that when she fought others, her Dou Qi recovery speed would also be ten percent faster!

This was no longer a simple accessory!

This was a strategic-grade magical treasure that would drive any Dou Master, or even a Dou Grandmaster, to madness!

"This... how is this possible!"

Ya Fei's voice trembled with excitement; she snapped her head up, and the way she looked at Su Chen had completely changed.

If Su Chen had previously been a mysterious ally with infinite potential worth investing in, then now, the image of this man in her heart had been elevated to a height bordering on the divine!

Artifact refining!

He actually possessed such god-like skills in artifact refining!

"This is only its first function."

Su Chen's voice interrupted her shock.

"The amplification is merely incidental."

Ya Fei's breath hitched.

Such a heaven-defying function was merely incidental?

Then what could its true purpose possibly be to be so world-shaking?

Su Chen did not make her guess for long.

He raised his hand and lightly tapped the hand on which Ya Fei wore the ring.

"Watch closely."

He closed his eyes.

An invisible mental fluctuation, perceptible only to Ya Fei, extended from his fingertip and submerged into the Flame Pattern Ring.

The next moment.

Under the gaze of Ya Fei's rapidly constricting pupils.

A wisp of flame, no thicker than a strand of hair and burning with a faint emerald light, emerged out of thin air from the pitch-black surface of the ring!

She recognized that flame!

It was the very "Green Phosphorus Fire Seed," a treasure of inestimable value, that Su Chen had handed to her!

BOOM!

Ya Fei's mind went completely blank.

She stared blankly at the emerald flame dancing on her fingertip, feeling as if a bolt of lightning from the heavens had struck her crown.

She finally understood.

She finally understood the true value of this ring!

Storage!

It was actually capable of storing that kind of specially refined fire seed!

What did this mean?

It meant that any alchemist who wore this ring would effectively possess a portable, eternal, top-tier fire source!

In the wilderness, or in any environment lacking geothermal support, they could open a furnace and refine pills anytime, anywhere!

The value of this ring could no longer be measured in gold coins!

This was a true divine artifact, one capable of overturning the common knowledge of the entire alchemy world!

"Th-this is..."

Ya Fei's red lips parted slightly, but she found her throat so dry that she couldn't utter a single word.

She looked at Su Chen, and all the shrewdness and calculation in her beautiful peach-blossom eyes had vanished.

All that remained was a profound shock and awe, rising from the depths of her soul.

A madman!

A complete and utter madman!

He had casually gifted a divine artifact capable of shaking the entire Jia Ma Empire!

Just how many unknown trump cards was he still hiding?

And where, exactly, did his limits lie?

"I left a small fire-storage array inside the ring."

Su Chen withdrew his finger, and the wisp of Green Phosphorus Fire Seed sank into the ring's surface, disappearing from sight.

"Inside, I have stored enough 'Green Phosphorus Fire Seed' for three months of use, and enough 'Rock Fire Seed' for a year."

"Remember, only your Dou Qi can activate it."

His voice remained as calm as if he were speaking of a trivial matter.

Yet, to Ya Fei, these words were more moving than any vow of eternal love.

She slowly lowered her head.

She looked at the pitch-black ring on her finger.

She knew that this gift represented more than just technology or wealth.

It was a form of absolute, unreserved trust.

It was the highest form of recognition, a sign that he truly regarded her as one of his own and had taken her under his wing.

A long time passed.

Ya Fei lifted her head.

On her pale, excited face, she bloomed with a solemn yet radiant smile, one unlike any she had ever shown before.

That smile was enough to make the heavens and earth lose their luster.

She did not say thank you.

She simply looked at Su Chen, and with a voice that made the entire caravan turn their heads, she said solemnly, word by word.

"Safe travels."

"I will be waiting in Wutan City for the news of your fame spreading across the empire."

Su Chen gave her a deep look and said nothing more.

He turned around and, under the gaze of the guards—a mix of awe and curiosity—stepped into the black iron carriage.

The carriage curtain slowly fell.

It cut off the view from the outside world.

"Move out!"

The Dou Shi captain let out a low, thunderous shout.

Giddyap!

The heavy wheels began to turn slowly.

The massive caravan, like a black dragon awakening, rolled toward the heart of the empire, kicking up a sky full of dust.

Ya Fei stood quietly in place, not moving.

She watched the caravan as it gradually became a smaller and smaller black dot at the end of the imperial road.

Not until that final trace of a black shadow had completely vanished into the morning light on the horizon, did she slowly raise her hand.

Under the morning glow, the pitch-black Flame Pattern Ring was quietly shimmering with a mysterious and profound radiance.

A sense of power and security, like nothing she had ever felt before, welled up from the bottom of her heart.