The Oath of Bone Refinement

The Bone-Refining Prison lay beneath ten thousand fathoms of subterranean rock, where Ancient Dou Di had fallen. Their buried bones rose like mountains, their resentment and obsessions lingering undispersed, becoming the "Bone-Fire Tribulation Wind" that scoured bone and corroded marrow, tempering body and soul. This trial tested neither the strength of Dou Qi nor the might of Heavenly Flames. It asked only one question—did you possess the bones of an emperor?

When Lin Yan set foot there, the heart-burning tribulation had already consumed seventy percent of his Dou Qi, and his ordinary flame flickered weakly like a dying candle in the wind. Before him stood a gateway piled from white bones, engraved with eight ancient characters: "Those without resolve must not enter."

Without hesitation, he stepped inside.

"Boom!"

In an instant, hundreds upon hundreds of Dou Di skeletons opened their eyes. Eerie blue soul flames ignited in their hollow sockets, and whispers surged like a tide:

"Who... are you?"

"No Heavenly Flame, no inheritance, no imperial bloodline... and you dare enter the Bone-Refining Prison?"

"You aren't even a Dou Zong. What gives you the right to become an emperor?"

"Withdraw, ant. Do not disgrace this place!"

Lin Yan stood on the long path of white bones. Around him, skeletons slowly rose, becoming an army that surrounded him. Each held a broken Emperor Weapon, its lingering imperial might bearing down like a mountain.

Just then, the tallest skeleton at the center slowly stood. A golden flame ignited within his skull, and his voice thundered, shaking space until it fractured:

"I am Yan Jin, an Ancient Dou Di and master of this trial. All who enter this prison must answer three questions—"

"First: why do you seek the path?"

Lin Yan raised his head, his voice calm but resolute. "To protect others."

"Second: do you fear death?"

"I do, but I dare not retreat."

"Third: if becoming an emperor required you to burn everything you loved, would you be willing?"

Lin Yan fell silent for a moment. The flames of Ash Kiln Village, the elder's dying gaze, his parents collapsing... all flashed through his eyes. He slowly closed them. When he opened them again, his hesitation was gone.

"If one day, becoming an emperor demands that I sacrifice those I love—I would burn myself, not them."

"I seek to become an emperor not to destroy, but to—protect those who should never be burned."

"Boom!"

As his words fell, ordinary fire erupted from his chest. Rather than harming anyone else, it set his own meridians ablaze!

"He's... burning himself?!" a remnant soul cried out.

"Scorching his body with ordinary fire, tempering his bones with willpower—has he gone mad?!"

But Lin Yan had already dropped to his knees, both hands braced against the ground. He let ordinary fire blaze through his organs, burning through his meridians, cracking his bones, burning away his old body!

"Aaargh!"

He threw back his head and roared, his voice tearing through the sky, yet he did not collapse.

"I, Lin Yan, have no master or inheritance, no noble blood or imperial lineage, but I—have bones that will never yield!"

"Today, I refine my bones with ordinary fire, not to seize the blessings of heaven and earth, nor to steal the might of the Emperor Flame—"

"Only to prove that a mortal body can bear an emperor's resolve!"

"These bones will not kneel to heaven, to earth, to fate, or to the established order—"

"They kneel only—to where my heart leads!"

"Rumble!"

Beyond the nine heavens, the Nine Flames Emperor Stele resonated once more. Crimson-gold fire pierced heaven and earth, descending straight into the Bone-Refining Prison!

Before the Trial Stele, every prodigy looked up as new words appeared upon its surface:

"Bones burned to reveal resolve, the nine flames united in one heart—specially admitted candidate Lin Yan has passed the Bone-Refining Prison."

"Impossible... he actually tempered his body with ordinary fire, withstood the bone tribulation head-on... and even earned the recognition of a Dou Di's remnant soul?!" A prodigy's face turned deathly pale.

"What's even more terrifying... the nine flames resonated for him. That means... he has already obtained the Emperor Flame's 'heart seal'!"

"He... isn't clearing the trials. He's rewriting their rules!"

Inside the Bone-Refining Prison.

The Dou Di's remnant soul gazed at Lin Yan for a long time before finally nodding slowly. "You have no imperial bloodline, yet you possess an emperor's heart. No Heavenly Flame, yet an emperor's resolve. No inheritance, yet an Emperor's Path."

He raised his hand. A wisp of golden flame flew out and entered Lin Yan's brow. "This is the Emberbone Fire Seed. It is neither a Heavenly Flame nor Dou Qi, but the bone-tempering fire of an Ancient Dou Di. I grant it to you—as fuel for your Will Flame."

"Remember, true imperial bones are not born, but forged through—undying resolve."

Lin Yan knelt and bowed solemnly. "Thank you for granting me this fire, Senior."

Before the remnant soul faded, he whispered, "...The New Order will rise, but the old order has not perished. Beware the 'Fireless One'... he... is waiting for you, too."

Lin Yan lifted his head, wanting to ask more, but nothing remained.

Before the Trial Stele.

Lin Yan emerged, his entire body charred black. A faint crimson-gold hue shone through his bones. Though his ordinary flame remained weak, it had fused with his bones, and with each step, fiery patterns spread beneath his feet.

"He... really passed the second trial?!" The crowd erupted.

"And he did it... by tempering his bones with ordinary fire?!"

"Inside him... there's a Dou Di's fire seed?!"

"With talent like that, even Emperor Xiao in his youth might have been no better!"

Amid their shock, the sky split open, spilling crimson-gold fire. Xiao Yan arrived upon the flames and stood in the void, looking down upon all below.

His gaze settled on Lin Yan, and he slowly raised his hand. A phantom of the Nine Flames Emperor Stele appeared. Nine streams of fire circled Lin Yan, spontaneously forming a Flame Path that led straight to the third trial, "Soul-Breaking Cliff."

"The nine flames resonate, and the Emperor Road opens of its own accord," Xiao Yan declared. "From this day forth, Lin Yan is the first person in the history of the Emperor Fire Trial to earn the recognition of the nine flames without a Heavenly Flame."

"Ordinary fire can set the plains ablaze; the Will Flame can forge an emperor. The flame of the New Order has been lit."

He looked at Lin Yan, his voice gentle yet thunderous. "Keep going, young man. Your journey has only just begun."

Lin Yan raised his head and gazed at that figure, who seemed like an emperor descending upon the world. Slowly tightening his grip on the Flame Blade, he took a step forward.

"I, Lin Yan, swear to burn away all injustice with ordinary fire and illuminate the Emperor Road—"

"Even in death, I will have no regrets."

The Nine Flames Emperor Court.

Yao Lao's remnant soul appeared, sighing softly. "He is walking the road you never finished back then—an Emperor Road that truly belongs to mortals."

Xiao Yan watched the figure receding toward the horizon and smiled faintly. "That is why I must Protection him until he reaches the end."

"Because the flame he burns is the new age flame."

"And I... am its keeper."

End of chapter

Next chapter preview: "The Cliff of Severed Souls"

Lin Yan entered the third trial, "Soul-Breaking Cliff," where he had to sever the obsessions of his past life. In an illusion, he saw himself become an emperor, only to slaughter countless races and become a new tyrant. His inner demon demanded, "How are you any different from the old emperors?" Lin Yan swung his blade at his own soul. "If I become an emperor, I will first sever my imperial ambitions—leaving only a heart that protects the world." The nine flames trembled, the trial stele cracked, and heaven and earth changed color.