Severing the Soul, Slaying the Self

Soul-Breaking Cliff hung between the rifts of heaven and earth. A sea of clouds churned like raging waves, with endless nothingness below. Legend held that Ancient Dou Di had severed their obsessions here. All who entered this trial either died or attained enlightenment—for what they slew was neither enemy nor demon, but the Shadow of the Self, the Self Within the Heart.

Lin Yan stood at the cliff's edge, a fathomless abyss behind him and nine floating Trial Gates before him. Beyond each gate shone an Illusion of a different destiny: him ascending the imperial throne, all races bowing in submission; him burning the eight wildernesses to ashes, staining the Central Plains with blood; him battling chaos alone, only to turn to ash in the end; and even him abandoning the Emperor Road, returning to seclusion in Ash Kiln, and spending his remaining years with the villagers...

"The third trial—severing the soul, slaying the self." The Trial Stele's voice came from the void. "You must slay no other, but the delusions, obsessions, greed, and hatred within your heart. Unless you sever them all, even power that reaches the heavens will not grant you entry to the Emperor Road."

Lin Yan drew a deep breath and stepped forward.

All nine gates opened at once.

Boom—!

In an instant, heaven and earth lost their color, and Lin Yan was dragged into endless Illusions.

Illusion: Emperor’s Throne Burns the Heavens

He stood atop a nine-tiered imperial dais, clad in crimson-gold imperial robes, emperor flame swirling around him as all races knelt in worship. Yet beneath his feet lay mountains of corpses: members of the Gu Clan, members of the Yao Clan, ordinary people, and even children from Ash Kiln Village, gazing at him with tear-filled eyes.

"Lin Yan... you promised you would protect us..." the children whispered.

He lowered his head and found burning emperor flame in his hand, turning the entire world into scorched earth.

"I... I only wanted to become an emperor..." he murmured.

"But you have become a tyrant." A voice rang out. It was another version of himself, dressed in plain white robes, holding a Flame Blade, his eyes clear. "How are you any different from those False Emperors of old who monopolized the Emperor Road?"

"I... I'm different!" Lin Yan roared. "I fight to protect people!"

"But you only protect those you decide are 'worthy of protection.'" The white-robed Lin Yan sneered. "You burn away anyone unlike you, crush dissent, and practice tyranny in the name of 'order'—you are a new emperor, but also a new demon."

"If becoming an emperor means this, then I would rather—never become one!"

Lin Yan abruptly raised his head, mortal flame surging in his eyes. "If I become an emperor, it will not be to rule, not to live forever, not to suppress others—"

"If I become an emperor, it will only be to cut down every injustice in this world and protect every spark that should never be burned away!"

"If one day I, too, become a demon—"

"Then I will slay myself with my own hands!"

Boom—!

He raised the Flame Blade, pointing its edge straight at his Illusion—that "imperial self" clad in imperial robes, possessed of supreme majesty, with all races bowing before him.

"I slay—the Self of Delusion!"

The blade fell, and the Illusion shattered.

Illusion: Dream of Seclusion

He saw himself abandon the Emperor Road and return to Ash Kiln Village, drinking tea with the elder and farming with the villagers, his life ordinary and peaceful.

"Isn't this good?" the elder asked with a smile. "You need not bear the whole world on your shoulders, nor kindle your flame and march to your death."

Lin Yan lowered his head and looked at the coarse bowl in his hands. Steam curled from it, as warm as it had always been.

But just then, the sky split open. Dark Flame descended, and Ash Kiln Village burned once more. Before dying, the elder looked at him. "If you had... kindled your flame and fought back then, could this have been avoided?"

Lin Yan fell to his knees, cradling the elder's cooling body, tears streaming down his face.

"I... I could have protected you..."

"But you chose to run away." The white-robed Lin Yan appeared again. "You use 'an ordinary life' as your shield and 'peace' as your excuse to evade responsibility—you are no ordinary mortal. You are the chosen one."

"Once the flame is lit, it must not go out. Once the road is opened, there can be no retreat."

Lin Yan slowly rose, his mortal flame rekindling. "You're right... I cannot retreat."

"I slay—the Self of Cowardice!"

The blade fell, and the illusion shattered again.

The final illusion: Emperor of Chaos

He saw himself standing at the pinnacle of chaos, emperor flame in hand, suppressing the Order Keeper and redefining the laws of heaven and earth. Yet behind him knelt countless remnant souls of Dou Di. Heaven and earth no longer held freedom, and the myriad races no longer had a choice—he alone was the master of "order."

"You have become the new Order Keeper." The white-robed Lin Yan sighed softly. "You overthrew the old emperors only to crown yourself emperor."

"No..." Lin Yan trembled. "I'm not..."

"How are you any different from them?"

Lin Yan closed his eyes. Mortal flame pulsed violently in his chest, almost burning him to nothing.

After a long while, he opened his eyes, their fire blazing like torches.

"I am different from them—"

"Because I dare to slay myself!"

"If I become an emperor and one day fall to the demonic path, then the self I am today will slay the self I become!"

"I slay—the Self of Imperial Ambition!"

He raised the Flame Blade high. Mortal flame surged along its length, drawing forth the manifestation of nine flames returning to their origin. Nine streams of crimson-gold fire descended from beyond the heavens and circled him.

Boom—!

He brought his blade down, striking at that "imperial shadow" standing at the pinnacle of chaos, above all people.

The blade fell. The shadow perished.

Heaven and earth fell silent.

Crack—!

A crisp cracking sound rang across the entire Soul-Breaking Cliff.

The Trial Stele—had cracked.

A fissure spread from the stele's heart, branching like a spiderweb. Eight new characters appeared upon its surface:

"Slay the self and sever the soul; with mortal flame, become an emperor—you may prove the Emperor Road."

The nine flames trembled. Crimson-gold fire shot into the sky and encircled Lin Yan, condensing in the void into a flame emperor path that led straight to the fourth trial, the "Nirvana Sea of Fire."

"He... slew himself?" a remnant soul whispered. "With the will of mortal flame, he slew every demon within his heart... This boy is no longer a trial challenger, but—a prover of the path."

"The nine flames resonated, and the Trial Stele cracked... Nothing like this has happened since ancient times!"

"He... truly is rewriting the Emperor Road!"

Outside Soul-Breaking Cliff.

Xiao Yan stood in the void, watching the figure upon the flame emperor path, silent for a long time.

Yao Lao's remnant soul appeared, his voice trembling slightly. "What he slew was not an illusion... but the self who might fall in the future. He swore an oath upon mortal flame, not to become an emperor, but for path-guarding."

"This child..." Xiao Yan sighed softly. "He is more like an 'emperor' than I was back then."

"Back then, you defied the heavens. He is—using fire as his ruler to measure the righteousness of heaven and earth."

Xiao Yan smiled faintly. "That is all the more reason for me to protect him to the very end."

"Because he is the seed of flame for the New Order."

Lin Yan slowly raised his head and looked toward the flame emperor path. With firm steps, he advanced.

Behind him, within the cracks of the Trial Stele, mortal flame burned undying, spreading silently like sparks setting a prairie ablaze.

End of chapter

Next chapter preview: "Nirvana Mortal Flame"

Lin Yan entered the fourth trial, the "Nirvana Sea of Fire," venturing into the Abyss of Heavenly Flames with mortal flame, his body scorched by the Ninefold Nirvana Tribulation Flames. The remnant souls declared, "Mortal flame will surely be extinguished!" Yet Lin Yan smiled. "My flame may be mortal, but it has never gone out—today, with mortal flame, I will burn the Abyss of Heavenly Flames to nothing!" The nine flames poured back in, and mortal flame underwent nirvana, transforming into the "Will Flame True Blaze." The first person in the history of the trials to possess no heavenly flames would ignite an emperor flame belonging to mortals!