The shrine felt different now.
Less broken. Less abandoned.
Jiang Han stood at its center, surrounded by half-repaired walls and a newly swept altar. He had placed the old Flame Guardian statue upright again, even if its head was still missing. Lin Yao had planted spirit herbs around the stone base. Yue sharpened arrows while humming off-key. Bo Ren boiled bark into tea that no one but him drank.
And Jiang Han?
He was deep in Soulforge.
Sitting cross-legged, eyes closed, his consciousness drifted into that strange glowing space behind his mind—the Soulforge Field.
Here, his talents came alive.
> Soulforge Genesis – 5% Awakened
Current Concept Nodes:
– Flame Thread (Stable)
– Ember Pulse (Basic)
– Heat Vibration (Fragmented)
Soul Creation Potential: 1 (Minor)
He hovered mentally over the nodes—threads of fire and memory twisting into shape.
> I can't force a high-tier technique… but maybe something I can chain with my current kit.
He focused on Flame Thread and Ember Pulse.
In the Soulforge Field, he imagined his thread lashing out—igniting at the tip into a miniature burst. A whip of fire, exploding on contact. Close range. Quick. Controlled.
It resonated.
> [Synchronizing...]
New Skill Concept Forged: Ember Whiplash
Type: Melee/Explosive
Description: A short-range thread lash that triggers a controlled pulse on impact. Effective against light armor and unshielded beasts.
> Sync: 62%
Cost: 12 SP
Cooldown: 3 sec
His eyes snapped open, a sheen of sweat across his brow.
"Got it," he whispered.
---
Later that morning, while sparring with Yue in the clearing, Jiang Han tested his new skill.
The girl was quick. Her shortbow fired wooden spirit arrows that bent midair, homing slightly.
He moved through the brush, dodging the first, letting the second graze his shoulder on purpose.
> Close the gap... now!
He snapped his arm forward.
> "EMBER WHIPLASH!"
A spiraling flame shot down the thread. It hit a tree Yue was using for cover—and exploded in a wave of orange light.
She yelped, thrown off-balance.
Jiang Han was already behind her.
Knife to her throat.
She raised her hands. "Okay, okay! Damn!"
He backed away, grinning. "You're faster than the wolves, but trees don't dodge."
Bo Ren clapped from a nearby log. "You're getting sharper. Your techniques… they blend. That's not common for your age."
"It's Soulforge," Jiang Han said. "It lets me design my skills around my fighting instincts."
"Dangerous," Ren said quietly. "You'll rise fast. But it makes you a target."
---
As if summoned by those words, a shadow passed overhead.
A bird—huge, feathered in silver-blue, with a rider on its back.
It circled once, then descended into the valley.
Jiang Han stood still, flame thread quietly weaving around his wrist.
The rider wore light azure armor trimmed in spirit silk. A sigil on the shoulder glowed faint green: a lotus blooming around a sword.
> Silverflow Sect.
The woman dismounted with elegance born of cultivation.
She looked twenty but moved like a seasoned warrior. Her gaze swept the group, pausing briefly on Jiang Han.
"Which of you is the flamechild?"
No one spoke.
Jiang Han stepped forward. "That's me."
She looked him over. "Thirteen? You're the one who burned a Collector husk?"
He nodded.
She tossed something at his feet. A badge.
Silver. Stamped with a stylized lotus. The token of an outer-sect candidate.
"My name is Li Shiyun. Senior Initiate of Silverflow Sect. By order of Elder Zhen, I offer you preliminary recruitment into the sect's Spring Path."
Jiang Han stared down at the token. Lin Yao's breath caught beside him.
Bo Ren narrowed his eyes. "What's the cost?"
"No cost," Shiyun said smoothly. "But the boy comes alone."
Lin Yao stepped forward. "He's not—"
"I didn't say he had to accept," Shiyun cut in. "But the Silverflow does not nurture strays."
Yue scoffed. "Then you're not offering a family. You're offering a cage."
The air thickened.
Jiang Han slowly picked up the token.
"I appreciate the offer," he said carefully. "But I'm not ready to follow someone else's path. I haven't finished forging my own."
Shiyun raised an eyebrow. "Pride?"
"No," he said. "Patience."
They locked eyes for a moment. She nodded—almost respectful.
"Then consider it valid for 30 days. After that, the sect no longer waits."
She turned, mounted her bird, and took off into the clouds.
---
Later that night, Jiang Han sat alone with the token.
Lin Yao approached, kneeling beside him.
"You said no."
He looked at her. "You wanted me to?"
"I wanted you to choose."
He nodded, sliding the token into his pouch.
"Bo Ren was right. Fast power makes you a target. If I join too early, I skip steps."
She smiled. "You always talk like you're older than all of us."
"I am."
She tilted her head. "Maybe. But even immortals need friends."
They sat beside the fire in silence, shoulder to shoulder, while the stars watched in approval.