"Evolve?"
Huo Yue's voice climbed an octave, her eyes fixed on the tattered, blackened book.
"Teacher, you aren't joking with me, are you? I've heard of techniques that can be refined or improved by Saints, but a technique that grows on its own... that's unheard of!"
Fairy Liu's illusory form flickered slightly as she let out a long, heavy sigh.
The playful glint in her blue eyes vanished, replaced by a solemnity that made the air around the boulder grow cold.
"It is the truth," Fairy Liu said softly. "But the path it demands is one of madness. To evolve the Imperial Flame Transformation, one must feed it."
"Feed it? Like what? Demonic Beasts?"
Fairy Liu shook her head, "Ah, if only it were that simple. Unfortunately, no. This technique must consume flames to evolve, or to be precise, it can only consume Heavenly Flames so it can evolve."
Huo Yue's breath hitched. "Heavenly Flames? Teacher, isn't that requirement... suicidal?"
Even in the desolate Eastern Region, every cultivator knew the legends.
Heavenly Flames were the primal essences of the universe, born from the hearts of dying stars or the deepest abysses of the earth.
There were only twenty-four known types in existence.
To find one was a miracle; to attempt to subdue one was usually an agonizing death sentence.
"It is more than suicidal," Fairy Liu added, her voice echoing with a trace of bitter memory. "Heavenly Flames are the ultimate expressions of fire. They are naturally domineering and utterly xenophobic. Under normal circumstances, if a cultivator tries to house two different Heavenly Flames within their dantian, the flames will clash like warring gods, incinerating the host from the inside out in a heartbeat."
She hovered closer, her silver hair brushing against Huo Yue's cheek like a cold mist. "I will be honest with you, Yue'er. I have a selfish reason for showing you this. To forge a new body for myself, to truly live again, I require the essence of at least four different Heavenly Flames. This technique is the only way for a human vessel to contain them without exploding."
She pulled back, crossing her arms. "The choice is yours. Choose the Grand Tier technique, and with my guidance, I guarantee you will reach the Nirvana Rebirth Realm. You would become the undisputed sovereign of the entire Eastern Region, a legend for a thousand years."
Huo Yue looked at the glowing Grand Tier scroll. This technique represented safety, it represented the end of her suffering, and it was a guaranteed path to the top of the world she knew.
"And if I choose the Imperial Flame?" Huo Yue whispered.
"Then you walk a tightrope over an abyss," Fairy Liu replied. "If you cannot find a Heavenly Flame, you will remain stuck at the Spirit Grade forever. You will be a 'mediocre' talent who can never hope to leave this region. But... if you succeed, you won't just be the head of a chicken in this small land. You will have the foundation to challenge the heavens themselves."
Huo Yue went silent, the wind whistled through the mountain pass, tugging at her hair.
She thought of the test stone that had mocked her for three years, she thought of the elders who wanted to strip her off her position as the heiress, and the lecherous gazes of the young masters who saw her as nothing more than a beautiful prize to be broken.
Nirvana Rebirth? Is that enough? If she took the safe path, she would be powerful, yes, but she would always be "the girl who recovered."
She would always be within the bounds of what people expected.
She doesn't want that. She wanted to be "the girl who defied the heavens".
"I have been a 'trash' for three years," Huo Yue said, her voice trembling slightly before turning into cold steel. "I have already tasted the absolute bottom. Why should I settle for a 'guaranteed' ceiling? If I'm going to climb, I want to reach the place where no one can ever look down on me again."
She reached out, her fingers brushing the blackened, soot-covered pages of the Imperial Flame Transformation.
"Teacher, I've made my decision. I'll take the gamble."
Fairy Liu stared at the young girl, seeing the reflection of a fierce, unyielding soul in those dark eyes.
For a moment, the ancient alchemist saw not a disciple, but a flicker of the person she once was—someone who dared to spit in the face of fate.
A genuine, warm smile broke across Fairy Liu's face.
"Good. Such a temperament is exactly what is needed to stir the winds of this era." She waved her hand, and the blackened book turned into a streak of crimson light, sinking into Huo Yue's forehead. "Let us begin then. Don't worry, if it really comes down to it, I can still help you raise your Cultivation to now allow you to be a trash in this region."
Huo Yue closed her eyes, feeling the searing heat of the technique carving itself into her soul. "... Imperial Flame Transformation...even as a Low Tier Spirit Grade, this one is incredibly domineering."
But Huo Yue had barely centered her mind to begin the first rotation of the Imperial Flame Transformation when the frantic pounding of footsteps shattered her concentration.
Fairy Liu's illusory form flickered like a candle in a draft.
"A guest is coming. I'm going to hide for a bit, girl," she whispered before dissolving into a streak of silver light, retreating back into the cool depths of the black ring.
Huo Yue stood up, brushing the dust from her robes, as a young servant skidded to a halt before her, even dropping to his knees from exhaustion.
He was gasping for air, his face flushed a deep crimson from the uphill sprint.
"Is there a problem?" she asked, her voice regaining that cold, detached mask she had worn for three years.
"Young... Young Miss!" the servant panted, doubling over and clutching his knees. "The Patriarch... and the elders... they require your presence in the main hall. Immediately!"
Huo Yue's lips curled into a cynical snort. "So, those old men can no longer wait for my twentieth birthday? They want to strip my title and kick me out today?"
The servant shook his head violently, finally catching his breath. "No, Miss! It's not that. It's... your fiancé! He has arrived! He is in the hall right now!"
Huo Yue froze.
The word felt foreign, like a stone dropped into a still pond. Fiancé? In the three years of her fall from grace, the vague memory of a childhood arrangement had become nothing more than a ghost story she used to reject those admirers of hers.
She had assumed the other party had long since forgotten her, or doesn't even know that she exists, or was waiting for her to die so the contract would expire.
As she began to follow the servant, the teasing, ethereal voice of her teacher vibrated in her mind. 'Oho? You actually have a fiancé, little disciple? In this regard, you have already surpassed your teacher. I spent my youth chasing herbs and medicinal ingredients, not men.'
Huo Yue's expression remained wry. 'Don't tease me, Teacher. A man from the Central Region doesn't travel across the entire empire just to say hello to a 'crippled' heiress. He's surely here to break the engagement. I just hope his clan is as wealthy as the stories say. If I'm losing a husband, I should at least gain a Tier 9 Pill as a compensation, right?'
'That depends on where his clan is, girl. Just like in Eastern Region, which is divided into Outer Layer, Inner Layer, and Core Layer, with each layers having hundreds of Kingdoms subservient to the empire, the Central Region is the same.'
Outer Layer is usually the most backwater place of any region, having the least powerful forces and the least resources of that region.
Wu Tan City, where Huo Clan is located is from Cao Yin Kingdom, located in the outer layer of the Eastern Region.
'If your fiancé is from the outer layer of Central Region, having a Tier 9 pill might be a problem, but Tier 8 or 7 should be no problem.'
'Is that so?' Huo Yue hummed, Eastern Region was infinitely large, and even the most powerful forces here barely has any information about the central region, 'I heard his clan is from the Imperial Capital.'
'What!?' Fairy Liu almost came out of the ring from shock. 'Are you sure?'
Huo Yue was confused, wondering why her teacher was so shocked. 'Yeah, is there a problem teacher?'
'N-No...' Fairy Liu took a deep breath and calmed down.
Imperial Capital, that is the gathering place of dragons and phoenix, where immortal clans who once produced true immortals were lying in hiding.
In that place, even Saints are as numerous as the stars in the sky!
Fairy Liu once traveled to that place and was beaten by reality, as if to tell her that even someone like her, was nothing more than an ant trying to fly towards the heavens.
Because of that, Fairy Liu didn't dare return in the Imperial Capital, only wandering around in the Outer and Inner layer of the Central Region.
"Young lady, we have arrived." The servant called out as he pushed the heavy oak doors of the main hall open.
Huo Yue took a sharp breath, bracing herself for the cold glares of the elders, before entering.
But she was surprised when she was met with a scene of bizarre, jovial warmth. Her father, Huo Zhang, was laughing—a genuine, booming sound she hadn't heard in years.
Even the elders, who had been calling for her head an hour ago, were leaning forward with sycophantic smiles, offering tea like humble servants.
And then, she saw him.
Sitting in the center of the room was a young man who seemed to radiate his own light.
He wore robes of such exquisite silk they seemed to shimmer like liquid moonlight, his features were sculpted with a perfection that felt almost divine.
'That man... couldn't be my fiancé, could he?'Huo Yue thought, her heart giving an involuntary thrum. 'Holy shit, he's so hot.'
Sensing the change in the room's Qi, Shen Haoran turned, his conversation with the elders died away.
For a split second, his calm, indifferent mask slipped, his eyes widening ever so slightly.
He had expected a broken, haggard girl; instead, he saw a woman whose beauty was like a cold plum blossom blooming in the snow—sharp, elegant, and defiant.
"Yue'er! Come, come!" Huo Zhang beckoned, his face glowing with pride. "Look who has come to visit us! I was just telling the Young Lord about your childhood."
The elders nodded fervently. "Yes, yes! We always knew our Heiress was destined for greatness!"
Huo Yue felt a surge of disgust at their hypocrisy, but she kept her face neutral as she approached.
Shen Haoran rose to his feet, his every movement was slow, deliberate, and seemed to carry the weight of a mountain.
"Um... ah, nice to meet you," Huo Yue stammered slightly, the sudden proximity to his overwhelming aura making her skin tingle, but she still extended her hand for a standard, polite handshake. "I am Huo Yue."
Shen Haoran didn't shake her hand. Instead, he reached out and gently caught her fingers in his, and took a smooth step forward, invading her personal space until she could smell the faint, intoxicating scent of sandalwood and expensive incense on him.
He bowed his head with the grace of an ancient prince, raising her hand to his lips and pressed a soft, lingering kiss to the back of her hand, his eyes never leaving hers.
"Greetings," he murmured, his voice a deep, resonant silk that seemed to vibrate in her very bones. "I am Shen Haoran. Your fiancé. I've kept you waiting far too long, haven't I?"
Huo Yue felt a spark of heat rush to her cheeks.
Shen Haoran stared at her eyes, that innocent, bright eyes. 'Ah, so this is the one who will be hailed as the Flame Empress in the future?'
Honestly, she doesn't look...that special.