The next morning, the courtyard reeked of tension.
Lin Tian hadn't even stepped outside before hearing whispers.
Two servants passed by his hut.
"…did you hear what he did to the scroll?"
"No, what?"
"They said it reacted. Like, glowed. Started moving."
"Array stuff?"
"Legacy stuff."
The second boy whistled. "Guess we'll all be calling him 'senior' soon."
Lin Tian exhaled slowly.
Chen Mu stirred in the ring. "They smell blood in the water."
"Mine?"
"No. Power's."
[+2 BP for subtle predator-prey metaphor.]
Bluff Points: 80 → 82
That afternoon, Wei Yulan showed up without warning.
She ducked into the hut, dumped her pack on the floor, and immediately started unpacking tea leaves, scroll fragments, and dried fruit.
"I need a favor," she said without looking up.
"I don't have anything you want."
"You have fire."
"…Pardon?"
She sat cross-legged, pulled out a small, cracked array disc, and tapped it with her fingernail.
It sparked. Flickered. Then went out.
"Old array key," she said. "Found it in the archives. Supposed to open a lower chamber under the Herb Hall. But the fire signature is too weak. Needs amplification. Someone with... unique Qi."
Chen Mu chuckled. "You've got a fan."
[+2 BP for reluctant local mysticism.]
BP: 82 → 84
Lin Tian hesitated. "And if I help?"
"You get a look at what's below. Rumor says it's old—older than the sect. Could be yours."
Chen Mu stiffened. "I don't like this."
"I do," Lin Tian said. "We need more pieces."
That night, they tested the array disc behind the Herb Hall.
The chamber was real.
Buried under years of vines and dead rootwork, a stone platform shimmered with suppressive glyphs that hadn't pulsed in centuries. The disc responded to Lin Tian's Qi. Barely. The light turned orange.
Not red.
Not enough.
"I need more strength," Lin Tian said.
"No," Chen Mu murmured. "You need another flame."
They returned to the hut just before curfew.
Inside, they found something sitting on the floor:
A folded note.
You're making noise.Consider what silence buys.– G
Guo.
Chen Mu flared inside the ring.
"Classic coward play. We rattle a door and he leaves a love letter."
"I think he's warning me off."
"No. He's reminding you he can reach you."
[+3 BP for recognizing social threat posturing.]
BP: 84 → 87
Two days later, the assignment came.
Not from the sect.
From the system.
[New Objective Available: Rekindle a Second Flame.][Hint: Seek what was buried beneath the Second Bell Courtyard.]
Chen Mu blinked.
"That's specific."
"What's under the Second Bell Courtyard?"
"No idea. But I say we go find out."
They went at night.
Second Bell Courtyard had long been closed—sealed after a spirit backlash ruptured half a dozen student cores during a failed convergence experiment. Rumor said it was cursed.
In reality, it was abandoned. Mostly.
Chen Mu guided Lin Tian to the north corner, past the prayer stones, into a small overgrown alcove. There, under a broken slab, they found it:
An anchor stone.
Old.
Marked with the same spiral symbol as the Fire Refinement Array.
Lin Tian laid his hand on it.
Qi poured in.
The stone shimmered—then flared.
A vision struck them both.
Not memory. Not dream. Just light.
A battlefield. Smoke. Screaming fire that didn't burn. A red ring, whole and bright, spinning above a burning temple.
Then—silence.
Then—nothing.
[System Notice: Flame Memory Activated.][Spiral Fire Array Calibration: 38%][Resonance Synchronization: 2/4 Signatures][Legacy Thread Strengthening... Complete.]
[+4 BP for uncovering an ancestral anchor.]
BP: 87 → 91
Lin Tian gasped and pulled back.
Chen Mu was silent.
"…That was you," Lin Tian said.
"I think it was."
"Who were you?"
Chen Mu didn't answer.
But the ring pulsed once—faintly red.
[System Status Panel – Chen Mu (Ring State)]
Bluff Points: 91
Soul Strength: 8
Current Vessel: Refined Jade Core Ring (Stabilized)
Abilities: Voice of Authority Lv.1, Soul Tap (1/day), Resonant Presence (Passive)
Manual Access: Beginner Cultivation Manual (Simulated)
Current Objective: Rekindle the Fire Legacy
Disciple Status: Qi Initiation – Mid Stage (Stable)
Legacy Flag: Awakening – Hidden Flame Echo (Threaded)
Known Array: Spiral Fire Refinement (Calibration 38%)