Rain fell before dawn.
Not a storm. Just a steady curtain of cold mist that turned the outer sect into a gray watercolor painting. The kind of rain that soaked everything it touched but made no noise while doing it.
Lin Tian sat outside the hut, hood raised, ring pulsing softly at his finger.
Chen Mu had been silent all night. Not out of caution. Out of focus.
"We're close," he finally said.
"I can feel it," Lin Tian murmured.
Chen Mu opened the system overlay.
[Spiral Fire Refinement – Calibration: 52%][Thread Integration: 67%][Anchor Flame Signatures: 3/4][Vault Access: Locked][Remaining Input: Final Resonance – Wild Flame / Unclaimed]
Unclaimed.
"Means it's out there," Chen Mu said. "Means it doesn't belong to anyone yet."
"Then we find it."
Chen Mu hesitated.
"Or we call it."
[+3 BP for reckless world-pulse proposition.]
Bluff Points: 102 → 105
The ritual was half-theory, half-desperation.
They drew the Spiral Fire Array in full this time. Not just the outer ring or control points — all five tiers. The glyphs for breath, spirit, flame, soul, and memory were inscribed in old blood-ink, traced with powdered bone-charcoal.
At the center sat Lin Tian.
Around the edge hovered the three acquired resonance fragments, now suspended in spiritual tension.
"Converge the echoes," Chen Mu instructed.
"I've never done this before."
"No one has. That's the point."
Lin Tian activated the array.
Qi flared.
The outer ring spun. The fragments shimmered.
Then—
A fourth flame ignited.
But not from them.
From outside.
From somewhere else.
A burst of energy erupted from the array's core, searing into the stone below, and burned a spiral directly into the hut floor.
[System Alert: Wild Flame Signature Acquired.][Spiral Calibration: 100%][Anchor Connection Established.][Legacy Thread Complete.][Access Granted: Ember Vault (Dormant)][WARNING: Vault Location Unknown. Activation will trigger external beacon.]
Chen Mu froze.
Lin Tian's eyes snapped open.
"…What was that?"
Chen Mu's voice was barely a whisper.
"Someone answered."
[+4 BP for initiating legacy beacon.]
BP: 105 → 109
For a few seconds, the air held a static charge. Not lightning—just expectation.
Then the system chimed again.
[Vault Anchor Synced to Ring Core.][Access Requirements Met.][Spiral Fire Refinement Array absorbed into Ring Structure.][New Ability Unlocked: Flame Memory Projection Lv.1]
Chen Mu stared at the inner ring space.
The array was gone. Fully integrated.
The ring now hummed with something more than Qi. It pulsed with history.
He laughed—short, ragged, a little wild.
"We did it."
Lin Tian sat up, blinking. "What did we do?"
Chen Mu pulsed once in his new spiritual voice.
"We built a map. Now we just need to read it."
That evening, the sect's spiritual network flared.
A pulse shot through the foundations — subtle, silent, almost imperceptible — but those sensitive enough felt it.
Elder Hu noticed.
Guo noticed.
So did others.
But they couldn't trace it.
Because it wasn't theirs.
It belonged to something older.
Chen Mu examined his new status panel with quiet satisfaction.
[System Status Panel – Chen Mu (Ring State)]
Bluff Points: 109
Soul Strength: 8
Current Vessel: Refined Jade Core Ring (Stabilized)
Abilities:
Voice of Authority Lv.1
Soul Tap (1/day)
Resonant Presence (Passive)
Flame Memory Projection Lv.1
Manual Access: Beginner Cultivation Manual (Simulated)
Current Objective: Locate Ember Vault
Disciple Status: Qi Initiation – Mid Stage (Stable)
Legacy Flag: Lit – Hidden Flame Echo (Calibrated)
Known Array: Spiral Fire Refinement (Integrated)
New Entry: Ember Vault (Beacon Sent – Location Pending)