The next morning, the city of Falling Star hummed with energy. Street criers shouted the news of tournaments, bounty boards were covered with fresh parchments, and the major sects had begun their quarterly Recruitment Trials—a chance for unaffiliated cultivators to join powerful factions and ascend faster.
Kai stood in the central plaza, eyeing the massive banners of the three sects recruiting today:
🐉 Azure Sky Sect – masters of sword and aerial movement techniques, famed for their deadly "Skyfall Sword Art."
🔥 Emberheart Pavilion – fire elemental cultivators, experts in destruction, alchemy, and flame-forged weapons.
🌿 Serpent Root Temple – spiritual cultivators focused on defense, healing, and soul arts, with mysterious origins tied to ancient beasts.
A city elder, his white beard long and his robe embroidered with ancient runes, called out:
"Three sects, one choice. You may only apply to one today. Pass their trial, and you will be initiated. Fail, and wait for another moon cycle."
Kai looked up at the banner, the dragon blood in his veins pulsing with anticipation. He knew each choice would shape his future differently.
He thought briefly.
The Azure Sky Sect offered speed, sword mastery, and prestige.
The Emberheart Pavilion aligned with the dragon fire within him.
Serpent Root Temple was mysterious and held deep knowledge of soul cultivation, something he sensed would become important.
But in the end, there was only one option that resonated with the fire burning inside him.
"I chose Emberheart Pavilion."
The pavilion recruiter, a graceful woman in crimson robes, nodded with approval. "Good. We test through trial by flame.flame. If you wish to wield fire, you must survive it."
She led him and five other applicants into a towering arena carved into a volcanic hill outside the city. Lava flowed beneath the grates on the floor. The heat was suffocating—yet it awakened something in Kai.
"Your trial," the woman said, "is to form your flame into a weapon. Not borrowed fire. Not borrowed tools. Your flame. If it does not take shape in one hour, you shall fail."
The others groaned or panicked.
Kai sat cross-legged, drawing in a deep breath. The dragon's voice rumbled faintly.
"You are born out of flame. Let it answer you."
Minutes passed. Sweat poured down his face. The others attempted crude fireballs, some creating flickers of flame that immediately vanished.
Kai focused inward, drawing on the fire within his core. Slowly, he shaped it—not with force, but with intent.but with intent.but with intent. He visualized a blade, curved and elegant, like a dragon's fang.
Then it appeared.
A fiery sword hoveredsword hovered before him, its edges dancing with golden flame. It pulsed with his heartbeat.
The recruiter's eyes widened. "He formed a weapon spirit?"
No one else succeeded.
At sunset, Kai stood in front of the pavilion gate. A red sash wrapped around his arm.
"Welcome to Emberheart," the woman said. "You will be tested, broken, and reforged. And if you survive—you'll be fire incarnate."
Kai bowed. "I'm ready."
But as he entered the gate, he felt something else—a pair of eyes watching him from the shadows beyond the walls. Cold, calculated. A presence not from Ember Heart.
Someone was already watching his rise.