BOOM—!
A golden explosion ripped across the skies of the Ebonflame Burial Grounds, turning night into day. Space twisted. Mountains hundreds of li away trembled under the force of a storm that hadn't come from nature, but from the body of one man—Jun Long.
His blood ignited like divine oil, not burning him, but sanctifying him.
In that moment, Jun Long wasn't a mortal, a cultivator, or even a living being.
He was becoming a force—an existence written into the laws of the world.
Beneath him, Shen Lianhua stood frozen. Her heart pounded. Not from fear—but from grief and awe, helplessly mixed.
"You really… weren't lying," she whispered, voice trembling. "You're burning your soul just to break through this realm… You madman…"
The divine flames dancing around Jun Long were not merely fire—they were Dao Incarnate, golden and crimson, alive and roaring with heavenly fury. They devoured the void, rejecting the constraints of cultivation tiers.
And then came the voice.
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION: Soul Evolution Initiated.]
[Host has surpassed Core Ascension bottleneck.]
[Mythic Pathway chosen: Flame Sovereign of the Celestial Anima.]
[Warning: Integration with Divine Dao Seed will overwrite all mortal limitations.]
"System…" Jun Long muttered, his voice thick with pain and determination. "What's the price?"
[Answer: Everything you were. Everything you feared to become.]
He smiled—sad, resolute, divine.
"Then take it."
His bones cracked. His soul ruptured. But in their place, celestial marrow and flame-forged essence began to reconstruct a new Jun Long—one no longer bound to the mortal world's logic.
And all the while, Shen Lianhua watched him die.
Or ascend.
She didn't know which terrified her more.
Two Days Earlier – The Heavenly Court
"Report again. You said a mortal touched the Ebonflame Heart?" a voice thundered.
Immortal Empress Lanyu narrowed her eyes, her golden gaze piercing through the jade orb that displayed the lower realms.
"Yes, Empress," the jade-robed monitor responded, trembling. "A cultivator named Jun Long. He's… not ordinary."
"Not ordinary?" Empress Lanyu's lips curled. "His aura just destabilized three provinces. That's not 'not ordinary'—that's Heaven-defying."
Behind her, the Immortal Ministers murmured.
"If he survives this transformation…"
"If he awakens as a Divine Flame Sovereign…"
"…he could be the one who shatters the Heavenly Path."
"Silence," Empress Lanyu raised her hand. "Dispatch the Heavenly Sentinels. I want his body retrieved—and if he lives, I want his heart still beating when I rip it from his chest."
Present – The Heart of Ebonflame
Jun Long's transformation deepened. Crimson phoenix wings unfurled from his back—half-illusory, half-real. Every heartbeat was thunder. Every breath summoned aurora-like flames that danced through the air, rewriting reality with each pulse.
But then—his eyes opened.
And they weren't the same.
They were galaxies of fire, holding wisdom older than the stars.
"Lianhua…" he said softly, looking at her.
She trembled.
"Don't come any closer," she whispered. "You're… not you anymore."
He took one step.
She stepped back.
"I said stop!"
But he didn't.
He reached out. Not with power, but with pain.
"I… remember everything," he said. "The nights we spent hiding in the Cloudwood Caverns. The day you gave me your last healing pill just so I could survive the Viper Sect's pursuit. You said—'As long as you live, I'll never regret it.'"
"I didn't mean like this," she said through tears. "You're not supposed to die just to become strong enough for me!"
Jun Long smiled.
Then, staggered.
Blood—golden, shining, and divine—leaked from his lips.
"Then maybe… I'm becoming strong enough to protect everyone. Not just you. Not just this world. But even the Heavens that try to cage us."
He collapsed.
But the flames did not.
They soared upward like a crown, branding his fate onto the sky.
Far Beyond – The Celestial Tribunal Realm
An ancient figure cloaked in darkness stirred from slumber.
"A new Sovereign has emerged…" the figure murmured, voice like crumbling time. "And he carries Her scent."
A pair of golden eyes opened within the void.
"Shen Lianhua… we meet again. Through him, no less."
Moments Later – Earth Cracks, Sky Bleeds
The Ebonflame Burial Grounds split open.
From the depths, an obsidian vortex tore the realm apart.
Jun Long's flames answered it.
They surged into the sky and met the vortex's darkness—defying annihilation.
Shen Lianhua screamed his name.
But Jun Long was no longer just a man.
He was a Godfire Seed.
Heaven responded.
Lightning screamed down. Not one bolt. Not a thousand. But countless.
The Heavenly Punishment Tribulation began.
[System Alert: Ultimate Heavenly Tribulation Activated.]
[Host's soul will either integrate with Existence Core, or be erased permanently.]
Jun Long stood, his body levitating as if carried by destiny itself.
His voice roared across heaven and earth.
"If the Heavens reject me—then I'll forge my own!"
Cliffhanger Ending
High above, from the realm beyond stars, Empress Lanyu's gaze sharpened.
"He chose the Godfire path…"
Her finger extended.
At her will, a single jade decree flew from her palm, piercing through realms, through time, through fate.
Edict of Immortal Judgment:
Jun Long, Sovereign of Flame, is to be executed upon sight. All Heavenly Courts are to hunt and eliminate him. No exceptions.
But just before the decree reached the lower realms—Jun Long caught it in his bare hand.
And burned it.
The heavens shook.
The war had begun.