> [Trial Initiation: Bloodfire Right of Challenge – Jiang Clan Ancestral Rite]
Participant: Jiang Han (Recognized Heir)
Opponent: Jiang Tianxu (Exiled Flame Heretic – Former Inner Bloodline Elite)
Realm: Jiang Clan Relic Domain – "The Heartforge Hollow"
Conditions: One Exit – One Victor – One Throne
---
Entering the Relic Realm
The portal to the Jiang Clan's Heartforge Hollow opened like a wound—searing red and carved in the shape of the clan's ancient sigil: a burning blade surrounded by seven stars.
Jiang Han stepped through.
The world shifted.
No sky. No horizon. Just molten stone, black iron trees, and rivers of ancestral flame pouring between monolithic flame-thrones—each one scorched with names.
> "These are the Thrones of our lineage," Jiang murmured.
Tempest hissed low. Even the Phoenix Hatchling stayed close, wings tucked tight.
> "And that," Jiang whispered, "must be the Seventh."
At the center of it all stood Jiang Tianxu.
Tall. Lean. Eyes like coals buried too long.
He turned, smiling.
> "You bear the face of the boy I once saved."
> "And now I'll take from you what your father denied me."
---
The Heretic's Flame
Jiang Tianxu raised his hands.
From his back unfurled wings of Blood-Black Flame, seething with raw emotion—flame tainted by soul memories he had forcibly absorbed over decades.
> [Forbidden Flame Detected – Variant: Ancestral Memory Extraction]
Warning: Technique drains both user and victim during prolonged exposure.
> "This is what the Jiang Clan sealed away," Tianxu said.
"But flame without pain is just light."
Jiang Han drew Emberfang.
His flames ignited—not to match his uncle's hatred, but to answer it.
> "You turned our name into a curse."
> "I'm here to make it sacred again."
---
The Battle of Blood and Will
They clashed—
Flame blades singing in air thick with molten rage.
Jiang dodged low and countered with Heavenbreaker Echo: Soul Thread, searing Tianxu's wing—
—but was thrown back by a memory blast, a technique that hurled a moment from Jiang Han's own past against him.
He saw his father falling.
His clan screaming.
The day it all burned.
He staggered.
> "You fight with ghosts," Tianxu sneered.
"But I am one."
Jiang wiped blood from his mouth.
> "Then I'll burn every ghost that ever touched my name."
---
Tempest Ascends
Tempest and the Phoenix merged—fully, for the first time.
Their fusion became something new:
> [Companion Fusion Achieved – "Ascendant Starwing Tempest"]
Status: Legendary Soul Pet Variant – Traits: Flame Command, Storm Channel, Memory Burn Immunity
Jiang leapt with them.
They soared—one breath, one flame.
He struck with a technique drawn from every throne he had stood before.
> "Judgment Flame – Ancestor's Verdict!"
A pillar of flame rained from above—
And pierced Jiang Tianxu's corrupted heart.
---
The Throne Accepts
The Seventh Flame Throne shimmered.
Jiang walked forward.
Behind him, Tianxu fell—not dead, but unconscious, his body refusing to burn.
> "Let him live," Jiang said.
"He'll watch what legacy really looks like."
He stepped into the throne's core.
It ignited—a golden flame with strands of mourning and storm, blazing with the voice of those who once bore the name "Jiang" with pride.
> [Seventh Flame Throne Claimed – Title Acquired: Scion of the Starforge]
Trait Gained: Flameblood Restoration – Rebuilds lost clan affinity lines across generations
---
Return
Jiang Han emerged from the Relic Realm—exhausted, singed, but changed.
The Sovereign Council watched in silence.
Then—they bowed.
Tian Xue was the first to run to him, wrapping her arms around him as the Phoenix Hatchling landed softly on his shoulder.
Zhao Kai pumped a fist. "That's seven."
Yue smiled faintly. "And he still hasn't even started."
Bo Ren whispered, "The Jiang name is his again."
Jiang looked to the sky, where seven stars aligned above him in flame.
> "And now," he said quietly,
"We go higher."