Shaded Peak rose ahead of them—sharp, skeletal, and encased in a ring of stormfire clouds that arced lightning into the mountain itself.
The Glorious Sky Sect had turned the entire peak into a barrier ward.
Bo Ren narrowed his eyes. "They've layered at least three ancestral seals around it."
"And that storm," Lin Yao added, "it's not natural. It's fed."
Jiang Han stared at the mountain. The pull in his soul grew stronger with every step they took closer.
"She's up there," he said. "Tian Xue."
Yue was already stringing a compound flame bow. "Then let's kick the door in."
> But the door came to them first.
---
The Intercept
Thunder cracked—and a figure dropped from the sky, landing in a crater of flame just fifty meters ahead.
He was tall, clad in black-orange battle armor, with ember lines running down his arms. Around his waist hung a chain, glowing with sealing runes.
But it was the weapon across his back that froze Jiang Han.
A flame-edged greatsword.
Thicker than Ember Fang. Cracked with spirit lightning. Its hilt still bore the runes Jiang had carved himself—in another life.
> Sovereign Edge.
> His original blade.
The man spoke.
> "By order of the Glorious Sky Sect, you are trespassing within a flame-locked sector."
"Turn back now or be destroyed."
Jiang Han stepped forward slowly.
"Where did you get that sword?"
The commander tilted his head.
"This? A relic. From the fallen age. Retrieved from the outer Void Gate during a Sect purge 87 years ago."
Zhao Kai muttered, "Void Gate? That's where your past self died, right?"
Bo Ren nodded.
Jiang's eyes never left the man. "That blade was mine."
The commander drew it, slowly.
The air warped around it.
> "Then I shall return it—through your heart."
---
Duel of Flame and Memory
The commander moved fast—unnaturally so for someone wielding a greatsword. Flame teleports, body flickers, blade rotations. Sovereign Edge roared as if remembering Jiang Han too—and confused by who wielded it now.
Jiang dodged the first cleave.
Not by instinct.
By memory.
> "His style," Jiang muttered. "It's mine. But altered. Corrupted."
Bo Ren shouted from the back, "They must've extracted fragments of your battle imprint from the weapon's soul!"
> "So I'm fighting… a shadow of myself."
Jiang activated Fang Echo, and Ember Fang split into mirrored trails, dancing faster than sight.
The commander blocked three.
But not the fourth.
A shallow cut across the shoulder—enough to burn the armor.
The man snarled and slammed his hand to the ground.
> "Soul Flame Art: Pillar Storm!"
Columns of flame erupted in a circle, caging Jiang Han.
But Jiang leapt over the blast—channeling Soul Furnace midair, pulling on pain, pressure, and memory.
He landed behind the commander.
> "My blade doesn't forget."
He struck—
> "Flame Arc – Severed Reflection!"
The blast hit home.
The commander flew twenty feet, crashing into a tree with force that splintered the trunk.
Sovereign Edge dropped from his grip.
It didn't return.
Because it was now hovering—pulsing—between them.
Torn between old and new.
---
Jiang Han stepped forward.
He touched the sword.
It trembled.
Then sank into his hand—melting into flame.
And reforged itself—
—fusing with Ember Fang.
> Weapon Fusion Complete: Sovereign Emberfang unlocked.
> New Skill Available: Sovereign Recall – call any flame-forged weapon previously bonded across lifetimes.
Bo Ren's mouth dropped open. "He just—merged his past blade with the new one…"
Zhao Kai grinned. "Then that means he's—"
Yue finished. "The real Flame Sovereign."
---
Aftermath
The commander groaned, still alive, barely conscious.
Jiang stood over him.
"Tell your sect," he said, voice hard. "The flame they're forcing into that girl doesn't belong to them."
He turned.
"It belongs to those who burn for others."
---
As they approached the base of Shaded Peak, the storm clouds parted for just a moment.
And in the distance, high above in a glass-walled sanctum…
A young girl sat cross-legged.
Hair white. Eyes closed.
Veins glowing with uncontrolled flame.
She whispered a name in her sleep.
> "Jiang… Han…"