The arena map pulsed.
> [Team Dawnflame Assigned Dungeon Zone: ❄️ Frozen Echo Caverns]
Challenge Type: Memory Trial + Flame Harmony Puzzle
Hazards: Cryo-Wraiths, Frost Null Zones, Spirit Echo Seals
Special Tag: "Legacy Rejection Site – Entry Attempt: Long Chen (Failed)"
Jiang Han's brow furrowed.
> "This is the one place Long Chen couldn't conquer?"
Bo Ren read the logs. "It says the Flame within… rejected him. But no one knows why."
Tian Xue touched the Phoenix Soul Egg cradled in her arms. It glowed faintly in the cold.
> "Maybe it wasn't time then."
> "Maybe it is now."
---
Descent into Frost
The cavern was a cathedral of ice.
Crystal arches loomed high above, dripping eternal frost. Echoes of old memories drifted through the air—not just from Jiang's team, but from challengers long dead.
Yue shivered. "The walls… they're whispering."
Zhao Kai grunted, "Yeah. Mine's telling me I snore too loud."
Lin Yao trailed her fingers along the frost. "They're reflections… this place shows your past, but not like the Shadow Dungeon. It asks if you've grown."
At the first gate, a frost-sealed spirit rose from the ground.
> Guardian of Flame: Is your heart still warm in the cold?
Trial Commencing…
---
Trial One: Memory of Flame
Each team member was pulled into a frozen echo.
Jiang found himself standing in the courtyard of his destroyed home.
His father's voice whispered:
> "If you had awakened earlier… we might still be alive."
Jiang didn't speak.
He simply stepped forward, and reached into the snow—
—and pulled out a small, warm flame.
> "I wasn't ready then."
"But I am now."
The ice shattered around him.
Elsewhere:
Bo Ren forgave his old sect master.
Zhao Kai admitted he didn't need to be the strongest.
Yue cried for someone she'd never buried.
Tian Xue stood face-to-face with the girl she once was—afraid, broken, forgotten—and embraced her.
> [Frozen Echo Trial Passed – Harmony of Flame Unlocked]
---
Phoenix Soul Quest – Part 2
The path opened to a sealed altar of ice.
Atop it, a Frozen Ember pulsed—silver-blue, shaped like a heart.
> [System Notice: Phoenix Flame Fragment Detected – "Glacial Embersoul"]
Required: Willing Host + Purified Phoenix Egg
Subquest Update: Phoenix Soul Egg (2/3 Fragments Collected)
As Tian Xue stepped forward, the Ember flared.
> "This was the fire that turned Long Chen away," Bo Ren whispered.
"Because he carried too much rage."
The flame pulsed again—this time gentle, curious.
Jiang touched Tian Xue's shoulder.
> "But you carry healing."
She held out the Phoenix Egg.
The Frozen Ember drifted into it.
The egg glowed white, then shifted to a brilliant crimson-gold, and fluttered.
> [Phoenix Soul Egg Awakened – Stage 2]
Name: ???
Status: Nestling Stage (Heartbeat Detected)
Next Requirement: Flame Baptism + Guardian Bond (Trial Pending)
---
Ambush – Team Crimson Dagger
The moment they stepped out of the core chamber, a trap sprang.
Team Crimson Dagger, ranked #12, launched a coordinated ambush—ice net seals, soul traps, and a rare Shadow Panther Pet lunging for the Phoenix Egg.
> "Hand it over!" barked their captain, a tall woman with three rings of Sovereign mastery.
"That soul egg belongs to the Frostspire Guild."
Jiang stepped between them and Tian Xue.
> "You can walk away."
> "Or you can burn."
They laughed—until Jiang activated Trithrone Alignment and Tempest surged forward.
> "Wyrmling Link – Flame Coil Surge!"
Yue loosed an arrow through the Shadow Panther's flank.
Zhao Kai shoulder-charged their flame mage into a frozen wall.
Tian Xue unleashed Twilight Pulse, purging three traps at once.
Jiang knocked the captain's blade from her hands with a flick of his own.
> "Choose."
They fled.
---
Aftermath – Rising Tide
> [Dungeon Complete: Frozen Echo Caverns]
Rewards:
– Glacial Ember Core (Sovereign Flame Component)
– Phoenix Soul Egg (Stage 2)
– Ice Lotus Spirit (Alchemical Ingredient)
– +5000 Flame Score
As they exited into daylight, students cheered from the arena walls.
> [Team Dawnflame Ranking: Top 64]
Event Status: 4 Rounds Remaining – Advancement to Flame Cup Championship Pending]
Bo Ren laughed. "Top sixty-four. And no one expected us to qualify."
Yue elbowed him. "No one knew who we were."
Tian Xue cradled the Phoenix Egg, now warm and glowing.
Jiang looked ahead, watching banners rise as the next rounds began.
> "They will soon."