The arena pulsed with divine energy. Flames curved through the air like dancers in heat, licking the edges of reality. The crowd roared—gods, spirits, mortals elevated by worship. All bore witness to the God of Yang's next challenge.
Chen Ming stood at the center, shoulders bare, body gleaming with the mark of trials past. His bonded watched from the private viewing chamber above: Lanmei's eyes sharp, calculating; Ye Yue's narrowed in dread. They both felt it. This one would be different.
Because the next opponent wasn't a god.
A mortal-looking figure stepped onto the platform. She wore a black and gold tunic, her long braid trailing behind her like a whip. Her aura didn't flare like a divine flame—it pulsed, rhythmic, beating in time with Chen's own heart.
His breath caught.
"…Mei?"
She looked up—and smiled. "You took your time, dummy."
Moments earlier, in the Moon Court's restricted vaults…
The High Oracle leaned over a basin filled with starlight and whispered, "Activate the failsafe."
A hooded priest stepped forward and dropped a vial of mortal memory into the pool. "It's dangerous."
"She knew him," the Oracle said. "More than any of us ever did. If we can't control him with gods… perhaps the memory of his mortal life will bend him instead."
Back in the arena
Chen stared at her, stunned. The crowd went silent, sensing something was wrong. Mei was no goddess. She shouldn't have been here.
But the arena recognized her. The divine warding allowed her to pass.
"Why?" Chen asked quietly, stepping forward. "Why are you here?"
She tilted her head. "Why else? You called me."
"No," he said. "I—"
"Your heart did."
And then, she moved.
Not divine. Not refined. But fast—blindingly so. A series of strikes forced Chen into defense. She was different. Enhanced. Touched by something divine, but not fully transformed.
He felt it again—the whisper. That comforting presence from before. Not lust. Not fire. Something older.
Lysaria.
"To rise, you must reconcile the pieces of yourself left behind."
Mei wasn't an enemy.
She was a reminder.
Above, in the Court of War
The crimson demigoddess who had asked to face Chen sneered as she watched Mei fight. "A mortal girl? That's his next trial?"
The Flame Warden beside her frowned. "She's not just a mortal anymore. Look at her. She's resonating with him."
The Matriarch of the Obsidian Court appeared on a distant balcony, her lips curved in amusement. "The Moon Court gambled on memory. Let's see if sentiment proves more dangerous than seduction."
Back in the ring
Chen caught Mei's fist—barely.
She panted, sweat rolling down her neck. "You left… without saying goodbye."
"I thought I had to," Chen murmured.
"You thought wrong."
Their aura clashed, gold against ghost-silver, past against present. No system prompt. No mission. Just pain, and hope.
Then suddenly—
[System Update Detected]New Path Unlocked: Heartbound Cultivation – Echo Tier Initiated.]
Mei blinked. "What… did you just do?"
Chen didn't know. But he felt it—his bond with her wasn't forged through sex or divine ritual. It was human, painfully so. And now the system recognized it.
He had created a new path. One that merged mortal love with divine progression.
Mei stumbled backward, confused.
Chen stepped forward, catching her gently. "You don't have to fight me."
"I already did. Years ago. When you left."
He held her tighter. "Then let me make it right."
In the sanctuary afterward
Lanmei was the first to speak when Mei entered the chamber.
"So. You're the mortal."
Mei's glare could have scorched steel. "You're the jealous immortal."
Ye Yue stepped between them. "Enough. This isn't a rivalry."
"No," Mei said. "It's a warning. If you let him burn too hot without grounding him… he'll consume even you."
Chen stood silently between the women who'd shaped his soul in such different ways. And he finally understood.
He didn't need to choose. He needed to honor them all.
Elsewhere, in a place even gods avoided
Lysaria sat beneath a broken temple's boughs, eyes glowing softly.
"So he's found it," she whispered. "The path between power and memory. Between lust and love."
She raised her hand, and the trial stone began to form.
"Then let's see if he can face my challenge next…"