Silence swept across the courtyard like a tide of ash.
The flames flickering from Huǒ Chén's whip dimmed. The wind whispering around Fēng Yùxiāo's robes slowed. Every student watching stood stunned, their jaws slack, their pulses racing.
Because what they had just seen... was impossible.
A forgotten nobody, a class 9-D reject—had awakened both his elemental core and his beastpulse without assistance. No spirit master. No elemental array. No guidance.
Raw, instinctual awakening.
"That... that's not normal," one student muttered.
"No one awakens their beastpulse like that… not without a soul ritual."
"He didn't even chant an invocation!"
In the sky, hidden behind the cloud-scorched pillars of Cindralore's eastern tower, a crimson-robed elder stood quietly, his long beard fluttering in the breeze. His eyes were narrowed, fixed on Jiǎng Mùchéng.
"Self-initiated dual awakening…" he murmured, stroking his beard.
"...and that iron-type resonance. His pulse lines didn't crack under the beast's pressure. They widened. Who is this child?"
Below, Huǒ Chén's lip curled, disbelief quickly twisting into fury.
"So what if you awakened?" he growled, his aura flaring again with serpentine fire. "You're a Level 1 worm. A newborn. I'm Level 4—Seven Stars. You can't even handle my breathing near you."
He stepped forward, stomping the ground with a molten echo.
"I promise this before every witness, and may the flames of Cindralore burn my name if I lie—"
He raised his right hand and declared:
"If I, Huǒ Chén, cannot defeat this trash in five minutes, I will forfeit my 3rd place rank in the Outer Academy and hand over all of my Starpulse Energy Pills to him!"
Gasps exploded across the courtyard.
"H-He said Starpulse Energy Pills?!"
"Those are rare! One can boost a star-stage by a whole level!"
"And the 3rd Rank! That's the gateway to entering Inner Academy next season!"
Even Fēng Yùxiāo—cool and composed—furrowed her brow. "Huǒ Chén… you're being unreasonable. He's barely awakened. Why would you even—?"
"Shut up," Huǒ Chén snapped. "Something about him feels wrong. He dared look me in the eyes after I hit him. I'll shatter whatever fake backbone he just grew."
Jiǎng Mùchéng struggled to his feet, still panting, arms shaking. The metallic glow beneath his skin was faint—but steady.
📜[SYSTEM QUEST ACTIVATED]
🔓 Survival Trial: Five Minutes of Iron
Quest: Withstand the full strength of Huǒ Chén for 5 minutes.
🕐 Countdown: 00:05:00
❗ Beastpulse Usage: Locked
🔧 Ability Granted: Elemental Body Absorption (元素体质吸纳)
Level 0/10
Description: The more elemental damage you endure, the stronger your body becomes. Your body absorbs fire-based energy and adapts to pain. Each level of this forbidden technique requires immense endurance. WARNING: Breakthrough to Stage 1 requires a miracle.
🌡️ Status: Pain Level – Critical
🔥 Current Absorption: 0.2%
Jiǎng Mùchéng looked at the screen with dread. Then up at Huǒ Chén.
He barely had time to breathe before—
BOOM!
A flaming punch hit his shoulder. His body twisted from the force, and pain screamed through every nerve.
He stumbled back.
Another hit.
Then another.
Each one more brutal than the last.
Huǒ Chén was throwing real attacks now—elemental fist techniques, lined with burning heat and qi bursts.
Jiǎng could feel the pain with every impact. At first, it felt like his bones were being shattered.
But then—something changed.
The third strike didn't hurt as much.
The fourth… he could breathe.
The fifth—he stayed standing.
The crowd stirred again.
"W-What's going on?"
"He's not using any technique—but he's… tanking them?!"
"Is that an Iron Body art?!"
Fēng Yùxiāo frowned, her wind senses tingling. "No. His body is reacting to the fire. It's… absorbing it?"
Up on the spire, the elder's eyes narrowed. "He's not just enduring. He's metabolizing flame into resilience. That technique… doesn't exist in this academy."
Huǒ Chén's face twisted. "You fat little—why aren't you falling?!"
He roared and unleashed a Flame Shockwave Punch, his signature move.
His aura surged—
Fire exploded outward like a sun-flare—
The ground cracked as the blast hurled Jiǎng across the courtyard, slamming him into a basalt pillar with a thunderous crack.
Dust and heat filled the air.
Some students flinched.
"He's… he's dead now, right?"
"No one can survive that."
But then—
A shadow stood.
Coughing. Bleeding.
But standing.
Jiǎng Mùchéng's body trembled. His robe was torn. His lips bled. His left arm hung loose—but his feet were firm.
His eyes burned silver. His chest shimmered with faint black-iron light.
📜[ABSORPTION PROGRESS – 9.3%]
Status: Still Level 0
Pain Level: Moderate
Body Adaptation: Iron-Forged Threshold Initiated
"I…" he rasped through bloodied lips. "I'm… still here."
The courtyard fell into stunned silence.
For the first time—Huǒ Chén stepped back.
The dust hadn't even settled when Huǒ Chén's face contorted with rage.
His pride, his aura, his dominance—all were now being questioned.
By a no-name nobody with belly fat and bruises.
"How are you still laughing?" he growled, voice low and shaking with fury.
Because Jiǎng Mùchéng—bloodied, bruised, trembling—was laughing.
His shoulders shook with it. His eyes were wide, silver glow flickering with mad joy.
"Because," Jiǎng said, grinning through cracked lips, "the more elemental power you throw at me…"
He inhaled, and the metallic veins across his arms pulsed stronger.
"The faster I grow."
Huǒ Chén snapped.
"Then I'll burn you into dust."
Behind him, his Crimson Scale Pyrosnake—ten meters long, its body glowing like molten glass—rose in a coiled inferno.
The crowd backed away as flames twisted into a vortex.
With a furious snarl, Huǒ Chén plunged his right fist into the beast's open jaws—and pulled out a weapon.
A sword—long, jagged, forged from volcanic flame-ore, etched in burning sigils.
It radiated heat like a newborn sun.
📜[Weapon Detected: Crimson Python Fang Blade]
Tier: Spirit-Grade Flame Weapon
Enhancement: Beastpulse-Bound Amplification
Aura Output: 2x normal base strength
Fēng Yùxiāo gasped. "He's pulling out the Fang Blade?! That's his main duel weapon! He's serious!"
The crowd murmured in disbelief.
Huǒ Chén roared:
"You want pain?
Then take my strongest sword technique—
🔥⚔️ Blazing Serpent Fang: Hellcoil Severance! (焰蛇绝牙 · 烈狱断魂斩)"
His beastpulse reentered his body—fusing with his limbs, spine, and core.
Flame surged through him, doubling his strength.
Muscle expanded. Veins glowed lava-red.
His right hand transformed—covered in crimson scales and claws, like the maw of his beast.
"You want to know the difference between Level 1… and Level 4?"
He raised the blade to the sky, its flame slicing the air into waves of pressure.
"Fusion. At Level 4, I can merge with my Beastpulse. I gain its limbs—its strength—its flame.
Every swing now carries four times my base power."
📜[Body Fusion Activated – Flameclaw State]
Boost: Strength ×2 | Elemental Flow ×2
Combined Power Output: 400% Base Strength
Even the Elder above, a powerful Level 6 cultivator, narrowed his eyes.
"He's one breath away from Level 5… and he's using it on this boy?"
He was about to interfere—but he saw it again.
That laugh.
Jiǎng Mùchéng stood there. Not blocking. Not dodging.
Smiling.
The elder hesitated. "This... is no ordinary fool. I want to see where it goes."
On the ground, Fēng Yùxiāo stepped forward. "Stop this, Huǒ Chén. This is insane—he's not even fighting back!"
She turned toward Jiǎng. "Run! Now! I'll hold him off!"
But before she could move—
Two figures landed beside her.
Rank 4 and Rank 5 of the Outer Academy.
They wore grim expressions.
One spoke first: "Apologies, senior sister."
The other bowed slightly. "This duel cannot be stopped. You know the Code—no interference during a Starbound Oath."
She stared at them. "You're siding with him?!"
"We're following the rules," they said together.
Down below, Huǒ Chén's aura flared, shaking the entire courtyard.
The flames from his sword curved like a burning dragon as he brought the weapon behind him—charging his full elemental force into it.
The sky twisted.
Flames warped.
The air screeched from pressure.
📜[Energy Charge: 92%]
Technique: Hellcoil Severance
Estimated Lethality: Suitable for Level 4 Peak
Even the Elder's robe whipped in the heatstorm. "One hit from that will shatter any Level 1. Why doesn't the boy move?!"
But Jiǎng…
Still smiling.
His skin glowed now. His arms shimmered like forged iron.
His Elemental Body Absorption was absorbing every thread of heat in the air, every ripple of flame from the sword.
📜[Absorption Progress: 39.2%]
Status: Heat Saturation Approaching Threshold
Body: Stabilized under Critical Pressure
Emotion: Euphoric Defiance
His thoughts raced:
Yes. Hurt me more. Let it burn. Let it break me.
Because the more you try to destroy me…
The stronger I become.
Then—
Huǒ Chén released the technique.
The sword sliced forward, dragging a tidal wave of hellfire behind it.
A crimson serpent burst from the blade—coiling through the sky, jaws wide, aiming directly at Jiǎng's chest.
The ground split.
The flames screamed.
The courtyard shattered.
A blast like a meteor strike engulfed Jiǎng Mùchéng—
BOOM.