The dawn over Azure Flame Mountain burned in hues of sapphire and gold.
From every peak, tongues of blue fire rose like divine banners, coiling toward the heavens. Thousands of disciples gathered in the Sacred Courtyard, where the Initiation of Flames was about to begin — the ritual by which new disciples proved their worth before the sect's ancestral spirit, the Azure Phoenix.
Feixue stood at the center of it all.
Her robes fluttered lightly in the morning wind, white as freshly fallen snow. She appeared calm, but her presence distorted the air — every breath of wind turned cold, every nearby flame flickered uncertainly, unsure whether to burn or freeze.
Whispers rippled through the crowd:
> "That's the girl who froze Luo Han's phoenix flame…"
"Her aura suppresses fire itself—how can she possibly pass the trial?"
"Hah! She'll be incinerated before the first bell!"
Up on the ceremonial dais, Sect Master Yan Lie watched in silence, his eyes deep with thought.
The heavens trembled the moment she entered this mountain, he thought. Even the ancestral flame flickered. What are you, child?
---
The Grand Elder raised a jade staff. "Let the trial begin!"
Instantly, the courtyard erupted with light.
Pillars of azure fire surged upward, weaving a dome of immortal flame. The temperature spiked, scorching even the air. Within the dome, a colossal phoenix of pure flame took form, its wings spanning the horizon, eyes burning with divine will.
> "Mortal children of flame," the phoenix's voice thundered through their souls, "offer your hearts and prove your worth."
One by one, disciples stepped forward. Each ignited their spiritual flames, merging a fragment of their soul essence into the phoenix's breath.
Those who faltered screamed as their souls were scorched; those who succeeded knelt as the phoenix blessed them with a trace of its immortal fire.
Then, it was Feixue's turn.
She stepped forward, her feet barely touching the ground.
Snowflakes danced around her ankles, resisting the oppressive heat. The blue flames hissed angrily, twisting into serpents that lunged at her.
Yet as they neared her, they froze.
One by one, the serpents shattered into motes of light, falling like gentle rain.
The phoenix's eyes snapped open, its burning pupils narrowing upon her.
> "You… carry the silence that devours flame. Why have you come?"
Feixue looked up, her expression serene.
"I seek understanding," she replied softly. "If flame defines life… then what defines stillness?"
A deep silence followed.
The phoenix roared, its divine body flaring like a small sun. "Stillness is death! Life is fire! You are not meant for this place, child of frost."
The spectators gasped — the ancestral spirit itself was rejecting her.
But Feixue did not move.
Instead, she raised her hand and drew a slow circle in the air.
At that motion, the very world seemed to hold its breath.
Flames halted mid-dance. The wind froze mid-whisper. Even sound itself fell away.
In that frozen stillness, her voice rang clear — soft yet boundless.
> "Then let stillness and flame meet."
A single snowflake drifted from her fingertip, glowing faintly.
It touched the phoenix's burning beak.
The explosion that followed shook the entire mountain.
Half the dome turned into a storm of ice crystals, the other half burned brighter than ever — frost and fire intertwined, not destroying, but balancing each other.
The phoenix cried out — not in pain, but in awe.
> "Balance… between life and silence…"
"You… are not mortal."
Then, before the stunned assembly, the Azure Phoenix lowered its head — bowing.
A divine gesture no being had seen in ten thousand years.
---
The Sect Master and elders stood frozen in disbelief.
"The Phoenix… bowed to her?" whispered Elder Huai. "Even the founder of the sect never received such honor."
Yan Lie's expression darkened. The Phoenix recognizes her. Which means… the heavens will too.
---
The blue dome dissolved. The sky cleared.
Feixue stood quietly amid falling snow, her aura tranquil once more.
The phoenix's voice echoed through her mind one last time:
> "Daughter of the Silent Origin… the heavens still remember your breath. Be wary — they will come."
Feixue's eyes flickered with something faint — a glimmer of emotion buried beneath centuries of calm.
> "Then let them," she whispered.
"If the heavens wish to burn, I will teach them how to freeze."
---
That night, as the sect celebrated their successful initiates, Feixue sat alone on the snowy terrace overlooking the azure mountains. The flames below danced in harmony with frost — a beauty the realm had never known.
From far above, beyond the stars, a ripple spread across the divine plane.
In the Heavenly Palace, an ancient throne stirred.
The Immortal Emperor's eyes opened, faintly golden light seeping through the clouds.
> "The anomaly… has awakened."
His gaze pierced the mortal and immortal skies alike, landing upon the girl of snow.
> "So, the child of Origin lives again... "