One week later.
The training courtyard behind Rana's private quarters was scorched black, the stone cracked in spiderweb patterns. Ember petals drifted through the air—residue from her latest technique. The scent of smoke and spirit herbs lingered, sharp and sweet.
Rana stood at the center, breathing hard, her robe singed at the sleeves. Her hair was damp with sweat, but her eyes burned brighter than ever.
She raised her hand.
A flame bloomed in her palm—not red, not orange, but white-hot and laced with gold. It didn't flicker. It pulsed, steady and alive, like a second heartbeat.
"Again," she whispered.
She moved.
The flame surged down her arm, coiling around her like a serpent. Her steps were faster now—lighter, more fluid. Each motion fed the fire instead of draining it. Her qi no longer resisted her commands. It danced with her.
She struck the air with an open palm.
A wave of flame erupted forward, not in a burst but in a spiral. Controlled. Precise. It hit the training dummy at the far end of the courtyard and didn't just burn it—it melted it.
Rana exhaled slowly.
"That's new," she muttered.
She could feel it. The Fire Spirit technique wasn't just stronger—it was smarter. It didn't consume her. It harmonized with her. Her spirit seed had begun to sprout, just as Jalen said it would. She could feel it now—deep in her core, a tiny ember that pulsed with potential.
And more than that—she could feel her cultivation surging.
She was already at the late stage of the Emerald Realm. Just a week ago, she'd barely been able to stabilize her qi after the reset. Now, she was brushing the threshold of the Sapphire Realm. It was absurd. Impossible. And yet, it was happening.
She thought back to the years spent under her master's guidance—years of slow, painful progress. She respected her deeply and owed her much. But compared to this… it felt like she'd been crawling through mud with her eyes closed. Every breakthrough had come at a cost. Every technique had been a battle between her body and her flame.
Now, her cultivation flowed like breath. Her qi didn't resist—it responded. Her flame didn't lash out—it listened.
She hadn't just advanced.
She'd transcended.
And the one responsible for it—
"You're improving faster than I expected."
Rana turned. Jalen stood at the edge of the courtyard, arms folded, expression unreadable.
"You've been watching me?"
"Only for the last hour," he said. "You didn't notice. That's a problem."
Rana scowled. "I was focused."
"Focus is good," Jalen said. "But awareness is better."
She rolled her eyes. "You're impossible."
"And you're reckless," he replied. "But you're learning."
He stepped forward, eyes scanning the melted dummy. "Your flame spiral—was that intentional?"
"Half," she admitted. "I was trying to compress the flame, but it twisted on its own."
"That's the seed responding," Jalen said. "And it seems your spirit seed has evolved into a rare type. It's starting to think for itself."
Even if Jalen had flame qi, it would be impossible for him to achieve this level of bond with flames without a flame spirit seed or a flame physique.
Rana blinked. "Think?"
"The Fire Spirit technique isn't just a method. It's a bond. The more you cultivate it, the more it adapts to you. Eventually, it'll act on instinct—yours and its own."
Rana looked down at her hand. The flame had faded, but her palm still tingled.
She didn't respond right away. Her thoughts were spinning.
How? How had he come across something like this?
This wasn't just a top-quality technique. It was something else entirely. Something ancient. Refined. Alive. It didn't just push her through realms—it made her stronger with each step. Sharper. More complete.
Where had he learned it? Who was he really?
She'd met geniuses before. Prodigies. But Jalen was different. He didn't just defy expectations—he rewrote them. And the more she trained under his guidance, the more she realized how little she understood about him.
He was a mystery wrapped in fire. And she was starting to want answers.
"So what now?" she asked quietly.
"Now," Jalen said, "you stop training like a disciple."
"And start training like what?"
"Like someone who wants to burn the sky."
Rana's lips curled into a smile. "That sounds like something I'd say."
"Then maybe you're finally becoming someone worth teaching."
She threw a pebble at him. He caught it without looking.
"Show-off."
"Flame-brain."
They stood in silence for a moment, the heat between them not just from the fire.
Then Jalen turned. "Rest. Tomorrow, we begin real training."
"That wasn't real?"
"That was warm-up."
He vanished.
Rana stared at the scorched courtyard, then at her hand.
The fire was still there.
And it was hungry.