The Fire Sect was burning.
Not with flames.
With humiliation.
The Sky Trial Platform stood at the center of the sect like a judgment altar. Crimson banners fluttered against the mountain wind, embroidered with the symbol of the Vermilion Flame. Thousands of disciples gathered in circular formation, their robes blazing red and gold like a field of controlled fire.
At the very center of the platform, kneeling on cold black stone, was Feng Lianhua.
Her hands were bound behind her back with Spirit-Sealing Chains. Thin lines of spiritual suppression glowed faintly around her wrists.
Above her, suspended in the air, floated the Testing Mirror — an ancient artifact used to measure spiritual roots.
And today, it had declared her useless.
"Trash."
The word spread through the crowd like wildfire.
"Born with mixed roots."
"Impure fire element."
"No future in cultivation."
Feng Lianhua lowered her head, long black hair falling forward to hide her expression.
Useless.
They had called her that since she entered the sect at the age of ten.
The Fire Sect valued pure flame — aggressive, dominant, unstoppable. But her spiritual veins were weak, unstable. When others could summon blazing pillars of fire, hers flickered like dying candlelight.
Today was the Sect Ranking Ceremony — the moment when outer disciples either advanced… or were expelled.
And the Testing Mirror had revealed what they all wanted confirmed.
Her spiritual foundation was cracked.
A laugh echoed across the platform.
Zhao Mingyuan.
Inner disciple. Golden Core stage. Son of an elder. Arrogant. Untouchable.
He stepped forward, red robe embroidered with golden flame dragons. His spiritual pressure alone made weaker disciples step back.
"Feng Lianhua," he said lazily, looking down at her kneeling figure. "You have embarrassed the Fire Sect long enough."
Murmurs of agreement rippled through the crowd.
Elder Zhao stroked his beard from the high viewing platform.
"She has consumed sect resources for eight years," another elder added coldly. "And for what? A defective root."
Zhao Mingyuan's lips curved.
"According to sect law, useless disciples are stripped of their status and expelled."
He paused.
"Or."
His gaze sharpened.
"They may be sent to the Spirit Mines as labor."
The Spirit Mines.
Everyone knew what that meant.
It was not labor.
It was slow death.
The mines were filled with volatile spiritual stones. The unstable energy poisoned the body over time. Most disciples sent there did not survive three years.
Feng Lianhua's fingers tightened slightly against the stone floor.
Three years.
That was generous.
She had already been surviving eight.
She lifted her head slowly.
Her face was calm.
Too calm.
"Is the decision final?" she asked quietly.
Her voice was clear, steady — not broken like they expected.
Zhao Mingyuan frowned slightly. He wanted tears. Begging. Desperation.
"Yes," he said coldly. "You are unfit to cultivate."
Silence fell.
The Testing Mirror above her flickered faintly.
At that exact moment, something deep within her dantian stirred.
A warmth.
Small.
Ancient.
Like an ember buried under centuries of ash.
She inhaled slowly.
She had endured the insults.
The beatings.
The starvation punishments.
The stolen cultivation pills.
The way senior disciples used her as a sparring dummy.
She endured because she remembered something they did not.
When she was six years old — before joining the sect — she once dreamed of fire.
Not ordinary fire.
A sea of golden flames stretching across heaven itself.
And in that sea…
A voice.
"You are not meant to kneel."
The warmth inside her pulsed again.
Stronger.
Zhao Mingyuan raised his hand.
"Remove her disciple token."
A junior disciple stepped forward nervously.
As he reached toward her waist —
The Testing Mirror cracked.
A sharp, piercing sound shattered the air.
CRACK.
Every head snapped upward.
A spiderweb fracture spread across the ancient artifact.
"That's impossible—" an elder gasped.
The Mirror had existed for 700 years.
It had never cracked.
Feng Lianhua's heart began to pound.
The warmth inside her dantian turned into heat.
Burning heat.
Her vision blurred.
Suddenly—
She heard it again.
The voice.
Ancient. Female. Boundless.
"Child of ash… why do you bow to ants?"
Her breath hitched.
The Spirit-Sealing Chains around her wrists began to glow red.
Zhao Mingyuan stepped back instinctively.
"What is happening?"
The Testing Mirror exploded.
A shockwave of golden light burst outward, sending disciples flying backward across the platform.
Feng Lianhua screamed.
Not in pain.
In awakening.
Her spiritual veins ignited.
But not red.
Gold.
Blinding golden flames erupted from her body, swirling upward like a phoenix taking flight.
The sky darkened.
Clouds churned violently above the Fire Sect mountain.
An enormous phantom image appeared behind her.
Wings.
Massive.
Radiant.
Made of pure celestial fire.
The elders stood frozen.
"That… that's not ordinary flame."
Elder Zhao's face drained of color.
"Primordial aura…"
Zhao Mingyuan staggered backward.
"No. Impossible. She's trash—"
Feng Lianhua slowly rose to her feet.
The chains around her wrists melted instantly.
Her hair lifted in the rising spiritual storm, strands turning faintly crimson at the tips.
She looked up.
Her eyes were no longer dark brown.
They were molten gold.
A second voice layered over her own when she spoke.
"You judged me unworthy."
Her spiritual pressure exploded outward.
Every disciple under Foundation Establishment stage dropped to their knees instantly.
Even Zhao Mingyuan felt his Golden Core tremble.
The phantom phoenix behind her opened its wings wider.
The temperature across the platform rose dramatically.
The stone beneath her feet began to melt.
Elder Zhao shouted, "Suppress her!"
Several elders flew down at once, forming hand seals.
But the moment their spiritual energy touched the golden flames —
It was devoured.
Not resisted.
Devoured.
Feng Lianhua felt memories flash across her mind.
Fire swallowing heavens.
A throne made of flame.
Celestial beings kneeling.
And betrayal.
So much betrayal.
She staggered slightly as the memories overwhelmed her.
The voice within her softened.
"Not yet."
The flames withdrew slightly, shrinking from a storm to a controlled aura around her body.
The phantom phoenix faded, but its presence lingered in the air like a divine warning.
Silence dominated the platform.
Smoke curled around her figure.
Zhao Mingyuan stared at her like he was seeing a ghost.
"This… this is forbidden demonic power," he forced out.
But his voice lacked conviction.
Elder Zhao descended slowly, eyes sharp.
"What did you awaken?"
Feng Lianhua met his gaze.
And for the first time in eight years—
She did not look like prey.
"I don't know," she replied calmly.
But deep inside her dantian, a small golden flame pulsed steadily.
Alive.
Watching.
Waiting.
Above the clouds, far beyond the mortal realm—
In the Heavenly Court—
An ancient formation flickered.
A celestial official turned pale.
"The Phoenix mark…"
He rushed toward the inner palace.
"We must report to His Majesty."
Back on the Fire Sect platform—
Elder Zhao's eyes narrowed.
"Feng Lianhua."
His tone was different now.
Careful.
"You will remain under observation."
Zhao Mingyuan clenched his fists.
Remain?
After humiliating him publicly?
His eyes burned with hatred.
Feng Lianhua noticed.
And something inside her… smiled.
The humiliation ceremony had ended.
But something far greater had begun.
As she walked away from the shattered platform, whispers followed her.
Not "trash" anymore.
But something far more dangerous.
"Monster."
"Divine omen."
"Calamity."
That night, alone in her small outer disciple courtyard, Feng Lianhua sat cross-legged.
She entered meditation.
Her consciousness sank into her dantian.
And there—
Floating in a sea of golden fire—
Was a tiny phoenix.
It opened one eye.
And spoke clearly.
"You finally woke me."
Feng Lianhua's heart trembled.
"Who… are you?"
The phoenix tilted its head slightly.
"I am what Heaven fears."
A pause.
"I am your true blood."
The flame pulsed once more.
"And Heaven has already noticed."
High above the Fire Sect, lightning flickered faintly among the clouds.
Unnatural.
Watching.
Feng Lianhua slowly opened her eyes.
Her gaze was steady now.
Calm.
Resolute.
"They called me unfit."
The golden flame inside her burned brighter.
"Then I will cultivate without Heaven's permission."
The wind howled across the mountain.
And somewhere in the distance—
Ice energy stirred.
A young man in white robes stood atop a distant snowy peak, eyes narrowing toward the Fire Sect mountain.
He had felt it too.
Fire unlike any other.
"Interesting," he murmured.
And thus—
The ashes remembered.
And the Phoenix began to rise.