Jiang Han descended into the kiln chamber just after dawn.
The stone stairs had reshaped overnight—previously sealed pathways now revealed. The Spirit Kiln pulsed at the center like a dormant heart, dimly lit with smoldering runes.
Bo Ren had warned him: "Weapons made with soul imprint aren't just tools. They're echoes of the forge and the one who holds it. Don't rush."
He wasn't.
But Jiang Han knew it was time.
> You have unlocked: Ember Core Forging
Requirements: Soulforge Sync ≥ 10%, Flame Affinity, Bound Kiln
Resources: Spiritual ore, memory imprint, a stabilizing flame
Risk: Medium – Failure may injure the soul
Reward: Soul-bound Weapon (Tier based on forge control and personal resonance)
He knelt before the forge and placed the items one by one:
A fragment of Ash Wolf fang—taken from his first kill.
A scorched bone shard from the Carrion Stalker.
Cracked obsidian pulled from the kiln's edge.
His own blood.
Then he took a breath—
And whispered.
> "Begin."
---
The forge roared to life.
Heat surged, choking and glorious.
Fire coiled from the furnace into a spiral around him, reacting to his presence—not just his flame affinity, but his will.
A ghostly version of himself emerged in the flames—younger, more vulnerable. The boy who had died once before. Who had awakened in this world with memories of stars, gods, and destruction.
Jiang Han stepped toward the echo and raised a hand.
> You are not my weakness. You are the metal I will fold.
The echo merged with the flame.
The heat changed.
Now it burned for him.
A molten shape rose from the center of the kiln—unstable, fluid, glowing like star-iron. He focused his spirit into it, wrapping it in threads of fire essence.
> "Soulforge—weave!"
"Ember Thread—lock!"
"Memory Bind—ignite!"
The shape snapped into clarity.
A dagger.
No. A flame-tipped arcblade—short and curved, forged to move like his fighting style: reactive, fast, brutal.
The runes along its back weren't carved. They burned themselves into the metal.
> You have forged a Soul-bound Weapon: Ember Fang
Tier: Uncommon (Upgradable)
Soul Sync: 67%
Element: Fire
Passive:
– Increases Flame Thread effectiveness by 15%
– Amplifies Ember Whiplash radius
– Light absorption: stores minor heat for burst effects
Skill Awakened:
– Fang Echo (Active) – Creates an afterimage strike once every 10 seconds.
> Warning: Soul fatigue detected. Rest before further forging.
Jiang Han fell to his knees, drenched in sweat, but smiling.
His first weapon wasn't just born—it was him.
---
When he emerged from the hidden kiln chamber hours later, Lin Yao was waiting.
Her eyes widened as she saw the blade at his side.
"You really did it."
"It's called Ember Fang," Jiang Han said. "It's not perfect… but it's mine."
She reached forward, then hesitated. "May I?"
He nodded.
She touched the hilt—only briefly—and her eyes flashed.
"It's warm."
"It remembers fire."
She looked at him, wonder in her voice. "What are you trying to become?"
He didn't hesitate.
"A weapon the Immortal Realm fears."
---
That night, a stranger arrived in Yunlin Valley.
Not through the sky, like the Silverflow envoy.
Not by foot.
He stepped from a crack in the air itself.
Wearing a cloak of black and green, his eyes hidden behind a blindfold etched with a thousand runes, he walked with a cane made of twisted vine and bone.
He stopped at the shrine's edge and sniffed the air.
> "Spirit Kiln," he whispered, voice like wind through dead grass. "Someone relit the forge."
He smiled.
And vanished.