Chapter 2: The Zeroth Flame

The black flame burned in his palm.

No warmth. No flickering tongue of fire. It existed almost as a concept, terrifying in its silence, as if the moment anyone noticed it, it would crawl into their bones.

Lin Jin’s breath quickened.

He could feel it clearly—
the once-dead Flame Vein inside him was being forcibly torn open.

Not unlocked.
Torn.

Agonizing pain gnawed like a beast from his spine all the way to the back of his skull. He dropped to his knees, knuckles digging into the rock beneath him, blood dripping through his fingers.

“Ah—!”

The sound was swallowed by the night.

The black flame shivered slightly.

The deep, muffled voice spoke again—not in his ears, but echoing between his bones and his consciousness:

“Endure it.
If you cannot bear even this pain—
you do not even deserve to be consumed by me.”

Lin Jin gritted his teeth.

Suddenly, he understood one thing.

This thing… was not here to save him.

It merely needed a vessel.

Flame energy surged violently.

Not the natural flame energy of the world, but his own long-depleted life force, ignited directly by the black flame.

His blood became scalding hot.

Each beat of his heart felt like fire.

He could feel his cultivation skyrocketing—
Flame Initiation Level Three… Four… Five!

But at the same time, his vision began to darken.

“Stop…”
His voice was hoarse.

The black flame fell silent for a moment.

“Stop?”

For the first time, the voice carried a hint of mockery.

“Weren’t you just craving power?”

Then suddenly—

The flame energy retracted violently.

The pain vanished.

Lin Jin collapsed, gasping as if he had been pulled from water.

He looked down at his hand.

The flame energy remained.

Flame Initiation—Level Five.

In an instant, he had jumped two minor stages.

Yet he could not smile.

Because he felt clearly—
something inside him had been permanently burned away.

“What… is that?” he whispered.

The black flame did not answer immediately.

After a long pause, it finally spoke:

“Life.”

Lin Jin’s breath caught.

“That surge you just triggered… burned three months of your life.”

The night wind swept over the back mountain, carrying a chill.

Yet Lin Jin felt colder than ever.

“What if I use it again?”

“Then it burns again.
Whatever you use, it consumes.”

The black flame’s tone was calm, like stating a law of nature.

“This is the cost of using me.”

Lin Jin was silent for a long time.

He remembered the laughter from the training grounds earlier, and Su Qingxue’s calm, almost cruel words:

—We are no longer on the same level.

He slowly stood.

“Worth it.”

One word.

The black flame trembled faintly.

“Interesting.
Then you… suit me.”

At that moment—

Footsteps came from the back mountain entrance.

Not just one.

Lin Jin’s pupils constricted. He quickly retracted the black flame.

His flame energy returned to a normal Level Five Flame Initiation state.

Three figures emerged from the trees.

Leading them was a tall young man with cold features, wearing the Lin Family steward emblem on his chest.

Lin Yue.

The same Level Seven prodigy praised earlier that day.

“I knew you’d come here,” Lin Yue said, scanning the blood on the ground. A cold smirk curved his lips.

“A waste is a waste. You even have to hide in a place like this to train.”

The two behind him stepped forward, subtly cutting off escape.

Lin Jin did not move.

“Looking for me? Something wrong?”

Lin Yue snorted.

“The family head’s orders.
You disgraced the Lin Family today, lost your engagement, and are no longer worth nurturing.
From tonight on, all your cultivation resources are withdrawn.
And—”

His gaze darkened.

“We need to inspect the Flame Vein in your body.”

Lin Jin understood perfectly.

Not an inspection.
A dissection.

The night deepened on the back mountain.

Lin Jin let out a faint, short laugh.

“What if I refuse?”

Lin Yue seemed to hear a joke.

“You?”

Flame energy exploded.

Level Seven Flame Vein pressure bore down without restraint.

“What will you use to refuse?”

Lin Jin lifted his head.

A faint glimmer of black flashed in his eyes.

The next moment—

The black flame quietly ignited inside him.

No outward display. No spectacle.

Only the structure of his flame energy was completely transformed.

The moment Lin Yue struck, Lin Jin met him head-on.

Fists collided.

No thunderous explosion.

Only a crack of breaking bone.

Lin Yue’s smile froze.

He could feel his flame energy vanish the instant it made contact.

Not defeated.
Erased.

“You—?!”

Lin Jin struck again, and again.

No techniques.

Only raw, nearly feral attacks.

The black flame roared wildly inside him.

“Kill him.
The flame energy… is hungry.”

Lin Jin’s fists stopped mid-air.

Lin Yue collapsed, chest caved in, blood spilling from his mouth, eyes wide with terror.

“Don’t… don’t kill me…”

Lin Jin looked down at him.

The black flame urged him.

Life was burning.

The night held its breath.

Finally, he withdrew his fists.

“Get out.”

Lin Yue scrambled away as if granted mercy, vanishing into the darkness.

Lin Jin stood in place, body trembling slightly.

The black flame murmured discontentedly:

“You hesitate.
It will kill you.”

Lin Jin closed his eyes.

“This is my first time using you.
But the first time won’t make me a monster.”

The black flame was silent.

After a long while, it spoke softly:

“Then we shall see.
Who will break first—
your humanity, or I, burning you to ashes.”

The night wind swept through.

Lin Jin stood alone on the back mountain, blood still wet on the rocks.

He knew, from this moment onward—
there was no turning back.