Chapter 6: Beneath the Flame Sovereign

The moment the Flame Sovereign descended, the flame energy of the entire Flame City fell silent.

Not suppressed.

Ordered.

The flame arrays in the sky ceased to ripple. The streams of flame on the streets slowly retracted, as if all fire bowed in unison toward a single direction.

Lin Jin stood amidst the ruins, head tilted back.

A middle-aged man hovered in midair, clad in a crimson-patterned flame robe. No flame burned beneath his feet, yet it seemed as if he stood above the very laws of heaven and earth.

He did nothing.

And yet, Lin Jin already felt himself sinking.

Not his body.

His existence.

“This… is a Flame Sovereign,” the black flame whispered.
“The executor of rules.”

The Flame Sovereign’s gaze fell on Lin Jin.

No anger. No disdain.

It was as if he were looking at a problematic anomaly that needed to be dealt with.

“There is something in you that does not belong to the Flame Domain,” the Flame Sovereign said.

His voice was soft, yet it echoed directly in the consciousness of all nearby.

“That is why this city must be sealed.”

Lin Jin let out a short, breathless laugh.

“And the people?”

He raised his hand, gesturing toward the streets still littered with corpses and ash.

“What are they?”

The Flame Sovereign did not follow his hand.

“Collateral.”

Two words.

Colder than any judgment.

The flame pattern on Lin Jin’s chest constricted sharply.

He realized something—
It wasn’t his loss of control that caused this.

It was the system allowing such sacrifice, as long as the outcome was “correct.”

“You can end this,” the Flame Sovereign continued.
“Seal your Flame Vein and surrender the foreign flame in your body.
Your death can prevent greater loss.”

The black flame surged violently within him.

Not fear.

Instinctive rejection.

“He is lying,” the black flame whispered.
“If you die, this city will be erased too.
No evidence will remain.”

Lin Jin had already guessed.

He just wanted confirmation.

“And if I refuse?” he asked.

The Flame Sovereign’s gaze finally shifted slightly.

“Then you will become the prototype of a Disaster Flame.
The entire Flame Domain will use you as a coordinate to begin a cleansing.”

As the words fell, the Flame Sovereign raised his hand.

No hand seals.
No burst of flame.

Just a gentle press.

Lin Jin’s body was instantly pressed into the ground.

Boom!

The bluestone street collapsed.

His bones groaned under the weight. His organs were struck as if by a hammer. Blood spurted frantically from his mouth and nose.

Flame Vein Realm.

Even the struggle was denied before the Flame Sovereign.

“This is the gap,” the black flame whispered.
“The true gap.”

Lin Jin’s consciousness began to scatter.

He heard his bones breaking.

He heard his heartbeat slow, slower, slower.

The Flame Sovereign descended fully, standing at the edge of the pit, gazing down at him.

“End it.”

Flame energy gathered.

A complete erasure was imminent.

And in that instant—

Lin Jin remembered the old man.

That line:
“The truly frightening thing is not flame.”

He laughed suddenly.

Blood dripped from the corner of his mouth.

“So… you are the monsters.”

The Flame Sovereign’s motion paused for a fraction of a second.

And in that single moment—

The black flame completely overstepped.

“Then so be it.”
Its voice was no longer low and rumbling, but clear, whole, and calm.
“I will take temporary control.”

Lin Jin’s consciousness was forcibly pushed aside.

Not possession.

Override operation.

The next moment, Lin Jin’s body stood on its own.

Bones still breaking.
Blood still flowing.

But upright.

The Flame Sovereign’s pupils contracted for the first time.

“This is—”

The black flame lifted Lin Jin’s hand.

Pointed to the sky.

Not to attack.

But to declare.

“Recording begins.”

Boom!

The entire city’s flame arrays reversed instantly.

All flame patterns lit, then simultaneously extinguished.

Flame—nullified.

The Flame Sovereign staggered back.

For the first time, he lost control of flame.

“What have you done?!”

The black flame’s voice, channeled through Lin Jin’s body, echoed across the city.

“I only—”

“Made it temporarily… flame-less.”

Dead silence.

Absolute dead silence.

Cultivators fell to their knees.

Flame devices failed.

Flame arrays collapsed.

And Lin Jin, at that moment, completely shattered.

His body could not withstand this level of intervention.

Flesh began to carbonize.

Flame patterns backfired.

His consciousness was torn into fragments.

Before fully losing awareness, he heard the black flame’s final words:

“You will hate me.
But if you survive—
This day… will become the nightmare of the Flame Domain.”

The world fell into darkness.