Soon after the ceremony, Tian Lei was escorted to the Core Sect grounds. The transition was… staggering.

He had expected a simple courtyard or perhaps a private forge, but what awaited him felt more like stepping into another world entirely.

His new residence stood atop a crimson stone terrace overlooking the sect's molten valley—a sea of glowing magma that pulsed with the heart of the mountain itself. The building was vast and elegant, crafted from volcanic glass and spiritwood, every wall humming faintly with protective runes. Compared to the cramped quarters of the Outer and Inner Sects, this was like moving from a bare dorm room to a luxury seven-star suite.

Inside, polished jade floors reflected the light of spirit lamps, while a personal forge chamber sat at the far end—equipped with everything from celestial bellows to a vein-fed flame channel that drew heat directly from the volcano's core. Even the air here felt richer, heavy with condensed spiritual energy.

Tian Lei walked through the space slowly, his gaze steady but inwardly… impressed. Every corner spoke of refinement and legacy. The kind of privilege only Core disciples could dream of.

There was even a meditation chamber carved into the cliffside, its walls covered in formation arrays that gathered qi like a whirlpool. A personal attendant—a quiet, silver-robed disciple—stood nearby, ready to assist with anything from material preparation to sect communication.

Tian Lei set his pack down, exhaled softly, and muttered under his breath, "From sleeping beside the forge to living in a palace… quite the leap."

Then, his eyes turned toward the forge chamber. The flames flickered, calling to him like an old friend.

He smiled faintly. "Let's see if I can make this place feel like home."

Not long after settling in, a group of Core Sect attendants arrived at his door, bearing gifts and documents.

"Core Disciple Tian Lei," one of them said respectfully, bowing low. "By decree of the sect elders, these resources and manuals are granted to you upon entry."

They set down several ornate boxes, each inscribed with the emblem of the Mountain Heart Flame Sect. The attendants bowed once more before quietly departing, leaving Tian Lei alone with his new inheritance.

He knelt beside the first box and lifted its lid. Inside lay a neatly folded set of robes—deep crimson in color, embroidered with threads of gold that shimmered faintly like flowing magma. The fabric was light yet resilient, woven from Fire-Silk Worm fibers—each thread able to withstand extreme heat.

"These are… Core Sect robes," he murmured, running a hand over the intricate patterns along the sleeves. The crest of the sect glowed softly against the chest, the mountain emblem now encircled by an additional flame ring—marking him officially as one of the sect's elite.

The second box contained scrolls, sealed with molten wax. When Tian Lei broke the seal and unrolled them, his brows lifted slightly.

"Advanced Flame Tempering Scripture… and Spirit-Blood Forging Method," he read aloud. Both were high-tier cultivation and forging techniques reserved for Core disciples only. The first would allow him to merge his spiritual flame deeper into his forging process, amplifying both precision and resonance. The second—more intriguing—taught how to infuse weapons with living essence, creating artifacts that could grow alongside their wielder.

He couldn't help but grin faintly. "They're not holding back, huh?"

The third and final box contained raw materials—glimmering ingots of Star-Iron, Firecloud Copper, and a fragment of something far rarer: a tiny shard of Crimsonheart Ore, pulsing faintly like a living ember. Just a piece of that could raise a weapon's grade by an entire rank.

Tian Lei's gaze deepened. "So this is how the Core Sect forges their legends."

He organized everything carefully, placing the robes aside and stacking the manuals neatly. Then, he sat cross-legged in the meditation chamber, letting the dense spiritual energy swirl around him.

His voice was low, calm, but firm—like iron cooling after flame. "Three months to craft another Heaven-Rank weapon… and the Core Sect gives me this much to start with."

He smiled faintly, firelight reflecting in his eyes. "Then I'll make sure they remember why they let me in."

As Tian Lei began circulating the Advanced Flame Tempering Scripture, the world around him shifted. The air within the meditation chamber thickened with heat, and the faint hum of ancient formations awoke in response to his breathing. Each inhale drew in refined qi from the surrounding arrays, and each exhale sharpened his inner flame—chiseling away the impurities of his spirit like a smith striking out flaws from molten metal.

The sensation was… transcendent.

His dantian pulsed, a miniature sun igniting at its center. The familiar crimson flame of his spiritual core deepened to a darker hue—no longer the wild fire of a mortal forger, but a steady, sovereign blaze. The temperature rose high enough to warp the air itself, yet the chamber's runes flared to contain it.

Wuuuum—

A soft resonance echoed through his body as the flame harmonized with his heartbeat. For the first time, Tian Lei could feel his forge flame breathing with him—alive, deliberate, potent.

"Advanced indeed," he muttered, opening his eyes. "This technique alone could turn a common blacksmith into a master."

He rose slowly, the heat dispersing as he walked toward the forge chamber. The lava-fed veins beneath the floor pulsed brighter, responding instinctively to his newly stabilized aura. With a simple gesture, he activated the spiritual furnace—it roared to life, shimmering like liquid gold.

From his storage ring, he drew out the Crimsonheart Ore, holding it between his fingers. The ember pulsed faintly, as though aware of its new master.

"Spirit-Blood Forging Method, huh?" Tian Lei mused, recalling the manual's teachings. Infuse the forge flame with one's essence… let the weapon inherit your soul's pulse. It was a dangerous method—one that risked burning the user's vitality—but the potential reward was immense: a living weapon bound by will, not inscription.

He placed the ore on the anvil, heat radiating outward until the air itself trembled. His hand hovered above it.

"Let's test this new path."

He bit his thumb and let a single drop of blood fall. The moment it touched the ore, a surge of heat erupted. Crimson flame engulfed the anvil, twisting and coiling like a dragon's breath. Tian Lei's spiritual energy followed, threading through the fire and into the ore.

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