Her lips twitched. "Yes, Core Disciple. We gathered as much."

He looked back at the blade. It floated quietly now, its pulse steady. "Tell Elder Huo Xian I'll be there once I seal the bond. This one's almost ready to sleep."

The attendant bowed deeply before leaving, closing the door behind her.

Tian Lei turned his attention once more to the weapon and exhaled. "Seems like we made quite the introduction."

The final phase began.

He pressed both palms against the hovering blade. Flames burst from his hands—not wild, but precise, wrapping around the weapon like silk ribbons. His spiritual core flared again, aligning with the blade's essence. Their energies twined together, spiraling until the entire chamber resonated with a low, harmonic tone.

BOOM—

A shockwave rippled outward, and the runes along the walls blazed in unison.

When the light dimmed, Tian Lei staggered back. Floating before him was the completed weapon.

The blade had transformed. Its form was sleek yet imposing, the metal's hue shifting between crimson and gold as though fire and light warred beneath its surface. Along the flat of the blade, faint sigils moved like veins—alive, breathing.

At its core, a single molten heartbeat pulsed.

Tian Lei whispered, almost reverently, "So you've chosen your name, haven't you…?"

The blade flared once—softly, affirmatively.

He nodded, smiling faintly. "Then from today onward… you'll be called Heartflame."

The weapon shivered, a faint note of acceptance echoing through the chamber.

Outside, atop the mountain, Elder Huo Xian and the gathered Core Elders watched the final flare of light erupt from Tian Lei's forge. The oldest among them stroked his beard, eyes narrowing in deep contemplation.

"I think he's ready. What do you all say?" the elder asked, glancing at the others who stood watching the spectacle below.

"The rule states—unless one forges a Divine-Rank weapon, none shall be permitted near the Ancestral Flame," the Sect Master replied. He was a burly man, his eyes like molten fire, his beard not of hair but of living flame itself.

"We wait," he continued, his voice deep and unyielding. "Let us see if he can forge a Divine-Rank weapon. Only then will he be deemed worthy to stand beside the rest."

The other elders exchanged looks, then nodded in solemn agreement.

Deep within the forge chamber, Tian Lei gazed at the blade now resting silently on the anvil. Heartflame's glow had dimmed to a steady ember, its surface reflecting both his exhaustion and his resolve.

He sat cross-legged before it, his breathing slow and deliberate, the residual energy of the forging storm still humming through his veins.

The silence was almost sacred.

"Heartflame," he murmured, voice steady despite his fatigue. "You're the beginning. But not the end."

The blade pulsed faintly, as if listening.

Tian Lei closed his eyes. Within his mind, the process replayed—the merging of blood and spirit, the resonance of life and flame. He could still feel the thin barrier that separated Heaven-Rank from something far greater… something divine.

And he wanted to break it.

He opened his eyes, the fire within them rekindled. "If I stop here, I'll never touch the truth of forging. I didn't come this far to just echo the legends of others."

Standing, he placed Heartflame onto a rack beside the forge—a place of honor. Then, he turned toward the core furnace once more, its molten veins still glowing faintly.

"The next step," he whispered, "isn't to make another Heaven-Rank weapon… but to surpass it."

He clenched his fist, flames coiling around his arm like serpents of will. "Six months," he muttered. "Within six months… I'll forge a Ancient-tier weapon."

Outside, the magma veins of the mountain stirred faintly—as if the volcano itself heard his vow.

Tian Lei wasted no time.

The very next day, the forge blazed again. The chamber became his entire world—day and night blending into one seamless rhythm of flame, metal, and breath.

He began his work methodically, breaking down the vast goal of forging an Ancient-tier weapon into countless smaller trials. Each phase tested a different aspect of his mastery—purification, resonance, soul-tempering, and finally, fusion.

The first phase focused on essence compression. Tian Lei spent days refining spirit ores until their impurities wept out as vapor. The air shimmered with dense elemental energy, the entire forge trembling beneath the weight of condensed flame. His body ached, his qi reserves often drained to the dregs, but each dawn he stood again—steady, relentless.

Then came soul resonance. Heartflame hovered beside him, its glow faint but steady, lending him its presence like an old friend. Together, they harmonized his inner fire with the surrounding magma veins, syncing the rhythm of his heartbeat with the pulse of the volcano itself. The result was a flame that obeyed not just his command—but his very intent.

Weeks passed. The once-immaculate forge was now scorched and etched with traces of battle between man and flame. Sweat, soot, and blood mingled on his skin, but Tian Lei's eyes remained unwavering.

Each failure was cataloged, each success dissected. He did not rest long enough to dream—his sleep became brief trances beside the forge, the roaring heat his lullaby.

By the second month, his body had changed. The constant exposure to spiritual fire refined his flesh—skin tougher, qi flow smoother, his inner flame sharper and purer. His breath alone could ignite sparks; his heartbeat could stir molten metal.

But even with progress, the final phase eluded him.

The fusion of life essence and divine metal—the point where a weapon transcended mortal craftsmanship—remained a threshold just beyond his reach. Every attempt ended with failure: a crack too deep, an imbalance too wide, a resonance that collapsed under its own power.

Still, he didn't stop.

Day after day, the clang of his hammer echoed across the molten valley. Night after night, the sky above the Core Sect blazed with unnatural light, painting the heavens red and gold.

The disciples whispered that Tian Lei's forge never slept. That even the volcano itself bowed in rhythm to his hammer strikes.

And within that rhythm, within that endless cycle of trial and flame—Tian Lei's soul grew sharper, his will forged anew.

He wasn't chasing glory. He wasn't chasing recognition.

He was chasing truth.

The truth of creation itself—the language of flame and soul that only the greatest forgers in history had ever dared to touch.

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