The shrine was broken, but it still stood.
Its warped wooden frame leaned like a weary old man against the grey sky. Rain dripped from shattered beams, soaking the cracked stone floor. The sacred flame had long been extinguished, and now only ash and silence remained.
Jiang Han sat at the center, legs folded, palms resting on his knees, body trembling slightly as the last of the cold entered his bones. His shirt was torn, dirt and dried blood streaked across his neck. The wound from the Voidspawn earlier had stopped bleeding, but the memory of the fight still echoed in his limbs.
Not fear. Not regret.
Weight.
He was only thirteen. But in his heart lived a lifetime of war and ruin.
Not far away, under the slanted overhang of what had once been the shrine's outer prayer room, Lin Yao lay wrapped in a half-burned blanket. Her breathing was shallow but steady. Her lips were pale. Each day since the attack, he had nursed her back with the little he could scavenge—wild fruits, a broken gourd of dried herbs, the rain that fell each night.
"I'll protect you," Jiang Han whispered, barely louder than the wind.
And now he had a chance to do more than promise.
The system had returned.
A glowing panel hovered in his vision—faint and golden, etched with ancient runes that pulsed like a heartbeat. Jiang Han stared at it silently, watching the words flicker like candlelight.
> Global Attribute System Activated
Host: Jiang Han (Rebirth Class)
Age: 13 | Awakening Status: Early Initiation
Unique Talents:
• Heaven Devourer Physique (Dormant) – Passive energy absorption when in survival or combat state.
• Chrono Mind (Passive) – Heightened memory, battle foresight, and temporal resistance.
• Soulforge Genesis (Locked) – Capable of conceptual skill creation. Requires Origin Spark.
Current Level: 1
Attributes: STR 9 | AGI 10 | VIT 8 | MND 13 | SOUL 15
EXP: 3/100
He exhaled slowly. He didn't need the panel to tell him he was weak.
He felt it—every step he took was a challenge. Every breath, a strain.
In the world Jiang Han had come from—the old Outer Realms—cultivators didn't even begin until they awakened at 18. He'd once been a mid-tier soul cultivator, barely scraping by before the collapse of the multiverse.
But now he had three SSS-grade talents.
And this broken shrine.
> Mission: Ignite the Origin Spark
Requirements:
Meditate in elemental-rich environment
Absorb external spiritual energy (Fire)
Achieve system resonance
Reward: Minor Flame Affinity + Soulforge Unlock (Rank 1)
Status: [Pending]
Jiang Han stared at the altar before him. A cracked statue of the Flame Guardian loomed above—its once-beautiful face worn by time and weather. At the base lay broken offerings: shattered incense bowls, burnt jade, rotted fruits.
But what mattered most was still here.
A single spirit lantern. Cracked, flickering—barely alight.
And it burned red.
> "Flame energy," he murmured, crawling toward it.
He cupped his hands around the lantern. The warmth kissed his palms, prickling his skin. The energy was faint—nowhere near what a proper cultivation ground would offer—but it was something.
He closed his eyes. Focused.
"Guide it inward," he muttered. "Feel the flow. Follow the spiral path."
His memories of cultivation manuals flooded back—hours upon hours of dry reading, failed attempts, harsh masters. He remembered his first successful meridian circulation in his first life. It had taken him three weeks.
He had to do better now.
The flame was wild. It resisted him. One moment it danced into his core, the next it snapped back, nearly burning his inner channels.
He coughed violently. Blood spattered the stone.
But he gritted his teeth.
"No shortcuts."
He tried again. Ten breaths. Then twenty.
His back cramped. A sharp pain stabbed behind his eyes. He nearly passed out.
"Circulate," he whispered. "Flow."
At the 47th breath, something clicked.
The flame flowed inward.
His heart stuttered—then caught the rhythm.
> [Spiritual absorption initiated…]
A pulse echoed through his soul.
It was like being submerged in molten light.
And then the world went still.
Jiang Han's body glowed faintly—embers tracing along his arms, his chest, his spine.
His awareness expanded. He felt the heat of the broken stones beneath him. The weight of Lin Yao's aura in the background. Even the flickering pain in his wounded side pulsed in slow, vivid clarity.
He opened his eyes.
And something had changed.
Floating in front of him was a tiny flicker of golden-blue flame, no bigger than a rice grain.
The Origin Spark.
> You have succeeded.
Flame Affinity: Minor (Locked Element Unlocked)
Soulforge Genesis: Available (Rank 1)
+800 Attribute Points
+Passive Resonance with Fire-Elemental Zones
You have earned your first Ember.
Jiang Han stared at it. Not with awe—but with purpose.
He extended his hand. The flame hovered over his palm, waiting.
And then he pressed it to his chest.
It sank in slowly—no pain, just warmth. Familiar. Like a seed that had always been meant to take root.
His body trembled once—then stilled.
> System Update: New Skill Tree Unlocked – Soulforge Flame Arts
"Now," he whispered. "Now I'm truly alive."