Chapter 3: Huo Feng — Destiny in the Furnace

The Heavenly Kingdom was, in those moments, drowning in what could only be called a disciplined chaos. Yes—chaos, yet orchestrated with unsettling precision and confined to very specific regions.

At first glance, it seemed like a wild assault meant only to instill fear and wreak vengeance. But with a shift in perspective, one would realize that the attacks were focused deliberately on two places of vastly different importance.

The first strike was fierce, aimed directly at toppling the Council of Elders’ Palace. That diversion forcefully drew away almost all of the kingdom’s elite forces to defend it.

The second strike, however—silent, calculated, and venomous—fell upon an area deemed insignificant…A secluded place near the Sacred Tree of Life.

But why attack that place? What could be hidden there?

…Wait.

Did we not overlook something—someone—far more important than both targets?

Yes. We did.

We forgot the Furnace Girl.

What a pitiful fate. After hundreds of years spent nestled in the gentle care of her father, she was left behind…Without warning. Without even being told why.

Worse still, she was abandoned right beside the forbidden spell that was supposed to be destroyed that very day.

When Jin Hai’s two attendants heard of the sudden assault, panic seized their hearts—especially after learning the enemy was approaching their secluded sector.

They hesitated... then decided to carry out the destruction order immediately.

One of them grabbed the silver tray holding the spell. Beneath it lay the ring—Or rather… Huo Feng.

Upon reaching the Furnace Elder, one of them handed over the destruction decree, while the other hastily opened the furnace door and threw everything inside in one reckless motion before slamming it shut.

With a single chant, the old man ignited the Sacred Furnace, awakening its ancient hunger.

And thus, silence died.

The Devouring Light of the furnace surged through the shadows like a tide, shaking its inner walls.

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Deep within, Huo Feng stirred, disoriented.

What… is this darkness? Am I inside Father’s storage chamber? No… no, that can't be it. Maybe I’m just inside the pouch at his waist… and he must be running right now…

So innocent. That was how her young mind explained the trembling around her.

But then she saw it—A distant glimmer. A small light, growing… and growing… and growing.

She felt drawn to it—unaware that it was annihilation itself.

The light consumed everything inside the furnace, one relic after another.

Something unfamiliar surged in her tiny soul for the first time.

Was it fear? Or… curiosity?

Was she frightened by the devouring light? Or fascinated by what would happen if it reached her?

Her crystalline orb prison began to crack under the strain.

Then, not far from her, a sealed glass jar began to glow red—before bursting with a violent pulse.

Inside that jar had been the Forbidden Spell of Replication—a curse that allowed its master to copy any arcane power in existence.

Huo Feng did not tremble… she did not even know what fear was yet. She simply stared at the red streak of light shooting out from the destroyed jar.

The streak thrashed wildly inside the furnace like a blind beast, striking walls in madness.

Then—it froze.

As if it sensed her.

Before the furnace could swallow it, the streak shot toward her in a blinding arc.

It circled her sphere again… and again… desperate to reach her, but unable to pierce the crystal.

When the cracks widened—

It slipped through.

It coiled around her like a serpent, circled her once… twice… then, like a starving beast finding its host, it sank into her light...Merging. Consuming. Becoming one.

Huo Feng fused with the forbidden light.

She did not understand what had happened. She didn’t even try to.

All she saw—was the light of destruction finally reaching her.

And then—

She screamed.

A soundless, soul-rattling wail that echoed only in the ears of the Furnace Elder… and the hidden stars sealed within the sacred chamber.

Now, after ages of silence, those ancient stars had finally found their opportunity—Their vessel.

Just as the forbidden light had.

The old keeper suddenly rose, eyes trembling.

“Has it finally come? The moment I have waited thousands of years for…”

He rushed to open the furnace door—

It did not budge.

He chanted a spell—

It remained sealed.

He struck it with his staff—

Not even a crack.

So what could he do now? To save what was inside the furnace?

Or perhaps…

To finally fulfil the last mission given to him before his death?

“Need some help?”

A voice.

Calm. Unknown.

The old man turned, suspicion burning in his weary eyes.

He knew at once—

Something irreversible had just begun.