"Still in Core Formation? Is he crazy?"
"The Furnace will reduce him to ash."
"He's the one who beat up Zhan Kui and Huo Lian, right? Serves him right."
The two injured inner court disciples stood nearby. Zhan Kui had one arm still wrapped in reinforced silk while Huo Lian wore a twisted smile.
"Can't wait to see you scream," Zhan Kui said under his breath as Victor passed.
Victor didn't even look at him.
He approached the arena quietly but the moment he reached the inner perimeter of the trial field, something pushed back against him.
It was like walking into a wall of pure pressure—one that wasn't visible, but felt as real as iron. His chest compressed, his knees buckled slightly, and for a moment, he couldn't even breathe.
An invisible barrier was woven into the formation around the Verdant Spirit Furnace.
"It's the spiritual gate," an elder murmured. "Only those at the Nascent Soul Realm or higher can approach the furnace."
Gasps erupted among the crowd.
"He can't even get close?"
"That's the guy the City Lord endorsed?"
Zhan Kui laughed openly from the crowd. "I guess the Furnace will be lonely today."
Victor stood still and immediately understood why Elder Mo taught him that technique.
Elder Mo stood calmly in the distance with his arms behind his back, offering no signal—He just watched.
Victor closed his eyes and muttered beneath his breath.
"Veil of Eminence..."
A spiritual energy spread outward from within his dantian.
[ Technique Activated: Veil of Eminence ]
[ Projected Aura Level: Late-Stage Nascent Soul Realm ]
The pressure lifted instantly.
A new aura burst from his body—powerful, commanding, radiant with oppressive weight. It wasn't truly his, but it felt no different to the formation.
The barrier opened like a door welcoming royalty.
Silence fell upon the surrounding as Victor stepped forward.
One step. Then another. The elders watched with a stunned look while the disciples gawked as he passed by without resistance.
"He just walked through?"
"But his cultivation...?"
"Is he hiding his real level?"
They had all expected him to fail without even getting to give the first trial a try but Victor had shocked them today.
Victor ignored the noise as the ceremonial gate of the Verdant Spirit Furnace opened slowly with a deep grrrnnk.
Elder Mo stood by the officiating panel with the other sect elders. Though he didn't speak, he offered Victor the faintest of nods—a silent gesture that meant, he is doing well.
Another elder raised his hand.
"Fang Chen. You stand at the edge of trial by fire. Your body shall be tested. Your endurance, your fortitude, your will—all tempered by the Verdant Spirit Furnace."
The crowd fell into silence.
Victor stepped forward and stood before the monumental furnace. The glowing chamber within wasn't fire in the normal sense, but dense spiritual flame—a fusion of pure elemental intent and condensed qi, burning brighter than any normal blaze.
Victor climbed inside.
The door closed behind him with a loud clang, locking into place.
He sat cross-legged at the center of the chamber and slowly released a breath.
Outside, the officiating elder began the trial.
<[ Phase One Initiated. Spirit Flame Intensity: Level One ]>
At first, the heat was tolerable. The flames licked at the edges of his skin like hot wind and soon his robe began to singe. Sweat pooled at the nape of his neck.
He focused while pulling in slow breaths to calm his spirit.
His qi flowed smoothly. No panic. No resistance.
<[ Phase Two Initiated. Spirit Flame Intensity: Level Two ]>
The temperature skyrocketed.
His skin tingled. His flesh screamed. He focused harder, drawing on his spiritual energy to create a thin internal barrier.
But the strain began to mount.
Outside, some of the disciples began murmuring again.
"He's still in there."
"Yeah, but it's only Level Two. Let's see him make it to Six."
Elder Mo watched intently.
<[ Phase Three Initiated. Spirit Flame Intensity: Level Three ]>
By this point, Victor's robes were half-burned away. His body was slick with sweat and every breath he took was heavy.
The pain... it wasn't sharp, but deep. Penetrating. As if the fire wanted to melt his spirit from the inside out.
He clenched his fists.
'Don't activate Iron Vein Flow. Not yet. Save it. Save it until the last four minutes.'
The pain intensified.
His skin blistered. His body trembled.
And then his mind spiraled.
A sudden surge of pressure, as if the flames weren't just trying to burn him but consume his identity.
His mother's voice. Amara. Danny. Selene. Elder Mo. The sect. The city.
"You're not strong enough."
"You should give up."
Victor gritted his teeth.
"No... I can't stop here."
His vision blurred. His spirit flickered.
And that's when the fear hit.
'I don't think I'll survive for that long...'
He was fifteen minutes in but every second felt like a minute right now.
And there were fifteen more to go.
At this point, time had become a twisted nightmare.
Every breath he took scorched his lungs. Every bead of sweat that formed instantly evaporated. The spiritual fire had long stripped away his outer robe, and the tips of his fingers were numb.
Despite all the cultivation techniques he had practiced, nothing could have prepared him for the pure, unfiltered torment of the furnace.
At seventeen minutes in, Victor's endurance began to crack.
His body writhed involuntarily.
The sensation of being boiled alive from the inside was no longer just an exaggeration—it was his reality. His skin bubbled and hissed. Blisters formed and burst. His teeth gnashed as he fought to remain in the lotus position.
But still... he held on.
By twenty minutes, the flame level increased again.
<[ Phase Four Initiated. Intensity: Level Four ]>
And this time, Victor couldn't take it.
The agony was absolute.
His skin began to melt.
Chunks of flesh sizzled from his arms. His hair burned away. His eyes bulged as his pupils trembled in their sockets while his vision dimmed to the point of blindness.
Victor screamed out in pain.