Chapter 21: Reborn in Flame, Awaken the Wangquan Sword Intent

“The Three Thousand Flame of the Qi Realm? That’s unexpected.”

“But it suits me perfectly.”

Ye Xuan nodded. Though he hadn’t fished up anything with particularly extraordinary abilities, the Three Thousand Flame was well-suited to him now.

Leaving aside the flame’s inherent destructive power, the “Three Thousand Starry Body” it granted him was of immense value.

It could absorb starlight to strengthen his body, and use starlight to repair it; as long as his soul endured, his flesh could regenerate by drawing in starlight—truly an immortal body.

With the Three Thousand Starry Body, Ye Xuan’s physical weaknesses were now fully compensated.

His world’s spiritual energy could elevate his body to match his cultivation level, while the “Three Thousand Starry Body” allowed him to ignore most forms of damage.

At least, he no longer had to fear that someone might severely injure his body, rendering his combat power useless and trapping him in despair.

“My mindset is far calmer than during my first fishing attempt.”

“Is it because gaining power raised my inner state?”

“No, it’s probably because I know the system grants me one fishing attempt per month—so there’s no urgency.”

Ye Xuan didn’t want to be overwhelmed by joy or despair over the value of the items he fished up through the system.

Given the boundless expanse of the myriad worlds, the likelihood of drawing worthless items was highest; if he let such losses sadden him, his future disappointments would be countless.

Yet in just two attempts, the items he pulled were both highly valuable in their respective worlds—his luck seemed rather good?

Ye Xuan chuckled softly and said to the system: “System, fuse the Three Thousand Flame.”

No sooner had he spoken than a blazing flame erupted from the void—deep purple, brimming with endless destructive power; as it churned, the air shrieked, and the grass beneath Ye Xuan instantly carbonized into ash.

But this terrifying heat lasted only an instant, then was encircled by the system’s power and, under its guidance, slowly merged into Ye Xuan’s body.

The fusion began.

The flame of the Three Thousand Flame split into countless fine threads that pierced Ye Xuan’s skin; in an instant, his body felt as if pierced by ten thousand red-hot needles, his skin cracking like a spiderweb, dark purple flames seeping from the fissures, wrapping him in a burning shell.

“Crack.”

His bones cracked sharply, as if being slowly shattered by tiny hammers; his marrow boiled and evaporated under the heat, then was forcibly condensed again the next second.

Ye Xuan clearly felt every change in his body.

Destruction and reconstruction continued endlessly—his meridians widened, his bones were tempered, his flesh reshaped, even his heart and skin rapidly transformed under the flame’s purification.

Yet

“This pain… is far too intense for me!!!”

Having never endured such agony, Ye Xuan clenched his teeth, blood frothing at his lips—but before it could drip, the flame vaporized it; the relentless, escalating pain even drove him to desire death.

But he crushed the thought deep within his heart—until the pain reached his absolute limit. Just as he was about to collapse into unconsciousness, his pupils shrank to needlepoints, and countless memory fragments surged through his burning mind.

“When you can’t bear it, remember—this is precisely when you cultivate!”

A voice, source unknown, surfaced in Ye Xuan’s mind. He gritted his teeth and forced himself into a cultivation posture; uncontrolled sword qi erupted around him, carving sword scars into his reshaping ribs.

Slowly, slowly, Ye Xuan’s thoughts expanded, and an inexplicable aura spread from him.

Every understanding of sword techniques and sword Dao flashed through his mind, then was analyzed, fused, and transformed into a new sword art.

The sky had darkened without notice; stars beyond Blue Star emitted soft radiance, strands of starlight descending and merging into Ye Xuan’s body.

His shattered form healed rapidly under the starlight; his hair stirred without wind, scattering specks of stellar glow, while spiritual energy from a hundred li around surged wildly, forming a vortex dozens of meters wide above the villa.

Ye Xuan suddenly understood—he instinctively drew his sword, all his insights converging into a single point of ultimate brilliance at the blade’s tip.

“Cut!”

In a hoarse roar, the sword light shot skyward.

The light began as thin as a hair, then swelled into a golden pillar piercing heaven and earth.

“Boom!”

With a thunderous crash, the clouds above split cleanly in two—as if heaven and earth itself had been cleaved by this single strike.

When the light faded, Ye Xuan knelt on one knee, the Wangquan Sword deeply embedded in the ground.

The charred outer shell of his skin peeled away, revealing new flesh glowing like jade, faint starlight shimmering within; every movement stirred delicate sparks and drifting starfire.

“Huh.”

Ye Xuan took a deep breath, rose from the ground; the starlight energy from the Three Thousand Flame had fully restored his body—even his stamina.

Yet his mental exhaustion could not be healed—he must recover it himself.

“Fusing the Strange Flame was truly agonizing.”

“But the gains far exceeded my expectations.”

A faint smile appeared on Ye Xuan’s face.

After absorbing the Three Thousand Flame, his body had been refined, all impurities burned away, and his physical strength enhanced; now, in sheer physical attributes, he surpassed even many enhanced-body cultivators.

But the most crucial gain was the boost to his potential.

With the Three Thousand Starry Body, he possessed advantages in body refinement no one else could imagine; his terrifying regenerative ability allowed him to endure training loads approaching—or even exceeding—his limits without risking hidden injuries.

Beyond that, the greatest reward was his realization of the Wangquan Sword Intent.

He hadn’t expected to awaken the Wangquan Sword Intent under these circumstances—and it seemed the Three Thousand Flame had subtly altered the intent itself.

A trace of the Three Thousand Flame’s nature had emerged within the sword intent: immensely destructive, yet endlessly regenerative.

If wounded by this sword intent, unless it was immediately purged or the affected limb severed, the intent would continuously regenerate, spreading throughout the entire body.

The only flaw: it still drained lifespan.

“But that’s fine. Sword intent is an extension of the sword. The cost of lifespan isn’t the intent’s problem—it’s mine.”

(End of Chapter)