Zhu Mingyan slowly opened her eyes. The room around her was dark, lit only by the faint flicker of candlelight. The horrifying sight of her meridians bursting apart was still fresh in her mind.
She had been born with extraordinary talent and a spiritual flame that existed within her bloodline. At the age of six, she entered the Broken Blade Sect, one of the four great sects, and became the sect master’s only disciple.
At ten years old, she successfully established her foundation. During the Immortal Alliance Tournament, she and her bonded spirit beast, Sunwheel, defeated ten opponents in a row. She became a famous beast tamer and one of the most admired young geniuses in the cultivation world.
But when she was thirteen, someone plotted against her. Her bonded spirit beast was stolen, her cultivation was destroyed, her spiritual roots were damaged, and her spiritual flame went out of control. She suffered endless humiliation and ridicule.
Every year, her master personally helped repair her spiritual meridians, but her cultivation remained stuck at the Foundation Establishment stage and never improved.
When she was eighteen, her master was ambushed while traveling and died a terrible death.
Without her master’s protection, the bullying from her fellow disciples became even worse. During a sect competition, they falsely accused her of theft. She lost the magical treasure that helped suppress her spiritual flame and was forced to leave the sect.
In the end, her spiritual flame completely lost control. Her meridians burst apart, and she died violently.
Now… Had she been reborn?
Zhu Mingyan looked down at her right palm. The dark red contract mark there was dim and lifeless. Her bond with her spirit beast had already been severed.
At present, her cultivation had barely returned to the Foundation Establishment stage, and her spiritual flame was still unstable.
She sighed and looked around.
The room was damp and cramped, with very simple furnishings. The old window creaked in the night wind.
It was the confinement room.
When she was fifteen, her master heard of a treasure in the Northern Region that could suppress her uncontrollable spiritual flame. He spent an entire year searching for it.
While he was away, the disciples who normally feared their master’s authority no longer held back. They often found excuses to lock her in the confinement room to “reflect on her mistakes.”
The confinement room was near the back mountain, far from human activity. Ferocious beasts often wandered nearby at night, and she had been so frightened that she could barely sleep.
Although her master severely punished those disciples after returning, the fear she developed toward the confinement room remained for a long time.
Zhu Mingyan clenched her fists and forced herself to shake off the lingering fear.
She was now only fifteen years old. Her cultivation was weak, her protective spiritual flame was out of control, and her master had not yet returned. She had no one to rely on.
If she wanted revenge on the disciples who had bullied her, she would need to become stronger as quickly as possible.
Sitting cross-legged, she carefully thought through her situation.
Suddenly, she sensed something unusual.
Something was wandering outside the confinement room.
The room was located in a remote area, but protective barriers set by the enforcement elders should have prevented ferocious beasts from entering.
The thing pacing outside her door was clearly not human.
It had to be a ferocious beast.
With her current strength, she probably would not survive a single attack.
Anxiety rose in her heart, and the spiritual flame within her blood began to stir.
If she was truly this unlucky…
Then she would have no choice but to risk losing control and release her spiritual flame in a desperate fight.
The creature outside finally seemed to lose patience.
With a low growl, it slammed into the door.
A loud crash echoed through the room. The old wooden door shattered into dozens of pieces and fell to the floor, sending dust everywhere.
Only then did Zhu Mingyan see the creature clearly.
It was a black dog about three feet tall.
Its fur was stained with blood, and its body was covered in wounds, as if it had been repeatedly cut by sharp blades.
The dog bared its teeth and stared at her warily in an attack stance. A low warning growl rumbled from its throat.
Zhu Mingyan’s heart sank.
This beast had already tasted blood.
If she failed to seize the initiative, she might only end up as a corpse waiting to be discovered at dawn.
The spiritual flame in her blood had already reached the point of bursting out.
The moment the black dog lunged at her, she decisively released the seal her master had placed on her.
Spiritual power exploded from her body.
Black-red flames erupted into the air and engulfed the entire room in a single breath. The fire looked ready to spread to the neighboring rooms.
The black dog was completely surrounded by flames and occasionally let out a few howls.
Her spiritual flame was extremely powerful. Everything it touched would burn to ashes before the fire died out.
At this rate, the flames could continue burning for several more hours.
Feeling somewhat relieved, Zhu Mingyan sat down in a corner.
The seal left by her master did more than suppress the flame. It also helped keep her spiritual energy stable.
Now that the seal was fully released, it felt as though her blood was boiling. Spiritual energy crashed wildly through her body.
Suddenly, she coughed up a mouthful of blood.
Maybe she had overdone it…
Wiping the blood from her lips, she forced down another mouthful that threatened to rise.
Then she glanced at the black dog burning in the flames and frowned.
Something wasn’t right.
Fear of fire was a natural instinct for spirit beasts.
Except for fire-attributed beasts, most spirit beasts would panic when surrounded by flames of this intensity, greatly reducing their combat ability.
Although her spiritual flame was out of control, its power had not weakened at all. In fact, it seemed even stronger after being suppressed for so long.
The black dog’s reaction was not exactly calm, but it definitely wasn’t afraid.
In fact…
She almost thought it looked excited.
It was as if…
Zhu Mingyan searched for the right words.
Then a ridiculous thought appeared in her mind.
Could it be that this dog actually liked being burned by spiritual flames?
Her eyelid twitched.
In shock, she watched the black dog roll around happily in the fire, barking excitedly.
Then it opened its mouth and swallowed a large mass of the black-red spiritual flame.
In less than fifteen minutes, the dog had devoured every trace of fire in the room.
After finishing, it stared at Zhu Mingyan with wide, eager eyes.
Its expression clearly said the following:
Want more. Want more. Want more!
Zhu Mingyan was speechless.
She watched blankly as the black creature cautiously approached her and rubbed itself against the back of her right hand.
The rampaging spiritual flame inside her body had nowhere to go.
Acting on instinct, she raised her right hand.
A massive black-red flame as tall as a person appeared in her palm.
The black dog immediately wrapped its tongue around the flame and swallowed it whole.
Zhu Mingyan instantly felt the excessive spiritual flame inside her being drained away.
Within moments, everything returned to calm.
The black dog let out a satisfied grunt and lay down on the ground without moving.
For a moment, she didn’t know what to say.
Soon, she regained her composure and looked around the charred room.
The fire had been stopped in time.
The confinement area consisted of three connected rooms. Without the dog’s help in devouring the flames, all three rooms would probably have burned to the ground.
But compared to the fire, another matter was far more important.
This black dog seemed capable of controlling her rampaging spiritual flame!
Zhu Mingyan quickly examined her condition.
Her spiritual energy was flowing smoothly.
Her spiritual flame was calm and stable.
For the first time since her rebirth, a genuine smile appeared on her face.
Her mood improved greatly.
Even the black dog looked much more pleasing to her now.
Squatting down, she reached out to pat its head as a reward.
Just then, hurried and chaotic footsteps sounded from outside.
A fierce voice immediately followed:
“Zhu Mingyan! What are you doing, setting the confinement room on fire in the middle of the night? Are you dissatisfied with your punishment?!”
Zhu Mingyan’s hand froze in midair.
Her face instantly darkened.
The troublemakers had arrived.