the thunder faded into the distance.
Yet the silence inside the main hall remained.
Gu Chen stared at the Grand Elder.
"The ancestral flame reacted to me?"
He had heard stories about the Ancient Flame Hall since he was young.
It was said that the hall had existed long before the current Gu Clan residence.
Even the Clan Head had no authority to enter it without the approval of the clan's elders.
For thousands of years, nobody had received an inheritance from within.
So why had it reacted to him?
The Clan Head leaned back in his chair.
"Don't misunderstand."
His voice was calm.
"The ancestral flame reacting to you does not mean you've inherited anything."
Gu Chen nodded.
"I understand."
"The trial is simply an opportunity."
The Grand Elder stepped forward.
"There are three requirements for entering the Ancient Flame Hall."
Gu Chen listened carefully.
"First, you must be a direct descendant of the Gu Clan."
"Second, your cultivation must not exceed the required limit."
"And third..."
The Grand Elder paused.
"You must possess enough physical strength to withstand the flames inside."
Gu Chen frowned.
"The flames are dangerous?"
The Grand Elder gave a faint smile.
"Dangerous?"
He looked toward the doors.
"If they weren't dangerous, the Ancient Flame Hall wouldn't have remained sealed for thousands of years."
Gu Chen fell silent.
The Clan Head waved his hand.
"You may leave."
Gu Chen bowed.
"Yes, Clan Head."
He turned around.
Just before he reached the door, the Clan Head spoke again.
"Gu Chen."
He stopped.
"Do not force yourself during the trial."
Gu Chen looked back.
The Clan Head's expression was unusually serious.
"Your cultivation talent may not be outstanding, but you are still a member of the Gu Clan."
Gu Chen nodded.
"I understand."
He left the hall.
The doors slowly closed behind him.
That night, Gu Chen returned to his residence.
He sat beside the window and stared at the dark sky.
The rain had stopped.
A few stars could be seen between the clouds.
He couldn't stop thinking about the Ancient Flame Hall.
For some reason, he felt that the trial was different from an ordinary clan examination.
The feeling had begun the moment the Grand Elder mentioned the ancestral flame.
As though something inside him had responded.
Gu Chen placed his hand against his chest.
Nothing happened.
"Am I imagining things?"
He shook his head.
There was no point thinking about it.
If the ancestral flame had truly reacted to him, he would find out in three days.
For now, he needed to cultivate.
Gu Chen sat cross-legged.
He began circulating his cultivation technique.
The technique was one of the most basic fire cultivation methods preserved by the Gu Clan.
It slowly guided World Energy toward his body.
A faint warmth spread through his muscles.
Gu Chen concentrated.
One breath.
Two breaths.
Three.
The World Energy entered his body.
Pain followed immediately.
His muscles trembled.
But he didn't stop.
The first stage of cultivation was the foundation upon which everything else was built.
A cultivator had to strengthen their body until it could withstand World Energy.
Only after the body reached the necessary level could they gather enough energy to form their first Core.
Gu Chen had been attempting this for years.
Tonight was no different.
Time slowly passed.
Outside, the moon crossed the sky.
Inside the room, Gu Chen remained motionless.
Then—
Boom!
A strange vibration suddenly passed through the ground.
Gu Chen's eyes opened.
He looked toward the ancestral grounds.
Another vibration came.
This time, he could clearly feel it.
Something had happened beneath the clan.
Gu Chen stood.
"What was that?"
At the same moment, several powerful auras appeared throughout the Gu Clan.
Doors opened.
Elders emerged from their residences.
Voices echoed through the night.
"An earthquake?"
"No."
"Something came from the ancestral grounds."
Gu Chen stepped outside.
Hundreds of clan members had already gathered.
Everyone was looking in the same direction.
Deep within the ancestral grounds, a faint red glow had appeared.
The Clan Head arrived shortly afterward.
His expression changed when he saw the glow.
"Seal the area."
The elders immediately moved.
"No one is allowed near the ancestral grounds."
Gu Chen watched silently.
He didn't know it yet, but far beneath the mountains, something much older than the current Gu Clan had awakened.
Deep underground.
A vast chamber lay beneath layers of ancient stone.
At its center sat an old man.
His hair was white.
His body was thin.
His eyes had remained closed for countless years.
Around him were countless formation patterns.
Most had already dimmed.
But tonight, one flame suddenly appeared above his head.
It was a tiny flame.
Yet the moment it appeared, the entire chamber trembled.
The old man's eyelids slowly lifted.
His eyes were ancient and calm.
"One thousand years..."
His voice was barely audible.
"So much time has passed."
He looked toward the distant surface.
Then his expression changed slightly.
"The ancestral flame..."
For the first time in countless years, surprise appeared in his eyes.
"It reacted?"
The old man slowly stood.
The surrounding formations immediately began to crack.
He ignored them.
His gaze seemed to penetrate the countless layers of stone above him.
He could sense something.
A faint connection.
A young person's presence.
"Who is it?"
The old man closed his eyes again.
His consciousness spread through the ancestral grounds.
Then—
he found Gu Chen.
For several breaths, the old man remained silent.
Finally, a faint smile appeared on his face.
"So that's why..."
He looked at the tiny flame floating before him.
"Maybe.he will"complete what we couldn't.
The flame flickered.
The old man's smile disappeared.
His expression became solemn.
"Interesting."
He had waited one thousand years.
And now, just before his own cultivation reached its final barrier...
the ancestral flame had awakened.
Something was changing.
Something that had remained dormant for thousands of years was beginning to move again.
The old man slowly sat down.
He looked toward the distant darkness.
"Perhaps..."
"the time has come."
Above the underground chamber, the Gu Clan remained completely unaware.
And Gu Chen knew nothing about the old man beneath his feet.
He only knew one thing.
Three days later—
he would enter the Ancient Flame Hall