The night was quiet.
Gu Chen remained seated beneath the old tree.
The faint image from earlier had already disappeared.
Yet its words remained deeply imprinted within his mind.
Ember Scripture.
He repeated the name silently.
A Cultivation Art.
That much was obvious.
But beyond its name and several incomplete lines, Gu Chen knew nothing.
He closed his eyes.
His consciousness sank inward.
The tiny flame deep within his body remained silent.
Gu Chen waited.
Nothing happened.
He frowned.
"Was it only because I thought about techniques?"
He recalled the moment the flame reacted.
After the battle with Gu Feng, he had realized one of his greatest weaknesses.
His cultivation wasn't necessarily inferior.
His control over World Energy had improved considerably after entering the Ancient Flame Hall.
But compared to Gu Feng, he lacked a proper inheritance.
His Cultivation Art was ordinary.
His Martial Techniques were basic.
That was when the flame reacted.
Gu Chen slowly calmed his mind.
Then he began circulating his current Cultivation Art.
Streams of World Energy entered his body.
They moved through familiar pathways.
One circulation.
Two.
Three.
Nothing changed.
Gu Chen opened his eyes.
"Perhaps I'm doing this wrong."
He stopped cultivating.
Instead, he recalled the few ancient words that had appeared in his consciousness.
They were incomplete.
Yet he could still remember them.
Not their exact shape.
But their meaning.
A flame begins as an ember.
An ember survives within silence.
When nourished, it becomes fire.
Gu Chen slowly repeated the words.
A moment later—
the tiny flame flickered.
Gu Chen immediately closed his eyes.
The incomplete words appeared again.
This time, there were more.
They formed several lines within his consciousness.
He could understand them.
But understanding the words wasn't the same as understanding their meaning.
Gu Chen carefully examined the first section.
It described a method of absorbing World Energy.
At first glance, it appeared simple.
Too simple.
There were only a few circulation paths.
Yet when Gu Chen attempted to follow them—
his World Energy immediately became unstable.
Gu Chen stopped.
A sharp pain spread through his meridians.
He took several deep breaths.
"Again."
This time, he slowed down.
He followed the first circulation path.
Then stopped.
He waited until his World Energy stabilized.
Only then did he continue.
The second path.
Then the third.
Hours passed.
Gu Chen didn't know how many times he failed.
Sometimes his World Energy would become unstable.
Other times, the circulation would simply stop.
But he continued.
The words of the Ancient Flame Hall returned to his mind.
When everything disappears... what remains?
His answer had been—
Will.
Gu Chen slowly calmed his breathing.
He began again.
The first light of dawn appeared.
Gu Chen was still sitting beneath the tree.
His robes were damp with sweat.
His face was pale.
He hadn't slept.
Yet his eyes remained bright.
A faint warmth flowed through his body.
For the first time—
the circulation was successful.
World Energy entered his body.
It followed the pathways described by the Ember Scripture.
Slowly.
Carefully.
Gu Chen didn't attempt to accelerate it.
He allowed the energy to move naturally.
One complete cycle.
Then another.
The World Energy within his body gradually changed.
Not in quantity.
But in quality.
Gu Chen's expression became serious.
His previous Cultivation Art refined World Energy into a relatively stable form.
The Ember Scripture did something different.
It didn't simply refine the energy.
It compressed it.
The amount of World Energy within him remained almost unchanged.
Yet it felt denser.
More concentrated.
Gu Chen immediately stopped.
He didn't continue recklessly.
After carefully examining his body and confirming that nothing was wrong, he opened his eyes.
The sun had risen.
Gu Chen remained silent.
"Just the first circulation..."
He could already feel the difference.
But he wasn't excited.
Instead, he became cautious.
A powerful Cultivation Art was not necessarily easy to cultivate.
The Ember Scripture was still incomplete.
He didn't know its true grade.
And he certainly didn't know what would happen if he made a mistake.
Gu Chen stood slowly.
His legs felt weak.
After cultivating through the entire night, his body needed rest.
Just as he entered his room—
someone knocked on the courtyard gate.
Gu Chen frowned.
"Come in."
The gate opened.
Gu Qing entered.
The moment he saw Gu Chen's appearance, his expression changed.
"What happened to you?"
Gu Chen smiled faintly.
"Nothing."
"You look terrible."
"I cultivated all night."
Gu Qing stared at him.
"After yesterday?"
Gu Chen nodded.
Gu Qing sighed.
"You're going to kill yourself with cultivation."
Gu Chen shook his head.
"I know my limits."
Gu Qing looked unconvinced.
But he didn't continue arguing.
Instead, he placed something on the table.
Gu Chen looked at it.
A small jade slip.
"What is this?"
"A technique."
Gu Chen raised an eyebrow.
Gu Qing looked slightly embarrassed.
"Don't misunderstand. It's not some powerful inheritance."
He coughed.
"It's a Low-Grade Mortal Movement Technique."
Gu Chen looked at him.
"Why are you giving it to me?"
Gu Qing scratched his head.
"After watching your spar with Gu Feng, I thought you might need it."
Gu Chen was silent.
Within the Gu Clan, techniques weren't freely distributed.
Even Low-Grade Mortal Techniques had value.
Gu Qing noticed his expression and immediately waved his hand.
"It's something my father gave me. I already have another Movement Technique."
"You don't have to return it."
Gu Chen looked at the jade slip.
Then at Gu Qing.
"Thank you."
Gu Qing smiled.
"Don't mention it."
He looked around the courtyard.
Then lowered his voice.
"By the way, you should probably be careful."
Gu Chen frowned.
"Why?"
"Gu Feng wasn't the only person watching yesterday."
Gu Chen already knew that.
"The elders?"
Gu Qing nodded.
"But there's more."
His expression became serious.
"People are beginning to pay attention to you."
Gu Chen remained calm.
That was unavoidable after the Nine Pillars awakened.
Gu Qing continued.
"Some people think the Clan Head will personally train you."
"Others think you received an inheritance."
"And some people—"
He paused.
"Some people want to find out."
Gu Chen's expression became thoughtful.
He understood what Gu Qing meant.
The Gu Clan wasn't a small family.
There were numerous branches.
Different elders.
Different interests.
The awakening of the Nine Pillars had created attention.
And attention could bring opportunities.
But it could also bring problems.
Gu Chen picked up the jade slip.
"Then I'll become stronger before they decide to cause any problems."
Gu Qing stared at him.
Then laughed.
"That's exactly what I expected you to say."
After Gu Qing left, Gu Chen returned to the courtyard.
He didn't immediately continue cultivating the Ember Scripture.
Instead, he examined the jade slip.
His consciousness entered it.
Information flowed into his mind.
Wind Step.
A Low-Grade Mortal Movement Technique.
The technique wasn't complicated.
It focused on using World Energy to briefly increase the speed and flexibility of the legs.
Gu Chen studied it carefully.
Then stood.
He took a step.
Nothing happened.
He frowned.
A second attempt.
This time, World Energy flowed toward his legs.
Gu Chen moved forward.
His speed increased slightly.
But his body immediately lost balance.
He nearly crashed into the courtyard wall.
Gu Chen stopped.
Then looked at the wall.
"...Again."
The following days passed quietly.
During the day, Gu Chen practiced Wind Step.
At night, he carefully studied the Ember Scripture.
He didn't rush.
The lessons from the Ancient Flame Hall had made him more patient.
A powerful technique couldn't be mastered in a day.
Every circulation.
Every movement.
Every failure—
was part of the process.
Three days later.
Gu Chen stood at the center of his courtyard.
He inhaled deeply.
World Energy circulated through his legs.
Wind Step.
His body moved.
Whoosh!
This time, he crossed the courtyard smoothly.
Gu Chen stopped.
A faint smile appeared.
Not bad.
He had finally entered the technique.
Entry Level.
But Gu Chen didn't continue celebrating.
He knew how far he still had to go.
Entry was merely the beginning.
His gaze shifted toward the distant mountains surrounding the Gu Clan.
For some reason, he remembered the words from the Ancient Flame Hall.
Do not let the fire die.
Gu Chen raised his hand.
A faint strand of World Energy gathered above his palm.
Deep within his body—
the tiny ember flickered.
Almost imperceptibly.
Gu Chen watched silently.
Then he closed his hand.
Whatever the future held—
he would continue walking forward.
But neither Gu Chen nor anyone within the Gu Clan knew—
that beyond the mountains, deep within the vast wilderness surrounding Tianyuan—
something had sensed the awakening of the Nine Pillars.
A pair of enormous eyes slowly opened within the darkness.
Then everything became silent once more.