Black Phoenix Heir

Victor remained unconscious on the ground.

For several moments, nothing happened.

Then Lyra’s eyes slowly opened.

She immediately looked toward Victor.

A trace of worry appeared in her eyes.

She had no idea why he had suddenly collapsed.

”Victor?”

She quickly moved beside him and crouched down.

Her hand went toward his chest.

She checked his breathing first.

He was still breathing.

His heartbeat was steady.

Lyra let out a quiet breath of relief.

At that moment, two figures suddenly appeared beside her.

Monklalusa and Gregol.

Monklalusa looked down at Victor.

”What happened?”

Lyra hesitated.

She couldn’t exactly tell him about the Library.

That was Victor’s secret.

So she simply shook her head.

”I don’t know. I was cultivating, and I looked over. Then he suddenly passed out.”

Monklalusa stared at her for several seconds.

He could tell she wasn’t telling him everything.

But he didn’t press the matter.

Instead, he crouched beside Victor and examined him.

His Spiritual Energy entered Victor’s body.

Monklalusa carefully examined his Core first.

Then his eyes narrowed.

He checked the surrounding meridians before finally turning his attention toward Victor’s Black Flame.

The flame was still burning.

It was weaker than before, flickering faintly inside Victor’s Inner World.

But it wasn’t damaged.

Monklalusa immediately understood.

He used too much Soul Power.

Victor had simply exhausted himself.

Monklalusa withdrew from Victor’s inner world.

Gregol immediately looked toward him.

”Is the chosen one okay?”

Monklalusa nodded.

”Yes. Victor will be fine.”

He glanced down at Victor.

”He simply drew upon too much Soul Power and exhausted himself. His body shut down so he could recover. He’ll probably remain unconscious for a few hours.”

Relief appeared on all three of their faces.

For different reasons.

Gregol saw Victor as the chosen one of Samal.

Monklalusa had already grown attached to the strange human, but there was another reason for his concern. Victor might eventually be the key to breaking the curse that had imprisoned his clan for thousands of years.

And Lyra…

For her, it wasn’t only the curse anymore.

Somewhere along the way, Victor had become important to her.

She had grown accustomed to his presence.

She enjoyed traveling with him.

She valued his friendship.

Seeing that he was safe brought a quiet smile to her face.

Monklalusa stood.

”He’s fine.”

Without another word, he turned around and walked back toward the lava pool.

A few moments later, he was once again sitting within the molten rock, cultivating as though nothing had happened.

Gregol looked toward Lyra.

He smiled.

Then—

He disappeared.

Lyra blinked.

She stared at the empty space where he had been standing.

How does he keep doing that?

She still had no idea.

Lyra looked back toward Victor.

She quietly sat down beside him.

Then she waited.

⸻

Several hours passed.

Eventually, Victor’s fingers twitched.

His eyes slowly opened.

For a moment, he stared blankly at the ceiling.

Then he remembered what had happened.

The pill.

Victor slowly pushed himself off the ground.

He looked around.

Lyra was nearby, sitting cross-legged and cultivating.

She hadn’t noticed him wake up yet.

Victor didn’t want to disturb her.

He quietly sat down and crossed his legs.

Before doing anything else, he checked his inner world.

His Black Phoenix Flame was smaller than before.

But it was recovering.

And it was recovering quickly.

Victor couldn’t help but appreciate the Lava Pool cultivation chamber.

The concentration of fire-based Spiritual Energy here was incredible.

It seemed almost perfectly suited to his Black Phoenix Flame.

This place really is miraculous.

Victor opened his eyes.

Lyra was already looking at him.

She had stopped cultivating at some point and was waiting for him.

Victor smiled awkwardly.

”Looks like I drew upon my Soul Power a little too much.”

He rubbed the back of his head.

”It caused me to pass out.”

A wry smile appeared on his face.

”I’ll have to be more careful about that in the future.”

Lyra continued staring at him.

Victor suddenly remembered something.

The pill.

His eyes widened.

The Spirit Accumulation Pill!

He immediately focused his consciousness.

Lyra already knew exactly what he was doing.

⸻

Victor’s spiritual body appeared inside the Black Phoenix Library.

Lyra appeared beside him.

Jack was already waiting.

The moment he saw Victor, his expression changed.

”Looks like you’re back.”

His tone was almost completely indifferent.

Then he looked toward Lyra.

”Welcome, sweetheart! Welcome back!”

Victor stared at him.

The difference was obvious.

He slowly shook his head.

Unbelievable.

He ignored it.

”Jack.”

”Hm?”

”What happened to the Spirit Accumulation Pill?”

Victor’s expression became serious.

”Did it succeed?”

Jack remained silent.

He slowly looked downward.

Then he shook his head.

Victor’s heart sank.

For a moment, he wondered if he had somehow failed.

He thought he had succeeded.

But maybe—

”You did make the Spirit Accumulation Pill.”

Victor blinked.

”What?”

Jack looked at him.

”You made the pill.”

A pause.

”If you can even call it that.”

Victor’s expression became confused.

”I succeeded?”

”Yes.”

Jack sighed.

”You made the pill.”

He shook his head.

”But the quality is so terrible that we’d probably have to create an entirely new category of pill quality just to properly classify it.”

Victor stared at him.

Then he laughed.

”Okay.”

He ignored Jack’s criticism.

”Where’s the pill?”

Jack turned around.

”Come.”

He immediately began walking.

Victor followed.

He was already used to Jack’s antics.

A few moments later, they arrived in the Alchemy Room.

Sitting on the table was a small container.

Inside was the Spirit Accumulation Pill.

The container seemed specifically designed to preserve the pill’s aroma and essence, preventing its energy from slowly leaking away.

Victor picked it up.

He looked through the container.

The pill was beautiful.

Its surface was a mixture of blue and teal, with a faint radiance covering it.

Victor stared at it.

”What do you mean the quality is horrible?”

He looked toward Jack.

”This thing is beautiful.”

Jack sighed.

”For a beginner, yes.”

He crossed his arms.

”But if the Black Phoenix Clan were still around and one of their disciples produced this pill…”

He shook his head.

”They would probably consider it a failure.”

Victor’s expression flattened.

He glanced toward the pill.

”Some would consider it low quality.”

He sighed.

”I would consider it very low quality.”

Victor looked at him.

”But…”

Jack’s expression softened slightly.

”You made the pill.”

He nodded.

”And I suppose that’s something worth being satisfied about.”

Jack smiled.

”It was your first successful pill.”

He extended a hand.

”Congratulations, Victor.”

Victor smiled.

”Thank you, Jack.”

He paused.

”I think.”

Jack rolled his eyes.

Victor turned toward Lyra.

She had been standing nearby the entire time.

Victor handed her the container.

”Here.”

Lyra carefully accepted it.

She looked down at the pill.

Her eyes immediately widened.

She slowly rotated the container, examining every detail.

The faint glow.

The smooth surface.

The mixture of colors.

The concentrated energy inside.

Victor watched her expression.

He immediately understood.

Oh no.

He had seen that look before.

Lyra had become interested in alchemy.

Very interested.

She finally handed the container back.

Victor took it.

For a moment, he stared at the pill.

Then his expression changed.

He had another thought.

The Spirit Accumulation Pill.

His current cultivation.

Peak Rank 10.

The next realm.

Spirit Gathering.

Victor’s eyes slowly narrowed.

Maybe it’s time.

He needed to recover completely first.

His Black Flame needed to return to its normal state.

His body needed to reach peak condition.

But after that…

He could attempt the breakthrough.

The thought alone made his heart beat faster.

The Spirit Gathering Realm was the next major stage.

Breaking through would mean leaving the Body Tempering Realm behind.

It would be another step forward.

Another step toward understanding this world.

Another step toward becoming strong enough to protect the people around him.

Victor looked toward Jack.

”I’ll see you later.”

Jack waved him off.

”Yeah, yeah. Go cultivate.”

Lyra looked at Victor for a moment.

”I want to learn.”

Victor smiled.

”Then I’ll leave you with Jack.”

Jack immediately looked delighted.

”Excellent decision.”

Victor shook his head.

He already knew what was going to happen.

Jack was going to spoil her.

He turned away and allowed his consciousness to leave the Library.

⸻

Victor opened his eyes inside the Lava Pool cultivation chamber.

He looked down at his hands.

A smile slowly appeared on his face.

He had finally made a pill.

It might have been terrible by the standards of the Black Phoenix Clan.

It might have been barely worth passing by Jack’s standards.

But it was still his first successful creation.

And more importantly…

It might be exactly what he needed.

Victor looked toward the lava pool.

His eyes burned with anticipation.

First, recover.

Then…

His smile widened.

Spirit Gathering Realm.

For the first time since arriving in this world, Victor felt as though he was standing directly in front of another major threshold.

All he had to do was step through.