New Year’s Eve night.
Yan Zhen had a dream. In it, he was just a little child, chased by a monster called the Year Beast. He cried out in terror as he fled desperately. Then the beautiful master in white robes and silver hair descended gracefully, slaying the beast with a single strike and saving him.
“Would you like to become my disciple?”
The beautiful master held the young boy close as she asked.
Little Yan Zhen gazed up at her peerless, immortal beauty with utter adoration, nodding eagerly like crazy.
The beautiful master smiled faintly and asked again:
“Then, would you like to become my husband?”
Little Yan Zhen froze in shock.
“No answer means you’ve agreed, right?” The beautiful master’s gentle smile turned oddly mischievous. “In that case, starting today, you are my husband.”
Little Yan Zhen was dumbfounded. Then he heard the beautiful master continue:
“Good husband, let’s consummate our marriage right now~”
With that, she leaned in impatiently and kissed him.
Little Yan Zhen felt an indescribable softness envelop him.
At that moment, a red system interface popped up before his eyes. A cold, mechanical voice announced:
【Ding! System Warning: Host’s behavior severely violates the protagonist persona. Cease immediately. Cease immediately.】
Ding! Ding! Ding!
In an instant, hundreds of red system interfaces exploded around him, repeating the same message over and over.
【Cease immediately. Cease immediately.】
Little Yan Zhen’s scalp tingled, his eyes wide with horror. Finally, he screamed aloud.
“Waaah!”
On the altar of the Crystal Stone Space.
“—Waaah!”
Yan Zhen jolted awake from the dream with a shout, gasping for breath. His chest heaved with lingering palpitations.
“You’re awake?”
The beautiful master’s voice came from above, but Yan Zhen’s view was blocked by two towering G-cup peaks, hiding her face from sight.
“Master, how did I…” Yan Zhen blinked rapidly, slowly regaining his senses. “Ah! Sorry, Master. I’ll get up right now.”
Yan Zhen sprang up hastily from the beautiful master’s lap pillow, only to smack face-first into those heavy G-cup peaks and bounce right back.
Chen Xi blushed faintly at her disciple’s clumsy antics. She gently pressed both hands down on him and said:
“Don’t rush, Zhen’er. You just passed out from drinking too much and took a nap on your master’s lap.”
“So that’s what happened. Thank you for looking after me, Master.” Seeing that the beautiful master wasn’t angry, Yan Zhen relaxed. He tentatively asked, “Um, I didn’t do anything weird, did I?”
“No,” Chen Xi shook her head with a smile. “You did mutter a few things in your sleep, though.”
Yan Zhen’s heart skipped a beat:
“What did I say?”
Chen Xi thought for a moment:
“You said, ‘Master smells so good, feels so soft… I want to take a bite.’ Hehe~ Your master isn’t a snack, you know.”
“Ah?” Yan Zhen jumped in fright and hurriedly explained: “Master, that’s not what I meant! I-I must have been dreaming about being hungry, that’s all!”
Chen Xi just smiled without replying.
Yan Zhen grew even more guilty. Why would I say something like that in my sleep? Does my deep subconscious really harbor a desire to betray master-disciple ethics? No! I’m not like that! I’m just a heartless leveling machine!
“Alright, Zhen’er, get up and clear your head. While there’s still time, your master will pass a cultivation art on to you.”
A cultivation art!
At those words, Yan Zhen perked up instantly. He scrambled to his feet, patted his cheeks, then knelt properly before the beautiful master, watching her expectantly.
Chen Xi composed herself, her expression turning serious as she spoke:
“Your master has three Mystic arts here. Zhen’er, you may choose one to cultivate.”
Yan Zhen nodded vigorously twice.
“The first is the one your master is currently practicing: the Star Dance Divine Art, a saint-level Mystic art that leads straight to the Mystic Saint Realm.”
The Star Dance Divine Art allowed cultivators to absorb starlight power and merge it into their mystic power, granting it myriad wondrous effects. It was especially suited for Pill Refiners.
“The second is one your master obtained by chance: the Great Void Sword Art, created by the Great Void Sword Saint. It too is a saint-level Mystic art.”
The Great Void Sword Art was straightforward—void sword dao. At its highest levels, it could sever the void itself, boasting tremendous offensive power.
“And the third is a bizarre Mystic art derived from this enigmatic Fire Refining Starry Sky. After your master accidentally merged with the starry sky and became its world spirit, she learned the complete version. Though she hasn’t cultivated it herself, your master speculates that this art could lead straight to the Emperor Realm!”
An emperor—the pinnacle existence on the Mystic Heaven Continent, a supreme powerhouse who could crush a nation like the Garo Kingdom with a single finger.
Gulp. Yan Zhen swallowed hard, drooling with greed, and asked:
“What’s it called?”
Chen Xi gazed at Yan Zhen and intoned slowly:
“The Emperor Flame Technique.”
—Here it comes!
Yan Zhen grew excited. At the same time, the system issued a mission.
【Ding! Key Plot Activation】
【Current Plot—Chapter 36: Emperor Flame Technique】
【Role-Playing Requirement: Cultivate the Emperor Flame Technique and convert mystic power to fire attribute】
【Completion: 0%】
And that was not all. Another ding sounded, and a new interface popped up beside it.
【Ding! System Friendly Reminder: The Emperor Flame Technique is the protagonist’s core cultivation art. Failure to cultivate it requires restarting the role-play.】
—Don’t worry, I’m definitely learning the Emperor Flame Technique. Not even God himself could stop me!
“Master, I choose the Emperor Flame Technique!”
“You little greedy ghost, don’t be so hasty. Your master isn’t finished yet.” Chen Xi glanced faintly at Yan Zhen, a playful glint in her eyes. “Though the Emperor Flame Technique is peerlessly powerful, it has one fatal flaw.”
—I know, I know, but I’m not saying it. I’ll just ask.
“What’s the flaw?”
“After cultivating the Emperor Flame Technique, you’ll condense a peculiar fire seed in your body as the art’s foundation. At every major realm breakthrough, you must refine a Heavenly Extreme Flame to upgrade that fire seed.”
“Refine a Heavenly Extreme Flame?”
“That’s right. From mystic practitioner to emperor, you’ll need at least ten Heavenly Extreme Flames. Without refining one after a breakthrough, your cultivation will stagnate until you do. Zhen’er, do you understand what that means?”
Yan Zhen nodded weakly.
Chen Xi spoke to him earnestly:
“Heavenly Extreme Flames are exceedingly rare. Even Mystic cultivators struggle to obtain a single one, let alone ten. And if you advance to a new realm without promptly refining one, your progress halts. In other words, if you choose the Emperor Flame Technique, beyond cultivation itself, you’ll spend vast time and effort hunting—even robbing—for Heavenly Extreme Flames. Do you still want it, Zhen’er?”
—Of course! “Hunting Heavenly Extreme Flames” is the main plotline of this no-harem power fantasy, which is why the system says failing to learn it means restarting. Without it, the story can’t progress.
On the surface, though, Yan Zhen put on a conflicted expression, torn between his longing for an emperor-grade Mystic art and worry over its harsh requirements.
“Which one do you think I should choose, Master?”
