And from the Fire I Shall Be Reborn (2)

Reading another volume was interrupted by the appearance of a girl about twenty years old. For a moment I forgot how to breathe. Blue eyes, skin like the purest jade, and most importantly - I didn't feel the slightest desire to kill me. I even put the book down in surprise. The girl resolutely headed straight for me, but the twins blocked her way.

"Princess Lin, you shouldn't..."

"Get out," - she waved them off.

"But the chief's order..." - the girl didn't even deign to answer the practitioner. Instead, she waved her hand, and suddenly one of the chairs rose into the air and fell near me.

"Glad you're alive, Kai," - she smiled at me and sat across from me.

"Unexpected," - I answered quite sincerely. "Sorry, but I don't remember you."

"I know, I know. They say you haven't changed at all. Still as insolent and disrespectful."

"They're lying," - I stated in response. "I even bowed recently!"

"Oh, Kai... It's really you," - she smiled at me, and my heart nearly melted. "I'm glad you're alive."

"You said that," - I smiled.

"Yes. Sorry. I came to repay you a debt," - she suddenly said, and danger suddenly emanated from the guards. A wave of her graceful hand and here a book in a modest gray cover lies before me.

"Princess Lin, remove this immediately! Chief Kan forbade Kai Shen access to the family library!" - the brothers shouted in sync. Lin gave them a contemptuous look.

"Calm down, it's just a spiritual level technique. I can't allow the genius of the Shen clan to use trash like 'salamander blood' as the main technique."

"The clan chief forbade..."

"I know perfectly well what he forbade," - she smiled sweetly at me. "But this book is from my personal library. This technique was given to me by a genius in those years when I couldn't even cultivate. He wrote it for me and only thanks to him, I was able to advance in cultivation to the current level. Thank you, Kai Shen. I hope I was able to repay this debt at least a little."

I was in shock, shifting my gaze from her to the nondescript gray cover. "Song of Pure Flame". Author - Kai Shen. Did I create a spiritual level technique? But how? The system confirmed that this wasn't a joke. And even added a quote to the description. Why? Because of the rank?

[Song of Pure Flame]

[Rank: spiritual]

["And from the fire I shall be reborn"]

[Learning cost: 10000 Qi]

Ten thousand Qi? I think I'm catching a trend. It turns out, a heavenly level technique will cost a hundred thousand. And higher? Are there even techniques above the heavenly level?

"We will report to the chief," - the brothers hissed again in sync. Lin just snorted and looked into my eyes.

"Please, brother Shen, study it right now. In my presence."

"Thank you, sister Lin," - I nodded briefly and immersed myself in the book. I hope I can understand at least something in it.

And the longer I read, the more clearly I understood. Kai was a genius! The book was accessible, with diagrams and examples, explaining what cultivation is and what mystical muscles need to be tensed to start absorbing Qi. The longer I delved into it, the more clearly I realized what nonsense was written in other books on the shelves. As if someone was deliberately trying to complicate the task for others. And, by the way, I wouldn't be surprised if that's how it actually was.

The twins glared at me angrily, but didn't dare to do anything. Are they afraid of Lin? Or is this another trick? I don't care anymore. Now I'm that drowning man ready to grasp at any straw. Moreover, life has thrown me not just a straw, but a full-fledged rope in the form of a cool technique.

When the elder Mo burst into the hall, angry as a demon, I had already finished reading the book and was now memorizing meridian diagrams. I was surprisingly good at it - as if I wasn't learning, but remembering. Although, in essence, that's how it was.

"Vile boy, I forbid..."

What exactly he was forbidding me there, I never found out. Sister Lin rushed forward swiftly and snatched the book from my hands. A flash of flame. And here only gray ash settles in place of the book. Only now did I notice what state the girl was in. Her face was exhausted, dark circles appeared under her eyes. Her legs barely held her, and she collapsed into the chair, breathing heavily.

"I'm sorry, but you yourself said that this technique shouldn't fall into their hands. Please, brother Kai, survive. You deserve to ascend to the peak of immortals," - she smiled a warm smile. Tears were rolling from her eyes, and then the girl closed her eyes and went limp.

"Bastard Kai, what did you do to Princess Lin?!" - the old man roared. Runes filled all the space of the library, it became difficult to breathe from the heat. My bodyguards stood like statues and silently approved of everything that was happening.

"I didn't..."

"Shut up," - he barked, and at the wave of his hand, hundreds of runes rushed towards me.

Now or never. Time slowed its course when I reached for the Qi surrounding me. Millions of tiny sparks merged into streams, and those into flows and they all absorbed into my body like water into parched earth. They tried to pollute my meridians? Defile the body? A vivid memory flashed in my head - my body, and most importantly - spirit, are tempered in pure flame! And all these impurities, meant to break me, will serve only as a step for my power!

At that moment, it was as if a dam broke inside me. I felt how the inclusions of poison burn in me and splash out in black fire. A veil of red-black color surrounded me, completely burning the runes around.

"Old man! If you so much as touch Princess Lin, I will personally burn your pitiful soul!" - I growled. The flame intensified, and I felt something changing in me. As if I became stronger at once, as if my senses soared to an unattainable height. Breakthrough?

The old man looked at me with a mixture of shock and anger. The runes continued to hang in the air, blazing with fire, and blood started flowing from Lin's nose.

"I'll take care of the princess," - the old man retreated. The runes in the air were rapidly fading.

I looked at Lin one last time and released the technique. Pain immediately hit me. Body, spirit, mind - everything hurt, and I didn't notice how my consciousness was falling into darkness.