Chapter 103 The Tenth Layer

Without further ado, Xuan signaled that he was ready for the next level. The 'V' roman numeral sigil above the door in front of him faded away for a brief moment before switching to 'VI', representing the sixth layer. Now, it was time to turn serious. Xuan knew this because he was well aware what the sixth layer of the Law of Fire was—if the fifth was healing, then the sixth was raw destruction—flames of pure, raw corruption, black and laced with poison.

Yes—they were known as 'Dark Flames'. From here on out, every layer that Xuan moved up from would be a new type of fire he could master, and each one would be harder than the last. Simply sitting in fire? That wasn't going to work this time around.

And just as Xuan was pondering what this next trial was going to be, he received his answer in the form of a dark figure that suddenly manifested and charged straight towards him, evil and with the intent to kill.

"—!"

Even though he had been prepared for something like this, Xuan was still taken aback by the speed of the new challenger. Quickly, he evaded to the side, but the tip of his elbow was still unfortunately cut by the being's sharp arms.

"… I see."

This content upload first at

Glancing down at his wound, burning and withering in black fire, Xuan deduced the meaning of this trial. To obtain power, one had to first be able to conquer it, and through conquering it, one could obtain it. In other words, this ethereal contender was simply a nightmarish conjuration of Dark Flames, and if Xuan wanted to obtain its power, he must first defeat this creature.

And by the looks of it… that would be no easy task.

In a flash, the creature of mist disappeared. Even with Xuan's combat experience, he could safely conclude that it would be difficult to keep up with this thing's sheer speed, as it was no normal opponent with weaknesses he could exploit. To make matters worse, the four totems lighting the room suddenly went out, making it excruciatingly difficult to see where the ethereal enemy was going to come from.

However… at the end of the day, what was this opponent but fire given shape?

Xuan, calmly and coldly, lifted his arm. In doing so, he took several more cuts from the dashing creature, and black fire blistered from his wounds like poison. Within seconds, he would be consumed—or at least, that's what should've happened. Instead, like magic, the fires began to tear away from his flesh as if rejecting it, and flowing into his outreached hand instead.

He had devoured it.

"… Now, come to me."

Breathing those soft, seductive words, Xuan amplified the strength of his Assimilating Qi, and the creature found itself unable to budge an inch. Against its will, it was pulled towards Xuan's open palm, like a vacuum with no way out. As the being was forcibly absorbed into his body, Xuan closed his eyes and took it all in.

"You may be fast, but… even light cannot escape a black hole."

[Ember of Corruption (6th Layer Fire Law) Comprehended.]

*****

For the next little while, Xuan continued progressing through the layers of the Fire Law with no difficulty. Having the abundance of knowledge about Laws from his previous life really helped, not to mention how easy it was for him to comprehend them thanks to his incredible Soul Strength—and, by extension, endurance.

The seventh, eighth, and ninth layers were the Embers of Cleansing, Forging, and Purging respectively. They were alternatively named Cleansing Flames, Forging Flames, and Purgatory Flames, but the tenth and final layer was a little special. It always was.

When the IX symbol turned to X, the scenery around Xuan immediately changed. The walls faded away to nothingness, and his world was turned into one of pure white. He found himself all alone, unable to hear a thing, and utterly lost.

It was all so sudden—but Xuan recognized this place. It was a place he'd been in once before… and it was an experience he'd never forget.

Because this, was death.

Yes—he had died. From what, he did not know. He remembered that he was standing in the Law of Fire's room for a moment, and in the next, he was here. Whatever did the job must've been incredibly powerful, to be able to pull something like this off without him even noticing.

There was no doubt about it, however. Through and through, Xuan was dead. His real body probably lay on the floor right now, bloodied or disintegrated or however he was killed. The last time he was here, it had been a result of reaching for something above his capabilities at the time. Thankfully, he had a special artifact on him that pulled him back from the realm of death, but… quite unfortunately, he didn't have that right now.

Was it the same story here? Did he not deserve to comprehend the tenth and final layer, and had died as a result?

To confirm, Xuan tried to access his System. Nothing. He tried to use techniques, enter his knowledge sea… everything. Nothing worked.

He was dead.

Yet one question remains—why was he still conscious?

The last time he was here, he'd seen all his life's memories flash before him like a film tape. But right now, there was nothing. No memories, no emotions. However, he could see something out of place… something different, over there in the distance.

Him? Zero? Dead?

Impossible.

Back on Earth, he would've believed it. But in this world, he was the ruler. He was the king—and he would bow down to no one, not even death itself.

Holding this confident thought in mind, Xuan stepped closer towards the abnormality in the distance. As he approached closer and closer, he slowly began to make out its shape—it seemed to be moving slightly, like a kindle of hope. An raw, pure-white ember of resurrection—of a second chance.

'… I see now.'

Xuan could not speak. The realm between living and dead did not allow him to. But in his mind, what was left of his consciousness, his bare beliefs—he knew.

This had been part of the trial. If he hadn't been confident enough to firmly believe he was not dead, then this spark would not have appeared. But because Xuan had such strong mental will, he'd passed the final test.

Slowly, he closed his hand around the ember. And it was here that he finally understood the Law of Fire's tenth and final layer.

Rebirth.