After exhaling a breath of fiery air, the burning sensation gradually faded, and Chen Xiang's body returned to normal. He gasped for air, drenched in sweat, his face etched with seriousness. "What's happening to me?"

"Authority completion..."

He wasn't a native, so naturally, he connected this to the "golden finger" concept, flooded with speculations. Having never encountered the extraordinary in his first eighteen years, now that he was experiencing it for the first time, an anomaly occurred...

Chen Xiang raised his hand, recalling the burning sensation. In the next moment, a thin layer of pitch-black flame covered his palm, distorting the air around it. With the flames dancing, he could faintly hear indistinct murmurs, eerie whispers, piercing laughter, and deep sobs...

He sensed that he had absolute control over this flame; under his mental command, the black fire, capable of easily melting rock, couldn't even harm his clothes!

"It's likely because I touched that fragment of the so-called abyssal black flame's essence? Is this the prerequisite for that 'authority completion'?"

"Authority..."

As the thin flames dissipated from his hand, Chen Xiang fell into thought. Before he could ponder further, a bright, tinkling voice accompanied by engine roars approached.

"Warrior! Get in the car!"

Chen Xiang instinctively looked up to see a sky-blue sports car speeding down the road, bursting through the sunlight. A silver-haired girl leaned out of the window, smiling and waving her hands, her shimmering hair reflecting the fragmented glow of the sunset...

The sky-blue car screeched to a halt in front of Chen Xiang, and the once-busy street fell silent again. He climbed into the car, slightly rubbing his chest as that burning sensation surged once more...

"Warrior, where to?"

"Building 47 in District 3," Chen Xiang replied softly.

The eighth ring is circular, divided into twelve districts, corresponding to the twelve hours on a clock, with District 12 at the top, District 6 at the bottom, and District 3 right in the center.

"Got it, let's go!" The silver-haired girl laughed, pressing the accelerator. The strong push thrust Chen Xiang back into the plush seat, and his discomfort grew. He instinctively sought a distraction.

"By the way, why do you call me Warrior, Little Wei?"

She held the steering wheel, glancing at him with a smile and crescent-shaped eyes. "Because you dared to touch the abyssal black flame directly. If you're not a warrior, who is? Everyone's calling you that now... Thankfully, the black flame's power has diminished, just a vague essence left."

Chen Xiang scratched his head, feeling a bit awkward, and casually asked, "Little Wei, is the abyssal black flame very powerful?"

The silver-haired girl's expression turned peculiar. "First, you can call me by my nickname, Wei Qingqiu. Secondly..."

"Secondly, the abyssal black flame comes directly from the Abyss Lord, from that great 'Dancer.' It's a unique 'authority' belonging to them... an authority of an Outer God. Would you say that's powerful?"

After a pause, she continued, "I'm quite curious, Warrior, how did you become a teaching assistant?"

An Outer God's authority... Chen Xiang pondered, touching his heated chest, and vaguely replied, "Becoming a teaching assistant is a long story... You said your nickname is Wei Qingqiu? What's your full name?"

The girl rolled her eyes charmingly, scrunching her nose. "My full name is Wei Qi. My old man can't name for beans and won't let us change it... I gave myself the name Wei Qingqiu. Sounds nice, right?"

Chen Xiang smiled. "Nice... You're not the seventh child in your family, are you?"

"Yep!"

"So, before you, are there Wei Yi, Er, San, Si, Wu, Liu?"

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

Little Wei rolled her eyes again. "Yes, but not entirely. My sixth brother is Wei Shun, as in ‘smooth sailing,' and my fifth brother is Wei Wu, named for a pun."

"And the fourth and third?" Chen Xiang asked with interest.

Wei Qingqiu playfully smiled, "Fourth brother is Wei Bu San, and third brother is Wei Bu Si."

Not San, not Si... Chen Xiang chuckled, "Your father's naming ability is truly unique."

"What's that? My sister's name is Wei Tou... Guess what my second brother is called?"

"It can't be...," Chen Xiang hesitated for a moment. "Wei Little Tou?"

The silver-haired girl suddenly turned her head, eyes wide with surprise. "Warrior, you're the first to guess it... Your thought process is very similar to my dad's; I bet you two would get along well!"

Chen Xiang was at a loss whether to laugh or cry, waving his hand. "Alright, don't call me Warrior anymore. Just call me Chen Xiang..."

Before he could finish speaking, the burning sensation surged again in his chest. He frowned, hurriedly covered his mouth, and coughed violently.

Several sparks shot out between his fingers. Chen Xiang's expression changed slightly as he stealthily glanced to the side, noticing that the girl seemed oblivious, and he let out a sigh of relief.

In just two minutes, the sky-blue sports car came to a screeching halt right in front of Building 47. The silver-haired girl smiled brightly. "Chen Warrior, Chen Xiang, you've arrived... See you this weekend?"

Today is Friday... Chen Xiang rubbed his chest and opened the car door, casually asking:

"Does the academy still have classes on weekends?"

"No, not at all."

Wei Qingqiu's expression suddenly became serious. "I'll come find you this weekend."

Chen Xiang was taken aback. After a moment, she burst into laughter. "Just kidding! Why would I come looking for you? Alright, see you next Monday!"

The girl waved goodbye, pressed the accelerator, and the sky-blue sports car once again tore through the sunlight, disappearing around the corner.

"How strange..." Chen Xiang furrowed his brow, feeling something was off about the girl, but he shrugged it off. After glancing around, he carefully made his way to a narrow alley. He dug out a wooden box from the mud, stuffed it into his backpack, and hurried home.

However, as he reached the second floor, Chen Xiang's pupils contracted.

At his doorstep stood a member of the Crocodile Gate, wearing triangular sunglasses and sporting a distorted crocodile tattoo on his arm, waiting quietly.

Hearing footsteps, the man turned, smirking as he spoke, "Chen Xiang, Mr. Chen? My young master asked me to bring you his regards..."

He held a pump-action shotgun and, under Chen Xiang's extremely grim gaze, fired five shots at the Chen family door.

The door shattered into pieces.

The man with the sunglasses swaggered up, pressing the hot barrel against Chen Xiang's chest, clicking his tongue in fascination. "My young master told me not to harm you... I just don't understand, it's really boring..."

As he finished speaking, he suddenly leaned in, pulling down his sunglasses to stare at the boy's lowered eyelids, teasingly asking, "But I'm curious, what would happen if I just shot you?"

He pretended to pull the trigger.

Chen Xiang abruptly lifted his gaze, his eyes dark as night.

"Get lost," he said coldly.

The man was taken aback, just as he was about to get angry, his gaze met the boy's pitch-black eyes, which seemed to be... burning with black flames.

In that moment, he felt as if he saw hundreds of burning black flame hounds lunging toward him!

The man stumbled back, engulfed in an intense and unknown panic...

*Bang!

The shotgun clattered to the ground.

Chen Xiang was stunned, watching as the man froze, making a ‘hissing' sound, his skin visibly shriveling and turning black. He radiated a heat that warped the air around him...

In three seconds, he simply carbonized, turning into a pile of white ash that scattered with the wind.

Chen Xiang took a few steps back, astonished. Was that... the black flame?

He then noticed a wisp of black flame returning to him, one that had somehow drilled into the sunglasses-wearing man's body.

No, that's not right!

Returning... was not just the black flame.

There was also a surging, chaotic, intangible, indescribable energy!

This energy was vibrant, seemingly infused with all of the man's essence, flooding into Chen Xiang's body.

He let out an uncontrollable roar as his muscles trembled, bones cracking, and all his internal organs thumping in unison!

He was... growing stronger.

Chen Xiang felt himself about to ignite. He dashed through the broken door, struggling to push furniture like the refrigerator and wardrobe to barricade the entrance.

Then, he staggered into his sister's room, fiddled with the mechanism, and stumbled into her makeshift "secret room," or rather, "safe house."

"It's so hot."

As the small room's door closed, he fainted, collapsing to the floor.

...

"Oh, great Emperor Titan..."

"Foundation of all worlds, weaver of reality, eternal pillar..."

"Every ray of light is your thought; every shadow is your silence. You define the essence of the universe, deciding the subordination of all beings..."

A monotonous chorus of prayers flooded his ears, causing his head to throb painfully. He wanted to open his eyes, but no matter what, he couldn't do it.

He struggled, growling, as if a fire exploded around his body in the dream.

The prayers abruptly stopped, only to resume after a long pause.

"On that day, the black flames fell from the sky, a precursor to the Master's awakening."

"Oh, great Emperor Titan, ruler of reality, sovereign of the abyss. What you behold is an endless sea of black flames burning, spreading from the lowest dimension to the highest..."

"When you return, the pitch-black flames will sweep every inch of territory..."

"When you return, the pitch-black flames will incinerate every traitor..."

"When you return..."

The murmured prayers once again filled Chen Xiang's mind.

"The dream... has changed?" he thought to himself.