Embersteel: Legend of the Warrior BlackSmith

Chapter 28: Ember and Resolve, Draconic Resilience

Jiang Feng's breathing was shallow, his focus razor-sharp as he absorbed every word from the Codex. "The Skyforge Flame within you must be tended as one tends a fragile fire," the ancient voice instructed, its tone both solemn and powerful. "Though it holds potential beyond measure, it is volatile. Left unchecked, it can consume not only you but everything around you." Each deliberate breath he drew was a bridge between control and chaos, feeding his determination to master the flame and himself.

His brow furrowed as he inhaled through his nose, guiding the fire spiritual energy through his meridians before releasing it in a thin thread of heated air. Over time, Jiang began to feel it—a small, insistent glow stirring in the pit of his core, not yet fierce, but ready to ignite.

The Codex's voice continued, resonating deep within him. "Draw from the energy around you; let it permeate your flesh, soak into muscle and bone, making them a crucible capable of holding the flame." Each breath intensified the heat, seeping into his veins like molten steel pouring into a mold. Jiang could feel the Skyforge Flame radiating outwards, transforming his blood, melding with his very essence. With each exhale, he forced the energy deeper, stretching his limits as the pain sharpened with every breath. Doubt flickered for a moment as his body screamed against the strain, but he pushed forward, teeth gritted, enduring the flame's relentless burn.

Sweat streamed down his face, his muscles rigid with the effort of containing the rising force within. It was brutal—a trial that felt like walking a blade's edge, but Jiang Feng sensed he was getting stronger with each passing moment. Impurities melted away, his body becoming tougher, his will sharper. He was being reforged under continuous pressure.

Abruptly, the Codex's tone softened, carrying an ancient warning that rippled through him. "Jiang Feng, the flame seed is a gift, but take heed. The stronger it grows, the more it will challenge your control. Recklessness could turn it into a consuming force, one that devours your very soul. The heavens give, but they also take." A sharp breath caught in Jiang's throat as he felt a fresh surge of heat build within him, pressing outward from his core, ravenous as it absorbed the spiritual energy he had drawn in.

Bracing himself, Jiang forced his mind to steady, anchoring the inferno raging within him. With fierce concentration, he guided the blaze, bending it to his will. In his mind, the flame roared, wild yet contained, and he finally found a rhythm—a steady, deep breath that matched the pulse of the flame, each inhalation feeding it, each exhalation bringing it into balance. He felt the flame settling, with an unyielding beat, a steady reminder of both his potential and the discipline it demanded.

Suddenly, a sharp, echoing bang resounded in Feng's mind, his body jerking as if struck. Golden light flared through his meridians, the illumination flowing like molten rivers within him—a sign of breakthrough. The third meridian, the Chong Meridian, also known as the Penetrating Vessel, had opened. This deepest meridian was crucial, linking the blood to the body's vital energies, creating a network that fortified his structure and readied it to handle even greater power. A wave of exhilaration surged through him. Three of nine meridians open, he thought, and seventy-eight percent blood purification complete—just from practicing the Infernal Breathing Technique. The Dragon Vein Blood Bone Fruit had initially shattered his bones, reforming them with a strength he could only now appreciate. Now, tempered by the flame, they felt even more unbreakable.

Jiang Feng felt an overwhelming sense of vigor coursing through him. His muscles, bones, and even his very blood were undergoing transformation—he was no longer just Jiang Feng; he was someone forged anew. "Though the pain of burning one's blood, bones, muscles, and internal organs is searing," he muttered to himself, "it's... bearable. The soul burning is the most intense of all, but the results..." As he assessed himself, Jiang could feel that his muscles were ten percent tempered, his bones twenty-five percent, and his organs had begun their journey toward resilience.

For a cultivator, this was unheard of—normal Foundation Stage practitioners would temper one area at a time, focusing on purifying their blood first, then muscles, bones, and so forth. But Jiang Feng was managing to purify his blood while simultaneously opening his meridians. The fruits of this forbidden path—reverse cultivation—were evident in his rapidly strengthened body. Such a method was considered taboo, the most dangerous path known to cultivators, marked by a near-certain death rate. Yet, with the Skyforge Flame, Jiang was walking this road, challenging fate itself.

"Reverse cultivation is a taboo for a reason, Jiang Feng," the Codex cautioned, its voice both reverent and warning. "Each breakthrough you make will summon a tribulation—a trial of lightning, meant to destroy any unworthy of this power. If you can overcome these, the heavens will yield to you, but failure will mean death." The Codex's voice held a faint pride, rare and unmistakable, its tone carrying memories of warriors long gone. Jiang Feng's father, he knew, had chosen this path for him, hoping that Jiang would one day walk beside him as an equal, a warrior and blacksmith worthy of the Skyforge Flame. The weight of his father's expectations pressed on Jiang, but instead of caving, he found resolve. I will not fall, he vowed silently. I will walk this road until the end.

As he steadied himself from the inner storm, Jiang's body suddenly shuddered, his mind alight with a torrent of new information—an overwhelming flood that threatened to tear his mind apart. He gripped his head, struggling to absorb it as a strange yet familiar power pulsed within. Bang! An image bloomed in his mind, clear and vivid: an ancient dragon scale glimmering with emerald hues, layered upon itself in countless patterns.

The technique unfolded in his mind, its name a reverent echo—Draconic Tempest: Dragon Scale Resilience. Soon after, ancient wordings began to play out in his mind that he could understand for some reason. Behold the breath of dragons, a breathing and stance exercise that is meant to harden the skin, mimicking the formidable scales of a dragon, protecting the practitioner from weapons, strikes, and impacts.

A deep breathing rhythm and calculated stance work would awaken Draconic energy in the body, coating the skin with a protective, armor made up of a combination of Draconic energy and Draconic scales. To practice fully, one would need spirit pills, rare herbs, beast essence blood, core and more—but with it, one would gain a resilience that defied mortal limits.

Jiang felt a fierce satisfaction settle within him as the knowledge crystallized in his mind. With Dragon Scale Resilience, he would step closer to the legacy his father dreamed for him, unyielding and unstoppable. This is my path, he realized, his heart steady. He would not falter, no matter how high the cost.