83: Chapter 83 Smash the Idol, I'll Light the Fire Myself

As Crimson Nightmare's mask disintegrated into fragments amidst the roar, Chen Fan's fist remained suspended in mid-air.

The youth's face thus slammed into his sight—his brow still carried the baby fat, his eyelashes slightly curled from the scorching flames, bearing a seven-tenths resemblance to the little boy in the faded old painting on Su Shuang's tea table from memory.

His throat jerked violently, his molars grinding painfully—the soul locked in the deepest layer of the book of fate three hundred years ago was now looking back through this flame-shrouded body with a pair of hazy eyes.

"Ding—"

The lava lake suddenly churned as if boiling.

Chen Fan glimpsed out of the corner of his eye the giant pupil that had always been silent at the bottom of the lake, now slowly rotating, its golden light slicing through the mist like a blade.

gray bell's whimpering abruptly ceased, as if an invisible hand had clamped down on its throat.

The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end—this was the first time the Molten Heart Eye had actively 'looked' toward the battlefield since the Bronze Instance.

"For... for you..."

The charred palm suddenly gripped his ankle.

Chen Fan looked down and saw Qing Jin crawling out of a crack in the ground. Half of his face was burned beyond recognition, black blood seeping between his fingers, yet he was fiercely protecting a Fire Jade.

"Flame Lord modification... classified file..." The old man's voice was like sandpaper scraping across iron plate, "They weren't refining spirits... they were turning people... into tools that couldn't cry..."

The moment the Fire Jade touched his palm, Chen Fan's critical hit system suddenly vibrated.

A red light wrapped in an image surged into his mind—

Chains intertwined on the altar, hundreds of youths the size of Yan Li were pinned onto stone blocks.

The white-bearded elder held a bone knife; as the tip pierced their temples, the youths' wails pierced the screen.

The instant the memories were gouged out, their eyes turned to empty gray, followed by crimson fire cores being shoved into their chests, the word 'Loyalty' scorching cracks onto the surface of the fire cores.

The final scene, the picture shook violently.

Young Yan Li was dragged away by two strong men, his short legs kicking desperately, his cries almost tearing the screen apart: "Shuanger! Shuanger save me! I promised to protect you until you grow up..."

The camera shook toward a corner, where little Su Shuang, wearing double buns, clung to the stone wall, her fingertips digging out blood, the tears on her face flashing like shattered diamonds in the firelight.

"Brother Li..."

Su Shuang's voice was as light as a snowflake.

Chen Fan turned his head and saw her kneeling on the rock ridge, her silver hair curled by the earth fire, yet still moving without wind.

The tear tracks on her face had not yet dried, but the gray mist in her eyes was receding—the fox tattoo was resonating.

She raised her hand, a bean-sized Fox Fire burning at her fingertip. The flame was so weak it could be extinguished at any moment, yet it precisely touched the silver fox tattoo on her chest: "Awaken the name with blood, illuminate the soul with fire... Yan Li, wake up!"

Crimson Nightmare's body suddenly shuddered.

The flames enveloping him scattered like dandelion seeds blown by the wind, falling piece by piece.

Chen Fan saw the fire mark on his neck and the silver fox tattoo on Su Shuang's wrist light up simultaneously, connecting into a star map between the two of them.

The youth's eyes churned with chaotic light, like a fissure suddenly opening in a lake surface during a torrential storm, letting in a sliver of sunlight: "...Shuanger? You... grew taller."

"Cough!" Su Shuang choked out a mouthful of blood, the Fox Fire flickering at her fingertip.

Chen Fan's heartbeat suddenly quickened—he sensed the golden light of the Molten Heart Eye was locked onto Crimson Nightmare, and the system buzzed in his ear, an omen before 'data reset'.

He bit the tip of his tongue; as the taste of blood spread, the critical hit charge bar suddenly displayed a new prompt: [Foresight Mode Activated: Can lock onto 'Frost Devour' trigger (Requires Bloodline Resonance)].

"Now is not the time to reminisce!" Chen Fan shouted lowly, feigning a stumble backward.

Crimson Nightmare's gaze followed him, and the flames re-condensed around him, but they were three parts weaker than before—that was the hesitation belonging to a human.

Chen Fan stared at the trembling frequency of the ice crystals in Su Shuang's hair, and when she took her next faint breath, he suddenly exploded!

【Frost Devour x 3 Stacked】!

The first layer of frost energy wrapped around his punch and struck Crimson Nightmare's right arm; ice crystals climbed along his fire mark; the second layer precisely locked his knee joint, causing the youth to stagger onto one knee; the third layer struck directly at the fire core in his chest, blue and white frost flowers blooming like a spiderweb over the crimson fire core.

Chen Fan could hear his own heartbeat drowning out the roar of the earth fire—this was the first time he had actively 'commanded' a critical hit, like calculating the exact stress point of every brick while moving materials at a construction site.

"You think solitude is strength?" Chen Fan stepped forward, the frost and flame in his palm twisting into a vortex, "When I was moving bricks at the construction site, some people cursed me for being cheap, saying I had no prospects... But every time I carried a hundred-pound steel beam, I heard the foreman shouting 'Little Chen, hold on' from behind, and saw the cafeteria auntie slip me an extra steamed bun." His pupils reflected Crimson Nightmare's gradually clearing eyes, "What was taken from you was your name; what I snatched back... is the way to live!"

【Flame Burst · Final Strike】!

The earth fire and frost energy exploded at his fist's tip, and the fire core in Crimson Nightmare's chest shattered into starlight.

Chen Fan saw the youth's eyes light up for an instant, as if he had finally found the key lost for many years.

As the flames rained down, Crimson Nightmare knelt by the lava lake, his fire robe shedding into fragments, revealing a pale chest: "For me... go see... the Teahouse in spring..."

Before the words faded, his body turned to ash.

Chen Fan reached out to catch, but only touched a handful of warm wind.

"Boom—"

The Molten Heart Eye snapped shut violently, the earth veins shaking so hard the rock ridge was nearly overturned.

Chen Fan supported Su Shuang's tottering body and looked up to see the altar in the center of the lake collapsing, revealing a mass of crimson light beneath—that was the earth core flame marrow, slowly floating into the air, its red light casting the surrounding walls in blood-red.

System notifications exploded before his eyes: [Dual Source Critical Hit Stabilized, Attribute Addition Predictable (Requires Bloodline Resonance)].

And gray bell chimed in unison.

Chen Fan counted the clear, resonant sounds—nine hundred and eight chimes, each clearer than the last, as if sending off all the souls consumed by the flames.

He looked down at Su Shuang; she was staring at the residual Fox Fire in her palm, large tears splashing onto the fire, tempering the flame into a pale blue.

"Let's go." Chen Fan wrapped his arm around her waist, sensing the increasingly strong energy fluctuations as the earth core flame marrow ascended, "The sky is about to change here."

In the red light, countless translucent shadows floated up from the rock crevices—they were the sealed New Players.

Their faces were indistinct, but they were all reaching toward the earth core flame marrow, as if grasping for something unattainable.

A chill rose on the back of Chen Fan's neck again; he suddenly remembered the system's whisper: "You are not the only critical hitter..."

But at this moment, the patterns of frost and flame on his gauntlets were slowly merging.