Return of the Martial Soul – Chapter 4: The Whispering Fire of Wungcheon

  The map formed by the Heaven's Seal had pointed to a forgotten region in Baekje’s southern reaches—Wungcheon.

  There, it was said, the fire never died.

  Legends spoke of a flame that whispered truths to those who dared to approach it, and of a fourth treasure hidden deep within the volcano's sealed caverns.

  Mujin traveled with Elder Woon Gihyeon and Bifung, now his silent shadow, across dense forests and misty plains.

  They arrived at the edge of the Wungcheon Crater after five days of passage. A place once teeming with miners and mystics, now abandoned to nature’s wrath.

  As Mujin approached the base of the mountain, he felt the air grow heavy—not from heat, but from an unseen pressure.

  “Something’s watching,” he murmured.

  Woon Gihyeon confirmed with a nod. “There are guardians here—echoes of the fire’s former keepers. They do not bleed, and they do not speak. Only test.”

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  Deep inside the crater, the walls were blackened with age, and molten veins glowed beneath their feet.

  Suddenly, a figure of living flame surged from the lava itself—a fiery sentinel with hollow, ember-lit eyes.

  It swung a massive flaming blade at Mujin without a word.

  The trial had begun.

  Mujin drew the blade given to him by Bifung. It was still foreign in his hands, but the Heaven’s Seal pulsed against his chest, guiding him.

  He dodged, rolled, parried. Sweat beaded on his brow from more than just the heat.

  Then—instinct.

  He stepped forward and sliced upward in one smooth motion. The sentinel staggered, then dissipated into ash.

  In the silence that followed, the fourth treasure appeared.

  A burning scroll, suspended in midair.

  It was called the Whispering Flame Sutra—a living text inscribed with fire itself.

  As Mujin touched it, the flame licked at his palm but did not burn. Instead, it branded him with a faint mark—his soul now linked to the energy of Wungcheon.

  The seal glowed once more, now carrying four marks. The rhythm of its pulse deepened, like the beating of a second heart within him.

  That night, Mujin sat beside the crater’s rim, staring at the stars.

  “Four treasures found. Three remain.”

  He did not yet understand the final gate, or the true nature of the seal. But something had changed.

  The fire hadn’t just whispered—it had awakened something primal.

  And far across the sea, in a hidden court of the Eastern Dynasty, a monk opened his eyes.

  “The True One moves toward the Dragon Vein,” he whispered.

  To be continued.