** The Furnace of Discord**
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### **XIII. The Dantian Inferno**
Chen Zhen's body convulsed, veins bulging like live wires beneath his skin. Fire and lightning warred in his dantian, their clash sending shockwaves through his meridians. The shack's wooden walls groaned as qi distortions rippled outward, splintering planks.
*"Fool boy!"* Lou Tian's voice crackled, strained. *"You're tearing yourself apart!"*
Shanggu Feng's storm-energy lashed at the rogue forces, but the elements rebelled, fracturing further. The Soulforge Catalyst—dormant in Chen's sea of consciousness—flared, its black orb pulsing with chaotic light.
[Initiate emergency protocol!] The clone's voice sliced through the turmoil. [Channel the Stellar Dust—now!]
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### **XIV. Echoes of Harmony**
Mei Ling burst into the shack, her hair wild, Xiao Wei clinging to her robes. Violet light haloed her hands—Nexus energy responding to Chen's crisis. She pressed her palms to his chest, her form flickering between solidity and translucence.
*"Don't you dare die!"* she hissed, tears evaporating into stardust.
The vial of Stellar Dust in Chen's pocket shattered, its crystalline powder fusing with Mei Ling's violet aura. The combined energies seeped into his dantian, weaving a lattice around the clashing elements.
*"Balance,"* whispered a voice—not Shanggu Feng's, not Lou Tian's. A woman's voice, steel-edged and familiar.
In Chen's mindscape, the other protagonist materialized, her glaive mirroring his own. She thrust her weapon into the maelstrom, its blade radiating *Harmony* qi.
*"Let them dance, don't make them fight."*
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### **XV. The Catalyst's Crucible**
The Soulforge Catalyst erupted, its orb splitting into three threads:
1. **Fire**—Lou Tian's essence, molten and defiant.
2. **Storm**—Shanggu Feng's will, electric and unyielding.
3. **Void**—Mei Ling's Nexus energy, binding them.
Chen Zhen *breathed* through the pain, recalling Jerry's words: *"This will become what you need most."*
He stopped forcing. Started *guiding*.
Fire curled around lightning like a lover's embrace. Lightning threaded through flame, not as conquerors, but partners. The merged energy spun—a helix of destruction and creation—before settling into his dantian as a single, throbbing star.
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### **XVI. Collapse and Revelation**
The shack exploded outward in a ring of ash. Chen Zhen collapsed, his body smoldering but intact. Mei Ling cradled his head, her hands trembling.
*"You… you absolute idiot,"* she whispered, but her lips quirked upward.
Shanggu Feng and Lou Tian materialized faintly above Chen, their souls stabilized by Stellar Dust.
*"He did it,"* Lou Tian murmured. *"The madman actually did it."*
Xiao Wei poked Chen's cheek. *"Uncle's snoring."*
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### **XVII. The Price of Power**
When Chen awoke, dawn filtered through the shattered roof. His dantian ached, but the merged energy hummed—a sleeping beast.
Mei Ling slept slumped against the wall, Xiao Wei curled in her lap. The Stellar Dust had etched faint constellations into her skin, Nexus energy glowing softly.
[Technique synthesis complete,] the clone reported. [Designation: **Celestial Conflagration**. Usage limited to once per battle; full depletion risk remains.]
Chen flexed his hand, a tiny flame-lightning orb dancing above his palm. *Worth it.*
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### **XVIII. The Matriarch's Gaze**
Unseen, a shadow coalesced in the forest—a scout clad in Eclipse Queen sigils. It hissed, recording Chen's energy signature into a void-crystal.
*"The Crucible Bearer is found,"* it rasped, before dissolving into smoke.
Far away, in a throne room of devoured stars, the Eclipse Queen smiled.
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### **XIX. Breakfast and Bonds**
Mei Ling insisted Chen stay for congee, her Nexus flicker steadier since the Stellar Dust infusion.
*"You're stuck with us now,"* she said, serving him a steaming bowl. *"Echo or not, family doesn't let family combust alone."*
Xiao Wei mimed an explosion. *"Boom! Uncle goes boom!"*
Chen laughed—the first real laugh since Li Na.
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### **XX. The Arbiter's Return**
At midday, the air split. Jerry stood in the clearing, his obsidian armor scarred fresh.
*"You awakened the Catalyst,"* he rumbled. *"Good. Now survive what comes next."*
Behind him, the sky cracked open—a Void Rift swarming with Eclipse drones.
Chen grinned, glaive materializing. *"Took you long enough."*
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