Seared

When Jace was born, he was branded with a metal bracer to prevent cultivation. But when his sister's life is threatened, he has only one option: grow stronger. Stranded in the Badlands after fleeing for their lives, Jace and his friends find themselves with an unexpected opportunity to train and secure their freedom.

When Jace was a newborn baby, he was branded with a metal bracer to prevent cultivation. Destined to live a life of slavehood for a crime he didn't commit, he can only dream of one day becoming a powerful cultivator and leaving his shackles behind. But when danger threatens the life of his sister, Jace decides to take fate into his own hands. He boldly escapes his master's estate and makes his way through dangerous lands to rescue her.

Jace and his new group of friends have arrived at Mount Hua to rescue his sister, but that's a task easier said than done. Lord Ngai is a powerful cultivator and ruler who will stop at nothing to keep his prized consort. And if entering a massive fortress and sneaking his sister out despite the hundreds of guards and soldiers isn't enough, the area is faced with a historically dangerous monster surge!

Stranded in the Badlands after fleeing for their lives from Mount Hua Outpost, Jace and his friends find themselves with unexpected gifts from the gods—the opportunity to train and get stronger at an unprecedented pace and the chance to secure their freedom from Lords Ouyang and Ngai. But in the middle of their efforts, an ancient evil surfaces that threatens to destroy them and the empire with its otherworldly power. Their newfound strength is put to the test as they battle for survival.

Jace and his friends find themselves battling Ouyang and Ngai, blindsided by a powerful threat that’s set its sights on the destruction of the empire, and racing to find a cure for one of their own before it’s too late. Through it all, Jace knows there’s only one way they’ll succeed in saving themselves and those they care about: by getting stronger.

With Sami’s life on the line, Jace and his friends race to find a cure for the soul spore. Coming up short again and again, they turn to the last being who might be able to help them: Zurvan, god of infinite time and space. Yet his price is steep: represent him at an out-of-time tournament against Divine and Ascended cultivators—and not only that, but win. As Sami’s condition worsens and the Polypheme approaches the empire, Jace has no choice but to accept.