Chapter 160: The Bond Test in the Rebirth of Demonic Fire

The moment the final Seal on the Star-Shattering Token cracked open, Shen Yan felt as if all his strength had been drained. His knees buckled, nearly causing him to collapse. He forced himself to remain standing, his hands still firmly pressed against the Command Token, fingertips numb, his mind buzzing as if thousands of lines of Code were frantically Error Reporting.

But just then, a muffled groan reached his ears.

Luo Li fell.

Not a slow descent to her knees, nor a stumbling retreat, but her entire body collapsing like a Puppet with its strings cut, straight onto the stone Altar. Her tail, which had always quietly wrapped around his wrist, now lay scorched and withered, its fur falling off in patches like burnt paper ash scattering in the wind.

“Luo Li!” Shen Yan turned sharply, his voice hoarse and unrecognizable.

Her lips were purple, her breathing faint, and her chest barely moved. Even more alarming, a dark red Demon Mark appeared on her back, flickering on and off like an old television Screen with poor Signal, as if it might extinguish completely at any moment.

Shen Yan’s pupils contracted, and the Terminal Interface instantly popped up—【Warning: Detected high-risk Forbidden Technique backlash! Target vital signs continuously declining, immediate intervention recommended】

Gritting his teeth, he swiftly tapped in the air, calling up the core panel of his Source Code Spiritual Root. But before he could input a Command, the Screen suddenly switched automatically, and a line of green text appeared:

【Detected activation of ancient Bloodline Resonance Protocol. Bind?】

Shen Yan froze.

Bind?

He instinctively glanced at Luo Li, then looked down at the text. This wasn’t a standard System function, nor was it any Module he had ever written. This thing… seemed like an ancestral-level Program crawling up from the depths, with its own forced Run Permission.

He had no time to hesitate.

“Bind.” He uttered the word as if throwing his life into it. “Bind!”

The moment the confirmation key was pressed, the entire Altar shook violently. Countless Green Code Streams surged from the Terminal, transforming into vines of light that coiled around Luo Li’s body, gently lifting her. The Demon Mark on her began to flicker, its frequency gradually stabilizing, and a tuft of new fur sprouted at the base of her tail—soft and faintly red, like tender buds in early spring.

But the good times didn’t last.

When the progress bar reached seventy-eight percent, it abruptly stopped.

【Notice: Contract requires confirmation of bilateral will. Currently only unilateral authorization, unable to complete final synchronization】

Shen Yan’s heart sank.

Bilateral? She was almost gone—where would her will come from?

Staring at Luo Li’s pale face, he suddenly bit the Tip of his Finger, letting his blood drip onto the virtual Screen. As he input Code, he whispered, “I recognize you as an inseparable bond—now, in the future, and even after the Cycle of Reincarnation.”

This didn’t feel like programming; it was more like the incantation of some ancient ritual.

The Code Stream fluctuated violently, and the Terminal emitted a low hum, as if protesting this overreach. But Shen Yan ignored it, continuing to forcibly inject his personal will, even encoding his own heartbeat frequency into the Protocol, making the Program pulse with his rhythm.

One second, two seconds…

Just as he thought he was about to fail again, a tear slid from the corner of Luo Li’s eye.

A tiny drop, yet it sent a tremor through the entire System.

【Detected passive response. Emotional weight meets standard. Contract established】

Boom—

Golden flames erupted from the Demon Mark on her back, instantly covering her entire body. The flames weren’t scalding; instead, they carried a warmth like the light of sunset falling on a snowy plain. Her tail fully recovered, swaying gently and fluffily, and her breathing gradually steadied.

Shen Yan slumped on the ground, gasping for breath, his shirt soaked through with cold sweat. He was about to laugh when a sudden chill crept up the back of his neck.

A sword was pressed against the third vertebra of his spine.

Ye Zhao stood behind him, the tip of her blade steady without the slightest tremor. Her gaze was cold enough to freeze magma, her voice sharper than the sword’s edge: “What did you just bind?”

Shen Yan didn’t turn his head: “A life-saving program.”

“Program?” Ye Zhao sneered, “What I saw was a contract. You took advantage of her unconscious state to forcibly bind her. Did you think no one could stop you now?”

Only then did Shen Yan realize she had misunderstood. He quickly flipped his phone over and raised it above his head. On the screen, the log clearly displayed:

【Binding Type: Symbiotic Bond – Equal Sharing】

【Equal Permissions, Shared Risks】

【Host and target serve as mutual data anchors; if one dies, the other suffers equivalent backlash】

Ye Zhao stared at it for three seconds, the tip of her sword trembling slightly.

But she didn’t withdraw her blade.

“You can save her once,” her voice was low, yet each word struck like a nail, “but you can’t protect her for a lifetime. She fought for you until her Demon Core nearly shattered, her tail burned away, and you dare to drag her into this again?”

Shen Yan’s throat tightened.

He knew Ye Zhao wasn’t threatening him; she was demanding a promise on Luo Li’s behalf.

Slowly, he lowered his phone, offering no explanation or defense, only whispering softly: “If one day I betray her… you won’t need to lift a hand. My System will Format me first.”

The air fell silent for a moment.

Finally, Ye Zhao sheathed her sword, the metallic rasp sharp and grating. She stood three steps behind and to his side—no more, no less—exactly the distance from which her blade could be drawn the fastest.

But her hostility was gone.

Shen Yan knew this was her closest approximation of “approval.”

He turned to look at Luo Li. She was still unconscious, but the corner of her mouth seemed to curl up slightly, as if dreaming of something happy. He reached out to touch her, then pulled back, afraid to disturb this hard-won peace.

Just then, the Terminal popped up another window:

【Notice: Detected abnormal residual Demonic Fire activity. Recommend initiating ‘Rebirth Test’ to consolidate contract stability】

Shen Yan frowned: “Rebirth Test? Who designed this process?”

【System: Unknown source. Presumed to be a legacy mechanism of the Demon Clan royal family】

Before he could react, the layer of golden flames around Luo Li suddenly contracted, condensing into a single spark of fire that hovered above her brow. Then, the spark split into five smaller flames, each flying toward a different direction—left shoulder, right shoulder, heart, forehead, and the tip of her tail.

Each flame, upon landing, triggered a faint tremor.

Sensing something wrong, Shen Yan immediately pulled up the monitoring Interface, discovering that these flames weren’t mere Demon Power but encrypted Memory Fragments, reading her consciousness in reverse.

“Damn, is this testing loyalty?” he cursed, “Or testing emotional purity?”

Before the words fully left his mouth, the first flame lit up, projecting an Image—a rainy night, Shen Yan carrying her on his back as he ran, her tail wrapped around his arm, muttering “Slow down, you dumb Programmer,” only to step into a puddle and tumble into a muddy ditch.

The entire scene fell silent.

Even Ye Zhao couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow.

The second flame ignited: Shen Yan staying up late revising Code, Luo Li dozing beside his workstation, waking to find a plaid shirt draped over her, its cuffs still stained with instant noodle crumbs.

The third: The first time she used Demonic Fire to singe his hair, he didn’t get angry at all. Instead, he pulled out a small notebook and jotted down “Fireproof Algorithm v1.0.”

Fourth Memory: He was being chased in the black market when she burst in, swiping three burly men aside with a single claw. Turning back, she snarled, “My person—no one else touches him.”

The fifth flame stubbornly refused to ignite.

Shen Yan was puzzled when he suddenly felt the tip of his tail gently hooked.

He looked down to find Luo Li had opened her eyes at some point, her vertical pupils gazing at him intently, a faint smile on her lips. “The last trial… was when you carried me and jumped into the sea.”

Shen Yan froze.

That was the day after he promised to take her to see the ocean. By accident, they wandered into a stormy sea area and nearly got swept into a whirlpool. Clutching her tightly, he managed to hold on until they reached the shore by relying on a hastily written “anti-gravity floating script.” After washing ashore, they collapsed on the beach, and she laughed, “So you’re afraid of death too.”

Finally, the flame ignited. The five lights converged into a ring, slowly merging into her body.

The Terminal displayed a new Notice: 【Bond test passed. Demonic Fire Rebirth Protocol completed. Contract permanently locked.】

Shen Yan breathed a sigh of relief and was about to speak when Luo Li suddenly raised her hand, grabbed his collar, and yanked hard.

Caught off guard, he stumbled forward, nearly falling face-first against her chest.

“What are you doing?” he stammered.

Luo Li narrowed her eyes, her tail lightly brushing his cheek. “The test results show… your affection for me is only sixty-eight percent.”

“What? That’s visible too?”

“Poor rating, needs correction,” she sneered. “Retake the test. Now.”

Shen Yan tried to struggle but found his limbs gently restrained by her Demon Power, unable to move. Just as he was about to speak, his lips met a sudden warmth.

Ye Zhao stood three steps away, watching the scene, then silently turned around, pretending not to hear someone’s muffled “System Error Reporting.”

(End of Chapter)