Reunion, Stealing Fire

"You're Zi Yan? How come you've grown so tall!"

Upon hearing Zi Yan's call, Su Qian recognized Zi Yan. However, the current Zi Yan was tall and slender, with a faint King's Aura between her brows, quite different from her previous little girl form, which surprised Su Qian.

"Hmph, I was born to grow up. If it weren't for that Form Transformation Grass back then, I wouldn't have had to wait so long."

Zi Yan grumbled in dissatisfaction, recalling how the Form Transformation Grass Zi Yan had eaten back then was ridiculously effective, and she wondered how many years old it was.

"It'll be better when you grow up."

Su Qian didn't hear Zi Yan's mutterings, but nodded with relief. He knew that Zi Yan had always wanted to grow up, and now her wish had finally come true.

"By the way, this isn't a good place to talk. Let's leave first. Old Man Hu, you're the vice Dean; the selection is your business. We'll be going now."

"You..."

Hu Gan wanted to curse after hearing this. "Why are you all going down to catch up while I'm left here? This is so unfair!"

But Su Qian ignored him and left with Xiao Ming. Elder Huo also left without saying a word.

The other elders also wanted to join, but seeing Hu Gan's twitching eyes, one or two of them ultimately stayed behind.

There's no other way; we can't really let Hu Gan the hosting of the Inner Academy Selection Competition.

As Xiao Ming and the others left, a series of whispers suddenly broke out from the sea of people who had been silent for a moment.

All eyes, gleaming with light, were fixed on the departing figure.

For many Canaan students, what intrigued them most were the various rumors surrounding this senior. After all, since the founding of the Jia Nan Academy, few had been outstanding enough to warrant the construction of a statue in his honor...

"Senior... is that the legendary Senior Xiao Ming? He seems even more handsome than the statue, and he can tear through space, he's really amazing..."

"They are indeed very strong. Even the vice -Dean, who is Dou Zong, couldn't achieve this level!"

The method of tearing through space was enough to make these still-naive teenagers tremble with excitement.

For them, Dou Wang and Dou Emperor were already formidable powerhouses.

In the Council Hall, everyone sat at separate tables.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Su Qian asked a question out of curiosity.

What level have you reached now?

"Well... Three-star Dou Sheng." Xiao Ming glanced at everyone first, then slowly spoke.

Upon hearing this, Su Qian and the others couldn't help but twitch their skin.

Three-star Dou Sheng!

Although they already knew that Xiao Ming's cultivation level was very high, they still found it incredible after hearing the words "Three-star Dou Sheng".

"You're quite remarkable, actually reaching this level in just a few years."

Su Qian looked at Xiao Ming with amazement. Although Xiao Ming, it was clear that he had traveled Southwest in order to break through, and his efforts were undeniable.

The elders standing to the side, including Hu Jia, couldn't help but nod in agreement.

The Dou Sheng, a legendary figure in the past, is now standing vividly before them.

Most importantly, they recognized this Dou Sheng, who was only Dou Zong a few years ago but had reached the legendary realm in just a few years.

Nowadays... it's likely that anyone in the world who could rival him would be an ancient monster who has lived for countless years.

Such an achievement is truly astonishing, giving them a sense of unreality.

Of course, they knew Xiao Ming wouldn't lie; they just found it hard to accept at the moment.

You've really had a tough time these past few years.

Elder Huo felt a pang of sympathy for his disciple. Xiao Ming's rapid breakthrough was not something that could be explained by talent alone; he must have gone through a lot.

"Actually, it's alright; we haven't encountered too many difficulties."

Xiao Ming smiled gently and carefully recounted the events that had occurred in the Central Plains, including the current conflict between the Heavenly Court and the Hall of Souls.

Upon hearing this, Elder Huo looked at Xiao Ming with even more heartache. Although Xiao Ming spoke of some things lightly, he could still sense the Hall of Souls's murderous intent towards Xiao Ming.

To be honest, if Xiao Ming's growth rate hadn't exceeded the Hall of Souls's expectations, given the Hall of Souls's consistently exceptional treatment of him, Xiao Ming would have been finished long ago. The Hall of Souls's ability to wreak havoc across the continent is not due to their incompetence.

Fortunately, Xiao Ming was good enough to prevent the Hall of Souls from succeeding.

When Xiao Ming was just a six-year-old toddler, he became Elder Huo's disciple. To Elder Huo, Xiao Ming was both a disciple and a grandson. If he weren't weak, he would have destroyed the Hall of Souls with a single slap.

After offering a few words of comfort to his teacher, Xiao Ming took the initiative to explain his purpose.

"Besides visiting everyone, I also wanted to go to the Lava World at the bottom of the Heavenly Flame Refining Pagoda this time. I sensed Aura unusual there before."

In fact, Xiao Ming didn't sense Aura; he just made up a reason to go to the bottom of the magma.

As for why go to the bottom of the magma?

Xiao Ming glanced at Zi Yan, who was completely unaware of what was happening beside him.

It's time for Zi Yan to meet her father.

Hearing that Xiao Ming was going to venture deep into the Lava World, Su Qian was also startled, but then she remembered the former's terrifying strength and relaxed. Although the Lava World was mysterious and unpredictable, with this kind of strength, it shouldn't be difficult for him to retreat unscathed.

"Since you've made up your mind, that's fine. I've always felt that there was something unusual about that magma, but I wasn't strong enough to investigate it."

"There's no time to lose, let's set off now..."

Xiao Ming was also decisive. Since the person had already made up their mind, he didn't want to linger any longer. He told them to go as soon as possible and come back as soon as possible, and then he stood up and said.

Inner Academy, at the bottom of the Heavenly Flame Refining Pagoda.

Standing at the entrance to the Lava World, Xiao Ming suddenly made a gesture with his hand. Numerous Formless Flame flew out from the Heavenly Flame Refining Pagoda, eventually condensing into an invisible ball of flame on his palm.

"The Fallen Heart Flame has grown quite a bit over the years."

Looking at the Formless Flame in his hand, Xiao Ming smiled. This thing was the juvenile form of the Fallen Heart Flame that he had obtained in the Lava World back then. However, after several years of growth, it was obviously much stronger than before.

"This little thing took us a lot of effort to make."

Su Qian also smiled and said that over the years, they had put in a lot of effort to cultivate this Fallen Heart Flame, but fortunately it was all worth it.

The Heavenly Flame Refining Pagoda is now much more effective than it was back then. After all, the mature Fallen Heart Flame of that time would never obey their commands, but the Fallen Heart Flame of today, because it was artificially cultivated, is less resistant to their commands.

"Speaking of which, someone tried to steal the fire back then. If they hadn't been too weak and been discovered by the elder on duty, this Heavenly Flames, which isn't particularly resistant to humans, might have been taken away by them."

"Is that so...?"