Heavenly Flame Refining Pagoda

Xiao Ming, who had been running, finally stopped in an open space. A large group of Honghong students stood before him.

"Aren't there a bit too many people?"

Looking at the massive, ant-like mass of people, Xiao Ming couldn't help but feel helpless.

"This Heavenly Flame Refining Pagoda is so popular, there are so many people that you can't even see what's inside. Are we going to have to squeeze in again? Or do we just have to wait in line here?"

Just as Xiao Ming finished thinking, he suddenly heard a lot of whooshing sounds coming from not far behind him.

Turning my head, I saw nearly a dozen figures flashing towards me from a distance.

These people moved with incredible speed; in less than ten seconds, their figures appeared in a jumble on the branches of several large trees beside the road.

After observing for a while, these people darted down one by one, a large number of figures swooping down from the sky, and finally, in an extremely aggressive manner, they directly broke into the front of the dark mass of people.

Seeing this, Xiao Ming couldn't help but say, "Let's just squeeze in; there are more and more people."

He then stepped into the crowd.

"Hey, who is it!"

"Damn, how do you have such strength!"

With his extraordinary physical strength, Xiao Ming easily squeezed to the front of the crowd.

Finally, they stopped in an open space.

With the crowd gone, what first came into Xiao Ming's view was a sunken area. In that sunken area, an extremely large Black Tower was buried deep underground, with only a section of its spire and a pitch-black entrance visible above the ground.

"This must be the Heavenly Flame Refining Pagoda; the Fallen Heart Flame is inside."

Xiao Ming carefully scanned the towering structure above the ground and suddenly noticed that the space around the tower seemed to have some subtle distortions and wrinkles.

"Space Lock? Jia Nan Academy has really gone to great lengths for the Fallen Heart Flame. This Space Lock can not only contain the Aura of the Fallen Heart Flame, preventing it from being coveted by others, but also suppress its Fallen Heart Flame outbursts, achieving two goals at once. However, the Space Lock's suppression of the Fallen Heart Flame is getting weaker and weaker. I wonder just how strong the Fallen Heart Flame's Fire Spirit really is."

The Fallen Heart Flame must contain a lot of energy. If he swallows the Fallen Heart Flame's essence now, he might be able to try to break through to the Dou Wang.

The spirit within him may also undergo a qualitative change after consuming this Fire Spirit, which clearly possesses a trace of intelligence.

However, such things can only be thought about.

Even though he was the apprentice of the head of the Alchemy Department and a certified Grade Three Alchemist of the Jia Nan Academy's Alchemy Department, he could be considered one of the Jia Nan Academy's own people.

If someone with that kind of status went up to Great Elder Su Qian and said, "There are two Heavenly Flames underground. Give me the bigger one," he wouldn't believe them.

So Xiao Ming can only watch the Fallen Heart Flame and drool.

I'll find an opportunity to devour this Heavenly Flames once my strength has increased.

However, by then, the increase in strength might not be so obvious. As for the Green Lotus Core Flame Green Lotus Core Flame, if Xiao Ming were to absorb it now, it would probably only increase his strength by a few stars. But once his strength is higher in the future, the effect might not be as good.

If it weren't for the fact that he didn't have the strength of a high-level Dou Wang to dare to venture into the Depths of the Lava, which would only make things difficult for him, Xiao Ming could have taken leave right now to return to the Jia Ma Empire to find the Heavenly Flames.

Xiao Ming's attention was focused on the Heavenly Flame Refining Pagoda. Because of his young age, his arrival attracted the attention of many people.

"Who is this kid? Is he some genius brought in by an elder? He's way too young. Shouldn't he have entered the Outer Academy first and wait until his strength reaches the Dou Shi level before coming in?"

"I don't know, maybe he's some elder's grandson."

"Don't talk nonsense. He's the New Student Champion this year, and a tough guy who ranked 507th among the seniors in the Fire Energy Hunting Competition."

"!"

Some of these people knew Xiao Ming, while others did not.

With the introduction of those who had witnessed Xiao Ming's strength, those who did not know Xiao Ming quickly learned about Xiao Ming achievements, and their gazes toward Xiao Ming were filled with surprise and apprehension.

Besides surprise, some people also showed puzzled expressions.

Having robbed 50 senior students of their Fire Energy, just how rich is Xiao Ming now?

Noticing the various gazes around him, Xiao Ming frowned.

He then relaxed; he was used to this kind of gaze from the Outer Academy and didn't need to care.

Time slipped away little by little as we waited.

Thump!

Suddenly, the ancient sound of bells resounded throughout the area, and as the bells rang, the noise in the arena abruptly ceased.

"Open the tower!" The bell rang, and an aged voice seemed to come from inside the tower.

Shortly after the aged voice faded, the tightly closed, pitch-black door creaked open slowly, releasing a faint, intense Aura that slightly raised the temperature of the area.

"Enter the tower!"

The aged voice rang out again, followed by the sound of wind breaking as countless figures shot towards the tower gate in a massive burst.

Xiao Ming stood behind someone, lifted his foot, and then slammed it heavily into the darkness beyond the door.

The instant Xiao Ming's feet touched the ground after entering the tower gate, his body suddenly froze, his fair face turned as red as burning coals, and wisps of White Mist, accompanied by a sizzling sound like roasting meat, seeped out from his body.

Xiao Ming stood motionless at the tower entrance. Some senior students who had planned to enter from the back weren't surprised by this scene; instead, some chuckled with Schadenfreude, "A freshman entering the Inner Academy, huh? Entering the 'Heavenly Flame Refining Pagoda' for the first time without any precautions, serves him right..."

"I heard he was able to steal the Fire Energy from 50 senior students, so he must be quite strong. I wonder how long he can withstand the inner Heart Flame."

It seems these people already knew Xiao Ming would encounter this situation after entering, but deliberately kept quiet, their purpose being to see Xiao Ming make a fool of himself.

However, while it's fine to see Xiao Ming make a fool of himself, it's not a good thing if it leads to someone's death, someone soon said.

"Go and inform the elders inside the tower. Without their intervention, he'd likely be burned to a crisp from the inside out the first time he enters the 'Heavenly Flame Refining Pagoda.'"

"This is the Fallen Heart Flame Sub-Flame."

Xiao Ming focused his mind on his body, gazing at the Heavenly Flames that had suddenly appeared inexplicably from within him.

This cluster of flames was strangely illogical, for no other reason than that it was formless and shapeless.

Since the appearance of this invisible flame, the high temperature emanating from it has caused Xiao Ming's meridians, bones, muscles and other organs to begin to feel a slight stinging sensation.

Xiao Ming knew that this was a sign of being burned by the high temperature. If this continued, it wouldn't be long before his meridians and other internal organs would lose their function under the damned flames.

Once the meridians cease to function, it is tantamount to condemning a cultivator of Dou Qi to becoming a cripple.

The situation was critical, but Xiao Ming remained calm because he knew how to solve it.