Kala's 'Flames'

Six years later, on the streets of Blade City.

Kala, Jie Ning, and the others patrolled the streets of Blade City, every one of them wearing a stern expression.

Of course, maintaining a serious face was part of the job. Behind the scenes, though, their telepathic messages were buzzing with lively conversation.

"So your position is Captain, Kala?" Mosang teased everyone through telepathic message. "Why was that completely impossible to tell before?"

"You didn't know?" Kala felt utterly wronged. "None of you ever read the rules for accepting missions?"

"To lead a team out of Blade City on a difficult mission, the team must include at least one member whose rank is Captain or above."

Korur hit the nail on the head. "That's entirely because the Blade Army doesn't pay a salary, so everyone feels like all the ranks are pretty much the same."

"Hey, Korur, just how badly do you want a salary?"

"The Ink Stones we've gotten from bandits over the past few years alone should be enough for you to live it up for hundreds, even thousands of years." Kala poked fun at Korur's priorities.

"I actually agree with Korur on that." Mosang sided with him. "There's no benefit to getting promoted. Who would care?"

"Doesn't it let you accept higher-level missions?" Kala said something even he himself did not believe.

"I heard the number of Middle-Gods who've arrived in Blade City recently is close to ten thousand already," Jie Ning remarked.

Kala shook his head. "Far more than that. According to the news I got, more than a hundred thousand Middle-Gods have registered already."

"And even more are still waiting and watching."

Upon hearing that, Korur immediately stopped obsessing over salaries. He was utterly stunned. "Are there really that many Middle-Gods around Blade City?"

"What does this even count for?" Kala said disdainfully. "We're right beside a Teleportation Array. Since ancient times, the number of people who came to Hell through Teleportation Arrays has been so vast you can't even imagine it."

"Even if only one in a thousand, or one in ten thousand, became a Middle-God, the number would still be beyond counting."

Korur was somewhat puzzled. "But haven't the Teleportation Arrays always been controlled by the several major forces nearby?"

"Where would so many unaffiliated Middle-Gods come from?"

Kala explained, "Control over the Teleportation Arrays only began in the last hundred thousand years or so. Back then, no one demanded that those arriving in Hell join any force."

"Even if these people had been weak when they first came to Hell, they would grow stronger. Some would even go on to have descendants in Hell."

"Besides, the people coming here aren't necessarily those without affiliations."

"There may be quite a few spies from other forces hidden among them." As he spoke, Kala swept a scrutinizing gaze over the Middle-Gods constantly passing by them.

"That's also why the Blade Army rarely recruited God-level beings from Hell directly in the past."

Suddenly, Mosang jabbed Kala with his elbow. "Watch your image."

"Your eyes were practically glued to that female God-level being just now."

Kala reluctantly drew back his gaze. "You'll understand later. In Hell, there are far more male God-level beings than female ones. Do you know how difficult it is to find a suitable female partner?"

"You have to seize every opportunity."

Mosang fell into thought. "Come to think of it, before I came to Hell, most people I spoke with said that if they were heading to a Supreme Plane, they would choose the Life Supreme Plane first."

"Still, having female companions is really troublesome." Mosang shuddered for no apparent reason. "We only had fun together for a few nights. No one lost anything, yet they expected me to keep spending time with them."

"If I hadn't been trying to avoid them, I wouldn't have chosen to come to Hell."

Jie Ning could not help glancing repeatedly at Mosang. This guy had come to Hell for that reason?

Kala looked at Mosang with envy. "Why was I the one who came to Hell while being hunted down?"

"Look on the bright side," Mosang consoled Kala. "You escaped the pursuit, and now you're one of the stronger Middle-Gods."

"I'm just curious how even someone like you had people interested in you."

"Kala, that's too much. Back home, I, Mosang, was known as a handsome and talented man."

"By the way, aren't you on pretty good terms with Kachishan from the castle?" After trading a few barbs, Mosang suddenly grew curious. He had always thought Kala and Kachishan were a couple.

"Kachishan is on good terms with a lot of people." Kala's mood sank somewhat.

The others tried their best to process that information.

"If you don't want to keep pursuing Kachishan, you can be like Korur instead. As long as you're willing to spend Ink Stones, plenty of people in Blade City would be happy to earn that money," Mosang suggested to Kala.

Korur agreed. "Actually, many people in Blade City still have a hard time getting by. I've always been happy to lend them a hand."

"They're all very grateful to me, too."

Kala seemed utterly disdainful of that. "What's the point of that?"

"What I want is a collision of Soul Fires." Kala's face was full of longing.

"Then why are you still chasing after Kachishan?" Mosang looked unconvinced.

"She can give me plenty of the latest information about Blade Castle." Kala wore an expression as though recalling something unbearable. "Haven't you all benefited already?"

Jie Ning forcibly suppressed a smile. He had every reason to suspect that Kala had simply been fooled by Kachishan. His special treatment most likely came from the Army Lord's favor, while Kachishan had merely gone with the flow.

Mosang and Korur exchanged a glance, each seeing a knowing smile in the other's eyes. "So you're actually the one lacking 'Ink Stones,' huh?"

Kala said irritably, "This is a trade—a trade, understand?"

"I need to find my Soul Fire..." Kala's gaze grew unfocused, as though he had thought of something.

Hearing the distant note in Kala's voice, the others exchanged glances. Mosang quietly sent a telepathic message to Jie Ning and the others. "Do you think Kala's soul has been controlled?"

Korur looked quite serious—so long as one ignored the amusement hidden in his eyes. "Nonsense. I think Kala may have gained a new insight into the Fire Profound Mysteries. Soul Fire... perhaps it could be some kind of Soul Attack method within the Fire Element Law."

Jie Ning looked at Kala. He really did seem somewhat off. Narrowing his eyes, he said, "Korur, you may actually be right."

Korur, "..."

Mosang, "...Can comprehending Laws really cause something like this?"

Dinar looked at Kala enviously.

"For the time being, let's cooperate with Kala," Jie Ning concluded. "After all, if he truly has gained insight into the Laws and Profound Mysteries, that would be a good thing for him."

Kala's mind became somewhat dazed. Soul Fire... burning, resonance...

No, that's not right...

From the outside, Kala seemed to have fallen silent for a time, like a flame that had gone out.

Jie Ning and the others did not dare disturb him, merely following silently behind him.

After walking through several streets in silence, Kala finally seemed to "recover," though his behavior had become rather strange.

Emotions are actually the outward manifestation of the fire in one's heart. Then let it be released...

"That brat—does he dare cause trouble in Blade City?" Kala charged over.

"You dare forcibly drag people into your shop?" Kala stood up for the weak.

Mosang asked worriedly, "Is his condition normal?"

Jie Ning could not say for certain. "At least for now, it doesn't seem to be any major problem."

Kala's excited state lasted an entire week.

"So, how much longer are we going to live like this?" After Kala had become "hot-blooded," Mosang felt utterly tormented every moment of every day.

"I think it's pretty good. Quite interesting, really." Korur found everything that had happened these past few days refreshingly novel.

Dinar remained silent. Suddenly, he no longer envied Kala's insight.

Jie Ning had been observing Kala's reactions all along. In his eyes, Kala now resembled an entire mass of roaring flame, with both body and soul burning fiercely.

Kala appeared to have lost his reason.

But in truth, the opposite was the case—Kala was using reason as the reins of his soul.

Rather than being out of control, his actions seemed more like he had chosen, within the bounds of his own control, to give his "fire of emotion" a proper channel through which to vent.

His emotionality was the outward manifestation of his soul surging? Reason kept that emotionality on the positive side?

The "flame" of Kala's soul used the "flame" of his body as fuel, while also being constrained by his body...

Using Kala's changes as a reference, Jie Ning pondered, then could I also let the Power of Life take the Earth Element as its root, with the Earth-walking Technique as its vines...

Watching Kala's transformation, Jie Ning gained some new ideas for his own future cultivation. Perhaps the day of fusing three Profound Mysteries was drawing closer.

Suddenly, Jie Ning noticed Kala's figure stiffen. Following his gaze, an odd smile curled across Jie Ning's lips.

"I think Kala's luck really does seem quite good," Jie Ning's voice rang beside the others' ears.

"Hm?" Mosang and the others naturally noticed Kala's abnormality as well.

Kala had never felt like this before—one person had completely captured his gaze, leaving him unable to see anything else.

Flame-like red hair, a beautiful face forever brimming with smiles.

Kala only felt the flame his soul had become surge toward a peak in that instant, nearly breaking free of his body's control.

Amid the tumult, Kala finally seized a thread of its essence. After letting his soul run wild for so long, he had finally grasped that ultimate insight.

Kala's eyes slowly regained their clarity.

"That seems to be a Fire Element Middle-God as well?" Mosang saw through the other party's strength at a glance.

A flash of admiration also passed through Korur's eyes.

The other party quickly noticed their stares. Her brows first furrowed slightly, then relaxed. She walked openly toward them. "Friends from the Blade Army, may I ask if you have some important matter to discuss with me?"

Looking at the beauty so close before him, looking into her eyes, Kala blurted out, "I like you very much. Become my wife."

Clearly, after indulging himself for so long, Kala was still temporarily having some problems controlling his emotions.

The other party frowned, scrutinizing Kala. Flames seemed to flicker in her eyes, faintly giving the impression of a volcano about to erupt. "Do you know who I am? You think someone like you can make me your wife?"

"Then what's your name?" Kala looked directly into her eyes.

"You'll find out eventually." Daisy Lin was in a terrible mood. She had just arrived in Blade City and already run into someone like this. Turning around, she said, "Sooner or later, my name will spread throughout Hell."

After turning away, she left behind one sentence and walked off without another word.

"Of course, if you want to fight right now, feel free to follow me."

Ignoring the faintly directed gazes from the people around them, Kala called after her retreating figure, "My name is Kala. Remember it—this will be the name of your future husband."

Kala? Listening to the voice behind her, Daisy Lin had not formed a good impression of him, but she had to admit that he had succeeded in making her remember his name.

But if you're merely weak, you have no right to say such things.

Because I will definitely become strong, and there will be no place beside me for the weak.

Daisy Lin ignored Kala's shout and vanished from everyone's sight.

"Sorry for troubling you all these days."

Second by second, Kala finally gradually brought his emotions under control, and an awkward smile appeared on his face.

"Do you know what you were just saying? You weren't joking, were you?" Mosang reminded Kala.

"I couldn't control myself just now." Kala bared his teeth.

"But I really do want to marry that woman." Kala's gaze was resolute.

He had never experienced the feeling of being so completely drawn to someone.

Jie Ning reminded him, "Judging from the aura she revealed just now, she may be even stronger than you."

"I know," Kala said frankly. "But I won't give up."

"Besides, I've gained some new insights these past few days. Once I digest them, it's still uncertain who will be stronger and who will be weaker."

"I plan to enter seclusion and cultivate hard for a while once this Expansion ends." By the end, Kala looked at the others apologetically.

"If you still want to keep taking missions, I can introduce you to Kachishan and have her keep an eye out for suitable missions for you..."

"I do!" Korur's eyes lit up.

"I'll probably enter seclusion to cultivate for a while too," Jie Ning said. He desperately needed time to cultivate.

Having more or less confirmed that the Faith War would break out in the near future, Jie Ning also gave up on the idea of fleeing.

In an environment like this, there would not be much difference no matter where one hid.

"Fortunately, the number of missions we completed some time ago is enough to ensure that we won't need to worry about mandatory missions for the next thousand years."

If there are still a thousand peaceful years, Jie Ning added inwardly.

Mosang shrugged. "Either way works for me."

Everyone looked at Dinar. With a calm expression, Dinar said, "I'll probably enter seclusion and cultivate for some time as well."

"Then I'll keep doing missions," Korur said indifferently. "After all, what I comprehend is the Destruction Rule. For me, battle is the best form of cultivation."

Mosang suddenly said, "Then I'll go with you."

"I reached a bottleneck long ago. Even bitter cultivation won't be of much use," Mosang explained. "Maybe doing missions with Korur will bring me some insights instead."

Seeing that everyone had already made their decisions, Kala naturally had no further objections.

He said to Korur and Mosang, "Then after today's street patrol mission ends, come with me to Kachishan's home. I'll introduce you to her."

Having written this chapter, I actually feel it's a little strange.

But since I already wrote it, I posted it anyway. It doesn't go beyond the established setting, after all.

I'll work harder and relearn a couple of chapters.