Cultivation, Heavenly Flame Body Tempering

Upon returning to the Soul Hall, Hun Cang instructed the others that he would soon enter seclusion and that no one was allowed to disturb him.

Afterward, he returned to his room.

With a wave of his hand, three flames of completely different colors appeared.

"This is my first step toward becoming a Dou Emperor!" After staring resolutely at the Heavenly Flames for a moment, Hun Cang sat cross-legged. Endless black mist poured from his body, swiftly filling the entire room.

Before long, the three Heavenly Flames were the only source of light left in the room.

Perhaps because Hun Cang had suppressed his own strength, the seals on the Heavenly Flames seemed to loosen. Their firelight grew brighter and brighter, and the temperature rose higher and higher.

Even outside the building, everyone in the Soul Hall sensed that something was wrong.

Hun Xiaoqiang flew into the air and watched the building from which black mist was spilling. A trace of gravity showed in his eyes. That place gave him a feeling of dread!

Even Hun Xiaoqiang himself found it somewhat unbelievable.

After all, he was already a Dou Zong, while Hun Cang was merely a Dou Huang.

"What exactly is Hall Master doing?" Hun Xiaoqiang muttered curiously.

"Young Master Cang may be rebuilding his cultivation."

Hearing the voice, Hun Xiaoqiang turned his head and discovered that Protector Wu had appeared at some unknown point. He stood beside him, his gaze also fixed on Hun Cang's room.

Hun Xiaoqiang repeated doubtfully, "Rebuilding his cultivation? Why?"

"Hehe, you never had the chance to return to the clan, so I'm afraid you don't know. Although Young Master Cang was once the clan leader's son, his talent was flawed. After reaching the Dou Wang realm, it became impossible for him to make any further progress in cultivation." Protector Wu said with a faint smile.

This... Hun Xiaoqiang was somewhat astonished. In the decades since he had taken over this Soul Hall, he truly had never had an opportunity to return to the clan. There were many things he did not know.

When Hun Xiaoqiang had first learned that his newly appointed Hall Master was actually a Dou Huang, he had been extremely surprised and confused.

Since when could a Dou Huang lead a Soul Hall?

Even for a Branch Hall, the minimum should have been a Dou Zong.

In fact, in the Soul Halls near Central Continent, the Hall Masters were all figures at the Dou Venerable level.

Only after learning that Hun Cang was the clan leader's son did Hun Xiaoqiang finally understand. So there was such a connection behind it all.

Yet now, Protector Wu was saying that Hun Cang had previously only been able to cultivate to the Dou Wang realm?

Hun Xiaoqiang felt rather bewildered. If he was the clan leader's son, then the clan leader could not possibly have ignored such a hidden problem.

"Because Young Master Cang is an illegitimate child. His mother was a female servant in the clan leader's residence. During an accident while the clan leader was cultivating, he took favor with her, and that was how Young Master Cang came to be," Protector Wu said indifferently.

Hun Xiaoqiang understood once again. That made sense. No matter what, as the clan leader's son, with his bloodline inheritance, how could he have such a hidden flaw? So it had been an accident during the clan leader's cultivation. That was understandable.

"Young Master Cang is rebuilding his cultivation now? Is that necessary? Could his cultivation technique possibly be better than the Hun Clan's techniques?" Hun Xiaoqiang could not understand.

Even as an illegitimate child, the cultivation technique he could obtain should still be better than those available to peripheral collateral members like them. Now that his aptitude problem had been resolved, he would become stronger just by cultivating properly.

Protector Wu shook his head. He did not understand this either, but after thinking for a moment, he still said, "It may be related to Young Master Cang's fortuitous encounter."

He paused slightly, and a hint of envy entered his tone. "During the previous clan assessment, Young Master Cang took the initiative to participate in the core disciple examination. Considering his status, the clan leader gave him a chance. Do you know what Young Master Cang relied on to obtain the authority to manage the Soul Hall in the end?"

Asked this question, Hun Xiaoqiang shook his head blankly, his heart filled with shock.

The core disciple examination was the Hun Clan's highest assessment for the younger generation. Usually, only disciples with the greatest potential and purest bloodlines could participate.

And every one of those people would become a pillar of the Hun Clan in the future. By adulthood, their strength would already stand at the Dou Zong or Dou Venerable level.

According to Protector Wu's description, Young Master Cang had likely only been at the peak of the Dou Wang realm at the time. How had he dared participate in such an examination? Was he tired of living?

Protector Wu stared directly at the room from which the mist poured and said, "A Grade 7 Pill!"

"What? Grade 7? You're not joking, are you? Young Master Cang is also a Seventh-grade Alchemist?" Hun Xiaoqiang immediately felt like his entire world had fallen apart.

On the Dou Qi Continent, who did not know that alchemists held noble status? Especially alchemists of the sixth grade and above—every one of them was sought after and revered.

And now Protector Wu was telling him that Hun Cang was actually a Seventh-grade Alchemist as well?

How old was Young Master Cang? At such a young age, with this kind of talent, becoming an eighth-grade or even ninth-grade alchemist in the future would be effortless, wouldn't it?

Protector Wu was very satisfied with Hun Xiaoqiang's reaction, as though he were seeing his own reaction upon learning the news back then. He continued, "According to Young Master Cang himself, he obtained an alchemist's inheritance. Not only did he obtain pills to resolve his aptitude problem, but he also gained alchemical methods. As for why he wants to rebuild his cultivation, I suspect this cultivation technique is connected to that inheritance as well."

Hun Xiaoqiang repeatedly drew in sharp breaths. "Thank you for telling me, Protector Wu. I, Xiaoqiang, will remember this favor."

"We are both working for the Hun Clan." Protector Wu nodded slightly.

At this moment, a strange phenomenon appeared outside the room. Green lotuses emerged out of thin air, accompanied by the roaring sound of ocean waves crashing.

"Everyone, withdraw from the Soul Hall!" Seeing this, Protector Wu shouted. Dou Qi surged from his body as he joined Hun Xiaoqiang in forming a barrier to block it.

This was a Heavenly Flame, its power boundless.

However, just as the two made their move, the various phenomena vanished. In their place, Dou Qi rapidly gathered above the roof, continuously spinning and condensing into a vortex.

Inside the room.

Hun Cang's body rose from the ground as he sat atop a floating Ink-Jade Lotus Platform. Three-colored flames drilled out from every pore of his body, continuously tempering the black Dou Qi around him.

The Dou Qi that had originally filled the entire room gradually diminished, until it was finally compressed into a crystal the size of a palm.

The crystal was translucent and glimmered faintly. It slowly approached Hun Cang's chest before entering his body.

At that moment, Hun Cang's strength first surged wildly, directly approaching the Dou Zong realm, before rapidly falling again.

After dropping all the way from a Dou Emperor to a Dou Zhe, he slowly rose again.

This process repeated many times. Coupled with the fiercely burning Heavenly Flames, it felt as though he was being reforged over and over.

In truth, this was an additional effect of the Zhen Fen Jue, known as True Fire Body Tempering.

Being repeatedly tempered by flames could purge the impurities within the body, refine the flesh, and make one's Dou Qi denser and more solid.

If outsiders witnessed this scene, they would likely be horrified. Being tempered from the inside out by three kinds of Heavenly Flames—how was that any different from cremation?

Pain occasionally surfaced on Hun Cang's face, but he quickly suppressed it through gritted teeth. He could clearly feel the changes taking place in his body, from his flesh and blood to his meridians.

Wherever the Heavenly Flames passed, his skin and flesh took on a lustrous sheen. The radiance glittered like diamonds, giving him the illusion that he was indestructible.

"System-produced, indeed. If I were using the Flame Mantra's method, just one Heavenly Flame entering my body would have been enough to make me suffer, let alone using three at once."

Feeling his body slowly transform, Hun Cang knew he had passed the danger point and could not help but sigh.

"Once this is over, it'll be time to set off for Jia Nan Academy."