Advancing to Dou Wang!

Deep within the Inner Academy, in a quiet pavilion by the window, two figures stood one after the other. Su Qian had changed into a brand new robe, her mood complex.

Xiao Yuan was still dressed in a white robe, and he carried a strange fragrance. Su Qian was very familiar with the owner of this fragrance; it was the alluring woman who had chased after him earlier.

Without Xiao Yuan needing to explain further, Su Qian could already imagine his relationship with Medusa. Although the process might be entirely wrong, the result would be similar.

"I wonder what business the Great Elder has with me?"

Xiao Yuan asked with a smile.

"Hehe, showing some concern for a student, how far have you progressed in your cultivation? Don't try to fool me. Being able to act under the pressure of Dou Zong expert, if you say you just advanced to Dou Ling, even if you have a close relationship with that mysterious Dou Zong, I'll still make you suffer!"

Su Qian turned around, carefully examined the unassuming Xiao Yuan, and feigned authority, letting out a cold snort.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Yuan decided not to continue his idle chatter with Su Qian. He coughed lightly, touched his nose, and muttered to himself, "He just recently advanced to the Nine-Star Dou Ling level."

"Oh, so you've already reached the Nine-Star Dou Ling!"

Upon hearing this, Su Qian nodded in satisfaction, stroked his beard, and revealed an expression of knowing full well.

But he quickly realized what was happening, his hand trembled, and he plucked out several hairs from his beard. At the same time, his eyes widened as he looked at Xiao Yuan, his voice rising several decibels. "Huh? What Dou Ling???"

"Nine stars."

Xiao Yuan blinked, looking completely innocent.

Upon hearing this, Su Qian thought that perhaps she was getting old and her hearing was failing her.

He's only been in the Inner Academy for a few months? And he's already skyrocketed from Da Dou Shi to the Peak Dou Ling?

Just how many skills has this kid been hiding? "Great Elder?"

Seeing Su Qian stunned, Xiao Yuan waved his hand in front of her eyes.

"I never expected your talent to be so terrifying. Even... I'm afraid it's not as good as yours."

Su Qian's words were somewhat incomprehensible, and this time Xiao Yuan really couldn't understand them.

"What level of Dou Wang is your current combat power?"

Su Qian ignored Xiao Yuan's doubts and continued to ask.

"Well, I did take down a Snow Demon Sky Ape was comparable to Five Star Dou Wang before, but I can't say what level it is now."

Xiao Yuan said somewhat uncertainly.

"Five Star Dou Wang? No wonder he was able to act under the pressure of Dou Zong. Such combat power is indeed extraordinary."

Su Qian nodded upon hearing this, but did not ask any further questions, instead falling into silence.

???

Why are you silent again? Do all old men these days like to keep people in suspense and pique their curiosity? Xiao Yuan looked at Su Qian with some confusion, his mind full of questions.

Su Qian remained silent for a long time before slowly and deliberately saying:

"Judging from your appearance, there's no need for you to participate in the upcoming Strong Ranking Tournament. You've just broken through to the ninth star, and you need to consolidate your strength for a while. Come back to me when you feel ready, and we'll see if you can break through to the Dou Wang realm then."

After saying that, Su Qian suddenly added, "Let me give you a heads-up. Your younger brother Xiao Yan's girlfriend, Gu Xun Er, is about to leave the Inner Academy. Her family has already informed the academy and will send someone to pick her up. I believe you are not completely unaware of her, right? But your background is obviously not as powerful as that family's, so some conflict is inevitable. I am not good at dealing with some juniors, but it is not a glorious thing for students of the Jia Nan Academy to be bullied in the Inner Academy."

Seeing Su Qian's meaningful expression, Xiao Yuan also raised an eyebrow.

The Great Elder's words were loaded with meaning! "Does the Great Elder mean that he wants me to break through to the Dou Wang as soon as possible, so that I can show them the prowess of the Inner Academy Student of the Jia Nan Academy?"

Xiao Yuan asked with a smile.

"Not only that, there's something else I need your help with. You possess Heavenly Flames, so you must have already sensed some potential crises within the Inner Academy, right?"

Su Qian nodded and continued.

"Does the Great Elder mean the Fallen Heart Flame?"

Xiao Yuan said thoughtfully.

During this time, although he had been focusing on cultivation, he was still able to vaguely sense some unusual movements of the Fallen Heart Flame.

Clearly, it had already amassed its power and was waiting for the right moment to break through the tower! Su Qian nodded when he saw that Xiao Yuan was indeed aware of this matter.

If Xiao Yuan knew nothing about this matter, he would be uneasy. After all, that would mean that Xiao Yuan was not proficient enough in controlling the Heavenly Flames. If the Fallen Heart Flame were to erupt, he would not feel comfortable letting Xiao Yuan take action.

"That's right, it is the Fallen Heart Flame. To tell you the truth, the Fallen Heart Flame has been behaving more and more frequently these days. I'm afraid that beast will try to break through the seal soon. At that time, the Inner Academy may very well face annihilation!"

Su Qian said with a solemn expression.

"The more people there are, the more strength there is. If you can break through to the Dou Wang level soon, with your familiarity with the Heavenly Flames, you might be able to help the Inner Academy overcome this calamity. Therefore, I hope you can break through to the Dou Wang level before the Strong Ranking Tournament. Of course, after breaking through, you will be qualified to become an elder of the Inner Academy, and there will be no need for you to compete with those students."

After saying that, Su Qian turned her gaze to Xiao Yuan.

"Hmm, then what about my cultivation resources and such?"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Yuan frowned.

"No matter what, the elders have more cultivation resources than the students, so you don't need to worry about that. In fact, as long as you can handle it, I will make it easy for you if you want to go to the last level to cultivate."

Su Qian waved her hand and said generously.

"Then I have no problem. Great Elder, rest assured, Xiao Yuan will never let you down!"

Xiao Yuan nodded and said confidently.

Seeing Xiao Yuan's confident assurance, Su Qian nodded in satisfaction.

Although Xiao Yan has good potential and is Fifth Grade Alchemist, if he were to face a situation where the Fallen Heart Flame were to impact the seal, he would still need someone with strong combat power like Xiao Yuan.

After a moment, Su Qian first set up a soundproof Dou Qi barrier before asking via telepathy:

"How's your training in the Cultivation Methods and Combat Skills and combat skills that the Dean taught you coming along?"

This double-insurance approach surprised Xiao Yuan somewhat.

However unexpected it may be, Su Qian's emphasis on this matter is not necessarily a bad thing for him.

"I guess I've made it to the initial stage. I've been cultivating in the Back Mountain before, and the reason I killed that five-star Snow Demon Sky Ape was because of the Earth Rank Dou Techniques that the Dean passed on to me."

Xiao Yuan honestly replied.

"Hmm, that's not bad!"

Su Qian nodded in relief upon hearing this. The fact that Xiao Yuan was able to cultivate Earth Rank Dou Techniques to the point of being able to use them while cultivating Dou Qi shows that he was not only exceptionally talented but also extremely hardworking.

Such people usually achieve great things!

Moreover, Xiao Yuan's skill in flirting with women is quite remarkable; he actually managed to get a Dou Zong expert to chase him all the way to the academy, which is truly astonishing.

In all her years of life, Su Qian had never seen Xiao Yuan act so outrageously.

"Alright, go ahead. Since you've been able to cultivate so quickly, you naturally don't need anyone else's guidance. If you need anything, just come to me, and I'll do my best to help you."

"Then I'll take my leave!"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Yuan bowed respectfully, then turned and left.

When Xiao Yuan returned to the Lion Heart Society, Xiao Yu was practicing Dou Technique in the open space behind the pavilion.

Xiao Yu did not possess the terrifying talent of Xiao Yuan. Therefore, while she cultivated her Dou Qi to the level of Five-Star Dou Grandmaster, she had already successfully switched to cultivating her Earth Rank Low Level technique, Azure Water Ripple, but she was still unable to master the corresponding Dou Technique.

Seeing Xiao Yu practicing her Dou Technique in the open space of the attic, Xiao Yuan subconsciously prepared to walk over, but a strong survival instinct set off alarm bells in his heart. So before Xiao Yu could react and realize someone was approaching, Xiao Yuan used the Three Thousand Lightning Movement and ran away on the spot.

After Xiao Yuan disappeared, Xiao Yu turned around with a hint of doubt in her eyes as she looked in the direction where Xiao Yuan had been standing.

Is it just an illusion? She shook her head and then continued practicing her Dou Technique.

Back in his room, Xiao Yuan immediately began his smooth combo of attacks. Water Attribute Douqi surged out, washing over his body, while Wind Attribute Dou Qi blew away the strange fragrance. He then changed into a brand-new set of clothes, making sure he no longer smelled of other women before putting away the clothes he had changed out of and leaving the room.

Coincidentally, after walking a few steps, he bumped into Xun'er, who was returning from outside. However, she seemed a little absent-minded, with her head down, and did not see Xiao Yuan not far in front of her.

Seeing this, Xiao Yuan thought for a moment and understood why Xun'er was like this, so he took the initiative to step forward and talk to her. "Xun'er, why do you look so listless?"

"Ah?"

Upon hearing this, Xun'er belatedly came to her senses, looked at Xiao Yuan in front of her, paused for a moment, and then shook her head in a slightly flustered manner. "No, I'm fine."

After saying that, she subconsciously walked around Xiao Yuan Xiao Yuan, intending to avoid his question, but as soon as she did, she stopped, turned her back to Xiao Yuan, lowered her eyelids, and asked with a sigh, "Brother Xiao Yuan, can we talk?"

"Certainly."

Xiao Yuan nodded and said loudly.

Seeing that Xiao Yuan had agreed, Xun'er seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. Then she led Xiao Yuan to a room in the pavilion that had been specially set up for discussions.

"Brother Xiao Yuan, I may have to leave."

After closing the door, Xun'er looked at Xiao Yuan sitting opposite her and said with a hint of helplessness in her voice.

"Go? Where to?"

Xiao Yuan couldn't directly say that he knew Xun'er was a member of one of the Ancient Eight Clans Ancient Clan, so he had to put on a serious face and ask earnestly.

"I suppose Brother Xiao Yuan has already guessed this. I have been away from the clan for many years and have postponed my return several times. This time, it seems that I really can't postpone it anymore. However, I don't know how to tell Brother Xiao Yan this news. I'm worried that he won't be able to accept it. But our clan is too large, and it's really not good to reveal it to you now. So, I don't know what to do."

After thinking it over, I realize that Brother Xiao Yan usually listens to Brother Xiao Yuan the most. Brother Xiao Yuan should be able to guess Xun'er's intentions, right?

Xun'er could tell that Xiao Yuan wasn't surprised by what she said, and she smiled wryly as she spoke.

"Don't worry, with me here, Xiao Yan will be fine. Besides, you should trust that kid; he's not the kind of person who gets discouraged by setbacks!"

Xiao Yuan nodded and gently comforted him.

"As expected, Brother Xiao Yuan always sees further ahead. Since that's the case, I feel much better after saying this. Brother Xiao Yan, I'm entrusting this to you."

Seeing this, Xun'er was completely relieved, stood up, and bowed slightly to Xiao Yuan to express her gratitude.

"You little rascal, you're still being so polite with me. But I still hope that when we meet again, I can hear you call me Third Brother. As for the power behind you, no matter how strong it is, I will not be afraid in the slightest. Believe me, there may be some obstacles in your relationship with Xiao Yan, but the final result will definitely be good. As for the people who stand in your way, I, as your older brother, will naturally take action."

Xiao Yuan waved his hand and said with a faint smile.

"Thank you very much, Third Brother!"

Upon hearing this, Xun'er's eyebrows curved into a smile, and a bright smile returned to her face.

"Hehe, alright, stop looking so gloomy, or Xiao Yan will be able to tell you're up to something before you even say anything."

Seeing that Xun'er finally smiled, Xiao Yuan also smiled and said.

"Okay!"

Xun'er nodded obediently upon hearing this, then winked playfully and waved her hand, saying, "Goodbye, Brother Xiao Yuan!"

After saying that, she skipped and hopped out the door.

"Tsk, it's a good thing it was this Xiao Clan who came to the Xiao family, otherwise if my name became her brother's, that would be a real mess."

After sensing Xun'er's departure, Xiao Yuan muttered to himself with a slightly strange expression.

"Oh! I forgot about Xiao Yu!"

A moment later, Xiao Yuan came to his senses, slapped his forehead, muttered something in slight annoyance, and then, amidst flashes of azure lightning, his figure disappeared directly from the room.

For the next month, Xiao Yuan's time was evenly divided among three things: helping Xiao Yu cultivate her Dou Technique, cultivating his own Dou Technique, and studying alchemy.

Cultivation knows no time, and soon a month had passed in a flash. Xiao Yuan had finally completed this stage of his mission, and the foundation of his Dou Qi had been solidified, making him ready to advance! So, after informing Great Elder Su Qian in advance, Xiao Yuan entered the Heavenly Flame Training Pagoda that very night after it closed.

Upon entering the Heavenly Flame Training Pagoda, Su Qian didn't waste any words. He immediately grabbed Xiao Yuan's shoulder, and then vanished from the spot in a flash.

To Xiao Yuan's surprise, Su Qian did not lead him down the usual route through the tower, but instead took him directly to the core area sealed off by the iron gate.

Although it was a huge, deep cave, there were also spiraling downward paths around it.

However, because the road was wide, but the two of them were walking on the outer part closest to the edge of the iron gate, they were quite far from the deep hole in the center. Even so, Xiao Yuan felt an extremely hot temperature.

Under this temperature, the Yin Yang Dual Flames within the body are also quite active.

"Arrive!"

As Dou Zong expert, Su Qian was naturally extremely fast. Before Xiao Yuan could fully digest what he was seeing, he felt his body stop moving.

At the same time, the originally dim environment was suddenly illuminated by the dazzling light. Xiao Yuan reflexively covered his eyes with the Heavenly Flames and scanned his surroundings.

This is an extremely spacious and empty space inside the tower, covering a vast area. Judging by its size, it is almost more spacious than any of the floors above. Moreover, since there are not many cultivation rooms here, it feels empty at first glance.

Xiao Yuan's gaze, which had been wandering around, finally settled on the center in front of him. There was a huge opening, several tens of meters wide. As his gaze slowly moved upward, Xiao Yuan's eyes narrowed. He saw another enormous opening at the top of the nearly 100-meter-high floor, pointing precisely into the deep hole below. Clearly, every floor of the Heavenly Flame Training Pagoda had such an opening, and these openings were interconnected.

Su Qian waved his hand, and two figures appeared out of nowhere, finally stopping about ten meters away from the cave entrance.

Xiao Yuan glanced at the two figures. These two were clearly elders of the Inner Academy, but they didn't seem to show themselves often, so even he had never seen them before.

"Please sit down!"

Su Qian pointed to the ground to the side, where there was a specially made jade platform that emitted a green luster and looked rather strange.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Yuan took a step and then sat down with a thud. Instantly, a faint, cool sensation seeped in, and sitting here, it seemed that even the scorching heat outside was blocked out.

Upon seeing Xiao Yuan sit on the jade platform, Su Qian turned around and whispered a few words to the elder. Then, the two elders slowly approached the entrance of the deep cave, their hands flashing as they formed hand seals, and finally they shouted in a low voice.

As the two shouted, a ripple suddenly appeared around the empty cave, and then a layer of somewhat illusory energy ripples slowly appeared in Xiao Yuan's sight.

"It looks like a special kind of energy blockade. It seems that the Inner Academy is very well defended against the Fallen Heart Flame." Looking at the seemingly illusory but actually extremely solid energy ripples, Xiao Yuan suddenly realized.

After the energy ripple shield appeared, the two elders waved their hands, and a pale white light shield the size of a human head slowly floated out of the deep hole. Finally, it permeated with energy ripples and hovered two meters above the ground, rising and falling.

Xiao Yuan already knew what was going to happen, and anticipation appeared in his eyes.

Seeing Xiao Yuan's expression, Su Qian smiled faintly and waved his sleeve. Instantly, the pale white light shield became transparent, and a Heavenly Flames that seemed invisible but could be seen with the naked eye appeared in front of Xiao Yuan.

"This is the Source Heart Flame." Su Qian stared at the invisible flame, then explained to Xiao Yuan, "This Source Heart Flame is extremely difficult to obtain. Every year, we expend a great deal of manpower to obtain only about three to four clusters, and even that depends on luck. This thing is not very useful for people above the Dou Wang level, but for those below the Dou Wang level, it can pave the way for them to advance to the Dou Wang. Of course, there is also a considerable risk involved. The pain of body tempering is extremely difficult to endure. If you are not careful, you will not only fail, but it will also cause considerable damage to yourself."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Yuan showed no sign of backing down; on the contrary, he seemed somewhat expectant.

"Hehe, I knew I couldn't scare you. So close your eyes and concentrate, don't get distracted, and try to use this opportunity to break through to the Dou Wang!"

Seeing Xiao Yuan's expectant expression, Su Qian nodded in satisfaction. Then, with a wave of his hand, the ball of light flew to the top of Xiao Yuan's head. Finally, under Xiao Yuan's watchful gaze, it shattered with a bang. The invisible flame inside fell straight down and entered Xiao Yuan's head, his body trembled slightly. Then, his face turned as red as burning coals, and even wisps of white mist seeped from his forehead.

"Great Elder, is it really possible for Xiao Yuan to succeed?"

The two elders looked at Xiao Yuan's young face with some unease and asked in a low voice.

"Hehe, although successfully tempering the body with the Heart Flame usually only makes it easier for him to advance to the Dou Wang in the future, it cannot directly elevate them to the Dou Wang level. However, with his talent, as long as he gets through this hurdle, advancing to the Dou Wang level will not be difficult!"

Upon hearing this, Su Qian smiled, stroked his beard, and said confidently.

Pain, pain that penetrates to the bone! I never felt this pain when refining the Earth Core Body Tempering Fluid before!

This is how Xiao Yuan felt at that moment. After that invisible flame entered his body, he felt as if he had been thrown into a furnace. Moreover, the fire started burning from within his body. The raging flames and the intense heat seemed determined to burn him to ashes.

Wisps of white mist seeped from the top of his head, and Xiao Yuan's meridians, bones, and even blood seemed to turn transparent at this moment. Invisible flames seeped from all parts of his body, then, like maggots clinging to bones, scorched anything that could burn within him. Even the Dou Qi hidden in his Qi Mansion could not escape this calamity. He could almost clearly feel the Dou Qi in his Qi Mansion churning like boiling water. In this searing pain that penetrated to the bone marrow, every second felt like an eternity. Even Xiao Yuan had the urge to faint on the spot, but under the burning of the invisible flames, his senses seemed to become even more acute, which intensified the pain. This body tempering was simply torture.

After years of training and experience, Xiao Yuan was quite confident in the resilience of his will. Moreover, because he had successfully refined the Yin Yang Dual Flames, he had some adaptability to the Heavenly Flames. Even so, he was still in so much pain from the Heart Flame Body Tempering. It was hard to imagine how terrible the burning pain must have been for those who had never adapted to it.

The agonizing time always seemed to pass incredibly slowly. However, as the excruciating pain persisted, Xiao Yuan gradually became numb. With less focus on the pain, he was finally able to concentrate on sensing the subtle changes occurring within his body as the Source Heart Flame forged him. His Qi Mansion Dou Qi increasingly condensed, and the already solidified Dou Qi was compressed even more tightly. This would be the fundamental foundation for his successful advancement to Dou Wang! His bones, meridians, and even muscles, like refined steel in a raging fire, were being tempered at a slow but clearly perceptible pace, becoming increasingly resilient and explosive. Source Heart Flame tempering was a time-consuming process. Although Xiao Yuan had endured the most difficult period, the next three days were spent undergoing the tempering of the Heart Flame. During this time, he could clearly feel significant strengthening within his body, including his meridians and bones.

On the third day, Xiao Yuan's Heart Flame Body Tempering was finally nearing its end. The flush on his face was slowly fading, and a refined aura rose from his body. Although this aura wasn't significantly different in intensity from before the tempering, Xiao Yuan knew clearly that he was now truly only one step away from becoming Dou Wang! Whoosh! As Xiao Yuan opened his eyes, a burst of light erupted, startling the two elders waiting nearby! Just now, they had even had the illusion that if Xiao Yuan were to attack them, even they wouldn't be a match for Xiao Yuan! This little guy was indeed as the Great Elder had said—no simpleton!

Before the two elders could speak, Xiao Yuan took out the pills that Xiao Yan had refined for him during the past month from his Storage Ring and swallowed them in one gulp! Whoosh! As the "Ice Spirit Pill," made from the fifth-order Ice Attribute Magic Core of the Snow Demon Sky Ape and various Medicinal Herbs that Yao Lao had researched as the most suitable for its combination, was put into Xiao Yuan's mouth, a storm of ice swept through Xiao Yuan's body, raging everywhere!

Having had several experiences with this, Xiao Yuan remained calm and immediately activated the Yin Yang Dual Flames, refining the icy storm into drops of pure, chilling energy that fell into the Black Water Qi Gathering Palaces.

At the same time, frost condensed on Xiao Yuan's body, and in no time, it turned Xiao Yuan into an ice sculpture!

The two elders were somewhat taken aback by what they saw.

Is this little guy really going to take this opportunity to break through to the Dou Wang level? At this moment, Xiao Yuan is fully refining the energy in the pill to advance his level!

Within the Black Water Qi Gathering Palaces, the black Dou Qi sometimes manifests as qi and sometimes as water, absorbing and assimilating all the energy injected into it, and transforming it into the most fundamental Water Attribute energy, thus strengthening the Qi Mansion.

As the Qi Mansion strengthened, black light emerged above the kidneys and then spread throughout the body, enveloping them.

A gentle, spring-like sensation flowed through Xiao Yuan's body, and at the same time, Xiao Yuan aura steadily increased.

Time passed by unnoticed, and the white-robed youth beneath the ice was gradually transforming into a powerful figure!