"Special Training" Begins

The next day, dawn had barely broken.

Huo Wu woke to a steady knock at the door. She rubbed her slightly swollen eyes, exhaustion from last night's mad cultivation washing over her like a tide. Her arms and legs especially ached so badly she could barely lift them.

"Who is it..." Her voice was hoarse with sleep.

"It's me." A voice outside instantly woke her up—Zhang Bufan!

Huo Wu jolted upright in bed as memories of last night flooded back in fragments: the madness at the Training Ground, collapsing to her knees from exhaustion, that sudden Princess Carry, the warmth of his chest, and that sentence—"I'll teach you tomorrow"...

Her cheeks began burning uncontrollably again.

"You... what are you doing here?!" She hastily straightened her sleep-mussed hair and clothes, forcing herself to sound calm.

"Of course I'm here to keep my promise." The voice outside carried a lazy hint of amusement. "Open the door, unless you want all of Blazing Fire Academy to know that their little princess is meeting a man in private first thing in the morning?"

"You!" Huo Wu choked with anger. That bastard always knew exactly how to infuriate her! Gritting her teeth, she finally shuffled over in her slippers and opened the door.

Outside, Zhang Bufan still looked refreshed, with that perpetually sleepy expression on his face. Leaning against the doorframe, he held an oil-paper parcel that gave off an enticing aroma of food.

"Breakfast for you." He handed her the parcel. "Eat up, then we start Special Training."

Huo Wu accepted it blankly. It was still warm. Looking at this man whose way of doing things was so unlike anyone else's, she felt a jumble of emotions. He had treated her like that yesterday—carrying her in his arms—yet today he showed up as if nothing had happened, bringing her breakfast and talking about Special Training? What was he up to?

"What kind of Special Training?" She eyed him suspiciously, with no intention of eating right away.

"Special Training to make you stronger." Zhang Bufan kept it brief as he turned toward the courtyard exit. "Keep up. Don't waste my time."

His attitude was so matter-of-fact, as if she would definitely obey him. Huo Wu looked at his back, squeezed the oil-paper parcel in her hand, and hesitated for a moment. In the end, curiosity—or rather, her desire to become stronger—won out. Carrying her breakfast, she hurried after him.

The two of them returned to that small forest from yesterday, though this time they chose a wider clearing that had not been damaged.

"Sit down and eat first." Zhang Bufan casually pointed at a flat stone.

Huo Wu looked at him, then at the breakfast in her hands. Finally, she sat down and began eating in small bites. There were meat buns with thin wrappers and generous fillings, along with fragrant millet porridge. It tasted unexpectedly good.

Zhang Bufan crossed his arms and strolled leisurely nearby until she had finished.

"Alright." He stopped and looked at her. "Now, put away your Martial Soul and Soul Rings."

Huo Wu froze. "No Martial Soul or Soul Rings? Then how am I supposed to cultivate?"

"Who told you getting stronger meant waving weapons around and throwing Soul Skills everywhere?" Zhang Bufan raised a brow. "What you were doing was venting, not cultivating. True cultivation lies in understanding and controlling the essence of power."

He walked up to her, his expression growing slightly more serious. "Tell me, when you release a Soul Skill, how does your Soul Power circulate? It comes from the Dantian, travels through the Meridians, and follows a fixed route before being released, right?"

Huo Wu nodded. That was common knowledge among Soul Masters.

"Then have you ever considered why it follows that route? Can it be optimized? How much Soul Power is wasted during its release? And can your Flame possess other properties besides heat and impact? For example... adhesion, penetration, or even... life?"

Zhang Bufan's rapid-fire questions struck Huo Wu's established understanding like heavy hammers. She opened her mouth, only to realize she could not answer a single one! That was simply how teachers taught it, how everyone cultivated—who had ever thought to ask why?

"Soul Power is a form of energy. Flame is one manifestation of that energy." Zhang Bufan launched into his blend of modern scientific thinking and mysticism—his "Heretical Theory." "Using energy is all about efficiency and control. Wasting it through brute force is the lowest-level method."

"Try to sense the Soul Power inside you. Don't rush to turn it into Flame and release it. 'Look' at it as if you were looking at a current of water. Feel its 'flow rate' and 'density.' Try using your mind to guide it, allowing it to flow more smoothly through your Meridians and gather more precisely wherever you want it to go."

What he said sounded rather mystical. Huo Wu only understood half of it, but she still obediently closed her eyes and tried to sense it.

At first, she had no clue where to begin. Her Soul Power was still that familiar yet unfamiliar stream of energy, beyond her control.

But she did not give up. Recalling the emptiness she had felt when her strength ran out last night, as well as her desperate yearning for power, she calmed herself and focused with all her might.

Gradually, within the darkness of her perception, she seemed to truly "see" it! Her Soul Power was no longer intangible. It had become countless tiny red specks of light, flowing slowly through her Meridians. Some areas were congested, while others were scattered.

Just as Zhang Bufan had said, she tried to use her "mind" to sort them out.

It was an extraordinarily delicate process, one that demanded immense concentration. Fine beads of sweat soon formed on her forehead.

Zhang Bufan watched quietly from the side without interrupting. He knew it would take time.

Time passed bit by bit.

Suddenly, Huo Wu opened her eyes and spread out her palm. With a flicker of intent, an intensely condensed, deep crimson flame sprang to life at her fingertip with a soft pop!

The flame was small, not even as imposing as her First Soul Skill, yet Huo Wu could clearly feel that the energy contained within it far surpassed anything from before! Moreover, it responded to her control as naturally as an extension of her arm, while its Soul Power consumption had actually dropped by nearly thirty percent!

"This... this is..." She stared at the flame on her fingertip in disbelief, then abruptly looked up at Zhang Bufan. Her beautiful eyes were filled with unprecedented shock and... admiration!

Simply guiding it with her mind and optimizing the circulation of Soul Power could produce such a remarkable result?! This completely overturned over a decade of her understanding of cultivation!

Seeing the light in her eyes, Zhang Bufan knew his "bluffing"... no, his "guidance" had worked. He nodded in satisfaction. "Looks like you're not completely hopeless. This is only the most basic control of Soul Power. Next, let's talk about 'attributes'..."

He began explaining theories about the nature of Flame that sounded like pure fantasy: "Conditions for Material Combustion," "Oxidation Reaction," "Energy Level," and so on. Huo Wu was utterly confused, yet she also felt as though she had touched the door to an entirely new world.

Though she could not understand many of the terms, Zhang Bufan always managed to explain their core ideas in plain language and connect them to the application of Soul Skills. For instance, how to concentrate a flame's temperature more effectively, how to give Flame stronger adhesion, and even how to use Soul Power to simulate different combustion environments...

Like a parched sponge, Huo Wu absorbed this unheard-of knowledge with frantic hunger. The way she looked at Zhang Bufan had completely changed. From irritation and wariness at first, to later complicated feelings and attraction, and now, to genuine admiration from the depths of her heart!

This man might be arrogant, might be a bastard, but his strength and insight were undeniably real! He truly was qualified to guide her!

A bond called trust quietly formed between them at that moment.