Heavenly Flame Refining Qi Tower
After resting in the early morning, Lin Ming woke up and left his room, going down to the lobby.
"Senior Brother." Lin Ming greeted Xu Shilin upon seeing Xu Shilin in the main hall.
"Junior brother, you're awake? Come on over and have breakfast," Xu Shilin said with a smile.
Lin Ming didn't stand on ceremony. He went to Xu Shilin's side, found a seat, ladled out a bowl of rice porridge, and began to eat.
"Senior brother, now that I've come to the Medicine Gang, please don't stand on ceremony if there's anything I need you to do," Lin Ming said during the meal.
"Junior brother, even if you hadn't told me, I couldn't possibly leave a 4th Grade Alchemist like you unused. With your arrival, I can leave some of the Tier 4 Medicinal Pill refining to you, which will make things easier for me," Xu Shilin said with a smile.
"Senior brother, I am capable of refining Tier 4 Medicinal Pill, but I will be spending most of my time cultivating in the future, so I'm afraid I won't have much time to Pill Refining." Lin Ming stated his thoughts in advance to avoid any unpleasantness later.
"Haha, junior brother, you can rest assured about that. As Alchemist, we Pill Refining because we want to; we've never heard of anyone forcing us to Pill Refining. Within the Medicine Gang, no one will force you to refine a certain number of pills."
After replying to Lin Ming with a smile, Xu Shilin continued, "Besides, the Inner Academy environment is so conducive to cultivation that it's why so many students flock Inner Academy. So even if you hadn't mentioned your thoughts earlier, I was going to tell you that in the Inner Academy, cultivation should be your primary focus."
"Okay, then Junior Brother has no other questions," Lin Ming nodded and said.
A while later, Xu Shilin put down his chopsticks, wiped his mouth, and waited for Lin Ming to finish his breakfast. Lin Ming also finished his breakfast a short while later.
Seeing that Lin Ming had also put down his chopsticks, Xu Shilin said with a smile, "Junior brother, come on, I'll take you to the core of the Inner Academy now. Once we get there, you'll understand the wonders of the Inner Academy."
After Xu Shilin finished speaking, Lin Ming's face showed excitement. Lin Ming had found the Fallen Heart Flame of the Inner Academy quite amazing when he read novels about it.
After transmigrating, whenever cultivation became tedious, Lin Ming couldn't help but think, "How wonderful it would be if I had the Fallen Heart Flame to accelerate my cultivation!"
Thinking this way, Lin Ming spent ten years in his family progressing from Dou Qi to Dou Master. Finally, a year ago, he arrived at the Jia Nan Academy.
After arriving at the Jia Nan Academy, although they were getting closer to the Fallen Heart Flame, the wait—which was almost like seeing it but not being able to taste it—was even more agonizing.
This torment lasted another year. Now, Lin Ming finally arrived in the Inner Academy, and at this time, Xu Shilin said he would take Lin Ming to see and experience the Fallen Heart Flame, which Lin Ming was of course very willing to do.
Without hesitation, Lin Ming agreed to Xu Shilin's suggestion. Then, with an excited expression, he and Xu Shilin walked out the door and headed outside.
Xu Shilin led Lin Ming northward. Along the way, many people greeted Xu Shilin warmly, but Xu Shilin only nodded to most of them, and only a very few received Xu Shilin same greeting.
The further north Lin Ming went, the more people he saw. After walking for about half an hour, Lin Ming saw a dark mass of people ahead.
Faced with this huge crowd, Xu Shilin showed no intention of stopping and continued walking forward with Lin Ming.
Just as Lin Ming and his group were about to walk into the crowd, their senior brother Xu Shilin led Lin Ming to a side passage. Then, a man came out and addressed Xu Shilin as "boss."
"Junior brother, let's go in from here. This is the special passage for our Medicine Gang. We can enter the innermost part of the plaza without queuing." Xu Shilin nodded to the person who came and then spoke to Lin Ming.
Walking through the special passage for the Medicine Gang that his senior brother Xu Shilin had mentioned, Lin Ming and his group bypassed the crowd and arrived at an open space within the crowd. Then, Lin Ming saw a strange scene.
Ahead was a depression, and within that depression, a single-story black tower with a spire protruded from the ground.
This black giant tower is not just one story; most of its structure is buried underground, and only the top floor and the spire are visible from the surface.
Besides seeing the black tower, Lin Ming also sensed something like a barrier surrounding and enveloping the black tower.
Lin Ming was quite familiar with this barrier-like structure that enveloped the black tower. Lin Ming had witnessed it twice in less than ten days.
One instance was when entering the Library Pavilion, which was also enveloped like the Black Library Pavilion now. Another instance was before participating in the Fire Energy Hunt Competition, when the Giant Gate appeared, and it was the same.
This barrier-like thing is Space Barrier. Although one can access space after reaching the Dou Zong, one must reach the Dou Venerate level to cast Space Barrier.
"Junior brother, this strange sight is quite shocking, isn't it! When I first saw this Heavenly Flame Refining Qi Tower, I was much more shocked than you are now." Lin Ming was lost in thought, and Xu Shilin thought that Lin Ming was shocked, so he spoke to Lin Ming.
"It is indeed quite shocking," Lin Ming replied, echoing his senior brother Xu Shilin's words.
"The strange appearance of this Heavenly Flame Refining Qi Tower is utterly insignificant compared to its actual effects. You'll discover its specific benefits once you enter the tower."
"However, there's something I need to remind you, senior brother. Once you enter the tower and feel a strange flame enter your body, don't panic. You just need to mobilize your Dou Qi and pass through the flame. This flame will purify your Dou Qi and slightly increase Dou Qi," Xu Shilin said to Lin Ming solemnly.
Having read the original novel, Lin Ming had some understanding of the Fallen Heart Flame. So after his senior brother Xu Shilin finished speaking, Lin Ming didn't press for the reason like a novice. Instead, he nodded to indicate that he understood.
As the crowd grew, Lin Ming noticed several teams using the same dedicated passageway Lin Ming had entered through. At that moment, his senior Xu Shilin, introduced one of these teams to Lin Ming.
"Junior brother, look at that group led by a man and a woman, wearing a wine jar emblem." Lin Ming looked in the direction his senior brother Xu Shilin was looking, and sure enough, he saw a group wearing wine jar emblems, led by a man and a woman, before walking into the special passage.
At this moment, Xu Shilin's words came out again.
"The people in this group all belong to the Wine Pavilion faction. And the Wine Pavilion was founded by the man and woman leading the group."
"The man's name is Shao Qing, currently ranked tenth on the Strong Ranking, nicknamed 'Wine Tyrant'; the woman's name is Wang Yan, ranked sixteenth on the Strong Ranking, nicknamed 'Snow Swallow Woman.' These two are actually a couple."
"The origin of Shao Qing's nickname can be traced back to the establishment of the Wine Pavilion. The Wine Pavilion has only been established for a short time, about a year now."
"On the day the Wine Pavilion was established, many powerful people came to cause trouble, but in the end, the Wine Pavilion was still established."
"Six months after the establishment of the Wine Pavilion, around the end of last year, the Wine Pavilion Master Shao Qing, who was also the man leading the way, challenged someone with a cultivation level of 5-Star Dou Spirit, who was at the peak of Eight Star Dou Spirit and ranked tenth on the Strong Ranking."
"Everyone knew this battle would happen. When the Wine Pavilion was established, those troublemakers were sent by the person Shao Qing challenged."
"Although everyone knew that these two would fight, no one expected that this battle would take place only six months later."
"Before their fight, most people were not optimistic about Shao Qing. However, after a fierce battle, Shao Qing defeated his opponent with his signature move, the Wine Tyrant Fist, in a way that surprised most people, bringing the challenge to a close."
"From then on, Shao Qing's ranking on the Strong Ranking rose to tenth place, and that's how he got his nickname 'Wine Tyrant'."
After listening to his senior brother Xu Shilin's introduction, Lin Ming felt a certain respect for this man who looked somewhat auspicious and was nicknamed the "Wine Tyrant."
The higher one's cultivation level, the more difficult it becomes to challenge those of higher levels. Furthermore, none of those who have reached the Inner Academy and are ranked in the top ten of the Strong Ranking are simple individuals.
Thus, this Shao Qing, despite being three stars lower in cultivation, was still able to defeat someone with a higher cultivation level than himself. In the Inner Academy, he could be considered an absolute genius. No wonder his senior brother Xu Shilin specifically mentioned this person to Lin Ming.
"Currently, the top ten on the Strong Ranking, apart from Shao Qing, including my senior brother, have all been in the Inner Academy for four or five years."
"Within the next year or two, we will all be facing graduation. Even if some of us are able to apply to stay in the Inner Academy, we won't be students anymore."
"So, junior brother, the reason I mentioned this person to you is because with your talent, you are definitely capable of participating in the Inner Academy Grand Competition three years from now. At that time, this person will become your formidable rival." After Xu Shilin finished speaking, he patted Lin Ming on the shoulder.
"Haha, senior brother, if there isn't a single person in the Inner Academy who can fight, wouldn't it be a lot less fun?" Lin Ming replied with a laugh.
"Haha, as expected of Elder Huo's student, this is the kind of mentality one should have." Xu Shilin laughed heartily after hearing Lin Ming's reply.
"Thump~"
Just as Lin Ming and his fellow disciples were laughing, an ancient bell rang out.
"Open the tower!"
After the bell tolled, an aged voice echoed from within the tower. At that moment, the tightly closed doors of the black tower slowly opened.