Three Compete Again
After three days of practice, one person finally succeeded in advancing to the 4th Grade Alchemist.
Afterwards, Lin Ming and Wang Sheng told the three of them that they were leaving and that the Medicine Gang would be managed by the three of them from now on.
After explaining everything, Lin Ming dragged his tired body back to his room and soon fell asleep.
The following day, the Inner Academy, which had been quiet for a while, became lively again. This was because the next few days were the day to distribute rewards to the top ten winners of the previous days' Strong Ranking Tournament. The reward was entry into the lowest level of the Heavenly Flame Refining Qi Tower to undergo body tempering with the Origin Heart Flame.
Those who have been in the Inner Academy for a while know that as long as one survives the tempering of the Origin Heart Flame, one has obtained a ticket to become a Dou Wang (Battle King). In the future, there will be almost no bottlenecks when advancing to Dou Wang.
Dou King Expert can Dou Qi Wings, breaking free from the constraints of the ground and soaring through the skies. This is one of the reasons why Dou Wang are considered powerful. It is also the main reason why everyone in the Inner Academy wants to achieve a top-ten ranking in the Strong Ranking Tournament.
Amidst the waiting crowd, Lin Ming slowly emerged from the Medicine Gang.
For the members of the Medicine Gang, today is the day their Gang Leader undergoes the Heart Flame Body Tempering, paving the way for his advancement to the Dou Wang King realm. All of them should be here.
Lin Ming glanced around the room, looking at the gang members whose expressions were filled with fervor and excitement, and smiled slightly before saying, "Let's go!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Lin Ming strode forward, taking the lead and heading out of the Medicine Gang's territory. Behind Lin Ming, a large number of Medicine Gang members followed in turn, marching in a grand procession towards the Heavenly Flame Refining Qi Tower.
As they traveled along the road, the sheer scale of their simultaneous movement caused a great stir. However, no one voiced any dissatisfaction with their high-profile actions.
The Medicine Gang alone is enough to shut these people up. Now, with the addition of the Medicine Gang's Gang Leader being the second-ranked overlord on the Strong Ranking, let alone simply passing by, even if the Medicine Gang wanted to clear the area right now, probably no one would dare to utter a single word of dissent.
As they approached the Heavenly Flame Refining Qi Tower, teams from other gangs arrived one after another. However, in terms of imposing presence, all of them paled in comparison to the Medicine Gang.
After arriving outside the Heavenly Flame Refining Qi Tower, Lin Ming led his team to the Medicine Gang's exclusive base.
Almost simultaneously with the Medicine Gang, the Wine Pavilion arrived. At this time, Shao Qing and his partner led the members of the Wine Pavilion and stopped not far from the Medicine Gang.
Unlike Lin Ming and Shao Qing, who arrived with their teams, Jin Feng walked alone to the square. Wherever he went, everyone made way for him.
By this time, more than half of the top ten on the Strong Ranking had arrived. After Lin Ming and the others waited for a while, Zi Yan's petite figure darted through the crowd and soon came to Lin Ming's side.
"Hey! Lin Ming, I'm here!"
After arriving beside Lin Ming, Zi Yan raised her little hand high and patted Lin Ming on the shoulder, saying with a grin.
"Yes! I saw you coming!" Lin Ming said with a helpless smile in response to Zi Yan's playful manner.
"Hehe! I just wanted to say hello to you!" Zi Yan said playfully.
The members of the Medicine Gang were already used to Zi Yan, the Brute Force King, showing her childlike temperament in front of their Gang Leader, Lin Ming.
This is one of the reasons why they trust Lin Ming so much as their Gang Leader. If they can tame even this Brute Force King, what else could possibly be difficult for their Gang Leader?
The members of the Medicine Gang were used to it, but the others were utterly astonished to see this man, who had defeated a Strong Ranking expert with a single punch and was known as the Brute Force King, now acting and acting like a child.
However, after witnessing the terrifying power of this Brute Force King, everyone who saw him silently lowered their heads, afraid that the Brute Force King would notice their expression and then beat them up.
"Lin Ming, the Heart Flame Body Tempering we're about to undergo will remove any bottlenecks in advancing to the Dou Wang if successful. However, there's a high failure rate during the tempering process. Of the ten people who have undergone the Heart Flame Body Tempering before, do you know how many of them made it to the end?" Shao Qing said to Lin Ming from the side.
However, after only saying half of what he meant, piquing Lin Ming's interest and then leaving the rest unsaid, with an expression that seemed to say, "Hurry up and beg me," Lin Ming wanted to beat him up again.
Shao Qing's expression was either genuinely irritating or something, which greatly displeased Jin Feng, leading Jin Feng to retort, "The success rate of the Heart Flame Body Tempering is about 50/50. You can find out by asking around. What are you trying to prove?"
Seeing that Jin Feng had already spoken, Shao Qing glanced at Jin Feng and then said, "Yes! The success rate of the Heart Flame Body Tempering is only 50%. So, half of us ten won't be able to endure it."
After Shao Qing finished speaking, Lin Ming and Jin Feng both looked at Shao Qing. Based on their rough understanding of Shao Qing, they knew he was not a compassionate person. Yet he had said such a thing.
Seeing that both of them were looking at him, Shao Qing smiled and said, "Of course, I don't believe you two will fail. So I propose that we have a competition to see who can successfully refine the Body Tempering Heart Flame first."
"Okay! I'll compete." Jin Feng confirmed without saying another word.
"Since you two have both decided, it wouldn't be right for me, Lin Ming, to refuse. So let's have a competition!" Lin Ming said as he saw Jin Feng and Shao Qing looking at him, waiting for their reply.
"Haha! Okay! Then let's wait and see the results." Seeing that the two of them agreed with his opinion, Shao Qing said with a smile.
Shortly after the three finished their discussion, a whooshing sound suddenly came from the sky. A moment later, several elders appeared in front of the Heavenly Flame Refining Qi Tower, and the one leading them was none other than the Great Elder Su Qian.
After landing, Great Elder Su Qian glanced around and, seeing that all the top ten were present, nodded slowly. Then, with a wave of his hand, the heavy gate of the Heavenly Flame Refining Qi Tower slowly opened.
"The top ten on the Strong Ranking, come with me into the tower. The rest of you, stay outside and are not allowed to enter today. Anyone who disobeys will be banned from entering the Heavenly Flame Refining Qi Tower for six months." Great Elder Su Qian's voice came out after the tower gate opened.
After Great Elder Su Qian finished speaking, ten figures flashed out and arrived in front of Great Elder Su Qian amidst the envious gazes of the crowd.
Upon seeing the ten people before him, who were none other than the top ten from the Strong Ranking Tournament, Great Elder Su Qian turned and stepped into the gate of the Heavenly Flame Refining Qi Tower, saying, "Follow me into the tower."
Watching Great Elder Su Qian's figure disappear behind the gate of the Heavenly Flame Refining Qi Tower, Lin Ming and the other top ten also stepped forward, following Great Elder Su Qian's footsteps, and one by one they disappeared behind the gate of the Heavenly Flame Refining Qi Tower.