Success

"It succeeded! Hehe, not bad, not bad. Given time, the Fallen Heart Flame Child Flame within him will grow into a true Fallen Heart Flame." Mang Tian Ruler stroked his beard and laughed.

"Then, Headmaster, the Fallen Heart Flame in the Heavenly Burning Refining Tower is still there, right?" Su Qian walked over to Mang Tian Ruler and asked.

"That's right."

"What if the Fallen Heart Flame goes berserk again? There's a vast Magma World beneath us, and the Fallen Heart Flame has more than enough energy to recover." Su Qian felt that the Hidden Danger had yet to be removed.

Mang Tian Ruler said, "That is no longer a problem. Xiao Li has already subdued the Fallen Heart Flame Child Flame. Once his cultivation reaches a certain level, he can use the Fallen Heart Flame in his possession to seize the original source of that Fallen Heart Flame and weaken it once again.

"That way, there will be no need to worry about the Fallen Heart Flame going berserk. Not only can this strengthen the source of the Fallen Heart Flame in Xiao Li's hands, it also will not affect the operation of the Heavenly Burning Refining Tower. A win-win!"

Brilliant! Truly brilliant! As expected of a Dou Zun Expert, as expected of the Headmaster! This method was simply incredible.

"Headmaster, how long do you plan to stay this time?" Su Qian asked.

"I originally planned to stay for a few days, but now I think staying for a year or two would be nice. It has been a long time since I came back. The academy is still the most comfortable and carefree place." Mang Tian Ruler stretched lazily.

Su Qian also breathed a sigh of relief. It was good that the Headmaster was willing to stay longer. At the very least, it would ease some of his burden.

"Headmaster, how about making Xiao Li an Elder of Jia Nan Academy? His cultivation has already reached Five Star Dou King. It would be better for him to be an Elder; being a student would be too much of a bully." Su Qian suggested.

Mang Tian Ruler said meaningfully, "That makes sense. Let him be an Elder. His road is still long. At eighteen years old, he is already a Five Star Dou King. Even within the clan, unless one possesses an Eighth Grade Bloodline or above, there truly would be no comparison with him."

Qian Bai Er Lao were also startled by the Headmaster's evaluation. "Could he be from one of those God Clans?"

Su Qian was confused. "What God Clan?"

Mang Tian Ruler said, "Naturally, a family that has produced a Dou God. I will explain it to you later. I, too, came from such a family, but I hate that identity!

"All my efforts were ultimately attributed to my bloodline! Damn it! With a single sentence—your bloodline made you what you are—they denied hundreds of years of this Old Man's efforts. Damn it!"

By the end, Mang Tian Ruler was extremely angry. This was also related to his own experiences.

(The following plot is the author's own secondary setting. Just read it for fun.)

Mang Tian Ruler had been born into the Lei Clan as one of its Descendant People. He had great talent for cultivation and was noticed by the main branch. His Dou God Bloodline was tested to be Fifth Grade, which was fairly decent.

Mang Tian Ruler cultivated diligently and reached the Dou Zong realm at a young age. Yet he was mocked by members of the main branch, who said that all of Mang Tian Ruler's achievements relied on his bloodline's Return to Ancestry. Otherwise, he would be Lower People for life!

Naturally, Mang Tian Ruler had a temper. After beating that fellow up, he left the Lei Clan, abandoned its resources, and ventured alone through the Central Continent.

Several decades later, when members of the Lei Clan found Mang Tian Ruler again, he had already broken through to the Dou Zun realm and become immensely powerful. Once the Lei Clan Elder Council learned of it, they appointed Mang Tian Ruler as an Elder.

And what happened? Someone else who did not know better said that with his mere Fifth Grade Bloodline, Mang Tian Ruler could never become a Dou Sheng in his life! He could not even become a Half Saint!

Mang Tian Ruler had always held his breath over this. Did all his achievements truly rely on his Dou God Bloodline? Mang Tian Ruler believed that even without a Dou God Bloodline, he could still become an expert!

Afterward, Mang Tian Ruler rarely remained in the Lei Realm. Unless the clan issued an order, he would not involve himself in its affairs. Mang Tian Ruler was now advancing toward the legendary Dou Sheng realm.

During that time, Mang Tian Ruler discovered the Fallen Heart Flame in the Black Horn Region and decided to establish an academy to nurture the geniuses of the Dou Qi Continent.

Mang Tian Ruler hoped that his students could become Dou Shengs. Even without a Dou God Bloodline, they could still become Saints and slap those old fools obsessed with bloodlines across the face!

Unfortunately, although Jia Nan Academy had produced quite a few talented individuals over the years, it had never produced a peerless genius. There was not even anyone capable of catching up to Mang Tian Ruler's pace.

Mang Tian Ruler was now advancing toward the Dou Sheng realm, but after reaching Nine Star Dou Zun, he understood just how vast the gap between Dou Zun and Dou Sheng truly was!

For a Dou Zun to become a Dou Sheng, unless one encountered a special opportunity, one had to walk the path of Nine Transformations to Sainthood. Nine Transformations to Sainthood meant nine rounds of Dou Qi refinement and compression.

When one reached the Dou Venerate Peak, with the Dou Qi within one's body full and unable to increase any further, one needed to refine and compress all of it, creating empty space within the body to contain newly generated Dou Qi. Once the Dou Qi became full again, it would be refined once more.

Mang Tian Ruler had already compressed his Dou Qi seven times. In terms of realm, he was now a Seven Revolutions Dou Zun!

For the remaining two transformations, Mang Tian Ruler believed he could complete them within a dozen years. Then he could take another step forward and become a Half Saint. But that single step had trapped countless people.

Even within the God Clans, many people were stuck at this realm.

Mang Tian Ruler planned to stay at Jia Nan Academy for a year or two before traveling again to search for a suitable place. If he could find a Void Thunder Pool and refine one or two bolts of Black Demon Thunder, his path to Dou Sheng would be secure!

A month had passed since Xiao Li began absorbing the Heavenly Flame. In truth, as early as the seventh day, Mang Tian Ruler had sensed that Xiao Li had successfully subdued the Fallen Heart Flame, but he had yet to awaken.

"Hm, is he using the Fallen Heart Flame's properties of tempering Dou Qi and refining bones to completely digest the accumulated Medicinal Power in his body? And he has not converted all that Medicinal Power into cultivation.

"Instead, he is completely integrating the Medicinal Power into his body to further improve his own talent. Hehe, this kid has not lost himself in rapidly increasing his cultivation.

"With the Medicinal Power accumulated in his body, it would be enough to raise him to the Dou Emperor realm. Hehe, what an interesting kid. Perhaps in the future, the Central Continent will see a rather formidable Dou Zun Expert."

With Mang Tian Ruler's cultivation, he naturally saw what Xiao Li was doing. He felt that Xiao Li's choice was very correct.

Xiao Li had consumed too many medicinal pills. The Medicinal Power had accumulated within his body, and over time, it would become a burden. He could only digest it. However, Xiao Li felt that directly raising his cultivation would indeed be beneficial in the short term, but it might not work in the long run.

At most, this Medicinal Power could make him a Dou Emperor. For him personally, reaching the Dou Emperor realm would only take two or three years, so there was no rush. With the Fallen Heart Flame, he could just keep swallowing pills.

Xiao Li planned to integrate this Medicinal Power into his body and use it to strengthen his talent. He could still tell the difference between the talent needed for Dou Zong and the talent needed for Dou Zun.

Besides, Old Wang had done so much to establish his foundation. He could not possibly do something that would destroy his own future.

Huff—

Xiao Li exhaled a breath of turbid air, and the sound immediately awakened the Elders around him.

The Elders had waited here for a month to act as Xiao Li's Guardians. Not a single one had left. After all, witnessing a Heavenly Flame being completely subdued was not a loss.

"Hm, Eight Star Dou King. Not bad, not bad. Your foundation is solid. The Heavenly Flame's body tempering has transformed your body, Dou Qi, and soul. Your soul has reached the Mortal Realm Late Stage. Not bad, not bad."

Mang Tian Ruler patted Xiao Li's shoulder with great satisfaction, then seemed to think of something.

"Kid, you do not have a body-tempering Battle Skill yet, do you? It would be a pity not to temper such an excellent body of yours." Mang Tian Ruler took a crimson scroll from his Storage Ring.

"Earth Grade Intermediate Dou Technique, Heavenly Burning Flame Demon Body. It is a fire-attributed body-tempering Battle Skill with decent power. Especially since you already possess a Heavenly Flame—using it to cultivate this body-tempering Battle Skill will make it even more powerful."

Mang Tian Ruler hooked an arm around Xiao Li's shoulders and stuffed the crimson scroll into his hands.

"Thank you, Headmaster."

"Ah, why are you being so polite with your Headmaster? When you go to the Central Continent in the future, make more trouble and bring this Old Man more glory, haha." Mang Tian Ruler said with a beaming smile.