Success

"Success! 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 Chi 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 Chi and asked.

"Right."

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

Mang Tian Chi said, "That's 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 hands to seize the Fallen Heart Flame's source and weaken it once more."

"Then there'll 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 won't 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. What a method.

"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 wouldn't be bad. It's been a long time since I came back. The academy is still the most comfortable and carefree place." Mang Tian Chi stretched lazily.

Su Qian also sighed in relief. It was good that the Headmaster was willing to stay longer. At the very least, it would lighten his burden.

"Headmaster, how about making Xiao Li an Elder of Jia Nan Academy? His cultivation has already reached Five Star Dou King. He should be an Elder. Making him a student would be too much of a bully move."

Mang Tian Chi said meaningfully, "That makes sense. Let him be an Elder. His road is still long. Eighteen years old by Bone Age and already a Five Star Dou King—unless someone possesses an Eighth Grade Bloodline or above, even those in the clan would have a hard time comparing to him."

When Qian Bai Er Lao heard the Headmaster's assessment, they were shocked. "Could he be from one of those God Clans?"

Su Qian asked in confusion, "What God Clan?"

Mang Tian Chi said, "Naturally, a family that has produced a Dou God. I'll explain it to you later. I also came from such a family, but I hate that identity!"

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

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

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

Mang Tian Chi was born in the Lei Clan and was one of its Descendant People. He had excellent cultivation talent and caught the attention of the main branch. His Dou God Bloodline was tested to be Grade 5, which was considered fairly good.

Mang Tian Chi cultivated diligently and reached the Dou Zong realm at a young age. Yet he was mocked by people from the main branch, who claimed that all of his achievements came from Return to Ancestry in his bloodline. Otherwise, he would be Lower People for life!

Naturally, Mang Tian Chi had a temper. He beat that fellow up, then left the Lei Clan, abandoning its resources and venturing through Central Continent alone.

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

And what happened? Another blind fool said that with Mang Tian Chi's mere Fifth Grade Bloodline, he could never become a Dou Sheng in this lifetime! He could not even become a Half Saint!

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

After that, Mang Tian Chi rarely stayed in the Lei Realm. Unless there was an order from within the clan, he would not concern himself with its affairs. He was now advancing toward the legendary Dou Sheng realm.

During that time, Mang Tian Chi 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 Chi hoped that his students could become Dou Shengs, that they could become saints even without Dou God Bloodlines, and slap those old bloodline supremacists across the face!

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

Mang Tian Chi 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, without some special opportunity, one needed 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 Dou Venerate Peak, with the Dou Qi in one's body full and unable to increase further, one had to refine and compress all of it, creating empty space within the body capable of accommodating newly generated Dou Qi. Once the Dou Qi became full again, the process would continue.

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

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

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

Mang Tian Chi planned to stay at Jia Nan Academy for a year or two, then travel once more and see whether he could find a place suitable for himself. If he could find a Void Thunder Pool and refine one or two strands of Black Demon Thunder, then his path to becoming a 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 Chi had sensed that Xiao Li had successfully subdued the Fallen Heart Flame, yet he had not awakened.

"Hmm, he's 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 isn't converting all that Medicinal Power into cultivation."

"Instead, he is thoroughly fusing the Medicinal Power into his body, further improving his talent. Hehe, this kid hasn't lost himself because of rapid cultivation advancement."

"With the Medicinal Power accumulated in his body, he could have reached the Dou Emperor realm. Hehe, what an interesting kid. Perhaps Central Continent will one day gain a rather formidable Dou Zun Expert."

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

Xiao Li had consumed too many medicinal pills. The Medicinal Power had accumulated in his body, and given enough 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 out in the long run.

At most, this Medicinal Power could make him a Dou Emperor. For him, becoming a Dou Emperor was only a matter of two or three years anyway. There was no rush. With the Fallen Heart Flame, he could just keep swallowing pills.

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

Besides, Old Wang had done so much to lay his foundation. He could not possibly do something that would ruin everything.

Huff—

Xiao Li exhaled a mouthful of turbid air, and the sound immediately woke the surrounding Elders.

The Elders had waited here for a month to guard Xiao Li. Not a single one had left. After all, being able to witness a Heavenly Flame being completely subdued was worth it.

"Hmm, 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 Mortal Realm Late Stage. Not bad, not bad."

Mang Tian Chi patted Xiao Li's shoulder in satisfaction, then seemed to remember something.

"Kid, you don't have a body-tempering Battle Skill yet, do you? It'd be such a waste not to temper that excellent body of yours." Mang Tian Chi took out a crimson scroll from his Storage Ring.

"Earth Grade Intermediate Dou Technique, Heavenly Burning Flame Demon Body. It is a fire-attribute body-tempering Battle Skill with considerable 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 Chi 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 Central Continent in the future, stir up more trouble and bring this old man more glory, haha." Mang Tian Chi said with a beaming smile.