Flame Tide, Blazing Sun Beasts, Tempering

"The Flame Tide is an intermittent disaster within Blazing Sun Valley. It erupts roughly once every two or three days."

"But as long as you don't leave the Outer Ring, it won't be much of a problem." Ling Yuan explained to Qin Ming.

Qin Ming remained silent as he watched the towering flames erupt from the center of the valley. He now understood why Spirit Hall had spent centuries setting up formations around this place and sealing it off.

If it were left unchecked, Blazing Sun Valley would probably expand all the way to the walls of Spirit City before long.

"Come on. I'll show you around the Outer Ring. Some places in there are still very dangerous."

"Alright."

Soul Power surged behind Ling Yuan. With a flash of firelight, she completed the Martial Soul Possession of her wings in an instant.

Before Qin Ming could react, she grabbed him and lifted him up.

Fortunately, Ling Yuan flew much more slowly this time, so Qin Ming did not experience that stomach-churning sensation again.

Otherwise, he felt he might have thrown up everything he had eaten that morning in midair.

Ling Yuan carried Qin Ming through the air, and the scenery below shrank into tiny dots, completely visible at a glance.

As she flew, Ling Yuan explained which places in the Outer Ring were dangerous and what he needed to watch out for.

Qin Ming listened intently. After all, this was where he would be cultivating for a long time to come.

But the sharp-eyed Qin Ming noticed something strange. In Blazing Sun Valley, where even grass barely grew, there was actually a kind of Soul Beast that resembled a hairless lion, and there were quite a few of them.

Several beastly roars sounded from the ground. A few long-tailed Soul Beasts, six or seven meters in length and covered in sleek crimson bodies, raised their heads and continuously roared at Qin Ming and Ling Yuan in the sky.

These Soul Beasts had smooth, hairless bodies and uniformly crimson skin. Their most eye-catching feature was their tails, which accounted for fully half their body length.

"These are Blazing Sun Beasts, a special kind of Soul Beast found only in Blazing Sun Valley. They usually survive by absorbing the dense Fire Attribute Soul Power within the valley."

"They're highly hostile toward humans, but the Blazing Sun Beasts in the Outer Ring are only at the hundred-year or millennium level. There aren't any at the ten-thousand-year level."

"So you don't need to worry too much about them," Ling Yuan explained to Qin Ming.

"Then are there Hundred-Thousand-Year Blazing Sun Beasts in Blazing Sun Valley?" Qin Ming suddenly asked Ling Yuan.

"Yes," Ling Yuan answered with certainty.

"There is a Hundred-Thousand-Year Blazing Sun Beast Emperor in the Core Area. When I cultivated there before, I once saw it standing at the very center of a Flame Tide." A trace of reminiscence flashed through Ling Yuan's eyes.

There really was one. Qin Ming was somewhat surprised. The Soul Ring and Spirit Bone of a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast were known as the two things Spirit Masters desired most.

And a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring was also known as the stepping stone to a Level Ninety-Eight Peak Douluo.

If not for their incomparable value and rarity, Qian Xunji would never have led people to besiege Tang Hao and Ah Yin.

Yet Spirit Hall had left a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast right on its doorstep instead of killing it for its Soul Ring. That made no sense at all.

"There must have been quite a few Quasi-Title Douluo in Spirit Hall's history who needed Fire Attribute Soul Rings. Didn't anyone kill it and use it as a Soul Ring?"

Qin Ming voiced his question.

Ling Yuan was speechless for a moment. With a hint of helplessness in her tone, she explained, "Of course Spirit Hall has launched several Soul Hunting Operations to hunt that Blazing Sun Beast Emperor, but every one of them ended in crushing defeat."

"Blazing Sun Beasts naturally possess the ability to absorb the Fire Attribute scattered through the air and use it for themselves."

"And with the surging Fire Vein energy in the Core Area of Blazing Sun Valley, that Blazing Sun Beast Emperor's defense and recovery abilities reached an utterly terrifying level."

"In the Soul Hunting Operation that caused the greatest losses in Spirit Hall's records, the Blazing Sun Beast Emperor actively triggered a Flame Tide. Caught unprepared, Spirit Hall lost two Title Douluo."

"After that, Spirit Hall never launched another Soul Hunting Operation against the Blazing Sun Beast Emperor."

Ling Yuan secretly found it amusing. This kid might possess extraordinary talent and comprehension, but he still lacked experience. How could a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast be so easy to kill?

"Alright, I've told you more or less everything you need to know." The next moment, Ling Yuan brought Qin Ming straight down to the ground.

Before Qin Ming had even steadied himself, Ling Yuan continued, "The rest is up to you. I'm heading back first."

Then Ling Yuan waved goodbye to Qin Ming, spread her wings, and turned into a streak of red light as she flew back the way she had come.

Leaving Qin Ming alone, a complete mess in the wind.

Ling Yuan was not worried that Qin Ming would encounter any danger here. She had already pointed out every dangerous place in the Outer Ring. The only things that could threaten Qin Ming were the Flame Tide and the Blazing Sun Beasts.

And such trials were an unavoidable part of a genius transforming into a powerhouse. Great trees could not grow in a greenhouse.

At that moment, before Qin Ming could react, a roar that made the air violently tremble came from his right.

A Blazing Sun Beast over seven meters long stood atop a reef not far from Qin Ming's right side, staring at him with predatory intent. Its beastly eyes were filled with brutality.

Judging from the fluctuations of Soul Power around it, it was probably a Millennium Soul Beast.

"Starting with a fight right away?" Qin Ming smirked at the Blazing Sun Beast in the distance. He had never feared battle.

Right now, he was instead desperately craving a fight. An ordinary Soul Grandmaster entering Blazing Sun Valley would likely have to constantly consume Soul Power just to resist the heat.

But for Qin Ming, the high temperatures and abundant Fire Attribute Soul Power made the Soul Power within his body increasingly active.

So he urgently needed a battle to vent it.

The brutality in the Blazing Sun Beast's eyes also told Qin Ming that it could not wait to tear the human before it apart.

Man and beast faced one another, and battle was about to erupt.

The Blazing Sun Beast kicked off with its hind legs and charged toward Qin Ming.

Qin Ming completed his Martial Soul Possession in an instant. Two Soul Rings, one yellow and one purple, slowly rose beneath his feet. Behind him, Crimson Gold Gray Wolf Fire formed the phantom of a gray wolf howling at the sky, as though cheering for the dense Fire Attribute Soul Power within Blazing Sun Valley.

At the sight of that imposing display, even the Blazing Sun Beast charging straight at Qin Ming faltered.

Qin Ming shifted his steps and took the initiative, using Thousand Spin Steps. His yellow and purple Soul Rings lit up one after another as Crimson Blood Body and Flame Armor activated, raising his aura several levels.

The Millennium Blazing Sun Beast opposite him shuddered at the sight of Qin Ming, whose entire body seemed ablaze. The brutality in its eyes vanished completely, leaving behind only terror.

It knew it had kicked an iron plate and immediately turned to flee.

"Trying to run?" Qin Ming's gaze turned cold. He pushed off again and instantly caught up to the Blazing Sun Beast fleeing in panic.

He raised his hand into a claw. The Wolf Claws covered in Crimson Gold Flame reached out lightly and accurately gripped the Blazing Sun Beast's back.

The Blazing Sun Beast struggled desperately, erupting with ferocious flames. But when its flames landed on Qin Ming's Flame Armor, they not only failed to harm him in the slightest, but were instead continuously scorched by the Gray Wolf Fire on the armor.

Moments later, the Blazing Sun Beast's flames grew weaker and weaker. It was as though all the strength in its body had been drained away. It could not even move and could only let out terrified whimpers, showing none of the majesty of a Millennium Soul Beast.

Qin Ming tightened his fingertips slightly, and Gray Wolf Fire invaded the Blazing Sun Beast's body, causing it to lose all ability to resist.

After struggling for only a moment, the Blazing Sun Beast stopped moving. Then a pale purple Soul Ring slowly rose from the corpse of the Millennium Blazing Sun Beast.

Qin Ming had been able to kill a top-tier Millennium Soul Beast like the Flame Armored Bear when he had only one Soul Ring. Now that he was already a Soul Grandmaster, defeating an ordinary Millennium Blazing Sun Beast was naturally effortless.

Qin Ming then cleared out all the Blazing Sun Beasts in the surrounding area and found a well-hidden cave. Rocky cliffs dozens of meters high surrounded the cave, making it seem as though it lay inside a small volcano.

Qin Ming immediately decided to make this cave his base of operations in Blazing Sun Valley.

Inside the cave, Qin Ming sat down cross-legged and operated the Angel Meditation Method at full force. The surrounding Soul Power gathered toward him like a whale drawing in water.

Joy appeared on Qin Ming's face. His cultivation speed here was nearly twice as fast as outside. He estimated that he would only need a little over a month to break through one level.

It was truly astonishingly fast.

Over the following days, Qin Ming entered a state of frenzied cultivation. Whenever he felt restless, he went outside to fight Blazing Sun Beasts. Whenever a Flame Tide came, he hid inside the cave.

And so, Qin Ming began his tempering in Blazing Sun Valley.