Huo Zhi's Perfect Opportunity

The arrival of the Ancient Clan undoubtedly added a lot of color to the Jia Nan Academy, which had settled down after Xiao Yan focused on his cultivation.

They weren't very interested in the teachings at the Jia Nan Academy, but they would occasionally show up to listen in.

Since they couldn't use connections like Xiao Yan to get into the Inner Academy and go down to the seventh floor whenever they wanted, they chose to challenge the top ten on the Inner Academy's Strong Ranking List directly in order to get the training rooms on the sixth floor.

The result speaks for itself. Among the members of the Ancient Clan, even the weakest, Gu Zhen, had already reached the level of Eight-Star Dou Ling. Because of the excellent Cultivation Methods and Combat Skills he had practiced, it was difficult to find anyone in the entire Black Corner Region, let alone the Inner Academy, who could defeat him without being Dou Wang.

Of course, this excludes Xiao Yan and others.

Xiao Yan naturally didn't need to say much. The people around him, apart from Han Yue who was slightly weaker, all had special physiques like Xiao Yi Xian with her bug-level special constitution and Woe Poison Body, as well as several other girls who also came from Ancient Clans, all of whom had some trump cards.

After all, Gu Zhen's bloodline concentration was actually only average. His outstanding performance was entirely due to his own unremitting efforts, which allowed him to be compared with Gu Qingyang and the other three.

People like Gu Xing and Gu Hua are both at the Dou Ling Peak, or even at the level of Half-Step Dou King.

Gu Yao had only just broken through to the Dou Wang before coming to the Inner Academy.

As for Gu Qingyang, as the eldest among the younger generation of the Ancient Clan, his strength has already reached the Peak Two-Star Dou Wang.

You should know that among the entire Ancient Clan, apart from Xun'er, he has the highest concentration of bloodline in his body!

Therefore, the top five, or rather the top six, of the Inner Academy's Strong Ranking List have all been completely replaced!

Because the second place winner was not anyone from the Ancient Clan, but Huo Zhi from the Yan Clan.

Although she was younger than Ling Yanfei, she had already reached the Dou Wang level, and even the Gu Yao could not defeat her.

As for why we need to fight the Gu Yao?

That's because this guy verbally offended Xiao Yan.

Although Huo Zhi was not the daughter of a Clan Chief, she possessed the Divine-Grade Dou Emperor Bloodline of the Yan Clan and showed a high affinity for the Red Lotus Karma Flame. This allowed her to gain the right to use the Red Lotus Karma Flame after entering the Dou Wang.

In short, she can use the Red Lotus Karma Flame, and even, due to some special reasons, she can control it with ease, but she cannot refine Red Lotus Karma Flame yet.

Because this thing is considered Heavenly Flames inherited by the Yan Clan, the energy contained within it is so great that even Dou Zong- level expert would find it difficult to resist, let alone a Dou Zun- level expert. Even though she is extremely familiar with the Red Lotus Karma Flame, it is completely impossible for her to completely refine it at this age.

Of course, she wouldn't need to use Heavenly Flames to fight a Gu Yao; her knowledge and skills are far beyond what other young people of the same realm can match.

Great Elder Su Qian truly felt somewhat helpless about the disruption of the Inner Academy's balance.

In just over a year, the frequency with which the dean contacted him was equivalent to the total number of times he had been contacted in the previous ten years.

The content is simply for these young people from Ancient Clans to play around with and get familiar with things.

That sounds easy, but putting it into practice is really exhausting for those below!

Putting everything else aside, the six people who just arrived are all incredibly powerful. Therefore, Su Qian had to ask several elders from the Inner Academy to keep an eye on them, both for their safety and for the safety of the Inner Academy students.

However, it should be noted that the number of the Inner Academy elders is already scarce, and most of them are used to guard the Heavenly Burning Qi Refining Tower or to be on standby near the Heavenly Burning Qi Refining Tower at any time.

The departure of six elders, along with several others who had left in the past, has made the Inner Academy even more short-staffed.

Therefore, Su Qian stopped cultivating for a while and just wandered Inner Academy every day.

I'm just afraid something might happen!

Fortunately, nothing happened in the Inner Academy. The Ancient Clan members were engrossed in their cultivation and did not cause any trouble.

As for Huo Zhi of the Yan Clan... aside from cultivation, she spends her time bonding with her future sisters, including Ling Yanfei, Yao Xun'er, Yao Ling, Xiao Yi Xian, and Han Yue, which makes Su Qian quite gratified.

Thankfully, they're all well-behaved kids, otherwise he would have been driven crazy with headaches.

However, the top -Strong Ranking List powerhouses who were defeated were all at the Dou Ling Peak, or at the eight-star or nine-star Dou Ling, so naturally they would not be willing to accept that their rankings were so low.

Therefore, they were all determined to reclaim their rightful rankings.

The Strong Ranking Tournament three months later is clearly the best opportunity!

Xiao Yan, engrossed in his cultivation, was clearly unaware of and completely indifferent to what was happening outside.

Although the Fire Energy deducted from the seventh level of the Heavenly Burning Qi Refining Tower reaches seven points, this is already a preferential price offered to the Inner Academy.

Because on the sixth floor, the cultivation rooms are divided according to the ranking on the Strong Ranking List. Gu Qingyang, who is currently ranked first, needs a full thirty Fire Energy per day in his No. 1 cultivation room. Fortunately, he is strong and only needs to accept and complete a few tasks to hunt magical beasts and obtain medicinal herbs and Magical Core to obtain enough Fire Energy for him to cultivate for a period of time.

Xiao Yan didn't quite remember the details of the price; he only felt that he had gotten a great deal by cultivating on the seventh floor.

If the size of the Heart Fire generated during the earlier levels of cultivation could only be described as a wisp or a thread, then on the seventh level of the Heavenly Burning Qi Refining Tower, the Heart Fire appeared in clusters.

The intense heat it emitted was even more unbearable than the previous levels. However, the good news was that under the fierce burning of this powerful Heart Fire, the speed at which Dou Qi was tempered was so rapid that even Xiao Yan was secretly astonished.

A large, invisible ball of Heart Fire rose gently above his heart. Under Xiao Yan's control, streams of powerful Dou Qi flowed through his meridians and were continuously poured into the Heart Fire. After being tempered, the fire, which had been as thick as a thumb, became as refined as a thin thread and became crystal clear, like a cobalt blue crystal strip.

Xiao Yan activated his Dou Qi, which continuously surged out from the Sea Urchin Dou Crystal with nine long, sharp spikes.

Xiao Yan vaguely remembered that determining one's level at the Dou Ling level was not difficult.

Each time he advances, a long energy spike on the Sea Urchin Dou Crystal will retract. Once he retracts all the energy spikes on the Sea Urchin Dou Crystal, he will probably be able to step into the Dou Wang level!

With the help of the fierce Heart Fire on the seventh floor of the Heavenly Burning Qi Refining Tower, Xiao Yan could clearly sense that the long energy spike on the Sea Urchin Dou Crystal was gradually shortening at a gratifying speed. He roughly estimated that he would be able to break through to the Two-Star Dou Ling in less than a month!

Meanwhile, the other large clusters of Heart Fire were transformed into "Separation Fire," which, under Xiao Yan's control, spread throughout his body along his meridians!

Although the blazing flames were not as terrifying as true Heavenly Flames, the Fallen Heart Flame's inherent characteristic of burning from the inside out made it surprisingly effective in tempering Xiao Yan's physical body!

Having long been experienced in Heavenly Flame Body Tempering, the Legendary Fire-Resistant King Xiao Yan was already used to the intense burning pain that swept through his entire body.

However, his pitiful clothes, formed from his Dou Qi, turned to ashes without any surprise as his body temperature rose higher and higher...

However, Xiao Yan was completely absorbed and began to frantically absorb the energy emitted by the Fallen Heart Flame. At the same time, he circulated the cultivation method of the Great Sun Separation Fire Body to absorb the power of the Heavenly Flames with his physical body!

Thanks to the strengthening effect of the Earth Core Body Tempering Milk, Xiao Yan is now able to cultivate the Great Sun Separation Fire Body for a much longer period of time, and his physical attributes are gradually transforming towards the level of Fifth Tier magical beast.

In the Dou Qi Continent, if advancing to the Da Dou Shi is considered the formal beginning of cultivation and the initial glimpse into its path, then the Dou Wang is a huge watershed.

It is clearly not an easy task for Xiao Yan to strengthen his physical body into Fifth Tier magical beast comparable to Dou Wang expert.

Cultivation makes one oblivious to the passage of time, especially when one can clearly feel the Dou Qi within their body becoming more powerful and refined each day, and their physical attributes becoming stronger day by day. In this intoxicating state, Xiao Yan simply doesn't have time to notice the flow of time.

All he knows is that cultivation is awesome!

During this time, Gu Yao tried to find Xiao Yan's whereabouts inside the Heavenly Burning Qi Refining Tower. He thought Xiao Yan was on the fifth or sixth floor and had no idea that Xiao Yan was actually on the seventh floor.

Originally, Xiao Yan's plan upon entering the Heavenly Burning Qi Refining Tower was to remain in seclusion until the start of the "Strong Ranking List" competition.

After all, the arrival of the Ancient Clan undoubtedly put Xiao Yan under greater pressure.

Time was of the essence, and he dared not slack off in the slightest.

If everything had gone smoothly, he would have been able to cultivate to that point as he wished. However, after a month of seclusion, some changes occurred in the peaceful Heavenly Burning Qi Refining Tower.

Just as Su Qian had feared, trouble always happens when you least expect it.

But the incident didn't happen in the Inner Academy; it happened inside the Heavenly Burning Qi Refining Tower!

Inside the seventh level of the Heavenly Burning Qi Refining Tower, Xiao Yan sat cross-legged. A dense, light red mist flowed into his body with his breath, eventually being refined into rich energy that circulated through his meridians.

"Boom!"

Suddenly, a deep, muffled sound rang out during the cultivation. The moment the sound came out, the entire seventh level seemed to tremble slightly. Then, the already extremely hot energy within the seventh level surged violently, like boiling water.

With such a commotion, Xiao Yan naturally couldn't maintain his cultivation state. He abruptly opened his eyes, looking around in surprise and disbelief. His expression then changed drastically, and he hurriedly asked, "Teacher, what's going on?"

"All students inside the tower, leave the Heavenly Burning Qi Refining Tower within ten minutes!"

While Xiao Yan was puzzled, a hoarse shout suddenly rang out throughout the entire tower, echoing in everyone's ears and lingering for a long time.

"Something's happened in the tower!"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Yan's gaze instinctively turned towards the core area of the seventh floor.

There, crimson light was gathering wildly and growing ever brighter.

"The energy inside the tower has become much more volatile, likely due to the Fallen Heart Flame."

The Old Yao's voice, tinged with a hint of amusement, echoed in Xiao Yan's mind.

"The Fallen Heart Flame?" Upon hearing this, Xiao Yan was immediately taken aback. "This thing is already starting to rampage? Surely not?"

"Judging from this situation, it hasn't fully erupted yet; it's just a small commotion caused by the Fallen Heart Flame." Old Yao smiled and said, "This matter should be related to you. The seventh level isn't far from the Fallen Heart Flame. Even if it can't clearly sense the Heavenly Flames within your body, it should have some vague awareness. It seems that it wants to devour you and then advance further to escape the control of the Inner Academy."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Yan nodded slightly, as if it didn't seem like a big problem.

As this thought flashed through his mind, the Old Yao's voice rang out again:

"It seems that although the Fallen Heart Flame is quite powerful, it will probably need to accumulate more strength to break through the Inner Academy's blockade. It could take at least two or three years, or even six or seven years. In short, it's unlikely to have any significant impact at the moment; at most, it will only scare those people in the Inner Academy."

Hearing that even a professional like Old Yao wasn't flustered, Xiao Yan was even less concerned.

What else is there to say? Keep practicing!

He sat cross-legged again, his body glowing with a dark red, jade-like luster, and wisps of white smoke rose from his body.

Clearly, Xiao Yan has truly entered a state of cultivation again!

As for the energy of that riot?

Who cares? I can absorb any energy!

With his increasingly powerful physical body, even if he forcibly absorbed such violent energy, he could only feel a little pain.

Unlike Xiao Yan's composure, even Gu Qingyang, who was in cultivation room number one on the sixth floor of the Heavenly Burning Qi Refining Tower, immediately ended his cultivation upon sensing the abnormality within the tower. He stepped out of his room, sensed the violent, scorching energy within, and then immediately headed outside.

He wasn't very familiar with the Heavenly Flames, so naturally he would listen to advice.

The corridor was somewhat chaotic at this moment. Several training rooms were being opened one after another, and students with blank expressions rushed out. After exchanging glances, they could all see the other's confusion.

This was the first time they had encountered such a situation since being admitted to the hospital.

However, since the elders said they should leave, they naturally couldn't stay any longer, so they all surged out of the tower in large numbers.

At this moment, in a corner unnoticed by anyone, the door to training room number two slowly opened, and a figure dressed in a red dress and wearing a red veil quietly walked out. She glanced at the rapidly departing crowd, tilted her head slightly, then turned and walked deeper into the room.

Based on observations over the past month, Xiao Yan is not among the top six levels.

No one could have imagined that he would go to the seventh floor.

But Huo Zhi had a vague feeling that the guy she longed for was right down there!

Normally, the elders wouldn't allow her to go down there, and she didn't want to cause any trouble.

But today might be a good opportunity!