Spirit City

The advancement matches did not affect the roster for the finals. The most famous battle was Tang San versus Feng Xiaotian: Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer against Gale Demon Wolf's 36 Consecutive Slashes. In the end, Feng Xiaotian lost narrowly.

Xiaofei had recently been troubled by a question he could not figure out no matter how much he thought about it. Feng Xiaotian, the famous simp from the original story, had not come looking for Huo Wu in a long time.

So Xiaofei quietly sought out Huo Wushuang and asked, "Why haven't I seen Feng Xiaotian coming to see Huo Wu lately?"

Huo Wushuang looked at Xiaofei with utter disdain before finally saying helplessly, "Last year, Feng Xiaotian came looking for Huo Wu. She got so fed up that she told him she was already dating you. She also said she didn't like men weaker than her. Feng Xiaotian was depressed for a long time after that."

Xiaofei was speechless. "I can actually get blamed for something like this? Sitting at home, and a black pot falls from the sky. No wonder Feng Xiaotian has had such a dark expression every time I've seen him lately." Huo Wushuang looked at Xiaofei, shook his head, and left.

Blazing Academy ultimately advanced in first place. After everyone rested for a month, they set off for Spirit City under Xue Qinghe's leadership, escorted by five hundred knights.

During this time, Xiaofei had continued cultivating diligently. He felt that he was only a hair's breadth away from becoming a Soul King. Yet he kept wondering why his cultivation speed had slowed so much after reaching level 40. In two years, he had only risen six levels, and now Huo Wushuang and Huo Wu were nearly catching up to him. Though the two of them together were still no match for him in combat, it still made him deeply uncomfortable.

So, while sitting in the carriage, Xiaofei recalled the four original novels he had read from beginning to end, feeling that he must have overlooked something. Suddenly, his eyes flashed. He unconsciously rose to his feet, startling Huo Wu and Huo Wushuang beside him.

Xiaofei finally understood. After absorbing his fourth Soul Ring, his flames had evolved into Ultimate Fire. For those with ultimate attributes, cultivation between levels 30 and 70 would be extremely slow, like a turtle crawling. But once they surpassed level 70, their advancement would be as fast as riding a rocket. Xiaofei was still somewhat unwilling to accept it. After all, in less than ten years, the entire world would fall into chaos.

So Xiaofei got out of his carriage and walked to Dean Huo Tianchen's carriage. "Hello, Dean. There's something I'd like to ask you about."

The Dean invited Xiaofei into the carriage, and the two sat facing each other. "Xiaofei, what do you want to ask me?"

Xiaofei then told Huo Tianchen about his slowed cultivation speed.

As soon as Xiaofei finished speaking, Huo Tianchen smiled. "I thought you wouldn't come ask me. If you asked anyone else about this, probably no one would be able to answer you—not even those old men of Spirit Hall. But you came to the right person by asking me."

"One of my ancestors experienced something similar. That ancestor was also obsessed with cultivation. After encountering this situation, he kept pondering it and consulted every ancient text he could find before finally discovering the cause. The ancient records contained only four words: Ultimate Fire. That ancestor persisted in cultivating, and after reaching level 70, his cultivation speed became far faster than everyone else's."

"There is another trait of ultimate attributes as well: invincibility among those of the same rank." Huo Tianchen raised his right hand and summoned his flames. "Xiaofei, bring out your flames and compare them with mine." Xiaofei also raised his right hand and condensed a ball of flame. Xiaofei's flames were actually able to absorb and destroy Huo Tianchen's flames.

Huo Tianchen continued, "For the past two years, you have worked extremely hard—cultivating, training your body, increasing your Soul Power—but you have not seriously studied your martial soul. Whether it is the Fire Phoenix itself or the Fire Phoenix's flames, you have used them very little. How much do you truly understand about the Fire Phoenix?"

"The only way for Ultimate Fire to accelerate cultivation is to seriously understand your own flames."

Xiaofei returned to his carriage, where Huo Wushuang and Huo Wu looked at him with concern. The three of them were together almost every day, so they understood some of the changes in Xiaofei's mindset, especially the impatience he felt inside.

Moreover, over the past two years, Huo Wushuang and Huo Wu had both increased their Soul Power by more than ten levels, while Xiaofei had only gained six levels. That was highly abnormal.

Xiaofei smiled at them. "It's fine. I had some questions just now, so I went to ask Dean Huo. I feel much better now."

Only then did the two of them relax.

One day, as they traveled along the road, a powerful wave of Soul Power suddenly erupted ahead. Opening the window, they saw countless people in black surrounding the convoy and fighting the soldiers around it. In an instant, flames and Soul Power filled the area.

Xiaofei looked carefully. There were not many people advancing toward Blazing Academy, and the strongest among them was only a seven-ring Soul Saint. Meanwhile, Dean Huo Tianchen, a Soul Douluo, had not even stepped out of his carriage.

Xiaofei quietly pulled Huo Wu and Huo Wushuang close and said, "We just need to stay here. Don't join the fight. Their target isn't us."

Sure enough, as long as Blazing Academy's students did not take the initiative to fight, those Soul Saints paid no attention to them.

The battle continued. Suddenly, a massive chrysanthemum appeared in the sky, while countless streaks of sword light emerged on the other side. In the end, the Soul Power fluctuations gradually faded. The battle had likely ended.

Back in the carriage, Huo Wushuang and Huo Wu asked in confusion, "How did you know this battle had nothing to do with us?"

"That massive chrysanthemum was the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum, the martial soul of Spirit Hall's Chrysanthemum Douluo. Spirit Hall was handling something just now. Their target was never us."

Huo Wushuang asked again, "Then their target was... the Clear Sky Hammer?"

"The grudges between the Upper Three Sects and Spirit Hall are not something we can interfere in, nor do we have the ability to."

The three of them fell silent.

Five days later, a massive city appeared ahead of them. This was Spirit City. Its walls stood eighty meters high, and six layers of city walls enclosed the entire city. Xiaofei looked toward the rear of Spirit Hall, where a huge angel statue stood. Could that be the legendary Douluo Hall?

Everyone got out of their carriages. Only the fifteen competing teams and their teachers were allowed to enter Spirit City. Xiaofei followed the group as they slowly made their way into the city.

After settling into the hotel, the three of them walked through Spirit City to browse the shops. On the bustling streets, whether merchants or tourists, everyone wore gentle expressions. There was no obvious distinction of class between people. There were no nobles here, nor were there slaves. Xiaofei thought of his life in his previous world. Perhaps this was the life people truly hoped for.

But war shattered all of it. Spirit Hall started that war, and it also lost the war. For ten thousand years afterward, such a scene would be hard to find again. And the cause of it all was merely one madwoman.

Xiaofei walked down the street, admiring this final beautiful sight, filled with endless loneliness.