Self-Immolation and Nirvana, Awakening and Fusing True Phoenix Power!

The gathering...

Inside a private room at the Soto Grand Hotel, Ji Bai, the three girls, and Ma Hongjun were having a pleasant time together.

Ma Hongjun was simply focused on eating.

Ji Bai chatted idly with the three girls, listening to them describe the devilish training they had gone through.

Dai Mubai, Tang San, and Oscar sat together like spectators.

Dai Mubai and Tang San were expressionless.

Oscar, meanwhile, looked as though he had just suffered a breakup.

"You three, is... the food not to your liking?"

Ji Bai caught sight of their situation from the corner of his eye. By now, he had taken it lightly. He only needed to be himself.

At present, these people had no conflict of interest with him.

So he could treat the three of them like ordinary friends, while also flirting with the three girls. Though that was somewhat immoral.

Still, he did not care.

"No need. This is fine." Tang San poured himself a glass of wine and drained it in one gulp.

"I have something to do. I'll be leaving first." Dai Mubai suddenly stood up and left the table with an expressionless face.

He looked thoroughly displeased, too lazy even to pretend otherwise.

"Burp!"

Oscar's cheeks were slightly flushed as he let out a drunken burp.

He had clearly drunk quite a lot.

Seeing this, Tang San took a deep breath.

"Xiao Wu, it's getting late. Shouldn't we hurry back to the academy?"

Xiao Wu froze, then glanced out the window. "But it's still daytime!"

The fiery clouds outside the window were exceptionally beautiful.

Ji Bai picked up his wine and walked to the window. Golden light flickered in his eyes. In his sight, the sea of fiery clouds gradually became a Phoenix flying toward the horizon.

Free to soar across the vast heavens and earth...

He drained the wine in his cup, then turned and swept his gaze over everyone present.

"It's getting late. You should all head back."

"If you get drunk senseless like last time, I won't take care of you."

The three girls' cheeks flushed slightly at those words.

The last time, all three of them had gotten drunk and ended up taking over Ji Bai's bed.

"I'll be leaving tomorrow."

"When we meet again, it will probably be during the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament."

"I'll give you a small gift."

As Ji Bai spoke, he raised his right hand slightly. Golden flames spread out, forming three golden phoenix feathers.

The three girls immediately stepped forward.

They examined the three golden phoenix feathers in Ji Bai's hand, their eyes gleaming with reflected light.

"Why are they only for girls..." Ma Hongjun complained while holding a braised pork knuckle in one hand.

The three girls each accepted a golden phoenix feather, but in an instant, all three feathers turned into streams of golden fire that flowed along their fingers, entered their arms, and vanished.

Tang San abruptly stood up at the sight.

His brows furrowed as he stared intently at Ji Bai, keeping close watch on Xiao Wu's condition.

Even though Ji Bai had no reason to harm Xiao Wu, Ning Rongrong, or Zhu Zhuqing, he still could not rest easy.

"Brother Ji, this... what is this?"

Ning Rongrong voiced the question in her heart, one that Xiao Wu and Zhu Zhuqing shared as well.

"I left a little something of mine inside your bodies. That way, no matter where we are in the future, here... will sense each other." Ji Bai pointed to his heart and smiled.

Those words, like a declaration of love, instantly made the three girls blush furiously as they subconsciously touched their chests.

Whoosh!

The private room's window suddenly flew open. Ji Bai's body abruptly transformed into tiny Fire Phoenixes that scattered and flew away, vanishing from the room just like that.

Gasp!

Tang San witnessed the astonishing sight with his own eyes and could not help drawing in a cold breath.

Ma Hongjun even forgot to eat the braised pork knuckle in his hand.

Oscar rubbed his eyes and said drunkenly, "Looks like I really drank too much..."

Tap, tap, tap!

Ning Rongrong, Xiao Wu, and Zhu Zhuqing rushed to the window together and looked outside.

But there was no sign of Ji Bai anywhere.

Suddenly.

They felt that the fiery clouds on the horizon were Ji Bai transformed, soaring through the skies.

Huo Lin gave everyone a holiday.

The same went for Shui Bing'er and the others.

Everyone relaxed in their own way. Yet in a room at the Soto Grand Hotel, Ji Bai sat cross-legged on a meditation cushion with his eyes closed. Golden Soul Power emerged from the various meridians throughout his body and slowly gathered around him, forming streams of golden light.

As long as the Heart Fire remains unextinguished, I shall remain unextinguished.

This thought erupted in his mind like a spark, igniting the Phoenix's most essential ability—Nirvana.

"A Phoenix is reborn through fire. Only by burning away the mortal body and shedding its shackles can one be reborn anew."

"If I don't even dare to attempt rebirth through fire, how can I touch the true power of the Phoenix?"

Ji Bai took a deep breath and slowly opened his eyes. Resolute flames danced within his golden pupils.

He withdrew all the Soul Power he had released, leaving only a wisp of Origin Heart Fire dormant deep within his middle dantian. Emptying his mind, he voluntarily relinquished all protection over his body.

"Use essence, energy, and spirit as fuel, and let the Heart Fire burn this body!"

"Rise!"

As his words fell, Ji Bai willed it, and the Heart Fire hidden within his middle dantian erupted violently.

Golden flames burst from his internal organs without restraint, sweeping through his limbs and bones along his meridians. They instantly enveloped his entire body, and searing agony flooded every inch of him.

Crack, crack, crack—

Ji Bai clenched his teeth and held firm.

At that moment, his flesh felt as though it were being ground beneath countless branding irons, while a tearing ache surged from deep within his bones.

An ordinary Soul Master would likely collapse and give up the instant they felt such pain.

But Ji Bai's mind remained steady, firmly remembering those eight words: As long as the Heart Fire remains unextinguished, I shall remain unextinguished.

He had personally witnessed "rebirth through Nirvana" before!

It had been that Immortal Bird!

The blazing flames continuously eroded his flesh and bones, burning away every trace of Soul Power impurities within him into faint smoke that dispersed into the air.

His body continuously melted and reformed within the blazing fire. Every inch of bone and sinew became increasingly resilient and pure beneath the tempering flames.

The medicinal effects of the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass and Infernal Delicate Apricot he had consumed earlier began to be rapidly expended.

Rumble—!

The weather above Suotuo City abruptly changed as rolling dark clouds swept in.

The sudden shift in weather left countless people stunned.

Unnoticed by anyone, a fragment of True Phoenix Power left scattered between heaven and earth after the God of Phoenix's fall was drawn toward Ji Bai in the Soto Grand Hotel.

Nearly invisible threads of golden light gathered from every direction beneath the heavens.

It was the primordial aura belonging solely to the God of Phoenix—gentle, yet containing supreme vitality—as it silently poured into Ji Bai's body.

The instant the True Phoenix Power entered his body, the shackles of Level 48 shattered, and his Soul Power surged.

He smoothly broke through another level of Soul Power.

Before his Soul Power could stabilize, the lingering True Phoenix aura flowing through heaven and earth continued pouring into him. Together with the medicinal effects of the Immortal Herbs within his body, it continuously washed through his meridians.

A second bottleneck shattered immediately afterward.

Two breakthroughs arrived in succession, and Ji Bai's Soul Power rose layer upon layer, its richness far surpassing others of the same rank.

The Heart Fire, once restless and violent, gained a touch of sacred warmth under the harmonization of strands of True Phoenix origin power.

The flames burning his body gradually receded, retreating entirely into Ji Bai's middle dantian.

His body, which had just been devoured and scorched by the flames and left somewhat damaged, slowly emerged.

Not only had his damaged body fully recovered, but his skin had become clear and fair. Fine golden glimmers also lingered over his red hair, while his golden eyes shone brilliantly.

Buzz—!

A translucent Soul Ring, clear as water and nearly transparent, hovered quietly three feet around Ji Bai's body. Uncolored by any radiance, it resembled glazed crystal yet also the void.

Below it were four more Soul Rings—his previous four Soul Rings.

"This is my fifth Soul Ring... I inherited a trace of True Phoenix Power!"

Ji Bai was overjoyed.

This attempt at "Nirvana" had unexpectedly brought him such an unforeseen benefit.