The flames burned so hot that even the surrounding air began to warp and distort.
The air around Dai Mobai's right hand looked as though an unseen hand had crumpled it, blurring and twisting the view.
The bluestone floor beneath his palm began to glow red, its surface temperature climbing rapidly.
The moisture in the air evaporated instantly. Even breathing became dry and searing, every lungful of air like swallowing a mouthful of scalding sand.
The heat radiated outward from Dai Mobai's palm. Though the restrictions on the walls blocked most of it, the residual waves still raised the temperature inside the side hall to a suffocating level.
Even the hall doors warped slightly under the intense heat, wisps of white smoke rising from their seams.
Because of his martial soul, Dugu Bo felt somewhat uncomfortable at this temperature.
The Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor was a poison-attribute martial soul, with an innate aversion to and fear of fire.
His martial soul stirred restlessly within him under the intense heat. Dark green soul power surged outward of its own accord, trying to ward off the scorching heat.
A faint jade sheen rose over his skin, a defense his martial soul had formed instinctively. The jade-green soul power spread into a thin membrane across his skin, shielding him from the heat outside.
Dugu Bo drew a deep breath and forcibly suppressed his martial soul's agitation.
His back remained ramrod straight, his hands resting on his knees with his palms facing upward.
Sweat seeped from his forehead, trickling through the furrows of his wrinkles and dripping onto the front of his robes.
Those beads of sweat evaporated in the intense heat as soon as they emerged from his skin, forming a hazy cloud of vapor above his head.
Yet he remained perfectly still,