What was the most frustrating thing in life?
It was having a wondrous treasure of heaven and earth right in front of you, close enough to touch, but being unable to claim it. That was probably how Shen Shihuang felt right now.
Utterly vexed.
Shen Shihuang knew just how violent the power of a Heavenly Flame could be. With his current strength alone, he had no confidence he could completely subdue the Sea Heart Flame. Xiao Yan had only managed to subdue Heavenly Flames because he had prepared beforehand, with everything from the surroundings to the pills ready in abundance.
"Sure enough, having a big shot by your side is what makes you the real protagonist!"
Shen Shihuang sighed.
For ordinary people, trying to devour a Heavenly Flame without any preparation would likely end with them reduced to ashes.
"Taisui Flame, protect me!"
"If I don't give it a try, I really won't be able to let it go!"
The black Taisui Flame seemed to seep into every bone and every bit of flesh in Shen Shihuang's body. As he looked at the Sea Heart Flame before him, he steeled himself and was just about to swallow its Origin Flame Seed when—
The familiar spatial rift opened before him once more.
The same figure he had seen before.
"Wu Ci?"
Shen Shihuang stared at the figure amid the endless flames inside the spatial rift, momentarily stunned.
"This subordinate still cannot come to your side. If you wish to devour a Heavenly Flame, the Taisui Flame within you can turn into a cauldron for Heavenly Flames, temporarily storing other Heavenly Flames inside it. However, in that case, the Taisui Flame cannot fuse with the energy of another Heavenly Flame's Origin Flame Seed."
"What the Taisui Flame needs is energy. With the aid of that energy, it can fully gain the abilities of a Heavenly Flame. My king, you can temporarily take this Heavenly Flame into your body and use it, but it will be no different from an unowned flame."
"The Taisui Flame can contain other Heavenly Flames, but it will never coexist with them as one."
"Remember this: Ten Thousand Year Boundless Technique, Taisui Infinite Flame. The Ten Thousand Year Technique can devour any soul, while the Taisui Flame can fuse with the energy of any Heavenly Flame."
Shen Shihuang watched the figure in the flames as the spatial rift rapidly sealed shut.
"So that's how it is?"
Shen Shihuang furrowed his brows slightly.
He had originally thought he could take multiple Heavenly Flames into his body, just like Xiao Yan. He hadn't expected things to turn out like this.
The Taisui Flame.
It absolutely would not coexist with other Heavenly Flames as one. It could only absorb the energy of their Origin Flame Seeds, thereby gaining their abilities.
"How domineering!"
It really was domineering.
It stood alone above all others, and it could possess your abilities.
But—
You could never stand as its equal.
Damn!
"If the Taisui Flame absorbs the Origin Flame Seed energy of the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame and the Nihility Devouring Flame, I wonder what level it could grow to."
It couldn't coexist with other Heavenly Flames.
But the Taisui Flame's abilities were simply terrifying.
Ordinary Heavenly Flames were one thing, but the abilities of the top five on the Heavenly Flame Ranking were each stronger than the last.
Even without every Heavenly Flame beyond the ranking, if a single flame could hold the abilities of most of those on the ranking, even the Nihility Devouring Flame would probably have to give way if it encountered it, wouldn't it?
"Taisui Infinite Flame."
"So that's the Taisui Flame's true name?"
Shen Shihuang sighed inwardly. The Taisui Flame wrapped around the Sea Heart Flame's Origin Flame Seed and, as he opened his mouth, entered his body.
"Too bad. Advancing the Taisui Flame's rank actually can't make me any stronger."
Only then did Shen Shihuang realize it.
After other people subdued a Heavenly Flame, their strength would inevitably increase to some extent. But after his Taisui Flame advanced, his own strength hadn't improved at all.
What a waste.
"One-Star Dou Zong."
Shen Shihuang sensed his strength. It seemed he was close to reaching Two-Star Dou Zong.
"The Sign-in System's location has been refreshed."
"Please proceed to Jia Nan Academy to sign in."
"There is no time limit for signing in. The next location will not be refreshed until the host completes this sign-in."
Just as Shen Shihuang was preparing to leave,
the system's voice rang in his mind.
"The location's been refreshed?"
"Jia Nan Academy."
A trace of delight appeared in Shen Shihuang's eyes.
Although Shen Shihuang had no idea what rewards the Sign-in System would grant, so far they seemed to include either Dou Techniques or pills.
At that moment,
he still had a Sect-Breaking Pill in his hand.
"Looks like I'll have to find some time to go back."
One Sect-Breaking Pill.
It might be enough to give the Snake-People Tribe another Dou Zong expert. That would make Queen Medusa's burden much lighter.
Jia Nan Academy.
Inner Academy.
The Great Elder's office.
"What did you say?"
Great Elder Su Qian's expression changed.
"Great Elder, a flaming spatial rift appeared east of the Black-Corner Region. Three of our students were sucked inside, and we don't know whether they're alive or dead," one of the elders said bitterly.
What an absurd accident.
A spatial rift had appeared out of nowhere and sucked in quite a few nearby experts. When they noticed and tried to enter, the flames inside proved terrifying. Even with his Nine-Star Dou Emperor strength, he couldn't get a single step in.
"Let's go!"
After hearing the details, Su Qian immediately set off.
"Great Elder."
In the sky,
Su Qian flew through the air, accompanied by two elders who were Dou Huang experts.
"The flames there can even burn Dou Qi. I can't shake the feeling that there's something strange about them."
Great Elder Su Qian's gaze grew grave.
"They can even burn Dou Qi?"
"That's right. Otherwise, I would've charged inside. Who would've thought that the moment those flames touched me, they nearly entered my body. In front of those flames, Dou Qi was like water—it evaporated almost instantly."
"The flames were pink, and extremely eerie."
Hearing this,
Su Qian's expression grew even more serious. "Could they be a Heavenly Flame?"
"But a pink Heavenly Flame?"
"Is there one on the Heavenly Flame Ranking?"
"A flame that can even burn Dou Qi..."
Su Qian thought for a long while, but none of the Heavenly Flames on the ranking matched those characteristics.
"Great Elder."
"Could it be a Heavenly Flame that isn't listed on the ranking? Those flames are clearly no ordinary fire. Ordinary flames can't burn away the Dou Qi of a Dou Huang expert."
Su Qian said nothing more.
Instead, he asked,
"Who else was sucked inside?" Su Qian asked.
"Besides our people from Jia Nan Academy, the young sect master of the Black Emperor Sect..." As he spoke, a trace of killing intent appeared in the eyes of the Nine-Star Dou Emperor elder at the peak.
Su Qian sensed it.
"People from the Black Emperor Sect dared to lay a hand on students from Jia Nan Academy?"
"Those fellows in the Black-Corner Region really have some nerve!"
"It seems Jia Nan Academy has been quiet for too long."
Jia Nan Academy had established itself in a lawless place like the Black-Corner Region not through gentle methods, but through forceful suppression.
Might makes right.
That was the refrain of the Dou Qi Continent.
In the eastern part of the Black-Corner Region,
Shen Shihuang flew slowly toward Jia Nan Academy. Beneath him lay several corpses. He had originally planned to walk there and take in the Black-Corner Region's "local customs" along the way, but the people here really weren't very friendly.
So,
Shen Shihuang could only send them off to drink a bowl of Meng Po Soup.