Boom!!
The back mountain of Jia Nan Academy.
After Shen Shihuang killed a magical beast with one punch, Zi Yan excitedly rushed over, plucked a medicinal herb from the cliff, and returned to Shen Shihuang. "Old Shen, are we continuing?"
Shen Shihuang shook his head.
"We've already gotten plenty. It'll be enough to last you a while."
With Shen Shihuang's help,
they had claimed all the places Zi Yan knew of where precious natural treasures grew and were guarded by Dou Emperor-level magical beasts.
"Hehe."
Zi Yan flashed her little tiger teeth, clearly in a good mood.
"Then all right, let's head back!"
After returning to Jia Nan Academy,
Zi Yan went to play with Heng General. For some reason, she and Heng General had been getting along quite well lately. Whenever she had free time, Zi Yan would take Heng General wandering around the Inner Academy.
Earth Fiend, meanwhile, was very quiet and hardly ever went out. He stayed in his room, drinking tea by himself, as if savoring the quiet of life. As for Shen Shihuang, whenever he had time, he pored over all kinds of books in the Inner Academy, then went around asking its elders questions.
His days were quite fulfilling.
In the loft,
Shen Shihuang had just returned when Earth Fiend spoke up. "Your Dou Qi is growing more and more condensed. Aren't you planning to break through?"
Shen Shihuang sat down opposite Earth Fiend.
He asked curiously, "You seem to be hoping I'll break through lately. What's going on?"
Earth Fiend seemed to ask him
that sort of question almost every day.
Earth Fiend poured Shen Shihuang a cup of tea and said, "Although I was stuck in that godforsaken place, plenty of powerful people broke in over all those years, and I learned quite a bit from them."
"I know you need Heavenly Flames. Among what I learned, there happens to be a place where one should exist."
At that,
Shen Shihuang froze. "A place where a Heavenly Flame exists? Which one?"
Earth Fiend shook his head.
"I'm not sure."
"I seem to remember that the information I got described something like a Heavenly Flame. These past few days, I've also looked through the records of Heavenly Flames on the continent, but none of them match."
"So I can't be certain whether it really is a Heavenly Flame."
"Or perhaps, like your Taisui Flame, it's a Heavenly Flame that isn't on the Heavenly Flame Ranking."
Shen Shihuang seemed to understand.
"You mean you know roughly where a Heavenly Flame might be, but a Dou Zong isn't strong enough?"
Earth Fiend nodded.
"Exactly. At least, I'm afraid your current strength isn't enough."
"My guess is that you should be strong enough by the time you reach Eight-Star Dou Zong. The fellow who went there back then was a One-Star Dou Zun. When he perished in the abyss, I learned that even with his strength, he failed to get it—and nearly died in the process."
Hiss!!
A Dou Zun had nearly died?
What kind of Heavenly Flame was that?
"How long ago?" Shen Shihuang asked.
Earth Fiend recalled for a moment. "A long time ago. I can't remember how many years it's been. Still..."
"If it really is a Heavenly Flame—or if someone had already obtained it—there should be records of it."
"Clearly, I haven't found any records of it. Either it isn't a Heavenly Flame, or no one has found it yet."
Earth Fiend looked at Shen Shihuang. "You should focus on getting stronger. Then I'll take you there. You, me, and Heng General—we should be able to handle it together."
Shen Shihuang suddenly smiled.
Looking at Earth Fiend, he asked, "Do you know about a lot of ancient ruins?"
Earth Fiend: "...!"
"Don't get your hopes up. I do know quite a few places, but the places around now seem different from the ones I know. I'll sort things out and tell you later."
"But first, your strength has to be sufficient."
"Otherwise, with the little strength we have, we'll probably perish in there."
Earth Fiend's strength at present
had improved, but he hadn't had much time. Two-Star Dou Zun was certainly powerful, but in certain places, that level of strength was nowhere near enough.
"I understand!"
Shen Shihuang said, "Don't worry. It won't take long. And you should work on getting stronger, too. With a wisp of the Taisui Flame helping you, I imagine you'll improve much faster than I will."
Earth Fiend had been accumulating strength for a long time.
And Shen Shihuang had no idea just how much strength he had accumulated.
As for Heng General?
Its strength depended on the weather.
As long as there was thunder, it could grow stronger. So cloudy, rainy, thundery weather was the best time for Heng General to cultivate. Such weather didn't come often, but each time it did, Heng General's strength rose as if it were riding a plane.
It was astonishingly fast.
Since Heng General came to Jia Nan Academy, there had been three thunderstorms. The first time, Heng General's strength rose to Five-Star Dou Zong; the second time, it reached Seven-Star Dou Zong; and the third time, it reached Nine-Star Dou Zong.
Shen Shihuang had even started wondering
if another thunderstorm would make Heng General a Dou Zun outright.
An Origin Beast.
It was practically cheating!
Just as Shen Shihuang was getting up,
the long-silent system finally spoke in his mind.
"Sign-in System reorganization complete."
"Sign-in location: Heavenly Burning Qi Refining Tower."
"Host, please sign in at the Heavenly Burning Qi Refining Tower."
"Only after completing each sign-in location will a new sign-in location be assigned."
A gleam appeared in Shen Shihuang's eyes.
A new location had finally appeared.
The Heavenly Burning Qi Refining Tower.
Although he had been at Jia Nan Academy for a while, he had never been to the Heavenly Burning Qi Refining Tower.
Standing on the second floor,
Shen Shihuang gazed at the towering pagoda.
Inside it was a Heavenly Flame.
The fourteenth-ranked flame on the Heavenly Flame Ranking: the Fallen Heart Flame.
Its endless heartfire could accelerate cultivation, earning it the title of a cultivation cheat. Among all the Heavenly Flames, this was an especially rare ability.
"Looks like I'll be getting closer to the Fallen Heart Flame this time."
Shen Shihuang understood.
The Fallen Heart Flame was currently plotting how to break through the seal of the Heavenly Burning Qi Refining Tower. In particular, it had already developed a hint of intelligence, and it also wanted to devour Heavenly Flames...
The Heavenly Burning Qi Refining Tower.
Shen Shihuang stood not far in front of it.
Just then,
"Big Brother Shen?"
Han Yue walked up from behind, accompanied by two other women.
Seeing Shen Shihuang, Han Yue called out in delight.
"Han Yue?"
Shen Shihuang remembered her fairly well.
"Big Brother Shen, are you going into the tower?" Han Yue asked, puzzled. She knew how strong Shen Shihuang was—he was even stronger than Elder Su Qian, and Mo Tianxing, the Black Emperor Sect's leader, hadn't been his match.
A Dou Zong powerhouse!
"Yeah. I've been here for a while but haven't gone inside yet, so I thought I'd take a look," Shen Shihuang said.
Han Yue invited him, "Big Brother Shen, would you like to come in with us? We're just about to go in and cultivate."
Shen Shihuang shook his head.
"You go on ahead. I'll wait a little."
Seeing this,
Han Yue nodded. "All right, Big Brother Shen. If there's anything you don't understand, just ask us."
Han Yue entered the Heavenly Burning Qi Refining Tower with the two women beside her.
Shen Shihuang waited another quarter of an hour.
"Shouldn't it go berserk, right?"
Shen Shihuang now had two kinds of Heavenly Flames on him. If the Fallen Heart Flame sensed them, something unexpected might happen.
"Let's go in and see!"
As Shen Shihuang walked toward the Heavenly Burning Qi Refining Tower,
deep within it,
an invisible Fire Python suddenly opened its eyes. In an instant, the violent fire-attribute energy around it surged...