Fire Law

Su Chen opened his eyes.

Daylight already filled the main hall.

Half the roasted meat on the table was gone, while the rest was kept warm with soul power.

Bibi Dong sat nearby, holding a scroll of Martial God Hall documents.

"Awake?"

"Yeah."

Su Chen sat up and stretched.

The spiritual energy that had originally circulated slowly within him suddenly accelerated.

The spiritual energy in his twelve primary meridians surged like a sea of qi.

His once gaseous spiritual energy was faintly condensing into liquid.

In the path of cultivation, he had reached the Foundation Establishment Stage.

In terms of Douluo Continent's system, that corresponded exactly to level twenty.

Bibi Dong set down the document and looked over.

"Your soul power has reached level twenty?"

"More or less."

Su Chen walked over, picked up a warm piece of roasted meat, and put it into his mouth.

"Burning those filthy things last night widened my meridians another round. The spiritual energy couldn't fit anymore, so it naturally rose to the next level. It also happened to solidify my first foundation."

Hu Liena entered from the side hall and happened to hear that.

"Level twenty? Isn't your cultivation speed completely unreasonable? If the people in the Elite Camp found out, they probably wouldn't even be able to eat."

"If they don't eat, they won't have the strength to hold their stance."

Su Chen swallowed the roasted meat.

"Senior Sister, this is called accumulated progress."

"Give me a break. Then what are you planning to do about your second Soul Ring? Go draw lightning from the high platform again?"

Su Chen shook his head.

"Lightning alone won't do."

"A sword that takes an unorthodox path breaks easily. The Purple Thunder Spirit Sword's lightning intent is too strong now. It needs something else to suppress it, and it needs to be tempered again."

"What do you want to add?"

"Fire."

Bibi Dong rose to her feet.

"You want a fire-attributed soul beast? Three hundred li south of Wuhun City, there's a thousand-year Blazing Fire Ape. Its age is just right for the limit of a second Soul Ring."

"I don't want a soul beast."

Su Chen wiped his hands.

"Teacher, can we still enter the Earthcore Lava outside Wuhun City?"

Bibi Dong narrowed her eyes slightly.

"When Wuhun City was built, an active volcano was indeed enclosed within its borders. The temperature there is too high. Usually, only a small number of fire-attributed soul masters cultivate along the outskirts. You want to go to the core area?"

"Yes."

"You want to use the Fire Law within the Earthcore Lava to condense your second Soul Ring?"

"You know me best, Teacher."

Half an hour later.

The three arrived at the Earthcore Lava outside Wuhun City.

There was no vegetation around them, only dark-red rocks.

Below lay a churning expanse of dark-red magma, with scorching heat constantly rushing upward.

After standing there for only a moment, Hu Liena's forehead was already covered in sweat.

"Even the ground is scorching here. Are you sure you want to cultivate in a place like this?"

Su Chen did not answer.

His gaze remained fixed on the rolling magma below.

The magma rose and fell as bubbles burst.

Fire-attributed spiritual energy roamed wildly through the air.

When ordinary soul masters saw fire, they thought of burning and destruction.

But in the eyes of a cultivator, fire from the earth's core was one of the sources that nurtured all things.

Fire could destroy all things, but it could also refine all things.

Su Chen sat cross-legged atop a protruding rock.

"Teacher, please stand guard for me."

Bibi Dong raised a hand and formed a purple soul power barrier, shielding Hu Liena behind her and blocking out the surrounding heat.

"Don't force yourself. Earthcore fire is unlike heavenly lightning. Heavenly lightning is instantaneous, but earthcore fire is endless. If you can't endure it, stop immediately."

"Understood."

Su Chen closed his eyes.

The Supreme Guidance Art began to circulate.

The violent fire-attributed spiritual energy around him surged madly into his body.

A burning pain came from his meridians.

Once the fire energy entered his body, it did not rampage like lightning. Instead, like thick magma, it slowly accumulated within his meridians.

In his mind.

[Observing the operation of Earthcore Lava, he perceived the principles of destruction and endless renewal.]

[Combined with the Fire Dao Origin, enlightenment successful.]

[Self-created method: Earthcore Heaven-Burning Art]

The circulation route of a new cultivation art lit up within his sea of consciousness.

Su Chen changed the way spiritual energy traveled through his meridians.

He was no longer simply guiding it.

Instead, he compressed and purified the fire-attributed spiritual energy absorbed into his body according to the circulation of the Earthcore Heaven-Burning Art.

The burning pain gradually faded.

It was replaced by a sense of solid, abundant strength.

The Purple Thunder Spirit Sword floating in midair was drawn over and landed across Su Chen's knees.

The lightning patterns on the blade began to flicker.

"Using fire as the source, forge my second foundation."

Su Chen shouted softly.

On the surface of the magma pool below, a small crimson whirlwind suddenly rose.

The whirlwind rushed up along the cliff face and gathered in midair.

Hu Liena's eyes widened.

"Su Chen is absorbing the magma below?"

"Not magma."

Bibi Dong stared at the scene ahead.

"It's the purest Fire Law."

The firelight grew brighter and brighter.

All the fire laws continuously compressed in midair.

A dark-red ring of light slowly took shape.

The moment the ring appeared, the surrounding temperature surged again.

Hu Liena stared at the ring's color, her voice stammering.

"R-Red? A hundred-thousand-year Soul Ring?"

Shock flashed through Bibi Dong's eyes as well, but she quickly calmed down.

"It isn't a hundred-thousand-year Soul Ring."

"But it's red..."

"The red of a hundred-thousand-year Soul Ring comes from a soul beast reaching a hundred thousand years of cultivation. The red of this Soul Ring is the color of fire's origin."

Bibi Dong watched the red ring slowly rotate.

"This is Ultimate Fire."

Su Chen raised a hand and tapped the blade with his fingertip.

"Condense."

The red ring floating above his head slowly descended and settled around the Purple Thunder Spirit Sword.

The sword trembled violently.

Purple lightning and red fire collided across the blade.

Lightning and fire intertwined.

Ordinary iron should not have been able to withstand the dual baptism of heavenly lightning and earthcore fire.

A thin crack appeared on the blade's surface.

Hu Liena's heart leaped into her throat.

"The sword is going to shatter!"

"It won't."

Su Chen's tone was calm.

"Destruction before rebirth. If this outer shell isn't burned away, how can the fire be carved into it?"

The Earthcore Heaven-Burning Art circulated at full force.

The red Soul Ring completely merged into the blade.

The crack did not continue spreading. Instead, dark-red streams of light seeped into it.

The flakes of iron that fell away turned into ash.

In their place was a completely renewed sword.

Its blade was slender. Beside the original purple lightning patterns was an additional dark-red fire pattern.

The lightning and fire patterns intertwined, clinging to the blade like veins.

Su Chen opened his eyes and gripped the hilt.

The instant he touched it, lightning and fire surged up his arm and into his meridians.

There was no rejection, only perfect harmony.

His second foundation was complete.

The Purple Thunder Spirit Sword had evolved.

Su Chen stood and casually swung his sword at the cliff wall.

He did not use a soul skill.

It was merely the most basic slash.

A sword aura mixed with purple lightning and red flames shot from the blade.

That section of the cliff wall was directly melted by the Ultimate Fire sword aura.

The molten rock streamed down the cliff, leaving behind a bottomless sword mark.

Flickering purple lightning still lingered around the mark.

Hu Liena drew in a sharp breath.

"This... is this something a level twenty soul master can do?"

Bibi Dong walked over to the cliff wall and felt the destructive force remaining within the sword mark.

Lightning specialized in explosive force, while fire specialized in destruction.

Two origin laws had merged into a single sword.

"A level twenty soul power foundation."

Bibi Dong turned and looked at Su Chen.

"But this destructive power is already close to that of a level forty Soul Ancestor."

Hu Liena was beginning to feel numb.

"Six years old, level twenty. He can melt stone with sword aura, and his combat strength can contend with a Soul Ancestor."

She turned to look at Su Chen.

"Where did you even learn these abilities?"

"I built them up by eating Papal Hall food."

Su Chen recalled the sword into his body.

"If Senior Sister is jealous, have two extra bowls next time we eat."

"Stop choking me with nonsense. What is this second soul skill called?"

"Heaven Burning."

"What does it do?"

"The sword aura carries Ultimate Fire. When lightning and fire combine, its power doubles. Once even a spark touches something, it won't burn clean unless the spiritual energy is severed."

Bibi Dong looked at Su Chen, her eyes full of pride.

The Pope who had once worried endlessly over Spirit Hall's future now felt an unprecedented sense of confidence as she looked at this personal disciple.

With someone like him in Spirit Hall.

Qian Daoliu or the upper three sects, sooner or later, they would all have to bow their heads.

"Now that the Soul Ring has been successfully condensed."

Bibi Dong withdrew the soul power barrier.

"Go back. There's still a pile of things waiting for you, the chief instructor, at Martial God Hall."

Su Chen nodded.

"It's time to head back."

"If we keep roasting, our clothes are going to scorch."

The three of them turned and left the lava region.