Black Rock City

Dou Qi Armor—this was the exclusive hallmark of a Da Dou Shi expert.

It was only because Lei Luo's foundation was so formidable that, immediately after breaking through, he was already comparable to an ordinary late-stage Da Dou Shi.

After flicking the dust from his clothes, Lei Luo rose to his feet.

With this, his trip to the Magic Beast Mountain Range had come to a perfect end.

He had obtained everything he had sought, his strength had undergone a qualitative leap, and there was nothing left worth staying for.

Pushing aside the massive boulder blocking the cave entrance, Lei Luo decided to set out for Black Rock City.

It was a major city, and also the only nearby city with an aerial transport fleet.

After all, the Magic Beast Mountain Range was simply too far from the Tagor Desert.

If he relied on the Purple Cloud Wings to fly there, it would take a long time and attract far too much attention.

To a certain extent, the allure of a flying Dou technique was no less than that of an Earth-tier cultivation technique.

And time happened to be the most precious thing of all, so Lei Luo naturally would not waste it for no reason.

Besides, his Alchemist rank had never been certified. Without a rank badge, he would be unable to enjoy many of the associated benefits.

Therefore, he could also stop by the Alchemist Association in Black Rock City to take the rank assessment.

However, he was currently still within the mountain range. It was unrealistic to expect Lei Luo to retrace his path back to Green Mountain Town.

So, at a small town on the edge of the mountain range, he found a mercenary group that was also heading to Black Rock City and joined them on the road.

Several days later, after traveling continuously, Lei Luo finally arrived beneath the gates of Black Rock City.

Looking at the enormous city before him, Lei Luo could not help feeling awestruck.

The shock brought by such a grand city was far beyond anything film or television productions from his previous life could convey.

Even more outrageous was the fact that, just like its name suggested, Black Rock City had been built from block after block of black rock.

It was said that its walls had once withstood the full-force bombardment of two Dou Wang experts without budging in the slightest, which showed just how absurdly sturdy they were.

Following the line entering the city, Lei Luo finally entered Black Rock City after paying the entrance tax.

The moment he entered, a lively cacophony of noise filled his ears, leaving him somewhat dazed.

"Damn, this place is only a little less bustling than the Imperial Capital," Lei Luo remarked.

After wandering the streets, he first found an inn and settled in, then asked the owner for information about the Alchemist Association.

And if he remembered correctly, the Alchemist Gu Te in Black Rock City possessed a portion of Ice Spirit Cold Spring.

After all, even with the Taotie Physique and the Heaven-Swallowing Art, Lei Luo did not dare be careless in the slightest when swallowing Heavenly Flames.

To obtain the Green Lotus Core Flame in the Tagor Desert, Lei Luo had been making preparations all along.

The Blood Lotus Essence and Ice Spirit Flame Grass from Green Mountain Town, and now the Ice Spirit Cold Spring in Black Rock City—each was part of those preparations.

If the Blood Lotus Pill refined from the former was meant to protect his outer body and allow him to approach a Heavenly Flame, then the Ice Spirit Cold Spring was meant to keep his internal organs from being burned to ash.

After all, the danger Lei Luo had faced when swallowing the Purple Flame had already shown that without the system's protection, swallowing a Heavenly Flame was absolutely a near-certain death sentence!

As for Naling, the other treasure used for swallowing Heavenly Flames, Lei Luo did not need it.

If the Taotie Physique, which was said to devour everything, could not even contain a Heavenly Flame, would it not be a cheap imitation?

Thus, the materials needed to swallow a Heavenly Flame were nearly complete, with only the Ice Spirit Cold Spring remaining.

This was the true reason Lei Luo had insisted on coming to Black Rock City.

After all, if he truly intended to head for the Tagor Desert, he could have returned to the Imperial Capital and set out from there. There had been no need to cross mountains and ridges to reach Black Rock City.

After asking for the address of the Alchemist Association, Lei Luo left beneath the innkeeper's envious gaze.

Following the innkeeper's directions and making several turns, Lei Luo finally arrived at the entrance of the Alchemist Association.

He lifted his head and looked at the imposing building before him.

The building had a rather unique design. From the outside, it roughly resembled a medicinal cauldron.

Windows resembling the fire vents of a medicinal cauldron had been set around the building, while above the tall roof, a massive cauldron lid drooped down and covered the structure beneath it.

Lei Luo's gaze paused briefly on the pale purple sandalwood plaque outside the building before he softly read aloud:

"Alchemist Association!"

Just as Lei Luo was about to walk over, he seemed to recall a troublesome issue and stopped.

According to his memories, to enter the Alchemist Association in Black Rock City, one seemed to need either a letter of introduction from a teacher or friend, or an Alchemist rank badge.

Neither of those things would be difficult for Lei Luo to obtain.

The problem was that, at present, he had neither.

Helplessly shrugging, Lei Luo decided to go up and show off.

As long as he displayed his beast flame, he would naturally qualify to enter.

When he reached the entrance, two middle-aged guards from the Alchemist Association immediately approached him.

"Young brother, I saw you lingering by the entrance for quite a while. Are you trying to go in?"

Hearing this, Lei Luo smiled and nodded.

"Yes, I want to enter."

The middle-aged guard smiled as though this was nothing unusual, then politely continued, "Then do you have a letter of introduction from your teacher or a friend?"

"According to the rules, you must have a letter of introduction or already possess an Alchemist rank badge before I can let you in."

Lei Luo's expression did not change. Just as he was about to speak, a pleasant female voice sounded behind him.

Turning around, he saw a woman in purple standing not far beside him.

She appeared to be a little over twenty. Her delicate face was quite beautiful and charming.

Her figure was slightly petite, but her development was rather astonishing.

Curves where there should be curves and hollows where there should be hollows—her full, mature body was clad in a tight purple Alchemist uniform.

It gave her a rather noble, uniformed air.

After all, an Alchemist's clothing could not be worn casually. Yet although she wore Alchemist attire, there was no badge representing her rank on her chest.

Clearly, she had gotten in through connections.

Her long dark hair was tied with a purple ribbon, falling all the way to her round, perky buttocks.

Whenever it swayed, it lightly slapped against her firm, rounded rear. The soft, low sound was like a cat's claw, constantly scratching at the hearts of those nearby men whose gazes were less than proper.

Lei Luo had no impression of this young woman at all.

After all, there had been far too many peerless beauties in the novels of his previous life. Even beautiful married women who were Dou Masters several hundred or even a thousand years old made it difficult for him to remember every female character.

Still, he could roughly guess her identity. She should be Otto's treasured granddaughter.

At this moment, with Lei Luo and the two guards blocking the way in front of her, the woman feigned anger and said playfully to the guards, "Why aren't you moving? Is blocking the way that fun?"

At that very moment, an aged voice filled with disbelief sounded behind Lei Luo.

"You're... little Lei Luo?"