The lowest level of the Heavenly Flame Qi Refining Tower.
Two Inner Academy elders sat beside the Black Well, leisurely playing a board game.
In the past, they would never have dared relax like this. They had needed to remain on guard every moment against an eruption of the fallen heart flame.
But a few months earlier, the Inner Academy elders had all begun to notice that the Heavenly Flame Qi Refining Tower was becoming less and less effective at accelerating cultivation. Eventually, even the students could clearly feel it.
Such an abnormal situation could hardly be without a cause. After discussing it, they unanimously concluded that the fallen heart flame below was gone.
In other words, Chen Cang had truly succeeded.
For the elders, this was a mixture of joy and worry.
Their duties were easier now, but the feeling of their cultivation slowing down was hardly pleasant.
Suddenly, a petite figure appeared at the passage entrance.
The two elders glanced up, then returned their attention to the board.
"Little girl, this is your thirty-eighth time asking, isn't it? Didn't the Great Elder tell you to wait patiently? Once Chen Cang comes out, he'll definitely return to Tianying right away."
"Exactly. What are you in such a hurry for?"
By now, the two elders were familiar with the girl and spoke quite casually to her.
Zi Yan pouted slightly. "That guy has plenty of tricks up his sleeve. I'm not worried about him. I'm just waiting for him to refine pills."
One elder chuckled at that. "Haven't you got that fellow from the Medicine Gang-Qin Yuan, was it? Hasn't he been at Tianying refining pills for you lately?"
"The ones he makes don't taste good. He only coats the outside with powdered sugar, but they're still bitter inside. And