Early the next morning.
Chen Xiao woke from cultivation and followed the stream of senior students to one of the Inner Academy's core locations.
The Sky Burning Qi Refining Tower!
Standing on the broad open ground and waiting, Chen Xiao looked at the mysterious black tower buried deep underground ahead, his brows slightly furrowing.
Just standing outside, before he had truly entered the tower, he already sensed it.
This place was not very friendly to him.
The Fire Attribute energy here was more than several times denser than in the Tagor Desert, while in comparison, the energy of the other attributes was extremely thin.
"Open the tower!"
After a long wait, as the peal of a bell fell, an aged voice came from inside the black tower.
Immediately, the tightly shut tower doors boomed open, and the senior students waiting outside surged in in groups.
Chen Xiao noticed that the first few groups to enter the black tower all wore badges on their chests. They were probably the larger factions in the academy.
Only after those groups entered first did it become the turn of the academy's smaller forces, as well as those who had not joined any faction.
Chen Xiao stayed at the rear of the line, unhurried, silently sensing what made this Sky Burning Qi Refining Tower so special. The closer he got, the more stifled his chest felt.
Arriving at the entrance, Chen Xiao took a deep breath and suppressed the frustration surging up in his heart. He lifted his foot and, without hesitation, stepped heavily into the darkness beyond the doors.
The light before him abruptly dimmed. An instant later, Chen Xiao felt his feet land on a hard stone surface.
Before he could relax, a heart-clutching burning pain came from within his body, as though