Blazing Fire Reins in Its Flames

After leaving Moonlight Pavilion, Nan Feng traveled south for two days.

The ground along the official road turned from bluish-gray to crimson. The roadside weeds had a layer of charred, curled edges.

Nan Feng squatted down and pinched a handful of soil. Fine sand leaked through his fingers, and it was hot to the touch. The soil was mixed with fine powder of copper ore.

The Old Huai sniffed inside the tower.

"This is the territory of the Blazing Fire Academy. These fire-wielding freaks have laid a fire vein conduit beneath the entire city. The ground temperature within a thirty-mile radius is five degrees higher than elsewhere."

"Smell the sulfur in the air; it smells almost like it's near a blacksmith's forge."

Nan Feng patted the dirt off his hands.

He recognized that smell. He'd been forging blacksmiths for over a decade; the smell of charcoal was the taste of home.

Walk forward for about half an incense stick's time, and at the end of the official road appears a crimson stone city.

The city wall was built of volcanic rock, with copper strips embedded in the gaps between the stones. When the sun shone on it, the entire wall glowed red.

A black iron plaque hangs above the city gate, bearing the two characters "Blazing Fire." The strokes are sharp, and the characters are filled with cinnabar, making them look like two burning flames from a distance.

There were no guards at the city gate.

As the Nan Feng approached, a red figure darted out of the city gate, bringing a wave of heat straight to your face.

Nan Feng tilted his head to avoid it. The red shadow brushed past his ear, made a turn in the air, and circled back.

This time he saw it clearly. The fireball was the size of a fist, with a thin layer of Soul Power membrane wrapped around its fiery core, and it flew fast and cunningly.

"Huo Wu."

The fireball exploded in mid-air, scattering sparks all over the ground.

A red-haired girl jumped out of the city gate. She had a high ponytail, two streaks of black ash on her face, and wore a bright red outfit with the sleeves rolled up to her elbows. Her forearms were covered with old burn scars from being burned by sparks.

She stood at the city gate with her hands on her hips, scanning Nan Feng from head to toe, a smirk playing on her lips.

"Well, Tower Simpleton, you actually came. I thought you were going to drag it out for another half month."

"You wrote in such urgency in your letter, how could I dare not come?"

Nan Feng walked past. Huo Wu turned and walked into the city, taking two steps before turning back to glare at him.

"Keep up, the dean is waiting."

She pointed to the Nan Feng's left wrist.

"And—you need to replace this lousy tape of yours; it's all washed out."

Nan Feng glanced down.

The red hairband was braided by Xiao Wu and has been worn for many years. This one was changed in Holy Soul Village last time, and he hasn't taken it off since.

"Xiao Wu choreographed it, I won't change it."

Huo Wu rolled her eyes, said nothing more, and strode ahead to lead the way.

The grounds of the Blazing Fire Academy were much wilder than those of the Heaven Dou Royal Academy. There were no neat lawns or stone steps, but open fire pits and iron stakes everywhere.

The ground was paved with red stone bricks mixed with fire crystal sand, and the soles of your feet would get hot when you stepped on them.

Several groups of students were practicing fire-based Soul Skill in the courtyard, with fireballs, fire walls, and fire lines flying everywhere.

Seeing Huo Wu bring in an outsider, they all turned their heads to steal a glance.

A young girl with pigtails lost control of her fireball and it landed squarely on the face of a male student next to her. The male student cursed and chased after her, trying to hit her.

Huo Wu led the group all the way to the main building of the academy.

The main building is also made of firestone. Two large bronze pillars stand at the entrance, with two stone-carved fire pythons coiled on them, spewing hot air from their mouths.

Huo Wu pushed open the door and shouted at the top of her lungs.

"Dean! The person has been brought!"

A muffled "Come in" came from inside the room.

Nan Feng followed Huo Wu inside.

In the center of the main hall stands a long, red bronze table, upon which sits a row of rough pottery teacups.

A sturdy old man in his fifties sat behind the table. He had a shiny bald head, a thick beard that extended to his sideburns, and a ruddy complexion. He wore an old, faded robe with several burn holes in the cuffs.

When he saw Nan Feng enter, he stood up and clasped his hands in a fist salute. His palms were large and calloused, clearly indicating that he came from a kiln-firing and blacksmithing background.

"Nan Feng Master Nanfeng," the old man's voice boomed, "My surname is Huo, and I'm the Dean of the Blazing Fire Academy. That girl Huo Wu has been talking about you all the time; today I'm finally seeing you in person."

Nan Feng returned the greeting.

"Dean Huo, you're too kind. I used my Immortal Power to help Huo Wu develop her Huo Wu Blazing Sun Martial Soul. I need to come and see for myself how to stabilize it and how to integrate it with the academy's teaching."

Dean Huo nodded and pulled out a roll of blueprints from under the table, spreading them out.

The diagram above depicts the layout of the training grounds for the Blazing Fire Academy.

"Blazing Fire Academy is different from the Heaven Dou Royal Academy. Heaven Dou emphasizes balance, while we only play with fire."

"Everyone in the entire academy, from the janitors to the dean, possesses a fire-attribute Martial Soul. Their cultivation method can be summed up in one word—burning. When their Soul Power is insufficient, they roast themselves with fire until their Soul Power recovers."

"This outdated method has been practiced for decades, producing a freak like Huo Wu, but also ruining many students."

He pointed to a mark on the drawing.

"After Huo Wu returned from Jialing Pass, her Blazing Sun Martial Soul transformed into the Heaven-Burning Blazing Sun. Her Soul Power jumped directly from level 42 to level 47, and the fluctuation of her Soul Power became three times stronger."

"But her problem now is that she's too aggressive and can't control herself. Yesterday, she unleashed a powerful move at the training ground that almost burned half the yard to the ground. She needs a way to control her power."

Nan Feng glanced at Huo Wu.

Huo Wu turned her head away, rubbing the cracks in the bricks with her toes, her ears turning red.

"So my purpose in coming here is very clear." Nan Feng turned the blueprints to face him.

"Blazing Fire Academy has allied with the Immortal Dao Alliance. I'll give you a set of fire-attribute Immortal Power cultivation techniques, specifically for training control."

"As the first Huo Wu, I'll help Huo Wu stabilize the Soul Power fluctuations of the Heaven-Burning Blazing Sun. Once she gets it working, we'll promote this method throughout the entire academy."

Dean Huo slammed his hand on the table, causing the teacup to bounce.

"Great! I, Old Huo, love this straightforward approach. From today onwards, Blazing Fire Academy is allied with the Immortal Dao Alliance. Just tell me what materials you need or how many people you require."

"I don't need any materials." Nan Feng pointed at Huo Wu. "I only want her. She'll train with me for the next few days, and no one else should disturb her."

Dean Huo turned to look at Huo Wu.

Huo Wu ground her toes into the brick seams even harder, her words showing no sign of softening.

"Fine, let's practice then. Who's afraid of who?"

That afternoon, Nan Feng dragged Huo Wu to a barren slope outside the city.

Three miles from the Blazing Fire Academy lies a barren, pebbly beach. The ground is covered in copper slag, sharp and uncomfortable to walk on, but fire-resistant.

That's where Huo Wu secretly practices her ultimate moves.

Nan Feng told Huo Wu to stop, then stepped back ten paces. He took out ten iron stakes from the Tower Spirit Space and stuck them into the ground, forming a circle about three zhang square.

"Give me a punch. With all your might."

Without Huo Wu word, Huo Wu clenched her right fist. The Heaven Burning Blazing Sun Martial Soul exploded behind her, and crimson-gold flames surged from her fist, distorting the surrounding air.

She took a step forward and slammed her fist into the iron stake.

With a loud bang.

The iron stake was unharmed. The flames from that punch exploded from the stake's surface, splashing out two zhang (approximately 6.6 meters) and burning a charred arc on the gravel beach.

Nan Feng frowned as he looked at the arc.

"You wasted at least 40% of your Soul Power with that punch. The fire energy didn't condense on your fist; it dissipated as soon as it was thrown. The scattered flames are only good for show."

Huo Wu withdrew her fist and took a breath.

"I know. But the characteristic of the Blazing Sun Martial Soul is its explosive power; it's inherently uncontrollable. Before, when my Soul Power was lower, I could suppress it. Now that I'm at level 47, the more powerful it becomes, the more scattered it becomes."

"So it needs to be changed."

Nan Feng took a short stick from the Tower Spirit Space and stuck it into the ground.

"From today onwards, you are not allowed to use your Martial Soul in combat. You will use this short stick, and practice slashing and thrusting by wrapping your Soul Power around the stick."

"When you can use your Soul Power to pierce this anvil with a short stick without sparks flying, you'll be considered to have mastered the basics."

Huo Wu stared at the anvil.

"Is this an anvil?"

"It's made of refined copper, and it burns very well." Nan Feng patted the anvil. "Your dean specially prepared it for you."

Huo Wu cursed, picked up a short stick, and started practicing.

On the first day, she poked it over three hundred times. The anvil didn't budge, sparks flew everywhere, and she almost burned her eyebrows.

Nan Feng squatted down nearby and watched, occasionally making a comment.

"It's over."

"It's over again."

"The third one was alright."

"Again."

Huo Wu became increasingly impulsive with each practice session. The next morning, she threw the short stick to the ground and yelled at Nan Feng.

"This method won't work! I have a fire-attribute Martial Soul, and you're asking me to poke an anvil with a short stick? Isn't that like making a fire attribute do earth attribute work?"

Nan Feng picked up the short stick and weighed it in his hand.

Do you know the biggest difference between fire and earth attributes?

Huo Wu stared wide-eyed.

"When an earth-attribute Soul Master pours their Soul Power into a stick, the stick remains a stick. When a fire-attribute Soul Master pours their Soul Power into a stick, the stick can become a red-hot stick."

Nan Feng gripped the short stick and channeled his Immortal Power into it.

The entire short stick radiated a reddish-gold light from the inside out. There were no flames on the surface of the stick, but the surrounding air was visibly distorted.

"The fire energy is within the staff; don't let it escape. When you thrust, use the concentrated Soul Power at the tip of the staff to break through the defense; the heat from the staff itself is merely incidental. This is called 'gathering'."

He handed the short stick to Huo Wu.

Huo Wu took it, closed her eyes, and poured her Soul Power into the staff.

Halfway through the pouring, sparks began to fly off the stick. She gritted her teeth and pushed the sparks back, doing so three times.

On the fourth attempt, the stick finally emitted a dark red light, without leaking out a single spark.

She opened her eyes and gave a slight smile.

Nan Feng nodded beside him.

"Today we'll pierce the anvil."

Huo Wu grabbed a short stick and stabbed it into the anvil.

The moment the tip of the stick touched the surface of the anvil, a very fine crack appeared at the point where dark red Soul Power condensed.

The anvil wasn't pierced, but it was cracked.

Huo Wu paused for a moment, then suddenly turned around and glared at Nan Feng.

"Does it count even if it's cracked?" Nan Feng asked.

"If it cracks, that counts!" Huo Wu slammed the short stick into the ground, wiping away sweat. "Give me three more days, and I guarantee I'll pierce it through."

Nan Feng didn't reply.

He looked up at the northern sky. The dark purple hue in the Far North was even more intense than it had been a few days ago.

The words that Snow Empress had carved on the stone steps of the Moonlight Pavilion were still in his mind. Once he finished dealing with matters at the Blazing Fire Academy, he had to head north immediately.

"Two days," Nan Feng said.

"If you can pierce the anvil within two days, I'll stay an extra day to teach you the second level of the power-controlling technique. If you can't, I'll leave after two days."

Huo Wu picked up the short stick and started stabbing again.

The Old Huai clicked its tongue twice inside the tower.

"This girl is really going all out."

Nan Feng didn't speak, but the corner of her mouth curled up slightly.