Blazing Fire Exchange · Blazing Sun Challenge

The exchange matches between Heaven Dou Royal Academy and Blazing Fire Academy were scheduled for after the first snowfall of early winter.

That morning, Nan Feng practiced Tower Suppression in the open space outside the guest elder's quarters. The sky was gray, and the wind carried a dry chill. The old ginkgo outside the courtyard wall had shed all its leaves, leaving bare branches.

Ye Lingling came down the corridor with a notice from the academic affairs office in her hand.

"Blazing Fire Academy is arriving this afternoon. Both the intermediate and advanced divisions have to take part in the exchange matches, and as a guest elder, you need to be there too." She handed him the notice. "Qin Ming asked me to remind you not to be late."

Nan Feng took the notice and skimmed it.

Blazing Fire Academy was renowned for its fire attribute, while Skywater Academy was renowned for its water attribute. Both held exchanges with Heaven Dou Royal Academy every year.

Back at Nuoding Academy, he had heard that Blazing Fire Academy had a girl named Huo Wu, who had a Blazing Sun Martial Soul and a fiery personality. At the time, he had only read her name in a book.

The afternoon exchange matches were held at the academy's main cultivation ground.

By the time Nan Feng arrived, quite a few students had gathered around. The intermediate and advanced divisions stood on opposite sides, leaving a passage down the middle. Qin Ming presided from a raised platform, his voice ringing out.

Blazing Fire Academy had brought six students, three from its intermediate division and three from its advanced division. Their leader was a Soul Ancestor instructor above level forty.

Nan Feng's gaze swept over the group and stopped on the person in the third position.

A tall, red-haired girl stood there, dressed in fitted golden-red combat clothes. Her hair looked like a burning flame. She had wheat-colored skin and bright, sharp eyes.

Nan Feng recognized her at a glance.

Huo Wu. Her Soul Power fluctuations were searing and violent, like a flame trapped beneath her clothes. Her Soul Power was around level thirty, higher than that of most students at the academy.

The first few matches were between intermediate-division students. Heaven Dou Royal Academy sent out several students in their early thirties, and Blazing Fire Academy's lineup was much the same. After three matches, Heaven Dou Royal Academy had two wins and one loss.

Before the fourth match, Blazing Fire Academy's leading instructor stood up and said something. Huo Wu stepped out and walked to the center of the arena.

Her golden-red ponytail flicked behind her. Her gaze swept over the rows of students and settled on Nan Feng.

"Is there a student above level thirty willing to fight me?" Huo Wu asked, her voice clear and bright. "I'm level thirty-one, with a Blazing Sun Martial Soul. Anyone can come at me."

The intermediate-division students looked at one another.

A level thirty-one Blazing Sun Martial Soul had tremendous fire-attribute explosive power. Aside from Yu Tianheng and Dugu Yan, no one in the intermediate division was confident of a sure victory. Yu Tianheng was absent. Dugu Yan stood with her arms folded, showing no intention of moving.

Huo Wu's gaze rested on Nan Feng for two breaths.

"You in the corner, with the Bronze Tower Martial Soul. Come out."

Nan Feng looked at her. Huo Wu's gaze was direct. It reminded him of buyers at the antique market in his previous life, with sharp eyes that never let go once they picked something out.

Nan Feng stepped out and stopped ten paces opposite Huo Wu.

"I'm level thirty-four."

Huo Wu raised an eyebrow. "Level thirty-four? You look about my age."

"Are you going to fight or not?"

Huo Wu smiled, her golden-red ponytail sweeping an arc behind her head.

"I am. Of course I am. Level thirty-four is even better. I want to see just how tough a level thirty-four Bronze Tower Martial Soul is."

Qin Ming announced the start from the platform.

The instant Huo Wu kicked off the ground, a ring of golden-red flames burst beneath her feet, and she charged like a burning meteor.

She was faster than Dugu Yan and fiercer than Xiao Wu. Over a short distance, the explosive power of her Blazing Sun Martial Soul needed no time to build up speed.

Her right fist slammed toward Nan Feng's chest. A dense layer of golden-red flame covered it, and the wind from her punch scorched the air until it twisted.

Nan Feng activated Tower Suppression.

A cyan halo spread out from beneath his feet, covering five paces. Huo Wu charged into it, and the suppression checked her speed for a beat.

She had no intention of slowing down and poured Soul Power into her right fist. The golden-red flames swelled around it.

She pushed two steps forward against the suppression, her fist almost touching Nan Feng's chest.

Nan Feng turned sideways to avoid the blow head-on, and five dark-purple claw shadows sprang from the External Soul Bone on his hand. Tiger Claw · Star Shattering slashed toward Huo Wu's ribs.

Huo Wu brought her left arm across to block, golden-red flames condensing into a shield around it.

The claw shadows struck the fire shield. A crack opened across it, but it did not break.

Using the force of the block, Huo Wu twisted sideways and swept her right leg through the air at Nan Feng's head. Golden-red flames coated her leg, and the blast forced the watching students back a step.

Nan Feng did not retreat.

He stepped half a pace forward with his left foot and unleashed Tower Realm · Creation.

The cyan halo doubled in size, and the layer of Power of Creation within it circulated through the fire-attribute Spiritual Power.

The flames on Huo Wu's sweeping leg touched the Power of Creation and began to be devoured and transformed. The searing golden-red power flowed along an invisible channel to Nan Feng, replenishing the Soul Power reserves in his dantian.

Huo Wu's pupils contracted.

The fiercer her flames, the more was devoured, and the more abundant Nan Feng's Soul Power became. The Blazing Sun Martial Soul excelled at explosive power, but the stronger the burst, the more was devoured. A prolonged fight would put her at a disadvantage.

Huo Wu pulled back her leg and retreated, putting five paces between them.

She stood at the edge of the Tower Realm and took a couple of breaths. Her ponytail had come partly loose, and a few stray strands clung to her cheeks.

She watched the circulating halo of the Tower Realm beneath Nan Feng's feet, her eyes showing surprise, appraisal, and the excitement of having discovered something rare.

"Your Tower Realm can devour my fire," Huo Wu said, her voice lower than before. "My Blazing Sun Martial Soul is known for its explosive power. When I attack, fire-attribute Spiritual Power spills out. Your Tower Realm devoured all of it and turned it into your Soul Power reserves. The harder I fight, the stronger you get."

Nan Feng withdrew the Tower Realm and Tower Suppression, and the halo dissipated. He flexed his wrist.

"Your Blazing Sun Martial Soul has tremendous explosive power, but not enough endurance. If your opponent withstands the first three bursts, you won't have any strength left afterward."

Huo Wu stared at him for two breaths, then suddenly smiled. This smile was different from the one before: it held no provocation, only open acknowledgment.

"You're right. My Blazing Sun Martial Soul does have that problem. My instructor said its upper limit is restricted by what my meridians can withstand. If I release flames that are too powerful in a short time, my meridians get burned."

She took a step forward.

"There's a layer of warm light in your Tower Realm. It reacted strangely when it touched my flames. Part of the flames it touched was transformed, and part came back to me, gentler and warmer than when I released it. What was that?"

Nan Feng looked at her. Huo Wu's perception was sharper than he had expected. The Blazing Sun Martial Soul was naturally sensitive to changes in fire-attribute Spiritual Power, and she had noticed the faint trace of warmth left by the transformation.

"That's a nurturing power that comes with the Tower Realm," Nan Feng said. "It can temporarily ease the burns fire-attribute Spiritual Power causes to the meridians, but its effect is limited."

"To solve the Blazing Sun Martial Soul's meridian problem completely, the Martial Soul itself has to evolve. Outside help can't make up the difference."

Huo Wu's eyes lit up. She took another step, stopping less than two paces from Nan Feng.

Her golden-red eyes were almost too bright in the afternoon light. Half her ponytail had come loose, and stray locks swayed beside her cheeks.

"Can you help me evolve my Martial Soul?"

Nan Feng was silent for a breath.

"My Tower Realm can only nurture it right now. It can't evolve it. When my Soul Power reaches level forty, the door to the tower's third floor will open fully, and the Power of Creation can truly be released outward. Then I can help you evolve your Martial Soul."

Huo Wu stared at him for a long time.

The other matches were still going on, and the surrounding students had already turned their attention to the next one. Huo Wu stood in the middle of the arena, her golden-red combat clothes edged with a warm glow in the afternoon light. She tilted her head as she looked at Nan Feng, the corners of her mouth curving into a small but deep smile.

"All right," she said. "I'll remember you. Your name is Nan Feng, you have a Bronze Tower Martial Soul, and you're level thirty-four. When you reach level forty, come find me at Blazing Fire Academy. I'll be waiting."

She turned and walked back to her group, her ponytail swaying behind her.

When she reached the edge of the group, she turned her head and glanced back. It was a brief look.

Huo Wu's Blazing Sun Martial Soul had reached a bottleneck. Her instructor could not solve it, and neither could she.

Nan Feng tucked the short staff back behind his waist.

During that fight, Tower Realm · Creation had reacted with particular vigor as it devoured the fire-attribute Spiritual Power, and the gap in the third-floor door had widened another sliver.

The Power of Creation transformed fire-attribute Spiritual Power more efficiently than either lightning-attribute or poison-attribute Spiritual Power. The power that came back was warm and lingering, remaining in his meridians longer.

Ye Lingling came over from the spectators' seats. She looked him over, confirmed that he had no burns, and handed him the notebook.

"Huo Wu's Blazing Sun Martial Soul has an elemental affinity with your Tower Realm," Ye Lingling said. "I sensed the gap in your third-floor door widen another sliver just now. The Power of Creation transforms fire-attribute Spiritual Power most efficiently. You could spar with her more often."

Nan Feng took the notebook and looked toward Blazing Fire Academy's group. Huo Wu stood among them, talking to her teammates, her ponytail conspicuous in the afternoon light. She sensed his gaze and glanced over, the corners of her mouth curving into a smile, before turning back to continue talking.

Nan Feng looked away. The deep-black Soul Ring's underlying light in his palm pulsed against his skin, echoing the cyan light in the crack at the tower's base as one rose and the other fell.