As the invisible flame drilled into Xiao Yan and the others’ heads, immediately, the eleven of them began to tremble to varying degrees. Then, their faces turned as red as charcoal, and even wisps of white mist seeped out from their foreheads.
Looking at the red-faced eleven, Su Qian nodded slightly and instructed the two elders, “Watch them closely; don’t let anything go wrong.”
The two elders bowed in acknowledgment. One of them, a gray-robed elder, sighed, “I wonder how many will succeed this time?”
“This heart-flame body tempering is far more than what they experienced in the upper levels. The burning pain is something even those with strong wills cannot endure with certainty,” Su Qian said calmly.
The other elder nodded with a wry smile. “Last time, only four of the top ten on the Strong Ranking succeeded. The other six failed and sustained serious internal injuries, taking two or three months to recover. Sigh, the benefits of this heart-flame body tempering are indeed tempting, but it’s not easy to enjoy.”
“Let’s see their own fortunes. If they fail, it’s not a big deal. Succeeding in the heart-flame body tempering will only make it easier for them to advance to Dou Wang in the future, but it won’t directly elevate them to that level. Most of those who can reach the top ten on the Strong Ranking are naturally talented. As long as they aren’t extremely unlucky, they should be able to advance to Dou Wang in five to ten years,” Su Qian said casually, then glanced at the huge deep hole behind him, frowning slightly. “How has the Fallen Heart Flame been lately? Any movements?”
Hearing Su Qian’s question, the gray-robed elder quickly replied, “The Fallen Heart Flame has been unusually calm recently, not even showing a trace of fluctuation. If we hadn’t detected its activity, we might have thought it had quietly escaped.”
“No movement?” Hearing this, Su Qian’s expression did not brighten, but rather grew increasingly solemn. For so many years, the Fallen Heart Flame had continuously been trying to break the seal. How could it suddenly become completely silent? Anything unusual was often suspicious. Was the Fallen Heart Flame brewing something?
Su Qian’s thoughts turned, and his face grew even more grave. After a moment, he asked, “How is the seal?”
“We gathered all the elders in the inner courtyard, making up eighteen people, and spent five days completely repairing the seal that had been damaged by previous attacks,” the other elder said, smiling at Su Qian’s serious expression. “Senior Elder, there’s no need to worry too much. Even if the first layer of the seal is unfortunately broken, the outer layer of the Heavenly Flame Refining Tower still has the seal set by the former Academy Head, which would be very difficult for the Fallen Heart Flame to break through.”
Su Qian frowned and scolded, “Don’t underestimate the Fallen Heart Flame. This kind of heavenly fire is the most destructive force in the world. After such a long time, its power is terrifying. If anything goes wrong, the entire inner courtyard will be destroyed in an instant. We can’t afford that cost at the Gama Academy.”
Reprimanded by Su Qian, the elder looked somewhat ashamed.
“Send more people to watch the Fallen Heart Flame. Signal immediately if there’s any movement. I’ve already informed the outer academy. If the Fallen Heart Flame shows any signs of trouble, reinforcements will arrive quickly,” Su Qian said sternly.
“Yes!” The two elders responded respectfully.
“Also, keep an eye on these young ones. Don’t let anything happen. I need to go to the last level to check the exact situation,” Su Qian said, then his figure moved, and he vanished mysteriously, leaving the two elders staring at each other.
Pain, bone-deep pain! That was Xiao Yan’s current feeling. After the invisible flame entered his body, he felt as if he had been thrown into a furnace. And this fire, it seemed to be burning from within, fiercely and intensely, as if it wouldn’t rest until it burned him to ashes.
White mist seeped out from his head. The meridians, bones, and even blood in Xiao Yan’s body seemed to turn transparent. The invisible flame seeped out from every part of his body, like maggots, burning everything it could. Even the Dou Qi hidden in the Dou Crystal couldn’t escape.
Although Xiao Yan couldn’t see inside the Dou Crystal, he could feel the Dou Qi boiling and churning…
In this bone-deep burning pain, every second felt like an eternity. Though Xiao Yan desperately wanted to faint, in the heat of the invisible flame, his senses became more acute, exacerbating the pain. This body tempering was pure torture.
Over the years, Xiao Yan had gained confidence in his willpower and had adapted to the heavenly fire after successfully refining the Green Lotus Core Flame. Yet, even so, he was suffering immensely from this heart-flame body tempering. It was hard to imagine the degree of pain for those who had never adapted to the heavenly fire.
Endure, grit your teeth and endure. These were the words Xiao Yan kept repeating in his mind. In this moment, he could only use this self-hypnotic method to persist longer.
The time of suffering always passes slowly, but as the intense pain persisted, Xiao Yan gradually became numb. When he paid less attention to the pain, he finally noticed the subtle changes in his body under the forging of the primal heart-flame. His previously somewhat unstable Dou Qi, having recently surged by two stars, was now becoming denser at a gratifying rate. He could feel the hollowness in his Dou Crystal rapidly disappearing, and the Dou Crystal was once again solid and firm.
Bones, meridians, and muscles, like refined steel in a fierce fire, were being tempered to be more resilient and explosive…
Xiao Yan, due to various reasons, had managed to get through the most painful period. However, some others weren’t as fortunate. About an hour after the primal heart-flame entered their bodies, one student showed signs of abnormality. His flushed face instantly turned pale, and his body began to shake violently, as if in convulsions.
The two elders, who had been watching Xiao Yan and the others, noticed the student’s abnormality immediately. Their faces changed slightly, and they appeared beside him, their withered hands reaching out to gently touch the student’s back. A surge of powerful Dou Qi rushed into the student’s body.
As the Dou Qi surged, the student’s body shook even more violently. His face, now pale as paper, flushed again, and a mouthful of crimson blood was spat out.
The blood hissed as it hit the ground, and a plume of white smoke rose, leaving only a faint red stain.
As the blood spewed, the student slowly opened his eyes, aware of his failure. His eyes were filled with dejection and helplessness.
“Rest for a while. Failing the heart-flame body tempering is common; don’t take it too seriously,” the gray-robed elder comforted, but just as he spoke, another student’s body began to shake violently. The two elders could only sigh and rush to the new patient, using the same method to expel the heart-flame.
The failures of the first two students triggered a chain reaction, and within an hour, three more students failed, keeping the two elders busy.
After dealing with the last problematic student, the two elders looked at the remaining six, whose breathing, though still flushed, was stable. They finally breathed a sigh of relief. These six had clearly passed the most dangerous phase and, barring major errors, should succeed.
“It seems more will succeed this time,” one elder said, wiping his sweat and smiling.
The other elder nodded, looking at the five despondent students, shaking his head. “You watch these ones. I’ll take them out of the tower.”
With that, he turned and walked to the five, waving his hand to lead them away.
Heart-flame body tempering was a lengthy process. Although Xiao Yan and the six others had endured the hardest part, they still had to undergo three more days of tempering. During this time, they could clearly feel their meridians, bones, and muscles strengthening.
On the third day, the heart-flame body tempering was nearing its end. The flush on their faces was fading, and varying degrees of energy were rising from their bodies. Though this energy wasn’t significantly different in strength from before, it was clearly more solidified.
However, just as they were about to complete the process, Su Qian, who had been watching the Fallen Heart Flame in the lowest level of the Heavenly Flame Refining Tower, suddenly changed his expression drastically.
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