[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-after-fifteen-years-of-secret-cultivation-i-star":3,"chapter-after-fifteen-years-of-secret-cultivation-i-star-after-fifteen-years-of-secret-cultivation-i-star-chapter-82":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","After Fifteen Years of Secret Cultivation, I Start as a Top-Grade Ultimate Peak!",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2282190,4464,"Chapter 82: The Candle Never Dies","after-fifteen-years-of-secret-cultivation-i-star-chapter-82",82,"\u003Cp>Li Muxian’s gaze shifted as he glanced at the palace-clad woman, allowing Li Yuanling to pull him aboard the wooden boat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Budebushuo ， Yanqianzhedixiatiesuomuzhoudechangjing ， Daoshikanqilaiqueshitingciji 。\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although he knew this kind of thrill was vastly different from what he’d imagined.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this moment, after everyone on the platform had boarded the wooden boats, the palace-clad woman—who had remained motionless at the platform’s edge—turned her head and called into the darkness below the cliff:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Set sail!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her voice echoed endlessly through the darkness, and the iron chains began to writhe rapidly once more, propelling the five wooden boats slowly toward the abyss’s depths.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Each wooden boat was equipped with four soft seats wrapped in cotton furs, indicating a maximum capacity of four passengers per vessel.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Yuanling sat on one of the soft seats; before departure, she picked up the fire-striker on the table before her and lit the candle placed upon it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Muxian sat opposite her and glanced around at the surrounding darkness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The other four wooden boats nearby had also lit their candles, glowing like faint yellow fireflies in the pitch-black underground space.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this moment, Li Yuanling’s gaze fell upon the table, where a line of inscribed characters was clearly visible; she parted her red lips and slowly read aloud:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“First trial: After entering the rotating wheel, maintain the boat’s candle flame unextinguished.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“A flame lasting ten breaths earns one mark; twenty breaths earn two marks; half an incense stick earns five marks; one full incense stick earns ten marks.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If the flame endures beyond one incense stick, one additional mark is earned per breath—after thirty breaths, the wooden boat will pause briefly before entering the second trial.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After reading all the inscriptions on the table, Li Yuanling’s eyes flickered, then she summoned threads of true qi from her palm to shield the candle flame.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Simultaneously, she lifted her gaze to Li Muxian across from her and blinked:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I heard that the person who accumulates the most marks in this underground ‘Floating Boat City’ receives a mysterious item—and if they break the record, they might even get something unimaginably valuable.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing this, Li Muxian glanced at her, crossed his arms, and said:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“As a princess of Great Li, surely you don’t lack for valuable things?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Yuanling tilted her head, studied him for a moment, then a knowing glint flashed in her eyes as she smirked:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I don’t lack them, of course—but who ever turns down more good things?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Muxian raised an eyebrow slightly, surveyed the surroundings, and shook his head:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This place does have a few unique qualities, but overall, it’s just another ordinary spot.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He rubbed his chin and added:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Still, since we’re here already and I’ve got nothing better to do, I don’t mind playing along with you—so you won’t go around saying your sworn brother isn’t a decent man.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this, Li Yuanling blinked, murmured something under her lips—no one could tell what.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just then, the wooden boat gliding through darkness arrived before a massive horizontal iron wheel frame.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Yuanling looked up and saw wooden boats, each lit with candles, approaching from all directions in the darkness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The iron chains attached to the boats slid into grooves on the wheel frame; with a series of mechanical clicks, they were all secured in place.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She swiftly counted: including their own boat, thirty wooden boats were now fixed to the wheel frame.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Soon, as a melodious bell rang, the iron wheel frame suddenly began spinning rapidly, accelerating until within seconds only blurred afterimages remained.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At first, Li Yuanling feared Li Muxian might be flung off—but when she saw him sitting calmly across from her, expressionless as ever, she let out a soft “hmm?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She hadn’t expected someone who appeared to possess no true qi at all to be so composed—more so than she was.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Stop staring. Focus on yourself first.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Muxian glanced at her; the wheel’s speed increased further, and cries of alarm rose from the other wooden boats.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Still, Li Yuanling’s martial cultivation was strong enough to handle this challenge; she maintained her candle flame while sitting perfectly still.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even, she cast Li Muxian a smug glance—as if to say, this was nothing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Soon, ten breaths passed, then twenty… time neared one incense stick.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Around them, candles on other boats kept extinguishing; by the end, only seven boats still burned with flame on the entire wheel frame.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Among them, near Li Muxian and Li Yuanling’s boat, another vessel also kept its candle lit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Two men sat aboard it: the martial arts giant who had shouted earlier, and a thin, middle-aged man.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The middle-aged man wore a long sword at his waist; he glanced toward Li Muxian’s boat and narrowed his eyes slightly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He seemed surprised that this young couple could endure the wheel for a full incense stick.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Soon, one incense stick passed—the iron wheel continued spinning.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then, from above the wheel, a series of palm blasts suddenly descended, precisely targeting the seven boats still lit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Muxian looked up at the wheel’s center, where an old man in black robes sat, his martial true qi surging violently; each palm strike sent forth a blast, and with time, the force of each blast grew stronger.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At first, Li Yuanling could still shield her candle with her own true qi—but after twenty breaths, she clearly began to struggle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By the twenty-fifth breath, the old man’s palm blasts had become extremely fierce.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Yuanling watched as the true qi surrounding her candle was blown apart; the flame began to flicker violently, nearly extinguished, reduced to a crimson ember.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She cried out in alarm, certain she had reached her limit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet at that very moment, the nearly extinguished candle flame suddenly flared back to its original brightness; even as the remaining palm blasts swept over it, the flame remained utterly steady, burning as before.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The black-robed old man seated above turned his gaze toward Li Muxian’s boat, frowning slightly—how had the flame, which he was certain had died, managed to survive? This surprised him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Still, he gave no further thought, and instantly unleashed several more palm strikes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now, only three boats on the entire wheel still burned with flame—including the one carrying the sword-wielding middle-aged man.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The next round will be too much.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The martial arts giant handled the candle, so the sword-wielding man had leisure to observe the other two boats.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had seen Li Yuanling’s candle nearly die; he was certain she could not survive the next, even stronger blast.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp> Geweidalao ， Suoshitaiduo …… Qianxiadeyigeng ， Zhinenghoumianyoushijianzaibushangle ， Baoqianbaoqian 。\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>( Benzhangwan )\u003C\u002Fp>",1106,"2026-06-20T01:43:38.503Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","ba53298c4eae8cf1e9589d49e7588cf7d052128ace14a2b480e58eeeb1750d06","after-fifteen-years-of-secret-cultivation-i-star-chapter-83","after-fifteen-years-of-secret-cultivation-i-star-chapter-81",259,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fafter-fifteen-years-of-secret-cultivation-i-star-cover.jpg"]