Chapter 37

Standing at the entrance of the Fentian Lianqi Tower, Xiao Yan took a deep breath, his heart trembling with nervous anticipation; he gritted his teeth, made up his mind, lifted his foot, and stepped firmly into the darkness beyond the door.

Instantly, Xiao Yan's expression drastically changed; his once-fine face turned instantly as red as burning charcoal—this scene was utterly bizarre!

!!!

"What's going on!" Xiao Yan's inner voice trembled with shock—he discovered a strand of colorless Heart Fire suddenly burning inside him!

Some Inner Court students preparing to leave the Fentian Lianqi Tower saw Xiao Yan frozen at the entrance, his body emitting faint white mist accompanied by a sizzling sound like roasting meat, and sneered in disdain.

"Haha, another fool who rushes into the Fentian Lianqi Tower without even asking questions."

"The early bird flies first, always thinking himself superior."

"But it's strange—the Inner Court exams were already over last month. Why is this New Student only entering the Fentian Lianqi Tower now?"

"Who knows? Maybe his Fire Energy was already drained by senior students."

The senior students inside the Fire Tower paid Xiao Yan no attention at all, had no interest in meddling, and merely wore smirks of mockery and schadenfreude.

At this moment, Xiao Yan had no time to care about the outside world, for this colorless, formless Heart Fire had suddenly appeared inside him, hovering around his vortex—even though his Fire Control Power was strong and he was a Two-Rank Alchemist, he still couldn't control this Heart Fire.

Xiao Yan was desperately holding back, refusing to let the Heart Fire approach his vortex—if the Heart Fire burned his vortex, he'd be ruined!

"No! Liu Elder and Ruolin Mentor are right beside me—if this Heart Fire were dangerous, they'd surely intervene to save me!"

"Could this Heart Fire be the reason the Fentian Lianqi Tower accelerates Cultivation?!"

Xiao Yan's mind raced; once he calmed down, he immediately understood what was happening.

The reason the Fentian Lianqi Tower accelerates Cultivation is precisely because of this invisible, formless Heart Fire!

Xiao Yan took a deep breath; though no one had taught him how to act inside the Fentian Lianqi Tower, from fragments of overheard words, he had guessed roughly.

"Since the Fentian Lianqi Tower is a place to accelerate Cultivation, what I must do now is Cultivate inside it—that is the right path."

Xiao Yan steadied his spirit and began activating the Fendec to absorb the surrounding Fire Attribute Energy. This was the Fentian Lianqi Tower—Fire Attribute Energy was exceptionally abundant, making his Cultivation twice as effective.

Xiao Yan subtly shifted his spirit, enduring the searing pain, and channeled waves of yellow Battle Qi through his Meridians, gathering like rivers flowing into the sea toward his vortex.

Just as Xiao Yan's Battle Qi coalesced into a stream ready to merge with his vortex, the invisible Heart Fire suddenly swelled and scorched the incoming Battle Qi.

"Huh? The Battle Qi has become purer!"

Xiao Yan was stunned—he found that what had been a thick stream of Battle Qi had been reduced by nearly half after being burned by the invisible flame, all impurities incinerated, leaving only an exquisitely pure Fire Attribute Battle Qi.

It saved Xiao Yan the step of purifying impurities from his vortex!

Xiao Yan couldn't help but rejoice. Normally, Cultivation required not only activating a Cultivation Method to absorb external energy and convert it into Battle Qi, then directing it into the vortex, but also further refining the vortex to expel impurities—only after repeated refinement would the vortex undergo a qualitative transformation, allowing one to advance from Dou Zhe to Dou Shi.

Now, with this Heart Fire, half the steps were eliminated—no wonder the Cultivation speed increased!

But after refining the Battle Qi once, the Heart Fire rapidly shrank.

Xiao Yan did not continue deeper into the tower to draw out more Heart Fire, for he knew his purpose was not to Cultivate. Moreover, one couldn't remain indefinitely in the Fentian Lianqi Tower—every moment here meant enduring the agony of one's body being burned. Though Xiao Yan's physical strength could still endure another dozen minutes, it would be useless.

"The sudden appearance of this colorless, formless Heart Fire—it must be the Fallen Heart Flame, ranked fourteenth on the Heavenly Flame Ranking."

Realizing this, Xiao Yan activated several strands of Bone Spirit Cold Fire within his body; a chilling cold swiftly dispelled the heat inside him.

Xiao Yan slowly opened his eyes and exhaled a wisp of white breath, his gaze filled with greed as he stared into the deepest recesses of the Fentian Lianqi Tower—he was nearly certain that a Heavenly Flame existed within.

But with his current strength, even knowing a Heavenly Flame was here meant nothing—the Fallen Heart Flame, ranked fourteenth, was still far too powerful for him to obtain.

Once he understood, Xiao Yan felt no lingering attachment; without hesitation, he turned and walked out of the black tower.

Seeing Xiao Yan leave after less than a minute, Ruolin Mentor and Liu Elder both froze in surprise.

Hold on a little longer! You left too fast—less than a minute?! You won't bring happiness to Xun Er like this!

Ruolin Mentor comforted him: "It's fine—you're still a Dou Zhe. Most Dou Zhe can't even enter. When you truly have the strength to enter the Inner Court, you'll be able to endure much longer."

Xiao Yan smiled; he knew Ruolin Mentor had misunderstood. But Xiao Yan was not the type to show off or cling to pride—he offered no further explanation. His purpose in coming to the Fentian Lianqi Tower wasn't to accelerate Cultivation—it was merely to confirm whether a Heavenly Flame existed.

After Xiao Yan left, Liu Elder suddenly remembered: "Huh? That kid regained consciousness on his own the first time he entered the Fentian Lianqi Tower?"

"Never mind—probably the Heart Fire at the entrance was too weak, didn't even summon much."

Deep into the night, the moon hung like a silver plate, stars scattered across the sky. Xiao Yan sat alone on a hillside in the Outer Court forest, lying on the quiet green grass, a blade of Green Grass between his lips, chewing slowly as its faint bitterness spread through his mouth.

Back in Wutan City, whenever Xiao Yan had worries, he would sit on the hill behind the mountain and watch the moon and stars.

"Brother Xiao Yan has such leisure to gaze at the stars and moon?"

Xun Er, like a purple butterfly, glided gracefully in a seductive arc and landed lightly atop the hill; her clear voice reached Xiao Yan's ears.

Xiao Yan looked at the increasingly radiant and enchanting girl and smiled faintly: "Finished your seclusion?"

Xun Er didn't mind the dirt of the grass; she sat down slowly beside Xiao Yan, her lovely face blooming with a dimple as she smiled gently: "Brother Xiao Yan has something on his mind?"

Xiao Yan shrugged, gazing at the pure white moon above, and said softly: "Xun Er, do you think I'm strong?"

Xun Er paused, furrowing her brows in thought for a moment, then said: "Brother Xiao Yan is already a Star Eight Dou Zhe at sixteen, and his strength rivals students of the Profound Class—hardly anyone your age in Jia Nan Academy can match you."

"What about across the entire Dou Qi Continent?" Xiao Yan looked intently at Xun Er, his eyes like a sage seeking an answer.

Xun Er thought for a long while, then sighed and gave a quiet, unreserved shake of her head.

"Even Jia Nan Academy, founded by a Semi-Sage, has stood firm in the Black Horn Region for countless years—but even so, it is not among the top Factions on the entire Dou Qi Continent." Though Xun Er didn't answer directly, the answer lay entirely within her words.

"I thought so too—after all, the Dou Qi Continent is so vast."