Chapter 358: Furnace

A human with audacity beyond measure.

After hearing Luo De explain the wager, Gre and Kira felt a deep, suffocating gloom.

They had been defeated by a man like this—and so humiliatingly.

And worst of all, they'd been turned into a wager, part of this damned flower-stealing thief's group party!

Yet.

When Luo De, under the pretext of supervising the wager, led them into the sacrificial cave, both were utterly bewildered.

Burning the "fire groom" is a sacred act.

It must be completed within the sacred sacrificial cave.

Inside the pitch-black cave, seven or eight female fire spirits had extinguished their flames, crammed into a space too small to hold them, while a line of eager candidates filled the entrance passage.

Their body hair had all turned to flame, revealing their pale red, exquisite forms.

Only Luo De stood upright.

He rose amid the trembling or unconscious female fire spirits, like a newly born sage—pure and authoritative.

He won.

One could even say he won decisively.

Of course.

This was partly because Luo De had spent a month in six-person parties.

From initial discomfort, he had grown increasingly fierce, and his 【Second Heart】 had advanced by leaps and bounds.

Compared to the six-person group with Tally and Vivian—two desire monsters—just those two alone could each match five to seven female fire spirits.

So these twenty-three female fire spirits were nothing special.

To be honest, his 【Second Heart】 throbbed violently, fully activated.

The female fire spirits' high temperature was quite excellent.

The burning sensation was intense, with a localized sauna-like warmth.

Only those with high fire resistance should try it—their internal temperature is even higher, or you risk being instantly melted.

Also, one more point must be mentioned.

This concerns friction-induced ignition.

Carbon-based beings don't face this problem—if it fails, just add lubricant; gears can still function with some lubrication.

Fire spirits can't.

The high heat dries everything instantly.

This meant Luo De's 【Charm Fluid】 had almost no use—each one kept rushing at him one after another.

Fortunately.

Since they had extremely high affinity for flame, they could still activate the device by igniting it with fire.

So, let me reiterate.

Anyone with low fire resistance must not come—you'll easily burn yourself to ash.

Beyond the novelty, this fire spirit challenge brought him an unexpected reward.

【Gained partial authority over the "Flame Domain"】

【Domain Details: Fire resistance greatly increased; fire-based skill effects enhanced by 30%】

【Acquired domain skill: Myriad Furnace】

【Details: Can nurture, transform, and manifest countless forms of life; this skill fuses one's life force with flame, causing treasures, weapons, magic, and spiritual arts to take on living forms.】

The description was incomprehensible at first glance.

But it vaguely hinted at something elite—looked incredibly powerful.

Luo De manipulated Shi Laimu Black to split off a black sword.

He used 【Myriad Furnace】 on it.

A sphere of flame appeared in his palm and instantly sucked the black sword inside.

Simultaneously, a thread of Luo De's life essence was drawn out and injected into 【Myriad Furnace】.

Soon after, a prompt appeared.

【Smelting successful】

【Name: Flame Shi Laimu Sword】

【Details: This Shi Laimu sub-entity is too low-grade to generate advanced life.】

【Rating: 12 points】

Puff—

The furnace's fireball spat out a longsword blazing with flame, identical in shape to the one thrown in, but now white instead of black.

"Oh!"

Luo De mentally gasped.

Though the result was mediocre, the skill showed considerable potential.

As he picked up the flame sword, Shi Laimu Black's 【Mind Link】 immediately sent feelings of displeasure mixed with pleading.

Hmm.

Alright, Shi Laimu gets jealous too.

Luo De let her swallow the flame sword—after all, it wasn't strong, and if he wanted to play with fire, his 【Sacrificial Sword】 already carried heartfire.

He then tossed several more Shi Laimu swords into 【Myriad Furnace】.

Results were all mediocre.

Not just weapons—even cups, umbrellas, and arm guards could be produced, with high randomness.

But perhaps that's because Shi Laimu itself is shapeless.

His life essence was abundant; he wasn't afraid of consumption.

After a round of over a dozen attempts, he finally produced one that generated advanced life.

—【Flame Holy Chalice】

A hollow cylindrical object, inside which a flickering flame-tongue lay still.

【Details: A special-purpose chalice with a clingy personality; best to show affection once daily. Otherwise, I'll throw a tantrum, you know.】

【Rating: 38 points】

Luo De: "..."

What the hell is this thing?

He grimaced, about to toss it to Black to swallow—

Then he changed his mind. Who knows when Tally might not be around again?

He couldn't always count on a group of female fire spirits to solve his problems.

Luo De put on a new set of clothes.

He turned to a corner.

He glanced casually at the two still-stunned 【Hero】 and 【Hero Giver】.

"Y-you're really human?"

Half-deer Kira said in disbelief.

"Ugh, disgusting man..." Hero Gre spat, face twisted in revulsion.

"Oh? Really? I haven't even had my fill—how about you two?"

Both women froze, pale, turning their heads away.

Luo De laughed loudly, fastening his collar as he strode out with commanding energy, as if he hadn't just endured a brutal battle.

He walked all the way outside the sacrificial cave.

Surrounding male fire spirits groaned in frustration or cheered wildly.

Those who emerged unscathed meant their wives, daughters, sisters, or sisters-in-law had lost.

Luo De could even see some exchanging Jin Along—clearly betting on something.

Luo De could see that some of them were even exchanging Jin Along, clearly betting on something.

Not everyone holds human moral values.

(End of Chapter)

(End of Chapter)