Chapter 236: Second-Rate Realm, Breakthrough!

When saying this, Captain Wu clenched his fists tightly.

When the Killing Bone Kite grew strange, he couldn't help; he never got the chance to avenge Captain Fire.

That surge of anger to avenge Captain Fire had never been released.

Now that he claimed he was searching for the murderer who plotted against Captain Fire, it was really just him trying to find something to do to atone for his own incompetence.

But Fang Yue frowned slightly and shook his head.

"I don't know."

"You!"

"Leave. I need to rest."

"... I understand. I'll find that guy myself."

After Captain Wu left, Fang Yue closed the door, thought for a moment, and sent a message to Wei Liang.

Fang Yue wouldn't kill Captain Fire, but he wouldn't betray Wei Liang either.

After all, Wei Liang had given him benefits—was he really going to turn them in right away? That would be unreasonable.

Fang Yue pulled out five Fire-Permeating Leaves and five Black Stones.

"Name: Fire-Permeating Leaf."

"Description: Slightly translucent crimson leaves that can transform Black Ember or Black Stone into Crimson Ember or Crimson Stone. A special leaf."

"Note: Slight permeation doesn't count as permeation!"

The Fire-Permeating Leaves were slightly larger than Black Stones; placing a Black Stone in the center of a Fire-Permeating Leaf and fully wrapping it caused the leaf to slowly warm, its veins glowing with crimson patterns—beautiful to behold.

This state lasted for a while, until the Fire-Permeating Leaf stopped heating and glowing, turning black and charred.

Fang Yue gently rubbed it with his fingers—the fragile, paper-thin leaf shattered instantly into a pile of ash, blown away by the wind and gone.

"Name: Crimson Stone."

"Description: A crimson stone that feels slightly warm in the palm, transformed from strange Black Stones via a special method. Highly effective for cultivating Fire-attribute techniques and arranging Fire-attribute arrays."

"Note: Slight warmth doesn't count as warmth!"

Good. Five Crimson Stones should be enough for me to break through to the Second-rate Realm.

【Delicious!】

……Get lost!

【Stingy!】

Fang Yue rolled his eyes and ignored the parchment's nonsense.

He gripped one 【Crimson Stone】, sat cross-legged on the bed, calmed his mind, then slowly guided his internal energy.

Unlike the gentle operation of Starfire Heart Method, once he activated the 【Flame Heart Method】 as prescribed…

Fang Yue felt his internal energy, along with his lifespan, begin to burn wildly—intense heat, as if his body had become a furnace, flames raging inside him.

He directed his energy along unfamiliar meridian paths, activating the new Heart Method.

Every meridian he passed through felt a slight blockage.

But under the force of his massive internal energy, the blockages quickly cleared.

Compared to his first time practicing Starfire Heart Method, the Flame Heart Method was unexpectedly easy to cultivate—smooth and effortless.

The only problem was, the rate at which his lifespan burned away was far faster than he'd estimated.

Like flooring the accelerator in a top-tier sports car—the speed surged, terrifyingly fast.

So Fang Yue pushed the Heart Method as quickly as possible; the sooner he finished, the sooner the rapid depletion of his lifespan would end.

As his internal energy flowed through the meridians, breaking through acupoints and obstacles, Fang Yue felt his body gradually grow hotter.

If anyone had been present, they would have seen Fang Yue, eyes closed, his arms glowing red-hot like molten iron, the redness spreading from his arms toward his chest.

When this red glow finally concentrated on his chest, forming a hook-shaped pattern…

BOOM!!

Flames suddenly erupted wildly around Fang Yue.

The flames burned the bed curtains, the sheets.

The fire spread quickly, thick smoke rising, yet Fang Yue sat motionless like a meditating monk, letting the flames consume him.

In his inner vision, Fang Yue felt his internal energy surging wildly, like a roaring tidal wave, smashing through layer after layer of obstacles, completing a full Great Circulation, then racing onward along the meridians.

This speed was at least double what it had been at the start; at the same time, he began feeling searing, scorching pain across his entire body—as if he were being roasted over a fire.

"Is this the Flame Heart Method? Even during cultivation, it simulates the sensation of being burned—as if I'm truly cultivating inside a fire!"

Fang Yue felt a flicker of excitement, and in his final surge…

System Prompt: Congratulations, player 【Yese Liming】, you have successfully cultivated. 【Flame Heart Method】 has advanced to Level 2. Internal energy increased by 50 points.

Broke through?

So fast!

Fang Yue's heart leapt with joy—he opened his eyes…

The sight before him left him stunned.

Flames shot high into the air.

The sheets and curtains were fully consumed by fire, and the flames were spreading to surrounding objects.

If he didn't stop it soon, it would become a massive blaze.

Yet he sat right in the middle of the fire, his body engulfed in flames, clothes long turned to ash.

But for some reason, though the flames burned him, he felt only the usual heat—and also a faint sense of kinship, a comforting warmth.

It felt peaceful and soothing to be inside the fire.

If not for the faint smell of charred meat coming from a few spots on his body, Fang Yue might have wanted to stay there forever.

Moreover, with the flames burning his own body, Fang Yue had a sense that he could control them.

Fang Yue immediately thought of the description of the Blazing Fire Heart Method.

He opened the attribute panel of the Blazing Fire Heart Method.

"Name: Blazing Fire Heart Method."

"Grade: Acquired First-rate."

"Layer: Second Layer."

"Restriction: 50 points of Control Power."

"Description: Cultivation will heavily drain yang-lifespan. Ignite yang-lifespan, the blazing fire self-immolates, burning the heart to temper the body, the Heart Method forms of its own accord."

"Effect: Increases Control Power by 40 points; under the 【Self-Immolation】 state, damage increases."

"Note: An exclusive Heart Method for long-lived species — come at it if you've got the life for it!"

As expected, it was the 【Self-Immolation】 special effect!

He tried channeling his internal force to control the self-igniting flames on his body.

Fang Yue immediately felt a sense of connection; following the release and gathering of his internal force, the flames on his body gradually died out and vanished.

This marvelous feeling was quite novel, and Fang Yue found it very interesting.

In addition, the second layer of the Blazing Fire Heart Method increased Control Power by 40 points; in terms of Control Power alone, it had already surpassed the effect of the third layer of the 【Star Fire Heart Method】.

However, when the 【Star Fire Heart Method】 was in operation, the total attribute gain reached as high as 60 points, 30 points for each of the two attributes; from this perspective, the 【Blazing Fire Heart Method】 did fall a bit short.

The problem was that the 【Star Fire Heart Method】 was an Acquired Third-rate Realm Heart Method — it capped out at the Third-rate Realm, with nothing further; no matter how strong, it was only strong within the scope of the Acquired Third-rate Realm, whereas the 【Blazing Fire Heart Method】 was a high-grade Heart Method that could reach all the way to the Acquired First-rate Realm!

Which was superior and which inferior went without saying; after all, Fang Yue could not possibly stay at the Acquired Third-rate Realm forever without advancing.

After the flames on his body were extinguished, Fang Yue finally had a moment to spare and glanced to the side… the Atomized Black Robe he had placed beside him earlier had only been burned to the point of sizzling; it seemed to have decent fire resistance and had not been damaged.

But that one glance still gave Fang Yue a fright; he hurriedly got up, shook out the Atomized Black Robe, and put out the fire.

He also tore off the things that had caught fire, stomped them out with his feet to eliminate the source, but there were still some places where quite a bit of fire had already taken hold.

Because his previous clothes had been burned away by the self-immolating flames, Fang Yue had no choice but to change into a new set of clothes.

Then he called over the servants outside and had them help put out the fire.

The moment they saw the great blaze in Fang Yue's room, they were scared pale-faced and hurriedly went to fetch water to extinguish it.

After a frantic scramble, the flames were finally put out, and the chaos on Fang Yue's side subsided.

"Ye Ge! What's going on?"

Tian Dan Zhi Yuan Wu and Weiba rushed over nervously; behind them was the Blood Hunter who had just arrived.

Fang Yue briefly reassured them and sent them away, but no sooner had they left than Captain Wu came back as well — he had thought Fang Yue had been attacked and came rushing over in a panic; upon learning it was a mishap from Fang Yue's cultivation, his face darkened and he stormed off in a huff.

Fang Yue gave a wry smile, returned to his room, and continued cultivating.

This time, he chose to sit on the cool ground and moved all the miscellaneous objects around him far away.

He picked up the fire stone from earlier and weighed it in his hand; Fang Yue quickly discovered that this fire stone had already had half of its energy consumed.

So the reason his earlier cultivation had gone so smoothly and reached the second layer of the 【Blazing Fire Heart Method】 so quickly was, apart from Fang Yue's own solid foundation, the assistance of the fire stone.

Fang Yue tried putting down the fire stone and running the Blazing Fire Heart Method; sure enough, the cultivation speed immediately plummeted — that previous surging, wild flow of internal force could no longer be felt; what remained was a calm river that would flow along with his own driving force.

He exited inner-vision, picked up the fire stone, and began cultivating.

His internal force instantly became passionate as fire, wild and violent!

Without Fang Yue needing to exert much effort to drive it, his internal force was already stirring restlessly.

Once Fang Yue began to push his internal force forward, it was ignited by the fire stone and wildly advanced the cultivation progress.

A whole day passed quickly.

Apart from going out for a meal in the middle, Fang Yue paid attention to almost nothing, wholeheartedly devoted to cultivating the 【Blazing Fire Heart Method】.

He was like a scholar before an examination — deaf to all matters outside the window, his heart set only on reading the sages' books.

When night fell, Fang Yue's body suddenly trembled; he slowly opened his eyes, his gaze full of pleasant surprise.

"System Notice: Congratulations to player 【Yese Liming】 on achieving success in cultivation; the 【Blazing Fire Heart Method】 has been raised to the Third Layer, internal force increased by 50 points."

"Name: Blazing Fire Heart Method."

"Layer: Third Layer."

"Effect: Increases Control Power by 50 points; under the 【Self-Immolation】 state, damage increases."

Third layer!

Finally the third layer!

Next, as long as he broke through to the fourth layer, he could break through his strength realm!

Additionally, although the base attributes had stopped rising, the internal force value could still be increased by cultivating new Internal Energy Heart Methods.

Fang Yue had thought back then about cultivating other Internal Energy Heart Methods to keep raising the maximum cap of his internal force.

But he quickly felt that things shouldn't be this simple — such a simple loophole must have some problem behind it.

He planned to find time to ask Chief Captain Lang Wu whether there would be any hidden dangers from cultivating multiple Internal Skills and having internal force values stack and increase.

If there were no problems… in the future, he could well cultivate multiple low-grade Heart Methods to increase his internal force value.

He opened the attribute list.

"Name: Yese Liming."

"Realm: Acquired Third-rate."

"Status: Ghost Curse 【Back of Hand】."

"HP: 200/200."

"Internal Force: 400/400."

"Control Power: 120 【Base: 100 / reached realm cap】 【Status/Bonus: +20】."

"Force Deflection: 120 【Base: 100/Realm Cap Reached】 【Status/Boost: +20】."

"Realm Breakthrough Progress: 5.9%."

"Talent: Breath of Night 【Human Grade, Superior】."

"Skills: Analysis Pupil 【Human Grade, Inferior】, Starfire Blade Technique Lv. 1 【Acquired, Third-Rate】, Water Sky Blade Technique Lv. 1 【Crude Martial Arts】, Blazing Fire Heart Method 【Acquired, First-Rate / Third Layer】, Starfire Heart Method Lv. 3 【Acquired, Third-Rate / Max Level】."

"Lifespan: 2 months, 15 days."

Internal force value skyrocketed to 400 points, and the realm breakthrough progress rose a bit as well, but there was no longer any need to pay attention to it.

As for lifespan… after a day of cultivation, it burned away madly, and Fang Yue felt a pang of heartache watching it.

But for the sake of growing stronger, all of this was necessary.

The fire stones in his hand—two had long since been used up, and now he was on the third.

Switching to a fresh fire stone, Fang Yue continued to sit in meditation and cultivate.

As he sat in meditation, his lifespan burned away, internal force circulated, and flames immediately began to slowly kindle on his body, scorching the already blackened ground a little darker once more.

But this time, the flames condensed without scattering, as if controlled by Fang Yue himself, and posed no further unnecessary threat.

As for his clothes, he had long since taken them off and set them aside.

Within the great blaze, his sturdy physique flickered in and out of view.

He was like a pill in an alchemy furnace, being slowly roasted over a small fire. The crimson magatama on his chest grew hot once again, absorbing the fire stone's energy, and his cultivation progress surged like a roaring tsunami—advancing at a startling pace.

This was a little trick Fang Yue had figured out on his own: when cultivating the Blazing Fire Heart Method, maintaining a self-immolation state of being burned by flames could noticeably boost cultivation efficiency.

At the same time, he could control the intensity of the self-immolation flames, keeping them at a temperature his body could endure to assist his cultivation.

At the very beginning, he could only maintain a very low flame temperature, but as the Heart Method's progress advanced, the internal force originally belonging to the Starfire Heart Method was gradually all converted into the uniquely restless internal force of the Blazing Fire Heart Method, and Fang Yue felt that his fire resistance had improved considerably.

When two days had passed and the dawn of the third day rose.

Fang Yue finally snapped his eyes open with a swish. His eyes, like torches in the darkness, were bright and piercing, as if burning with flame—blazingly radiant!

"Breakthrough… breakthrough!!"

Fang Yue clenched his fists, his body trembling slightly. After enduring so much hardship, walking such a long road—from Gu Yue Cun to Mo Cun—through all of it, striving for so long, he had finally reaped a reward at this moment!

He, had broken through!

As if attesting to his efforts, the flame-shaped magatama symbol on his chest glowed with a searing red light.

This was the lifeblood of the Blazing Fire Heart Method, called the Blazing Fire Magatama—a new ability unique to the fourth layer of the Blazing Fire Heart Method.

This thing was similar to the dantian of ordinary Heart Methods, but the Blazing Fire Heart Method was distinctive in storing all of its Blazing Fire internal force within the Blazing Fire Magatama.

This was not merely a difference in storage location; it seemed to be connected to the cultivation of the Blazing Fire Heart Method through acupoint linkages.

Of course, this was only on the cultivation side. In actual combat, when internal force value was completely exhausted, this Blazing Fire Magatama could unleash a single 【Blazing Fire Burst】.

This move was similar to the Blazing Fire Heart Method's self-… ultimate technique. After using it, one would be weakened for a period, and might even suffer a realm drop, permanent reduction of internal force value, leading to an unstable foundation.

However, its power would be extremely strong, fluctuating with the Heart Method's layer count and one's own strength—a desperate, all-out technique.

(End of this chapter)