However, before she could speak, the Grand Elder's voice came again: "Ahem, it seems everyone is ready. Since everyone is here, I won't waste any more words."
Su Qian coughed a few more times, thinking to himself: I can't let you take her away right in front of me.
After he scanned everyone present, he waved his hand, and the heavy black tower door made a low, grating sound as it slowly swung open, a wave of heat rushing out.
"Those on the strong ranking top ten, follow me in. Today, the Qi Refining Tower is not open to the public. Those who enter without permission will be barred from entering for half a year. Xiao Tian, you also follow me in."
Su Qian cast an indifferent glance over the assembly. Though his words were calm, they carried an undeniable weight of authority and pressure. Hearing Su Qian's warning, the others all instinctively drew in their necks.
The Heavenly Flame Training Pagoda was the very lifeline of the Inner Academy students. Everyone who had ever used it sang its praises. To be shut out for half a year meant they could be left far behind by their peers in that span of time.
Su Qian paid no further mind to their expressions and strode directly into the Qi Refining Tower. Xiao Tian, still holding Han Yue's hand, walked in after him, with Zi Yan and Xiao Yu quickly catching up. Xiao Yan, meanwhile, was off to the side, chatting arm in arm with his good friend Lin Yan.
Xiao Tian cast a strange glance back at Xiao Yan. Surely Xiao Yan Zi hadn't taken a bent path, had he? No, it couldn't be. But even if he had, Xiao Tian had already prepared a contingency plan — he could always straighten him out later.
After them, Lin Xiuya and Liu Qing also entered, one after another.
Through their clasped hands, Xiao Tian quietly channeled a thread of his fully evolved flame into Han Yue's body. "Yue'er, this is my flame. It will protect you from any fire poison you might encounter inside, and it won't interfere with the Body Tempering's effects."
Han Yue felt the quiet, steady power of that flame coursing through her. Hearing Xiao Tian's concern for her well-being, her heart bloomed with a sweetness like honey, and a soft, radiant smile touched her lips.
Xiao Tian then flicked another wisp of flame toward Xiao Yu, explaining its purpose through a brief telepathic message. Xiao Yu quickly offered her thanks.
Though Xiao Tian suspected these precautions might be unnecessary, he took them for absolute certainty. If even the Fallen Heart Flame's mere projections carried fire poison, how much more dangerous was its source?
Everyone followed the Grand Elder with curious steps — everyone, that is, except Zi Yan, whose face was a mask of impatience.
Seeing her expression, Xiao Tian guessed it was a Magical Beast's natural aversion to flame. He reached out, took Zi Yan's small hand, and sent a thread of life energy from his palm into her body.
"What is this?" Zi Yan felt an immediate lightness spread through her. The usual irritation that plagued her whenever she entered this place vanished entirely. "It feels so comfortable. I used to hate coming in here."
"It's a special energy of mine. It can help you," Xiao Tian replied, sending a little more into her.
Su Qian observed all of Xiao Tian's quiet gestures and gave a faint, approving nod at the care he showed toward Zi Yan.
"Follow me closely. Do not look around, and do not wander off on your own. If you do, your qualifications will be revoked. Understood?"
Save for Xiao Tian and Zi Yan, the others were momentarily taken aback by the Grand Elder's stern tone, but they nodded in earnest nonetheless.
Seeing that his words had sunk in, Su Qian turned and led them deeper inside.
After trailing behind Su Qian for roughly half an hour, they arrived at the same space where Su Qian had once brought Xiao Tian — the very place where the Fallen Heart Flame was sealed. But now, about twenty meters from the cave mouth, ten specially crafted jade platforms had been arranged in a neat row.
Xiao Yan gazed at the vast chamber and the dark, gaping cave entrance, murmuring to himself, "So this is the lowest level of the Qi Refining Tower… the place where the Fallen Heart Flame rests."
"Follow me," Su Qian said, his gaze sweeping over the group. He walked toward the jade platforms at the center of the square and stopped before them.
"All of you, take your seats." The Grand Elder gestured to the ten emerald platforms.
Zi Yan, already intimately familiar with the process, was the first to settle cross-legged onto one. The others followed suit. Xiao Tian gave Han Yue's hand a gentle, reassuring pat, signaling her to go ahead. When he saw the hesitation flickering in her eyes, he leaned close and whispered, "This process doesn't hold much benefit for me. I'm here for another purpose this time."
"Alright." Han Yue held his gaze for a long moment with her clear, beautiful eyes, then turned and walked toward one of the jade platforms.
Once all ten had taken their seats, the two elders responsible for maintaining the protective formation began to form hand seals. As their seals completed, clusters of milky-white light shields began to drift up from the seal at the cave entrance, one after another.
As those light shields gradually grew transparent, a ghostly, translucent flame could be faintly glimpsed flickering within them.
Seeing the bewildered curiosity on the faces before him, Su Qian explained, "What you see here is called the Origin Heart Flame. Each year… only three or four clusters… they pave the way for advancing to Dou Wang."
"Of course, Body Tempering carries considerable risk, and the pain it brings is extremely difficult to endure. Should you fail, it will also damage your body."
Lin Yan looked at the flame hovering before him and asked cautiously, "Grand Elder, what was the success rate in previous years?"
"Fifty percent," Su Qian quietly stated the unflattering figure.
They heard his answer clearly — a fifty percent failure rate. That was alarmingly high. Except for Zi Yan, everyone broke into a cold sweat, swallowing hard as they looked at the Origin Heart Flame before them with a new sense of trepidation.
"Dou Wang is a major watershed. A great many people become stuck at this realm, and a large number of them remain trapped there for their entire lives. But if you succeed in this Heart Flame Body Tempering, it will free you from such worries in the future. As long as you endure, the door to Dou Wang will always stand open for you."
Su Qian's gaze swept over the people seated before him. Most of them had been stuck at the peak Dou Ling realm for a long time. Then his eyes landed on Xiao Tian, who stood off to the side. "Of course, if you possess talent like Xiao Tian's, you might not need to endure such pain at all."
"This is the last time I will ask you: do you accept, or do you withdraw?"
Su Qian composed himself and fixed each of the ten in front of him with a solemn expression.
Hearing the Grand Elder's words, they all instinctively glanced at Xiao Tian, inwardly exclaiming, This guy is a freak — not human at all. Not only is he absurdly handsome, but his talent is monstrous as well.
The group exchanged glances, but in the end, not a single one chose to back down. An opportunity like this was far too precious. If they didn't at least try, they would lie awake every night slapping themselves for their cowardice.
Xiao Tian simply watched the others, casting an encouraging glance toward Han Yue. Though he had many ways to improve her innate aptitude, there were certain things she needed to experience for herself in order to grow. Otherwise, she would forever remain a flower kept safe in a greenhouse.
We cultivators forever contend — with people, with the earth, and even with the heavens themselves. To succeed, one must defy fate.