Chapter 266: Mo Yu’s Plan: The Bottom of the Heavenly Flame Qi Refining Tower!

Chapter 266: Mo Yu's Plan: The Bottom of the Heavenly Flame Qi Refining Tower!

After resolving the matter with Xiao Li, Mo Yu, Xiao Yan, and the others finally returned to the inner academy at peace.

Mo Yu was extremely satisfied with recruiting Xiao Li. The three Xiao brothers were all extraordinary. Xiao Yan's future accomplishments as the Flame Emperor were destined to be among the greatest in the history of the Dou Qi Continent. Xiao Ding, the eldest, was mature, wise, and an excellent strategist, respected even by Hai Bodong in the original story. And Xiao Li, despite his cold and ruthless personality, thrived in the chaotic Black-Corner Region, demonstrating his sharp capabilities.

Mo Yu had been at Jia Nan Academy for a few months now. Although Zi Huo was overseeing Yuan Manor, as a magical beast that had only recently taken human form, Zi Huo naturally lacked the skills to manage a faction properly. Xiao Li, on the other hand, was experienced. As the second-in-command of the Mo Tie Mercenary Group, he had ample experience managing a force. His familial ties with Mo Yu also made him a trustworthy addition, strengthening Mo Yu's control over Yuan Manor.

Before leaving the outer academy, Mo Yu and Xiao Yan also visited Xiao Mei and Xiao Ning. The Xiao Clan had suffered greatly, losing many members to Yun Lan Sect and the Hall of Souls. As a result, both Mo Yu and Xiao Yan were far kinder to their Xiao Clan relatives than they had been before. The petty grudges from childhood now seemed insignificant to them.

The inner academy selection competition would take place in six months. With Xiao Mei and Xiao Ning's current strength, it would be a bit dangerous for them to enter. However, with Xiao Yan's skills as a Fifth-Grade Alchemist, this wouldn't be much of an issue. Thanks to Xiao Yan's pills, while they might not win the competition, getting into the top fifty shouldn't be difficult.

Mo Yu wasn't stingy either. He gave both Xiao Mei and Xiao Ning a set of equipment he had crafted earlier—the Swift Shadow Boots and Guardian Armor. With these items, they could fight opponents one or two stars stronger than themselves.

After handling these matters, Mo Yu and Xiao Yan bid their goodbyes. They, along with Xun'er and Xiao Yu, rode the griffon beast back to the inner academy.

…

By the time Mo Yu and the others returned to the inner academy, there was less than a month left before the inner academy's Strong Ranking Tournament. As the tournament approached, the entire academy became fixated on the upcoming battles, which were exclusively for those ranked on the Strong List.

Every one of the top fifty ranked students was among the elite of the inner academy. Their battles naturally drew intense attention. With this widespread excitement, the atmosphere in the academy reached its highest peak in years.

After all, anyone who could make it into the top ten would become a candidate for the position of elder. With that special status, students could almost do as they pleased within the academy. The difference in status between a student and an elder was immense. Many fought fiercely for the opportunity, though the stringent requirements caused most to fall short.

Of course, the true allure of becoming an elder wasn't just the ability to wield power among the students; the real prize was the privilege to access the bottom levels of the Heavenly Flame Qi Refining Tower.

The benefits of training in the tower were well-known throughout the academy. The students could only dream of the advantage provided by the lower levels, which were off-limits to them. Training there could greatly shorten the time needed to advance to the Dou Huang rank, though such an advance required talent, even with the tower's aid. Reaching the Dou Huang level, even with the tower's assistance, was no easy feat.

Because of this, anyone with the strength to compete aimed for a spot in the top ten. The prestige and special treatment that came with it were more than enough to motivate them.

…

After returning to the inner academy, Mo Yu immediately headed to the Heavenly Flame Qi Refining Tower.

He made his way straight to the sixth level of the tower. After a quick glance around, Mo Yu walked deeper into the sixth level, finding a secluded spot where few ventured.

The sixth level was reserved for those ranked on the Strong List, so it was far less crowded than the other levels. Mo Yu easily found a quiet corner to settle down.

Mo Yu had his reasons for being here. This time, he wasn't here to simply train or prepare for the upcoming Strong Ranking Tournament. After all, Mo Yu was already ranked third. If he unleashed his full strength, even the young Taixu Ancient Dragon, Zi Yan, might not be his match. Claiming the first spot on the Strong List would be no challenge for him.

No, Mo Yu's true goal was not the sixth level—it was the bottom level of the Heavenly Flame Qi Refining Tower!

There was still nearly a month left before the Strong Ranking Tournament began. Mo Yu planned to use that time to sneak into the bottom of the Heavenly Flame Qi Refining Tower and harness the core power of the Fallen Heart Flame to absorb the energy of the Mystic Thunder sealed within him. With that power, he aimed to break through to the Dou Wang level in one fell swoop!

Mo Yu's urgency came from his knowledge of what would happen soon. According to the original story, Yao Lao's first disciple, Xiao Yan's senior brother—Han Feng—was about to make his move!

Han Feng, an orphan saved by Yao Lao, had grown up under Yao Lao's care. However, seduced by ambition and manipulated by Mu Gu, Han Feng chose to betray and kill his master in order to steal a cultivation technique known as the Flame Mantra. Though he failed to obtain the complete technique, Han Feng managed to steal a portion of it and became known as the "Pill Emperor" in the Black-Corner Region.

Like Xiao Yan, Han Feng had mastered a part of the Flame Mantra. In addition to controlling the 15th-ranked Sea Heart Flame, he had been searching for a second Heavenly Flame for years. The Fallen Heart Flame within Jia Nan Academy soon drew his attention.

Mo Yu remembered that not long after the Strong Ranking Tournament, the Fallen Heart Flame would begin to break free of its seal when Xiao Yan and the other top ten students entered the tower's bottom level.

Worse still, Han Feng, using his status as a Sixth-Grade Alchemist, would gather a large force to raid Jia Nan Academy, seeking to seize the Fallen Heart Flame. At that time, the academy would descend into chaos.

If Mo Yu waited until then to harness the Fallen Heart Flame's power for his breakthrough, his plan would fail. He couldn't afford to be caught up in that mess.

Unlike Xiao Yan, who had been sealed at the bottom of the tower for two years and ultimately subdued the Fallen Heart Flame to reach the Dou Wang level, Mo Yu had no interest in such a drawn-out process.

Not only would two years in the tower's depths waste too much time, but Mo Yu wasn't particularly interested in the Fallen Heart Flame itself. While Heavenly Flames and Mystic Thunder were both immensely powerful, they were also highly incompatible. Having chosen the path of thunder, Mo Yu was determined to become the Thunder Emperor and had no desire to complicate things by absorbing a flame.

The Fallen Heart Flame was famous for its ability to continuously generate a Heart Flame within the body of its host. This Heart Flame would constantly temper the host's Dou Qi, allowing them to remain in a perpetual state of cultivation. The result was far more efficient than ordinary training methods, making the Fallen Heart Flame a sort of "cheat" for cultivators.

However, this effect was only significant for those below the Dou Huang or Dou Zong level. Beyond that, the benefits became negligible. Otherwise, the Fallen Heart Flame would have ranked much higher than 14th on the Heavenly Flame List.

At Mo Yu's current pace, absorbing all of the energy from the Mystic Thunder sealed within him would guarantee his breakthrough to the Dou Wang level. Once that happened, the speed boost offered by the Fallen Heart Flame would become irrelevant.

Thus, Mo Yu's plan was clear: before the Fallen Heart Flame broke free and Han Feng attacked, he would use the flame's core power to absorb the energy of the Mystic Thunder and advance to the Dou Wang level.

And the best place to do that within the inner academy was, without a doubt, the bottom of the Heavenly Flame Qi Refining Tower.

As for how Mo Yu planned to reach the bottom? He had the perfect tool for the job—his Thunder Flash Voidbreaker.

…

In the secluded part of the sixth level, Mo Yu held the Thunder Flash Voidbreaker tightly, his eyes locked on the space half a meter in front of him.

After a moment, he noticed something: if he looked closely, he could see faint ripples in the air. These tiny spatial distortions were nearly invisible to the naked eye. Following the ripples, Mo Yu discovered that they formed a sort of barrier, almost like a wall, surrounding the entire Heavenly Flame Qi Refining Tower.

"It's a spatial lock—a powerful barrier that only a Dou Zun expert could set up. This spatial lock must have been created by a powerful expert from Jia Nan Academy. Without the proper method to unlock it, even a Dou Zong expert couldn't break through." The voice of the Serpent Lord echoed in Mo Yu's mind.

Mo Yu was momentarily startled but then nodded in understanding. Given that the Heavenly Flame Qi Refining Tower was not only a sacred training ground but also used to seal the Fallen Heart Flame, it wasn't surprising that such a powerful barrier had been placed around it.

Although this spatial lock would stump even Dou Zong experts, Mo Yu was confident that it wouldn't stop him. His Thunder Flash Voidbreaker had matured, and it was time to put it to use!

In the secluded corner of the sixth level, Mo Yu slowly activated the Thunder Flash Voidbreaker, forming hand seals with practiced precision.

As the Thunder Flash Voidbreaker pulsed, Mo Yu could feel a powerful, invisible force emanating from it, spreading out like waves.

The invisible energy gradually expanded until it reached the spatial ripples in front of him. When the two forces met, the space in front of Mo Yu rippled like a water surface, and moments later, a door-shaped tear appeared, as if an invisible hand had pulled it open.

"As expected of the Thunder Flash Voidbreaker, it worked!" Mo Yu smiled in satisfaction as he saw the spatial doorway appear.

"What terrifying thunder energy—able to open a spatial door that even a Dou Zong expert couldn't. With such a skill, even Dou Zong experts won't be able to easily defeat you in the future." The Serpent Lord was stunned, praising Mo Yu's accomplishment.

Mo Yu smiled. The Thunder Flash Voidbreaker, as a form of spatial thunder, might lack the raw offensive power of other types of Mystic Thunder, but its utility was irreplaceable.

After taking a moment to marvel at his success, Mo Yu stepped through the spatial doorway.

The moment he stepped through, he emerged into a vast, empty space within the tower. Mo Yu instinctively squinted against the sudden brightness but quickly adjusted, his gaze sweeping across his surroundings.

The area was enormous, far larger than any of the previous levels, and with far fewer training rooms, leaving it feeling wide open.

As Mo Yu scanned the area, his eyes locked onto a massive pit in the center of the floor, spanning dozens of meters across.

His gaze shifted upward, where he saw a similarly massive opening in the ceiling, perfectly aligned with the pit below. It seemed that each level of the Heavenly Flame Qi Refining Tower had such an opening, all leading downward.

"It looks like the bottom of this deep pit is where the core of the Fallen Heart Flame is sealed. So, this must be the bottom level of the Heavenly Flame Qi Refining Tower," Mo Yu murmured to himself, his eyebrows raised in realization.

Feeling a surge of excitement, Mo Yu headed toward the pit in the center of the space.

As he approached, he could feel an unusual heat enveloping him. Stopping about twenty meters from the edge of the pit, Mo Yu peered down, his eyes catching sight of a faint ripple in the air around the pit's edge. A nearly transparent energy barrier shimmered into view, sealing off the pit.

"So, there's another energy barrier here. It looks like the academy has taken strict measures to protect the Fallen Heart Flame," Mo Yu mused as he examined the barrier.

Surprisingly, no elder was stationed at the bottom level to guard it, a fact that brought a smile to Mo Yu's face.

"Seems like the heavens are on my side," he chuckled before sitting cross-legged near the edge of the pit.

Being this close to the core of the Fallen Heart Flame, Mo Yu could clearly feel the intensity of its heat. It was far stronger than what he had experienced on the sixth level.

With nearly a month ahead of him, Mo Yu set his goal: to absorb the energy of the Mystic Thunder sealed within him and break through to the Dou Wang level!

(End of Chapter)

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