Chapter 137: Flame’s Embrace, Legacy’s Claim
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Greedily claiming Su Mei's enchanting lips, Lan An lingered until her breaths grew rapid, reluctantly parting from her.
Su Mei panted, her cheeks ablaze, glaring at him, "You rogue! Don't you know the Academy can observe the Secret Realm? If our moment leaked, I'd die of shame!"
Unbeknownst to her, the external broadcast had ceased.
"Oh? They can watch inside the Secret Realm?" Lan An raised a brow, unaware of the Academy's methods.
Su Mei shot him a look, explaining the Ten Thousand Mile Mirror's function.
"Fascinating! The Academy's treasures are plentiful," Lan An chuckled.
"Still laughing?" Su Mei stomped, her ample chest trembling slightly.
"Haha! I, Lan An, conquer women openly. Let them watch! Besides, I've no intention of letting you slip away," he declared boldly.
"Who's conquered?" Su Mei turned away, flushed, yet her heart savored his sincerity, sweet as honey.
Lan An teased, tracing her full lips, "I've marked these lips countless times no one else can touch them!"
"Hmph, check your points!" Su Mei deflected.
Lan An nodded, inspecting his Token.
Points: 4,100…
"Wow, slaying a Mid Fifth-Order beast yielded 2,200 points?" Su Mei's eyes widened. Their prior points matched at 1,900.
Now, he'd surged 2,200 points ahead, equivalent to slaughtering dozens of Fourth-Order beasts.
Yet, it made sense a Mid Fifth-Order beast could annihilate such a herd, justifying the points.
Not everyone was as monstrous as Lan An, capable of cross-tier kills.
"Let's grab the Blazing Hyacinth Herb!" Su Mei urged, eager to boost her points, unwilling to lag too far.
"Come with me besides the herb, something thrilling awaits!" Lan An grinned.
With a thought, Purple Heart Burning Void Flame enveloped them, shielding against the lava sea's heat.
They dove in, reaching for the Blazing Hyacinth Herb.
Despite Lan An's forceful tug, the herb clung stubbornly to the lava's flow, resisting harvest.
"Claim the Variant Fire first, Master. The herb will yield then!" Jin'er advised.
"What's special about this Blazing Hyacinth Herb?" Lan An asked curiously.
"Consumed directly, it purifies Fire spiritual energy. Its other use is as a key ingredient for Fire Fusion Pills!"
"Fire Fusion Pills?" Lan An was clueless.
"Fire Fusion Pills boost the success rate of forming Fire-based physiques while easing the process's pain," Jin'er explained.
"Jackpot! Isn't this tailor-made for Hong Lian?" Lan An grinned, relieved.
Yan Hong Lian needed to forge the Great Sun Divine Body. With Fire Fusion Pills, he felt reassured.
"Let's dive deeper!" Lan An nodded to Su Mei, embracing her as they plunged into the lava sea.
Su Mei, new to such daring, clung to him in panic, but soon realized the Purple Heart Burning Void Flame shielded her from the lava.
They scanned the lava sea's depths.
The Double-Armed Lava Serpent's corpse had sunk to the bottom.
Lan An traced the Blazing Hyacinth Herb's position, spotting a faint Fire energy stream feeding it from the sea's depths.
Sneering, he swam with Su Mei along the energy trail to the bottom.
Before them, a narrow fissure at the sea's base channeled the Fire energy to the herb.
Their observation revealed the lava sea's origin: a colossal volcanic crater buried underground, with the mysterious Variant Fire nestled deep within.
"Stay close behind me I'm breaking this open!" Lan An instructed Su Mei.
She nodded obediently, climbing onto his back, her slender legs wrapping his waist, arms circling his neck, Lan An carrying her piggyback.
Only in such proximity could he extend the Purple Heart Burning Void Flame to protect her.
"Spirit Fist!" Lan An didn't hesitate, pummeling the sea's base to shatter it.
Boom, boom, boom…
After dozens of punches, the lava sea's floor remained unyieldingly solid.
"Time for heavy measures!" Lan An laughed, condensing Harmony Palm again.
Up close, Su Mei witnessed the devastating fusion of three spiritual energies, its destructive force chilling her soul.
Under Lan An's palm…
The lava sea's floor ruptured, layers of steel-like rock crumbling.
Pop…
As the floor collapsed, Lan An and Su Mei plummeted, torrents of lava cascading with them.
Their eyes met a distinct, isolated space, starkly different from the lava sea above.
The chamber was modest, no larger than a small room.
Its walls were fortified stone. At the center, a spectral elephant blazed with molten red flames, sinking the stone floor beneath it into a deep pit.
It trembled, eyeing them fearfully or rather, the Purple Heart Burning Void Flame cloaking them, its rank inferior.
"A Variant Fire?" Su Mei gasped, covering her mouth, only now realizing a Variant Fire lay beneath.
Lan An nodded, slightly disappointed. This elephant-shaped Variant Fire was weaker than his two.
Still, he wouldn't scoff at it better than nothing.
"Do you recognize this Variant Fire?" he asked Su Mei.
She pondered briefly, nodding, "If I'm not mistaken, this is Rank 11 on the Variant Fire List—Lava Elephant Heavy Flame. It's weight-focused. Its flames ravage victims like lava while imposing crushing heaviness."
"More precisely, it manipulates gravity, amplifying weight on foes!" Jin'er corrected.
Lan An nodded. Each Variant Fire had unique traits: Purple Heart Burning Void Flame burned space, Sun Crow Void Flame mimicked the Sun Crow for combat, and Lava Elephant Heavy Flame wielded lava's force and gravity control.
Momentarily, Lan An yearned for the remaining 16 Variant Fires across the Việt Long Star.
"Wait if Lava Elephant Heavy Flame is here, this Secret Realm must be on the Việt Long Star!" he mused.
Su Mei nodded, agreeing. A Secret Realm in another spatial region wouldn't host a Variant Fire from the Việt Long Star's list but an alien one.
"Do you know its previous master?" Lan An pressed.
"A Tribulation-stage powerhouse from over a millennium ago, Tong Vo Danh!" Su Mei answered promptly.
Such details were chronicled in ancient texts, which she studied diligently, unlike the notoriously lazy Lan An.
"Then this place might hold more!" Lan An grinned, activating Pierce Weakness, scanning the lava-flooded chamber.
Su Mei, guessing his intent, nodded. With Trọng Vô Danh's Variant Fire here, his inheritance was likely present.
Sure enough, Lan An spotted an anomaly.
Amid the chaotic stone walls, two perfectly square blocks sat side by side.
He extracted them, revealing two cavities containing…
A storage ring and a beast hide inscribed with scrawled text.
Lan An and Su Mei unfurled the hide, exchanging wry smiles. Trọng Vô Danh was whimsically carefree.
The hide read:
"Reaching here shows some skill, qualifying you for my legacy. Dislike it? Toss it! Oh, I'm a lone wanderer no need for your reverence!"
Lan An admired Tong Vo Danh's forthright nature, contrasting the stern Headmaster's 99-step trial.
Roar…
The Lava Elephant Heavy Flame, enraged by their claim on its former master's items, roared, its molten flames surging toward them.
In its fury, it overcame its fear of the superior Purple Heart Burning Void Flame.
Lan An pulled Su Mei behind him, eager to test the Lava Elephant Heavy Flame's might.
Engulfed, his body sank, as if a mountain pressed his back, the stone floor beneath him denting, movement hampered.
"Intriguing!" Lan An grinned, his gaze sharpening.
Roar…
To the Lava Elephant Heavy Flame's horror, a radiant golden beast's shadow enveloped the chamber.
Sun Crow Void Flame burst forth.
Beside it, a pulsing purple flame formed, heart-shaped, beating fiercely.
The dual Variant Fires stunned Su Mei. During the serpent battle, Lan An's speed had concealed his second Variant Fire.
"My heavens! Sun Crow Void Flame? Isn't that the Yan Clan Head's famed Variant Fire?" Su Mei's world spun, feeling dreamlike.
Lan An, too pressed to explain, sneered at the quivering Lava Elephant Heavy Flame.
His two Variant Fires outranked it, and its prolonged isolation, with only the Blazing Hyacinth Herb for company, had weakened it.
"Follow me, and your prestige won't be shamed!" Lan An declared confidently, fusing his Variant Fires into a giant hand, seizing the Lava Elephant Heavy Flame.
It resisted futilely, cowed by the arrogant Sun Crow and Purple Heart, overwhelmed by fear.
Lan An stored it in the Spirit Realm Pearl, its current rank ensuring the Lava Elephant Heavy Flame couldn't escape.
"Where'd you put the Variant Fire?" Su Mei asked curiously.
"In a spatial container. I'll refine it post-trial," Lan An replied honestly.
Su Mei nodded, understanding. Refining a Variant Fire was time-intensive, and the third trial spanned only a month his choice was prudent.
"Check Trọng Vô Danh's storage ring!" she urged eagerly.
Lan An agreed, their divine senses probing the ring.
Inside, mountains of Supreme-Grade Spirit Stones loomed a Tribulation-stage expert's wealth was vast.
Next, rows of wine gourds, diverse in type, marked Trọng Vô Danh as a drunkard.
A massive red sword, molten in hue, resembled a gate, akin to Yang Guo's heavy sword from Lan An's past-life tales.
Finally, Trọng Vô Danh's cherished techniques and skills:
"Heavy Fire Sword Control Art High Heaven-Grade Technique!"
"Wild Suppression Seal Mid Heaven-Grade Martial Skill"
"Furious Flame Palm Extreme Earth-Grade Martial Skill"
"Lava Protection Extreme Earth-Grade Martial Skill"
Lan An beamed, swiftly claiming the three Fire-based martial skills, saving Prestige Points on Lucky Shop purchases.
He was hoarding points for bloodlines for his wives poverty had its woes.
As for the Heavy Fire Sword Control Art, he shelved it. The heavy sword intrigued, but his halberd and bow skills needed mastery first.
He'd consider other weapons once proficient.
Regrettably, nothing suited Su Mei. Lan An squeezed her hand in comfort.
She shook her head, smiling. A Water cultivator, her master prioritized her exceptional charm talent, focusing on Charm Arts.
Charm Arts, tailored for women with dense yin energy, demanded breathtaking beauty and allure Su Mei met every criterion.
Lan An vowed not to shortchange her, gifting her a hefty sum of Spirit Stones, resolving to find a suitable technique.
"Let's go!" Lan An hoisted Su Mei onto his back, their cave haul immense. He credited Su Mei, deeming her a new lucky star, rivaling Bai Su Mei and Ji Bing.
With the Lava Elephant Heavy Flame gone, the Blazing Hyacinth Herb yielded easily. Lan An stored it in the Spirit Realm Pearl.
Phantom Charm Wander Step activated, they fled the collapsing cave at lightning speed…