Chapter 44: Entering and Causing Chaos in the Blazing Tianfen Qi Tower

"Isn't it over yet?" Hode asked the middle-aged man in charge.

Everyone else had already come out, and the hourglass countdown had ended, leaving only Huncang and the young man beside him.

"No rush." The middle-aged man slowly shook his head, a faint light seeming to flash in his eyes as he continuously scanned Huncang and the other person.

Before the stone tablet, the young man opened his eyes by a crack, glanced at Huncang, and cursed inwardly: *Damn it, what is this guy's background? That was my last medicinal pill.*

*Should I just give up? First place is just an empty title anyway.*

A thought flashed through the young man's mind. Right at that moment, a voice echoed in his ears: "The one who lasts the longest will receive an additional reward of thirty days of "Fire Energy"."

Thirty days?

The onlookers, Instructor Hode, and the other disciples of Canaan Academy all widened their eyes in disbelief as they looked toward the middle-aged man who had spoken.

For inner court disciples, Fire Energy was an extremely precious commodity.

Because within the inner court stood the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower; cultivating there provided immense assistance to one's cultivation progress, acting practically like a cheat code.

And the condition for entering the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower was Fire Energy.

Since the young man had prepared somewhat before participating in the test, he naturally understood the relevant information. Upon learning about the thirty-day Fire Energy reward, his spirits surged, and he decided to hold on a little longer.

*Even if I can't use it temporarily, I can trade it with the senior brothers and sisters in the inner court. To the people of the inner court, the value of Fire Energy is no less than money.*

Filled with motivation, the young man cast another glance at Huncang, a trace of determination in his eyes.

Time continued to tick away, quickly approaching a full hour.

*Damn it all, what on earth is this guy's background?* The young man had already swallowed his last pill, only to find that Huncang remained unmoved, completely unaffected by the heat emanating from the stone tablet.

Gradually, the young man's consciousness began to blur. Without the medicinal pill to dull the effects, he was now purely relying on sheer willpower to sustain himself.

Catching sight of this, the middle-aged man flicked his figure and silently appeared right in front of the young man.

At that moment, Huncang's eyebrows twitched slightly, suppressing the urge to open his eyes. *Stay calm. With my current strength, if I sense his approach, it will definitely attract unwanted attention.*

"Would you like another Mind-Clearing Pill?" The middle-aged man lowered his body and asked in a gentle tone.

"Yes, I do! Please give me one quickly, I don't want to lose, I want first place!" The young man grabbed onto the middle-aged man like a drowning person clutching a straw.

Just as the words left the young man's mouth, a man outside the crowd suddenly changed color, slapping his palm against his forehead in deep regret: "Aiya, the act is ruined. All our efforts are wasted now."

The young man also snapped back to reality. Opening his eyes and seeing the middle-aged man right in front of him, he scrambled backward in sheer terror, using both hands and feet.

"How dare you cheat during the Canaan Academy entrance test? Have you lost your mind?!" The middle-aged man's expression darkened.

The young man instinctively wanted to argue his way out of it, but upon meeting the middle-aged man's gaze, he instantly felt as though he had been seen right through, choking the words back into his throat.

*No, I refuse to accept this! I obviously already passed!*

*It's him!*

The young man pointed at Huncang and shouted, "He cheated too! He definitely cheated as well, otherwise how could he have lasted this long?"

His expression was frantic, resembling a barking, rabid dog.

"He didn't." The middle-aged man glanced at Huncang, who had now opened his eyes, and said with absolute certainty—though a flicker of curiosity crossed his eyes.

Before the young man could say another word, the middle-aged man casually flicked a burst of vital energy, knocking him unconscious. Academy personnel immediately rushed over and carried him away.

"Don't even dream of cheating. Canaan Academy will never accept people like this. Remember that." The middle-aged man swept his gaze across the surroundings, his voice exceptionally stern.

Afterward, he searched for Huncang with his eyes, only to see the youth curiously reaching out to touch the stone tablet.

"Careful," the middle-aged man said, momentarily startled as he issued a warning.

Huncang withdrew his hand and smiled sheepishly. He had merely wanted to sense the lingering aura of the Fallen Heart Flame within the stone tablet to gauge the strength of its main body.

*Roughly at the Dou Zong level,* he muttered inwardly.

The middle-aged man walked up to him and asked, "You don't seem to fear the power of the Fallen Heart Flame."

"It's probably because of this." Huncang, having prepared an excuse in advance, opened his palm, and a cluster of white flame flickered to life.

"A Heavenly Flame?" The middle-aged man widened his eyes in realization and nodded. He couldn't help but give Huncang another deep, searching look; being able to possess a Heavenly Flame at such a young age meant his background was extraordinary.

This inevitably reminded him of another young girl within the academy, whose backing was equally formidable and not to be underestimated.

Hode hurried over from a distance: "Elder Lin, his name is Huncang, my disciple."

"What? Afraid I'm going to snatch him away?" Elder Lin shot him a sideways glance before turning back to Huncang. "Kid, I don't care what your background is. Since you've come to Canaan Academy, study hard and I'll welcome you with both hands. But if you try to make trouble, you'd better weigh your capabilities."

"I understand," Huncang replied with a slightly guilty smile.

A large part of the reason Canaan Academy was so renowned was directly related to the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower. Because of the Fallen Heart Flame's existence, it greatly accelerated cultivation speed in the early stages.

Elder Lin nodded, hoisted the black stone tablet, and left Heping Town.

"Take a rest. Later, I'll take all of you to Canaan Academy together." Only after Elder Lin vanished from sight did Hode withdraw his gaze and offer Huncang a smile. "I never expected you to be hiding your true strength. Rest assured regarding your cultivation from now on; I will fight for an inner court quota for you."

"Then I thank Instructor Hode in advance," Huncang smiled faintly. "By the way, why was that stone tablet taken back?"

Given that the residual aura of the Fallen Heart Flame on the stone tablet could provide some cultivation assistance to stationed students if left in Heping Town, wouldn't that have been wonderful?

Hode explained, "Because that stone tablet has been continuously scorched by the Fallen Heart Flame, it underwent miraculous changes. After the academy uses it, they generally return it to its original place."

"Back to the side of the Fallen Heart Flame?" Huncang's expression stiffened slightly as a bad premonition arose in his heart. When he had touched it just now, he had inadvertently left behind the aura of the *Flame-Suppressing Art*.

Hode nodded, paying no attention to Huncang's reaction, simply assuming the youth was driven by curiosity. He then turned away to attend to other matters.

About ten minutes later, everyone who had passed the test was lined up and sequentially boarded the flying magical beasts to head toward Canaan Academy.

For many, this was their first time experiencing flight in the open air. Feeling relaxed and refreshed, they craned their necks to look down at the primeval forests below.

"Hey, look over there..."

At that moment, someone pointed into the distance. The sky in that direction seemed to be dyed red by flames, and a massive cluster of fire burst forth like blooming fireworks.

Immediately following that, several figures shot outward, and amidst flashes of various flowing lights, they managed to suppress the blaze.

"Instructor, what place in the academy is that?" someone curiously asked Hode. "Was what we just saw some kind of experiment?"

Hode's mouth twitched, his expression turning somewhat unsightly. "No... that's the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower... blowing up."

*The last time the Fallen Heart Flame went on a rampage was probably over a dozen years ago, wasn't it? By all calculations, it shouldn't be time for an eruption yet.*

Hode was left utterly baffled.