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The Alien Flame
Su Yu's spiritual form felt a touch of emotion.
While guiding Xiao Huo, this thought had arisen in his mind without warning.
Although the Radiant Continent doesn't contain naturally formed alien flames, that doesn't mean creating one is impossible.
In the early stages, all that's needed is to condense a seed of flame. It might not qualify as a true alien flame at that point, but if one later fuses it with the source of a dimension, then there's real hope of elevating that seed to the level of an alien flame.
"This is the path best suited to you."
Su Yu wasn't just speaking randomly.
Given Xiao Huo's current state, condensing a seed from both wind and fire elements would be beneficial for altering his physique in the future.
And as his cultivation progresses, this flame seed will also continue to evolve. Eventually, it might even become the key to fusing his magic and battle energy.
No matter the type of energy, unification in the end is what truly matters.
Therefore, this path of the alien flame is indeed one with an incredibly high ceiling for Xiao Huo.
"Stop overthinking. Hurry up and condense it."
Su Yu's spiritual form immediately mobilized the surrounding wind and fire elemental forces, merging them into Xiao Huo's body.
"I'm only assisting. The real act of condensation must come from you," Su Yu reminded him, urging the pained and screaming Xiao Huo to focus and sense the changes within his body.
"The spiritual rune is fusing with your sea of consciousness to enhance your perception. Use this chance to observe the internal transformation."
Su Yu directed the spiritual rune into Xiao Huo's spiritual sea.
He also had to suppress the rune's energy fluctuations.
There was no helping it—this energy was foreign to begin with, and its grade was terrifyingly high. The pressure on Xiao Huo's spiritual sea was immense.
Previously, Xiao Huo had only ever enhanced his perception remotely through spiritual runes. He had never experienced such a deep level of integration as he did now.
Now, he was almost fully benefiting from the runes' enhancement.
As a result, his perceptive ability was being pushed to its absolute limit.
"Feel your body. The tempering effect caused by the clash of wind and fire elements is just a lure—it tricks your body into thinking it's about to undergo transformation. This should make sensing your source power much easier."
Enduring the dual pain of mind and body, Xiao Huo concentrated, following Su Yu's instructions to sense the internal changes taking place.
"Focus even more!" Su Yu ordered.
With his control over the spiritual rune, Su Yu could tell that Xiao Huo's current level of concentration wasn't enough.
Xiao Huo gritted his teeth and pushed himself to focus harder, trying to channel more of his attention into perceiving his body's transformation.
"That's it. Just like that."
The longer it went on, the worse Xiao Huo's physical state became. But at the same time, his senses were becoming increasingly numb, allowing him to pour all his mental energy into perception.
"I can feel it!" Xiao Huo exclaimed in excitement.
"I felt it too," Su Yu said dryly.
"Your talent is really something else."
I'm not even you, and I sensed the fluctuation of your source power before you did.
Su Yu couldn't help but complain a little, then quickly urged Xiao Huo to guide out a portion of his source power.
As for the method of guiding it, Su Yu had already taught him.
Xiao Huo circulated his battle energy through the meridians in his body.
The meridians of the human body on the Radiant Continent were different from those on the Douluo Continent, but Su Yu had mastered the underlying principles. Adjusting the energy flow path to suit this world's battle energy was a simple task for him.
When the source power was drawn out, Su Yu didn't let him act recklessly.
"Now, maintain your control over that source power, and begin to sense your innate spirituality."
First, the source power had to be drawn out. Then, sensing the origin of spiritual energy could be guided using one's innate spiritual sense—it would be relatively easier that way.
Of course, with the support of the spiritual rune, the process became even smoother.
Otherwise, under normal circumstances, detecting the fluctuation of spiritual origin would be far more difficult.
Under Su Yu's guidance, Xiao Huo's progress was smooth and steady.
His spiritual origin was stirred, and within his dantian, the two sources began to collide and merge.
His battle energy and magical power—two distinct sources—intertwined into a vortex, while the surrounding wind and fire elements continued to compress into his body, converging into the dantian.
"Today, I'm helping you condense your flame seed source. From now on, it'll be up to you."
Condensing and solidifying the energy was still beyond Xiao Huo's current capabilities.
Su Yu guided the two sources into a twisting dance, adjusting them at the most minute level. What he was doing was causing the two sources to entangle, stabilizing them in a form similar to a rune.
However, unlike rune engraving, which is a macro-level process, Su Yu was operating on a microscopic scale to promote the fusion and stabilization of the two sources.
Now that the source had stabilized, the elemental forces flowed into it as well.
Elemental power imbues attributes.
Then, magical power and battle energy merged into the core, fusing with the seed's source, thereby placing the flame seed completely under Xiao Huo's control.
"Senior! It worked!"
The Windfury Dragonflame was complete!
Xiao Huo was overwhelmed with excitement.
He shouted with joy as he felt the vortex of flame within his dantian.
"With this Windfury Dragonflame seed, your cultivation will speed up, and the transformation of your physique will proceed more smoothly and steadily," Su Yu said.
That was the true key.
"Yes, physique transformation!" Awakened by Su Yu's words, Xiao Huo suddenly realized the core issue and exclaimed in excitement.
By now, under Su Yu's guidance, he had been cultivating for over a year. Every day, he had undergone either elemental tempering or pressure-based combat trials. His warrior cultivation had already reached the level of Greatsword Master.
However, in terms of magic, he had remained stuck at the level of an intermediate mage.
"The Windfury Dragonflame seed has fused with both your spiritual and physical source powers. It should now serve as a bridge, allowing you to temporarily advance your magic cultivation," Su Yu explained.
With this flame seed, Xiao Huo's cultivation would no longer be restricted—whether as a warrior or a mage.
Even if Su Yu were to leave now, and the assistance of the spiritual rune vanished, Xiao Huo could still continue cultivating on his own.
"Keep training. Aim to become a Martial Saint within a year," Su Yu set a new goal for Xiao Huo.
"Huh?!" Xiao Huo's face instantly twisted into a bitter expression.
Reaching the level of Greatsword Master in just over a year had already subjected him to inhuman torment. Now Su Yu wanted him to reach Martial Saint within another year? That might just cost him his life.
Despite his complaints, Xiao Huo knew deep down that if Senior Su Yu said it was possible, then it had to be within reach.
"The Radiant Continent has no shortage of resources beneficial to cultivation—dragon blood, phoenix blood, even divine blood can be found."
"Hiss~~~"
Xiao Huo stared at Su Yu's spiritual form in shock.
"Senior… aren't you not physically present in this dimension?"
"That's right."
"Then how are we supposed to get dragon blood, phoenix blood, or even divine blood?"
"That depends on your own capabilities."
Douluo Continent.
Sun-Moon.
Sun-Moon Hall.
In the midst of training, Bai Feng suddenly felt a fluctuation in spiritual energy.
"Hm? Who's there?!"
He shouted, sharply turning his gaze toward the direction of the disturbance.
"Teacher?"
The spiritual energy took on a humanoid form—it was Su Yu.
This was the 'Star' spiritual rune Su Yu had left with Bai Feng. Before leaving the Douluo Continent, he had sealed a portion of his spiritual power within it to allow future communication.
Unlike the regular spiritual rune, however, this version restored spiritual power far more slowly, making frequent contact impossible.
"Xiaofeng, how long until the Continental Soul Battle Tournament begins?"
"Six months left," Bai Feng replied.
"Think you can break through to Soul Ancestor in four months?" Su Yu's spiritual sense scanned him and immediately detected his disciple's soul power level—it had already reached Level 39.
That was quite the leap in just one year.
But soul power cultivation didn't carry the risk of an unstable foundation—especially since Su Yu had always emphasized comprehension in Bai Feng's training. There was no chance his disciple had advanced with shaky fundamentals.
"Don't worry, Teacher. I'll definitely break through within two months, and I'll be more than ready to condense my fourth soul ring by the four-month mark," Bai Feng said confidently.
Though much of his recent soul power advancement had come from elixirs and Su Yu's 'Star' spiritual rune drawing in stellar power to temper his body and aid absorption, Bai Feng had gradually gained confidence through the process.
Ordinary soul masters, even with those resources, might not have achieved the same progress.
"Good. Reaching Soul Ancestor is only the beginning. Your soul engineer rank must also keep up—aim for Rank 4, and if possible, begin mastering Rank 5 soul tool production ahead of time."
"What?" Bai Feng's eyes widened.
Teacher, we didn't agree to that before...
"With your current understanding of runes, you should be able to grasp the principles of Rank 5 soul arrays. You just need to invest the time and effort."
Bai Feng's mouth twitched.
I can understand them, sure—but it's incredibly draining on the mind.
And with his current soul power, he couldn't even attempt crafting them personally. He'd be limited to theoretical learning only.
This just got even harder.
"In four months, I'll take you to Dragon Valley. When the time comes, you'll encounter a great opportunity. If you've already mastered Rank 5 soul tool production by then, you'll be able to start crafting Rank 5 soul tools directly."
The Rank 5 soul tools themselves weren't the key point.
What mattered was the significance they carried.
In the current soul master world, Rank 5 soul tools held a new and crucial meaning—battle armor.
Even the most basic battle armor consisted of components that were all Rank 5 soul tools.
"Teacher… don't tell me you want me to forge my own basic battle armor before the tournament?"
You can't be serious… right?
Teacher, I value my life too, you know!
Internally, Bai Feng was in despair. What had once been a fulfilling and promising life now felt like it was descending into hell.
"The tournament is only the beginning. After this year's Continental Soul Tournament, I'll arrange another opportunity for you. Your goal is to reach the Soul Emperor level within two years."
Bai Feng had no idea what had gotten into his teacher—he just knew he was on the verge of a mental breakdown.
So the tournament wasn't even the real reason he was being driven to the edge. Even after it ended, he'd still be forced to push himself to the absolute limit.
As for the consequences of failing to meet these goals? Even if Su Yu didn't say anything, even if there were no punishment, Bai Feng couldn't accept it himself.
Though he groaned and complained, deep down Bai Feng understood: if his teacher had assigned him this objective, it meant the resources he currently enjoyed were enough to make it possible.
Elf Star.
"Your Majesty, do the elves have any medium through which they can form something akin to a contract with the essence of Elf Star?"
The Elven Queen nodded. "Spirit Dragons. They are special lifeforms nurtured through generations of our people's connection with the planet. At present, there are seven Spirit Dragons among us. Aside from the Spirit Dragon of Life, which is bonded to me, the other six are all in a dormant state."
After bonding with an elf, a Spirit Dragon would die with its host. It would then revert into a dragon egg, waiting for a new elf to appear and form the next contract. Upon renewal, it would be reborn and grow again from weakness to strength alongside its new master.
Currently, six of the seven Spirit Dragons remained asleep—meaning they were unbonded.
"Only one is active?" Su Yu frowned slightly.
The other six were dormant, and even if they were reawakened and re-bonded, they'd have to start over from scratch.
"Is this a problem? Will it affect the evolution of the Elven race?" the Elven Queen asked cautiously, having picked up on Su Yu's wording—that the Spirit Dragons were mediums of a kind of contract between the elves and the planet.
In truth, even the elves themselves had never had such an understanding before.
They hadn't known the true nature of the Spirit Dragons.
Now, the Elven Queen was beginning to realize that Elf Star's evolution might require the participation of the Spirit Dragons.
But with six of them still asleep, would that be a problem?
Her face was filled with concern as she looked at Su Yu, dreading the possibility that he might say they all had to be reawakened and raised back to their peak forms.
After all, Spirit Dragons had incredibly long lifespans—far longer than the elves themselves. Raising one to its peak was anything but easy.
With such longevity came slow growth. Even though their potential ceiling was higher, they required immense amounts of time to develop.
"No need to worry," Su Yu said, waving his hand, which brought a visible sigh of relief from the Elven Queen.
"Your Spirit Dragon has already reached the edge of the divine realm, hasn't it?"
"Yes."
"Her power alone should be enough."
Still, this would mean the Spirit Dragon would outpace the other six in terms of level and growth.
After all, they were evolving alongside the planet itself.
"Your Majesty, let's begin."
The Elven Queen already trusted Su Yu deeply and immediately summoned her Spirit Dragon.
"As I thought—this being is similar to a soul spirit," Su Yu nodded in approval.
He began instructing the Spirit Dragon on what it needed to pay attention to during the upcoming process.
Time passed.
The transformation of Elf Star was visible to the naked eye.
A month of wandering across the world may not have shown significant changes, but now that Su Yu and the Elven Queen had officially begun triggering the planet's evolution, the shift in the surrounding elemental energy was unmistakable.
The runes of Life and Death appeared—glowing in radiant green as they drew out the Laws of Life.
The surrounding world essence seemed to be briefly imbued with life attributes.
The Elven Queen stared intently at the glowing runes before Su Yu, utterly stunned.
"What is this?"
Su Yu offered no explanation. He instead channeled the Law of Life directly into Elf Star and simultaneously began stirring the Spirit Dragon's innate vitality, syncing it with the energy of the planet itself.
Having previously resonated with the will and essence of the Douluo Plane, Su Yu was already experienced in this.
Still, with only that single prior experience, the resonance wasn't immediate this time either.
But as time ticked on, the emergence of the Law of Life at Elf Star's core began to spur widespread transformation across the planet.
At first, only the nearby energy seemed briefly imbued with a life-like attribute. Then, as the Law of Life took stronger hold, the ambient energy itself fully transformed into life energy.
Even the attributes of ambient world essence were altered. The descent of the Law of Life saturated the environment with vitality, enriching Elf Star's entire ecosystem.
The life energy now began to flow freely, spreading and merging with world essence all across the planet.
With time, the changes grew more intense.
One month later.
The transformation was dramatic.
Life energy surged from all corners of Elf Star. It was as if the planet had awakened. What had started as a nudge from the Law of Life had now triggered a full activation of the planet's slumbering vitality.
Life energy burst forth like a flood, as if countless years of dormant essence were being awakened and unleashed.
As Elf Star fully entered this active state, the outpouring of vitality, paired with the influence of the Law of Life, caused nearly all ambient energy on the planet to slowly morph into life-attributed energy.
The higher the energy quality, the greater the planetary transformation.
As a life-type planet, Elf Star had always been capable of absorbing cosmic energy in large amounts. Now, caught in the throes of evolution, the planet's essence was rapidly converting into pure life energy.
Even though it had an immense reserve built up over countless years, this transformation consumed it at a staggering rate.
It was like an overweight person burning fat through intense exercise. Their body would soon crave more food to replenish the lost energy—and without control, they might consume even more than before, leading to even more fat gain in the long run.
Elf Star was now in that "consumption" phase—burning reserves while frantically absorbing more cosmic energy to compensate.
The changes over this past month were monumental.
Eventually, Elf Star reached a bottleneck stage. Although the concentration of life energy continued to rise, the transformation no longer progressed as rapidly.
At this point, Su Yu had finally completed his resonance with the planetary essence through the Spirit Dragon.
He opened his eyes and looked toward the Elven Queen.
"Your Majesty, it's time."
At his signal, the Elven Queen gathered herself and entered a focused cultivation state.
In truth, she had already gained immensely over the past month just from sensing the planet's transformation. If not for a powerful bottleneck holding her back, she would've already begun breaking through.
Su Yu's consciousness entered a vast spatial realm.
(End of Chapter)