Chapter 246: The Great Benefits of the Skyflame Qi Refining Tower
"Reward?"
Hearing Elder Su's words, Mo Yu was momentarily stunned, then he turned his head to look at the white-haired elder.
"As the victor of the Inner Academy's Strong Ranking challenge, Mo Yu, you are awarded 100 days of fire energy and an additional 'Crimson Fire Crystal Card.'"
"Crimson Fire Crystal Card?"
Upon hearing this from Elder Su, the audience both on and off the stage erupted in amazement, their eyes filled with envy as they looked at Mo Yu.
In the Inner Academy, fire crystal cards are ranked by color from low to high: black, blue, green, crimson, and purple. Most students possess black crystal cards, the lowest grade, which only grant access to the first and second floors of the Skyflame Qi Refining Tower. Blue cards allow access to the third and fourth floors, and so on.
To upgrade a crystal card, students need to exchange fire energy. Upgrading from a black card to a blue one requires 100 days of fire energy, from blue to green requires 200 days, and from green to crimson requires 300 days of fire energy.
The Crimson Fire Crystal Card that Mo Yu was awarded directly saved him 600 days of fire energy, making it a very valuable asset in the Inner Academy.
After Elder Su finished speaking, he flicked his wrist, and a crimson crystal card appeared in his hand. With a casual flick, the crystal card shot toward Mo Yu, hovering in front of him.
"The rewards are already in the card. Also, since Bai Cheng has been defeated, according to the rules, he must admit defeat. I've already deducted half of the fire energy from his Crimson Fire Crystal Card—about 600 days of fire energy. Adding the academy's reward, you now have 700 days of fire energy in your card."
Upon hearing this, Mo Yu raised an eyebrow slightly, then turned his gaze toward where the White Gang members were gathered.
Bai Cheng, who had just regained consciousness, was holding his Crimson Fire Crystal Card, a look of pain and regret on his face. Noticing Mo Yu's gaze, Bai Cheng glared back with a flash of hatred and malice in his eyes.
In response, Mo Yu simply smirked coldly—after all, a defeated opponent was nothing to fear.
"Mo Yu, let me remind you of something. The 600 days of fire energy you received from Bai Cheng are yours by academy rules. Bai Cheng cannot go back on his word after losing. However, if you wish to take control of the White Gang from him, the academy won't intervene. That will depend entirely on your own methods," Elder Su advised earnestly, clearly a bit skeptical of Mo Yu's chances.
After all, the White Gang was established by Bai Cheng himself and held significant influence. Managing a faction was different from just being strong; otherwise, the top ten on the Strong Ranking would each have formed their own powerful factions.
Mo Yu had only been at the academy for a few days. Although he had defeated Bai Cheng, he was still a newcomer. Even if Bai Cheng relinquished his position as gang leader, it was doubtful that Mo Yu could hold onto it.
Accepting the Crimson Fire Crystal Card, Mo Yu nodded slightly. "Thank you for the reminder, Elder Su. I have my own plans and won't force anything."
Elder Su nodded in response. "Very well. Now that you are an official student of the Inner Academy, take your time to familiarize yourself with everything. I won't interrupt your family reunion any longer."
"Thank you, Elder Su."
After watching Elder Su and Hu Qian leave, Xiao Yu and the others gathered around Mo Yu once more.
"Mo Yu, Cousin, with 700 days of fire energy, you're rich now!" Xun Er, who was familiar with the importance of fire energy in the Inner Academy, smiled sweetly at Mo Yu.
"Haha, with Xiao Yan as an excellent alchemist, I doubt you'll ever lack fire energy," Mo Yu said, rubbing his chin.
Hearing this, Xiao Yan and Xun Er exchanged glances and shook their heads, smiling wryly. They had indeed come up with the idea of using alchemy to earn fire energy, but they hadn't expected Mo Yu to figure it out so quickly.
"Mo Yu, Cousin, why don't you come stay with us at Pan Gate? Xiao Yu, Cousin, is in Moon Gang, which is mostly for female students, so it might be a bit inconvenient for you there," Xun Er suggested.
Mo Yu noticed Xiao Yu's somewhat awkward expression and nodded in agreement. "Alright."
For him, it didn't really matter where he stayed for now. Once he took over the White Gang, he would have a solid base in the Inner Academy.
Thinking about this, Mo Yu glanced toward where Bai Cheng had been, only to find it empty. Clearly, Bai Cheng had already led the White Gang away.
Mo Yu chuckled coldly. He had already made plans for how to take over the White Gang and wasn't in a hurry to do so.
After chatting a bit more, Mo Yu parted ways with Xiao Yu and followed Xiao Yan to a stone stairway.
The stairway wasn't very high, and within a minute or two, they reached the top. As Mo Yu stepped onto the slope and looked ahead, the scene before him made him take a deep breath of the cool air.
"So, this is the Inner Academy?" Mo Yu muttered as he surveyed the area.
Beyond the slope was a vast sunken basin, as if a giant meteor had crashed from the sky and created this massive depression.
The basin was filled with towering buildings, and from their vantage point, they could see numerous black figures darting and leaping across the structures like fleas.
As Mo Yu's gaze extended further, he realized the basin was enormous, with its far end still filled with tall buildings and lush greenery.
"Welcome to the heart of Jia Nan Academy, the Inner Academy!" Xiao Yan said with a smile.
...
"Creak."
A wooden door slowly opened, letting in a sliver of sunlight that formed a thin beam on the floor.
As the door fully opened, the beam expanded rapidly, and several figures stretched long and short by the sunlight entered the room. Xiao Yan glanced around the spacious pavilion and smiled.
"Mo Yu, Cousin, this is where Xun Er, Hu Jia, Wu Hao, and I live. There are five rooms here, and since Bai Shan, Bai Cheng's brother, left, there's an empty room. You can stay here for now."
"Thank you, Xiao Yan," Mo Yu said, remembering Hu Jia and Wu Hao, who were some of the top newcomers to the Inner Academy.
After looking around the room, Mo Yu nodded in satisfaction. Noticing the paper and pen on the table, he raised an eyebrow, walked over, and wrote a few lines.
Seeing this, Xiao Yan and Xun Er exchanged curious glances and approached.
"Xiao Yan, Cousin, I hear you're the leader of a faction now. Could you help me with something?" Mo Yu asked with a smile.
"Haha, you give me too much credit, Cousin. The freshmen just chose me as their leader to protect themselves from being bullied. It's nothing much. But if you need anything, Pan Gate will do its best to help," Xiao Yan said, scratching his head.
Mo Yu patted Xiao Yan's shoulder and handed him the paper, smiling. "It's nothing big. I'm just new here and unfamiliar with things. I'd appreciate it if your people could help me gather these crafting materials—I need them for something."
Taking the paper, Xiao Yan and Xun Er read it carefully. Finally, Xun Er smiled and said, "In the Inner Academy's East District, there's a trading market where many rare and unusual items are sold, including crafting materials. The materials on this list aren't rare, so if everyone in Pan Gate helps, we should be able to gather them in a day."
Xiao Yan and Xun Er weren't surprised by Mo Yu's request since they knew he was a craftsman from the family.
"Thank you. I'll cover the fire energy costs after everything's gathered," Mo Yu said with a nod.
Xiao Yan shook his head and replied, "No need for that. Thanks to you, we've already earned a lot of fire energy today."
"Oh?"
Seeing Mo Yu's puzzled expression, Xun Er laughed and explained the betting that took place in the square.
"Haha, I didn't know that," Mo Yu said with a carefree smile, waving it off.
After a bit more conversation, everyone dispersed and returned to their rooms.
Once inside his room, Mo Yu tidied up a bit and, exhausted from the day, slowly drifted into sleep as night fell.
The next morning, at the Skyflame Qi Refining Tower in the Inner Academy.
As one of the most important places in Jia Nan Academy, the Skyflame Qi Refining Tower was always bustling with activity, which is why Mo Yu made his way there early the next day.
Mo Yu was curious about the Skyflame Qi Refining Tower and, more importantly, he wanted to confirm something he had in mind.
After about ten minutes of walking, Mo Yu found himself in front of a sunken area. In the center was an enormous black tower deeply embedded in the ground, with only the tip of the tower and a dark entrance visible above ground.
"So this is the Skyflame Qi Refining Tower..." Mo Yu muttered, raising an eyebrow as he looked at the dense crowd in front of the tower and the massive black structure made of some special material.
Mo Yu wasn't unfamiliar with the origin of the Skyflame Qi Refining Tower. According to the original story, this tower was created by Jia Nan Academy's headmaster, Mang Tian Chi, to suppress and seal the Fallen Heart Flame underground.
The Fallen Heart Flame had the ability to refine Dou Qi, making it a powerful tool for cultivation. Jia Nan Academy used this feature to help its Inner Academy students train. Fire energy was the currency needed to enter the Skyflame Qi Refining Tower.
But that wasn't all. According to Mo Yu's knowledge, beneath the magma world where the Fallen Heart Flame resided was an even bigger secret—the Dou Di's (Emperor) mansion...
Thinking about it, Mo Yu shook his head. With his current strength, it was too early to think about such things.
While Mo Yu was lost in thought, the ancient sound of a bell suddenly echoed throughout the area. As the bell rang, the noisy crowd immediately fell silent.
"Open the tower!"
After the bell tolled, a voice that seemed to come from within the tower called out.
Shortly after the voice fell, the tightly closed black door slowly creaked open, releasing a faint, scorching heat that slightly raised the temperature of the area.
"Enter the tower!"
The ancient voice rang out again, and the people meditating on the ground suddenly opened their eyes and stood up. The sound of wind breaking filled the air as figures shot toward the tower entrance.
Seeing this, Mo Yu didn't hesitate. He quickly walked across the empty space and headed toward the mysterious black tower buried underground.
A minute later, after entering the black tower, the light in front of Mo Yu suddenly dimmed. A moment later, he felt his feet land on a hard stone surface.
The instant Mo Yu's feet touched the ground inside the tower, his body suddenly stiffened, and a slight flush appeared on his handsome face as wisps of heat began to rise from his body.
Feeling a strange flame suddenly appear within him, Mo Yu raised an eyebrow. This flame was oddly abnormal, for it was invisible and intangible.
Aware of the situation from the original story, Mo Yu immediately realized that this was an avatar of the Fallen Heart Flame.
Since the appearance of this invisible flame, the intense heat it emitted began causing slight pain in Mo Yu's meridians, bones, muscles, and other organs.
"So, this is the avatar of the Fallen Heart Flame... I wonder if my guess is correct," Mo Yu murmured, his silver eyes narrowing slightly.
Despite the pain, Mo Yu focused his mind and slightly loosened the seal of his Godly Armor. The Xuan Thunder Energy within him began to surge out, and under his control, it traveled through several meridians, arriving at the location where the invisible flame was.
"Pass through."
With a determined command, Mo Yu directed the Xuan Thunder Energy to charge into the invisible flame. The flame was so small that the energy passed through it in less than a second.
Carefully observing the Xuan Thunder Energy that had passed through the invisible flame, Mo Yu was pleasantly surprised to find that the once-rough energy had been refined into pure Dou Qi.
As he examined the sea-urchin-like Dou Crystal within him, Mo Yu noticed that as the purified Xuan Thunder Energy flowed into it, the crystal seemed to grow slightly larger.
"This Fallen Heart Flame is truly effective. Not only can it refine a cultivator's Dou Qi, but it can also purify and absorb external energy. If the first floor is this effective, then the higher floors must be even more..."
Thinking this, Mo Yu couldn't help but smile, his heart racing with excitement.
This Skyflame Qi Refining Tower was practically designed for him. If he could use it to absorb the vast amount of energy sealed within him, he would reach an incredibly powerful realm!
(End of Chapter)
Friends, if you want to read chapters in advance, subscribe to my patreon.