130: Chapter 130 Ancient Powerhouses?

Jia Nan Academy, Inner Academy.

The morning bell had just struck three times. Great Elder Su Qian was sitting in the council hall, reviewing the assessment documents of the new batch of students.

From the training ground outside the window came the shouts of young students practicing Dou Technique, full of youthful vigor, just as in the past.

He set down his pen, rubbed his brow, and picked up his teacup to take a sip, when he suddenly sensed an extremely powerful aura rapidly approaching from the void.

That aura did not have the slightest concealment—an Eight Star Dou Sheng, and it was a domineering fluctuation that had just recently broken through, still carrying the scorch marks of Heavenly Flames.

Su Qian stood up abruptly, and the teacup nearly slipped from his hand.

He hurried to the entrance of the council hall and saw a black-robed figure slowly stepping out from a rift in the void. A xuan heavy ruler was slung across his back, and the faint glow of six-colored Heavenly Flames flowed across the body of the ruler.

That face had a few more traces of vicissitudes than when he left, and the jawline was more defined, but those eyes were still the ones he was familiar with.

"Great Elder Su Qian, it has been many years." Xiao Yan landed on the stone steps in front of the council hall and cupped his hands in a salute to Su Qian.

Su Qian was stunned for a long while before he recognized that the Eight Star Dou Sheng in front of him was the little fellow who used to run wild in the Inner Academy.

He hurriedly stepped forward to support Xiao Yan's arm, looking him up and down, his voice trembling slightly.

Xiao Yan did not make much small talk and got straight to the point, saying that he had returned this time for an important matter. He needed to borrow the passage at the bottom of the Heavenly Flame Training Pagoda to enter the underground magma world, where a ruin of vital importance to him was hidden.

Su Qian pondered for a moment and then nodded, saying that the Heavenly Flame Training Pagoda was originally rebuilt with Xiao Yan's help back then, so the academy would not stop him.

It was just that the temperature deep in the magma world was extremely high, and even a Dou Sheng might not be able to retreat unscathed.

Xiao Yan said he knew what he was doing, and then asked if the Inner Academy had been peaceful over the years.

Su Qian sighed, saying that ever since the Sky Mansion Alliance disbanded and the Ancient Clan withdrew, the situation in the Central Plains had been turbulent. Jia Nan Academy was in a remote location and was considered peaceful, but he had also heard that the Hun Clan was powerful, and asked if the grudge between Xiao Yan and Hun Feng had been settled.

Xiao Yan was silent for a moment, then said it would be soon, and there would be a result before long.

After bidding farewell to Su Qian, Xiao Yan walked along the bluestone path of the Inner Academy towards the Heavenly Flame Training Pagoda.

Along the way, a few young students who were training recognized him and were so excited that they almost dropped the Dou Technique they were holding.

He did not disturb anyone else, walked straight into the secret passage at the bottom of the tower, passed through the familiar corridor, and stood once again before that churning sea of magma.

The scorching magma churned endlessly beneath his feet, and when the bubbles burst, they splashed red waves several zhang high.

The deeper he went, the higher the temperature became, and the air was filled with a pungent smell of sulfur.

Fire Spirit leaped from his shoulder, and the six-colored flames condensed into a screen of light around his body, isolating the high temperature of the magma.

He did not know how long he had walked, but at the end of the magma sea, a huge stone door appeared.

The stone door was hundreds of zhang high, cast from a material that was neither jade nor stone. The surface of the door was covered with dense ancient runes, each one emitting a faint fluorescence under the reflection of the magma.

That vast suppressing power was emitted from this door—ancient, majestic, and unshakeable.

The Tuoshe Ancient Emperor's Cave Abode, the most mysterious forbidden area in the entire Fighting Qi Continent, an Emperor Realm ruin that had not been opened by anyone in a thousand years.

Xiao Yan stood before this giant door, looking up at the ancient runes flowing on its surface, and took a deep breath.

He did not have the ancient emperor jade fragments and could not open this door in the normal way.

But he had the Fire Spirit condensed from six types of Heavenly Flames, the cultivation of an Eight Star Dou Sheng, and the determination to never retreat even in death.

Even if the hope of forcibly breaking the door was slim, he had to try.

Fire Spirit sensed his intent, and the six-colored light around its body surged, turning into a stream of light that merged into his right arm.

Xiao Yan raised his right hand, and the six types of Heavenly Flames rotated rapidly in his palm, gradually fusing into a palm-sized six-colored fire lotus.

Every time the fire lotus rotated, the surrounding space collapsed by an inch, and the magma sea was turned upside down by this destructive fluctuation.

He let out a loud shout, thrust the fire lotus forward, and it slammed heavily against the giant door.

With a loud boom, the entire magma sea shook violently.

However, when the firelight dissipated, the giant door remained unmoved, and not even a scorch mark was left on its surface.

Xiao Yan gritted his teeth and pushed the six types of Heavenly Flames to the limit. Buddha's Fury Fire Lotus, Emperor Seal Art, Flame Splitting Tsunami Ruler—all the Dou Techniques he could unleash were fired one after another, each strike powerful enough to split mountains and crack the earth.

The magma sea was turned upside down by him, but the giant door remained as steady as a rock, and the ancient runes on its surface did not even show a flicker of fluctuation.

Xiao Yan gasped for breath, his right sleeve scorched black by the Heavenly Flames.

He stared fixedly at the giant door, a deep sense of unwillingness surging in his heart.

He had done so much and come this far; could he not even open a door?

Just as he was preparing to condense the fire lotus again, a voice suddenly came from behind the giant door.

The voice was extremely light and faint, yet it carried an indescribable majesty and vicissitude, penetrating layers of restrictions and thousands of years of silence, like an invisible giant hammer smashing hard into the depths of Xiao Yan's soul.

"Begone!!!"

It was only one word. But just this one word hit Xiao Yan like a heavy blow.

Immediately after, an aura so powerful that it made his soul tremble surged out from behind the giant door. It was not Dou Qi, nor was it soul power, but a more ancient and vast power—Dragon Might.

That Dragon Might, carrying an irresistible and majestic force, slammed into his chest. His protective Dou Qi was torn apart like thin paper, and he was sent flying backward, spitting out a mouthful of blood into the magma, which was instantly evaporated into nothingness by the high temperature.

He tumbled for dozens of zhang in the magma before barely steadying himself. He knelt on one knee on a protruding rock, gasping for breath as blood dripped from the corner of his mouth onto the scorching stone surface.

Fire Spirit flew out from his body, its six-colored light much dimmer, circling anxiously beside his face.

Xiao Yan clutched his chest, his mind in chaos.

That voice had clearly come from inside the cave abode—the Tuoshe Ancient Emperor's Cave Abode had been sealed for thousands of years; how could there be a living thing inside?

Could it be an ancient expert trapped inside?

He looked up at the giant door that remained unmoved, his eyes filled with shock and unwillingness.

That Dragon Might was too strong, so strong that he was severely injured without even seeing the other party.

But that strike did not take his life; it was more like a warning—a warning for him not to come and disturb again.

He slowly stood up and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.

He would return.

When he became stronger, when he had completely honed the six types of Heavenly Flames, and when he found a way to break that Dragon Might—he would definitely stand before this door again.

Fire Spirit landed gently on his shoulder, its six-colored flames gently rubbing against his cheek.

Xiao Yan reached out and touched its little head, then turned and walked towards the upper part of the magma sea.

Behind him, the giant door still stood silently in the depths of the magma, the ancient runes on its surface flowing silently, continuing to lock that ancient forbidden area in thousands of years of silence.