While in Battle Through the Heavens, one can pre-appoint oneself as an emperor.

The next morning.

When Chen Xiao awoke from his cultivation, he followed the flow of senior students to a core area of ​​the inner courtyard.

Heavenly Fire Refining Tower!

Standing in the spacious open space, Chen Xiao frowned slightly as he looked at the mysterious black tower buried deep underground in front of him.

He sensed something even while just standing outside, before actually entering the tower.

This place wasn't very friendly to him.

The fire elemental energy here is several times more concentrated than that in the Tagor Desert, while the energy of other elements is extremely scarce in comparison.

"Open the tower!"

After a long wait, as a bell rang out, an aged voice came from inside the black tower.

Immediately, the tightly closed tower doors burst open, and groups of elderly people who had been waiting outside poured in.

Chen Xiao noticed that the first few groups to enter the Black Tower all wore badges on their chests, suggesting they were from one of the larger gangs within the academy.

After these groups entered first, it was the turn of the smaller factions within the academy, as well as those who had not joined any gangs.

Chen Xiao lagged behind the group, unhurriedly sensing the unique nature of the Heavenly Burning Refining Tower. The closer he got, the more his heart felt heavy.

Reaching the main gate, Chen Xiao took a deep breath, suppressing the pent-up frustration in his heart. He lifted his foot and resolutely stepped into the darkness beyond the gate.

The light in front of him suddenly dimmed, and a moment later, Chen Xiao felt his feet stepping on a hard stone surface.

Before he could even relax, a searing pain shot through his body, as if an invisible flame was burning fiercely within his meridians.

hiss~

Even though he was mentally prepared, Chen Xiao still couldn't help but hiss softly. Then, he quickly circulated his cultivation technique, mobilizing his internal fighting spirit to surround and attack the raging invisible flames.

"Hiss~"

In an instant, the icy battle qi clashed with the invisible flames, and strange hissing sounds rang out from Chen Xiao's body. Visible steam overflowed from his pores, making him look extremely conspicuous.

"Is this a freshman?"

"Is the Fire Energy Hunting Competition over?"

Upon seeing Chen Xiao's appearance, the senior students around him were taken aback.

While waiting in the open space outside, some senior students noticed Chen Xiao's unfamiliar face, but they didn't associate him with the freshmen.

After all, that strength, which was far superior to most of them, didn't seem like something a freshman should have.

Although his appearance was unfamiliar, it was perfectly normal for an unfamiliar powerful figure to emerge among the more than a thousand students in the inner academy.

Only now have they come to the shock and realization of the truth.

Only newcomers entering the Heavenly Flame Refining Tower for the first time will experience the scorching heat of the heart!

"Silence! Go do what you're supposed to do, don't crowd here and block the way."

A soft rebuke rang out, and a simply dressed elder of the inner academy appeared. He glared at the chattering group of senior students before turning his gaze to Chen Xiao.

"A five-star Battle Spirit, this year's freshmen are terrifying, but unfortunately... they're ice-attribute."

As an elder of the inner courtyard, he was well aware of what was being suppressed beneath the Heavenly Refining Tower.

That Fallen Heart Flame is known as a cheat code for cultivation.

It is precisely because of the miraculous effects of the Fallen Heart Flame that the Heavenly Refining Tower has become the most coveted training ground for the inner court students.

However, the same environment can provide vastly different benefits to people with different attributes.

Within this Heavenly Refining Tower, other attributes can also enjoy some benefits from the Fallen Heart Flame.

However, its effect is far less than that of someone with the fire attribute.

Within ten days or half a month, the difference may not be very obvious, but over several years, the difference becomes visible to the naked eye.

Many senior students in the inner academy, when they first entered the inner academy, were far stronger than the fire-attribute students of the same year, but in just a few years, they were caught up with or even surpassed.

There are countless examples like this in the inner courtyard!

Chen Xiao paid no attention to the situation outside; at this moment, all his thoughts were focused on the strange inner fire within his body.

The Heart Fire is formless and intangible, yet it can be felt in a tangible way. Upon contact with the ice-attribute battle qi, it hisses and causes the originally thick battle qi to shrink rapidly, as if it had suddenly become thinner.

However, Chen Xiao could sense that the battle qi that had been roasted by the heart fire within his body was more condensed compared to the other battle qi that had not been exposed to the heart fire.

This is a qualitative leap!

"The Heavenly Flame Refining Tower is still useful to me!"

With a slight smile, Chen Xiao relaxed and continuously channeled his internal fighting spirit towards the cluster of heart fire.

After an unknown amount of time, the burning pain in his body subsided and the fire in his heart completely disappeared, and Chen Xiao slowly opened his eyes.

The first thing that comes into view is an aged face.

"Ice attribute, and you're the first person to last twenty-one minutes in the Heavenly Flame Refining Tower. Moreover, I can sense that the inner fire within you has been exhausted. This should be the real reason you woke up, right?"

In other words, twenty-one minutes was not Chen Xiao's limit, but the limit of that inner fire.

Chen Xiao nodded slightly, "Thank you for your care, Elder."

The reason he dared to step into the Heavenly Flame Refining Tower so casually was because he had enough knowledge of it and knew that with elders guarding it inside, there was no possibility of an accident.

"It's just my duty. My surname is Liu, you can call me Elder Liu."

"Since you are a freshman, I'll say a few more words to you. The Heavenly Flame Qi Refining Tower offers the least help to those with water and ice attributes, but it can still be used to condense battle qi. So I suggest you spend one or two hours here to cultivate every day, or take a few days a month to condense battle qi. You don't have to be like some of those kids who wish they could sleep in the tower."

Elder Liu shook his head.

He had already reached the five-star Dou Ling level upon arriving at the inner courtyard; such talent was worthy of his attention.

Whether Chen Xiao listens or not is not something he can decide.

"Understood, thank you Elder Liu."

"Okay, go ahead."

After parting ways with Elder Liu, Chen Xiao searched for an empty cultivation room on the first floor of the Heavenly Flame Refining Tower.

Unfortunately, this was the peak time for cultivation, and there were no idle cultivation rooms on the first floor.

The same applies to the second layer.

It wasn't until Chen Xiao entered the more demanding third level that he found a few unoccupied cultivation rooms.

Entering one of them is a simple process: insert the Fire Crystal Card into the slot next to the seat, and it will automatically deduct the fire energy needed for the day. Before leaving, no one will disturb you.

Chen Xiao cultivated until noon, when he finally managed to condense his internal fighting spirit once again, thanks to the occasional surges of inner fire.

At this moment, the total amount of fighting spirit surging within Chen Xiao's body has decreased by nearly half a percent.

But he could sense that, in terms of combat strength, he should be several levels stronger now than he was this morning.

This is the difference between quality and quantity!

Feeling that the cultivation effect on the third floor of the Heavenly Flame Refining Tower was still a bit slow, Chen Xiao put away the Fire Crystal Card, got up, pushed open the cultivation room door, and prepared to go to the lower floors to experience it.

However, plans can't keep up with changes.

As soon as Chen Xiao pushed open the cultivation room door, he saw Zi Yan, dressed in a white dress, sitting outside listlessly, holding a half-eaten medicinal herb that looked like a lingzhi mushroom.

"?"

"Didn't you tell me to come find you after the Freshman Fire Energy Hunting Competition ends?"

Sensing Chen Xiao's confusion, Zi Yan blinked her big eyes and replied.

Upon hearing this, Chen Xiao suddenly understood.

Two days have passed, and the Fire Energy Hunting Competition is indeed almost over.