Seeing Han Yue, who had temporarily set aside her germaphobia, shake hands with Xiao Ping, Elder Liu was slightly taken aback. After a moment, he came to his senses, gave Han Yue a meaningful look, and then smiled and said, "Xiao Ping, in this inner courtyard, you are one of the few male students who can shake hands with Yue-ya."
Xiao Ping smiled slightly. Although it felt very comfortable to hold that slender, jade-like hand, he only shook it politely before letting go, saying with a smile, "That's truly an honor."
"Junior Xiao Ping, under your guidance, this year's freshmen..."
Han Yue withdrew her hand and said softly, "You've certainly made quite a splash, haven't you?"
"well..."
Upon hearing this, Xiao Ping shook his head slightly. "If it weren't for getting the fire energy from those senior students, I wouldn't have made such a fuss. But I must say, those senior students have a lot of fire energy. The fire energy I have now is probably enough for me to cultivate in this Heavenly Flame Refining Tower for quite some time without eating or drinking!"
"puff..."
No sooner had Xiao Ping finished speaking than Elder Liu spat out a mouthful of blood and immediately began to laugh and curse, "Those guys spent a whole year accumulating just a little bit of fire energy, and now it's all in your hands, kid!"
"Whose fault is this?"
In response to Elder Liu's joking scolding, Xiao Ping shrugged and said, "For the sake of cultivation, we have no choice but to put up with their rudeness."
"If you need any help in the future"
Han Yue remained silent for a while, then looked up at Xiao Ping and slowly said, "You can come to me, I'll do my best."
"Hehe, then thank you very much, Senior Han Yue."
Upon hearing this, Xiao Ping smiled and nodded. No matter what, having one more friend is always better than having one more enemy.
"Alright, Junior Brother Xiao Ping, you can go and explore the Heavenly Flame Refining Tower with Elder Liu for now. I still need to go to the sixth floor, so I won't linger any longer. We can talk again another time."
Han Yue bowed slightly to Xiao Ping, then turned and slowly walked towards a spot on the ancient pagoda.
Smiling and nodding, Xiao Ping watched Han Yue leave, only turning his gaze away after her figure disappeared into the soft light.
"Hehe, Xiao Ping, what do you think of Yue'er?"
Beside him, Elder Liu watched with a smile as Xiao Ping withdrew his gaze, and asked with a smile.
"Not bad, I bet Senior Han Yue has a whole bunch of suitors in the inner courtyard."
Xiao Ping smiled and said, "With Han Yue's looks and her temperament, she certainly wouldn't lack suitors."
"She certainly has quite a few suitors, but very few of them catch her eye."
Elder Liu said jokingly, "Her attitude towards you seems to be a good start. With your talent, plus your cultivation in the Heavenly Flame Qi Refining Tower, you'll probably be able to reach the Great Dou Master level in a year. And at that time, you might even become one of her most formidable suitors."
"Hehe, Senior Han Yue is indeed quite nice, but I don't have those kinds of feelings for her."
Xiao Ping smiled and shook his head. Seeing Elder Liu's surprised expression, he didn't dwell on the matter and changed the subject with a smile: "Elder Liu hasn't introduced the Heavenly Flame Refining Qi Tower to me yet."
"Oh, I almost forgot, hehe, come with me."
Reminded by Xiao Ping, Elder Liu quickly slapped his forehead, smiled apologetically, and then turned to lead the way, with Xiao Ping following closely behind.
This Heavenly Flame Qi Refining Tower, buried deep underground with only its spire visible, was surprisingly spacious inside, exceeding Xiao Ping's expectations. As he walked along, Xiao Ping realized that the space on just the first level alone was probably enough for hundreds of people to cultivate simultaneously.
Within the circular layout of the tower, there were cultivation rooms of varying sizes. However, most of these rooms were already occupied. Above the entrances of each room hung small red plaques, each bearing different inscriptions. Xiao Ping paused to examine them and discovered that the plaques were labeled with terms representing three levels: advanced, intermediate, and low. Presumably, these indicated the different levels of cultivation rooms within the Heavenly Flame Qi Refining Tower.
"Within this Heavenly Flame Refining Tower, these high, medium, and low-level cultivation rooms are generally contested based on one's own strength. Those with stronger strength can obtain the best cultivation conditions, while those with weaker strength can only cultivate in the outermost low-level cultivation rooms."
Pointing to a cultivation room marked with a "high-level" sign, Elder Liu smiled faintly, "Within the same level of the tower, regardless of the cultivation room's level, the cultivation fee is the same. For example, in this first level, a low-level cultivation room allows one day of 'fire energy' cultivation, and the same applies to high-level cultivation rooms."
Along the way, they occasionally encountered other students, and when they saw Xiao Ping chatting amiably with Elder Liu, they were all somewhat surprised. Because of the status and strength of these tower-guarding elders, and their usual strictness, many students both respected and feared them. Aside from a few highly capable senior students, it was rare to see an elder treat a newcomer with such courtesy.
"Because of the rules within the tower, we elders who guard it cannot interfere in the students' fight for training rooms. Therefore, as long as no one is killed, we will mostly refrain from interfering."
Elder Liu pondered for a moment, then smiled and said, "I think, with your strength, getting a high-level cultivation room on the first two floors of the Heavenly Flame Refining Tower shouldn't be too difficult for you."
"It should be fine."
Upon hearing this, Xiao Ping touched his nose and nodded with a smile.
During their conversation, Xiao Ping and Elder Liu wandered around and eventually arrived at the entrance again. There, Liang Zihua and the others had awakened from their unconsciousness and were standing there blankly. They only breathed a sigh of relief when they saw Xiao Ping.
Seeing Liang Zihua walking briskly towards him, Xiao Ping smiled at Elder Liu, cupped his hands, and said, "Thank you for your guidance, Elder Liu. Let's stop here for today. I'll come back to seek your advice again when I have time."
"Hehe, aren't you planning to cultivate here today?"
Elder Liu asked with a smile, "There's still plenty of time."
"Of course I need to cultivate, but I want to go deeper into cultivation before I start."
As he spoke, Xiao Ping took out the cyan fire crystal card from his storage ring. "According to Elder Su, this cyan card of mine seems to allow me to cultivate up to the sixth level."
"Oh, it's a blue card."
Upon seeing the Fire Crystal Card in Xiao Ping's hand, Elder Liu was taken aback for a moment, then laughed out loud, "I didn't expect Old Man Su to think so highly of you! Well then, since Old Man Su acknowledges your strength, then do as you please."
"If you have any questions, you can come find me on the first floor anytime."
"Then thank you, Elder Liu!"
He bowed slightly to Elder Liu, then whispered a few things to Liang Zihua and the other three before heading straight for the sixth floor of the Heavenly Flame Qi Refining Tower.
Soon, after navigating through the throngs of people, Xiao Ping successfully arrived at the sixth level of the Heavenly Flame Qi Refining Tower. Perhaps because the sixth level required a cyan crystal card, and because fire energy was expensive, consuming a full six points of fire energy daily, the sixth level was rather deserted compared to the bustling crowds of the previous levels.
"The advanced training room! This is it!"
After searching for a while, Xiao Ping arrived at the door of a high-level cultivation room that could only accommodate one person at a time. Above the room hung a sign indicating that it was vacant.
As Xiao Ping approached the entrance to the advanced training room, he lightly touched the door panel with his palm, his brows furrowing slightly. This door, which looked like an ordinary wooden plank from a distance, actually exuded a faint chill. He tapped his fingers lightly on it, producing a crisp, unusual sound. This sound did not seem to come from wood, but rather from metal.
"It seems the inner courtyard set up this equipment because they were worried that someone might suddenly kick down the door and disturb the cultivators' practice, causing problems."
Hearing the deep sound and feeling the sturdiness of the door, Xiao Ping breathed a sigh of relief. This way, he wouldn't have to worry about someone forcibly breaking in and interrupting his cultivation at a crucial moment.
Xiao Ping gently pushed open the door and slowly entered, then slammed the door shut behind him.
Sitting on the black stone platform, Xiao Ping took out the cyan crystal card and inserted it directly into the slot in front of him. A faint light flashed, and the original 1376 days of fire energy were immediately reduced by 6 days.
"Hehe! I can still cultivate for more than two hundred days!"
Looking at the numbers displayed on the crystal card, Xiao Ping couldn't help but smile. With his strength, he naturally didn't need to cultivate for half a day and then rest for three to five days like a freshman to alleviate the violent power of the flames. What might be extremely troublesome for others was, for Xiao Ping, the best catalyst for cultivating his Vajra Glazed Body.
"call..."
Letting out a long sigh, Xiao Ping took out the Bodhi Transformation Saliva he had obtained from the Black Corner Region and began to cultivate using the two supreme treasures of heaven and earth, the Fallen Heart Flame and the Bodhi Transformation Saliva. "I wonder what level I will reach after I finish cultivating!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Xiao Ping sat cross-legged on the jade platform and slowly closed his eyes. In just a few breaths, he had completely immersed himself in a state of cultivation.
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