As the intangible flame pierced into the heads of Xiao Yan and the others, all eleven instantly experienced varying degrees of tremors. Soon, their faces turned as red as charred wood, with delicate strands of white vapor seeping out from their foreheads. Observing the flushed faces of the eleven, Su Qian nodded slightly and instructed the two elders, "Keep a close eye on them—don't let anything go wrong." The two elders bowed and acknowledged, one in gray robes sighing, "I wonder how many of them will actually manage to withstand this?" "This heart-flame cultivation is far more intense than the heart-flame experienced during earlier stages of cultivation in the upper layers. The intense pain, even for those with unwavering resolve, is not guaranteed to be endured." Su Qian said calmly. Another elder nodded with a wry smile, saying, "Of the top ten on the Strong Rank list from last year, only four made it through. The other six failed—and suffered significant internal injuries, requiring recovery periods of two to three months before they could fully heal. Ah, though the benefits of Heart-Flame Body Forging are indeed appealing, it's far from an easy experience. "Let each one rely on their own fortune," Su Qian remarked. "Failing isn't such a big deal—success in Heart-Flame Body Forging merely makes their journey to Duke Rank a bit smoother, rather than guaranteeing a direct promotion. Most of those who reached the top ten possess exceptional talent. As long as they're not exceptionally unlucky, with a few years or even decades of effort, they'll eventually reach Duke Rank." He then glanced toward the massive deep cavern behind him, furrowing his brows slightly, and asked, "How has the Heart-Flame been performing recently? Any developments?" "Heard Su Qian's question, the gray-robed elder who had spoken before quickly replied, 'In recent times, the Falling Heart Flame has been unusually calm—indeed, not a single ripple of activity has been detected. If it weren't for our sensors picking up signs of its presence, we might have thought it had quietly slipped away.' 'No movement at all?' Su Qian didn't seem pleased; rather, his expression grew steadily more serious. For all these years, the Falling Heart Flame has been steadily pressing against the seal—how could it suddenly have gone completely silent? When something is out of the ordinary, it often signifies something unusual. Could it be that the Flame is preparing something significant? As he pondered, Su Qian's demeanor grew increasingly grave. After a moment, he said solemnly, 'What about the seal now?' 'We've gathered all the senior elders from the inner courtyard, bringing together eighteen experts. It took five days of continuous work to fully restore the seal, which had previously been weakened and partially disintegrated by the constant pressure of the Flame.'" Another elder gazed at Su Qian's serious expression and smiled, saying, "Senior Elder, there's no need to worry so much. Even if the first layer of seal is accidentally breached, there's still a seal established right at the surface of the Sky-Burning Qi Tower—set personally by the former dean. For the Falling Heart Flame to break through this, it will surely be no easy task." Su Qian furrowed her brows and exclaimed, "Do not underestimate the Falling Heart Flame. This kind of rare fire is one of the most destructive forces in the cosmos. After such a long period of accumulation, its power is truly formidable. Should any mishap occur, the entire inner academy could be destroyed in an instant. We simply cannot afford that kind of loss at the Cangnan Academy." After being scolded by Su Qian, the elder felt somewhat embarrassed. "Send more personnel to monitor the Falling Heart Flame. As soon as any movement is detected, send an immediate signal. I've already notified the outer academy—should any issue arise with the Flame, reinforcements will arrive promptly." Su Qian said firmly. "Yes!" The two elders promptly bowed and responded respectfully. "Also, keep an eye on these younger ones—don't let anything happen. I need to go down to the very last level and check on the situation firsthand." With that, Su Qian moved swiftly and vanished from sight, leaving the two elders staring at each other, wide-eyed. Even the dormant ki embedded within the battle crystal could not escape this calamity. Though Xiao Yan couldn't visually perceive the inner workings of the crystal, he could clearly sense that the ki within it was constantly churning, much like boiling water. Under this deep-seated, searing pain, each passing moment felt like years dragged out. Though Xiao Yan longed to collapse and fall unconscious on the spot, his sensory organs seemed to grow increasingly acute under the invisible flame's intense heat—this heightened sensitivity only intensified the agony, making the physical conditioning an almost unbearable ordeal. Over the years of cultivation and trials, Xiao Yan had grown confident in his resilience, especially after successfully integrating the Qinglian Earth Heart Fire. He had thus developed a certain degree of adaptation to the unique flames. Yet even so, he was suffering such profound discomfort from this heart-fire conditioning. It was hard to imagine what kind of unbearable torment others, unaccustomed to such flames, must endure. Endure, endure—this is what Xiang Yan keeps murmuring to himself. At such moments, he can only rely on this nearly self-hypnotic method to keep going. Time passes agonizingly slowly during such trials. Yet, as the intense pain persists, Xiang Yan gradually grows numb to it. With less focus on the pain itself, he finally finds the mental space to notice the subtle, incremental changes occurring within his body under the relentless furnace of the original heart flame. In the recent period, when his power suddenly surged two star levels, his previously somewhat flimsy qi had, under this heart-flame refinement, become remarkably solid—developing at a most encouraging pace. Xiang Yan senses that the earlier sensation of looseness when manipulating qi within the crystal is rapidly fading, and the crystal itself is regaining its former solidity. Bones, meridians, even muscles—like refined steel tempered in a fierce flame—were being gradually hardened and imbued with explosive strength... Due to various circumstances, Xiao Yan had fortunately weathered the most painful phase. However, others did not enjoy such fortune. Around one hour after the primordial heart flame entered their bodies, one student exhibited signs of distress. His previously rosy complexion instantly turned pale, and his body began to tremble violently, as though seizing with convulsions. The two senior monks, who had been closely observing Xiao Yan and his companions, immediately noticed the student's condition and reacted promptly. They stepped forward swiftly, appearing beside him at once. Both extended their dry, withered hands, which gently settled upon the student's back. A surge of robust combat energy then erupted from their palms and rushed into the student's body. With the surge of qi, the student's body trembled even more violently. His previously pale face flushed again, and a thick stream of crimson blood finally spilled out, unable to be contained. The blood landed on the ground, producing a hissing sound, rising in a plume of white vapor, leaving only a faint red stain behind. As the blood poured forth, the student slowly opened his eyes, clearly aware of his defeat—his gaze filled with sorrow and resignation. "You rest here for now," the gray-robed elder said, offering a word of reassurance as he observed the student's expression. Yet, as soon as the words left his lips, another student began to tremble violently. The two exchanged a wry smile and once again moved swiftly to the side of the student, following the same procedure, urging the heart-flame qi out of his body. The failures of the first two triggered a chain reaction—within just one hour, three more students failed, leaving the two elders busy and preoccupied. Once the final student with issues was settled, the elders turned to the remaining six, observing their steady breaths despite the flushed appearance. Only then did they exhale in relief, knowing these six had clearly passed the most critical phase. As long as no major setbacks occurred afterward, success was likely. "Perhaps this time, more students will succeed than last time," one elder said, wiping sweat from his brow with a smile. The other elder nodded, his gaze falling on the five students who now looked disheartened. With a sigh of resignation, he stood and said, "You take care of these five. I'll see to getting them out of the tower." Then he turned and walked toward them, waving them along the same path they had come. … The fundamental Heart-Inflammation Body-Forging process is a lengthy undertaking. Although Xiao Yan and the other five had endured the most arduous phases, during these three days they continued to undergo the relentless refinement of the Heart-Inflammation. Throughout this period, they could clearly sense significant strengthening within their bodies—whether in meridians, bones, or other internal structures. By the third day, their Heart-Inflammation Body-Forging process gradually drew near its conclusion, with the flushed hues on their faces slowly fading. Steady streams of varying intensities of energy rose from within them. While the strength of this energy didn't differ greatly from what they had before the forging began, it was clearly more solid and cohesive now compared to several days prior.