The Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower, which had hummed with a rhythmic, scorching vibration for centuries, was suddenly, hauntingly silent. The red glow that permeated the obsidian walls faded into a dull, cold grey. On the upper floors, hundreds of students sat in confusion on their training platforms, the "Heart Flame" having vanished from their chests mid-cultivation.
Deep in the ninth level, Xiao Chen stood amidst the cooling magma. His new 16x Foundation was so dense that the air around him warped, creating a localized gravity field that made pebbles float before disintegrating into dust.
"System," Chen's voice was now a layered harmony, resonating with a power that felt more than human. "Status of the 16x stabilization."
[Infinite Doubling System]
16x Multiplier: 92% Stabilized.
Energy Consumption: Extreme. You are currently draining the ambient Qi of the entire mountain to maintain your cells.
Warning: Three Dou Huang level signatures and one Dou Zong signature are approaching your location at high speed.
"They're faster than I expected," Chen noted, his gold-slit pupils shifting toward the melted bronze doors.
The Arrival of the Council
Whoosh!
Four streaks of light—blue, red, yellow, and silver—burst into the chamber.
Leading them was First Elder Su Qian, his face a mask of absolute shock and fury. Behind him were the Law Enforcement Elders, their Dou Qi wings beating frantically against the heavy, oxygen-deprived air of the deep floor.
They stopped dead when they saw the center of the chamber. The primary seal was shattered. The magma lake was frozen into black glass. And in the center stood a youth with hair like flowing emeralds and eyes that held the weight of a thousand suns.
"Xiao... Chen?" Su Qian's voice trembled. He looked at the empty space where the Falling Heart Flame had been. "Where is it? Where is the Flame?!"
"It's not 'where,' Elder. It's 'who'," Chen said. He raised his hand, and a small, translucent python made of invisible fire danced between his fingers. It was no longer a wild, destructive beast; it was a submissive part of his own soul.
"You... you swallowed the Origin?!" Elder Liu screamed, his face turning purple. "That flame was the foundation of our Academy! You've destroyed the cultivation path of ten thousand students!"
The three Dou Huang elders lunged forward, their weapons glowing with lethal intent. "Surrender the Origin, or die here!"
The 16x Absolute Suppression
Chen didn't move an inch. He didn't even raise his guard.
"Yan-er told me this Academy was a place of reason," Chen said, his voice causing the remaining obsidian pillars to crack. "Don't make me prove him wrong."
As the three Elders reached within ten meters of him, Chen simply released a fraction of his 16x Soul Pressure.
BOOM!
It wasn't a physical explosion, but a spiritual one. The three Dou Huang Elders were slammed into the ground as if a literal planet had been placed on their backs. Their Dou Qi wings shattered instantly. They lay pinned to the cooling magma, unable to even lift their chins.
Only Su Qian, being a 2-Star Dou Zong, managed to stay on his feet, though his knees were shaking and his face was dripping with cold sweat.
"This pressure..." Su Qian gasped, his eyes wide with horror. "You... you aren't a Da Dou Master. You've bypassed the Dou Ling, the Dou Wang, and the Dou Huang realms? Impossible! No one can jump three major realms!"
"The Doubling doesn't care about your 'realms', Elder," Chen said, stepping forward. With every footstep, the black glass beneath him shattered into powder. "I am a 4-Star Dou Zong. But with my foundation, even a Dou Zun (Venerate) would find it difficult to kill me."
The Negotiated Peace
Su Qian looked at his fallen comrades, then at the god-like youth before him. He realized that if Chen wanted to, he could erase the Jia Nan Academy from the map before the sun went down.
"What do you want, Xiao Chen?" Su Qian asked, his voice defeated.
"I didn't take the flame to harm the Academy," Chen said, the emerald light in his eyes softening slightly. "I took it because it was going to break the seal and destroy this city anyway. I have saved your lives."
Chen walked over to the shattered seal and tapped it. A pulse of 16x Wood-attribute Qi surged into the ground. Suddenly, the earth began to glow. A new, secondary flame—born from the "residue" of the Falling Heart Flame and Chen's own life-force—began to flicker in the pit.
"It's a 'Seed Fire'," Chen explained. "It's not as powerful as the Origin, but it's stable. It will provide enough heat for the tower's training for the next hundred years. In return, I want three things."
Su Qian swallowed hard. "Speak."
"First, the Xiao Clan is to be under the permanent protection of the Academy. Second, I want full access to the Academy's 'Library of Ancient Records'. And third..." Chen's eyes turned cold. "When the Hall of Souls comes for my family, the Academy will stand with me."
Su Qian looked at the flickering Seed Fire, then at the terrifying power radiating from Chen. He knew the Hall of Souls—the mysterious organization that hunted powerful souls across the continent. To side with Chen was to invite a war.
"The Hall of Souls is a nightmare that spans the continent," Su Qian whispered.
"And I," Chen said, his golden-slit pupils glowing with a 16x-multiplied ambition, "am the person the nightmare is afraid of. Do we have a deal, First Elder?"
Su Qian looked at the kneeling Elders, then bowed his head slowly. "The Jia Nan Academy... accepts your terms, Ancestor Chen."
The Quiet Observation
As Chen walked out of the Ninth Level, leaving the stunned Council behind, he felt a familiar wisp of smoke near his shoulder. Yao Lao appeared, his face holding a look of profound, silent awe.
"16x..." Yao Lao whispered. "Little Chen, do you realize what you've done? Your soul is now strong enough to sense the Soul Hall's protectors from three provinces away. You've stopped being a player in this game... you've become the board."
"I don't want to be the board, Master Yao," Chen replied, looking up at the sunlight as he exited the tower. "I want to be the one who decides when the game ends."
In the distance, he saw Xiao Yan running toward him, his face full of worry. Chen smiled. The slow climb was over. The hunt for the 32x Multiplier—the jump to the Dou Zun realm—was now his only focus.
But first, he had to read every book in that library. Because somewhere in those records was the location of the Three Thousand Burning Flames.