Chapter 74: Cultivating In The Dragon Flame Valley
“You managed to contact your Master!” When Huang Xiaolong heard this, he couldn’t help but feel happy.
“That’s right, Sovereign!” Fei Hou smiled and affirmed respectfully, “But, Master is still in the Mohe Kingdom, and to rush to here from the Mohe Kingdom will require around ten days or so.”
‘Ten days,” Huang Xiaolong nodded his head softly. He had already waited for two years, another ten days of waiting matter not to him.
Yu Ming would arrive ten days later, and at that time, Huang Xiaolong could get the information about the Asura’s Gate headquarters location from him!
However, Huang Xiaolong will be cultivating in Dragon Flame Valley for half a month. He would only come out after half a month’s time after entering there. Therefore, when Yu Ming arrived, he would have to trouble him to wait a few days until he comes out from the Dragon Flame Valley.
After a while, Huang Xiaolong came to the Academy’s square with Fei Hou; most of the class winners were already waiting there. Huang Xiaolong’s presence naturally attracted their attention, causing all the students to look at him.
Maybe Huang Xiaolong didn’t recognize these students, but no doubt, they recognized him.
Yesterday, during the Academy competition, Huang Xiaolong’s performance was the most dazzling and eye-catching of all; it even curtailed the overall Academy number one, Chen Cheng’s limelight.
Top grade twelve martial spirit!
Huang Xiaolong was forever engraved into Duanren Empire’s history, not to mention the Luo Tong Kingdom!
In the midst of the student group, stood Lu Kai who lost to Huang Xiaolong and he had a complicated expression on his face as he looked at the young man smaller than him. Lu Kai was one of the fourteen First Year class winners, eligible to enter and practice in the Dragon Flame Valley.
Yesterday, after the competition ended, Principal Sun Zhang and Vice-Principal Xiong Chu gave Zhong Yuan his notice, emphasizing that he doesn't need to come to Cosmic Star Academy anymore. Don’t come anymore! Zhong Yuan was expelled, and after being expelled, Zhong Yuan ran to his (Lu Kai’s mother) sister and ‘cried’ for a very long time.
Moments later, Sun Zhang and Xiong Chu appeared on the square.
When the two of them arrived, they glanced around the group of students and their eyes lit up brightly like the stars when they spotted Huang Xiaolong. Their demeanor changed in the blink of an eye; the students actually saw Principal Sun Zhang and Vice-Principal Xiong Chu’s mouths bloom into a smile that contained traces of the desire to please Huang Xiaolong, even nodding their heads.
Seeing this scene, the group of students felt envy and jealousy, including the overall Academy champion, Chen Cheng. Even he had never enjoyed such treatment.
And then, Sun Zhang opened his mouth and asked, “Xiaolong, did you sleep well last night?”
Did you sleep well last night? Everyone felt like fainting.
Even Huang Xiaolong was startled at the ‘caring’ question.
“It was okay.” Huang Xiaolong nodded and said.
At this time, Xiong Chu also said to Huang Xiaolong with a grin on his face, “You’re still a growing boy, you should eat and sleep well.”
Growing boy? Eat and sleep well!
When the students heard this, they become even more speechless looking at Huang Xiaolong; if envy and jealousy could condense into a solid form, it would flow out from their eyes like water.
“Okay, since everyone is gathered, we will now bring all of you into the Dragon Flame Valley.” Sun Zhang opened his mouth and said. His expression turned serious continued, “Remember, after going into the Dragon Flame Valley, don’t run around arbitrarily!”
Don’t run around arbitrarily? Huang Xiaolong’s curious heart was stoked-- was there any unknown danger in Dragon Flame Valley?
Then, Huang Xiaolong, Lu Kai, and the rest of the students followed Sun Zhang and Xiong Chu and walked away from the square, heading towards the mountain behind the Academy. The Dragon Flame Valley was located in the Academy’s back mountain.
Half an hour later, Sun Zhang and Xiong Chu brought the students to a valley.
In front of the valley, stood a ten meters high boulder; on the top part of the boulder, written in the ancient language, were three words: Dragon Flame Valley!
“I’m going to warn you again, one more time, after we enter the Dragon Flame Valley, no one is allowed to act rampantly!” Standing before the boulder that was the entrance into the valley, Sun Zhang reminded Huang Xiaolong and the rest of the students.
Heads nodded in obedience.
Only after seeing this did Sun Zhang and Xiong Chu guide them into the Dragon Flame Valley.
Not sure if it was a misperception, but the moment he stepped into the Dragon Flame Valley, his twin dragon martial spirits actually moved for a second. It was only for a second, and then they stayed still like nothing happened.
Thus Huang Xiaolong didn’t think too much about it, moving forward with the rest of the students.
As they moved deeper into the Dragon Flame Valley, the surrounding temperature grew hotter; towards the end, Huang Xiaolong felt a prickling pain on his skin due to the high heat.
About fifteen minutes or so passed and Sun Zhang, Xiong Chu, Huang Xiaolong and the others came to a stop before a huge mouth to a cave. When they entered, an effusion of extremely hot heat blew against them.
About six to seven meters inside the cave, the two sides of the wall were smooth and flat. Every five meters, a bright stone was inlaid on the left and right side of the cave wall, lighting up the path.
Roughly one hundred meters in, they came before a stone door that was opened by Sun Zhang, revealing a ten square meter stone chamber within. In the middle of the stone chamber, was a five-pointed star array formation and nothing else inside the chamber.
“Zhang Yue, you go in!” Sun Zhang said.
Zhang Yue was the First Year Class One winner.
Following Sun Zhang’s instructions, Zhang Yue went in and sat down in the middle of the five-pointed star array formation.
Then, Sun Zhang brought the remaining students deeper inside the cave.
Before every stone doors they came across, either Sun Zhang or Xiong Chu would open the door and one of the students would be instructed to go inside.
Soon, other than Huang Xiaolong, all the First Year winners already entered into a stone chamber. Sun Zhang and Xiong Chu came to a flight of stone stairs and they led the remaining students down to the second level of the cave.
On the lower second level floor, it contained many stone doors just like the floor above and the Second Year class winners were arranged to practice here.
Next, they went another level down where the Third Year class winners entered into their individual stone chambers.
Lastly, the remaining people were the First, Second, Third and overall first place winners. Huang Xiaolong’s group of four were arranged into stone chambers at the ground level.
Prior to entering the Dragon Flame Valley, Sun Zhang briefly explained the logistics of the stone chambers to Huang Xiaolong and the students: the closer the stone chamber was to the vein, the higher and stronger the amount and purity of the dragon flame qi one can absorb through the array formation. Thus, cultivating in the lower levels would bring greater effect and furthermore, the four people on the fourth level can stay for half a month or fifteen days, but the students cultivating on the first, second and third level were only allowed five days’ time.
This was the biggest advantage of winning the year category competition.
The stone door closed after Huang Xiaolong walked in, and he stepped into the middle of the five-pointed star-like array formation and sat in a lotus position. The array formation glowed brightly as he started to run the Asura Tactics; in the next moment, the twin dragon martial spirits in Huang Xiaolong’s body suddenly flew out, floating in the stone chamber and a dragon’s roar echoed in the chamber.
“This, what is happening? Huang Xiaolong was flabbergasted.
The twin dragon martial spirits were out of his control, flying out from his body by themselves. This kind of situation was a first for Huang Xiaolong.
At the same time, strong streams of fire qi flooded into the room from the ground below through the array formation, turning into many minuscule fire dragons filling up the stone chamber in the span of a few breaths.
It was as if Huang Xiaolong was sitting in a sea of fire. Then, the twin dragons opened their mouths and devoured these small fire dragons and Huang Xiaolong felt them enter into his body and he started to heat up.
As his martial spirits continued to swallow the endless fire qi, it coursed along Huang Xiaolong’s meridians, flesh, bones, and everywhere else in his body and his battle qi surged within his meridians at the same time.
However, what happened next made Huang Xiaolong even more surprised. The twin dragons actually drilled into the ground as if there was something there that attracted them to go beneath the Dragon Flame Valley.
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Another one coming up!