In the heart of the Coiling Dragon Streams, Nie Yong sat amidst flickering flames, his body engulfed in fire as if it were merely warm bathwater. The blaze crackled around him, hungry and wild, yet he didn't flinch. The pain was real—but so was the strength it carved into him.
The very ground had blackened beneath his legs. His flesh sizzled, his muscles tensed, but no scream escaped his lips.
The flames weren't consuming him.
They were refining him.
[Mystic Water Arts has leveled up to level 79!]
[Dragon Subduing Palm has leveled up to level 71!]
[Yang Blade has leveled up to level 63!]
[Yin Blade has leveled up to level 63!]
[Phantom Scorching Wrath Arts has leveled up to level 69!]
[Phantom Gale Wrath Arts has leveled up to level 69!]
[Thunder Howling Sword Style has leveled up to level 91!]
[Dark Abyssal Sword Art has leveled up to level 48!]
[Swordsmanship has leveled up to level 71!]
[Dual Wielding has leveled up to level 42!]
[You have reached the Peak of the Tempered Body Realm!]
[Your combat power has reached the 7th Qi Transforming Stage!]
Nie Yong exhaled slowly, steam billowing from his mouth like a dragon's breath.
"I'm really getting too strong..." he said with a soft chuckle.
His body glowed faintly with heat, skin marked with faint cracks where flames had kissed too deeply. But they were already mending, closing with golden light.
He tilted his head back, recalling the moment he'd stolen the technique—
"The Fire Body Manual... I copied it from He Yue during our kiss."
[Fire Body Manual]
[A technique that strengthens one's body by burning in flames. Great for those with a strong fire affinity.]
"It's really amazing..." he whispered, watching the fire dance across his arms like a loyal pet.
He closed his eyes, feeling the rhythm of energy in his body. His Qi flowed like molten lava, thick and potent. He could feel the realm beneath his feet cracking—not from destruction, but from sheer pressure.
"I'm just a step away from breaking through to the Initial Element Real—"
Suddenly, a powerful surge welled up from within his dantian.
Nie Yong's eyes snapped open. His core pulsed violently—no, not violently… urgently.
This was it.
A breakthrough!
Without hesitation, he reactivated the True Yang Essence Art. His Yang Qi responded immediately, blazing through his meridians like lightning across dry wood. The natural Yang energy of the Coiling Dragon Streams responded to his call—gathering, condensing, ascending.
Twin streams of golden light burst forth from the springs, coiling into twin dragons of radiant heat and vitality. They circled him majestically, their roars echoing within the forest.
Nie Yong opened his arms—and the dragons dove into him.
A wave of unbearable heat exploded outward.
The trees around him shivered violently. Leaves burst into flame. The very stones of the Coiling Dragon Streams quaked. Some rocks were even torn loose from their beds and rolled down the stream with a deafening thud.
[You have broken through the Tempered Body Realm!]
[You have entered the Extreme Tempered Body Realm!]
[Your combat power has reached the Peak of the Qi Transforming Realm.]
Nie Yong rose slowly from the center of the flames, his skin now glowing with a faint, molten luster. His body looked forged, like a weapon straight from the forge of a smith.
Nie Yong clenched his fist and raised it in front of his face. The air around his knuckles shimmered faintly, as if heat waves were rising off his skin.
He threw a quick jab into the air—boom—and a compressed shockwave blasted through the forest, splitting the bark of a nearby tree.
"Hah..." he exhaled with a grin. "System, what's the Extreme Tempered Body Realm? Shouldn't I have entered the Initial Element Realm?"
> [Host, the Extreme Tempered Body Realm is a Hidden Realm between the Tempered Body Realm and Initial Element Realm. You are the first to ever enter it. Congratulations.]
"I am the first?" Nie Yong blinked, then started to chuckle. "Are you for real?"
> [Yes, host. The Extreme Tempered Body is an extension of the Tempered Body, but each refinement of your physique is several times stronger than what others achieve. This gives you a superior foundation compared to anyone else.]
"So that makes me even stronger than others... nice." His smile widened, the flame in his eyes almost mirroring the ones still clinging to his shoulders.
He glanced around, the blackened earth, the scorched trees, the cracked stones—proof of the power he now held.
"Let's keep this momentum going," he muttered, before vanishing from the stream in a flicker of heat.
...
A short while later…
Nie Yong slid open the heavy door of the Treasury. The cool air inside was a stark contrast to the fiery aura he still carried.
And there, lounging without a care in the world, was Meng Wu Ya—snoring lightly, arms folded over his chest, seated cross-legged like some old drunk.
Nie Yong paused, honestly stunned. This was a Saint Realm powerhouse?
"Cough… cough…" Nie Yong cleared his throat.
"Ah?" Meng Wu Ya stirred, one eye cracking open lazily. "What do you want, lad? Can't you see I'm sleeping—"
His words stopped.
His eye opened fully.
The next moment, both eyes were locked onto Nie Yong.
A wave of silence swept through the room.
The aura. That pure, flawless, primal Yang Qi.
Meng Wu Ya hadn't felt anything like it since the Tong Xuan Realm. No, this might even be stronger than anything he'd sensed back then. This boy… just who the hell was he?
"Sorry, Treasurer Meng…" Nie Yong said with a sheepish smile, scratching the back of his head. "I just wanted to buy some Three-Leaved Spirit Flowers and Forbidden Grass."
Meng Wu Ya blinked. "Ah… yes." He reached into a small ring and took out a few bundles of herbs. "How many?"
As Nie Yong considered his answer, Meng Wu Ya's mind spun. Those herbs? Why? Both were toxic to Yang Qi cultivation. Anyone cultivating Yang-based arts would avoid them like poison.
He's either an idiot… or dangerously clever.
Meng Wu Ya's brow furrowed. He can't be from here. Not with Qi that pure. No one in this realm produces that kind of energy… Could he be from the Tong Xuan Realm?
Then, just as Nie Yong was about to answer, his eyes wandered—and froze.
On the counter, beneath some scattered scrolls and jade slips, was a photo.
Nie Yong pointed to it, eyes wide. "You… you know my father?!"
"Ah?!" Meng Wu Ya jerked upright, caught off guard.
In that photo was a man—disheveled, grinning with a wine jug in one hand and his other arm draped around Meng Wu Ya's shoulder.
The very same man who had vanished from Nie Yong's childhood memories. A drunkard, sure, but also the only man he'd ever called father.
Even if those weren't his memories… he still felt them.
He still missed that man.
"Your father?" Meng Wu Ya's expression grew complex.
He stared hard at Nie Yong now, brows knitting slowly together.
That face… he looks quite like him... but... no, it can't be. He is too handsome to be his son. But if it is…
"Is this kid… really my master's son?"
To be continued...
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How was this chapter? Liked it?
Decided to keep this nonsense shit there was in the original fic because I like it. I am making it more rational, not like before where Nie Yong just made up a random name and Meng Wu Ya bowed before him.