There were thousands of stairs on the steep palace, and temples of various sizes were interconnected. Disciples of the Fire God Palace were training hard in their respective areas.

A crowd had gathered in the palace’s square. Aside from disciples, there were also elders and deacons.

“Seventh stage of the Sky Fire Technique!”

At the front, a crimson stone pillar began to burn all of a sudden, making the temperature rise at a fast rate; the crowd couldn’t help but retreat. Only a few people remained impassive.

After the announcement of an elder, a figure retreated from the stone pillar, attracting a lot of attention.

Above the square, in a palace-two figures were standing in front of a window. One of them had an attractive body figure clad in a thin, revealing dress. “Jing’er has cultivated to the seventh stage already. As expected of the disciple you taught personally.”

“Not bad. If she works harder, there’s a chance she will knock the Chaos Bell and rise to the Chaos Talents Rank,” said the other woman who looked like an angel from heaven.

The crimson mark on her forehead made her look even more beautiful.

The temperature down below rose abruptly, and the waves of heat almost reached them instantly. Meantime, exclamations burst out.

Someone shouted, “Eighth stage of the Sky Fire Technique!”

There was a fuzzy figure made of flames in front of the square’s crimson stone pillar. It was as high as the thick pillar; it was like an ancient statue with a blurry face.

The two people up above couldn’t help but feel astonished after seeing such development.

“It’s Miss Lina!”

“How long has she been with us? She’s already reached the eighth stage?” The thinly dressed woman was stunned. “Lina…” said the master of the Red Dome Realm with a soft voice, eyes glittering, “She carries the purest bloodline of our clan; it’s only natural for her to grow this fast. Jing’er cannot compare to her. She was sent here according to the clan master’s arrangement; her goal is to become a God Emperor. If possible, she might compete to become the next clan master.”

“Miss Lina is truly the chosen one,” said the other woman, carrying flattery in her tone.

The square was in an uproar at the moment.

“She actually summoned the Fire God’s projection. Unbelievable!”

“I heard that Miss Lina went to the pit’s third level. That’s not a place for gods.”

“Not even Senior Brother Jing Feng can compare. She came here later than he did, right?”

“It can’t be helped. She’s the lady of the Yan Clan; cultivating here is only part of her training. She’ll probably go somewhere else once she’s done here.”

Everybody whispered.

When nobody was paying attention, in a remote corner at the rear of the square-a teleportation array glittered and a man walked out.

“Huh?”

Hardly had Su Ping teleported when he saw the crowd in front of him.

Furthermore, there was abundant fire power in that place. He also sensed that a terrifying power was surging underneath his feet. He was familiar with that power… It was Heavenly Fire!

The Heavenly Fire is right below me?

Su Ping looked down through the thick rocks and soil underneath his feet, and was able to see a crimson light burning fiercely. It was none other than the Heavenly Fire.

He looked away and raised his head to check his surroundings. The temperature in that scorching environment was at least a thousand degrees; normal clothes and water would be vaporized immediately in such conditions. All the stuff found there contained divine power and was strongly resistant to heat; ordinary people would be burned alive if they were sent to that place.

“Huh?”

While he looked around-a figure suddenly rushed over.

The disciples of the Fire God Palace attending the event noticed something. They raised their heads in astonishment; then, they became respectful and showed delight. Some looked at the girl in front of the stone pillar with envy, thinking she had surely caught the master’s attention.

In front of the stone pillar-a crimson haired girl also raised her head. She looked at the master who was flying towards her, her eyes glittering. She came from a faction of her family that was different from the master’s. The purpose of her cultivation there was partly to gain more strength, and partly to rope the master into her faction.

She stared at the latter, already considering what she should say.

But exactly at that moment, the expert whom she had been gazing at went straight past her…

Huh? Did she overshoot her move?

The girl was dazed. That idea occurred to her, but the conjecture was immediately disproved.

The other disciples were also surprised. Then, their eyes found the stranger standing in front of the teleportation array.

“You’re here!”

The master of the Red Dome Realm looked at Su Ping with great delight. She didn’t expect the newly risen Dao Child to go there so soon, and she was aware that the Rain Clan was hunting him. The fact that Su Ping had risked his life to get there was proof of his sincerity and respect! “Senior.”

Su Ping recognized her, the realm master who had presented a proposal to join them. He nodded and said, “Did I interrupt anything?”

He realized that those people were performing some sort of ritual.

“No. Nothing is more important than your arrival,” said the realm master with sincerity and a smile. “How was your trip? Did you come alone?”

She looked around and saw no elders of the Heaven Path Institute protecting him. That in itself angered her. What were the old farts of the institute thinking? They don’t cherish their own Dao Child at all? If anything had happened to Su Ping, she might have demanded an explanation from them. After all, she had paid a great price to attract that genius.

“Yes. The trip wasn’t long, so I traveled alone; but I’m not here to take over anyone’s position. I simply wanted to fetch more Heavenly Fire,” said Su Ping.

The realm master couldn’t help but curse inwardly when her suspicion of him traveling alone was confirmed. However, she smiled on the surface and said, “Now that you’re here, let me give you a tour around the Red Dome Realm. As for Heavenly Fire, you can have as much as you want, but it’s extremely ferocious. What about the seed I gave you last time?”

“I’ve already consumed it,” said Su Ping. “So I wanted to fetch more.”

The realm master felt dazed for a moment. Heavenly Fire was a rare treasure even for God Emperors, and yet Su Ping had already used it up.

However, she then recalled that there were many experts in the Heaven Path Institute. Some elder had surely helped him absorb it.

After considering that such a thing wasn’t a big deal, she chuckled and said, “That’s fine. The last thing our realm is short of is Heavenly Fire.”

“That’s great.” Su Ping examined the erupting power underneath his feet and felt as if he were standing on top of an active volcano. He said, “Senior, there’s something else I wanted to ask you. Do you know where the Heavenly Fire came from?”

The realm master smiled and said, “The old fellas at the institute didn’t tell you? Never mind; I’ll tell you later. Let me introduce you to everyone first, that way nobody would be stupid enough to offend you.”

After that, she turned around and flew to the sky above the square. Su Ping followed her closely.

“Everyone.”

The realm master looked down at those present. The smile on her face was replaced by solemnity. “This is the Dao Child from the Heaven Path Institute, and the new Deputy Master I’ve sincerely invited over. His name is Su Ping, of the human race. Remember his name and do not offend him!”

Everybody was astonished. No wonder the realm master was so giddy that she simply overlooked Miss Lina.

“A Dao Child from the Heaven Path Institute?”

“I heard that all their Dao Children are on the top of the Chaos Talents Rank. Is he the Dao Child the realm master went to invite earlier?”

“Odd. Why do I feel that he’s at the same level as I am?”

All the disciples were whispering, and so were the elders and deacons, who gazed at Su Ping and sensed his peculiar nature. There was an incomprehensible and abyssal aura deep inside him.

In the crowd—the crimson-haired girl mumbled with glittering eyes, “Dao Child?”