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nDante kept everything Hao Donglei said in mind and watched the older man’s broad back as he walked away to handle his own duties. He then sighed and moved to the practice area, choosing to sit down at one of the tables to begin observing the techniques he had been given.

nHe first opened the Inferno Ascension technique and read the simple one-page mantra that outlined the technique.

n“In the heart’s crucible, where life’s ember gleams,

nI weave the dance of flames, as in the poet’s dreams.

nFrom Inferno’s depths, my spirit takes its flight,

nHarnessing hell’s fire, in darkness and in light.

nWith each breath, I draw the essence of the abyss,

nLife’s energy, a thread through realms of fiery bliss.

nI tread the path that Dante knew so well,

nAscending through the inferno, breaking every spell.

nMy body a vessel, my soul a burning pyre,

nI gather Internal Force, an alchemical fire.

nHell’s fervent forge, where agony is transmuted,

nInto strength and power, my essence refuted.

nBy Inferno’s grace, I soar with wings of zeal,

nRising through the circles, every torment I feel.

nThe trials of the damned, I harness and embrace,

nFor in their suffering, my power finds its place.

nInferno Ascension, a journey through the flames,

nGuided by wisdom from ancient Daoist names.

nThrough Dante’s steps, I transcend my earthly fate,

nA phoenix born anew, from hell’s eternal state.

nThrough life’s descent and fiery trials faced,

nI harness hell’s own fire, with purpose interlaced.

nAs Dante’s spirit soared through depths profound,

nSo do I rise, with internal power unbound.

nSpeak this mantra with a heart aflame,

nInferno Ascension, I shall claim my name.

nWith life’s energy, I gather and ascend,

nThrough hell’s inferno, my power knows no end.”

nIt was a simple 7-paragraph mantra that one needed to chant while meditating, but as Dante read it, it was like reading visual explosions. His mind churned with each line he read, and when he completed it, his eyes were glazed over as he began slowly chanting in a daze.

nThe more he spoke, the more heat seemed to manifest in the air around him as invisible waves of warmth radiated from his body. Everyone was busy doing their practice to care about Dante, but even the densest person became alarmed when they felt the rising temperature.

nEveryone stopped to glance at Dante, who had burst into flame and was beginning to be engulfed. Some disciples were softhearted and wanted to help, but the Training Elder who stayed behind, Da Bo, stopped them with narrowed eyes.

nHis expression was solemn as he glanced at Dante, a hint of disbelief flickering in the depths of his eyes. He simply couldn’t believe that there was such a monster in this world who could cause a phenomenon when first practicing his Internal Art technique.

nSoon, the raging bonfire around Dante expanded greatly until it became the size of a great flame. Despite the intense heat that caused many disciples to retreat with pale faces and some to roll on the floor to put out the fire, Dante’s immediate surroundings were not burned.

nIt was almost as if… the fire was purposefully targeting living beings to prevent them from coming close. This fact made Da Bo even more wary and full of questions, but he didn’t dare move, not with such a huge blaze.

nEven a Martial Master like him would be burned to a crisp. Only Internal Arts could directly resist other Internal Arts. If one was strong enough in terms of the External Arts realm, like a Grandmaster versus a level 1 Internal Arts practitioner, they could surpass the special effects of Internal Force using a deluge of Blood Qi.

nBut at a certain level, even Martial Gods would have to cower before an Internal Arts practitioner. Not to mention the gap between Dante and Da Bo was already very thin given his starting point.

nSoon, the fire suddenly paused and then rapidly receded, being sucked back into Dante’s body as a certain light gathered in his lower abdomen, shining like a beacon; it was the size of a small bead, like the marbles one used to play with as a child.

nHowever, it glowed with a blackish-red color and made everyone who looked at it touch their skin with fear while gripping their foreheads, as if they could feel a slight headache coming on.

nDa Bo’s face changed greatly. “Impossible! How can he condense a seed of Internal Force in just a few minutes? That means he is a level 1 Internal Disciple?”

nSeeing that Dante was polishing his gains and the light from his seed was dimming as it merged with his body, Da Bo’s eyes flickered with intense emotions. He rushed forward towards Dante, seeming like he was going to help him.

nHowever, he had clenched his right hand into a fist and gathered all his blood Qi on it. When he got close to Dante, his eyes flickered with great malice as he prepared to deal a fatal blow, but Dante opened his eyes at this time and glanced over calmly.

nDa Bo’s face changed greatly as he dissipated the gathered blood Qi and hid his fist, which had been slowly rising to deal a blow. He then appeared near Dante with a look of severity and slight concern on his face.

n“Core Disciple Dante, are you alright? What happened?”

nDante sized the elder up and down then glanced pointedly at his right fist. He then looked Da Bo in the eyes and smiled. “The Training Elder need not worry, I am fine.”

nDante then ignored the fellow and focused on his dantian and experienced the new changes in himself. Meanwhile, Da Bo’s expression darkened at being brushed off, but he could only leave and return to his residence in a rush.

n“I have to hurry and report this,” he muttered to himself as his eyes hid a hint of nefarious intent while he rushed away.

nAs for Dante, he ignored the man. From the moment he was called by Hao Donglei to test himself directly, he immediately understood the political landscape of the Supreme Martial Hall. As a kingdom-wide level faction, the Supreme Martial Hall had a branch in every major city.

nHowever, the hierarchy for each of them was clear. The Outer Disciples were fodder who provided funds for their training and existed to be the hall’s bottom level fighting force. The Inner Disciples were claimed to be an integral part of the hall and were treated as such.

nIf they had great talent, they could ascend to become core disciples and were part of the hall’s true core faction. Those with lesser talents who failed to become core members could fight to become elders.

nElders sounded glorious, but they were basically not included in the core and were only city-level forces. Only the Vice Hall Master and the core disciples were true core members and could ascend to the province level next.

nThe core disciples would become true disciples when at the province level and would compete to ascend up within the hall’s faction, either becoming province-level elders if they failed or going higher if they passed.

nEven province-level elders were treated as half-step core members, showing how exclusionary the hall was.

nLogically speaking, the city-level elders should be loyal to the hall… but were they really? They were not allowed into the core and could not climb higher. Not to mention they were not recruited as core disciples

nand had even failed.

nSo they lived with the city level as their focus, meaning they were subject to city-level politics. As the number 1 faction in most cities, many factions hated or feared the Supreme Martial Hall and would like to keep tabs on it or have some control over its growth. 𝐞𝗻𝐨𝘃𝗹.𝐜𝐨𝗺

nWhy not rope in these disillusioned elders and have them on your payroll? Or even better yet, send some of your own people to become disciples, rise through the ranks, and then become elders in the end?

nThat way, even if you couldn’t completely control or destroy the faction, given that there was a powerful vice hall master at the helm, you could at least get the latest news and also monitor the core disciples of this faction.

nIf they could be poached, then poach them! If they proved to be a threat, use clever means to eliminate them!

nMany Inner Disciples with qualifications to become core had been rid of this way. As for those who ascended, these factions didn’t dare to put their people in because they would be found out by the hall and eradicated.

nThe hall clearly didn’t care if they played at the city level, because these hardships could temper their core disciples and make them much more useful.

nAs for Dante, who was so talented, they either had to poach him, which was unlikely given his base power, or they had to eradicate him lest he grow to become the second Martial God of the faction!

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