The Elite Group fell into the roiling lava, and the terrifying heat knocked them unconscious before they even touched it.
Just at that moment, a flame dragon flew out of the lava and unleashed a wave of dragon breath that enveloped all of them.
The dragon breath protected them as they fell into the lava. It was a full two hours before the lava suddenly exploded, and the Elite Group’s disciples shot out toward the cliff.
A flame dragon then flew out of the lava and came to Long Chen, shrinking until it was only a foot long. After that, it curled around his fingers.
“Truly a spirit of ten thousand flames. All flames can be controlled. It’s too bad that this lava didn’t contain any spirituality, or it could help you cultivate,” Long Chen rubbed the flame dragon’s head and sighed.
Huo Long was first born from an Earth Flame seed, and it had only been subdued when the primal chaos bead suppressed it. In the end, it became Long Chen’s powerful helper.
Huo Long was a flame of the mortal world, but it was now capable of even merging with the flames of the immortal world. Long Chen suspected that this had to do with the primal chaos bead.
The primal chaos bead was truly mysterious. Long Chen still didn’t know much about it. But in any case, it gave him endless confidence.
“When flame poison and the poison of the Scorpion Bee combine, along with two life and death experiences, the power of the Potential Activating Pill is fully unleashed. If their innate talent still doesn’t awaken, they really would be pigs.” Long Chen put away Huo Long. Looking at these unconscious ‘elite’ disciples, he sighed.
Such good talent had been buried, turning them into trash. Every person had their own struggles.
At this moment, the medicinal energy coursing through them was slowly awakening their talent. With the threat of death, their body instinctively dug out that potential.
In truth, this power should have awoken with the assault of the Scorpion Bees. Long Chen had aided the antidote to their poison in the medicinal liquids that he had prepared for them.
Regretfully, the sensation of death had come and passed too quickly. Before they even properly experienced it, it was over.
Hence, Long Chen was forced to bring them to another place and have Huo Long send lava after them. This way, they would be able to experience the threat of death longer.
However, he was a bit surprised to see these people actually working together selflessly at this critical juncture. He didn’t know if it was due to their sympathy for each other’s similar troubles, but when he saw them willing to risk themselves to help others, grief appeared in his eyes.
Over three thousand members of the Dragonblood Legion had died in the battle of the Martial Heaven Continent, and every single one of them was his dear brother or sister. Whenever Long Chen thought of this, he had an urge to howl and weep.
“Instructor Long Chen…”
Long Chen was just finishing up refining a furnace of pills when Li Cai woke up. He then cried out when he saw Long Chen.
In his memories, he had already died, being consumed by lava. He even recalled the feeling of his body being burned. However, he didn’t know that Huo Long had only been putting them under a kind of hypnosis to let them experience the feeling of death. He was pretty much alive.
Long Chen then put away the pill furnace and nodded at Li Cai. “Your blood mark is thoroughly embedded in your eyes. It can count as a complete awakening. Your parents’ bloodline truly is very powerful. They should be some pretty amazing existences.”
Li Cai’s bloodline power focused on brute power, and he could be considered a power-type fighter just like Long Chen. This was why Long Chen had instantly seen his potential and chosen him to be the captain.
With this reminder, Li Cai checked his own body, which was covered with blood lines. He clenched his fist and felt surging power within him.
Just at this moment, the other disciples also woke up one after another. After awakening, they sensed the changes that they had gone through and shouted excitedly.
After that, they all looked toward Long Chen reverently. Even if they were fools, they would still realize that this was done by Long Chen.
Just as Long Chen had anticipated, the feeling of death plus two different kinds of poisons entering their bodies had fully stimulated the power of the Potential Activating Pill. Even a pig would awaken their latent talent under this condition. The facts proved that they were at least stronger than pigs.
“Your innate talents have been awakened, but don’t get too excited. No matter how good your talent is, if you can’t use it, it’s still useless. Furthermore, which person on the divine rankings isn’t talented? If you want to beat them, there’s still a long path for you. You don’t have time to take things slowly. We are going to the wild hunting ground to start killing the beasts that roam there. This will cultivate your combat experience,” said Long Chen.
“The wild hunting ground? But we haven’t even entered a dueling ring!”
According to the God Institute’s rules, if the disciples wanted to gain combat experience, they should first go through the dueling ring. That was a test to kill a beast one-on-one. Only once they passed could they enter the regular hunting grounds.
As for the regular hunting grounds, the disciples usually formed a group of seven to ten people to kill a single beast. But those beasts were different from the ones that they fought in the dueling ring. They were truly wild beasts that hadn’t been tamed at all. Their claws and teeth were complete. Hence, one mistake and anyone would lose their life.
Only after they had passed through the regular hunting grounds would they be allowed to enter the wild hunting grounds. The group whose flying boat had struck Long Chen and the others back then was a squad coming from the wild hunting grounds.
The smallest group permitted to enter the wild hunting grounds was one composed of over a hundred people. That was in case any beasts in the Divine Flame realm appeared. Moreover, not only did they need numbers, but they also needed good weapons and equipment just to be safe.
In this case, Long Chen wanted them, a bunch of novices who had almost no combat experience, to enter the wild hunting grounds? That was sending them to their deaths.
“Stop wasting time. If I tell you to go, then go. What can you do in this world that doesn’t pose any danger? It is precisely because you don’t dare to take risks that you’re in your current predicament. Even your lives are in other people’s hands and can be taken at their whim. If you don’t even have the courage to face some wild beasts, how will you face your opponents? Are you going to continue living in your fantasies?” snorted Long Chen.
Three days later, Long Chen brought the Elite Group’s disciples to the wild hunting grounds. This was a completely wild territory. As soon as they entered, a gust of astral winds blew across them. After that, a tiger’s roar rang out like thunder, shaking their ears.
“Rushing Lightning Tiger. We’ve entered its territory. It’s warning us.” Li Cai tensed up.
One disciple looked at Long Chen nervously. “The Rushing Lightning Tiger possesses thunderforce. It’s as quick as lightning and possesses limitless power. Even a hunting party of a hundred people wouldn’t dare to provoke it without a heavy weapon. We-”
Just at this moment, lightning runes filled the air. Their expressions completely changed.
“It’s already here!”
A thirty-meter tiger covered in flickering lightning runes appeared in front of them.
It roared, causing its runes to surge. A pair of lantern-like eyes then stared at them, giving them chills.
However, Long Chen simply walked toward it. Its fur then stood on end, and it roared at Long Chen, pouncing on him.
BOOM!
Long Chen unleashed a single punch on its head. As a result, the earth was split open as the Rushing Lightning Tiger’s giant body smashed into the ground. It lay there, motionless.
“It… it died?”
The Elite Group’s disciples stared in disbelief, their jaws dropped. That terrifying Rushing Lightning Tiger was killed with a single punch from Long Chen.
