A deep rumble echoed throughout the area once again as the iron pagoda's announcement bellowed,
"This is the end of the test for this round. Next, you are going to enter a passage for the succeeding
challenge. The one who survives this will be the champion; however, if you all were to die here, it will
merely be considered as your fated end.
There will no longer be any room left for regret as you go further along, so do your best to pass this
test! I wish all of you good luck on your journey."
At the last word marking the start of another trial, the environment drastically changed around Ricky,
his body shaking in time with the tremors of the earth relocating him to another space. Bright light cast
on his figure as he arrived. He appraised the space filled with suffocating, scalding flames, and had
come to a conclusion that it was the same as the former contest. The only difference spotted within its
perimeters was the mentioned huge passage in the middle of the arena.
Ricky gazed deep into the abyss of the crossing. Even with the great distance between him and its
entrance, he felt the aggressiveness of the burning fire originating from its inside.
"So, this is the last test?" murmured Ricky, looking around in curiosity.
A sudden surge of foreign feelings permeated his heart and made him lose his focus on the task ahead
of him. Befuddled, he pondered over the strangeness he sensed in his gut. He had felt that the pagoda
behaved weirdly, and sent off signals that intentionally guided them to pass the test deliberately.
He cocked an eyebrow in contemplation; there seemed to be some hidden trick behind its directing.
'Did I become paranoid because of what Andrew had done to me?'
The thought sprang up in passing as he analyzed his current circumstances. He had no idea why his
instincts rang warning bells in his head, leading him to think that the iron pagoda may be conspiring
something with their ploy of letting them clear the obstacle.
It did not help that what Andrew had done before instilled him with fear and alarm. After all, he was also
a mortal who was also afraid of facing death.
Nonetheless, he overlooked his speculations, knowing that there was nothing he could even possibly
do to verify any elaborate traps the pagoda might have set up.
"What should I do now... Is there any way out?" he muttered in a low voice, eyes narrowing in regard to
the dangers waiting ahead of him.
After a minute of harsh deliberation, he shook his head in frustration. "Well, forget it! I'll just concentrate
on passing!" he exclaimed. Gathering his bearings, he closed his eyes to adjust his breathing before
taking action. A squinted gaze matched the cautious footsteps he took towards the massive transit. He
did not let his worries hinder the bravery and courage he wielded like a weapon, because at the end of
the day, he was still a man who refused to remain idle in the face of crisis, no matter what sort of
predicament he was forced in. Especially now, when he was left with no choice but to follow through
the examination. There was no way he would give up so easily during such a crucial period. He came
here to win the Beast Fire, and so he had to have the steel strength of determination to stand victorious
at the end, just as what he had only always settled for.
Ricky did not catch any glimpses of what lay beneath the path until he had reached the entryway. He
gaped in awe at the marvelous nine stairs in front of him that reached to unforeseeable heights.
Flames licked at each step, casting an eerie, orange glow around the space. Somehow, he felt that the
energy of these blazes increased the further one trekked upwards. He would undoubtedly endure great
pain brought by the scorching flares as he continued his travel to the top.
"Walk up the steps to refine your body with the fire. If you succeed, you will be declared the winner!"
The authoritative voice of the pagoda resonated in Ricky's ears once more.
"Pass those stairs, right?"
he repeated, resuming his calm and calculating demeanor. He could feel the underlying threat from the
merciless, dancing flames, and believed that if he were to veer his attention away for even a second,
he would end up being burnt to ashes.
The element was not a physical one; they were more akin to the representation of glowing energy, so
even if he used the power of the Chaotic Fire Zone, it would not aide him a lot.
Nevertheless, there was no backing out now.
Ricky took off his clothes and put it in his storage bag before clenching his teeth around the sack's
rope. He stood there, naked in all his glory, in preparation for his perilous journey forward.
The garment he had stacked away was the only item he had with him now. If he had gone through the
fire dressed, it would have been incinerated into nothing. The scenario would likely leave him bare
once he had conquered the stairs, and the sight would certainly cause extreme awkwardness for both
him and the others who would see him in such a state.
He approached the first step, his foot landing on the blistering heat just as he activated the Nine-degree
Body Refining Formula to the Second Degree.
It kept his body strong and sturdy, but the glowing flame energy still managed to seep in his blood and
flesh with its relentless attacks on every pore of his skin. He gritted his teeth, the rope muffling his
grunts of pain that resulted from the chaotic and fiery rage churning inside him. The grueling process of
refinement had now commenced.
Luckily, the power of his body helped him resist bearing the full burden of the searing pain. He adapted
in time, and before long, he had already passed the first step.
He struggled more as he went up, slipping more than once and catching himself just before he
plummeted down. He suffered going through the same procedure again and again until he landed on
the sixth stair. By now, he had activated the peak status of the Fourth Degree. A great and enormous
feat, that did not come without consequences. He lurched, hands gripping his knees when he was
ambushed with an excruciating pain that was almost enough to render him immobile.
"Three! Only three stairs left,"
his strained voice shouted. He stared at the rest of the hurdles with a firm gaze, paying no heed to his
panting breaths and his sinews screaming in exhaustion. Taking in a deep breath to stabilize himself,
he advanced to the next. He howled, clenching his fists in agony at the fierceness of the torment he
was in. What had previously only struck his flesh, now seeped into the marrows of his bones. It
devoured every inch of him, birthing him anew from the torture it enforced on his form.
Without hesitation, Ricky decided to use the Fifth Degree of the Nine-degree Body Refining Formula in
order to counter the anguish he was experiencing.
Nonetheless, his body still took on the force of the ruthless energy. It was borderline nauseating how it
appeared to rack his being with endless tremors of pain, but he had long recognized that it was a
common requirement during refinement. He should know best, seeing as he had formerly gone through
it countless of times.
'Perfect! I can refine my body based on the Fifth Degree using the energy from these flames!'
Ricky mused.
Ever since he left the Blizzard Cliff, he had not encountered any chances for body refinement. That was
why he had disappointingly remained stagnant in the Fifth Degree of the Nine-degree Body Refining
Formula. However, the severe conditions of this trial granted him an excellent opportunity to strengthen
his skill, and even permitted him the risk of surpassing his existing limits.
Ricky's face set in unwavering resolution as he hunkered on the seventh stair. He shut his eyelids and
released the Devouring Skill and the Chaotic Fire Skill at once to absorb the flame energy engulfing
him. At the same time, he extracted the frosty power of the Magic Ice from the Devourer Zone to refine
his physique.
He spent a whole day engaged in his technique, before he finally stopped and opened his eyes. The
hard work had paid off successfully; he had improved much at the Fifth Degree as planned, and had
even adjusted to the sweltering high temperature of the step.
He got up, examining the last two deterrents with renewed vigor.
His straightened posture filled with confidence moved him to shift to the eighth stair.
Wide eyes brimming with shock was his immediate response to the extremities of the energy
surrounding him. He collapsed to a knee, his skin and hair flaking away at the violent inferno
encompassing him. Even with the Fifth Degree of the Nine-degree Body Refining Formula, he had no
alternatives left but to succumb to the sheer might of the flames.
"The eighth! The ninth! I will take the torture brought by your energies and reach the Sixth Degree of
the Formula!" Roaring, he bared his teeth in a display of his unyielding will.
He braved the severity of the unforgiving atmosphere and stubbornly held his ground.
It took two whole days for Ricky to acclimatize to this stage. His rigorous training during those hours
had eventually enabled him to move freely; the roughness of the assaulting fires no longer bothering
him. By now, his cultivation of the Fifth Degree of the Nine-degree Body Refining Formula had reached
its limit.
"Okay, all I have left is the last stair!"
he squeezed out the words, unable to keep the excitement out from the frenzied look in his eyes.
Letting out one last roar to encourage himself, Ricky gathered all his strength and advanced to the final
phase.
A manic smile slipped on his lips as he did so.
He raised his foot with the intention to place it on the brutal field when his body instantly burst in
flames. He cried out, feeling like he had been pulled to an unimaginable hellfire. Trying to resist the
broiling pit seemed like a pipe dream; he was not yet strong enough to withstand such anguish, thus he
had rolled back down to the eighth stair for a momentary rest.
Ricky glowered as he knelt, exasperation gushing out from him.
"No, this is not where I'm supposed to end up! I've already come this far; I refuse to fail here!" he
ranted, his voice hoarse from the dryness of his throat.
Starting over, Ricky activated the Nine-degree Body Refining Formula as well as the Devouring Skill
and the Chaotic Fire Skill. The former assisted him in resisting the conflagration, while the latter two
absorbed the inexorable conditions he was in to ease his suffering. The three abilities empowered him
and gradually lessened the graveness of his misery.
Huffing, he could not believe that the ninth stair had almost scorched off all his skin.
"Is this really all its power? Even with a body at the limit of the Fifth Degree, I was unable to stay there
for three seconds!"
he jeered, his ferociousness not lost from his first defeat. He would not surrender, never!
As he finally restored his energy, he began his voyage to vanquish the last step.
His second try was met with the same result, but he had arguably made some progress compared to
his initial bout. He had rolled back down to the eighth stair writhing in agony but he had lasted a few
more seconds on this round, at least.
This laborious operation became his strategy. He pressed and overcame his limits with each endeavor,
thus effectively extending his stay on the domain in the long run.
In three whole days, all he did was a pattern of jumping and rolling down to fan out the overwhelming
pain he was swamped with. He had lost track of the number of periods where he fell to the eighth stair
to evade longer exposure from the white-hot pressure the final obstacle emitted.
The only evidence proving his numerous efforts was the thick, dark red bloodstains painted all over his
muscles. His image could very well be compared to the insides of half-cooked meat, given the redness
marring his hardened body. If his friends saw him as he was now, they would absolutely fail to
recognize him if it were not for the familiar blankness of his eyes.
"Three days! Three whole damn days! This will be the last try; I will have to succeed or I might as well
die!"
He poured his heart out in yelling the vow he had sworn to himself. As he had promised, he stepped on
the ninth stair again.
This time, he stayed silent. His stood astoundingly still; bearing the wrath of the flames as he
concentrated on performing the cultivation method of the Nine-degree Body Refining Formula.
He activated the Devourer Zone and the Chaotic Fire Zone to support him and in this way, he resolutely
urged himself to reach the Sixth Degree of the Nine-degree Body Refining Formula.
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