Chapter Sixty-One: The Power of Flame

At present, though Xue Kai's strength could not compare with the patriarch of Qiuhe Mountain Manor, the Fiery Fan in his hands was the very same one. Even if he could not wield the fan with the patriarch’s might—capable of annihilating eighteen demon generals with a single sweep—as long as he summoned fire from it, not to mention Celestials, even ordinary False Core legends, if unprepared, would stand little chance against its ferocity!

Boom!

The flames roared ever more fiercely, the air itself shimmering with heat, and thunderous rumbles echoed without end.

Swish!

Blade-light flashed incessantly in Zhou Yi’s palm, chopping away at the flames clinging to his body, each stroke sharp and bone-chilling. Where the blade met the tongues of flame, both were instantly snuffed out.

Whoosh!

Occasionally, a blade stroke, perhaps lacking in force, would slice through all but a sliver—leaving one percent of a flame intact. That lingering ember, after swirling about Zhou Yi’s form for a moment, was caught by a passing breeze and drifted lazily from his body, settling softly onto the earth nearby.

Sizzle!

The instant the ember touched the yellow-brown ground, a muffled sound drew all eyes. When they saw the origin of the noise, they froze, eyes wide with disbelief and shock.

The ember, falling onto the earth as though onto paper, carved a hole the moment it landed, the ground burning beneath it as it descended. The once-solid earth offered no more resistance than if it were papier-mâché, and under the gaze of all present, a blackened pit was left behind. The opening was narrow, but its depths were unfathomable, as if it led into an endless abyss!

“So powerful?” The sheer menace of the flame startled the three onlookers. Watching Zhou Yi enveloped completely in fire for so long, showing no signs of pain—on the contrary, lively and unscathed—they, including Xue Kai himself, the one who had summoned the fire, had begun to doubt the flame’s true might.

Just as their minds were turning with such thoughts, they witnessed a mere fragment—one percent of a dying ember—burn a pit so deep into the earth. That alone was proof enough of its terrifying power!

They all knew, even with their strength, to inflict such damage upon the ground would require seventy to eighty percent of their full power—if it wasn’t outright impossible.

And yet, here was but a single, broken sliver of flame, accomplishing just that.

Did this not mean that just one of these flames rivaled seventy to eighty percent of their own strength?

And this was only the remnant of a flame—what if it had been whole? Its power would be beyond compare. In other words, a single, intact flame from the fan might well surpass any one of them in strength.

How could that be possible?

Faced with this conclusion, their first reaction was disbelief—who could accept such a thing?

Even Xue Kai himself, though he had suspected the flame’s might and believed in the Fiery Fan’s power, had never imagined that a single wisp of fire would be stronger than any of them.

It was unthinkable!

More importantly...

The three suddenly turned their eyes to Zhou Yi, still shrouded in countless flames. Though the fire itself seemed unchanged, to their eyes it had become something altogether different.

If even a single, broken wisp was so devastating, what of an intact flame?

Zhou Yi was now completely engulfed, not by one, but seemingly by millions—no, tens or hundreds of millions—of perfect, unbroken flames.

Recalling the power of that single tiny ember, and then beholding the vast sea of fire enveloping Zhou Yi, a sense of helplessness welled up in their hearts.

Was this man truly only at the innate level?

The more numerous and intense the flames, the greater their might. If even a minute flicker could burn a hole so deep into the earth, what would happen if the inferno around Zhou Yi fell elsewhere? At this rate, even a mountain—if not too large—could be reduced to ashes!

“How strong is his body, truly?” More time passed. Gazing at Zhou Yi, still lively within the blaze, Xue Kai could no longer keep silent. His voice quavered as he moaned out the words.

So long had elapsed, with such overwhelming firepower, that even a mountain should have long since melted away.

Yet Zhou Yi seemed harder than stone itself—after all this time, save for the fiery coat upon him, he appeared utterly unchanged!

“……” The veiled woman was silent. Faced with such a spectacle, she truly had no words. In her heart, an unthinkable notion began to take root—one she scarcely dared admit to herself.

Once conceived, this thought grew rapidly, filling her mind.

Fear.

The veiled woman was afraid. Seeing Zhou Yi now, she was afraid. If even such terrifying flames could not harm him, what use were her own hidden cards? Could they possibly surpass Xue Kai’s Fiery Fan?

And even if, by some miracle, she had something stronger than the Fiery Fan, could it truly be enough? Most importantly, even if she did, she could not believe it would be enough to defeat Zhou Yi.

Looking at him now, she could not fathom what it would take—how much greater than the Fiery Fan one would need to be—to injure Zhou Yi. How much greater still to deal him a fatal wound!

In this, the veiled woman had no confidence at all.

In that moment, all her previous ambitions faded. Suddenly, she felt that even if she did not break through to the False Core, so what? It hardly mattered!

In this world, so many people—Celestials included—could not reach that level, and still held on to hope. She herself had already reached the peak of the Celestial realm, was still young, and had plenty of time left. Even if she gave up this chance, there would be others in the future.

As long as she lived, there was hope.

Yes, she was afraid. She wanted to retreat.

Zhou Yi’s display had shaken her; she had no confidence in harming him. Having witnessed the might of the Fiery Fan and experienced Zhou Yi’s true power, she was truly afraid.

She was not alone. The white-haired elder was stunned as well. Age had weathered him; he had seen much and endured more, yet even he was shaken by Zhou Yi’s performance.

The flame’s power had already exceeded his expectations, and his estimation of its might only grew. Even so, his assessment of Zhou Yi’s strength climbed even faster.

“Without question, the fire unleashed by Xue Kai’s fan has already surpassed the limits of the Celestial realm. In fact, if my calculations are correct, it should have reached the level of the False Core,” the white-haired elder muttered, his face grave as he bowed his head in thought.