Holy Flame City, the Iris Sword's base.
Inside a castle constructed entirely from Star Origin Stones, over fifty players above level 110 sparred with one another and practiced various combat techniques. Every single one of them possessed impressive combat proficiency—at least at the Realm of Subtlety, with no shortage of those who had reached the Flowing Water stage and beyond. Moreover, their integration of combat techniques and magical skills was remarkably fluid, far surpassing what ordinary Subtlety-realm experts could achieve.
"You all need to push harder! Activating the Starstone Castle consumes a tremendous amount of magic crystals, and the slots available for training inside are extremely limited. If you can't achieve basic fusion of high-level combat techniques and magical skills by next week's evaluation, there are plenty of newcomers ready to take your places!" In the castle's great hall, a middle-aged man with a scar across his face, clad in dark gray armor, barked at the trainees.
"Coach Huanghuo, your standards are way too high. Not everyone can be like Gu Han, who spent just a single week achieving perfect fusion of high-level combat techniques and magical skills without a single flaw," said a red-haired woman in blue robes standing beside him, shaking her head.
"My standards for them are already lenient—I'm only asking for basic fusion within ten days. If it were that kid Gu Han, I'd give him three days at most. And we're already halfway through the time limit, yet these newcomers still can't even fuse their high-level combat techniques with magic skills. The new recruits these days really are getting worse with each generation," Huanghuo Kuangzhan grumbled, eyeing the struggling newcomers with open dissatisfaction. "I don't even know how far behind your generation they fall."
"Our generation?" Chenmo Chixing smiled bitterly at the remark. "Our generation only produced one monster like the captain. The rest of us weren't any stronger than these newcomers."
"Why so modest? Your talent is no less than Gu Han's—you just spread yourself too thin, unlike Gu Han who was so focused. Otherwise, you could have become the captain of the second ace legion by now." Huanghuo Kuangzhan rolled his eyes at her.
The red-haired woman before him was none other than the one the Celestial Mechanism Pavilion had dubbed the "Thousand-Handed Witch"—Chenmo Chixing, vice-captain of the Iris Sword's first ace legion. Her combat proficiency was not inferior to his own, and if the two of them were to PvP, his chances of winning would not exceed thirty percent.
"It seems Coach Huanghuo really does admire that Gu Han. Otherwise, you wouldn't have held back during the last spar, deliberately fighting to a draw with him and giving him such full confidence and pride," Chenmo Chixing said.
"Let's not bring that up. I may have held back in that fight, but I only concealed my ultimate technique. Gu Han is still young and has plenty of room to grow. It's only a matter of time before he surpasses me," Huanghuo Kuangzhan said with a laugh. "Besides, it was because of that fight that Coach Tuo Lei was willing to take him on as a student, wasn't it?"
"That's true. I never expected old Coach Tuo Lei to actually agree to teach someone—I was quite surprised at the time. It's a pity the guild is currently so short on Life Masters, and crafting that item takes far too long. Otherwise Gu Han might have had the chance to enter the Ancient Secret Realm and receive Coach Tuo Lei's personal guidance. When he emerged, he'd truly be able to defeat you, Coach Huanghuo," Chenmo Chixing nodded and said with a smile.
"It probably won't be long now. Gu Han and the others are heading back to participate in the family tournament. That disobedient Pang family is as good as finished. If the Pang family still wants to lead the Azure Commerce Alliance, they'll have to obediently follow our orders and pour everything they have into crafting that item. Otherwise, the Zeus Conglomerate will definitely hand the Alliance's leadership to another family," Huanghuo Kuangzhan said with great certainty.
"I heard the Pang family also has a formidable genius named Ling Yue. Her strength has always been second only to Gu Han's. If Ling Yue were to seize second place now, things might not be so certain after all," Chenmo Chixing said.
"Don't worry. Yuan Xiaoqian has been personally tutored by Coach Tuo Lei, and her strength has improved tremendously. As long as that Ling Yue hasn't mastered a Domain, she won't be Yuan Xiaoqian's match at all," Huanghuo Kuangzhan said with great confidence.
Gu Han was indeed extraordinarily talented, but Yuan Xiaoqian was not far behind. She had simply been overlooked for too long, wasting far too much time on alchemy without developing her true strengths. But after Coach Tuo Lei's guidance, her current level was absolutely at the peak among all those who had yet to master a Domain.
"That, I'm not so sure about. But I happened to hear a rumor—the Firebringer seems to be mentoring Ling Yue. It hasn't been confirmed yet, but my friend's source is quite reliable. It's probably true," Chenmo Chixing said.
"What? That Ling Yue was actually taken under the Firebringer's wing? How is that even possible? Back when Coach Tuo Lei personally asked the Firebringer to guide the captain, the Firebringer refused. How could he possibly take a liking to that little girl?" Huanghuo Kuangzhan was genuinely stunned.
The Firebringer had always been a legend in the virtual gaming world. No one knew the Firebringer's true identity or age, yet the Firebringer appeared across major virtual games, personally guiding players of extraordinary talent. Rumor had it that the current guild master of Mythical Mirage—one of the five great super guilds—had once received the Firebringer's guidance, which enabled the then-master to develop Mythical Mirage into a super guild. Through sheer individual prowess, they had dominated all competitors, elevating Mythical Mirage to its current stature as one of the five great super guilds.
Now, a mere girl from the Azure Commerce Alliance—talent-wise, who knew how far she fell below Gu Han and the captain—and yet she received the Firebringer's personal guidance? How could anyone believe that?
"I don't know. The rumor says the Firebringer has their own method of selecting people. Perhaps Ling Yue has something unique about her," Chenmo Chixing shook her head. In truth, she was also deeply curious about why the Firebringer had taken an interest in Ling Yue.
"If it really is the Firebringer personally guiding that Ling Yue, then that girl Yuan Xiaoqian is truly in danger," Huanghuo Kuangzhan murmured, a note of worry creeping into his voice.