While the player is in Battle Through the Heavens, the system is in The Great Ruler.

Chapter 31 Introduction to Body Techniques, Half-Step to Third Grade!
After that, under Hai Bodong's strict sparring, Lu Yu devoted himself wholeheartedly to cultivating the Heavenly Fire Dragon Step.

Time flies, and a month and a half has passed in the blink of an eye...

In the fiery underground magma world,

"Shhhhh-"

A flurry of icy blades sliced ​​through the scorching air, sending up plumes of white mist. Lu Yu's dark robes fluttered between the ice and fire, and the azure tortoise seal hanging at his waist swayed gently with his movements.

"tread!"

He lightly touched the protruding rock pillar with his toes, and his figure soared up like a swallow. Three gleaming ice blades whistled past, grazing the hem of his clothes, and exploded into ice flowers on the rock wall behind him.

Before he even landed, the ground suddenly cracked. A long-dormant ice spike suddenly grew out of nowhere, its sharp tip pointing straight at Lu Yu's heart!

"Ah……"

Lu Yu's lips curled slightly, and he lightly stepped forward with his right foot. A crimson afterimage exploded with a deafening roar, and the scorching shockwave lifted him several meters into the air.

Just then, countless ice blades suddenly turned around in mid-air and surrounded him!

"Well done!"

In mid-air, his figure suddenly spun, his robes fluttering as he created four lifelike afterimages. With a crisp snap of his fingers—

"boom!"

A crimson shockwave spread outwards from him, vaporizing all the ice blades in its path and forming a hazy mist above the magma.

Suddenly, the mist was torn apart by a cold, eerie blue light!
A spiraling ice cone, about ten feet in size, hurtled through the air with a piercing shriek, freezing even the lava in its path.

"Elder Hai! This is unfair! You actually used a fighting technique!"

Lu Yu's pupils contracted sharply, and he shouted, hastily stomping his right foot heavily in the air.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Three crimson afterimages exploded one after another beneath his feet, each explosion increasing his speed dramatically. Finally, the ice spike grazed his hair, the chill it brought condensing into a thin layer of frost on his cheek.

"Hahaha!"

Hai Bodong's loud laughter echoed in the cave: "When it comes to life and death, the enemy doesn't care about rules!"

Lu Yu glanced at him helplessly, landed steadily on the ground, and without saying a word, took out a Qi-restoring pill from his storage ring and swallowed it. As soon as the pill entered his stomach, it transformed into a warm current that flowed through his limbs and bones, quickly replenishing his consumed battle qi.

After a moment of recuperation, Lu Yu put away his stance and cupped his hands towards Hai Bodong, saying, "Elder Hai, I have mastered the Heavenly Fire Dragon Step. It's time to leave this place."

Hai Bodong's eyes lit up at the words, and he immediately stepped forward, his old face plastered with a fawning smile: "Hehe, kid... look how I've been working tirelessly as your sparring partner for the past month, about... the sealing matter..."

"I'll lift the ban as soon as we get back," Lu Yu promised, unable to suppress a smile.

"Really?!" Hai Bodong's white beard bristled with excitement. In the past month and a half, Lu Yu had already lifted his seal twice, each time restoring two stars of his strength, elevating him from a one-star Dou Wang to a five-star. If he were to be unsealed again this time…

Thinking of his imminent return to the strength of a Seven-Star Dou Wang, Hai Bodong's eyes gleamed, and he urged repeatedly, "Let's go! Let's go back now! I can't wait to test the power of a Seven-Star Dou Wang!"

……

Soon after,

The headquarters of the Desert Iron Mercenary Group.

Inside a quiet room.

Lu Yu sat cross-legged, his ten fingers flying as he formed profound hand seals. Azure and crimson spiritual energy flowed through his fingertips, eventually condensing into a serpent-shaped rune, which he then injected into Hai Bodong's body with a soft shout.

"Buzz—" A blinding blue light suddenly erupted from Hai Bodong's body, and the seal within his body broke in response. His surging Dou Wang aura rose steadily, eventually stabilizing at the Seven-Star Dou Wang level.

"Hahaha! That's great!" Hai Bodong felt the long-lost power and laughed heartily.

Seeing this, Lu Yu smiled slightly, took the tortoise seal with a light blue halo from his waist, and respectfully said, "Elder Hai, could you do me another favor?"

Hai Bodong took the tortoise seal, immediately feeling a warm, moist aura in his hand: "This thing again?" He infused it with ice-attribute battle qi while examining it with interest: "Tsk tsk, a Dou Wang-level protective treasure, even the royal family of the Jia Ma Empire rarely sees such a thing. You're quite lucky, kid..."

Lu Yu smiled but remained silent. This Xuan Turtle Seal was a low-grade spiritual artifact obtained through simulation last month. It contained the essence of a Xuan Water Turtle at the Divine Soul Realm, and originally required the strength of a Dou Wang to activate.

However, due to the unique water-storing properties of the Xuan Shui Turtle, he found a clever way to exploit it—by having Hai Bodong inject his fighting spirit into it in advance.

Although ice and water attributes aren't perfectly compatible, the sheer power of a Dou Wang (Battle King) level expert still allows him to unleash about 60-70% of its potential. It was precisely with the aid of this magical artifact that he was able to master the Heavenly Fire Dragon Step to the basics in just half a month.

"Alright, take it."

After half an hour of infusing his battle qi, Hai Bodong tossed the Xuan Turtle Seal, which glowed with a pale blue light, back to Lu Yu.

Lu Yu casually took it and tied it back around his waist.

He wasn't worried that Hai Bodong would get greedy—this magical artifact was at most at the level of a Dou Wang (Battle King) in terms of defense. For a former Dou Huang (Battle Emperor) powerhouse, even a casually used ice-type defensive fighting technique was several times stronger than this tortoise seal.

Moreover, after spending time together, he had become quite familiar with Hai Bodong. Although the Ice Emperor was aloof and arrogant, he was a loyal and righteous person, and would not stoop to such despicable acts of force and robbery.

Just then, a voice called out from outside the door.

"Young master, Sister Fairy Doctor has prepared dinner. Please come out and dine."

Qinglin's clear voice came from outside the door.

Lu Yu stretched and stood up, then smiled at Hai Bodong, "Old Hai, let's have our meal first. Xian'er has recently learned a few new dishes."

"Oh?"

"Then this old man must have a good taste!"

Upon hearing this, Hai Bodong's eyes lit up, and he leaped into the air, instantly standing in the courtyard. His speed was so fast that Lu Yu couldn't help but shake his head and laugh.

Lu Yu then followed him out.

On the stone table in the courtyard, Little Fairy Doctor was neatly arranging the last dish, steamed sea bass. Several home-style dishes were steaming hot, and their enticing aroma filled the courtyard.

"I specially made your favorite mushroom soup today..." She looked up and smiled gently, her eyes filled with tenderness.

Lu Yu nodded with a smile, and the group sat down to eat.

After finishing their meal, Lu Yu and Hai Bodong lay on rattan chairs in the courtyard, chatting contentedly.

Little Fairy Doctor and Qinglin were busy washing the dishes.

"Young man, now that you've mastered the basics of movement techniques and combat skills, what are your plans for the future?"

Hai Bodong stroked his beard and asked.

"I'm going to the Alchemist's Guild."

"The Alchemist Guild?" Hai Bodong turned to look at him in surprise. "You're an alchemist? Judging by your age, are you already a first-grade alchemist?"

Lu Yu smiled but remained silent. Over the past month, he had been diligently practicing the Heavenly Fire Dragon Step during the day and studying the alchemy techniques he had inherited and simulated from the Old Master Yao at night. With the two methods working together, his progress was rapid.

A few days ago, he successfully refined a grade three pill. Although the success rate of refining grade three pills is still unstable, this skill is worthy of being called the peak of grade two, half a step into grade three.

(End of this chapter)