I can receive unlimited protection; my parents handed me over to the state.

He probed the stone with his spiritual energy, only to find it completely empty—no energy, no information, like an absolute void. What exactly was this thing?

"boom--!!"

With a deafening roar and a blast of air, a ferocious fighter jet, its body a deep red and shaped like a phoenix spreading its wings, landed violently on the temporary helipad of the East China Sea base. The immense impact caused countless spiderweb-like cracks to appear on the helipad's surface.

The fighter jet's hatch opened with a "whoosh," and a figure dressed in a red, tight-fitting combat suit, with a lithe and heroic air, leaped out—it was Yan Ji, who had rushed over from the northern battlefield.

As soon as she landed, she didn't even bother to acknowledge the base officers who came to greet her. Her sharp eyes, burning like flames, scanned her surroundings as if searching for something.

"Where is Lu Yuan?!" she asked, her voice not loud, but filled with undeniable authority.

"Reporting to Commander Yan Ji! Advisor Lu, he... he's at the Divine Craftsman's Workshop, giving special training to the members of the 'God-Making Project'!" A major quickly stepped forward and saluted in response.

"Special training?" Yan Ji raised an eyebrow, a playful smile playing on her lips. "Take me there."

"yes!"

When Yan Ji rushed into the makeshift workshop of the divine craftsman, she was stunned by the sight before her.

The workshop was a mess. Xiang Batian, like a raging bull, his muscles bulging and veins popping, was frantically ramming his head against the massive Titan Iron. Each impact produced a dull, resounding thud that made one's teeth ache. On the other side, Gu Tianye was curled up on the ground, his body enveloped in a strange, blood-blue energy. His body convulsed, and he let out inhuman, agonizing howls.

Ye Cang sat cross-legged in the corner, motionless, but the air around him seemed to freeze, emanating a chilling killing intent that sent shivers down one's spine. Mu Bingli, on the other hand, was pale, her forehead covered in fine beads of sweat. Her fingertip hovered above a drop of golden blood suspended in mid-air, wisps of extreme cold emanating from her fingertip, carefully enveloping the drop of blood, as if she were performing some extremely precise operation.

This isn't special training; this is clearly a large-scale, collective self-torture session!

Meanwhile, Lu Yuan, the "culprit" who caused all this, was sitting on a chair not far away, holding a tablet in his hand, leisurely drinking juice while looking at the various data constantly jumping on the screen, nodding from time to time, seemingly quite satisfied.

"Ahem!"

Yan Ji deliberately coughed loudly twice, instantly shattering the eerie atmosphere in the workshop. Everyone stopped what they were doing and turned to look at the uninvited guest at the door.

"Yan...Yan Ji Instructor?!" Gu Tianye was the first to exclaim. He had a psychological trauma from Yan Ji—back in the Zenith World, he had been beaten to a pulp by this violent female instructor.

Lu Yuan also looked up and saw Yan Ji. He wasn't surprised at all: "You're here?" He put down the tablet in his hand, stood up, and said, "You've come at the right time. I have some questions to ask you."

Yan Ji ignored him, her gaze sweeping around the workshop before finally settling on Mu Bingli.

Two women, both stunningly beautiful but with completely different temperaments—one like a blazing fire, the other like an ancient iceberg—collided in mid-air, their gazes seemingly crackling with invisible electric sparks.

"You are Mu Bingli?" Yan Ji spoke first, her tone carrying a hint of scrutiny.

"It's me." Mu Bingli stood up, her expression cool and composed, neither humble nor arrogant.

"I heard you play the zither quite well?" Yan Ji walked towards her step by step. With each step she took, the terrifying aura of an SSS-level powerhouse on her body grew stronger, and the temperature in the entire workshop seemed to rise several degrees.

Mu Bingli felt as if she were being watched by a walking volcano, with immense pressure bearing down on her, but she still stood straight and replied calmly, "It's alright."

"Is that so?" Yan Ji walked up to her, looking down at her. "I'm tone-deaf and don't understand any highbrow art. All I know is that on the battlefield, only those who can kill are good. How about we have a 'spar'? Let me see just how 'beautiful' your music really is?"

"boom!"

Before she finished speaking, a blazing fighting spirit surged from Yan Ji's body! Crimson flames condensed behind her into a gigantic phoenix phantom!

Provocation! This is blatant provocation!

Everyone present could see that Yan Ji was asserting her dominance. She was telling everyone, especially Mu Bingli, in her own way—Lu Yuan was her man!

Mu Bingli's face instantly turned even paler. Although she possessed extraordinary talent, she was still young and her level was far lower than Yan Ji's. Moreover, what she held was only a half-finished divine artifact. If they were to fight, she would definitely be no match for Yan Ji.

Just as tensions were about to rise, Lu Yuan's voice rang out indifferently, "Enough."

He walked between the two women, blocking Mu Bingli's path, frowning at Yan Ji with a puzzled look: "What's wrong with you? You want to fight as soon as you arrive? I sent you from the Northern Border to be my sparring partner, not to destroy my workshop."

When Yan Ji saw Lu Yuan actually blocking Mu Bingli's path, her anger flared up instantly. "You heartless little devil! I'm guarding your borders in the North, and you're here flirting with some other girl, and now you dare to yell at me for her sake?!"

"A sparring partner?" Yan Ji chuckled, exasperated. "Fine! Then let me, the 'sparring partner,' check if you, the 'head instructor,' have been slacking off lately!"

Without giving Lu Yuan a chance to react, a fist engulfed in crimson flames slammed straight towards his face with a whistling sound as it tore through the air! Although she didn't use her full strength, this punch was enough to melt a piece of alloy steel plate instantly—she just wanted to teach this clueless brat a lesson!

However, just as her fist was about to strike Lu Yuan, Lu Yuan made a move that surprised everyone. Instead of dodging, he met Yan Ji's fist head-on, opened his mouth, and with a "whoosh," bit down... and actually... bit down on Yan Ji's fist, which was burning with raging flames!

The entire room fell silent. Everyone's eyes were practically bulging out of their sockets.

Yan Ji was completely petrified. She could feel her fist being clenched tightly by two rows of hard teeth, and a strange, tingling sensation spread from her fist throughout her body, making her stiffen.

"Ugh... ptooey, ptooey, ptooey!" Lu Yuan released his mouth, exhaled a few puffs of black smoke, then smacked his lips like a gourmet, looking at Yan Ji with a look of disgust, "Your fire is no good. The temperature is too low, and the energy is too mixed. It has at least seven or eight kinds of random impurities mixed in, and it tastes just like the smoke from burning firewood. It's awful."

Flame Princess: "..."

Mu Bingli: "..."

Gu Tianye, Xiang Batian, and everyone else present: "..."

This world is too crazy. They need some peace and quiet.

"Difficult...unpalatable?" Yan Ji felt her brain was going blank. She, the mighty SSS-rank [Undying Flame] Star Envoy, a top-tier powerhouse ranked among the top ten in all of China, her flames were considered a nightmare by countless enemies, yet Lu Yuan had only given her a "unpalatable" evaluation? And this guy had just "eaten" her flames with his mouth! Was he even human?!

"Yes, it's awful." Lu Yuan nodded seriously, wiped the soot from the corner of his mouth, and began his professional "food review." "The core of your flame is the characteristic of 'immortality,' right? However, in pursuit of this characteristic, you sacrificed the most essential thing about flames—'purity.' Your fire is like a hodgepodge, with all sorts of energy added in. Although it seems to be inexhaustible, in reality, the energy utilization efficiency is extremely low, and the explosive power is insufficient."

As Lu Yuan spoke, he pulled up the data he had just "tasted" with his mouth and swiped it across the tablet: "Look, according to my analysis, 3.7% of your flame's energy composition is the fire poison of the earth's vein sulfur, 1.2% is the energy of vengeful spirits picked up on the battlefield, and even 0.5% is stellar radiation... These impurities seriously affect the quality of your flame. If you want [Phoenix Cry] to truly evolve into its complete form, your current state is not enough."

Lu Yuan delivered his conclusion.

Yan Ji was completely speechless. She had originally come to confront Lu Yuan and assert her dominance, but in just a few words, it turned into an academic seminar about her own weaknesses, and she couldn't refute him at all—because everything Lu Yuan said was correct. She had indeed neglected the purification of the essence of fire in her pursuit of "immortality."

"Then... what should we do?" Yan Ji asked subconsciously, her tone having changed from accusing her to humbly seeking advice.

"It's very simple." Lu Yuan swiped on the tablet and brought up a map. A bright red coordinate point was flashing on the map. "Three hundred nautical miles east of the East China Sea, there is a volcanic island codenamed 'Purgatory Island'. According to military data, at the center of that island lives an 80-level lord-class star beast that has lived for at least a thousand years - the [Primordial Lava Dragon]."

"From the moment that dragon was born, it fed on the purest 'Primordial Magnetic True Fire' from the Earth's core. Its heart is the best 'purifier' and 'catalyst' we're looking for." Lu Yuan pointed at the screen, his eyes gleaming with the light of seeing top-tier ingredients. "My plan is for the two of us to go to Purgatory Island and extract that dragon's heart. We'll use its heart as a new 'furnace core' to reforge [Phoenix Cry] for you. At the same time, during battle, you can also use its 'Primordial Magnetic True Fire' to temper your own 'Undying Flame,' burning away all the impurities—killing two birds with one stone."

Lu Yuan's plan was simple and brutal, yet it was brimming with deadly allure. To single-handedly challenge an 80-level Lord-class Star Beast? In the past, Yan Ji wouldn't have dared to even dream of such a thing. But now, looking at the calm young man before her, an unprecedented confidence surged within her.

"Okay! Let's do it!" Yan Ji agreed without hesitation.

"Boss! Take me with you! I want to go too!"

"And me! How could Xiang Batian be left out of the dragon-slaying adventure!"

Upon hearing that there was going to be a fight, and that it involved slaying a dragon, Gu Tianye and Xiang Batian immediately rushed over, their faces full of excitement.

"What are you going there for?" Lu Yuan glanced at them disdainfully. "One of you is a Beast King, and the other is a Titan, both with earth and physical attributes, which are naturally incompatible with the volcanic environment. You'll only be a burden. Stay here and complete your training tasks!"

With just one sentence, he shut the two clowns up. Although they were unwilling, they dared not disobey Lu Yuan's orders and could only retreat to the side with bitter faces.

"Then... what about me?" Mu Bingli, who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke. Her voice was soft, but it drew everyone's attention. Yan Ji's gaze also sharpened instantly.

Lu Yuan glanced at her and shook his head: "Your [Ice Soul Divine Soul] and [Primordial Magnetic True Fire] are absolutely incompatible. If you go, not only will you not be of any help, but you will also cause an energy conflict, making that dragon go berserk prematurely. So, you should stay as well."

Hearing this, Mu Bingli's eyes dimmed slightly. Yan Ji, however, couldn't help but smile – she had won. Although it wasn't on the battlefield, this feeling of being Lu Yuan's "only choice" filled her with a strange joy.

"Alright, it's settled then." Lu Yuan clapped his hands, making the final decision. "Zhao Qingxuan, prepare a top-speed stealth assault boat for us. Yan Ji, go and make the preparations. We'll depart in half an hour."

"Yes, sir." Zhao Qingxuan bowed and accepted the order.

"Alright!" Yan Ji responded crisply and loudly. She glanced triumphantly at Mu Bingli, who looked somewhat dejected, and then turned and left the workshop with the light steps of a victor.

……

Half an hour later, a jet-black, futuristic-looking assault boat, like a black lightning bolt, silently sailed away from the East China Sea base.

Inside the assault boat, Lu Yuan was sitting in the driver's seat, skillfully operating various complex instruments. Yan Ji, on the other hand, sat in the passenger seat, her beautiful legs casually crossed, her head tilted to the side, observing the young man beside her with great interest.

She found herself increasingly unable to understand this young man, several years her junior. He was merely a level 0 blacksmith, yet he knew more than the old scholars of the research institute; he had no combat profession, yet he could withstand her flames bare-handed; he seemed indifferent to everything, yet he arranged everything with perfect clarity. This contradictory and mysterious feeling aroused an unprecedented curiosity in her about him.

"What are you looking at?" Lu Yuan asked casually, his eyes glued to the radar screen in front of him. "Is there something on my face?"

"Hehehe..." Yan Ji was amused by his straightforward question. "Yes, there are flowers." She deliberately moved closer, her warm breath brushing against Lu Yuan's ear. "A 'peach blossom' that can bewitch all the women in the world."

Lu Yuan frowned and subtly shifted his body to the side. "Stop fooling around, let's get down to business." He pointed to the red dot on the screen that was getting closer and closer. "We're about to enter the airspace of Purgatory Island. According to the data, that ancient lava dragon has a strong sense of territory, and any creature that enters its airspace without permission will be mercilessly attacked by it."

"The assault boat will stop on the outskirts in a bit, and the two of us will infiltrate. You'll be in charge of holding it off from the front, and I'll be in charge of finding opportunities to destroy its energy core. Remember, our target is its heart, not to fight it to the death. We need to finish this quickly."

Lu Yuan finished outlining the battle plan in just a few words.

Looking at his serious profile, Yan Ji instantly suppressed the fleeting romantic feelings that had just arisen in her heart. She nodded, her gaze becoming solemn: "Understood."

She knew that what followed was a real battle.

This is not a date.

This is a hunt undertaken in order to become stronger!