Chapter 62: Attribute Fusion

If one cannot even take this small step before them, how can they think of gaining an advantage over others, let alone achieving great things? Could he truly bear to let the vibrant, burgeoning city of Luoyun, already bearing the signs of destiny, fade away in silence? Could he so easily abandon a restless soul frantically searching for its fate, or a pitiful yet admirable brother willing to sacrifice himself, to return to the past in pursuit of an elusive, inscrutable destiny? The answer was a resounding no!

With a sudden, fierce roar, Li Ren erupted.

Unwilling! Unyielding!

That ruthless, unstoppable momentum shook heaven and earth to their very core.

Shadow was stunned.

Landis involuntarily rose from her chair. Confronted by the faith that seemed to rival the will of the heavens, by the voice that made wind and cloud change color, that set the earth trembling, she felt a power unlike any she had known before.

And yet, it came from the seemingly unremarkable figure before her.

From the one who, day after day, appeared so dull and simple, who never showed a hint of temper.

She could not help but be shaken.

Even the blood of her inheritance within her quivered, restless and surging in her heart.

"This man before me—he is indeed worthy of being our Lord," Landis murmured, not even realizing she had spoken aloud.

"Yes, this is our Lord!" Shadow snapped out of his daze, his eyes ablaze with fervor and blind excitement.

To be honest, Landis could not quite understand his thoughts, but what did it matter? In that moment, she too was utterly swept up by Shadow’s passion.

"Though, to truly reach the level of our Lord, he still has far to go." Landis forcibly suppressed the turmoil in her heart and, once calm, said, "This is but a small trial—many more await him. It all depends on how he faces them."

With that, she sat down again, one leg crossed over the other, two fingers gently pressed to her temple, her thoughts elsewhere. She paid no mind to Li Ren’s next steps, for she knew the trial of the Heavenly Fire would no longer hold him; passing it was only a matter of time.

Yet, at this moment, Li Ren felt nothing of the sort. He had no confidence he would survive this damned domain of heavenly fire.

He had cast aside everything in his heart, leaving only the boundless flames before him.

"I must endure! I must endure!" The conviction etched in his heart was all that kept his body upright.

He had never before experienced such agony. His initial resolve had long since faded, smothered by the relentless pain. Without that last thread of faith, he would have collapsed long ago, unconscious upon the ground.

The fierce heavenly fire showed no mercy, burning with an uncompromising intensity, consuming everything it could reach.

Li Ren’s bones crackled and popped.

The flames in his eyes grew dim.

It was a sign that his spirit was about to fail.

No one could possibly withstand such pain. An ordinary human—how could Li Ren endure it? How could he possibly survive?

Just as the final spark of flame in his eyes was about to flicker out, a new surge of power erupted from deep within him.

He could not tell whence this sudden strength arose, but in an instant, it swept through his body like a cool spring, infusing his scorched soul with fresh energy.

His fading consciousness grew clear once more.

And with clarity, he noticed something different.

The searing heat, which had been unbearable only moments before, was now, if not ignorable, at least endurable.

This discovery filled him with delight.

He examined himself carefully, finding nothing outwardly different. The only change was a slight decrease in his attribute points—strength (1800) +5000, intelligence (1290) +5000, constitution (1830) +5000, agility (1930) +5000, bone (999)—each had dropped by about a hundred, though his luck remained unchanged.

Where those attributes had gone, he could not say, nor did he dwell on it. For now, nothing mattered more than passing through the domain of heavenly fire.

He pressed on. The temperature around him rose sharply once again, the burning of the heavenly fire growing fiercer.

Gritting his teeth, having once survived such excruciating pain, he now felt a soul-deep aversion to it, yet still pressed forward without hesitation.

Ashen powder continually burst from his body, drifting into the air like pale fireworks before dissolving into faint wisps of smoke.

These were the impurities that had always lingered within him, now drawn out by the refining flames of heaven.

As a result, his bones hardened, becoming stronger than before.

The agony of the heavenly fire was unimaginable, but having withstood it once, his body had adapted somewhat, and he no longer hovered on the brink of unconsciousness.

Though the reasoning was sound, in truth, it was still a calamity for him. Disaster was the only word, had that final, cooling surge not revived him.

He had lost all sense of time—he no longer cared how long it took.

Nothing outside could touch his heart or mind.

All his will was bent upon resisting the heavenly fire. Without that, he would never have lasted this long. Now, he was only ten meters from the final pillar of light!

His bones shone with a gentle white glow, like the purest mutton-fat jade, hard yet exuding unmatched vitality.

These last ten meters, the flames raged more fiercely than ever. Normally, Li Ren could have used his Flicker skill to reach the end in an instant, but here, he had forgotten all such techniques, advancing step by instinctive step.

Far behind, the two others made no move to remind him.

Landis had risen, her gaze grave—how could she not know Li Ren’s state at this moment?

Shadow, though his face remained inscrutable, could not hide the deep worry in his eyes.

Li Ren’s entire body glowed with a milky radiance, save for a single, slightly dim spot at the center of his brow.

This was the final step. The forging of the body by heavenly fire—its searing power would burn away all impurities, cleanse all evil. If he truly succeeded, his body alone would be more than a match for the Three-Headed Xuan Earth Python of the Earthly Domain.

Li Ren pressed forward, step by step, until only one step remained between him and the pillar of light.

"Ah!!!"

A wild, explosive roar burst from Li Ren’s lips, and the heavenly fire around him, without warning, flared up tenfold in an instant!

A strange phenomenon had appeared!