Translator: StarveCleric Editor: StarveCleric

The students whom Yuan Hong listed were the top geniuses of the Blacksmith School, possessing capability surpassing Luo Yan.

Smithing required one to temper their bodies, but only a handful was willing to tolerate the painful process. As a result, there were very few capable blacksmiths in the Blacksmith School.

This had always been a thorn at Yuan Hong's heart, so upon hearing that someone was challenging the Chamber of Earth Flame, he couldn't help but lament.

"It isn't them, it's a freshman named Zhang Xuan!" Luo Yan hurriedly replied.

"A freshman?" Yuan Hong was stunned by the news.

"Yes, he has just passed the examination and joined the academy today, and he doesn't even have his student token yet... It seems like he hopes to earn some Academic Credits from beating the records so that he could activate the Ocean of Weapons to take the 5-star blacksmith examination..." Luo Yan explained.

"Preposterous!" Yuan Hong bellowed in fury upon hearing that a freshman who hadn't even received his student token actually went to challenge one of the records.

As the vice-head of the Blacksmith School, he was in charge of upholding discipline amongst the students. How could a freshman who had just barely joined the academy be allowed to challenge the Chamber of Earth Flame? Wasn't that practically suicide?

Does he even know what does the Chamber of Earth Flame represents?

"Even if others don't comprehend it, surely you should understand the significance of this matter! The Chamber of Earth Flame takes a huge toll on one's physical body. As a freshman who has never gone through the systematic training of our Blacksmith School, how could he possibly survive in there?"

The more Yuan Hong spoke, the more livid his face became.

"Teacher..." Luo Yan tried to speak up, but he was interrupted before he could start explaining himself.

"Alright, you are just a student, so you can't be blamed for this. If someone were to insist on challenging the records, you don't have the authority to stop them anyway. I don't mean to blame you by saying all of this, but I am enraged but how arrogant the students are becoming. Honestly, the recent few batches of students are the worst I have ever taught in my entire career..." Yuan Hong sighed.

He knew that it wasn't right for him to vent his anger on his student, so he shook his head and said, "Alright. How long has that fellow been in there? Has he suffered severe burns? Here is a bottle of Clear Spirit Water, it should be able to treat his burns..."

"No. That freshman is still... in the chamber!" Luo Yan finally found a chance to speak up amidst his teacher's words.

Yuan Hong was an excellent teacher, but he had a fatal flawhe was too naggy.

Due to that, there was not a single student who wouldn't get a headache from his lectures.

"You just have to apply the Clear Spirit Water on his external burns to..." Just as Yuan Hong was starting to explain how the Clear Spirit Water should be used, he suddenly froze, and his eyes began bulging from their sockets. "What did you say? What do you mean by he isn't out yet? When did he enter the chamber?"

"He... entered around two hours ago!" Luo Yan replied.

"Two hours ago?" Yuan Hong's body shook in astonishment, and he nearly blacked out.

"Indeed. I have no idea what's going on, so I came over to report this matter to you..." Luo Yan replied.

"Report? What is the point of reporting it now! How could he possibly last for two hours? Most likely, he was burned to cinders within two seconds after he entered the chamber!" Yuan Hong slammed the table before him furiously and stood up.

What the heck was this?

You should know how severe this matter is, and you choose to report it to me only two hours later?

The Chamber of Earth Flame would deport any corpses back, but if one were to reduced to cinders as soon as they arrive there, the mechanism wouldn't be activated.

Given that there were no movements whatsoever after two hours, it could only mean that the other party was dead.

"There's such a thing as well? I... didn't know..." Luo Yan was taken aback by the revelation.

He only knew that corpses would be deported back immediately, but he didn't know about the matter regarding being burned to ashes.

If that was the case, didn't that mean that the fellow inside was already dead...

"You are still too inexperienced. I have been in this Master Teacher Academy for more than 800 years, so the things I have seen is far more than the books you have read!" Yuan Hong harrumphed.

"I'll follow you over to check out the situation in the Chamber of Earth Flame. Even though it's regretful that a life is lost just like that, he brought it upon himself, acting so arrogantly despite his ignorance..."

However, halfway through Yuan Hong's words, the ground beneath him suddenly shook, and the sound of something collapsing abruptly rumbled deafeningly.

Boom!

Judging from the sound, it seemed to be coming from the Passageway of Records.

"What's going on?" Astonished, the duo rushed out of the room.

A freshman had just died, and this mess suddenly sprung up on them. What the heck was going on today?

"Bad news, Yuan shi! The Chamber of Earth Flame has collapsed!" A master teacher rushed into the room and reported.

"Collapsed? What do you mean... What collapsed?" Yuan Hong was taken aback.

"It's the Chamber of Earth Flame in the Passageway of Records..." the master teacher hurriedly replied.

Yuan Hong nearly went insane, "How could that be? It is a masterpiece created in a collaboration between the Blacksmith School and the Celestial Designer School, so how in the world did it collapse?"

As a part of the Passageway of Records, the Chamber of Earth Flame was reinforced to the very limits by the combined effort of the Blacksmith School and the Celestial Designer School. Furthermore, it was forged using top-quality materials, so how could it collapse that easily?

Just what was going on?

Standing by the side, Luo Yan's figure also staggered upon hearing that news.

It was just a moment ago that he had reported the issue regarding the Chamber of Earth Flame when such an issue occurred. What was happening inside there?

The master teacher who had charged into the room to report also seemed to be in disbelief, "I'm not too sure myself as well. I only saw the entire place being reduced to ruins..."

"Let's go over to take a look..."

With twitching lips, Hong Yuan immediately rushed out of the room anxiously, and before long, he was standing right before the Passageway of Records, or at least what it used to be.

At this moment, half of the Passageway of Records had already collapsed, and the entire room was cloaked with dust.

"What happened?" Luo Yan turned to Li Xuan and asked in bewilderment.

"I have no idea either... We were waiting for Zhang shi when a loud rumbling noise suddenly sounded from the Passageway of Records... Before we knew it, it was already like that..." Li Xuan cried tearfully.

She wasn't the only one who was dumbfounded by the situation, the remaining crowd in the area were also frozen in shock.

No one could comprehend why the Passageway of Records, which had always been known for its durability, would abruptly cave in. But if one thing was for sure, considering that the Chamber of Earth Flame was at the very center of it...

"Zhang shi... is probably dead." Luo Yan muttered as he recalled what his teacher said.

However, at that moment, resounding footsteps echoed amidst the dust, and following closely was a series of violent coughing.

"Cough cough..."

Upon hearing the sound, a jolt ran through everyone's body. They swiftly turned their sight to the source of the sound, and an approaching young man came into their vision.

Who else could it be other than Zhang shi!

"Y-y-y-y-you're fine?" Luo Yan's eyes bulged in shock at that sight, and his body began trembling uncontrollably in agitation.

His teacher had just told him confidently that this fellow would have been burned to cinders by now, and yet here he was, completely unharmed without the slightest burn on his skin...

Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy?

If you are alive, why the hell did you stay in there for two hours? Not to mention, how in the world did you collapse the fortified Chamber of Earth Flame...

Are you a spy who is here to wreak havoc in our Blacksmith School?

"I'm fine!"

At which, Zhang Xuan shot a glance at the ruins remaining of the passageway, and he continued awkwardly, "But it seems like this Passageway of Records... is damaged!"

"Seems?"

Everyone staggered upon hearing Zhang Xuan's words.

Look at the mess behind you, is there even any doubt about this matter? Even a blind man could tell that it's utterly ruined!

"You are the freshman who went in just now?" Forcing himself to calm down, Yuan Hong turned to Zhang Xuan and asked.

"That's right." Zhang Xuan nodded.

Even though he didn't recognize the man before him, the other party harnessed incredible power within him that wouldn't lose out by too far to Elder Mo and Pavilion Master Mo. Most likely, he was an important figure of the Blacksmith School.

"Weren't you trying to challenge the record? What happened?" Yuan Hong questioned.

How in the name of Kong shi did you collapse the Chamber of Earth Flame while challenging the record?

"This... I'm not too sure either. After entering, I realized that the heat from the Chamber of Earth Flame is still tolerable for me, so I started to cultivate while biding my time. Before I knew it... the entire chamber was already collapsing on me!" Zhang Xuan replied with a crimson face.

As a soul oracle, Zhang Xuan was able to draw his soul out to absorb spiritual energy from the surroundings directly. This allowed him to absorb spiritual energy at a far swifter pace than ordinary cultivators, and before long, with a jolt running through his body, his soul had already broken through the ten-meters bottleneck.

However, this was where the calamity started. With the breakthrough, Zhang Xuan's rate of absorption abruptly rose significantly, and the previous absorption had already caused depleted a considerable amount of spiritual energy in the chamber. As a result, the Earth Flame Heart ran out of spiritual energy far quicker than he had imagined.

The Earth Flame Heart was the core of the formation sustaining the Chamber of Earth Flame. Without any spiritual energy to sustain it, how could the formation continue to function normally?

Just like what happened in the Cleansing Lake, the energy in the area which was being regulated by the formation immediately went berserk, and it was only by a great stroke of fortune that an explosion didn't occur.

Nevertheless, the Chamber of Earth Flame began to cave in, and the Passageway of Record which was closely linked to it was affected as well...

It was fortunate that Zhang Xuan had his soul return immediately to his body as soon as he realized something was amiss and used his zhenqi to ward off the collapsing rubble. Otherwise, he might just make history by becoming the first student to die not of heat but of collapsing rubble in the Chamber of Earth Flame.

Looking at the mess around him, an indescribable feeling of frustration and helplessness gripped Zhang Xuan.

This... All he wanted to do was to break a record and earn some Academic Credits so that he could take the 5-star blacksmith examination. Who could have thought that this innocent desire of his would result in such a tragic accident?

In any case, while he was the culprit behind this incident, he was determined to deny all allegations.

Putting everything aside, just that four Earth Flame Hearts were already way beyond his means to compensate.

As such, the only option he had left was to feign ignorance of the matter.

"It collapsed on you... before you knew it?" Hearing such shameless words, everyone felt faint-headed, and Yuan Hong even staggered weakly.

This Chamber of Earth Flame has been in the Blacksmith School for at least four thousand years by now, and you are the only one of all challengers who encountered such a problem... Did you think that you can wiggle your way out of this just by feigning ignorance?

Even if you were to say these words to a three-year-old child, he wouldn't believe you!

Can you at least show more sincerity and come up with a more believable lie?

"I'll give you one more chance. What happened?" With a livid face, Yuan Hong asked once more.

"After entering the Chamber of Earth Flame, I realized that the searing spiritual energy there happens to be ideal for tempering one's physical body, so I accidentally absorbed too much of it... I also didn't know that it would collapse just like that..." With a deep sigh, Zhang Xuan could only confess honestly.

"Happens to be ideal for tempering one's physical body? Accidentally absorbed too much of it?" Yuan Hong was speechless.

The others might not know too much about the Chamber of Earth Flame, but as a person who had participated in its reparation works, he knew very well about its inner working. There were four Earth Flame Heart at the center of the formation in the chamber, and each of them harnessed incredibly fiery spiritual energy.

If an ordinary human were to touch it, he would be reduced to ashes in a moment. Even a 6-star blacksmith could be roasted to death from the inside if he were to attempt to absorb the searing spiritual energy inside it... And yet, you actually found it ideal for tempering your physical body, and absorbed too much of it?

How much spiritual energy did you absorb to cause the Chamber of Earth Flame to collapse!?

Just as Yuan Hong was about to interrogate the young man before him further on the issue, the young man suddenly turned to look at him with a hopeful gaze and asked, "I managed to two hours in the Chamber of Earth Flame, so I should have already broken the existing record... So, may I get my Academic Credits now?"

"Academic Credits? You still have the cheek to ask for Academic Credits?" Yuan Hong nearly exploded from rage.

You destroyed the entire Chamber of Earth Flame and collapsed half of the Passageway of Records, and you still have the audacity to speak about Academic Credits? Where is your sense of shame?