Chapter 237: Advanced Level 3
Mo Fan did not stay long after receiving the call.
The Blue-clothed Decons fleeing toward Japan’s western coast were not powerful enough to make him cautious, but they were annoying enough to delay his return to the National Team. To Mo Fan, anything related to the Black Vatican did not need careful negotiation or complicated judgment.
If they appeared, he killed them.
By the time the matter ended, the western coast had quieted down again. Several Black Vatican members had been burned to ash, several had been blasted apart by Lightning, and the few who tried to escape through Shadow movement were dragged back by Space Magic before they could even feel relieved.
The Judgment Court people who arrived later found only scorched ground, broken magic tools, and Mo Fan leaning against a half-collapsed wall, calmly counting the useful spoils.
“You came pretty fast,” Mo Fan said.
The Judgment Court mage looked at the scene and fell silent.
Fast?
If they had been any slower, there would not even be bodies left to confirm identities.
After turning over the remaining information to the Judgment Court, Mo Fan finally returned to his temporary residence. Zhao Manyan was still recovering from the deep-sea trip. When he saw Mo Fan come back with the smell of smoke and blood on him, he did not even ask what had happened.
“Black Vatican?” Zhao Manyan said weakly.
“Yeah.”
“How many?”
“Enough to make me feel slightly better.”
Zhao Manyan gave him a thumbs up from the sofa. “Good. I’m too tired to clap.”
Mo Fan ignored him and entered his room.
The moment the door closed, the lazy expression on his face disappeared.
This trip had consumed a lot, but it had also brought back a frightening amount of resources. The Sea Fiend Divine had produced a complete Commander-level Essence Soul, and Little Loach had swallowed a large number of remnant souls from the battlefield. The Black Vatican members had also carried several valuable resources, probably prepared for their escape. Add that to his National Team rewards, the materials Old Bao and Feng Zhoulong had helped him stabilize, and the resources he had been saving, and Mo Fan finally had enough to push one of his elements further.
His Fire Element had already reached High Tier Level Two.
Now, it was time to break through to Level Three.
Mo Fan sat cross-legged on the floor. Little Loach floated quietly against his chest, releasing a gentle glow that entered his spiritual world. Little Flame Belle appeared beside him, her small body surrounded by calamity fire. She seemed to sense what Mo Fan wanted to do, and her eyes immediately lit up.
“Yan Ji, help me stabilize the fire,” Mo Fan said.
Little Flame Belle nodded seriously, then turned into a streak of flame and entered Mo Fan’s spiritual world.
Inside his spiritual world, the Fire Star River burned brightly. Compared to when he had first entered the Advanced level, it was much wider now. The fire stars within it were no longer scattered and immature. They had been tempered again and again through battle, through Little Flame Belle’s nourishment, and through Mo Fan’s terrifyingly high spell usage.
To ordinary mages, High Tier magic was a great burden.
To Mo Fan, it was part of daily combat.
He had thrown Heaven Flame Funeral at sea monsters, at Egyptian undead, at British defensive artifacts, and at anything unlucky enough to stand before him. His Fire Element was not raised by sitting peacefully in a cultivation room. It was forged through constant destruction.
Mo Fan took out the fire resources one by one.
A Fire Soul Seed fragment.
Several high-grade fire crystals.
A purified spirit essence converted by Little Loach.
And finally, a portion of calamity fire essence left behind from Little Flame Belle’s recent growth.
The moment these resources appeared, the room’s temperature rose sharply.
The air distorted.
The floor beneath Mo Fan began to glow faintly red.
Mo Fan waved his hand, and Space Magic immediately formed a barrier around the room, preventing the heat from leaking out. If he did not do this, the entire temporary residence might think a fire disaster had broken out.
“Begin.”
The resources shattered at the same time.
Pure Fire Element energy surged into Mo Fan’s body like a tide.
His Fire Star River shook violently.
The countless fire stars inside lit up one after another, forming blazing paths across the spiritual world. At first, the Star River only expanded slowly, like a burning river widening its banks. But as Little Flame Belle’s calamity fire entered it, the entire river suddenly erupted.
Boom!
Mo Fan’s body trembled.
The Fire Star River surged upward like a volcano.
The first layer was his original bluish-black flame, fierce and destructive.
The second layer was Little Flame Belle’s calamity fire, bright, wild, and full of life.
The two flames intertwined, clashing for a brief moment before merging under Mo Fan’s control. They did not become one simple color. Instead, they formed a deeper, heavier flame, one that looked calm on the surface but carried an explosive force within.
The Star River expanded again.
Mo Fan frowned slightly.
The pressure was not small.
High Tier Level Three was not merely adding more magic energy. It meant refining the whole Fire Element structure, making the Star Constellation stronger and more complex. Every fire star had to endure the upgrade. Every star path had to be reinforced. If one section collapsed, the breakthrough would fail, and the backlash would waste a huge amount of resources.
But Mo Fan’s control was far beyond ordinary mages.
His mental strength from the Space Element helped him stabilize the entire process. His Shadow Element wrapped around the outside like a quiet boundary, preventing the flames from scattering. His Light Element released a faint glow, keeping his mind clear. Even Little Loach helped guide the purified energy into the correct places.
The Fire Star River roared.
More and more fire stars changed.
They became brighter.
Denser.
More obedient.
A normal mage’s fire stars were like sparks waiting to be connected. Mo Fan’s fire stars were more like soldiers that had already experienced countless battles. The moment he gave the order, they formed ranks and accepted the incoming power.
The first constellation appeared.
Then the second.
Then the third.
The High Tier Fire Constellation was outlined again and again in Mo Fan’s spiritual world, each time faster and more complete. The flames surrounding it changed from violent disorder to controlled destruction. Mo Fan could feel that his Heaven Flame Funeral was undergoing a transformation.
Blazing Rain.
Hell Fire.
And now, the third level.
Thousand Petals Apocalyptic Flower.
In his spiritual world, countless fire petals slowly bloomed.
They were not soft flowers.
Each petal was a compressed flame blade. Each one carried explosive heat. When gathered together, they formed a beautiful burning flower, but Mo Fan knew very well that once this spell descended on a battlefield, it would not be beautiful to his enemies.
It would be a funeral.
A true heaven flame funeral.
Mo Fan opened his eyes.
For a moment, flames bloomed inside his pupils.
The room was silent.
Then a wave of heat spread outward.
The Space barrier around the room trembled violently. The walls glowed red, the air became dry, and even Zhao Manyan outside suddenly sat up from the sofa.
“What the hell?” Zhao Manyan shouted. “Mo Fan, are you cooking yourself in there?”
Mo Fan did not answer.
He raised one hand.
A single fire petal appeared above his palm.
It was only the size of a fingernail, but the moment it formed, the surrounding air twisted violently. The petal rotated slowly, its edge sharp and bright. It looked delicate, almost harmless, yet the flame condensed within it was enough to pierce through a Warrior-level creature’s armor and explode inside its body.
Mo Fan smiled.
This was High Tier Fire Level Three.
His destructive power had risen again.
Little Flame Belle flew out of his spiritual world and circled around him happily. She could feel the change more clearly than anyone. Mo Fan’s Fire Element had become stronger, and because she could merge with him, that meant her own combat support would also become far more terrifying.
Mo Fan gently caught Little Flame Belle in his palm.
“Not bad,” he said. “Next time we meet a hard turtle shell, we’ll use this to crack it open.”
Little Flame Belle nodded excitedly.
Outside the room, Zhao Manyan immediately felt offended for some reason.
“Why do I feel like you’re insulting me?” he shouted.
Mo Fan finally stood and opened the door.
The heat rushed out, making Zhao Manyan’s hair flutter backward. He stared at Mo Fan, then at the faint fire patterns still fading from his body.
“You broke through?” Zhao Manyan asked.
“Fire Element. High Tier Level Three,” Mo Fan said.
Zhao Manyan’s mouth twitched.
“You just fought through a sea monster battlefield, killed Black Vatican members, came back, sat down for a while, and broke through?”
“Pretty much.”
“Are you still human?”
Mo Fan thought about the Demon Element sealed inside his spiritual world and smiled slightly.
“For now.”
Zhao Manyan stared at him for a long time, then lay back down.
“I don’t want to talk to you anymore. You make cultivation sound easy.”
“It’s not easy,” Mo Fan said. “It’s expensive.”
Zhao Manyan paused.
That, he could accept.
Mo Fan walked to the window and looked toward the distant sea.
His Fire Element had reached Level Three. With Little Flame Belle’s fusion, Soul Seed amplification, and his own compression, his next Heaven Flame Funeral would be completely different from before. Against ordinary Commander-level creatures, one full cast of Thousand Petals Apocalyptic Flower might be enough to decide the fight.
But Mo Fan was not satisfied.
Fire Level Three was only one step.
His Lightning still had to grow.
His Summoning had to grow.
His Shadow, Space, and Light were still behind.
And above all of them, the Demon Element remained sealed, waiting like a sleeping beast at the bottom of his spiritual world.
That power could push him far beyond his current limits.
But it was not something to use casually.
Mo Fan looked down at his hand. A tiny flame petal formed, spun once, then vanished.
The World Academy Competition was approaching.
The Sea Monster Empire had already begun moving.
The Black Vatican was still hiding in the dark.
The Water Elemental Spirits were fleeing extinction.
And somewhere beyond the ordinary world, Totems, True Dragons, Spatial Spirits, and ancient beings still held secrets that humans had barely touched.
Mo Fan’s smile gradually faded.
High Tier Level Three was good.
But it was far from enough.
He needed more resources.
More battles.
More breakthroughs.
Behind him, Zhao Manyan groaned from the sofa. “Can you at least wait until tomorrow before dragging me into another death trip?”
Mo Fan glanced back.
“Depends.”
“Depends on what?”
“Whether trouble waits until tomorrow.”
Zhao Manyan covered his face.
“I hate your life.”
Mo Fan laughed, then turned back toward the window.
The fire in his eyes slowly calmed, but deep inside his spiritual world, the newly advanced Fire Star River continued burning with a quiet, powerful glow.
Advanced Fire, Level Three.
Thousand Petals Apocalyptic Flower.
The next enemy who forced Mo Fan to use it would learn exactly what it meant for flames to bloom like death.