BZZZT!

With a single thought, the flame Spiritual Qi dancing across the sky began to gather frantically, condensing into a burning Sword Embryo in the Divine Monarch’s palm!

This flame Spiritual Qi, which blotted out the sky and turned the Star Secret Vault into the scorched earth of Purgatory, had been released by Five Jails. Zhong Ming’s action was a blatant seizure of control over that Spiritual Qi.

Right to his face, no less!

This scene sent Five Jails into a blind rage.

"Bastard! Stealing my Spiritual Qi right in front of me! You have absolutely no respect for me!"

"You want it? Then take it all!"

CLAP! "Flame Dance Nine Heavens Vortex!"

As Five Jails clapped his hands together with a thunderous shout, BOOM! The endless Flame permeating the Star Secret Vault began to spin, ultimately forming a colossal flame tornado that stretched from the ground to the sky.

Now, the flame tornado—even more immense than the Divine Monarch Dharma Aspect—swept toward Zhong Ming, intent on crushing and incinerating everything in its path!

Zhong Ming, however, showed no fear. He made no other move, keeping his Divine Monarch in its original posture. His expression simply hardened as he said, "You’re right. I really don’t have any respect for you."

"I am the Child of the Great Sun, the source of all flames under heaven! Flames, submit to me!"

As Zhong Ming roared, HUMMM! A domineering Divine Thought instantly spread between heaven and earth, seeking to subjugate every flame in existence.

As he roared, his Divine Monarch Dharma Aspect also began to change.

The Sun Divine Wheel behind the Divine Monarch spun faster and faster. At the same time, a pair of dazzling, starlit dragon horns sprouted from the majestic Divine Monarch’s head.

The Dragon of the Morning Star, derived from the Candle Dragon, possessed the ability to command the changing of the four seasons.

The seasons, in turn, were not merely about Wind, Rain, and Thunder; they also represented the cycle of withering and flourishing, stillness and annihilation.

Summer, one of these seasons, was known by many names associated with heat and scorching sun, and was thus intimately connected to Flame.

BOOM!

Relying on his status as the Child of the Great Sun from the Candlelight Heart Eye, the Dragon of the Morning Star’s control over summer, and—most crucially—his status of Breaking the Norms in both Divine Soul and conceptual understanding, Zhong Ming’s roar allowed him to actually seize control over the boundless flames.

BOOM!

The rapidly spinning flame tornado, which seemed capable of destroying anything, paused for a fraction of a second at Zhong Ming’s roar. More than that, streams of Flame peeled away from the vortex and were grasped by the Divine Monarch Dharma Aspect.

This sight left Five Jails utterly horrified.

After all, he was the one who had released this Flame, and it was suffused with his will.

He was a Divine Heir, and the heart that gave him mastery over fire was a gift from a Divine Spirit. As such, his Commanding Power over Flame was supposed to be exceptionally strong.

Not to mention, the intensity of his Divine Thought had reached the level of Wind Fiend Unity. Even if he wasn’t at his full power, his Flame should not have been so easily plundered by Zhong Ming.

In truth, Zhong Ming’s status as the Child of the Great Sun and his Breaking the Norms in both Divine Soul and conceptual understanding were not, by themselves, enough to achieve this.

Unfortunately for him, while Five Jails was by no means weak, he had been so stunned by Zhong Ming’s Hundred-Meter Divine Monarch that a seed of dread had been planted in his heart.

Though he would never admit it, and even refused to believe it consciously, a part of him already knew: once Zhong Ming fully matured and reached the same realm, he would be no match for him.

This petty, fearful mindset would have been a catastrophe for any other prodigy he faced.

But Zhong Ming was different. The drawback of a domineering Sword Heart like his—*Heaven and Earth, Only I am Supreme*—was terrifying. A single defeat would wipe clean his entire accumulation of Dominating Thought.

The slightest misstep could even cause his Sword Heart to shatter.

But by the same token, its ability was just as tyrannical.

Any enemy who felt fear toward him would find their strength inexplicably suppressed by thirty percent.

And Five Jails’ dread of Zhong Ming was, without a doubt, a form of fear.

Therefore, as he directly confronted Zhong Ming, a heavy sword shadow pressed down upon his Heart Spirit.

This suppression severely weakened his Heart Soul power, making it sluggish and difficult to wield.

And the contest for control over the Flame was a battle of Divine Soul Power.

Suppressed as he was, he was naturally no match for Zhong Ming. All he could do was watch in aggrieved frustration as Zhong Ming usurped control over the boundless flames, piece by piece.

This was the power of Breaking the Norms in both Divine Soul and conceptual understanding. If one’s Heart Soul and grasp of concepts were not sufficiently profound, the Magic Techniques they cast would no longer be their own.

CRACK!

Having his Magic Technique plundered already had Five Jails’s Heart Soul twisting in agony. But in the next moment, something happened that made him completely snap.

Relying on the Commanding Power over Flame Power granted by his Candlelight Heart Eye, Zhong Ming, who had drawn the Flame into his palm, then made his Divine Monarch open its massive mouth and swallow the Flame whole.

As his creation swallowed the fire, Zhong Ming shot Five Jails a savage, contemptuous, and provocative grin.

"You’re right, this is your Spiritual Qi. But I’m still taking it. What are you going to do about it?"

PTHOO!

Zhong Ming’s last words were a sharp knife that pierced Five Jails’s final psychological defense. The taut string in his mind snapped completely. Overwhelmed by a storm of fury and frustration, he spontaneously combusted!

BOOM!

Of course, this wasn’t suicide—or rather, not *just* suicide.

WHOOSH...

His physical body incinerated to ash, Five Jails used a special Secret Technique to transform his entire being into a Flame Evil Spirit.

This Flame Evil Spirit then merged as one with the countless flames filling the Star Secret Vault.

BOOM—!

This fusion with the boundless flames caused the Flame Evil Spirit’s body to swell explosively, instantly reaching a height of one hundred and thirty meters—even larger than Zhong Ming’s Divine Monarch Dharma Aspect!

With his Heart Soul now fused into the very essence of the fire, this intimate connection made it impossible for Zhong Ming to snatch control of the boundless flames any longer.