Emperor’s Domination

As Yang Ling was fantasizing about the resplendent past, a poof could be heard as flames appeared around Li Qiye's hand.

"I'm about to refine a weapon." He glanced at the flames with a smile.

"Really?" Yang Ling said: "Which cauldron are you picking? I'm afraid there are students waiting every day, you'll have to line up."

"No, the one at the peak will do." He said.

"The master cauldron? Young Master, It has been extinguished for who knows how many years, not even a little spark or any trace of heat are left."

"I'm here now, it'll be there." Li Qiye nonchalantly responded.

Yang Ling was at a loss for words from hearing this domineering response stated in such a casual manner. She felt that this was actually a possibility as if his words would definitely come true. The flames of the master cauldron would return. She didn't need any reason to trust him.

"Zzz…" Vapor formed the moment he touched the wall. His dao truefire melted the rocks as if they were snow and ice. His hand started sinking deeper into the peak while she watched curiously.

"Poof!" Yang Ling also activated her own flames and copied his action. Unfortunately, there was no melting sound. The rocks had no reaction to her flames, let alone melting.

She didn't give up and roared, adding more power to her flames. This still didn't leave a single mark.

"Zzz…" As Li Qiye delved deeper without any resistance, white fog oozed out.

Yang Ling found this astonishing after her own experiment. Her cultivation was higher than Li Qiye but her flames couldn't do a thing to the rocky wall.

"Young Master, why can't my dao truefire do anything?" She asked, perplexed.

"Do you know what these rocks are?" Li Qiye chuckled.

"Just regular rocks, no?" She shook her head.

"No, they're the waste products from the refinement processes of the dao lords and Heavenly Sovereigns."

She was startled at first and started thinking. Eventually, she realized something: "Young Master, you're saying that the walls starting at the ridge aren't actually part of the peak. They're just layers added by the historical refinements?"

"That's right." Li Qiye smiled.

She thought that this was quite plausible. The refinement processes of the great masters were certainly magnificent. It wasn't easy creating an invincible weapon; it required beating all the challenges while needing immense materials.

Thus, the melted materials have accumulated on top of the peak.

"I see, I get it now." She murmured. Though the rocks and stones forming the upper portion were nothing more than dregs, they were still extremely tough. After all, they used to be priceless materials.

That's why her weapon and dao truefire couldn't melt the rocks. The great masters must have utilized a terrible temperature in order to do so.

Of course, she had no explanation as to why Li Qiye was able to do so despite being weaker than her.

"Zzz…" By this point, it was as if Li Qiye's hand could reach the deepest part of the peak, able to touch the core of the cauldron.

Yang Ling suddenly felt a heatwave rushing past her face. The most intense flames of the peak seemed to be oozing out.

"Rumble!" The entire peak started quaking.

"What?!" She stared at Li Qiye, slack-jawed. She absolutely knew that this had something to do with him.

"What's going on?!" The other students were alarmed too. Perhaps that this was an earthquake?

"It's not an earthquake." They looked around and noticed that the other peaks were just fine. Only Myriad Cauldron Peak was shaking.

"This seems like a volcanic eruption. Can this peak erupt?" One student shouted.

"No way." The others didn't agree.

"Poof!" Amidst the speculations, the master cauldron that has been dormant for eras suddenly released a fiery strand.

This was noticed by the students sightseeing on the pinnacle.

"The master cauldron is on fire! There are flames there now!" This news spread extremely fast.

"What did you say?" Some couldn't react after hearing this.

"The master cauldron has fire again!" Those who saw this in person repeated.

"How can this be? It has been extinguished for millions and millions of years." Other classmates didn't believe it.

"It's absolutely true, I saw it with my own eyes along with others." The person swore to the crowd.

"This might be right, the peak quaked earlier. Maybe something changed." Another student said.

"I guess it's possible, this might be an accumulation after so many years." One more friend speculated.

"Come, let's take a look up there." Students started flying up the peak instead of walking.

***

The news spread across the entire academy. Many students lost their patience right away.

"We need to hurry and be in front of the line. This is the master cauldron, using its fire for refinement might boost our weapons by several levels." One guy ran with all of his might towards the pinnacle. This could be seen all over the academy.

The teachers also caught wind of this. One ancestor-level teacher frowned and said: "What a strange development, the master cauldron had no reason to wake up."

The other high-elder teachers began talking about this matter with a serious expression.

"Right, we should investigate it." Another teacher said.

"Others might be salivating now too." One was worried.

"In the holy ground, no one desires our legacies more than Vajra." An older teacher smiled and said: "I actually want to see if their grandmaster dares to come here, it'll be a good opportunity."