In ten days, no miracle happened, but Cao Yun and Yanzhen had become extremely good at working together. After all, they spent all their days with one another. Jinyang and Jinyue were also with them a lot, which pleased Yanzhen. Jinyang's presence clearly motivated the young man, but Cao Yun made sure that he was never distracted.
When it came to their personal progress, Yanzhen was a bit stronger. More than his strength, Cao Yun was glad that he had learned how to be a better fighter. Although there was still some work to be done, Yanzhen had gotten rid of some bad habits. Until now, he was a bit too formal and predictable. Recently, he had begun to cut loose, and Cao Yun could already feel it. Trying to always be elegant and to always use the proper form was a mistake. A fight was rarely elegant and clean, so Yanzhen had to learn to go with the flow and forget what he had learned from time to time.
Thanks to his experience in battle, Cao Yun knew how to guide the young man. On the other hand, Yanzhen had a hard time actually helping Cao Yun along the path of the Dao of Fire. Unfortunately, Yanzhen lacked experience in that area too. He had accomplished a lot, but he couldn't really explain how. Thus, Yanzhen was always trying to show off his Dao of Fire in front of Cao Yun. He wasn't actually trying to impress him or anyone else. However, Jinyue was convinced that Yanzhen was vain and was only doing so in order to impress her sister.
The truth was that Yanzhen wanted Cao Yun to actually see the Dao of Fire in action. As a matter of fact, this helped Cao Yun quite a lot. Helping Yanzhen slowly build a cultivation method was also helping him. But nothing could make Cao Yun suddenly understand the Dao of Fire. For now, he still practiced Red Calm's method. At the same time, he always kept many other ideas in the back of his mind. He shouldn't let himself be limited. Studying the Dao of Fire was a personal journey, like the study of any other Dao for that matter. This was the best place for Cao Yun to study the Dao of Fire, so he wouldn't stop, and he would make the most of it now. Most likely, the next domain he visited would be completely different.
As it turned out, Cao Yun was already certain of what the treasure of the fifth floor of his inner pagoda would be. Thus, he knew exactly what to do after the Broken Fire World. However, he had doubts about the fourth floor. Through Emperor Nuwa's journals, he had various ideas. One of them seemed better, but it might actually be too dangerous for Cao Yun to pull it off. At this stage, even he wasn't sure whether he should risk it or not.
Instead of worrying about the future, Cao Yun focused on his training.
Since Yanzhen had to sleep, Cao Yun spent his nights working on Heatless Flame. He truly was getting the hang of it. One training method given by Red Calm was to take a blade of grass and engulf it in flames. Then, one had to focus so that the flames would only burn a very specific pattern and nothing else. Unfortunately, grass wasn't present on the Broken Fire World, so Cao Yun took out a piece of cloth from his spatial ring. When Cao Yun was able to burn a complex pattern without setting the cloth on fire, he tried again, this time after drenching it in oil. Obviously, it was much more difficult.
Unfortunately, Cao Yun didn't have time at the moment, but he also wanted to test it on his cauldron. In fact, he was even thinking about a technique he had heard about in alchemy. If he could master this technique, his control over fire would be near perfect. The more he thought about it, the more Cao Yun realized that Red Calm's 'Red Calm on a Sunny Day' treatise was almost exclusively about controlling fire. Although it was necessary on the road to the Dao of Fire, this was still too primitive. Learning all the moves with a spear was one thing, but learning to actually wield it in battle was something else entirely. Even if one aspect was necessary, it wasn't sufficient.
-
At last, it was time to visit the Raging Volcano tribe. Cao Yun had decided to make a show of strength. As he was getting ready, Shaman Heiyan visited him.
Cao Yun, Yanzhen, and the twins were outside of the Ancient Obsidian tribe. A few tribesmen were helping them get ready. Obviously, the twins were only there to say farewell to Cao Yun. At least, Shaman Heiyan was certain of it, and so was Yanzhen. However, Yanzhen saw no transportation of any kind. Although Cao Yun could take many things in his spatial ring, he couldn't take people in without killing them. Moreover, the road was long and dangerous. Shaman Heiyan was about to ask Cao Yun when he finally saw how they would all get to the Raging Volcano tribe.
A large Crimson Annihilation Fenghuang appeared. It was Hongyu, Cao Yun's sister. As a 9-core demonic beast, she was extremely powerful. Even if Cao Yun was stronger than her, he could now feel something different about her. Apparently, she had been studying the Dao of Fire. Most likely, she had done so instinctively, just like the Flameborns. It was very difficult to gauge for Cao Yun. But, seeing how the Flameborns were looking at Hongyu, he could tell that her fire was powerful. In this Broken Fire World, it wasn't impossible that Hongyu could somehow become stronger than Cao Yun. Unfortunately, Cao Yun would have to leave in less than a decade. Slowly, he was starting to realize something and hoped that Hongyu didn't. Indeed, she was happy, so he didn't want to sap her morale.
"Master Cao, is it wise to go with so few men?"
Shaman Heiyan was reassured by Hongyu's presence, but Cao Yun was taking almost no one with him. Apart from Yanzhen, he didn't have any powerful soldiers, only a handful of politicians. Of course, the politicians were necessary to craft treatises and negotiate the full attachment of the Raging Volcano tribe to the Ancient Obsidian tribe, but they couldn't fight at all, not even with their quills.
"Do not worry too much. I will take this with me."
From his spatial ring, Cao Yun took out the Sun-Severing Spear. Just seeing it was amazing and terrifying. However, Shaman Heiyan knew that this extraordinary artifact wasn't as powerful or useful farther from the original grounds of their Ancient Obsidian tribe. In other words, it would become rather weak in the Raging Volcano tribe. Cao Yun couldn't solely rely on a bluff. After all, he knew even more about the Sun-Severing Spear.
Cao Yun could tell what Shaman Heiyan was thinking, but he wasn't worried at all.
"Shaman, there is no cause for alarm. I can assure you that the Raging Volcano tribe will submit. Hopefully they're not too stupid, and no one will have to die. If they're stubborn, I will have to teach them a lesson I would rather not teach. Be sure that I wouldn't take anyone with me if I thought there was any risk at all. We will come back very soon and with tremendously good news. In the meantime, focus on reorganizing the Ancient Obsidian tribe. Despite his lack of leadership, I certainly think that you should listen to Huishou when it comes to the administration of the tribe, but listen to Huichi when it comes to war. Well, I don't think I have to tell you anything. I hope that your Ancient Obsidian tribe has a bright future, but do not count on me to do anything but protect you while I'm here. If your tribe can't stand on its own two feet, it will die out with or without my help."
Shaman Heiyan was painfully aware of all of that. In fact, he had already started to reorganize many things, and the three brothers had been extremely compliant. As long as Shaman Heiyan made sense, they wouldn't dare go against him even when they disagreed. After all, Cangfeng was behind him.
As everyone was getting ready, Cao Yun shocked them all. He helped Jinyang and Jinyue hop on Hongyu. Jinyao was the only one present who wasn't surprised. On the other hand, Yanzhen couldn't restrain himself.
"Master Cao?! What are you doing?! It's too dangerous for the two ladies!"
"What?! You dare insult our benefactor?!"
Jinyue's voice thundered throughout the area. Since Cao Yun had shown his strength to all, people seemed to find her even more overbearing. Thankfully, she was usually very nice, and Jinyao had raised her very well. She didn't show any sign of arrogance and didn't try to use Cao Yun's name to get away with anything. However, when she was upset, she absolutely lashed out with her tongue. To be fair, this had always been the case. Recently, even Jinyang found her a bit too much. As a matter of fact, Cao Yun planned to talk to her about it. This was the kind of behavior that could turn her into someone like Jin'ao. Of course, the two of them were leagues apart, but someone's personality could quickly shift, especially when they thought they were backed up with absolute strength or authority. Besides, she was still a very young girl.
To be fair, many people found it rather funny to hear a young girl berate a powerful Flameborn like Yanzhen. The poor Yanzhen was dejected because he didn't dare to retort in kind, as she was Jinyang's sister.
"You think our benefactor would put us in danger?! He would never bring us if he thought it could be dangerous for us! Insinuating otherwise is tantamount to insulting Master Cao. Repent!"
Although she had mellowed out concerning Yanzhen, Jinyue still liked to watch him sweat and squirm. She truly was a child, and he was a toy. Thankfully, Jinyang was also here. She immediately reacted.
"Sister, you go too far. Yanzhen is only trying to keep us safe. Need I remind you what happened last time we left the Ancient Obsidian tribe? Besides, that incident was related to the Raging Volcano tribe that we're visiting. Of course, brother Yanzhen would be worried about us. It's not a bad thing at all, it shows that he cares."
Yanzhen felt great. Jinyang was an angel saving him from damnation.
"After all, he's a very good friend."
Suddenly, Yanzhen fell back into Hell but couldn't say anything about it. His frozen smile was painful to watch.
Cao Yun didn't really care about those childish romances. However, he had to admit that it was entertaining. As long as the twins and Yanzhen got along, everything was fine. For everything else, he wouldn't intervene at all. After all, it wasn't his place to intervene.
"I decided to bring them with me because they need to broaden their horizons and grow stronger. In that regard, I expect Friend Yanzhen to help them as well. As a Flameborn, your counsel will most likely be better suited for them than mine. When it comes to matters other than the Fire, I will be there for them. I've already talked about this with their father, who agreed. It's not good for them to stay weak and protected. However, nothing will happen to them so long as I'm alive. I can assure you that I have many ways of making sure they're safe."
"I see... Master Cao is indeed wise. In order to stay safe, they need to be able to protect themselves. Ladies, I swear that I will guide you and protect you."
"Humph... I think we'll learn more from Master Cao. But you're not too shabby when it comes to fighting, so you could help us warm up for the actual lessons."
"Brother Yanzhen, don't listen to my sister. She's as excited as I am. It will be a pleasure to learn from you. I'm looking forward to it. We'll be fellow disciples, almost siblings."
Once more, Jinyang's innocent words caused more pain to Yanzhen than Jinyue's attacks. He didn't want to be her friend or her sibling... If Jinyue had known how hurtful her sister's comments had been to Yanzhen, even she might have pitied the poor man.
Anyway, Cao Yun was completely ready. He only took a handful of politicians with him, simply to ratify everything. Most of them had been handpicked by Shaman Heiyan. To be honest, he had asked Huishou to select them, and his choices had been near perfect. Shaman Heiyan just changed two names for political reasons because he was worried they would not be firm enough with the Raging Volcano tribe. He didn't want compromise. Shaman Heiyan was following Cao Yun's words and wanted absolute submission. Thanks to Cao Yun, both tribes could become huge. But the Ancient Obsidian tribe had to make sure that they would stay on top even if Cao Yun left. As such, he had chosen the politicians who could actually negotiate those terms. In fact, he even asked Huichi to choose the two politicians he had replaced.
With Cao Yun and these tribesmen, only the twins and Yanzhen were on Hongyu's back. There was no other warrior at all. Although some were uneasy about it, no one dared to question Cao Yun. Most people around him here had seen him deal with Rong Shan. However, they knew the legends too. The Sun-Severing Spear wouldn't be as powerful as it was here. Once outside of the Ancient Obsidian tribe, it wouldn't be useless, but it would be much weaker. Besides, it was only a fragment of the original Sun-Severing Spear. As such, no one knew how weak it would be in the Raging Volcano tribe.
Obviously, Cao Yun knew all of that, but he didn't care at all.
While some tribesmen were dubious and worried, they saw Hongyu fly into the sky. Cao Yun whispered to her, and she suddenly unleashed a huge part of her aura. Everyone below was shocked. Even if she wasn't as powerful as Cao Yun in theory, she had an extraordinary affinity with the Dao of Fire in the Broken Fire World. In other words, she was absolutely incredible and terrifying for Flameborns. The Flameborns were in awe of her. She was Cao Yun's show of strength.