Chapter 62: Something Was Wrong With This Blood
Chen Hao\'s vision darkened.
‘I\'ve been pouring energy into your source pool, trying to ignite the furnace, and you say it feels like I\'m poking your belly?’
‘Are you even paying attention?’
Barely suppressing his frustration, Chen Hao asked, "Didn\'t you feel any flames gathering in your source pool?"
"Not at all," the student shook his head.
"...Well, your talent is much worse than Miss Liu and Miss Yu\'s, so it\'s normal for it to take longer to ignite," Chen Hao muttered, trying to rationalize the situation. After a moment, he gritted his teeth, "Focus, I\'ll try one last time. If it doesn\'t work, we\'ll stop."
"Okay!" The student finally understood Chen Hao was trying to help him ignite the furnace. He focused again, but soon felt like someone was poking his belly, which felt oddly pleasant.
Just as he was hoping it would continue, a panting voice said, "It\'s no use. I give up…"Opening his eyes, he saw the once confident Chen Hao drenched in sweat, panting heavily like he hadn\'t slept in days.
"Senior…" The student felt awkward. So, his talent was that much worse than Miss Liu\'s.
"Dean…" Knowing he had tried his best but still far from success, Chen Hao approached Lu Mingrong with embarrassment.
Seeing his state, Dean Lu quietly sighed in relief. He looked around and began to speak clearly, "While the Lingyun Beast essence blood can ignite a higher-quality furnace, it\'s not as simple as you think. In fact, it\'s much harder!"
"Harder?"
"Why? Isn\'t it said that the higher the quality of the ignition material, the easier it is to ignite the furnace?" The crowd was puzzled.
"The Lingyun Beast is a Heaven\'s Fate Source Beast. To ignite its essence blood, you must have precise control over the source energy, down to the smallest detail," Dean Lu explained.
"With ordinary ignition materials, you just throw a spark into the stars, and it will spread and ignite the furnace, like lighting a pile of straw. Do you need to consider whether to light it from the top or bottom?"
Chen Hao shook his head.
"You can throw a torch onto a pile of straw and it will burn completely. It doesn\'t matter whether you light it from the top or bottom."
"What about explosives?" Lu Mingrong asked.
"Not only do you need a fuse, but the amount and packaging also require precise design…" Chen Hao answered.
Lu Mingrong nodded. "Exactly. The essence blood of the Lingyun Beast is like an explosive. To use its power to ignite the furnace, you must control the intensity precisely—not too strong, not too weak. The best way is to inject true energy into the source pool in a specific sequence to ignite it successfully. Doing it randomly, like you did, won\'t work."
"Understood!" Everyone nodded in realization.
Lu Mingrong continued, "Teacher Zhang helped Liu Mingyue ignite her furnace effortlessly, but in reality, he used extremely complex techniques. Any mistake would have led to disaster. Even I would find it difficult to accomplish. He not only succeeded but also ignited two furnaces simultaneously, showing his exceptional skills. He is not someone to be doubted lightly."
"It seems I misunderstood Teacher Zhang!"
"I told you he was amazing, but you didn\'t believe me…"
The students nodded in agreement. If they had doubted Zhang Xuan\'s teaching abilities before, they were now fully convinced.
Unlike the students\' sudden enlightenment, Zhang Xuan himself was puzzled. ‘Is that really how it works? Why didn\'t I know that?’
Of course, he wouldn\'t voice this doubt. Although he preferred to keep a low profile, he didn\'t mind accepting praise from others.
Seeing that everyone believed his explanation and knowing that today\'s situation was almost resolved, Lu Mingrong finally relaxed. He stepped out from the crowd and walked over to the seated young man, a look of kindness in his eyes.
"Alright, I will help him ignite his furnace now. Consider it a gift of opportunity!"
"Thank you, Dean!" The new student trembled with excitement.
The Dean would do it… A top-grade furnace, guaranteed!
"First, regulate your breathing and enter a meditative state."
Seeing the student\'s excitement, Lu Mingrong smiled and shook his head.
"Yes!" Nodding repeatedly, the student closed his eyes and slowly regulated his breathing until he calmed down.
Satisfied, Lu Mingrong joined his index and middle fingers, gathering power at his fingertips. "Since you don\'t understand, I will explain how to ignite the essence blood of a Heaven\'s Fate Source Beast. First, synchronize the energy with the subject\'s breathing. Then, concentrate all your energy and simultaneously inject two streams of true energy into the subject\'s body, not just one!"
"Two streams?" Chen Hao was confused.
"Exactly! One stream of true energy can barely suppress the source energy absorbed into the body. If it gets overwhelmed, igniting the flame becomes much harder…" Lu Mingrong explained. "Alright, watch closely. I\'ll only demonstrate this once!"
With his command, Dean Lu\'s two fingers released a surge of source energy, transforming into a crimson light that shot towards the seated student.
Though his actions mirrored Chen Hao\'s, the power was entirely different—stronger, more majestic, and filled with overwhelming force.
However, the light entered the student\'s source pool like a stone sinking into the sea, without any effect.
"What… it didn\'t ignite either?"
"Even the dean couldn\'t succeed? How is that possible?"
Seeing no change in the student, who hadn\'t absorbed any source energy, everyone stared in disbelief, worried they had seen wrong.
Even Zhang Xuan was puzzled.
The Dean\'s words sounded impressive, but why did it seem no different from Chen Hao\'s attempt?
"Ahem! My technique must have been off… I\'ll try again and it will definitely work!"
Surprised by his failure, Lu Mingrong awkwardly raised his fingers and tried again on the student.
Again, the energy disappeared without a trace.
"These moves are identical, but I successfully ignited Mo Yanxue\'s furnace just yesterday…"
Feeling embarrassed, Lu Mingrong tried once more, only to fail again.
Like Chen Hao, he pressed multiple times, making the student so comfortable he nearly fell asleep, but still no success.
Sweat began to form on Lu Mingrong\'s forehead.
With his skills and effort, any rare treasure should have ignited by now. How could there be no reaction at all?
He was the dean—failing here would be a huge embarrassment.
"Something is wrong with the blood!" Suddenly, a thought struck him, and he turned to Chen Hao, "Give me the jade bottle!"
‘True Lingyun Beast essence blood should be powerful and long-lasting. Success should come with the first touch, so why was there no effect after multiple attempts?’