Aegon wasn't surprised by Cali's question or by the fact that many had overlooked it. Even he might have done so if he hadn't actually studied everything so deeply, especially if it was related to him.

All so that he knew his limits and weaknesses.

Seeing that he had everyone's attention, Aegon smiled and explained.

"Some of you might know this already, but I'll still explain it. So, there are three types of flames. The first is the normal one, made through the use of mundane materials. Most mundane people use that type of flame."

Cali nodded in understanding.

"The second one is made through Mana, like those with Fire Affinity do. A major difference you can see between them is smoke. Mana-generated fire won't produce smoke, unlike the normal one. This type affects our physical body the most."

Aegon paused and then said, clicking his fingers as a small flicker of flame rose from his fingertips.

"Lastly, we have Conceptualized Fire, which bears the potential to burn the very fabric of existence, as it exists in a conceptualized form within the spiritual plane."

He pointed at his finger and said.

"You see this? It's a mere reflection of flame I formed in the Spiritual Plane, just like it happens with basically most things involving the soul. And the Spiritual Plane is closer to the fabric of existence than the Physical Plane, so you can understand how it can interact with and affect it more easily."

"Wait! Don't mages do the same sometimes?" Cali asked, a little confused. "Like carving runes on the fabric itself or something?"

"A misunderstanding," Aegon shook his head and said. "I don't know if higher-rank mages can do that, but from where I've read and learned, we can interact with the fabric of space-time during the formation of a Rune Sphere. Some runes can go deep there."

"And they're supposed to be different?" Cali scratched her head, even more confused than before.

"Of course. Space-time curvature has time in it, but it really exists in the physical plane," Aegon sighed. "It's a bit complicated, so I'm skipping this one."

"You know, even as a mage, I learned all of this way later, and even now I get confused sometimes," Aurelia said, complicated emotions swirling in her eyes.

"You're comparing yourself to the wrong person," Xiu said in her laid-back tone.

"True!"

Meanwhile, Aegon shifted closer and continued with his explanation.

"In any case, you now understand that there are three types of flames, and the Conceptualized one is the most dangerous because it affects souls, the physical body, and even concepts."

"So does that mean Phoenix Flames are conceptualized flames?" Cali asked, finally getting a bit of a hang of it.

"Nope!" Aegon shook his head in response. "But they do stay on that boundary. It means those flames can directly affect your soul because of their close connection with conceptualized flames, but they are essentially different."

He smiled.

"Now comes the main point of how Phoenix Flames are different from Dragon Flames and why I'm affected by one while I'm immune to the other. It lies in their very nature, actually."

"Their nature?"

Aegon nodded.

"As I've just said, Phoenix Flames exist on the boundary, which allows them to affect souls directly. This also leads to them indirectly harming the physical body lightly. Though if you're strong, you can pretty much remain unscathed... physically, at least."

He snuffed out the flame on his fingertips and said.

"Dragon Flames lie in the middle of the second type. They only affect the physical plane, but due to a dragon's unique nature and domineering will, they reach the extreme of the physical plane. So much so that they then harm the soul of an individual. After all, one's soul is connected to the physical body. If one gets harmed, the other also gets harmed."

"Wait! So you have physical immunity to fire, which means you're immune to Dragon Flames," Elara quickly understood it. "No wonder!"

"Wait! I'm still confused!" Cali protested. "Why can't all of this be simple!"

"Relax, I'll use an example you can understand," Aegon said patiently, as he didn't mind her questions.

He took out a bottle of water and showed it to Cali.

"Now, let's take the bottle as the physical body and the water as your soul. Now, you're the Dragon Flames, which means you can't harm the soul, or here the water, directly, can you?"

Cali creased her brows and said, "Not directly, but I can blast the bottle and spill the water. Or if you think it's very durable, even then my punches will shake the water inside."

"Exactly what Dragon Flames do," Aegon smiled. "They don't affect the water, or the soul, directly. They just affect the bottle, or the physical body."

"Ohhh!" Cali finally seemed to understand.

Aegon wasn't done, though. When someone asked something from him, especially questions like this, his inner nerd woke up, so now he was hell-bent on explaining everything to her until she understood it properly.

He turned towards Xiu, tossing the bottle at her, and asked, "Can you reinforce it?"

"Easy!" Xiu grinned, easily catching the bottle.

"Cali, why don't you go ahead and try to attack that bottle?" Aegon asked.

Cali jumped to her feet in excitement. She was even more excited about showing her strength to Xiu than about finding the answer now.

"Use your full power," Xiu commanded.

Cali nodded and took a deep breath. Then she pulled her hand back and clenched it. Her fist moved at an incredible speed as she smashed it into the bottle with a sonic boom.

But to her surprise, the bottle didn't even move an inch despite her punch packing all of her base strength. It was clear after she saw no change in the water inside. Not even a ripple.

She could boost her strength, but she knew the result would be no different.

'Such power!' Cali exclaimed mentally, gaining a new understanding of Xiu's strength.

She was almost a Rank 6 Knight, yet Xiu could defend against her full strength to such a minute level. It was simply ridiculous.

"That is immunity."

Aegon's voice pulled her out of her thoughts as he continued to explain.

"As you can see, as long as nothing happens to the bottle itself, the water inside remains the same. This happens with me too. Dragon Flames can only affect souls through their connection with the physical body, but my physical body is immune to fire."

"I see. That makes sense," Cali nodded in understanding. "No amount of strength can get past such ridiculous immunity."

Although he felt that she was talking about something different, Aegon ignored it and turned towards Luna.

"Luna, can you try to affect the water inside now?"

Luna smiled, as she wasn't even surprised that he dragged her into this lecture. The moment she understood how everything functioned, she knew Aegon would use this example.

"Sure!"

She stood up, straightening her dress before she walked up to Xiu and stared at the bottle, which even a Rank 5 couldn't scratch.

Raising her hand, she willed herself to manipulate the water inside the bottle, and she did. The water inside began swirling into a small tornado until its speed grew fast enough to shake the bottle from within.

Cali's eyes glistened as she witnessed it. She once again understood how bizarre this world worked.

"And this is how Phoenix Flames work. They bypass the physical construct and directly affect the soul. Hence, my fire immunity fails against it, especially in a place like the Supremacy Games where our souls were mainly involved."

Hearing Aegon's explanation, Cali nodded and turned around. "I understand all of this. Thanks, but I have one more question."

"Go on! Teacher Aegon has all day to waste," Aegon chuckled and made himself comfortable on the chair.

"If Phoenix Flames are truly so dangerous, then doesn't that mean they're superior to dragons and all? Even Valerians?" Cali asked. "Then how did the Phoenix Race go extinct?"

"Nobody really knows about the Ancient Divine War, in which I'm guessing the Phoenix Race perished, but I have a guess."

Aegon said this after contemplating for a moment.

"But I think Sister Nora can answer it better."

"Quite simple," Nora said from the side. "Tell me, Cali, there's a Rank 4 Knight who can do immense damage to mages and even to some knights, but how would he fare against you?"

"Dead!" Cali answered without any hesitation. It wasn't even arrogance, but plain facts.

"Exactly!" Nora shrugged. "All Valerians have been soul cultivators, and harming their soul is equivalent to that knight harming you physically. Unless their rank is higher and the damage output is immensely high, Phoenix Flames can't really do much against Valerians."

She smiled and added, "And if Valerians had been companions of dragons even back then, you have your answer as to how the Phoenix Race perished. The combination of a dragon and a Valerian is deadlier than you realise."

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