The moment he had the Divine Fire in his grasp, he looked towards Shi Chun with a face brimming with genuine gratitude from the bottom of his heart, saying nothing, he bowed slightly to her, and to everyone else as well, as a way to thank An Wuzhi and Zhu Xiangxin for yielding, and to thank everyone for their help and support.

Zhu Xiangxin was okay; after all, she had already obtained two Divine Fires, and even if she felt regret, it was not her place to complain, especially with An Wuzhi there, who had let her take precedence over the golden flame. She really had no right to compete for this Earth Flame now.

As for An Wuzhi, he truly felt a sense of loss.

In the past, he never dreamt he could enter the Divine Fire Domain, and once inside, he thought it would be great just to obtain one Divine Fire. But once he had one, he desired a second.

It's human nature to want something when you don't have it, and to want more once you do. It's quite normal.

Moreover, since they hadn't divided it up yet, to say he felt no loss at all would be a lie.

But the Master had already made it very clear; there was no room for negotiation, and he had no choice. Unhappy and want to leave? Where could he go? No matter where he went or who he turned to, nobody would share the Divine Fire they already had in hand.

Additionally, since the matter had escalated to the point of affecting everyone's interests, he could only bow his head and accept it.

Everyone could see his disappointment, and as people passed by him, some patted his arm, others his shoulder, and some even his back, all offering silent comfort in their own ways.

From another perspective, through this incident, Shi Chun took the opportunity that had arisen to speak openly, clearing away Chu Jingtang and others' misgivings. It made them feel more at ease—enlightening them to the fact that the reluctant adventures they endured were also helping themselves.

Whether it would ultimately help them, they didn't know, and at this moment they had no other choice, but they needed a reason to convince themselves, and An Wuzhi's current disappointment served as that reason.

Having observed the entire process, Wu Jinliang began to manage the aftermath, calling over two individuals to help Tong Mingshan seal the entrance to the cave and to stand guard outside for him.

Following that, Shi Chun gave Wu Jinliang some instructions and then sent him back to the area near the exit.

Meanwhile, at Shudao Mountain, two caves had also been excavated, and Gu Lianni and Yuan Yao were already eagerly absorbing the Divine Fire inside.

Pang Hou became the one who felt loss at Shudao Mountain.

There was no helping it; the main target for the Divine Fire found at Shudao Mountain was Gu Lianni. Only in the instance of encountering the same type of Divine Fire that Gu Lianni could not use would it then be distributed to others based on a set order, and Pang Hou was ranked after Yuan Yao, so that's how it ended up.

Hearing that the other two had already gone into seclusion to absorb the Ice Flames, Shi Chun immediately went to tease Pang Hou, "Brother Pang, it seems the Ice Flame I gave you on the Ice Field has already been absorbed by you."

Sitting on the edge of the cliff, Pang Hou gave him a glare, hesitated to speak, and didn't know how best to explain; after all, he hadn't seen where the Ice Flame had gone, only hearing that it had been thrown away by Yuan Yao to escape from an Ice Jiao.

In fact, he felt a bit agitated about the situation. With three Divine Fires in total, he thought surely one should be his. If they threw theirs away, that was their business, but surely they couldn't encroach on his? In the end, that's exactly what happened.

Unable to make his case internally, as the minority had to comply with the majority, or rather, it was Gu Lianni who had the final say. And he couldn't air his family's dirty laundry to outsiders, which left him feeling incredibly aggrieved.

So, watching him, Shi Chun was amused. After witnessing reactions to the Divine Fire like Zhu Xiangxin's, he understood how much those practicing Fire Attribute Skills cherished the Divine Fire.

Of course, teasing him was not the objective; the main goal was to stir up grievances and complaints, to break down his defenses, in order to gather information.

When it comes to experience with the Divine Fire Domain, Tong Mingshan and company really didn't have much, they were practically a blank slate...

At the exit area, after Wu Jinliang arrived, he found that Lao Changtai's group had expanded by two more—Xiao Sheng and Wu Hong had both returned.

The reason they hadn't left was naturally due to the changes in Shi Chun's plan; informed by Lao Changtai, they were retained.

For Shi Chun, having more sources of information at his disposal meant there was no need to send his own people to gather relevant news.

Going out alone to track a group of people carried considerable risk; if exposed, without support nearby, it was not only dangerous, but if something happened, no one would even know.

For Shi Chun, the role of the Master wasn't about issuing orders and strutting about with authority, simply commanding people to fight and kill. Preserving everyone's strength reasonably, helping them avoid potential risks – this was also one of the key responsibilities of being the Master. Otherwise, how could he justify being the Master in East Nine Plain for several years?

Leading everyone into danger, if he could bring them all out safe and sound, it would establish his authority. In the future, if faced with dangers, when he gave orders, the resistance he would face from others would be much less.

And the reason Xiao and Wu were able to return was that both had brought back clues about the Divine Fire.

Wu Jinliang conveyed Shi Chun's current detailed location to the two, telling them to report directly to Shi Chun, while he stayed behind with Lao Changtai and Fang Zicheng, choosing not to return.

After a bit of travel, Xiao Sheng and Wu Hong found Shi Chun and relayed the news to him, to which Shi Chun asked them to rest first without taking immediate action. He was waiting—waiting for Gu Lianni to emerge from seclusion.

Some things become clear with contrast; Yuan Yao and Gu Lianni had entered seclusion almost simultaneously, both absorbing Ice Flames, yet Yuan Yao emerged first.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.