"Is that so?"
"I say, you've eaten so many of my elixirs, how do you plan to compensate me? Even if I sold you, it wouldn't cover the cost."
Xu Ran had arrived earlier and witnessed Zi Yan making a gluttonous feast of his room.
He had always known that Zi Yan was a foodie, treating all kinds of Heavenly and Earthly Treasures and miraculous elixirs as if they were exquisite delicacies. Only now, as he watched Zi Yan sneakily devouring them in his room, did Xu Ran realize just how terrifying her appetite could be. If she continued to eat like this, the Canaan Academy's resources would indeed fall short.
The elixirs she gorged on were intended for Xun Er and the others; they weren't of a very high grade, only third or fourth tier at most, but Zi Yan had consumed thirty to forty pills in total.
If a normal person ate two or three, they would lose control of such pure energy and explode to death.
But Zi Yan was a Taixu Ancient Dragon, and this amount of energy could barely satisfy her appetite.
Zi Yan was over a thousand years old, but she still looked like a young girl, a loli.
At least, that's how she appeared in her human form.
Xu Ran even wondered if Zi Yan had never been full, looking at the child starved, as if she hadn't eaten for eight lifetimes.
However, considering Zi Yan's loli appearance, Xu Ran really couldn't bring himself to be angry.
Even though Xu Ran knew Zi Yan wasn't young at all, her current appearance was just too cute.
Especially when lying on the ground eating the elixirs, smacking her lips continuously.
"You."
"Who are you?"
Zi Yan turned around as if she had seen a ghost and then, frightened, plopped down on the ground.
It made sense; having someone unexpectedly appear in what she thought was her private room would startle anyone.
"Are you Xu Ran? The Xu Ran that old man mentioned?" Zi Yan paused for a moment, then came to her senses. This was Xu Ran's room; naturally, the person in front of her could only be Xu Ran.
The thing that surprised her was that Xu Ran was in the room, and she hadn't noticed him.
Could it be that she was so excited when she saw those elixirs that she lost all awareness?
But she was a Douwang, she couldn't possibly lack even that basic vigilance, could she?
How strange.
"But this guy is just from the outer court; he shouldn't be that capable," Zi Yan breathed a sigh of relief.
However, the thought of being frightened by someone from the outer court was a blow to her pride.
She was the renowned number one in the Inner Court power rankings, and none of those self-proclaimed geniuses in the Inner Court could match her. She didn't even take the Canaan Academy elders seriously!
If others came to know that she'd been startled in the outer court, wouldn't they mock her to death?
"Hey, hey, hey. Why are you looking at me like that? I'm the victim here, okay? You've stolen and eaten so many of my elixirs, and now you're acting like I've wronged you somehow. I'm truly an innocent bystander in this disaster!" Xu Ran pouted.
Although Zi Yan's delicate and tender face always looked adorable no matter what expression she made...
But...
Sneaking into his room to steal food and expecting to leave easily, it wasn't that simple.
If Hu Jia knew that Zi Yan had eaten so many Elixirs at once, she would probably cry to death. She had been flattering Xu Ran for many days, and it was quite obvious why, yet she only got one such Elixir after much effort. Zi Yan had eaten so many in one go, which would definitely blow Hu Jia's mind. Even though Zi Yan was her admirer, she would never accept such a wasteful use of Elixirs.
"So, what do you want to do?"
"Actually, it wasn't me who wanted to come; it was the old man who made me do it, oh, that is, Elder Su Qian from the Inner Court. He's the one who told me to eat these," Zi Yan said, her face burning with embarrassment from Xu Ran's words.
She had eaten so many Elixirs, and even packed up the leftovers.
Despite having the mindset of a little girl, Zi Yan was quite sensible. So, soon enough, she blamed Elder Su Qian. However, it was indeed true that Zi Yan wouldn't have ventured to the Outer Court if not for Su Qian's influence.
"Hmm? It was Elder Su Qian who asked you to come? Is that so? Then I'll go find the Great Elder right now and see how he wants to handle this matter." As he spoke, Xu Ran stood up, ready to head out.
"No, that's not..."
Zi Yan had always cared about her face; if Xu Ran went to find Su Qian, then wouldn't she be made fun of by Su Qian forever because of this incident?
When she used to secretly eat in the medicine warehouse of Canaan Academy, no one ever caught her because she controlled space power. It was also because she possessed space power that she dared to so brazenly sneak into Xu Ran's room to steal Elixirs.
She never expected Xu Ran to have seen her whole sneaky feast and to catch her red-handed.
"It's just a few Elixirs; why are you being so petty? At worst, I'll compensate you," Zi Yan patted her chest and said magnanimously.
"Right, you're from the Outer Court, aren't you? I'm the top expert of the Inner Court's strength rankings. I've got your back, so consider those Elixirs as protection fees you've paid me. How about that? Sounds reasonable, right?"
Zi Yan's eyes brightened. She didn't have much money; all her valuable belongings combined weren't enough to compensate for so many Elixirs. If it came to that, she would have to find Su Qian to clean up the mess, and her proud self could not accept that.
"You probably don't know what the Inner Court's strength rankings are. The rankings are based on the combat power of the geniuses in the Inner Court, and I'm ranked number one, so you should understand my strength. With me, Zi Yan, around, no one will be able to bully you in the future." Zi Yan crossed her arms over her chest and said with a very streetwise air.
She was very confident in her abilities, and thanks to some bizarre powers of the Taixu Ancient Dragon, even some Elders were helpless against her.
With control over space power, even if her "Cultivation Level" was only at Douwang, she didn't have much of a disadvantage when facing a Douhuang. Additionally, the overbearing and powerful base strength of the Taixu Ancient Dragon allowed Zi Yan to exhibit combat prowess far beyond those of her level.
Zi Yan's exceptional dominance in the Inner Court was not without reason.
Her father was a Nine-Star Dou Sheng, a figure capable of arm-wrestling with the likes of Hun Tiandi. Zi Yan belonged to the Taixu Ancient Dragon Royal Family. The current Zi Yan was still far from awakening her true strength, and had only inherited a fraction of the Taixu Ancient Dragon legacy's abilities, namely space power.
"So, what do you think? Aren't you going to say something?"
Zi Yan lifted her little foot and stomped down hard.
Xu Ran's nonchalant demeanor was really making her angry!
Shouldn't normal people be excited and admiring upon learning her identity, then offer her more Elixirs in the hope of establishing a good relationship and seeking her protection?
Why was it that Xu Ran did not take her words seriously at all? She had already explained herself; she was the number one on the strength rankings!
And Xu Ran, living in the Outer Court, was just someone from the Outer Court!