Word Count: 2,116 Words
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Within the Hun Realm, there existed a courtyard. It was an extremely ancient courtyard that appeared to have existed since the primordial, uncivilized era.
Ancient relics were scattered around the courtyard, and the timber used had long vanished, yet this very courtyard remained the supreme sacred place in the hearts of the Hun Clan members.
An overwhelming might permeated the courtyard, capable of suppressing all beings. Such a place was inviolable. Any existence before it had to prostrate in submission.
This was the Soul Court, the residence where the Hun Clan's Dou God, Emperor Hun, once lived. Now, it served as the place where successive Clan Heads conducted affairs and resided, equivalent to the imperial court of the Hun Clan. It was the highest symbol within the Hun Realm.
"Xiao Clan, Xiao Yan?"
A man dressed in white stood by the fish pond in the center of the courtyard, scattering some fish food with his left hand. The koi fish in the pond splashed about, scrambling for the food. These koi were nothing special, just ordinary ornamental fish, not some magical beasts of special bloodlines.
From a distance, it looked like he was simply feeding fish, and in reality, he was indeed just feeding fish.
Hun Huzi nodded. He had never dared to secretly keep the Tou She Ancient God's Jade because the man before him was one who stood on par with the heavens.
Hun Tiandi, the Clan Head of the Hun Clan, was also the only person within the clan who had cultivated the Emperor Soul Technique to perfection. His Spiritual Strength had even surpassed the Great Perfection of the Heavenly State and reached the Emperor State!
After emptying the feed, Hun Tiandi toyed with the Tou She Ancient God's Jade in his hand. He could sense a familiar aura from the past emanating from this ancient jade.
"After all the twists and turns, this piece of Ancient Jade has finally fallen into my hands. If Xiao Xuan had been willing to help me back then, perhaps today would be a different story." Hun Tiandi gazed into the pond below, lost in thought.
Back then, the Hun Clan wanted to annihilate the Xiao Clan not only because their Dou God Bloodline depletion was the most severe among all Dou God Clans, but more importantly, because Xiao Xuan's immense strength made Hun Tiandi uneasy.
The severe depletion of the Xiao Clan's bloodline was also for a simple reason. It was because the Xiao Clan's Dou God had become a Dou God the earliest among all; naturally, their Dou God Bloodline was the earliest to deplete.
Legend had it that the Xiao Clan's Dou God was the first Dou God on the Dou Qi Continent, making their bloodline the oldest Dou God Bloodline, and naturally, the first to deplete.
Hun Tiandi slowly shook his head and casually tossed the Xiao Clan's Tou She Ancient God's Jade. With a 'plop,' it sank into the pond.
Hun Huzi saw Hun Tiandi throw the Ancient Jade into the pond and was suddenly shocked. "Clan Head! Is that Ancient Jade a fake?"
Hun Tiandi gently shook his head with his hands clasped behind his back. He revealed a warm smile as he said, "No, it's genuine."
"But just as that young man from the Xiao Clan said, an incomplete Ancient God's Jade is as useless as a pebble by the roadside. Our clan's Tou She Ancient God's Jade is also in this pond."
If one looked carefully, one would notice that beneath the pond lie various pebbles, and among them two pieces stand out with a jade-like quality.
Moreover, one of them was already covered in moss; it had likely been in the pond for a very long time.
Hun Huzi swallowed hard. That was the Tou She Ancient God's Jade! To actually put it in such a place? Although within this courtyard it was absolutely safe, wasn't this taking it too lightly, using it as a pebble in a fish pond?!
"Pass on my order. Accelerate the collection of soul bodies to help the Nihility Devouring Flame cultivate the Emperor Soul Technique to perfection and elevate its Spiritual State to the Emperor State!" Hun Tiandi waved his hand, and a Spiritual Strength emanated from the courtyard, covering the entire Hun Realm.
A gentle smile appeared on his face, but a gleam of cruelty flashed in his eyes as he said, "An incomplete Ancient God's Jade is meaningless, so let's complete it. Ling Clan, Shi Clan, since you refuse to see reason, don't blame me."
…
News of Xun Er's departure naturally spread far and wide. Coupled with the eruption of the Fallen Heart Flame which had forced the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower to close, most students were left idle. A sense of unease began to spread throughout the Inner Academy.
"Sigh, the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower has been closed for a day now. The First Elder and the other elders are still inside, and no one knows what is happening."
"Exactly. What on earth is going on?"
"I don't know. Could it be that in the future we won't even be allowed to enter the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower?"
"No way!"
Countless Inner Academy students craned their necks and anxiously stared in the direction of the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower.
At this moment, Xiao Yan sat cross-legged in his room, regulating his breath. His injuries from using the Skyfire Three Mysterious Change had healed thanks to Elder Tong Xuan's power, but what he needed to steady was his own heart.
Xiao Yan closed his eyes, and in his mind the enchanting smiles and frowns of that young lady were indelibly etched as if carved by a knife.
He hadn't felt this way when Xun Er was by his side. Now that she had left, those feelings began crawling out from the depths of his memories, like tangled threads wrapping around his heart.
After a long while, he slowly exhaled and opened his eyes. His gaze had recovered its former calm, though Xun Er's departure had taken away some of the gentleness.
'Now that I've reached the strength of a Dou King, it's time to leave this Inner Academy.' With Xun Er already gone, Xiao Yan had no attachments left, and only one matter remained unfinished.
His eyes narrowed slightly as he looked toward the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower. He had not forgotten his original purpose for coming to Jia Nan Academy.
Meow~! Mao Wu jumped out from the void and gently scratched Xiao Yan's cheek with its little paw.
"Mm, let's begin."
Meow! (Roger!)
Mao Wu made a saluting gesture, then tore open the void and disappeared.
Xiao Yan then turned to look at Queen Medusa, who was seated cross-legged on the Green Lotus, and said with a smile, "Your Majesty, it is time to wake up; whether you can obtain a Heavenly Flame Body depends on today."
Queen Medusa, sitting on the lotus platform, slowly opened her eyes. As she gently did so, it was like something out of a dream; her beautiful eyes could captivate one's soul, carrying the languid charm of a beauty who had just awakened.
If someone with a weaker will saw those eyes, they might have already lost their soul, perhaps even had their mind controlled by her.
"Don't look at me like that; I don't have much self-control," Xiao Yan laughed. Yet his gaze remained clear, not the least bit bewitched by Medusa's naturally enchanting allure. Even though she possessed captivating beauty and an alluring figure, they had no effect on the current Xiao Yan.
Medusa glanced at him when she noticed he was unaffected. That clear gaze was something she had never seen in other men.
"Since I promised you, I will lend a hand. But my current body has only recovered to the Rank 6. Even if my bloodline evolution is completed, the strength I can exert is only around a 1- or 2-star Dou Ancestor." Medusa gently brushed her hair and slowly rose from the Green Colored Lotus Platform, her jade-like feet stepping on the empty space.
"We aren't the main force anyway. The foundation of Jia Nan Academy can't be that shallow. We'll observe and act accordingly when the time comes." Xiao Yan looked toward the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower. At this moment, he already had a comprehensive plan in mind.
…
Meanwhile, in Feng City within the Black-Corner Region, Han Feng's eyes sharpened upon hearing his subordinate's report.
"Is that true?"
"Yes. According to information from our contact in the Inner Academy, there was a large-scale eruption in the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower more than half a day ago. First Elder Su Qian and all the elders have entered the tower and sealed it off. They haven't come out yet."
Han Feng abruptly stood up. His body erupted with a blue flame as he said in a deep voice, "Good! It's finally here! I've been waiting so long for this moment!"
If the Fallen Heart Flame remained trapped, even if he was a peak 6th-tier alchemist and could mobilize the experts of the entire Black Corner region, he wouldn't be able to forcibly seize it from the Jia Nan Academy.
But if the Fallen Heart Flame erupted, then Jia Nan Academy would be besieged from within and without. At that time, he would have a chance to take the Fallen Heart Flame.
Such an opportunity might only come once!
Generally speaking, no one would want to provoke Jia Nan Academy, but when the interest reached a certain level, people would risk even their lives to gamble, and a Heavenly Flame was worth his gamble.
He suddenly turned around and shouted in a deep voice, "Han Beng!"
As soon as his voice fell, a figure like a phantom flashed out and appeared in the bamboo house, kneeling on one knee. Though his voice was hoarse, it was not lacking in respect: "Master, what are your orders?"
"Take these tokens and notify the Ground Fire Sect, Eight Gates, Black Skeleton's Tomb, and have their Sect Leaders come to Feng City within two hours. I have a matter that requires their assistance. Also, these two tokens—deliver them personally to that place. Invite the two gentlemen ranked first and second on the Black Ranking to come as well. Just say that I, Han Feng, have a request, and the reward is the Zong Breaking Pill." Han Feng casually flicked out several tokens with strange designs and tossed them to the kneeling figure. The latter swiftly caught them and stored them into his storage ring. Then, two more tokens—one gold and one silver—were shot over.
Upon receiving the somewhat special gold and silver tokens with both hands, the always expressionless figure showed slight emotion and said in a low voice, "The Zong Breaking Pill! I believe Mister Gold and Mister Silver won't refuse."
Han Feng watched the black figure disappear, then slowly exhaled, his eyes filled with fervent anticipation.
The forces were in motion!
…
At the bottom of the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower, the First Elder and all the elders were forming seals to suppress the Fallen Heart Flame at this time. Although the Fallen Heart Flame was indeed formidable, the seal of a Dou Venerate was not so easily broken. The two sides had been in a stalemate for a day and a night, neither able to overcome the other.
"First Elder! This eruption of the Fallen Heart Flame is much more intense than before. I'm afraid that if this continues, one day we won't be able to stop its outbreak!"
First Elder Su Qian looked solemnly at the Fallen Heart Flame impacting the seal. Right now, they were just using temporary measures, not addressing the root cause at all.
In theory, the Fallen Heart Flame could continue to grow. Once it absorbed enough geothermal energy and reached a certain level, it might become unstoppable. At that time, the entire Inner Academy would become a purgatory!
"Let's suppress the Fallen Heart Flame first before we discuss further!"
"Understood!"
Just then, space slowly distorted in a corner of the tenth floor of the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower, and a small cat's paw stretched out from the void.
Several sharp claws extended from the cat paw with a 'zing'; these weren't ordinary claws but rather black flames.
The cat paw flicked a bit of black flame with a whoosh. That tiny bit of black flame was like a spark, slowly drifting up and finally landing onto the seal.
Like a flame touching tissue paper, a tiny hole appeared in the supposedly impregnable seal!