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**
After a while—
Wei Yang finally stopped his rather childish game.
With the Black Sun Burning Heaven Flame resting in his palm, he hovered silently in mid-air.
Hmm?
Suddenly, he sensed a familiar aura rapidly emerging from beneath the magma below.
Wei Yang immediately lowered his head to look.
Sploosh!
With a burst of magma, a burly figure shot out from below.
It was Du Jiao. At this moment, his scales were cracked and damaged, his flesh charred and curled—clearly bearing the marks of intense heat.
Swish!
With a step, Du Jiao arrived before Wei Yang, bowed respectfully, and spoke in a slightly hoarse voice, "Great Master!"
This was per Qing Lin's request—she was the "Little Master," and Wei Yang was the "Great Master."
"How did it go?" Wei Yang asked.
Du Jiao didn't reply with words but instead directly transmitted a mental message.
As Wei Yang received the message, images began flashing rapidly in his mind—a series of slightly blurry, fast-moving scenes.
They were from Du Jiao's perspective.
Everything was bathed in a blood-like crimson hue.
That crimson wasn't blood—but the color of the slowly flowing magma all around.
Although there was no sensation of heat from the visuals alone, Wei Yang knew that the temperature in that place must be terrifyingly extreme.
The imagery continued to roll forward. In the endless sea of magma—no matter which direction the view turned—there was nothing but molten red lava.
Time passed—
Wei Yang continued to watch closely.
Finally, he saw Xiao Yan swimming through the magma, seemingly chasing after something...
And in the end, Wei Yang saw a cluster of invisible flame burning fiercely.
Inside that flame—
Xiao Yan was sitting cross-legged, looking utterly miserable.
He was completely engulfed by a bone-white flame wrapped tightly around him.
"So he's already begun devouring and refining the Fallen Heart Flame, huh..." Wei Yang muttered. "This stage... won't be easy. I hope you can make it through."
Letting out a light sigh, Wei Yang gently shook his head, opened his mouth, and swallowed the Black Sun Burning Heaven Flame back into his body.
Then he retrieved a Tier 5 healing pill and casually tossed it toward Du Jiao.
Du Jiao opened his mouth and caught it mid-air, swallowing it with a gulp.
Immediately afterward, the wounds across his body began to visibly regenerate at a rapid pace.
The abundant energy and potent life force within the Tier 5 healing pill worked wonderfully on Du Jiao, who was suffering from surface-level injuries.
His cracked scales began to fall off, regrowing anew. His flesh wriggled and pulsed, visibly restoring vitality.
Wei Yang turned his gaze around the area. This underground magma world had once again returned to its previous state of tranquil silence.
After Du Jiao had mostly recovered from his injuries—
Wei Yang tore off his tattered black robe, retrieved a new one and put it on, then casually tossed another one to Du Jiao.
After that, he looked down deeply at the endless, dark-red magma below. Then his figure flickered, soaring toward the distant passageway.
"Let's go."
This trip into the subterranean magma world had lasted roughly a day and a half to two days. They had gained more than enough—it was time to leave.
Behind him, Du Jiao—now shrouded once again in a black robe—stepped forward and closely followed.
Nearly two days passed.
In the Inner Academy, things were still a mess—ruins everywhere, not yet cleared away.
At the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower, a whirlwind still loomed overhead, spinning constantly.
However, the scale of this windstorm had clearly diminished. It no longer stretched skyward or spanned dozens of meters in range.
Instead, it had shrunk to about a few dozen meters tall, with its diameter just barely enough to envelop the tower's spire.
Everyone was silently watching this tornado. No one dared to approach.
The crowd was roughly divided into three groups.
The largest group consisted of Inner Academy students, standing far off in the distance, watching from afar.
Another group consisted of experts in all kinds of attire—they were the Black-Corner Region cultivators, numbering in the low double digits.
The final group—about several dozen in total—was composed of the elders of Jia Nan Academy.
"Grand Elder, it's been nearly two days now. I'd wager that those who entered down there are all dead by now," Hu Gan said softly to the nearby Su Qian.
"You know how harsh the environment is down there. Plus, with the Fallen Heart Flame dwelling in that place, its energy is practically limitless."
Su Qian looked at him and asked,
"And what are you suggesting?"
"I'm saying that we've recovered enough now. Why not strike first—drive out those Black-Corner Region bastards, and if possible, kill a few to teach them a proper lesson?"
Hu Gan continued, his gaze shifting to the tornado as he said in a low voice,
"After that, we should join forces to deal with that mysterious Dou Zong. If we can keep him here, great. If not, then just drive him away. We can't keep dragging this out endlessly!"
"Exactly. This is our Jia Nan Academy's territory. Are we just going to keep wasting time like this?"
"He's right—drive them out!"
Upon hearing these words, the elders all nodded in agreement, some even rubbing their fists eagerly.
This time, with the academy infiltrated by outsiders and suffering through consecutive battles, the entire Inner Academy had been nearly reduced to ruins. The elders had long been holding back a belly full of rage.
Not to mention—after being locked in this stalemate for two full days—they had well and truly lost face. It was a humiliation.
Su Qian frowned slightly.
After a moment—
He slowly shook his head and said,
"Let's wait a little longer."
—
In the distance—
At that moment, the group of Black-Corner Region experts had also gathered together, quietly discussing their next move.
At the head of the group were none other than the Gold and Silver Elders.
"Gold and Silver Elders, maybe we should just leave," someone said. "It's been two days. I fear Han Feng is already beyond saving."
"Right. With Fan Lao and several others already gone, we no longer hold a numbers advantage. In terms of strength, we're also clearly outmatched. If we keep sticking around, Jia Nan Academy might finally lose patience and make a move on us."
"Exactly. We not only came here for nothing, but we even lost Han Feng. There's no point in staying here—let's leave before things get worse."
Everyone chimed in, unanimously supporting a quick withdrawal.
In this situation, no one was willing to keep risking their lives. There was no reason to. Their leader was likely dead—what were they even fighting for?
The Gold and Silver Elders exchanged glances, a flicker of eagerness flashing in their eyes.
Truthfully, the two brothers had wanted to leave a long time ago.
They just didn't want to be the first to say it aloud.
Now that two full days had passed, they were completely out of patience and had been gritting their teeth just to endure. If it weren't for the fact that Jia Nan Academy had shown restraint and hadn't attacked, the two of them would've already bolted.
As far as they were concerned, they had done all they could for Han Feng.
After this, their names would still carry weight, and their prestige would even rise for having stood their ground.
Now that everyone else was calling for a retreat, they naturally had no reason to object.
"In that case, let's withdraw," Gold Elder said. "I believe Han Feng will understand our decision."
"Mm. After we leave, my brother and I will take up station in Feng City for now and wait for news of Han Feng. In the meantime, we'll take control of the city—and everyone should begin forming an alliance, so we can be ready to respond to any retaliation from Jia Nan Academy." Silver Elder added.
"Heh heh..." The others chuckled lightly and gave casual responses.
As for what they were really thinking in their hearts—who could say?
The Gold and Silver Elders didn't seem to care either. Forming the alliance could be handled gradually.
With a single shout—
The Black-Corner Region forces quickly took flight, almost like they were fleeing, streaking toward the exit of the Inner Academy.
Only one voice echoed mockingly in the sky—
"Hehe, Elder Su, we'll be off for now. Sorry to have disturbed you!"
The elders of Jia Nan Academy stood there with gloomy expressions, watching the Black-Corner Region cultivators depart—gritting their teeth in frustration.
If the circumstances weren't so delicate right now, they never would've let these bastards go so easily.
"Grand Elder!" Some of the more hot-tempered elders couldn't help but look toward Su Qian.
Su Qian gritted his teeth and said,
"Let them go. We'll settle this debt... another day!"
Upon hearing this, although many of the elders were unwilling, they could only watch helplessly as the enemies departed.
Su Qian clenched his fists tightly, his face darkening to the point it seemed it could drip water.
He was furious—but there was nothing he could do.
Right now, the Fallen Heart Flame was the top priority for the Academy.
"If the Fallen Heart Flame breaks loose again, immediately evacuate all the students from the Inner Academy. Have them retreat deep into the mountains," Su Qian ordered grimly. "As for the rest of the elders, all of you stay behind and join me in reforming the Thousand Layer Sealing Formation. The fate of the Inner Academy... will rest in all of your hands."
Hearing this, all the elders' expressions turned grave. They nodded in unison—none of them backed down.
Seeing this, Su Qian nodded with satisfaction.
"Now, everyone—do your best to recover your strength. Whether it's the Fallen Heart Flame or those two mysterious black-robed individuals who emerge... there's no avoiding this battle."
As he spoke, Su Qian looked toward the towering whirlwind, his eyes narrowing.
No matter which of the two came out—the Fallen Heart Flame, or those two mysterious black-robed figures—it would spell disaster for Jia Nan Academy.
If it was the Fallen Heart Flame, there was no need to even discuss it—Su Qian would fight to the death if that's what it took to seal it away once again.
But if it was those two mysterious figures—
Then Su Qian would not just sit by and watch as they walked off with the Fallen Heart Flame.
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