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--- Chapter 222 ---
"Why?"
Frustration.
"Why!"
Anger.
"Why..."
Disbelief.
All these emotions brewed inside Gu Xun'er as she fought Han Yuan with her new enhanced cultivation, thanks to releasing some latent power of the Golden Emperor Burning Sky Flame.
Her cultivation rose from Dou Master Realm to Dou Spirit Realm, skipping the Dou Grandmaster Realm entirely. Her strength, speed, and defense are above those of the same realm.
Yet, she couldn't even land a hit on a mere Dou Master!
Swoosh!
Every time Gu Xun'er launches her attack, Han Yuan would dodge it by a hair's breadth. Always a hair's breadth difference, as if mocking her for not being able to hit him once.
"Do you only know how to dodge!" Gu Xun'er grumbled in annoyance.
Han Yuan calmly planted his wooden spear on the ground and replied, "I don't want to hear that from someone who's two great realms higher than me."
"Every hit you've done could be fatal to me. All you need is one hit, true, but so is my life..."
"I only have one life." He gazed at her indifferently. "I can't die because there is someone I must protect!"
Gu Xun'er was stunned. She didn't realize how absurdly strong she was right now. Her childish frustration and provocation meant nothing to Han Yuan.
Meanwhile, Ling Ying sighed helplessly on the side. He couldn't blame his young miss for being emotional because she is young at the end of the day, but this boy is something else.
Unlike Gu Xun'er, Ling Ying could see Han Yuan's meticulous operation of using 'wind' Dou Qi as an invincible cloak to sense and dodge her attack by a hair's breadth. To top that off, the boy's reaction speed and spatial awareness are beyond the norm. It is as if he could see a split second into the future.
Gu Xun'er felt another nameless anger in her heart. At first, she thought everything would be over if she beat this boy up and completely avenge her crying brother.
But she didn't expect it to be so tough.
So tough that she wanted to cry out of frustration.
In fact, Gu Xun'er knew it wasn't Han Yuan's fault. On the day of Soaring Wind Dojo's opening, it was her brother Xiao Yan who asked for trouble by not respecting an elder.
The "rebellious" side of her wanted to visit Soaring Wind Dojo and destroy it immediately. However, deep down, she knew that was irrational and not fit for her nature.
As the princess of the Ancient Gu Clan, Gu Xun'er was 'inherently' bound to have a high conscience. It's not a simple right or wrong.
Even then, Gu Xun'er couldn't swallow her anger when she saw Xiao Yan cry in his bedroom. She held it for a few days, but tonight her emotion just erupted like the Heavenly Flame inside her.
"For you it's just a matter of venting your anger, but for me... It's a life and death battle." Han Yuan finally added, gripping his wooden spear.
"So, Gu Xun'er, prepare yourself."
"I am going to fight with all I have from now on!" Han Yuan pressed his boots to the ground hard and then burst with extreme speed.
Boom!
The ground cracked as Han Yuan's ghostly figure arrived before Gu Xun'er instantly.
The little girl's eyes shrank in fright. She hurriedly crossed her arms and released her Dou Qi in all directions, burning things to ashes with her Heavenly Flame-infused energy.
She missed. Han Yuan was nowhere to be seen.
"No matter how strong you are, if your attack didn't hit your enemy, then it's useless." Han Yuan's voice suddenly brushed the little girl's ear.
Gu Xun'er retreated, but it was too late; all she felt was a sudden pain in her stomach. She looked down in disbelief as a blunt wooden spear successfully connected with her body.
Bam!
Gu Xun'er got launched a few meters away, planting her feet down to the ground and leaving two deep grooves before stabilizing herself.
Still, before the little girl could even have a chance to breathe, another vicious spear strike arrived before her eyes.
Swoosh!
Gu Xun'er dodged the spear strike and failed to react to the second strike that followed. Her vision was 'gradually' blurred by the chaotic wind Dou Qi that coated the spear's tip.
BAM! BAM! BAM!
A continuous barrage of jabs!
Han Yuan's spear strike is not exactly heavy. They are actually light, but that's what makes them problematic, as each spear strike attacks her weak spots.
Her joints and muscles are weakened by these calculated strikes, making her feel numb and weak.
Han Yuan's offensive left Gu Xun'er helpless. Every time she mustered a strength or thought she had seen a flaw in his attack, he would make her wake up to reality because it was a trap he had left behind.
Gu Xun'er entered a defensive position. She actively defended herself with Dou Qi Armor, lessening the damage she took, and started thinking of a way to escape this predicament.
However, the longer she thought, the faster her Dou Qi consumed. In fact, her Dou Qi is already depleted rapidly with the usage of Golden Emperor Sky Burning Flame.
'I-I am going to lose...' This thought flashed in the little girl's heart.
'I am going to lose to this random boy?'
'I can't avenge Brother Xiao Yan?'
'No, this can't be! "
"I am Gu Xun'er! I am the Princess of Ancient Gu Clan! I can't be defeated!'
...
BOOM!
Han Yuan's eyes narrowed slightly as a massive ball of fire erupted from Gu Xun'er. He retreated safely, watching his wooden spear turn into ashes.
Then, he looked up again, seeing Gu Xun'er now bathed in a fiery golden flame. Just standing nearby alone made him feel uncomfortable.
Fortunately, the fire element is one of the five fundamental elements that he had condensed in his Dou Qi cyclone, which means he could absorb this energy.
Of course, upon doing so, Han Yuan confirmed his guess.
This girl, Gu Xun'er, is now using the Ranked 4th Heavenly Flame - Golden Emperor Sky Burning Flame!
"Miss!" Ling Ying couldn't believe his eyes. His young miss actually went berserk because she was about to lose. The worst part is that Gu Xun'er is using the one thing that Gu Clan's Head forbade her to use.
Using Heavenly Flame won't just make Gu Xun'er feel worse afterward, but it also shortens her lifespan.
At the same time, Gu Xun'er boosted her cultivation once more, reaching the 1-Star Dou King (Dou Wang) Realm. Two golden wings manifested behind her.
"Hey, uncle, can you stop her?" Han Yuan asked Ling Ying.
Ling Ying hesitated before sighing and replying, "Normally, I can suppress the young miss's condition with my Dou Qi. Unfortunately, in this state, let alone suppressing her condition, my Dou Qi will definitely get burned by her flame upon touch."
"Is that so?" Han Yuan observed Gu Xun'er calmly. "Then, can you stop her for a moment?"
"Kid, don't be reckless!" Ling Ying was speechless. "You don't know what you're facing right now?"
Han Yuan smiled faintly, "Uncle, I don't want to die, but do you think I can run away if she were in such a condition? With the amount of hate she had for me, she might attack me."
"So, rather than that, I will help you suppress that weird flame."
"But what can a kid like you do?" Ling Ying rejected the idea.
The Heavenly Flame is a force of nature. What can a six-year-old brat do against it?
"Heavenly Flame." Han Yuan finally said. "A dangerous force of nature that only a handful of lucky people could obtain, even a very few people able to control it."
"I don't know what kind of Heavenly Flame is currently in your young lady's body, but from my observation, it is Yang in nature."
"A girl is Yin in nature, and with such a destructive force sealed in her body, she was 'naturally' bound to die if this kept going..."
"So..."
"Would you rather watch your young miss die or help me suppress her condition?"
Ling Ying's mouth twitched. He knew what Han Yuan said was the truth, but at the same time, he was shocked by how informed this kid was.
"Okay, I hope you can suppress the young miss's condition." He gritted his teeth helplessly.
After saying that, Ling Ying released the might of his Dou Emperor (Dou Huang) cultivation.
The surrounding area seemed to fall under Ling Ying's very control, and became very calm, though Gu Xun'er was still running amok, burning the ground to ashes.
Han Yuan released his full might of his Dou Qi. The silverish-gray Dou Qi caught Ling Ying's attention as he had never seen such a weird-colored Dou Qi in his life.
'What a terrifying Dou Qi!' Ling Ying also felt a sense of palpitation from this weird silverish-gray Dou Qi, as if it could devour him.
"What are you doing, uncle? Hurry and restrain her!" Han Yuan's annoyed voice rang in the area.
Ling Ying was flustered, hurriedly creating shackles made of Dou Qi to pin his young miss down.
Han Yuan calmly walked to Gu Xun'er, stretching his right arm to touch her stomach where the Dou Qi cyclone existed. He operated the Monochrome Inner Star Sutra and started devouring the excess "Yang Qi" and a small portion of Golden Emperor Sky Burning Flame into his body.
A scorching pain struck Han Yuan's body, particularly his right arm, as the extreme heat and conceptual power from the Heavenly Flame, which could "incinerate all things," is not to be underestimated.
"This..." Ling Ying watched Han Yuan's right arm burn, becoming ugly and scarred, with all veins exposed. "Kid, you..."
Han Yuan grunted slightly, "I am fine..."
"The hell is fine, you're not!" Ling Ying believed that Han Yuan was in a lot of pain right now. Even he couldn't imagine the feeling of getting burned by the young miss's Heavenly Flame.
Han Yuan ignored Ling Ying and observed his Dou Qi cyclone, watching a miniature golden sun slowly materialize. This sun is none other than the seed of Heavenly Flame.
As long as Han Yuan feeds it with enough energy from heaven and earth, it will turn into a second Golden Emperor Sky Burning Flame.
At the same time, Han Yuan also felt the "3rd chain" of the Twelve Chains of Deification was loosening. If he could digest his gain, breaking into the 4th Stage would only take another two or three years.
Weirdly enough, Han Yuan felt his Mystic Turtle's bloodline and White Mist Emperor Body were awakening due to Heavenly Flame's aura.
Under Ling Ying's shocked gaze, the Golden Flame around Gu Xun'er is growing weaker before retracting into her body. Yet, what makes Ling Ying stand in horror is the fact that the right half of Han Yuan's body 'literally' is burnt!
Han Yuan moved awkwardly, pulling a pill from his spatial storage and chewing on it to reduce the pain and burn. With the blessing of Purple Silver Grass's Ultimate Life, he'd recover eventually, though the burnt marks wouldn't be gone for a while.
The "burning" effect of Heavenly Flame is not a simple side effect, after all.
Thankfully, his face is alright.
Han Yuan tore his burnt martial robe and applied bandages to the burnt part.
"Stop!" Ling Ying shouted in panic.
Han Yuan tilted his head, "What?"
"L-Let me do it." The hooded man sighed weakly.
Han Yuan raised his eyebrow and then nodded, allowing Ling Ying to roll the bandage around his body. He also could sense that Ling Ying was trying to find out how bad his condition was.
Well, it was 'extremely' bad for the people of the Dou Qi Continent.
In fact, it is almost career-ending for Dou Fighter to have these kinds of injuries.
Fortunately, Han Yuan wasn't from around here.
Han Yuan didn't care how bad Ling Ying felt about his situation and said calmly, "Uncle, your young miss's condition isn't normal, you know that, right?"
"Well, the young miss would experience this periodically." Ling Ying answered absentmindedly. "She was born with this power, and this was the side effect."
Han Yuan shook his head, "No, with your Dou Huang Cultivation, it is easy to suppress this kind of condition if you do it twice a week..."
"Not to mention, she was a young miss of noble status. She should carry medicine that helps her reduce the chance of the Heavenly Flame going berserk, no?"
"The only reason she went berserk this time was that she hadn't treated her condition properly for a while, which led to this outburst."
"I don't know what she has been doing, but she is risking her life."
Then, it struck Ling Ying!
For almost two years, Gu Xun'er hadn't asked Ling Ying to suppress her condition, and the answer is simple. It's because that brat from Xiao Clan has been doing it instead.
Unlike Ling Ying's high-level Dou Qi, which could suppress Gu Xun'er, albeit a little painfully, Xiao Yan wasn't even a Dou Practitioner, and his Dou Qi was very weak, but in return, it was more comfortable!
But no way in hell could Xiao Yan suppress the "Heavenly Flame" inside Gu Xun'er. Even if he was a protagonist, all he did was feed Dou Qi into the Golden Emperor Sky Burning Flame, potentially making it even more unbearable for her.
'XIAO YAN!!!' Ling Ying was furious. He wished he could kill that brat from Xiao Clan, but he knew he couldn't.
'My young miss could die...'
'I am such a failure as her guardian...'
Han Yuan saw Ling Ying's expression and chuckled inwardly because the seed of doubt was 'finally' planted.
In fact, what he said is a conjecture of his own based on the knowledge and plots of BTTH. However, it was logical enough and fit the case.
"Uncle, this is a Yin-rich medicine I made." Han Yuan followed by placing a jade bottle on the ground. "Eating it once a day should make her condition better."
"If you need more, you can visit me in the Soaring Wind Dojo."
"Kid, you..." Ling Ying's heart softened. After all, the only side harmed in this situation is Han Yuan, yet he was still so kind to Ling Ying's young lady.
'The information I got from the people in town is indeed correct. This boy is indeed very kind.'
"I am truly sorry. I shouldn't have let the young miss..."
Han Yuan shook his head and then smiled, "It's fine. I'm not mad at her, after all, my sister would have done the same if I got wronged the same way."
'Ah, Damn it! If not that damnable brat from Xiao Clan, this wouldn't have happened!' Ling Ying roared in his heart, still blaming Xiao Yan for this situation.
"Well, then, it's late... I should go home soon." Han Yuan slowly stood up, though shaking a few times. He waved at Ling Ying before walking away, limping down the mountain.
It was such a heart-wrenching sight, making Ling Ying terrible. He wanted to ask if Han Yuan needed help, but seeing Gu Xun'er lying down nearby, he shut his mouth and prayed for the boy's safe return.
...
...
Not long after, Gu Xun'er opened her eyes.
"W-Where am I..." She groggily said, realizing she was still in the forest and Ling Ying sitting solemnly nearby.
"Ling Ying, what happened?"
"Where is that boy?"
"Did I win?"
"Miss..." Ling Yin said dishearteningly. "Please distance yourself from Xiao Yan from now on. It is for your own good."
Gu Xun'er was dumbfounded, "What?!"