"Xiao Yu, I've left two years' worth of Fallen Heart Flame sub-flame inside your body. It will continuously temper your Dou Qi from within. If all goes well, in less than two years, you'll break through the Dou Ling bottleneck and step into the Dou Wang realm. For these two years, stay in the Inner Academy and cultivate properly with Xun'er. Once I finish handling a few matters, I'll come back to see you."
After withdrawing his hand, Xiao Se smiled gently at Xiao Yu.
Though reluctance flashed in her eyes, Xiao Yu still nodded.
"I'll wait for you."
"Xun'er," Xiao Se continued, turning toward her, "you're different. The Fallen Heart Flame's sub-flame doesn't suit you. I don't have anything particularly special to give you right now. I noticed you're still cultivating a high Xuan-tier technique. This Earth low-tier fire-attribute technique—Ninefold Phoenix Flame Art—should serve as a temporary upgrade for you."
As he spoke, he took out a crimson scroll from his storage ring.
"Thank you, Cousin Xiao Se."
Seeing that he had also prepared something for her, Xun'er's delicate face blossomed into a soft, radiant smile.
Xiao Se nodded slightly. Then he looked toward Medusa and Die.
"Die, Shasha, let's go."
With that, he left together with the two of them.
Watching the three figures disappear into the distance, disbelief flickered in Xiao Yu's eyes.
She slowly turned her head toward Xun'er.
"Xun'er… did that little rascal just call Medusa Queen 'Shasha'? I didn't mishear, did I?"
Xun'er shook her head calmly, her expression unchanged—as if she had long expected this.
Jia Ma Empire.
Behind the Xiao Clan in Wu Tan City.
Inside a chilly mountain cave, bursts of wild laughter echoed.
"Hahaha… hahaha! Four years! A full four years! I've finally returned to the Dou Zhe realm!"
(PS: Quick timeline clarification—Nalan Yanran's engagement annulment happened shortly after the protagonist participated in the Alchemist Grand Meeting, when he was just over fourteen. Xiao Yan began losing his Dou Qi at twelve. Now both the protagonist and Xiao Yan have just turned sixteen. Since part of Xiao Yan's Dou Qi was replaced by the protagonist, and he didn't receive Xun'er's assistance to break through nine-stage Dou Qi, it took him over a year and a half to break into Dou Zhe.)
Lying on the cold stone floor, Xiao Yan laughed for a long time before finally calming down. His face was filled with undisguised joy.
He shifted his body and sat cross-legged once more. Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes and sank his consciousness inward.
With the help of his Dou Zhe internal-vision ability, he clearly saw it.
At his lower abdomen, a palm-sized milky-white Qi vortex rotated slowly.
Opening his eyes again, Xiao Yan stood and stretched his stiff limbs. He grinned and looked toward the cave entrance.
There, floating like a ghost, was Yao Lao.
"Teacher," Xiao Yan said with a bright smile, "I finally did it."
"Mm."
Yao Lao stroked his beard and nodded approvingly.
"Your talent surpasses my expectations. From three-stage Dou Qi to Dou Zhe, you only spent a year and a half—something that would take ordinary people several years, even over a decade."
"No," Xiao Yan shook his head firmly. "I'm still far from enough. There's only a year and a half left until the three-year agreement. I have to train even harder than before."
He clenched his fists tightly.
He never wanted to endure that humiliation again.
"Relax," Yao Lao said with a faint smile. "As long as you complete the training tasks I set for you, by that time, Nalan Yanran will be no match for you."
"Mm."
Xiao Yan nodded heavily.
Then, an ingratiating smile crept onto his face.
"Teacher… now that I've broken into Dou Zhe… shouldn't I get a cultivation technique?"
Yao Lao's expression gradually turned serious.
"What kind of technique do you intend to cultivate?"
"Well… the one that's even stranger than Heaven-tier… the one that can evolve by devouring Heavenly Flames…"
Xiao Yan scratched his nose and laughed awkwardly.
Hearing this, Yao Lao showed no surprise.
"Have you thought it through?" he asked in a deep voice. "Devouring Heavenly Flames is a nine-deaths-one-survival gamble. If you fail, your fate may be worse than death. Even your soul will be annihilated."
"Nine deaths… even my soul…"
Xiao Yan's face turned pale.
His voice weakened.
He fell into silence, caught between fear and determination.
Watching him, Yao Lao sighed softly.
After a long moment, he spoke again.
"This is your choice. I cannot interfere too much. But let me ask you something."
"You seem quite interested in that girl named Xun'er, don't you?"
"W-What?"
Xiao Yan's face flushed red instantly.
"I… I just treat her like a little sister."
"Little sister?" Yao Lao chuckled lightly.
"Others may not see it, but I do. Even though I was asleep while absorbing your Dou Qi, I wasn't completely unaware of the outside world."
"From what I observed, ever since that girl was four or five years old, you've had feelings for her. No matter how she beat you—even kicking you in the family jewels—you always found ways to stick close to her."
"And you call that treating her like a sister?"
Yao Lao glanced at him and continued calmly.
"Let me put it this way. If one day she were lying in another man's arms… what would you do?"
Xiao Yan froze.
His fists clenched so tightly that his knuckles turned white.
"I'd feel terrible," he said in a low voice. "I'd want to kill that man and take Xun'er back."
Yao Lao nodded faintly.
"I've said enough."
He raised both hands. From Xiao Yan's dark storage ring, two scrolls flew out—one red, one black—and landed in his palms.
"The red scroll is an Earth low-tier fire-attribute technique."
"The black scroll is the one more mysterious than Heaven-tier. I named it the Flame Mantra."
Xiao Yan stared at the two scrolls.
"Teacher… does that mean only by cultivating the Flame Mantra can I keep Xun'er from being taken away?"
Yao Lao shook his head slowly.
"No. If you cultivate it, there's a chance she won't be taken. If you don't, she will definitely be taken."
He sighed softly.
"That girl is not only breathtakingly beautiful—her talent is also rare even across the Dou Qi Continent. Her future achievements may surpass even me at my peak."
Xiao Yan fell silent once more.
Memories of Nalan Yanran's humiliation flooded his mind.
Then—
He imagined Xun'er lying in another man's arms.
His eyes turned bloodshot.
He reached out and took the black scroll from Yao Lao's hand.
"I'm afraid of death," Xiao Yan said hoarsely. "But I'm even more afraid of losing my dignity. Whether it's the humiliation Nalan Yanran gave me… or the thought of watching Xun'er belong to someone else… I can't accept either."
"I refuse to accept fate. So I have no choice but to risk my life."
As he spoke, he carefully opened the black scroll.
He lowered his head and read.
In the next instant—
His facial expression became extremely complicated.
Why did this action look so strangely familiar?
(End of Chapter)
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