Blazing Flame Academy.
Inside the headmaster's office stood a middle-aged man—under 1.7 meters tall, slightly plump, with rugged features dominated by his fiery red beard.
Beside him, Huo Wu and Huo Wushuang stood with heads bowed.
"You were sent to Tian Dou City to buy Fire Spirit Root," the man growled.
"Not only did you fail—you lost two Blazing Flame Heart Mushrooms!"
"Are you brainless?!"
He jabbed a thick finger at Huo Wushuang's chest, forcing him two steps back.
"Dad, it's not Brother's fault! I challenged that guy myself," Huo Wu interjected.
The man was Headmaster Huo Bao—Huo Wu and Huo Wushuang's father, a Level 73 fire-attribute Soul Saint.
"You let your sister duel without stopping her?" he roared at Huo Wushuang. "Now she has to take the blame? What kind of brother are you?!"
For half an hour, Huo Wushuang endured scolding like a whipped dog—while Huo Wu remained unscathed.
Once his rage cooled, Huo Bao demanded: "Who was that opponent?"
Among Tian Dou City's elite academies, few peers could defeat Huo Wu. At most, five.
"We don't know him!"
The siblings had puzzled over this all the way back—but found no answers.
"Don't know him?" Huo Bao scoffed. "Did he fall from the mountains?"
By "mountains," he meant the Upper Three Sects: Hao Tian, Blue Lightning, and Seven Treasures—all headquartered on peaks.
These sects produced prodigies more reliably than any other faction (besides the Spirit Hall).
Yet even if the boy hailed from those sects…
An eight- or nine-year-old defeating Huo Wu? Huo Bao refused to believe it.
He suspected his children misjudged the opponent's age.
"Dad, when he comes for the mushrooms, we'll test him ourselves," Huo Wu suggested.
Unscrupulous? Yes. But war had no honor.
She needed to know who'd humiliated her—to plan her revenge.
Just then—
The academy's dean called from outside: "Headmaster Huo! Someone claims Blazing Flame owes them two Blazing Flame Heart Mushrooms!"
Huo Bao's blood boiled.
That brat dares show up already?!
He stormed out, ready to intimidate—then froze.
Before him stood a gaunt young man in his twenties, radiating no soul power whatsoever. Nothing matched his children's description.
"That's him?" Huo Bao frowned.
Huo Wu shook her head as the stranger spoke:
"I'm from Tian Dou Apothecary. A client said your academy owes two Blazing Flame Heart Mushrooms for delivery to the city. I'm here to collect."
Yang Fan had hired this man for ten gold coins—anticipating trouble if he came himself.
Truthfully… he feared exposure.
If Blazing Flame recognized him, rumors would spread across Tian Dou City…
"Where is he?" Huo Wu snapped. She didn't even know Yang Fan's name—and his absence infuriated her.
"I wouldn't know, ma'am," the clerk said nervously. "I'm just a runner."
Huo Bao's face darkened. "Go fetch two Blazing Flame Heart Mushrooms from home."
A bet was a bet.
He wouldn't tarnish the academy's reputation by reneging—nor shift his children's debt onto the institution.
"Next time you gamble without assessing your opponent's strength," he warned Huo Wushuang, "I'll skin you alive."
After another lecture, he sent them to retrieve the herbs.
Though merely a Soul Saint, Huo Bao's decades running Blazing Flame Academy—and supplying Tian Dou Empire with soul masters—had made the Huo family a noble house. Their vaults overflowed with resources.
Huo Wu's auction loss wasn't due to poverty—they simply refused to be "fools with deep pockets."
…
Meanwhile.
Yang Fan now held the two Blazing Flame Heart Mushrooms.
He finally understood Huo Wu's desperation:
The Continental Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament began in six months.
Every major academy—Thunder, God Wind, Sky Water, Canghui—was stockpiling resources to shine at the tournament and attract top students next year.
This was Douluo Continent's grandest event—boosting not just soul masters, but entire cities' economies.
Even the Breaking Clan would profit!
Yang Fan could already picture their healing salves selling out.
He could do the same—easily mass-produce Blood-Clotting Powder for Tian Dou City's markets.
But he wouldn't.
Unlike the soul beast forest, this city punished attention-seekers with exposure.
He pulled out his cauldron and heaps of herbs from his soul tool.
Ignite flame. Add ingredients. Quench…
Today's pill was a basic Grade-3 formula—cheap materials, complex process—perfect for honing his alchemy and soul strength.
Since witnessing Yao Lao crush a 10,000-year soul beast with pure soul power, Yang Fan grasped its true potential.
Strong soul strength wasn't just for alchemy or scouting—it was a lethal weapon.
Imagine: foes charging with martial souls drawn… only to drop dead before you lift a finger.
Too damn cool!
That was true power.
Yao Lao had explained soul strength tiers:
Mortal State→ Soul State → Heavenly State → Emperor (Di) State—
each subdivided into Low, Mid, High, and Great Perfection.
Only Soul State+ could refine Grade-8 pills.
By Yao Lao's estimate, Yang Fan barely reached Mortal State Mid-stage—a novice at best.
Why did experts vary in strength?
It lay in these overlooked details.
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