"Is this Han Feng?!" Just as Xiao Yan was about to launch into another lengthy speech, Xiao Ting pulled out a strange jade bottle containing a compressed energy body.
"Xiao Ting!" Han Feng's soul flared back to life and immediately roared, "Release me right now! Otherwise, when the Hall of Souls experts come looking for me, they will make sure you die a miserable death!"
"Actually, the powerful backer behind me is none other than Elder Mu Gu of the Hall of Souls — a respected 8th-tier Alchemist!"
Han Feng brought up Elder Mu Gu in an attempt to threaten Xiao Ting.
"Heh." Xiao Ting crossed his arms and spoke coldly. "Han Feng, turn around and take a look first."
Han Feng hesitated, suspicion written all over his face, but still turned and looked up.
What met his eyes was Yao Chen's completely emotionless, icy, and indifferent expression.
"Yao Lao?!" Han Feng's mind nearly shattered from the shock. He cried out in disbelief, "You… you're not dead?! You're still alive?!"
"It was you! You sent Xiao Ting to take revenge for me?!"
"Xiao Ting knew every detail of what happened back then. I should have realized he knew about you as well!"
"…" Han Feng muttered incoherently for a moment.
"You traitor! You never imagined this day would come, did you?!" Yao Lao raised his hand and released the Bone Chilling Flame, enveloping the jade bottle that held Han Feng's soul before sealing it inside the Bone Flame Ring.
Once everything was finished, he looked up and met Xiao Ting's gaze. "Xiao Ting, I owe you a great debt."
Xiao Ting expressed his gratitude for the kindness the old man had shown him over the years — helping clean his house without complaint.
This was far more devastating than if Xiao Ting had personally taken revenge on Han Feng. It was a psychological blow.
"Senior, why are you saying this to me?" Xiao Ting smiled and shook his head as he stood up. "Listen, I won't be polite with you. Refine a breakthrough pill for me. I need it urgently."
He was currently tempering essence, qi, and spirit, but his cultivation realm was the lowest of the three. His physical body and spiritual strength, taken separately, were already comparable to a high-level Dou Ancestor. Therefore, no matter how rapidly his cultivation rose, his foundation remained extremely stable.
"Very well. I'll refine it for you later using the Ten Thousand Beast Cauldron," Yao Lao agreed readily.
Refining a sixth-tier pill inside a medicinal cauldron could conceal the heaven-and-earth energy fluctuations during pill formation, preventing it from being detected.
"I'll come by after dinner."
Xiao Ting arrived quickly and left even faster.
After handing Han Feng's soul over to Yao Chen and asking him to refine the Breaking Emperor Pill, Xiao Ting headed straight for Xun Er's residence.
"Xun Er." He did not push the door open directly but called out from outside.
"Brother Xiao Ting!" Xun Er immediately rushed over with a face full of surprise and joy. "You finally came out of seclusion!"
"I'm only stepping out temporarily," Xiao Ting said as he stepped forward, naturally taking her soft hand. He gazed at her gently. "I'm preparing to break through to the Dou Emperor realm and needed Senior Yao to refine a pill. Since I had some free time, I came to see you."
"Brother Xiao Ting, you don't have to push yourself so hard," Xun Er said, a trace of heartache flashing through her eyes. "Didn't I promise to protect you?"
"Xun Er believes that Brother Xiao Ting will one day become an unrivaled expert, so there's no need to rush."
"I have to rush," Xiao Ting replied firmly. "Your family won't allow me to grow slowly."
The two walked hand-in-hand toward a secluded courtyard, whispering sweet words along the way.
When they reached the backyard, Xiao Ting's gaze unconsciously fell upon the woman seated in the pavilion. She wore a blazing red dress and a matching red veil. Her features were exquisite, her skin snow-white, and she carried an air of mysterious nobility. She looked like a single red lotus blooming in a world of molten lava — flawless in figure and bearing.
Any word used to describe a celestial fairy could be applied to her.
With a single glance, Xiao Ting knew this woman was extraordinary.
"Red Lotus Karmic Flame?"
Feedback from the Purple Beast Flame inside his body confirmed it.
The woman in red harbored a strange flame — the Red Lotus Karmic Flame, ranked eighth on the Heavenly Flame Ranking. Even so, upon sensing the Purple Beast Flame, the Red Lotus Karmic Flame immediately conveyed submission.
"Hmm?!"
Huo Zhi and Xiao Ting locked eyes, both feeling their hearts skip a beat.
For some reason, the Red Lotus Karmic Flame within her had been stimulated, awakening sealed emotions.
'It seems this person is Huo Zhi,' Xiao Ting instantly understood.
The eighth-ranked Red Lotus Karmic Flame originally belonged to the Yan clan. It had been suppressed and refined by Huo Zhi, a fourth-generation Dou God bloodline descendant of the Yan clan, granting her cultivation speed comparable to other royal geniuses of her generation.
This woman also seemed to possess a copy of his Journal — which explained why she was here.
'What kind of script has Xun Er prepared for Huo Zhi?'
Xiao Ting wondered with great interest.
"Xun Er, who is this?" Xiao Ting withdrew his gaze from Huo Zhi and looked down at Xun Er.
"Brother Xiao Ting, this is my new friend, Sister Huo Zhi." Xun Er took his hand and led him toward the pavilion with a smile. "Sister Huo Zhi's family and mine have been close for generations. Our clan possesses several Heavenly Flame bloodlines."
"She's currently traveling the Battle Qi Continent. She heard there was a Fallen Heart Flame at Jia Nan Academy and came to see it. By chance she met my guard and we became acquainted."
'Whether Xun Er or Huo Zhi came up with the idea, I don't know.'
"I see." Xiao Ting nodded, entered the pavilion, clasped his fists, and bowed slightly. "Miss Huo Zhi, greetings."
Huo Zhi deliberately scanned Xiao Ting from head to toe, took a long pause, then spoke six words in a flat tone: "You are not worthy of her."
Xiao Ting: "…"
You two really went all out writing this script.
They cast the Huo Zhi in the role of the arrogant villain who gets face-slapped, only for her worldview to be proven wrong later.
"Whether I'm worthy or not is not for you to decide," Xiao Ting said, frowning slightly as he straightened his back.
"My opinion doesn't matter either. The final decision belongs to Xun Er herself. Whoever she believes is right, whoever she wants — that is her choice."
[I never expected to meet Huo Zhi at Jia Nan Academy. She came for the Fallen Heart Flame and coincidentally became friends with Xun Er. I didn't know, but thinking about it now, it makes perfect sense.]
[One was the daughter of a Gu clan leader, the other the daughter of the Yan clan leader. Both had been doubted for their talent when young. Xun Er had been raised in the Xiao family, while Huo Zhi grew up under the contemptuous gazes of her clan's many geniuses.]
[It was only natural for two such girls to meet at Jia Nan Academy and become fast friends.]
[But she immediately declared that I wasn't worthy of Xun Er, leaving me speechless.]
[This perfectly matched the stereotype of arrogant ancient descendants.]
Huo Zhi: !
I'm not a arrogant.
"You don't know your own limits." Huo Zhi released her Dou Venerate aura, enveloping Xiao Ting, and spoke calmly as if stating an obvious fact. "Your cultivation talent is indeed rare among commoners."
"But among those of us from the ancient bloodlines, they are merely ordinary. They can only serve as guards."
"I'm not much older than you, yet I am already a Dou Venerate."
"What exactly do you plan to use to stay by Xun Er's side in the future?!"
…