"I'm telling you, to save you, I risked being hunted down. It was very dangerous. That big tiger behind me at the time was so long…"
Looking at the little girl whose mouth was chattering non-stop, occasionally gesturing with her hands, Jiang Yun opened his mouth but didn't speak. He could tell she had no ill intentions, but he didn't know what she was trying to express.
However, upon hearing 'third-tier magical beast,' Jiang Yun felt a sense of familiarity. Looking at the purple-haired loli in front of him, and the unusually active spatial energy around her, he seemed to know who she was.
"Zi Yan!" Jiang Yun cautiously probed. If it really was Zi Yan, he probably couldn't even withstand one of her punches.
"Hmm?" Zi Yan, still engrossed in recounting how she 'difficult' rescued Jiang Yun, blinked her large, confused eyes and asked, "Zi Yan? Is she calling me?"
Isn't she?
Just as Jiang Yun felt a little disappointed, he saw her happily say, "Zi Yan, that sounds nice. From now on, I'll be called Zi Yan. Oh, what's your name?"
"Jiang Yun!"
Although a bit speechless that he was the one who named Zi Yan, he still slowly spoke his name.
"Hmm, Jiang Yun, Xiao Yunzi." Zi Yan crossed her arms, put on a serious face, and slowly nodded.
Soon, she put on a serious expression again, leaned her small head closer, her eyes filled with the word'serious': "Although you gave Zi Yan a nice name, the reward for saving you cannot be less!"
"What reward?" Jiang Yun looked at the suddenly serious Zi Yan, a little confused.
"You want to renege!" Seeing Jiang Yun's confusion, Zi Yan immediately shrieked, pointing at Jiang Yun with one hand, her face gritting her teeth, and her right hand slowly clenching into a fist.
"The grace of saving a life is greater than the heavens; I have no intention of reneging!" His peripheral vision caught Zi Yan's small fist, and Jiang Yun immediately shivered, instantly putting on a serious face and sincerely saying.
"Hmph—, I wouldn't expect you to dare!" Looking at the 'sincere' Jiang Yun, Zi Yan snorted, flicked her ponytail, raised her small head, and said proudly.
"Phew—"
Seeing that Zi Yan had calmed down, Jiang Yun immediately breathed a sigh of relief. Zi Yan was good, but he needed to keep up with her strength, otherwise, if she ever threw a punch, wouldn't he be half-paralyzed?
"But I have nothing on me right now, can I owe you first?" After searching his entire body and finding nothing, Jiang Yun said a little awkwardly.
"You—" Zi Yan was a bit annoyed at this, but seeing Jiang Yun's pockets even emptier than hers, she said somewhat dejectedly, "Alright!"
However, she quickly regained her energetic demeanor, wrinkled her small nose, and leaned in front of Jiang Yun, sniffing gently, occasionally raising her head slightly, her large, clear eyes filled with a hint of curiosity.
"Are you human? You smell so good!"
Looking at the delicate Zi Yan, cute and naive, she was truly endearing.
"I am indeed human. As for the smell? I'm not sure!" Jiang Yun smiled gently.
Regarding the smell Zi Yan mentioned, Jiang Yun had a guess: it was probably because he came from the Great Thousand World. Although he hadn't cultivated, he had indeed been exposed to spiritual energy, which is a higher-level energy than Fighting spirit (Dou Qi).
For Zi Yan, with her terrifying Ancient Void Dragon imperial bloodline, spiritual energy was indeed a very attractive'supplement.'
"Who?"
Suddenly, Jiang Yun's pupils contracted, and goosebumps rose all over his body. It was a chill from the bottom of his heart; his spiritual sense was wildly warning him.
The next moment, he subconsciously shielded Zi Yan behind him. Although his strength was not as strong as Zi Yan's, he still couldn't bring himself to use Zi Yan as a human shield.
Although Zi Yan didn't know what was happening yet, seeing this figure even smaller than herself, she felt warmth for the first time.
From the moment she was born, she had been competing with other magical beasts.
An Ancient Void Dragon cub lost in the wild was not only an object of fear due to its bloodline in the eyes of other magical beasts, but also a delicious treat. She had to evade the pursuit of powerful magical beasts and search for enough resources to grow.
The Ancient Void Dragon imperial bloodline, instead of being her aid, became a 'burden.'
She had never felt what it was like to be protected by someone. At this moment, looking at Jiang Yun, this weak human, a hint of bitterness arose in her carefree heart.
"What a terrifying perception."
A laughing voice came out. Su Qian, wearing a gray robe and having tracked them, observed Zi Yan and Jiang Yun with a smile.
He focused his observation on Jiang Yun.
He could discern some of Zi Yan's background: a magical beast with an extraordinary bloodline, seemingly in its infancy based on its appearance. To have peak fourth-tier strength in its infancy clearly indicated immense potential.
However, he couldn't tell what kind of magical beast it was for a while.
But he was more interested in Jiang Yun, this six or seven-year-old human cub. That terrifying perception, he couldn't have sensed it wrong; he possessed incredibly strong innate soul power.
Although he wasn't an Alchemist, he knew that those with powerful soul power generally had good talent.
Moreover, the faintly swirling spatial energy around the other party further displayed his extraordinary talent.
As a Great Elder of an academy, and someone who enjoyed mentoring, he suddenly had a strong urge to bring both of them back to the academy.
"Senior, with your strength, it's not very good for you to secretly watch us two children, is it?"
Jiang Yun was tense all over, one hand tightly gripping Zi Yan, while in his other palm, a sinister eye slowly appeared, emitting a faint aura of annihilation, as if it was about to unleash a world-shattering strike at any moment.
The old man's origins were unknown, and his intuition told him this was an extremely terrifying expert, at least much stronger than Zi Yan.
"Little fellow, if this old man had ill intentions, with my strength, you wouldn't be standing there so steadily right now." Su Qian observed the mature-minded Jiang Yun with interest.
"Senior is joking!" Su Qian's words made Jiang Yun give a dry laugh, but he still didn't relax his guard, subtly keeping his chest towards the other party.
"Heh—, a wary little imp!" Su Qian, seeing this, wasn't annoyed, and cursed with a laugh.
At this moment, Zi Yan, whom Jiang Yun was protecting, became a little impatient. She pushed Jiang Yun away with a terrifying force that left Jiang Yun completely unable to resist.
"Hey—, old man, who are you? How dare you scare Xiao Yunzi? Be careful, I'll beat you up!" Zi Yan put her hands on her hips, 'fiercely' intimidating Su Qian.
However, coupled with her chubby appearance, she looked rather cute no matter how you saw it.
Jiang Yun, pushed aside by Zi Yan, felt a little helpless yet touched. He and Zi Yan had only met by chance, yet she dared to face an unknown enemy for him. This warmth made Jiang Yun, who had no companions since childhood and lived among the Fiend Clan, feel a glimmer of warmth.