A few days later, outside Peace Town, Jia Nan Academy.
Two black-robed figures stopped on a small hillside, looking into the distance.
The people who had emerged from the secret realm were Zi Yan and Jiang Yun. After leaving the secret realm, they were teleported to an unfamiliar place and spent a lot of effort to find their way back.
In the distance, at the angle between two majestic mountains, there was a faintly visible small town. Seeing it, Jiang Yun and Zi Yan's minds relaxed.
In the past few days, they had encountered many desperate outlaws in the Black-Corner Region. Many people who hadn't entered the secret realm earlier were waiting outside, targeting those who emerged from it.
After leaving the secret realm, even though they were teleported to a remote location, the two still experienced several rounds of fierce battles, even encountering Dou Wang (Battle King) level Interception.
Jiang Yun and Zi Yan showed no mercy to those who blocked their way and robbed them, sending them all to their graves.
That Dou Wang (Battle King) was also beaten to death by Zi Yan with a series of dragon punches!
After again acquiring several valuable storage rings, Jiang Yun and Zi Yan finally became rich, their wealth now matching Jiang Yun's status as an Alchemist.
"Remember, if anyone asks, just say what we agreed upon!" As they approached Peace Town, Jiang Yun still reminded her, uneasy.
"I know, I know. If Old Su asks, we'll say we found an unknown strange flame in a secret realm, and Xiao Yun absorbed it, which accidentally gave you the talent for alchemy!"
Looking at Jiang Yun, Zi Yan repeated their agreed-upon story several times, not bothering him.
Jiang Yun nodded, rubbing Zi Yan's head: "Being secretive is ultimately inconvenient. If I have a legitimate reason, I can extensively acquire medicinal ingredients through alchemy, which will also help you grow quickly!"
Jiang Yun had already planned to expose his alchemy talent. The identity of an Alchemist on the Dou Qi Continent could bring him a lot of help and save him many troubles.
Moreover, he indeed needed to systematically learn alchemy, and this was a good opportunity.
As for whether Su Qian and the others believed it, that was beyond Jiang Yun's control. In any case, the fact was that I, Jiang Yun, am an alchemy genius!
If there are any questions, ask the strange flame!
"Hmph—otherwise, I wouldn't help you collude!" Zi Yan lifted her small head, saying with a touch of arrogance.
"Haha!" Looking at Zi Yan, Jiang Yun chuckled. She truly had a childish nature!
After revealing their Inner Court student identities, and with the commotion Jiang Yun had caused still ongoing, the two easily entered Peace Town.
Amidst the awe, fighting spirit, and admiration in the eyes of the surrounding students, Zi Yan spread her Dou Qi wings and flew towards the Inner Court, carrying Jiang Yun.
"Is that Jiang Yun, who is said to have swept through the Fire Energy Capture Competition?"
"Are you envious? Then work hard on your cultivation! Maybe you'll have a chance to do it too in the future!"
"Who's envious? I know my own talent. Rather than envying Senior Jiang Yun's talent, I'm more envious that he has a Dou Wang (Battle King) childhood friend!!!"
"..."
"Damn, I'm envious too!!!"
Shortly after, Zi Yan and Jiang Yun returned to their dormitory. The continuous battles had kept their spirits extremely tense. Upon returning to the dormitory, the two first went back to their respective rooms for a good night's rest.
The next day.
Jiang Yun woke up from his room, feeling the abundant Dou Qi within his body. He nodded in satisfaction. This secret realm was an unexpected event; he had originally only intended to get some Earth Core Tempering Milk to break through to Dou Ling (Battle Spirit), but now he had directly reached Four-star Dou Ling (Battle Spirit).
Even more remarkably, he had discovered another way to use the Holy Heavenly Demon Flame.
The Holy Heavenly Demon Flame was composed of two types of flames, black and white; the white flame represented life, and the black flame represented death. This reminded him of the Yin-Yang Twin Flames, ranked twenty-first on the Heavenly Flame Ranking list of the Dou Qi Continent.
How similar the two were!
"Hmm?" Just then, Jiang Yun's expression shifted, and he walked out of his room.
As expected, Elder Su Qian was sitting leisurely in a chair in the living room.
"Elder!"
"You're a Dou Ling (Battle Spirit)?" As soon as Jiang Yun appeared, Su Qian's gaze fell upon him, saying with a look of astonishment.
"By chance!"
"Good, good!" Looking at the humble Jiang Yun, Su Qian smiled with satisfaction, his eyes filled with relief.
"What's all the noise? Can't a person sleep?!" Just then, a crisp angry shout came, and Zi Yan came downstairs, looking somewhat displeased, her small face clearly showing the words "I haven't woken up yet!"
"..."
Su Qian and Jiang Yun exchanged glances, both seeing helplessness in the other's eyes.
"Oh! Old Su is here!" At this moment, Zi Yan, still half-asleep, finally noticed Su Qian, looking as if she had just realized something.
"Zi Yan has been exhausted these past few days, Elder, please don't mind her!" Jiang Yun walked over, led Zi Yan to a chair, and then took out a bottle of pills to silence her.
"You…" Hearing Jiang Yun's words, Su Qian looked at Jiang Yun with disbelief, then at Zi Yan, his expression somewhat complex.
"?"
Seeing Su Qian's distressed expression, Jiang Yun felt that he might have been misunderstood and quickly said, "Elder, do you know about the Dou Zun (Battle Venerate) relic that appeared in the Black-Corner Region a few days ago?"
"Hmm?" Su Qian's thoughts were immediately pulled back. Looking at Jiang Yun, then at Zi Yan, he showed a knowing expression: "You went!"
Seeing Jiang Yun smile without refuting, Su Qian couldn't help but exclaim, "You two are truly bold! I heard that all the Dou Huang (Battle Emperor) and Dou Zong (Battle Ancestor) from the Black-Corner Region were attracted there. How dare you, a Dou Wang (Battle King) and a Dou Ling (Battle Spirit), go join the fun?"
"I'm truly getting old!"
"Old Su, those guys weren't that great. We actually got some good stuff this time!" Zi Yan swallowed the pill in her mouth and pouted.
"What good stuff?" At this moment, Su Qian was somewhat curious. A Dou Zun (Battle Venerate) relic, he knew the treasures inside must be extraordinary. And for Zi Yan to call something "good stuff," it must indeed be remarkable. This made Su Qian curious as to what good things they had picked up from those Dou Huang (Battle Emperor) and Dou Zong (Battle Ancestor).
"Elder, I was fortunate enough to obtain a strange flame!" Jiang Yun replied with a smile, and at the same time, he flipped his palm, and a white flame surged from his palm, emitting a moving aura of life.
"A strange flame!!!"
The Elder looked at the white flame, which emitted terrifying heat yet strangely carried vigorous vitality, giving him a subtle sense of threat. His pupils contracted, and he finally showed a trace of losing his composure.
"Indeed, a strange flame!" Jiang Yun's face showed a timely hint of joy.
"You are quite lucky!" Su Qian gazed at the flame before him, filled with emotion.
Why was Jia Nan Academy so famous? It was because they possessed the Fallen Heart Flame, ranked fourteenth on the Heavenly Flame Ranking list.
Strange flames, these rare treasures of heaven and earth, each time they appeared, invariably attracted countless powerhouses to vie for them, but those who actually obtained them were few and far between.
Strange flames were also what every Alchemist dreamed of. For Jiang Yun to obtain a strange flame, even Su Qian felt a bit envious of this kid's good fortune.
"However, your strange flame doesn't seem to correspond to any of the strange flames on the Heavenly Flame Ranking list!"
Su Qian, having calmed his mind, looked at Jiang Yun's strange flame and said with some confusion.
Jiang Yun's strange flame was whitish and carried a rich life aura. To Su Qian's knowledge, only the Bone Chilling Flame, ranked eleventh on the Heavenly Flame Ranking list, was white, and among strange flames with a life aura, only the Life Spirit Flame, ranked fifth, existed.
None of them matched Jiang Yun's strange flame!
"The Dou Qi Continent is vast; who can say for sure that new strange flames won't be born in certain places?" Jiang Yun flipped his palm, retracting the flame, and said with a faint smile.
"You're right!" Su Qian paused slightly, nodding in agreement. "Then, do you want to give your strange flame a name? Perhaps one day, it will become the twenty-fourth strange flame on the Heavenly Flame Ranking list alongside you!"
"Let's call it the Undying Holy Flame!"
"Good, I hope in the future, within this academy, I will hear of the Undying Holy Flame's name spreading across the continent." Su Qian nodded in satisfaction, stroking his gray beard.
"Old Su, after Xiao Yun refined this strange flame, it seems he can do alchemy now!" At this moment, Zi Yan excitedly 'reported' to Su Qian.
"Cough, cough." Su Qian's hand trembled, and a tuft of gray beard was pulled off, showing the immense impact the news had on him.
"What did you say?" Su Qian looked at Zi Yan with disbelief, then turned to stare at Jiang Yun, asking uncertainly, "Jiang Yun, is what Zi Yan just said true? Can you do alchemy now?"
Jiang Yun nodded and said, "The only difference between me and an Alchemist was a trace of wood qi. Now that I'm using the life force from the flame to substitute it, it's feasible. This is a first-grade Rejuvenation Pill I refined, Elder, please take a look!"
He reached out and took out a pre-prepared pill, handing it to Su Qian!
Su Qian hurriedly took it and, upon careful inspection, discovered that it was indeed a first-grade pill, and moreover, a high-quality one with some pill patterns. This discovery left Su Qian somewhat stunned.
"Hahahaha—good, good!" Immediately after, a burst of hearty laughter echoed from the dormitory. Su Qian's gaze at Jiang Yun at this moment was like looking at a rare treasure.
Jiang Yun was originally regarded highly by him due to his exceptionally talented soul force. Unfortunately, when he broke through to Dou Zhe, it was discovered that Jiang Yun had no wood qi in his body, which made Su Qian feel a great pity.
Now, it was good. Jiang Yun had received a great opportunity, making up for the deficiency of wood qi in his body, and could now do alchemy. This greatly excited Su Qian, as if he saw a grand Alchemist rising before his eyes.
"By the way, how did you know the refining method for the Rejuvenation Pill?" Recovering his senses, Su Qian looked at Jiang Yun and asked curiously.
"What's so difficult about that? My Xiao Yun is a genius!" Zi Yan said proudly from the side.
Jiang Yun then explained to Su Qian how he had learned alchemy.
"Alas—if you couldn't do alchemy, that would truly be against all reason!" After listening, Su Qian couldn't help but exclaim. To be able to replicate it simply by observing several elders from the Alchemy Department doing alchemy, with such talent, if Jiang Yun couldn't do alchemy, even the heavens wouldn't stand for it!
"Elder, I want to join the Alchemy Department!" At this moment, Jiang Yun cupped his hands and said.
"Of course, Old Huo will definitely be very happy to see you!" Su Qian agreed with a smile, and also teased his old friend.
"No time to lose, let's go now!" Su Qian was a decisive person; as soon as he agreed, he wanted to take Jiang Yun to the Alchemy Department.
"Zi Yan." Jiang Yun nodded, then turned to Zi Yan and asked.
"Xiao Yun, you two go, I'm a bit tired!" Before Jiang Yun could finish speaking, Zi Yan waved her hand indifferently, saying with a weary expression, and then yawned.
Is she about to advance?
Jiang Yun's eyes flashed, and he silently speculated in his heart!
After reminding Zi Yan to rest well, Jiang Yun followed Su Qian towards the Alchemy Department of the Inner Court.
The Alchemy Department of the Inner Court was slightly different from that of the Outer Court.
The building that appeared before their eyes resembled a medicine cauldron in shape. Around the building, there were windows like the fire vents of a medicine cauldron, and on top of the high roof, a massive cauldron lid lay prostrate.
Above the building, on a pale purple sandalwood plaque, were several faded, ancient characters.
"Inner Court Alchemy Department!"
And Jiang Yun noticed that next to these five large characters, there were a few more. Looking closely, it was actually the Alchemist Guild.
"This is?" Jiang Yun looked at Su Qian with some confusion.
"Haha, the Alchemy Department of our Jia Nan Academy's Inner Court is also the only Alchemist Guild in this Black-Corner Region. The Alchemist ranks assessed here will be recognized throughout the continent."
Su Qian clarified for Jiang Yun, his tone carrying a hint of pride.
Jiang Yun immediately understood. Every city had an Alchemist Guild, and they could all assess Alchemist ranks, gaining recognition from the Danta in Central Plains. Jia Nan Academy was also well-known in the Northwest Continent, so the existence of an Alchemist Guild was not surprising.
Otherwise, would students who graduated from the academy have to be re-assessed after returning home?
Stepping inside, a faint herbal fragrance wafted over, making one feel refreshed.
Inside the main hall, there weren't many people, only a handful quietly doing their own things. Hearing footsteps, some looked up and were slightly surprised to see who had arrived.
A middle-aged man walked forward and respectfully said, "Elder!"
"Is Elder Huo in?"
"Elder Huo is in the backyard!"
"I know, I'll go myself, you can go back to your work!" With that, Su Qian led Jiang Yun towards the backyard.
The surrounding mentors exchanged strange glances, looking at Jiang Yun's retreating figure, some deep in thought.
Is this the rumored relative of the Elder?
As the chief of the Alchemy Department, Elder Huo naturally had his own small courtyard, which was not luxurious, but entirely built from lush green bamboo.
Looking at the quiet courtyard before them, Su Qian pushed open the courtyard gate and slowly walked to the front of the room, saying, "Old Huo, I've brought you a treasure."
"Elder?" A faint voice of doubt came from inside the room. Then, Elder Huo was seen coming out.
"Why has the Elder come?"