"Xiao Yun—"
A clear, slightly alluring voice rang out. Before Jiang Yun could look, a familiar yet strange aura rushed into his arms.
Instinctively, he reached out to embrace the slender, firm waist in his arms. Looking down, he saw a pair of bright eyes, full of pleasant surprise, gazing up at him.
"You are… Zi Yan?" Feeling the youthful body in his embrace, Jiang Yun was momentarily hesitant.
Had he really taken this long to refine the Fallen Heart Flame? Zi Yan had grown so much?
"Hmph—You heartless fellow! I worried about you so much, and you don't even recognize me!" Zi Yan, who had just been excited, suddenly changed her expression. She pushed Jiang Yun away, snorted coldly, turned her head, and said in a cold voice.
"Haha, I just didn't expect you to change so much. I was momentarily lost in thought!"
That's more like it! Seeing Zi Yan's tsundere appearance, Jiang Yun felt a sense of familiarity return. He shook his head and chuckled softly.
"Hehe—" Zi Yan's temper was famously quick to come and quick to go. She immediately giggled, tugged on Jiang Yun's clothes, and puffed out her chest, saying.
"How about it? I've grown up. Haven't I captivated you?"
As she spoke, Zi Yan stretched languidly and alluringly, instantly highlighting her already enticing curves. Her eyes became lazy.
She cast a shy, flirtatious glance at Jiang Yun.
"Stop it!" Jiang Yun, his face lined with black, lightly tapped Zi Yan's smooth forehead. This girl had no idea how to be seductive.
She had the body of an older woman but the heart of a loli. No matter how Jiang Yun looked at it, it felt awkward.
"Ow—" Her head 'injured' and having been teased by Jiang Yun, Zi Yan immediately pouted indignantly and muttered, "You clearly like it, you hypocrite!"
With Jiang Yun's keen ears, he naturally heard Zi Yan's grumbling, but he didn't have time for her. He slowly lowered his head.
He clenched his palm, and a black and white flame surged out with a puff.
The moment the flame appeared, Zi Yan immediately became alert, her body instinctively retreating half a step. Realizing what she had done, she was instantly annoyed. As if in a huff, she took three large steps towards Jiang Yun, pressing directly against his side, her eyes fixed on the slowly burning flame.
"After devouring the Fallen Heart Flame, the power of the Holy Heavenly Demon Flame has been strengthened. It should be comparable to the Bone Chilling Flame. I just wonder how much of a gap there is between it and the top ten strange flames on the Heavenly Flame Ranking list?"
Feeling the high temperature of the flame in his palm, Jiang Yun mused to himself. The top ten strange flames on the Heavenly Flame Ranking list were all extraordinary, with a clear difference from those outside the top ten.
He believed his current sub-flame was not inferior to any strange flame outside the top ten. To fully enter the top ten, he still needed to work harder, for example…
Sea Heart Flame!
A bright light flickered in his eyes. Jiang Yun clenched his palm, retracting the black and white flame into his body. He opened his mouth slightly, and a clear, whistling sound, like a crane's cry, echoed through this dead silent underground world!
The whistle was long, and at this moment, Jiang Yun's aura also soared at an astonishing speed!
As Jiang Yun's aura suddenly surged, this magma world also became turbulent. The magma roared wildly like ocean waves.
One-star Dou Wang, two-star, four-star…
In the blink of an eye, Jiang Yun's aura had skyrocketed to a jaw-dropping degree. If an outsider were to see it, they would probably be scared into doubting life by this terrifying rate of improvement.
A goal that others might not achieve in decades, or even a lifetime, Jiang Yun accomplished in mere breaths at this moment.
Indeed, comparing oneself to others can be infuriating!
His wildly surging aura directly bypassed five-star, then surged again, finally slowing down and stabilizing after breaking through the six-star Dou Wang barrier.
As Jiang Yun's surging aura returned to calm, the surrounding magma waves also gradually subsided.
"Six-star Dou Wang, not bad!" Feeling the surging aura within him, Jiang Yun couldn't help but exclaim. The surging power and the surrounding heaven and earth energy, which he could manipulate at will, brought Jiang Yun a strong sense of security.
Devouring the energy of the Fallen Heart Flame, accumulated over countless years, brought him a leapfrog progression. Not only did he break through the Dou Wang barrier, but he also advanced to six-star Dou Wang, almost breaking through to seven-star Dou Wang. Now, he truly possessed the strength to travel across this continent.
"Tch—I'm already a Dou Emperor. Six-star Dou Wang is just so-so!"
Just then, an indifferent voice came. Zi Yan was idly twirling her purple hair, but Jiang Yun still saw joy in her eyes.
Joy for him!
Jiang Yun smiled gently and lightly ruffled Zi Yan's head. She immediately leaned comfortably against Jiang Yun's side, her large eyes narrowed into crescent moons.
"I must also thank Senior Qing Ming for guarding me. I wonder how long I have been in seclusion this time?" Jiang Yun turned to look at Qing Ming, who was standing quietly beside him, cupped his hands slightly, and asked softly.
Qing Ming looked at Jiang Yun with a smile, nodded in satisfaction, and then said, "It has been two years."
"Two years!" Jiang Yun murmured. He had now been on the Dou Qi Continent for nearly seven years, and he was already thirteen, almost fourteen!
"It's time to see this world!" His thoughts raced for only a moment. He turned back to Zi Yan, his eyes exceptionally gentle.
Two years. He had already guessed that Zi Yan must have been with him the whole time. This friendship warmed Jiang Yun, and his gaze towards Zi Yan also changed slightly.
"Let's go, we should head out. Otherwise, the Grand Elder will be anxious!" Jiang Yun said softly to Zi Yan, extending a hand at the same time.
"???" Zi Yan looked at Jiang Yun with some confusion. She didn't have any more supplies now, and it wasn't a good place to refine pills here, right?
Jiang Yun helplessly pressed a hand to his forehead. He took a step forward, took Zi Yan's smooth and tender hand in his, and looked at Zi Yan with a smile: "Before, you always carried me. This time, let me carry you!"
Zi Yan suddenly understood. Before she could react, she was lifted into the air. Then… then she was carried in a princess carry by Jiang Yun, who vibrated a pair of pure white Dou Qi wings as they flew towards the sky.
Nestled in Jiang Yun's arms, Zi Yan could clearly hear his heartbeat. This feeling made her feel very strange, as if the world had suddenly become quiet, leaving only her and Jiang Yun.
Looking up at Jiang Yun, who was focused on flying, Zi Yan's lips curved into a charming smile. She closed her eyes, snuggled into Jiang Yun's embrace, her ear against his chest, quietly listening to his strong heartbeat
At this moment, Zi Yan felt a strange sensation quietly taking root in her heart. She didn't know what this feeling was, she only knew that her face was a little hot now.
Inside the Heavenly Flame Refining Tower.
The students, now accustomed to the enhanced Heavenly Flame Refining Tower, were joyfully immersed in deep cultivation, reveling in the rapid improvement of their cultivation.
At a certain moment, the Inner Court students, who were in deep cultivation on various floors of the Heavenly Flame Refining Tower, suddenly opened their eyes in alarm, because they all discovered a shocking fact.
The heart flame sub-flames, which had been continuously providing them with qi refinement and bone tempering, were decreasing at a visible rate, until now, they had completely disappeared.
Yes, they had completely disappeared. Not a trace of the heart flame sub-flames could be found.
"Something big has happened!"
At this moment, all the students felt a bad premonition, while the elders guarding the tower showed a look of relief in their eyes.
Not only were they not anxious, but they also converged in one direction, clearly someone had already informed them.
"Jiang Yun succeeded!" After everyone arrived, Elder Liu, who thought highly of Jiang Yun, showed a joyful expression and said excitedly.
His judgment was indeed correct. The first time he saw Jiang Yun, he felt that this child would be promising, and he had established a good relationship early on. And now… a Dragon Strength Pill lay quietly in his storage ring.
"From the looks of it, yes!" Another elder, an old man, nodded slightly and showed a hint of regret in his eyes.
The Spirit Gathering Array was good, but after experiencing double the joy, who would want to go back to how things were before?
"Let's go. The outside world is already in chaos. Elder Liu, immediately go outside to evacuate the students and temporarily seal the Heavenly Flame Refining Tower. Also, notify Grand Elder Su Qian to rush over immediately. I will go down to check the situation first. The remaining elders will stay on guard." A gray-robed elder with a profound aura calmly instructed. He was the most senior and strongest person here.
He was also aware of the situation and immediately took charge.
"Yes!" The elders cupped their hands.
After everyone dispersed, the gray-robed elder then walked towards the bottom of the Heavenly Flame Refining Tower.
Just as he reached the lowest floor of the Heavenly Flame Refining Tower, in a corner, the space rippled slowly like water.
"Swish!" A figure immediately appeared and walked over quickly.
"Grand Elder!" The gray-robed elder looked at the newcomer and quickly cupped his hands.
"Hmm!" Su Qian nodded, his eyes fixed on the spatial seal of the black well in the center.
After waiting for a while, a "buzz—" sounded. The spatial seal slowly cracked open, and two figures, walking hand in hand, emerged without any obstruction.
"Zi Yan, Jiang Yun!" A surprised voice came!
Slightly startled, Jiang Yun smiled faintly at Su Qian: "Grand Elder, are you here to welcome me?"
Su Qian, who had just been a little excited, now laughed and scolded: "You troublesome little fellow, when I brought you back, it was truly a loss of both wife and army!"
Jiang Yun smiled without speaking!
Indeed!
Ever since Su Qian brought Zi Yan and Jiang Yun back to the academy, either there were fewer medicinal herbs here, or the magical beasts there suffered, causing riots. Now, even the foundation of the academy, the Fallen Heart Flame, was gone.
No matter how you looked at it, Su Qian had lost everything!
"How is that Fallen Heart Flame? Did you successfully refine it?" Looking at Jiang Yun, who was unharmed and whose aura was even more profound, Su Qian couldn't help but ask curiously.
"The Fallen Heart Flame has been refined by me." Jiang Yun nodded, showing a hint of embarrassment for the first time. Regardless, this time he had hidden things from the academy and deceived the Grand Elder.
Although, there were many unavoidable circumstances.
"That's good. This thing remaining in the academy is a disaster and will sooner or later threaten the academy's safety. Now that it has been refined by you, it can be considered a fortunate coincidence." Having received a definite answer, Su Qian felt a little lost. No matter what, there was still a trace of reluctance in his heart.
However, from another perspective, this might not be a bad thing!
Looking at the open-minded Su Qian, Jiang Yun felt a little emotional. Mang Tianchi had indeed chosen a good elder. Su Qian truly had the academy's best interests at heart.
"Don't worry, Grand Elder, look." Jiang Yun extended his hand, and with a "boom—", the nascent heart flame emerged from his body, burning quietly in his palm.
"This is…" Su Qian was a little dazed, looking incredulously at the familiar yet strange invisible flame.
"The Fallen Heart Flame was absorbed by me, but not entirely. This much is left. Now it has lost its sentience and energy. To restore it to its original state, even with full cultivation, would take nearly a hundred years. However, it still has the ability to summon heart flames, enough to serve as the core of the array and support the operation of the Heavenly Flame Refining Tower…"
As Jiang Yun spoke, he extended his hand and pushed. The nascent Fallen Heart Flame, still ignorant, floated towards Su Qian, quietly flickering before his eyes.
Su Qian's expression was agitated. Although it was incredible, seeing the nascent heart flame, like a newborn, he already believed Jiang Yun's words. At the same time, the questions in his heart were answered.
Why Jiang Yun could absorb a second strange flame after already having one.
He had also heard rumors of strange flames devouring each other. Now it seemed to be true.
Su Qian stared intently at the nascent Fallen Heart Flame before him and trembled, "Lost its sentience, meaning its hostility towards the Inner Court has also disappeared?"
Jiang Yun nodded, "If an elder with fire attribute continuously nurtures it day and night, it can cultivate a Fallen Heart Flame that is close to the academy."
Su Qian looked at Jiang Yun gratefully. Even if Jiang Yun didn't say it, Su Qian could guess how much effort it would take to preserve such a sapling.
Su Qian: Jiang Yun is truly a good child!
Holy Heavenly Demon Flame:???, Is it that hard?
With trembling hands, he held up the nascent heart flame, carefully sensing the fluctuations it emitted. After feeling the identical heart flame body tempering effect, Su Qian immediately burst into excited laughter. After a while, he finally calmed down and looked at Jiang Yun, saying.
"Jiang Yun, you have given the academy a great gift!"
Jiang Yun chuckled and nodded, "The academy is also my home. This is what I should do!"
"Good, good, good!" Su Qian looked at Jiang Yun with a face full of emotion, his eyes filled with relief.
The gray-robed elder, who had listened to Su Qian and Jiang Yun's conversation from beginning to end, learned that the Fallen Heart Flame was still there, and in a state of lost sentience, his eyes filled with pleasant surprise.
The feeling of recovering something lost was wonderful!