"Don't think you can get away with being lazy just by saying nice things. I know you too well."
Yun Yun poked Xiao Tian's forehead, annoyed.
"Hehe, I'm not being lazy. I'm trusting you all and giving you room to grow. You're my most capable generals."
Xiao Tian chuckled, taking Yun Yun's hand and playing with it.
"These hands are just too perfect. Actually, your whole being is so perfect. I feel like I'll never get tired of looking at you in this lifetime."
Hearing Xiao Tian's words, which carried a hidden meaning yet still praised her, Yun Yun's face flushed with shyness, but her heart was filled with joy.
"Since you're so sincere, I'll forgive your laziness."
"I plan to have Cai Li lead a team to destroy the Black Skull Tomb. I killed those who came to cause trouble earlier, but it seems they haven't learned their lesson."
Xiao Tian frowned. "Alright, but let Old Wen go along. We've already displayed this level of strength, and they still dare to provoke us. It seems they have a backer. Perhaps there are Dou Zong forces secretly instigating them."
"I'll go by myself. No one else is needed."
Medusa's cold, majestic voice echoed in the room.
"Sister Cai Li, why don't you just join in? Your hobby is too strange."
Yun Yun heard Medusa's voice, her body halting mid-motion, before she spoke.
Xiao Tian had long known that Medusa was secretly peeking. He didn't know what special ability Medusa had awakened, but she was simply incredibly mischievous.
"Hmph, impossible!"
Both of them sensed that Medusa was no longer watching, and they both chuckled softly.
"You'd better deal with that tsundere soon so I can get my revenge. Hmph hmph."
Yun Yun wrinkled her cute nose, speaking indignantly.
In their hearts, they had long believed that Medusa would eventually become one of their sisters, and Xiao Tian would never let her go, so they didn't particularly mind Medusa's little hobby.
"Don't worry about her for now. She's just a tsundere shrimp. You just continue."
Xiao Tian looked at Yun Yun and said with a mischievous smile.
"Mm~"
…
Xiao Tian woke up. Yun Yun had already left to handle the affairs of Pure World Divine Palace. The Palace was in an initial stable state, but there were still many things to deal with. Last night, Xiao Tian had intended to give Yun Yun a medicinal pill, but she refused. She said she wanted to break through using her own strength, as breaking through with pills was ultimately not as solid as breaking through with natural cultivation. Xiao Tian didn't insist; this was indeed reasonable. Moreover, Yun Yun had a special physique, so there was no need to worry about the difficulty of breaking through to Dou Zong. Xiao Tian told her that when the time came, she could discuss the sensations and situations of reaching Dou Zong with Medusa and Xiao Yi Xian.
Xiao Tian walked out of the room and saw Qing Lin and Ya Fei cultivating. When they saw Xiao Tian, both were very happy. Xiao Tian embraced both of them and chatted, and peals of laughter like silver bells continuously rang out from their mouths.
During this time, Ya Fei also spoke to Xiao Tian about the current development of the Pure World Auction House. In short, it had already become the second most popular auction house in the Black-Corner Region. This was mainly due to the current security environment of Pure Heaven Divine City, which was the main city of Pure Heaven Divine Realm, where fighting was not allowed casually within the city. If conflicts arose, they were to be resolved on the established Life-and-Death Stage. This led to a great many people coming to settle in the Pure Heaven Divine City. Real estate sold well, and commercial facilities were also very complete.
"Then I'll head out first. You two keep cultivating. Once I'm done with the academy's matters, I'll take you out for a good stroll."
Patting their heads, Xiao Tian said with a smile.
After a final kiss goodbye, Xiao Tian left the Pure Heaven Divine Realm.
"Sister Ya Fei, let's keep cultivating. Sister Xian'er and Sister Yun's cultivation levels have already far surpassed ours."
Qing Lin held Ya Fei's hand and spoke seriously.
Ya Fei nodded solemnly. Now that she had a special physique, she didn't want to remain a useless vase, even though she was already managing the auction house very successfully. What she yearned for more was strength — the strength to stand by Xiao Tian's side and fight for him, rather than always being protected behind him. She hadn't dared to think about it before, but now it was different. She had a physique, and her talent issues were resolved. She would cultivate whenever she had time.
The cultivation levels of the girls, from highest to lowest, were: Xiao Yi Xian, peak Nine-Star Dou Zong; Medusa, Two-Star Dou Zong; Yun Yun, peak Nine-Star Dou Huang; Qing Lin, Four-Star Dou Ling; and Ya Fei, Nine-Star Da Dou Shi.
Xiao Tian appeared in the attic room and walked toward the hall downstairs. When he arrived at the hall, he saw Xiao Yan chatting with a man dressed in light grey clothes. The man's demeanor carried a hint of irritability, and there was a slight red glow in his eyes. Seeing him, Xiao Tian roughly guessed who he was.
"Brother Tian."
Xiao Yan saw Xiao Tian and quickly stood up to greet him. In Xiao Yan's eyes, Brother Tian had always been selflessly devoted to him. His achievements today were entirely due to his brother's support and help.
"Xiao Yan Zi, who is this?"
The grey-clothed man beside him saw that it was Xiao Tian and sat up straight, though a hint of battle intent still flickered in his eyes. Xiao Tian couldn't help but sigh inwardly — truly worthy of being called Mad Axe.
"Brother Tian, this is Senior Lin Yan. I just met him… he's a friend."
Xiao Yan thought for a moment. Although their relationship was more of a transaction, they could barely be considered friends.
"Junior Xiao Tian, your great name is like thunder to my ears."
The day Xiao Tian had made his move, Lin Yan had been in seclusion. After coming out, he heard everyone discussing Xiao Tian's Dou Wang strength. Lin Yan was also very curious about Xiao Tian, and just now he had vaguely felt a powerful oppressive force from him, confirming that the rumors were not false.
"Senior Lin Yan's strength is also very formidable. You're ranked ninth on the strong ranking."
"Compared to you, I'm not worth mentioning. In this Strong Ranking Tournament, you might even be able to contend with Senior Sister Zi Yan for first place."
Lin Yan knew the strength of the others. Among all the Inner Academy students, only Xiao Tian and Zi Yan were Dou Wang. Zi Yan, needless to say, had consistently dominated the top spot, and even Lin Xiuya could only scurry away under her fists.
"I see that Senior's body is troubled by fire poison, but it seems someone has been helping you with treatment recently. I happen to have a pill here that can alleviate some of the fire poison."
Xiao Tian flipped his hand, and a jade bottle appeared, with a faint glimpse of an ice-blue pill inside. "This pill is called the Jade Bamboo Ice Dew Pill." He tossed it to Lin Yan, who quickly caught it.
"Thank you, Gate Master Xiao Tian, for this pill. I owe you a favor. If you ever need anything, just say the word."
It was Lin Yan's first time receiving a pill from someone else, and he was extremely grateful. This pill was also very important to him, as it could greatly reduce the time Xiao Yan spent helping him with treatment.
Xiao Yan also had no objections. The sooner Lin Yan was treated, the sooner he could be freed.
"No worries. You and Xiao Yan Zi are friends, so you are also my friend. There's no need to be so polite. You two chat — I'm going to the Heavenly Flame Training Pagoda."
Xiao Tian waved his hand indifferently. This Jade Bamboo Ice Dew Pill was something he had casually refined when making pills for Boundless Gate to sell, just in case it was needed.
"Where are Xun'er and Hu Jia?"
"They've all gone to screen the new recruits for Boundless Gate. Right now, Boundless Gate is the most popular force in the Inner Academy. Every day, many people want to join us, but we don't accept just anyone. We only take those with good character."
Xiao Yan poured Xiao Tian a cup of tea. Meanwhile, Lin Yan eagerly took the pill Xiao Tian had given him. These fire poisons had tormented him for a long time, and being able to alleviate some of them was a form of liberation for him.
Xiao Tian chatted with the two for a while, then bid them farewell and walked out the door.
"Yan'er, your brother is a bit strange."