"Around mid-Chenshi last night, there were constant sounds of magma churning and raging inside. Powerful aura fluctuations even leaked out. But after about two or three minutes, everything went quiet. It's been completely calm ever since."
The elder collected his thoughts and explained as clearly as he could.
Xiao Tian listened and quickly pieced it together. Those fluctuations were most likely Xiao Yan and the Fallen Heart Flame clashing. The calm after meant the fight had probably concluded.
As for who won, Xiao Tian was fairly certain it was Xiao Yan. He didn't just have Yao Lao as his cheat. He also carried a sub-flame of the Purifying Lotus Demonic Flame that Xiao Tian had separated and given to him. When Xiao Tian handed it over, Yao Lao had been bombarded with questions. The appearance of the Purifying Lotus Demonic Flame was enormous news. But Xiao Tian had still managed to convince him that he was lucky that he get it's flame in an ancient ruins, and it was in an early stage, so he subdued it, and he gave Xiao Yan a tiny part of that flame so Xiao Yan could wield it even as a Dou Ling.
That sub-flame alone could suppress a large portion of the Fallen Heart Flame's power—and the Fallen Heart Flame was already in a severely weakened state. Still, even out of its prime, the underground magma world was its home territory. It could keep drawing energy there indefinitely. Xiao Tian wondered whether Yao Lao had stepped in directly or what exactly had happened. He just hoped everything was going smoothly.
He couldn't always be there to help. Success depended entirely on Xiao Yan's own perseverance. Xiao Tian had already done everything he could—even made arrangements for the aftermath.
"Your Excellency Xiao Tian, Grand Elder Su Qian previously issued a verbal order. If you appeared in the academy, he asked you to go to his office. He has something to discuss with you."
The other elder suddenly remembered what Su Qian had told all of them. He rushed the words out. This elder had also learned about Xiao Tian's habit of appearing and disappearing without warning. What if Xiao Tian vanished before he could even deliver the message? If he failed the Grand Elder's task and got blamed, what if his salary got docked?
"The Grand Elder is looking for me? Alright. I'll head over."
Xiao Tian was slightly puzzled. Usually, Su Qian would rather not see his face at all.
He walked slowly out of the sealed area and made his way toward Su Qian's pavilion. Along the road, he ran into some Boundless Gate members and learned that the Qi Refining Tower had already been rebuilt in another location. The academy had prepared backup storage facilities long ago.
*(Author's note: In the original work, after Xiao Yan had already started refining the Fallen Heart Flame, the tower could still project its flame, which was a bit illogical. Here, I've set it up as a previously prepared backup storage container.)*
Xiao Tian soon arrived at Su Qian's pavilion. The door was half open. He walked straight in.
"Grand Elder, you were looking for me?"
Xiao Tian smiled at Su Qian behind the desk.
"Young friend Xiao Tian, you've finally shown up. I asked you here for two things."
Su Qian lifted his head at the sound of Xiao Tian's voice and chuckled.
"Go ahead."
Xiao Tian had something he wanted to discuss with him too.
"Nothing major. I just wanted to ask if you know how long it'll take Xiao Yan to deal with the Heavenly Flame."
Xiao Tian silently calculated. In the original story, Xiao Yan had taken nearly two years. One year was spent facing off against the Fallen Heart Flame, and the remaining year was for refining it. But this time, with Xiao Tian's help in so many areas—and with Yao Lao's assistance—the initial confrontation would probably take less than a month. The refining afterward wouldn't drag on too long either.
"Roughly… perhaps… maybe a bit over a year. But it definitely won't exceed two years at the latest. You can rest easy."
Hearing this, the Grand Elder silently cursed himself for not thinking of this problem earlier. Now he was already on the pirate ship with no way off. He could only sigh.
"Two years at the latest? No wonder you asked me to prepare that container before—and even so kindly helped us capture the Fallen Heart Flame into it. Hmph. So you had this planned from the start. You had the timing calculated perfectly. You definitely knew that container would last about two years."
Su Qian remembered how grateful he'd been for Xiao Tian's help back then. Only now did he realize Xiao Tian had been waiting for him at this exact spot all along.
"Then you must not deceive me. Otherwise, I'll have no choice but to send you down into the sealed cave to capture Heart Flame energy yourself to replenish it."
Xiao Tian chuckled awkwardly and could only nod.
"Yes, yes, yes. I will definitely solve this problem for you. Don't worry."
He waved his hand dismissively.
"Good. Now, the second matter. The academy has unanimously agreed to invite you to become an Honored Elder of the Inner Academy. This position has never existed before—it was specially created for you. You'll enjoy the full treatment of an Inner Academy Elder without having to do the actual work. In fact, as an Honored Elder, you rank above the other elders. You'll even have the right to mobilize some of them. The only condition is that you help when the academy faces true danger."
Xiao Tian listened and lowered his head in thought. The elder treatment wasn't particularly tempting in itself. But the identity—that was useful. In the future, when he poached people from the Inner Academy, it would all be perfectly legitimate.
"Can I even command you?"
Xiao Tian rubbed his hands together, grinning.
Veins bulged on Su Qian's forehead. This kid had definitely asked that on purpose. It was no different from some scoundrel showing up waving an ultrasound picture.
"Just kidding. I accept."
Xiao Tian saw Su Qian's expression and coughed twice, schooling his face back to seriousness.
"Those are the two matters. If you have nothing else, get out. Also—Zi Yan is looking for you. She seems quite anxious."
Su Qian looked at Xiao Tian and cursed him with a smile. This kid in front of him was truly thick-skinned and cunning. And yet, even knowing he was being played, Su Qian somehow felt willing. The benefits he had received were just too great. The pie was right there. He could touch it. He could smell it. He just couldn't eat it yet.
"Hehe. Then I'll smoothly roll out."
Xiao Tian saw Su Qian's constipated expression and couldn't help laughing. He scurried out. As for Zi Yan looking for him—he figured she'd just run out of pills.
He was wrong about that this time.
The matter he'd originally wanted to discuss with Su Qian was also about his Inner Academy identity. He had planned to casually get an elder's status, just for future convenience.
Already out the door, Xiao Tian poked his head back through the crack. Su Qian saw him and felt even more black lines forming on his forehead.
"What mischief are you up to now?"
"Nothing. Just one more thing I want to tell the Grand Elder."
Xiao Tian peeked at Su Qian, a cheeky look plastered across his face.
"If you have something to say, say it. If you've got gas, let it out."
Su Qian looked at Xiao Tian's expression and felt a bad premonition settling in his gut. Whatever this kid was about to say—it was definitely not good news.