Gu Clan

Xiao Yan felt as if he closed his eyes and then opened them again, and the Green Lotus Core Flame had been refined.

What came into view was an empty cave—to avoid disturbing Xiao Yan, Xun'er and the elders were all guarding outside.

Xiao Yan's Soul Power has made considerable progress, faintly emitting a scorching aura. It is not noticeable in normal times, but if he were to fight someone, that scorching aura could cause great damage.

Inside his chest was a delicate, elfin-like blue flame, a piece of blue magma about the size of a finger, which pulsed with his heartbeat, radiating streams of pure energy.

This pure fire-attribute energy surged into Xiao Yan 'Xiao Yan entire body along with his blood, constantly tempering his body, improving bone strength, muscle resilience, and cell activity...

Without a doubt, this is a comprehensive evolution, and considering the terrifying energy of the Green Lotus Core Flame, which is enough to make even Peak Dou Emperor unable to withstand it, it is not considered a consumption at all.

The Dou Qi Vortex located in the lower abdomen had lost its previous colorful appearance, leaving only a pure blue color, with hundreds of drops of Dou Qi liquid stained with blue flames.

Compared to the explosive flames that had previously fused with ten Fourth-Rank Beast Flame, these cyan flames were more stable, but the destructive power they contained elevated the quality of these Dou Qi to a higher level.

Between the eyebrows, on the chest, and in the lower abdomen, the Soul Power, the power of blood and qi, and the Dou Qi are connected by the Azure Green Lotus Core Flame.

At the age of ten or so and with the cultivation level of Dou Shi, Xiao Yan has already undergone such tempering, which will surely lay a solid foundation for him.

Of course, Xiao Yan was unaware of all this. He only knew that he seemed to have refined the Green Lotus Core Flame with great ease, which was making Old Yao question his existence. Gu Yuan had seen through all the details.

When Gu Yuan learned that Xiao Yan was going to refine the Heavenly Flames, he was worried that something might happen to Xiao Yan and that his daughter might do something irrational, so he rushed over.

The result was that he was shocked by Xiao Yan.

Gu Yuan was absolutely certain that Xiao Yan's refining of the Green Lotus Core Flame was no less smooth than that of Dou Zun refining the Green Lotus Core Flame.

The difference is that Dou Zun relied on his own energy, which far surpassed that of the Azure Green Lotus Core Flame, to follow the Cultivation Technique Route using Dou Qi powerful Origin Fire Seed Qi. Xiao Yan, on the other hand, had the Green Lotus Core Flame itself enter the Cultivation Technique Route.

This affinity for fire cannot be explained by just one or two cultivation techniques.

It can only be said that Xiao Yan's talent is indeed commendable.

Then...

"Let Xiao Yan say goodbye to the Xiao Family, and then take him back to the Gu Clan!" Gu Yuan's calm words rang in Xiao Xun Er's ears.

Xun'er, who was anxiously waiting, was slightly taken aback when she heard her father's voice—only ten minutes had passed since Xiao Yan began refining the Green Lotus Core Flame.

But the fact that Xiao Yan has already gained recognition only means that he has succeeded.

A look of joy appeared on Xiao Xun Er's pretty face. Not wanting to wait a moment longer, Xiao Xun Er rushed into the cave.

Only two Dou Zong and one Peak Dou Emperor remained, staring at each other in bewilderment.

"Ten minutes?"

Ten minutes!

Thus, after Old Yao, three more people had their worldviews collapse—when Old Yao obtained the origin of the Heavenly Flames fire seed, he hesitated for more than ten minutes, but Xiao Yan finished it in such a short time.

Leaving aside these unsophisticated people, Xiao Yan was currently embracing Xun'er in the cave.

"Brother Xiao Yan, Father said that as long as you can refine the Heavenly Flames at the Dou Shi realm, you can return to the clan with Xun'er —now that Brother Xiao Yan has succeeded, Xun'er doesn't have to leave with Brother Xiao Yan!"

The girl's voice was full of joy, completely lacking the shock of others at such an outrageous move; it was filled only with pride.

No matter how much you doubt me, I will always believe in Brother Xiao Yan, and Brother Xiao Yan will truly live up to my trust!

As for Xiao Yan... he didn't think that much. He was just moved by the pressure Xun'er had endured from her family without his knowledge. He gently hugged Xun'er's waist, and everything was understood without words.

Having refined the Green Lotus Core Flame, the desert expedition came to an end.

After bidding farewell to his elder brothers, Xiao Yan returned to Wutan City with Xun'er.

It wasn't that I was worried about the Jia Lie Family; the main thing was that I also wanted to say goodbye to my father, Xiao Zhan. This trip with Xun'er to her home meant that I probably wouldn't have the chance to return to the Xiao Family again for decades.

Xiao Zhan, however, was not unhappy at all. After learning that Xiao Yan had won over Xiao Xun Er, a girl of unknown importance, he couldn't stop smiling.

When they parted, Xiao Yan felt that Xiao Zhan had aged a bit more.

Xiao Zhan was getting old, in his forties or fifties. His wife had died young, and although he had three sons, none of them were by his side, leaving him with little companionship.

Xiao Yan felt a little sad, but as a Dou Shi who couldn't do anything, he could only calm himself down and secretly resolve to break through as soon as possible.

The Gu Clan's "wedding procession" was not large, at least not in Xiao Yan's perception.

They were just a group of Dou Wang riding Four-Winged Unicorn and a warship.

As Xiao Yan boarded the warship with Xun'er, he unsurprisingly endured some stares. The powerful pressure seemed to choke Xiao Yan, causing Xiao Yan heart to stop for a moment.

Even the Green Lotus Core Flame residing within the heart ceased its rhythm at this moment, unable to resist this incomparably powerful pressure.

"Green Lotus Core Flame? Dou Shi? No Na Ling? No Seal? No wonder the Patriarch gave you a chance."

A slightly surprised voice rang in Xiao Yan's ears, and the oppressive feeling vanished the next moment, as if it had never existed.

Xun'er, standing to the side, even looked puzzled, wondering why Xiao Yan had suddenly frozen in place.

"Should I wear a red veil?" Xiao Yan joked, without revealing any information about the mysterious senior.

However, Xiao Xun Er guiltily looked away.

"You actually prepared this?!"

Xiao Yan raised an eyebrow and unceremoniously pressed down on Xun'er's little head, wantonly messing up her smooth, long hair.

"I just happened to have a red towel!"

Xiao Xun Er defiantly broke free from Xiao Yan's attack and took out a square "red towel" with golden stripes from her Storage Ring. The towel was just the right size to cover her head.

"Confiscate it!"

Xiao Yan grinned fiercely, snatched the red towel and put it into his Storage Ring, then revealed a gentle smile, "I'll cover it for you myself when I break through to Dou Sheng."

"Um..."

The senior figure of unknown rank remained silent, seemingly acknowledging Xiao Yan's talent, yet also silently mocking Xiao Yan arrogance.

In the days that followed, Xiao Yan found a room on the warship to stay in—he was too weak to stand on the back of the Four-Winged Unicorn.

The room wasn't very big, only about four or five meters in diameter, but it was fully furnished with a bed, wardrobe, and other furniture, and was generally tidy. In this respect, no one made things difficult for Xiao Yan.

Xiao Yan had roughly surveyed the size of the warship and the number of people it housed; this room wasn't bad compared to other rooms on the entire warship.

After entering the room, there was a long wait.

The vastness of the Dou Qi Continent far exceeded Xiao Yan's imagination. Even with a warship, it still took a week to fly from the Jia Ma Empire to an unfamiliar place. Then, they entered a passage rooted in the sky and traveled for another two months. After changing direction and flying for a long time, they finally arrived at their final destination— the Ancient Realm.

After experiencing it firsthand, Xiao Yan felt that his hope of returning to the Xiao Family before his father died had become even more remote.

"Brother Xiao Yan, the Ancient Realm is not on the Dou Qi Continent, but a space created by the Ancient Emperor. Generations of Dou Sheng Expert from various families have continuously maintained and improved the Space Barrier, eventually forming a Small World with extremely rich World Energy."

Xun'er and Xiao Yan stood hand in hand on the warship. Along the way, Xiao Yan encountered many things he didn't understand, and Xun'er answered them for him.

In fact, Xiao Yan could have asked Old Yao, Xun'er also knew that Xiao Yan could ask Old Yao, but the two of them were enjoying their time together, so no one paid any attention to Old Yao.

A figure flew out of the warship, seemingly communicating with the guards, showing them a token, and then returned to the warship.

Xiao Yan felt a wave of dizziness, and then the surrounding environment suddenly changed. The dense World Energy, which was so rich that it was hard to describe, instantly enveloped Xiao Yan. Every pore opened to its maximum, and the Flame Mantra involuntarily started to operate. The Dou Qi Vortex devoured and refined the surrounding World Energy at an almost greedy speed.

"That's truly... stunning!"

Three breaths passed before Xiao Yan finally calmed down, suppressed his agitated heart, and looked at Xun'er, who was smiling beside him.

At this moment, Xiao Yan truly could not understand why the Gu Clan would send Xun'er to the Xiao Family.

Although one cannot take Pills during the Dou Qi stage, the abundant World Energy will accelerate the cultivation of Dou Qi.

The period from childhood to adolescence is often the stage where cultivation speed is fastest—equivalent to Xun'er wasting more than ten years in the Xiao Family.

Xiao Yan shook his head, trying not to think about those things. If Xun'er wanted to talk, he would listen; if Xun'er didn't want to talk, he wouldn't ask.

Just then, a middle-aged man dressed in hemp clothing suddenly appeared on the warship.

"Father!" Upon seeing the middle-aged man, Xiao Xun Er immediately tugged at Xiao Yan and loudly reminded him.

After considering for a moment, Xiao Yan decided to play it safe and bowed, saying, "Xiao Yan greets Senior!"

"Hmm..." Before Xun'er could react, Gu Yuan accepted the address.

Although Gu Yuan was willing to give Xiao Yan a chance, he didn't want to become an uncle right now.

Xun'er hasn't even gone through the Gu Clan's Coming of Age Ceremony yet!

"Xun'er, you should find a place to train first! Among your peers, the faster ones have already reached the Dou Ling, but you are still only Dou Shi. If you fall too far behind, your voice will also be diminished."

After giving Xun'er a small encouragement using Xiao Yan's name, Gu Yuan looked at Xiao Yan again. In just a few months, this kid had actually become stronger—and by stronger, he didn't mean his Dou Qi cultivation level, but rather his fundamental strength.

When cultivation levels are equal, naturally, the stronger one's origin will be, the stronger one's combat power will be.

"To be honest, at my level, very few things can surprise me anymore, but seeing how easily you refined the Heavenly Flames still amazes me." Gu Yuan revealed a kind smile, his voice was quite gentle, and his words were full of praise.

Xiao Yan, however, did not care about the appreciation from his future uncle. He simply replied humbly, "To be worthy of Xun'er, one must have something extraordinary about them."

Upon hearing this, Gu Yuan's lips seemed to curve upwards slightly.

"Actually, after I was shocked, I asked your teacher for a copy of the Flame Mantra." Gu Yuan said halfway through his sentence, but then suddenly changed the subject. "I exchanged it with some rare and precious materials that can restore Soul Power. Now your teacher is strong enough to contend with Dou Zun."

"Thank you, senior!" Xiao Yan didn't react much, and didn't even make a move to look for the Ancient Ring.

Gu Yuan raised an eyebrow slightly, gaining a better understanding of Xiao Yan's temperament. He nodded and said, "I found some Dou Zhe to cultivate the Flame Mantra, and provided them with Beast Flame to refine. Their conditions are much better than yours, but their control over the flames is far inferior to yours."

"There were even cases where Dou Zhe were backfired by the raging Beast Flame, damaging their meridians and affecting their future cultivation."

"Even the strongest Dou Zhe only reached his limit after fusing five Beast Flame."

"I am certain that if they dare to use the Flame Mantra to Fusion Heavenly Flame, they will surely die a gruesome death."

Xiao Yan listened to every word and quickly understood the key points.

First, refining Heavenly Flames is indeed frighteningly difficult, just as Old Yao said. Second, the Flame Mantra doesn't actually provide much of an advantage in refining the fire. The truly special thing... lies in oneself.

Thinking of a certain possibility, Xiao Yan felt a surge of excitement. "Senior, are you planning to focus on training me?"

On the way here, Xiao Yan learned about Gu Yuan's cultivation and status Peak Dou Saint and the Ancient Clan Chief through Xun'er, which made him somewhat uneasy. Now that he had vaguely grasped an opportunity to reach the Heavenly Path, he was even more uneasy.

"What you say is not wrong."

Gu Yuan nodded, agreeing with Xiao Yan's statement, but also poured cold water on it. "You definitely can't touch the core inheritance of the clan's Ancient Emperor Pool. What I'm providing is just unlimited Beast Flame and Medicinal Herbs."

With the words "Only" and "Unlimited," Xiao Yan was starting to lose his composure, and his breathing became quite rapid.

"For the Gu Clan, collecting Heavenly Flames is not a difficult task, but... the Gu Clan value martial arts. Even if you have something I want, you still don't have the Dou Di Bloodline of the Gu Clan, so you are considered an outsider. If you want it, you have to fight for it yourself."

"The younger generation in the clan may make things difficult for you, but you don't need to care about their elders. As long as you can win, no one will make things difficult for you, and they will even value you more!"

At this point, a captivating light suddenly flashed in Gu Yuan's eyes. "If you can become powerful enough to suppress the younger generation of the Gu Clan until they can't breathe, I can also get you the fifth-ranked Life Spirit Flame!"

Xiao Yan felt a surge of heroic spirit welling up in his chest. He met Gu Yuan's gaze without fear, his eyes filled with determination. "I will definitely not disappoint you, senior!"