Arrangements

"Little Tiger, Little Lan, Little Xiong... everyone, come over quickly. Dinner's ready."

Inside the hall of the small building, when Liya announced the news, the children immediately erupted in cheers. One after another, they eagerly got up and headed for the dining table. However, they had to wash their hands before taking their seats—that was a rule Yan had set.

"Boss Yan, your home is so lively."

Tuo Ba Hong helped Yan plate and set out the many dishes, and drool was practically spilling from the corner of his mouth.

"Uncle Lin, please keep an eye on them for now."

Yan ignored the glutton and spoke to Feng Lin, who had only recently returned. The latter nodded to show that he understood. Once Yan carried a platter of roasted meat to the table, everyone sat down to eat.

Everyone ate heartily that evening. The food Yan made truly tasted excellent; otherwise, it would not have so easily stirred the little fatty's cravings.

The secret lay in Yan's training in controlling heat. He did not cook solely for the sake of eating. Although he did place considerable importance on food, the more important purpose was to train his control over the fire element. This was part of his cultivation.

The purpose of this training was to gain better control over heat, striving for a state where he could command it as easily as moving his own fingers. Fire was an extremely violent energy attribute. Simply pursuing its destructive nature was actually easy enough—one only needed to continuously condense Soul Power and raise its temperature.

But developing one's control over fire to the utmost limit was quite difficult. Flames with astonishing destructive power were extremely hard to control. At temperatures of several hundred degrees or more, one careless mistake could even injure the user.

What Yan was doing now was repeatedly attempting to make his flames rise and fall sharply in temperature, continuously lowering their minimum temperature while raising their maximum temperature, expanding the threshold range of his flames.

Some might say that reaching high temperatures was beneficial, as it determined the power of flames. If they could ultimately transform into Ultimate Fire, then what use was low-temperature fire? The lower the temperature, the weaker the flames, right? Could they possibly be lowered below zero degrees?

In theory, this could indeed be achieved. As long as a certain substance had an ignition point below zero in a special environment, flames at zero degrees could possibly appear. This was one of Yan's experiments.

However, he was still far from such a goal. From what he knew in his previous life, laboratory cold flames in that new era had reached temperatures below one hundred degrees, roughly close to eighty degrees.

Yet even when he controlled his flames with all his strength, they still remained above three hundred degrees. If he tried to lower the temperature any further, the flames would disperse outright.

His recent kitchen training had produced some results. At the very least, compared to the beginning, he had increased his temperature threshold—the difference between the highest and lowest temperatures his flames could be controlled at—by more than five hundred degrees. That was a very obvious improvement.

Yan did not speak while eating, and neither did anyone else. This was something he had specifically required: do not speak while eating or talk while sleeping. It was a good habit. Whether in his previous life or this one, what he hated most were people who chattered endlessly while others were eating.

"Uncle Lin, help me see the fatty off. Also, I think you can talk to his father about that matter."

Yan ate slowly, chewing carefully and savoring the food he had made. From time to time, he frowned slightly, as if pondering the heat control. By the time he finished, everyone else was more or less done as well. After the little fatty Tuo Ba Hong finished eating, Yan gave Feng Lin a look before patting the little fatty on the shoulder.

He believed Feng Lin and the little fatty's elders were both intelligent people, and that they would have a good opportunity to communicate. That was right—his change in attitude toward Tuo Ba Hong before and after had involved some other considerations. On one hand, he wanted this little brother to truly submit to him. On the other, he wanted to establish ties with the White Armor Earth Dragon Clan.

After Feng Lin settled down in Spirit City with Yan, he certainly could not continue casually taking missions that required going out as before. But what about the dozen or so mouths at home? Live off Feng Lin's savings? Have Feng Lin support him forever? No way. Leaving aside what Feng Lin might think, Yan himself could not accept that.

After all, he was someone with half a cheat. By using Dawn, his intelligent brain, to analyze the information gap between the two worlds, he could always find some ways to make money.

Still, in the world of Douluo Continent, making a little money was one thing, but excessive profits could easily attract wolves and tigers. Feng Lin was only a Soul King, and there was only so much he could suppress. Naturally, Yan had no intention of getting rich overnight. The ventures he gave Feng Lin were businesses a Soul King could handle.

But now that he had a chance to use the little fatty to build ties with the White Armor Earth Dragon Clan, he could expand the business somewhat. Yan needed to grow faster in the future, which naturally required a vast amount of resources. And how would he obtain those resources? Of course, by buying them with money.

Naturally, forging ties with the White Armor Earth Dragon Clan would bring many benefits. This clan excelled at earth-attribute Soul Power, while he also possessed earth as a secondary attribute. If he wanted to develop or even draw inspiration from certain secret techniques in the future, the White Armor Earth Dragon Clan would be an excellent choice.

"Goodbye, Boss."

The little fatty Tuo Ba Hong naturally knew nothing of Yan's thoughts. After finishing his meal, he bade Yan farewell before leaving the small building with Feng Lin.

"You all clean up the house."

Yan watched Feng Lin and Tuo Ba Hong leave. After a long while, he shook his head and spoke again. The children, who had been waiting for some time, immediately sprang into action.

Although Yan had Feng Lin provide them with a place to stay, he also kept the saying "great kindness can turn into resentment" firmly in mind. He did not raise these children unconditionally; he needed them to do work. The small building, the garden outside, and other places all needed someone to clean and maintain them.

After giving his instructions, Yan did not remain seated. He got up and took a few steps, but instead of heading upstairs to the study and bedroom, he walked toward the backyard, where there was a fairly large training ground.

"Big Brother Yan is cultivating again."

"He's really hardworking. No wonder he's so much stronger than us."

"His cultivation is so dangerous every time. I accidentally saw it once before—his whole body caught fire. It was terrifying."

As soon as Yan left, the children began whispering among themselves. Liya smiled bitterly at the sight. After reminding them once more to behave and clean up, she got to her feet and followed him toward the backyard.

On the sandy training ground in the backyard, Yan sat down cross-legged and slowly took out a miraculous pearl radiating a golden glow. He was going to cultivate using the treasure left behind by the Inferno Demon Lion.

"Ding~~~"

As Yan closed his eyes and focused his mind, he began meditating. The energy between heaven and earth gathered around him and was refined into Soul Power, while his own aura slowly began to change.

The first chapter is here. Brothers, the author is currently in the trial recommendation stage. Promotion to better recommendation slots depends on the data—follow-up reads, comments, favorites, recommendation votes, and monthly votes. I hope those who support this book will stop stockpiling chapters and help promote it. If the results are good, there will be extra chapters after it goes premium.