This Didn't Take Long

Early the next morning, Xiao Yan got up at dawn.

He yawned, got out of bed, and put the small blanket he had taken out temporarily back into his Storage Ring.

Since he had not changed clothes before sleeping last night, he saved quite a bit of time. Still, his appearance was rather hard to look at.

Old Man Yao suddenly emerged and looked Xiao Yan up and down. He immediately asked curiously, "Xiao Yan, were you too excited last night? How did you end up looking like this?"

His hair was a mess like a bird's nest, and there were faint dark circles beneath his eyes. If not for the long-term training of his Soul Force, even his complexion would probably have looked awful.

As he fetched water, Xiao Yan replied lazily, "I wasn't in the mood to cultivate, and then I didn't sleep well all night, so I ended up like this."

"By the way, Teacher, why did you suddenly disappear last night?"

Old Man Yao chuckled. "You brat, you still have the nerve to ask? I finally managed to save up this little bit of Soul Force, and I usually can't bear to use it at all. Now, just to gather strength to refine medicine for you, I have to rest for more than ten hours every day."

Seeing Xiao Yan about to speak, Old Man Yao raised a hand to stop him and continued, "Forget the polite nonsense. We're master and disciple; there's no need to fuss over such things. As long as you successfully refine that Sub-Flame, it will all have been worth it."

Thinking back to how Old Man Yao had once frowned deeply just from refining some low-grade healing medicine, Xiao Yan immediately grinned.

"You brat, what are you laughing at?"

"Haha, thank you, Teacher, for so generously giving me pills."

As they chatted and laughed, Xiao Yan had already tidied himself up. His black hair, still carrying a trace of moisture, looked especially fresh beneath the sunlight.

He glanced back at the little courtyard where he had lived for nearly ten years. His gaze was firm, and a smile rested on his lips.

"Let's go!"

The next moment, the gates shut tight, and the iron lock clattered loudly.

According to Hun Ruoruo, when they set off today, they were to meet in the direction of the Xiao Family's Back Mountain.

Xiao Yan did not think much of it, assuming it was simply a suitable place to meet.

He skillfully circled around the Training Ground and sprinted toward the Back Mountain. With the strength of a Dou Zhe, he reached the summit of the Back Mountain in just a quarter of an hour.

The Girl in a black dress stood alone atop the peak. Mountain winds blew down from above, causing her waist-length Blue Long Hair to sway gently like Sea Waves.

Seeing this, the youth hurried forward and called her name.

"Ruoruo, when are we leaving?"

Hearing this, Hun Ruoruo turned to look at the youth below. Expectation and impulsiveness shone in his eyes, just as they had when he made the Three-Year Pact.

He was still filled with desire, but now he was more mature and restrained.

Hun Ruoruo broke into a bright smile, her voice cheerful. "Is Third Young Master ready?"

Xiao Yan nodded and smiled. "I prepared maps of the cities around Wutan City in advance. Now we only need to leave the city."

"Maps? We don't need maps."

The Girl narrowed her eyes slightly, making Xiao Yan raise his brows.

Whenever this happened, he was usually about to be messed with.

He had better stay on guard in advance.

Noticing the wariness in Xiao Yan's expression, Hun Ruoruo pouted and angrily pointed her little hand toward the steep mountain range behind her.

"Does Third Young Master know what place that is?"

Xiao Yan, who had watched and admired the view from here every day during his slump, naturally knew the answer. "The Monster Beast Mountain Range."

"That's right. We're going to the Monster Beast Mountain Range!"

Xiao Yan asked curiously, "To reach the Monster Beast Mountain Range, we still have to go around the nearby cities. Don't tell me we're jumping down?"

"That's right, we can just jump down~" Hun Ruoruo giggled, her eyes carrying an inexplicable meaning.

Knowing that this enchantress was probably making fun of him again, Xiao Yan helplessly spread his hands and was just about to tell her to get moving.

Whoosh! A pair of enormous pitch-black wings unfolded. From high above, she looked down at the youth beneath the slope. Their shadow covered his face, seeming to rob even the blazing sun in the sky of its brilliance.

Black feathers drifted down through the air, turning into specks of light when they touched the ground. Xiao Yan's stunned expression gradually transformed into utter shock.

He asked uncertainly, "Th-this is... Dou Qi Manifested Wings?!"

He had guessed at Hun Ruoruo's true strength, but he truly had not dared to imagine that she possessed the cultivation of a Dou Wang.

A Dou Wang was an overlord-like existence even throughout the entire Jia Ma Empire. Every one of them had undergone years upon years of arduous cultivation before finally advancing.

Although Hun Ruoruo had never stated her age, Xiao Yan could easily tell that she was not much older than him.

Such talent could not be described as monstrous enough.

This enchantress really hid herself well. Xiao Yan sighed inwardly, but there was not much fear in his eyes.

"Third Young Master, are you ready?" Hun Ruoruo cupped her hand around her mouth like a horn.

Xiao Yan smiled helplessly and shouted up at the Girl blocking out the sun. "Ruoruo, you have Dou Qi Manifested Wings, but I don't. Are you going to carry me while flying?"

Waves of wind pressure swept toward him. Accompanied by a fragrant breeze, the Girl appeared before Xiao Yan in an instant. Her gaze was alluring as she said seductively, "Third Young Master, these aren't Dou Qi Manifested Wings. They're a Flying Dou Technique."

"A Flying Dou Technique?"

"Exactly. Want to try it~?"

Xiao Yan looked at the Girl so close before him, and even his breathing became a little heavier.

After a long while, he admitted, "...I suppose."

Who wouldn't want to fly?

Xiao Yan had been in this world for sixteen years. To him, flying was still something legendary. Let alone flying himself, he had never even seen anyone flying in the sky.

A Flying Dou Technique. The youth silently committed this special name to memory.

Half an Hour later.

Xiao Yan stared stiffly at the cloud-shrouded ravine beneath him, its bottom completely invisible. He felt as though the fear of heights he had never known he possessed was about to surface.

He looked upward. The Girl's wings were spread wide, and one hand gripped the back collar of his clothes, strangling his neck painfully.

The sound of wind tearing through the air was so loud that he could barely even hear his clothes flapping in the gusts. He only felt that his collar had probably already been stretched out of shape.

Fortunately, the quality was decent. He would buy clothes from that shop again next time.

They could save his life.

After an unknown amount of time passed, Xiao Yan exhausted all his strength to shout, "Ruoruo... it's too cold... even using the Fierce Heaven Art at full force can't withstand it!"

With his strength as a Dou Zhe, even using a Fire attribute cultivation method at full power to ward off the cold had made him cry out so urgently. One could imagine just how terrifying their altitude and speed were at that moment.

"Uh—"

Before he could receive a reply, an intense sensation of weightlessness struck him. Stars burst before his eyes, his heart spasmed, and he could no longer say another word.

When he finally recovered, he found himself atop an unfamiliar mountain, while the Girl beside him had already retracted her wings.

Hun Ruoruo circled Xiao Yan once, her smile sly. "We're here!"

Xiao Yan rubbed his frozen cheeks, fiercely drew several breaths of air, and shivered as he forced out a sentence.

"Th-this didn't take long."