Yin Yang Fire Seal

After the Selection Competition ended, Xiao Yuan did not stay in the academy. Instead, he went to Mentor Ruo Lin again, got a note, and left the academy.

Mentor Ruo Lin still had some doubts, fearing that Xiao Yuan would find the academy meaningless after winning first place and would go off-key again. She patiently persuaded him and even brought up the Treasure Pavilion, leaving Xiao Yuan both amused and exasperated.

Of course, he didn't really want to run away, but the girl Qing Ning, whom Black Seal City Auction, was still staying in a hotel in Black Seal City.

As for her safety, Xiao Yuan was not worried. The Black-Corner Region was a mixed bag, and the news that Fan Lao was seriously injured and the Blood Sect was attacked must have spread to all the major forces, including the Eight Gates of Black Seal City.

With the power of the Eight Gates, it wouldn't be difficult for them to find out if the girl was still in Black Seal City.

Given the strength of the Eight Gates Master, he wouldn't dare risk angering Xiao Yuan by causing trouble for a young girl. On the contrary, he might secretly take good care of her.

A young girl won't waste much of his resources, but if he can gain the favor of a Dou Huang expert because of such a small effort, it's undoubtedly a good deal!

Of course, Xiao Yuan did not place all his hopes on others.

Before leaving, he left the girl a flame ring made of Yin Yang Dual Flames, which could protect her in case of emergency.

Two days later, at dusk, Xiao Yuan, dressed in a white dress, stepped into Black Seal City again. Before Xiao Yuan Xiao Yuan even reached the inn, the leader of the Eight Gates appeared in front of him.

"I am Yuan Yi, the leader of the Eight Gates. May I ask how I should address you?"

The burly man cupped his hands in greeting and said with a smile.

"Xuan Bing, you can also call me Ice Emperor."

A cool, mature female voice slowly rang out.

"Hehe, so it's the Ice Emperor. That Blood Sect's Fan Lao must have been injured by Your Majesty the Ice Emperor, right?"

Upon hearing this, Yuan Yi smiled and then asked telepathically.

"No."

Xiao Yuan couldn't figure out what the leaders of the Eight Gates wanted to do, so he spoke coldly.

"Hehe, if it's not true, then it isn't. I suppose the Ice Emperor came to take Qing Ning away this time, right?" Seeing Xiao Yuan deny it, Yuan Yi smiled nonchalantly and changed the subject. Before Xiao Yuan could frown, she immediately changed the subject. "Don't worry, the Eight Gates are very trustworthy. She has been taken care of by someone these days."

"Purpose."

Xiao Yuan maintained his aloof persona and asked concisely.

"In the Black-Corner Region, you either need power or friends. I don't think the Ice Emperor is from the Black-Corner Region. He seems to have many inconveniences when he moves around. Although I am only a two- Dou Emperor, my power is not bad. I wonder if the Ice Emperor would be willing to accept the title of honorary elder of my Eight Gates?"

Yuan Yi smiled.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Yuan remained silent for a moment before slowly saying, "I'm sorry, let's just forget about it."

"Alright then. In any case, the doors of my Eight Gates will always be open to His Majesty the Ice Emperor."

Upon hearing this, Yuan Yi showed no displeasure. Instead, he cupped his hands in greeting and said with a smile.

Before he had carefully sensed Xiao Yuan with such respect. But today, after being in close contact with him, he could vaguely feel that there was an extremely powerful force within Xiao Yuan's body. This force was quite subtle, and if he didn't have some special methods, he probably wouldn't have been able to sense it.

Judging from the intensity of that power, the Ice Emperor's strength is probably as high as seven or even eight stars. Such a powerful person is someone we absolutely cannot offend, even if we can't recruit her! Moreover, to have such terrifying strength at such a young age, her background and talent are probably top-notch. We might even need to rely on this woman's help in the future!

"Um."

Xiao Yuan nodded in agreement, but he did not intend to have much interaction with the Eight Gates for the time being.

One reason is that he will need to study at the academy for a long time to come and will no longer cause trouble in the Black-Corner Region. The other reason is that with Yuan Yi's strength as a two- Dou Emperor, he won't be of much help to him. Having some friendship is enough. In the Black-Corner Region, friendship is something that is useful in some ways, but it is also really useless in others.

When it comes to real interests, even fathers and sons will likely have to settle accounts clearly within the Black-Corner Region.

Upon entering the hotel, Xiao Yuan went to the room where the girl Qing Ning was staying and simply pushed open the door.

"???"

Then, Xiao Yuan was stunned.

Wait, why does this girl sleep without clothes or a blanket?

Looking at the vast expanse of white snow before him, Xiao Yuan subconsciously turned around.

On the bed, the girl's closed eyes twitched slightly, and she opened them somewhat hazily. She then saw the white-dressed figure in the room and was startled. She instinctively wrapped herself in the blanket next to her.

After carefully examining the figure and confirming that it was indeed the master who had been missing for nearly ten days, she immediately disregarded her awkward situation, jumped off the bed, wrapped herself in the blanket, ran over, knelt down skillfully, and timidly said, "Master."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Yuan frowned subconsciously and turned around.

The girl straightened up and looked up at Xiao Yuan, Xiao Yuan then saw a huge abyss staring back at him.

To be honest, she's developed really well!

"Get up! Don't kneel!"

Xiao Yuan's voice became a bit serious.

"Yes, Master!"

Hearing Xiao Yuan's serious expression, the young girl Qing Ning trembled slightly and quickly stood up, forgetting the blanket she was wearing.

As the blanket slipped off, Qing Ning's exaggerated curves came into Xiao Yuan's view.

Damn it! If Xiao Yuan said he wasn't tempted, that would be a load of rubbish. But since he was playing a female character, he couldn't show any obvious unusual behavior. So he pretended to be calm and walked to the table by the window to sit down. Then he said indifferently, "Go put your clothes on and don't call me master anymore."

"Yes, my lord!"

Upon hearing this, Qing Ning hurriedly ran to the bedside, quietly put on her clothes, and then came to Xiao Yuan's side with her head bowed.

"You seem to be getting used to living here these past few days. If you'd like, you can stay here indefinitely."

Xiao Yuan said slowly and deliberately.

"My lord, don't you want the Qing Ning anymore?"

Upon hearing this, a look of tension appeared on Qing Ning's little face, her eyes were slightly misty, and her little hands were clasped together, moving uneasily.

"Hehe, that's not what I meant. What I meant was that I wanted to give you a choice: either stay here, and I'll ask the sect leader of the Eight Gates to help take care of you. You won't have to worry about being bought and sold in the future. You can choose to cultivate Dou Qi or live as an ordinary person."

"Another option is to come with me, but your strength is too weak. If you want to come with me, you'll have to work hard to cultivate your Dou Qi. I'll send you to the Jia Nan Academy, the best Dou Qi academy on the entire continent."

Xiao Yuan shook his head, then said with a smile.

"I'll go with the adults!"

Qing Ning didn't even think before she spoke.

"Oh? So determined?"

Xiao Yuan raised an eyebrow and asked with a smile.

"From the moment you took the picture of Qing Ning, Qing Ning has been yours, and naturally she will follow you."

With a serious expression and piercing eyes, Qing Ning spoke.

"Alright, we don't have much time, we should get going now."

Xiao Yuan nodded upon hearing this, then reached out and pulled Qing Ning into his arms. With a slight tremor, the two of them disappeared from the room.

Whoosh! Within the Eight Gates, sensing Xiao Yuan's aura depart, a hint of doubt flashed in the eyes of Yuan Yi, the sect leader of the Eight Gates.

This speed doesn't seem to be as fast as Dou Huang expert! What a mysterious woman.

Slightly puzzled, Yuan Yi shook his head. He hadn't expected that the Dou Huang expert he thought he was was actually just an ordinary student at the level of a Da Dou Shi in the Jia Nan Academy.

Whoosh! Looking down at the land rushing past, Qing Ning's eyes sparkled with excitement.

Unlike her previous timid demeanor, she was not afraid at all; on the contrary, she felt incredibly refreshed.

Is this what it means to be a strong person? Soaring through the sky, looking down at those below as nothing more than ants.

She was once an ant, but now, even that ant can look down from a high place! "Since you've decided to follow me, there's something you need to get used to beforehand."

Xiao Yuan's cool, mature voice drew Qing Ning's attention back.

"Sir, please speak."

"I'll say it quickly, "Qing Ning replied.

"Actually, I am neither Dou Emperor nor a woman."

Xiao Yuan's voice, like a sliding rheostat, instantly changed from a mature, sophisticated tone back to her natural voice.

At the same time, he removed his Veiled Hat, revealing a perfectly handsome face that was so striking it was hard to tell if he was male or female.

Qing Ning didn't understand, but Qing Ning was deeply shocked.

"My name is Xiao Yuan. You don't need to call me 'sir' anymore. You can call me Young Master Xiao or Xiao Yuan. Although you are currently at the Ninth Stage of Dou Qi, there are some mixed medicinal forces in your body. It seems that your Dou Qi is not all cultivated by yourself, right?"

Xiao Yuan's keen senses are beyond question; he could tell even when someone was in his arms.

"Yes, they gave me a lot of pills, which is why I was able to reach the Ninth Stage of Dou Qi. It was also because of taking the pills that my body developed so quickly."

Qing Ning snapped out of her daze, looked at Xiao Yuan who had a serious expression, and quickly replied.

"Well, you generally can't take pills during the Dou Qi stage. It seems the pills you took were of low quality and had some side effects. They were designed to accelerate the maturation of your body to increase your tolerance to Dou Qi."

On the surface, you seem merely overly mature, but in reality, your vitality has likely been prematurely depleted. This is probably why you slept without clothes or a blanket before; your qi and blood are severely deficient, causing night sweats and making it difficult to fall asleep. If you don't cultivate, I think you'll begin to age before you're even twenty-one, and by forty, you'll be like an old woman, nearing the end of your life.

Xiao Yuan confidently assessed the situation using his soul perception ability, then lowered his eyelids and analyzed in a cold voice.

Upon hearing this, Qing Ning's face immediately showed panic. She hadn't expected there to be such a hidden meaning behind it.

"However, I think this is not entirely a bad thing. This overdrawn life force will make you cultivate faster. As long as you work hard enough and break through to the Dou Wang Stage before the age of twenty, this overdrawn life force will basically be replenished."

As Xiao Yuan spoke, he took out a jade bottle containing pills from his Storage Ring.

"This is a remedy to Essence Nurturing and replenish your vital energy. You should put it away for now. Given your current physical condition, taking any supplements rashly would be counterproductive. However, if you take a small portion of this remedy, it can alleviate some of the uncomfortable symptoms and make it easier for you to fall asleep in the future."

"Thank you, young master."

Qing Ning obediently tucked the jade bottle into the deep cleavage between her chest and thanked him.

"It's nothing, I just don't want a young girl like you to become someone else's tool for sexual gratification. Speaking of which, this drug is quite insidious. With your depleted physical condition, if you have sex and your desire is aroused, you'll probably be completely immersed in it and unable to extricate yourself."

A cold glint flashed in Xiao Yuan's eyes, and the slight goodwill he had felt towards the Eight Gates Master for his previous polite treatment vanished in an instant.

To use such methods to artificially manufacture goods is simply inhuman.

It should be noted that even the lowest grade of pills can cause an ordinary person to explode after consuming them. Qing Ning is undoubtedly lucky. Not only did she not explode, but she also has exceptional talent, and her figure after being accelerated to maturity is considered top-notch.

However, there are likely many more girls who will die young as a result.

As he pondered this, Xiao Yuan suddenly felt the delicate body in his arms become increasingly hot.

He looked down and his expression immediately froze.

As expected, Qing Ning's eyes were glazed over, her mouth was slightly open, her breathing became heavier, and her body unconsciously twisted and rubbed against Xiao Yuan.

As if what I said would come true! Xiao Yuan frowned, subconsciously preparing to use Ice Attribute Douqi to calm Qing Ning down, but quickly dismissed the idea.

Qing Ning Ning's body was weak, and at this moment, the Yin Fire within her body was excessive. If she were to forcibly suppress it with Ice Attribute Douqi, it would likely easily disrupt the balance of her frail body, causing her to dissipate her energy and die on the spot.

But the pills he brought couldn't be used on this girl! Just then, Xiao Yuan suddenly sensed that the Yin Yang Dual Flames within his body seemed to have become much more active! Could it be...?

After a moment's thought, Xiao Yuan's eyes lit up! The next moment, he reached out and gently touched Qing Ning's brow. Black and white flames flowed from his fingertips, forming a circular fire mark. The shape of the fire mark resembled Tai Chi, and it looked quite mysterious.

"Using the Yin-Yang primal power of the Yin Yang Dual Flames to suppress the disorder within her body should be effective enough!"

As Xiao Yuan muttered to himself, Qing Ning's condition stabilized considerably, and after a long while, her eyes finally regained their clarity.