Zi Yan

Shi Fei was overjoyed and hurriedly entered the barrier.

Inside the barrier, he first saw the infant Fallen Heart Flame, its tiny flame dancing nimbly.

At the same time, Shi Fei keenly sensed the presence of Venerable Skyfire's Remnant Soul.

Venerable Skyfire tried his utmost to hide himself and avoid being discovered, but Shi Fei still detected him with sharp senses and seized him in one grasp.

Venerable Skyfire was terrified and kept begging for mercy.

"Spare my life, sir..."

Shi Fei ignored him. He tightly gripped Venerable Skyfire's Remnant Soul in one hand and steadily held the Fallen Heart Flame in the other as he went back up.

"Besides the Fallen Heart Flame, I also found a Dou Zun soul. Young Clan Leader, how should we deal with him?" Shi Fei held Venerable Skyfire's Remnant Soul before Shi Kang and asked.

Hearing this, Venerable Skyfire knew that his life and death rested in this young man's hands, so he hurriedly begged for mercy.

"Young Master, I only have a Remnant Soul left. Please let me go... I can give you Heavenly Flames and Cultivation Methods..."

Shi Kang looked at Venerable Skyfire, who was being held by Shi Fei, and pondered for a moment before saying, "He is only a Dou Zun Remnant Soul. Kill him."

Shi Kang had no grudge against Venerable Skyfire, but after spending so many years in the magma, Venerable Skyfire knew some things he should not have known.

Shi Kang could not let him live.

In the original work, Venerable Skyfire had vaguely sensed the presence of something powerful below and had therefore warned Xiao Yan not to venture deeper.

Shi Kang felt that the powerful thing Venerable Skyfire had sensed was very likely Zhu Kun, who was trapped below.

That point alone meant Shi Kang could not spare him.

After all, Tou She Ancient God's Cave Mansion was hidden beneath Jia Nan Academy. This was a heaven-shaking secret, and Shi Kang did not want it leaked.

With that thought, Shi Kang glanced at Shi Fei again.

Logically speaking, since Venerable Skyfire, a Dou Zun, could sense something, Shi Fei should certainly have been able to sense it as well.

However, judging from Shi Fei's reaction, he did not seem to know there was a powerful creature below. Otherwise, Shi Fei would probably have dragged him away and fled by now.

Shi Long and Shi Fei had both been carefully selected by Father. Their loyalty was beyond question, but just to be safe, he still needed to find an opportunity to give them a warning...

Still, now was not the time to think about that. They could discuss it after returning.

Shi Fei had no idea what his Young Clan Leader was thinking. Upon receiving the order, he did not hesitate to circulate his Dou Qi and crush Venerable Skyfire's Remnant Soul.

Poor Venerable Skyfire vanished from this world just like that.

Shi Kang looked at Shi Fei and said, "Shi Fei, use your methods to conceal this magma seal. Seal those lizardmen beneath it so they do not escape and cause trouble."

Although Shi Fei did not quite understand his Young Clan Leader's decision, he carried it out without hesitation.

He formed hand seals with both hands, and a powerful force surged forth, sealing the surface of the magma.

Shi Kang then turned to Shi Long and said, "Shi Long, take that larger Fallen Heart Flame. Let us leave."

"Yes!" Shi Long answered. With a wave of his hand, the restrained Fire Python exploded, leaving behind a mass of colorless flame.

After the Fire Python's intelligence was destroyed, the Fallen Heart Flame returned to its original form.

Once the Fallen Heart Flame that supported the operation of the Heavenly Flame Refining Qi Tower was taken away, the teachers guarding it at Jia Nan Academy quickly noticed.

Many students cultivating inside the tower suddenly sensed that the effect accelerating their cultivation had disappeared. Their faces filled with confusion as they began whispering among themselves.

The guarding teachers were even more bewildered. They looked at one another, unable to understand what had happened.

Yet they did not dare rashly descend to the bottom of the tower to investigate. The situation below was unknown, and it would be terrible if they encountered any danger.

Thus, they hurriedly sent someone to notify First Elder Su Qian.

Before long, Su Qian rushed to the Heavenly Flame Refining Qi Tower in a panic.

The Fallen Heart Flame was the foundation upon which Jia Nan Academy stood, the treasure that protected the academy. Nothing could be allowed to happen to it.

Upon arriving at the Heavenly Flame Refining Qi Tower, Su Qian hurriedly swept his gaze around, then froze in shock.

The Fallen Heart Flame was gone. Even the magma that had once roiled below had vanished without a trace, leaving only an empty tower bottom.

What was going on? How had the Fallen Heart Flame suddenly disappeared for no reason?

Su Qian asked the Elder on guard, "Yun Yang, are you certain no one approached this place?"

"First Elder, I did not sense anyone approaching..."

Yun Yang was a Six-Star Dou Emperor. Given his strength, ordinary people should have had no way of evading his detection.

Yet the Fallen Heart Flame had disappeared, leaving him deeply puzzled as well.

Who could have evaded Yun Yang's detection and silently taken away the Fallen Heart Flame?

Anyone capable of doing that had to be far above Yun Yang in cultivation, and their strength was definitely greater than Su Qian's.

After all, even Su Qian could not accomplish such a thing...

After giving it some thought, Yun Yang said, "First Elder, could it have been those people from the Black Corner Region?"

Quite a few people in the Black Corner Region had their eyes on Jia Nan Academy's Fallen Heart Flame, especially Han Feng, the Medicine Emperor, who had long coveted it.

Su Qian thought for a while, then slowly shook his head.

"They do not have that kind of strength."

Just as Su Qian furrowed his brow and racked his brains over what to do, a crisp voice suddenly rang out.

"Old man Su Qian, is the Heavenly Flame Refining Qi Tower broken?"

As the voice approached, a Loli came bouncing over.

The little girl had purple hair that was not particularly smooth, with several strands always mischievously falling across her forehead.

But her eyes were different—bright and lively, carrying a touch of cleverness and hiding a hint of mischief. Though she had done nothing at all, her gaze seemed to be holding back some prank. One look was enough to tell anyone that this Loli was definitely not well-behaved and surely loved playing little tricks and stirring up minor trouble.

The surrounding students saw her and instinctively made way for her.

That was right, this Loli was Zi Yan.

Earlier that day, Zi Yan had stolen some precious Medicinal Herbs from the academy's medicinal herb storehouse.

She knew perfectly well that if Su Qian discovered it, he would definitely nag her endlessly again.

So, she had planned to come to the Heavenly Flame Refining Qi Tower to lie low and cultivate here while she was at it.

Zi Yan thought to herself, After eating the Medicinal Herbs and cultivating for a while, I will definitely absorb their medicinal power faster and grow up sooner.

Who would have thought that not long after Zi Yan began cultivating in a high-level Cultivation Chamber of the Heavenly Flame Refining Qi Tower, she suddenly could no longer sense the cultivation-accelerating effect?

Feeling puzzled, she ran out to ask Su Qian whether the Heavenly Flame Refining Qi Tower had broken.

To be honest, Zi Yan was rather glad that the Heavenly Flame Refining Qi Tower had developed a small problem. That way, Su Qian would have no time to nag her about stealing Medicinal Herbs.

Seeing Su Qian and the teachers all wearing grave expressions, Zi Yan's curiosity was immediately piqued. She could not help asking, "What is wrong with all of you? What happened?"