Canaan Affairs Settled, Returning Home

For the next stretch of time, Xiao Li devoted himself to studying alchemy, while Jia Nan Academy gathered medicinal ingredients for him.

Especially medicinal ingredients of Grade 5 and above—so long as they appeared in the medicine workshops of the Black Horn Region or were discovered by students in the Back Mountain, the elders of Jia Nan Academy would acquire them.

The entire Black Horn Region was on edge. After that incident, dozens more corpses had appeared on the Death Spirit Tree, and no one wanted to provoke Jia Nan Academy.

Rumor had it that Old Ghost of the Earth Demon from Demon Flame Valley had announced he was going on a journey, and Demon Flame Valley had sealed its gates. Some guessed that Jia Nan Academy's mysterious Headmaster had returned!

That was a Dou Zun Expert! He could sweep through the entire Black Horn Region. Now, all the powerful figures in the Black Horn Region had hidden away, waiting for the storm to pass before emerging again.

Over the next half year, Xiao Li immersed himself in pill refining, producing batch after batch of medicinal pills with Jia Nan Academy's support.

He exchanged the pills for resources that could assist his cultivation, such as the body-tempering Battle Skill he had recently acquired, the Heavenly Burning Flame Demon Body.

The Heavenly Burning Flame Demon Body was an Earth Rank Intermediate Battle Skill. More importantly, it was a body-tempering Battle Skill, and such skills were quite rare. This skill had been created a hundred years ago by an expert named Yanmo Venerate.

It absorbed all kinds of powerful flames and used them to temper the physical body, forging a body as formidable as that of a Magical Beast.

This Battle Skill was exceptionally suitable for those who possessed unusual flames. Back then, Yanmo Venerate had possessed only one powerful Rank 8 Beast Flame and several Rank 7 Beast Flames, yet he had forged the Yanmo Body and rarely met an equal among those of the same rank.

In theory, this Battle Skill had no upper limit. If one possessed a Heavenly Flame, then its power would be comparable to an Earth Rank High Grade skill. After all, the might of Heavenly Flames was beyond doubt.

Yanmo Venerate specifically mentioned that if someone possessed five Heavenly Flames and cultivated the Heavenly Burning Flame Demon Body, its power would likely rival a Heaven Rank Dou Technique. However, Yanmo Venerate believed that such a thing was impossible.

When Xiao Li saw this, the Battle Skill immediately lost its appeal. So he was just supposed to try it out before leaving it to Xiao Yan?

Still, Xiao Li felt that the stronger Xiao Yan became, and the sooner he became a Dou God, the better. Then Xiao Li could simply take it easy.

Xiao Li collected four Rank 7 Beast Flames at Jia Nan Academy, all of them of high quality. The Library Pavilion even had a Rank 8 Beast Flame, but Mang Tian Ruler refused to give it to Xiao Li.

If Xiao Li kept taking things, Jia Nan Academy would be stripped bare. Mang Tian Ruler had kept that Rank 8 Beast Flame as a reward for the academy's outstanding Alchemists. Xiao Li already had Heavenly Flames, so taking the Beast Flame would truly be a waste of something valuable.

Although Fire Elder had only just entered Grade 5, he had been the most attentive while observing Xiao Li refine pills this time, and he had gained the most as well. For the next period of time, Fire Elder planned to devote himself fully to cultivation, first raising his strength to Dou Emperor before polishing his Alchemy.

"It's time to go home and take a look." Xiao Li stretched lazily, preparing to bid farewell to the Headmaster and the Great Elder.

At the Great Elder's residence,

By coincidence, Headmaster Mang Tian Ruler was playing chess with Great Elder Su Qian. Su Qian was being thoroughly crushed. Though Mang Tian Ruler looked careless and improper, not only was he powerful, he was also highly skilled at chess.

"Oh? The kid's here. You're leaving, right?" Mang Tian Ruler said with a chuckle.

"Yes. I've been at the academy for two years now. It's time to go home and have a look," Xiao Li said with a nod.

"Then go. This old man will remain at Jia Nan Academy for the next two years. If you encounter any trouble, just come find me. There is nothing on the Northwest Continent that this old man needs to fear. Oh, right. If you come across any promising talents, remember to send them to the academy. Hahahaha!"

Mang Tian Ruler was in an excellent mood after returning this time. It had been a long time since he had felt so at ease.

"No problem."

"Ah? Xiao Li, you're leaving? No! What am I supposed to do if you leave?" Zi Yan lunged straight at him and hugged his leg, looking as though she were only one step away from bursting into tears.

"You're still young. Stay at the academy. When I return next time, if your cultivation is high enough, I'll take you out to have some fun." Xiao Li gently stroked Zi Yan's head.

"Fine." Zi Yan immediately wilted, looking utterly dispirited.

Zi Yan was now close to advancing, and it would probably happen within the next half year. Xiao Li felt it would be better for her to remain at Jia Nan Academy. It was safer!

"Headmaster, can you tell what kind of Magical Beast Zi Yan is?" Su Qian suddenly asked.

"I can't. This little girl consumed Transformation Grass. Unless her cultivation reaches Tier 7 or she takes a Transformation Pill and returns to her True Form, this old man truly cannot tell what kind of Magical Beast she is. Her bloodline should be of a very high grade. She was already Rank 4 when you found her, and now she looks like she is about to reach Rank 5. Yet she is still in the Infant State, which means she can grow into at least a Rank 8 Magical Beast."

Even Mang Tian Ruler could not tell what kind of Magical Beast Zi Yan was. There were so many Magical Beasts on the Dou Qi Continent—who could identify one just by looking at its human form?

At this point, Zi Yan had yet to reveal her Spatial Talent. Even if she had, there were quite a few Magical Beasts with Spatial Talent. After all, the Dou Qi Continent had an exceedingly rich history.

Zi Yan might have been some mysterious Magical Beast whose bloodline had undergone Return to Ancestry.

Aside from Xiao Li, who knew that Zi Yan was an Ancient Void Dragon, no one at Jia Nan Academy could identify her.

Before leaving, Xiao Li prepared many medicinal pills for Zi Yan, enough to last her for some time. Once everything was done, Xiao Li brought Xia Yilong back to the Jia Ma Empire.

Jia Ma Empire, Jia Ma Holy City, Xiao Clan.

"It's been a long time since I came back. Home still feels the most comfortable. A Long, let's go." Xiao Li led Xia Yilong into the Xiao Clan.

"Stop! Who are you? Why are you forcing your way into the Xiao Clan?" Unexpectedly, this happened just as Xiao Li was about to enter.

He, Xiao Li! The Young Master Xiao, the Xiao Clan's only Alchemist, one of the Xiao Clan's only two Dou Wang experts, had been stopped outside the gates.

"Yawn... Who's trying to force their way into our Xiao Clan? Hm? Li! Li! Young Master Li? You've returned from your studies?" A middle-aged man walked out while yawning, then froze in shock when he saw Xiao Li.

This man was named Xiao Che, a Xiao Clan Disciple. He had originally been a Dou Master, but because Xiao Li had appeared in the clan, he had become a Da Dou Shi. He was the commander of the gate guards—simply put, the man in charge of guarding the Xiao Clan's gates.

Guarding the clan gates was no small matter! The gates were both the clan's facade and its pride, making this job highly challenging!

Of course, it was also a lucrative position with plenty of benefits. Everyone knew that the Xiao Clan was one of the Four Great Clans of the Imperial Capital, so there were many who wanted to curry favor with them. The gatekeepers received quite a few benefits indeed.

Those who could serve as commander of the gate guards generally held some standing within the clan, and the position was replaced once every three years.

Thus, Xiao Che naturally recognized Xiao Li.

"Oh? Xiao Che. It's been years. A Four-Star Dou Grandmaster—not bad, you've made progress. Work hard. All right, take us to see Eldest Brother," Xiao Li said with a smile, stroking his chin.

He was not the kind of person who would flaunt his power against members of the same clan. They were all family, so what was the point of targeting them? Wouldn't that be like having Han Feng in his brain?

"As you command, Young Master Li. This way, please."

Xiao Che quickly led Xiao Li and Xia Yilong toward the Main Hall.