Rayquaza

The person fighting Xiao Ling was none other than Lin Xiuyai, the second-ranked student on Jia Nan Academy's Strong Ranking in the original work. He had yet to enter the Inner Academy, but at seventeen, his cultivation had already reached the level of a Four-star Great Dou Master. He could already go toe-to-toe with one of the current clan heads of the eight Ancient Races.

The people Xiao Ling knew in the Outer Academy included Lin Xiuyai, Liu Qing, Lin Yan, and Han Yue.

Thanks to his outstanding talent and his unique skill in Alchemy, Xiao Ling had become very close with them. The four of them had also agreed to join forces in the Fire Energy Hunt Competition half a year later and rob the older students of their fire energy instead. That way, once they entered the Inner Academy, they would not have to worry about cultivation resources.

Xiao Ling remembered that by the end of the original work, all three of those men had cultivated to the Half-Saint realm. Although Xiao Yan had helped them, how could they have achieved that without talent?

As for building a good relationship with Han Yue, all he could say was, black-stockinged sister beauties. Ahem.

After pulling Lin Xiuyai up from the ground, the two headed for the passage leading out of the arena.

Suddenly, a black magical beast flew out of the passage and stopped before Xiao Ling. It affectionately rubbed against his cheek and kept circling around him.

Taking a closer look, the magical beast had a long, slender body, most of it black, with several golden ring markings on its back. Its shoulders and lower body bore side fins edged in red, while the tip of its tail had a fin-like structure. Two long, flat horn-like structures extended from its head, with two smaller horns beneath them. Two distinct fangs protruded from the tip of its upper jaw. Its pair of yellow eyes held black pupils. It had two arms, each limb equipped with three sharp claws that glimmered with a cold light, making their peerless sharpness obvious at a glance. It danced and circled through the air with remarkable agility.

This was the Rayquaza Elf Egg Xiao Ling had drawn before. After nearly a year of incubation, it had hatched on Xiao Ling's ninth birthday.

He had assumed it would be an ordinary Rayquaza, but it turned out to be a shiny one. All he could say was that it looked incredibly cool.

Xiao Ling stroked Rayquaza's head and said, "Little Kong, get into my sleeve. I'll make you some candy later."

Hearing this, Rayquaza nodded, licked Xiao Ling's face, then shrank and slipped into his sleeve.

Lin Xiuyai, standing nearby, was full of envy. He said sourly, "This little guy is unbelievably cool. I want to get one to raise too."

Xiao Ling merely smiled mysteriously upon hearing that. There was only one Rayquaza on the Dou Qi Continent. No one else could possibly tame another.

This Rayquaza's potential was terrifying. It was already a Third-tier Magical Beast. As long as it was fed medicinal herbs, it could absorb their energy, refine it, and increase its strength. It simply ate a great deal—roughly three times the cultivation resources a person needed. The current Xiao Ling could not afford to raise it; even he was still using resources provided by the academy.

Why, then, had its cultivation improved so quickly? Naturally, it was because it had found itself a good mother—Xiao Xun'er, the richest woman on the Dou Qi Continent. She fed it medicinal herbs as though they cost nothing, so its cultivation soared at an astonishing rate. Most of its food was provided by Xiao Xun'er, while Xiao Ling only occasionally refined some medicinal pills for it.

That was right, Xiao Xun'er had also come to Jia Nan Academy. When Xiao Ling was nine, Xiao Xun'er arrived at Jia Nan Academy with the cultivation of an Eight-year-old Eight-stage Dou Qi practitioner. Of course, no one knew her true cultivation. In any case, Xiao Ling guessed it was no weaker than his own. In the original work, Xiao Xun'er had not cultivated seriously in order to save Xiao Yan's pride. Even after Xiao Yan became invincible later on, he had only surpassed her after absorbing the Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame and part of the Golden Emperor Burning Heaven Flame. All that could be said was, "Divine Bloodline—terrifying indeed." Now that Xiao Ling's cultivation was advancing so quickly, Xiao Xun'er might not be cultivating with all her strength, but she certainly would not waste her talent.

After leaving the passage, they saw a young girl walking gracefully toward them, a captivating smile blooming on her face as she looked at Xiao Ling.

In that instant, it was as though everything around her had lost its color, as if the entire world revolved around this girl.

Xiao Ling was entranced. Lin Xiuyai was entranced. Even those nearby who had turned their gazes in this direction were entranced.

When he came back to his senses and felt the gazes fixed on him—some envious, some admiring, some jealous—Xiao Ling could not help feeling a little embarrassed that he had been so captivated.

He released Rayquaza from his sleeve, circulated his Dou Qi, and landed steadily on its back.

Then he stretched out his right hand toward Xiao Xun'er, his face brimming with a radiant smile. "Xun'er, I'll take you for a ride in the sky."

Xiao Xun'er nodded happily. Although she often rode Rayquaza by herself, Xiao Ling trained intensely every day, so he had never accompanied her on a ride.

She placed her soft, fair little hand in Xiao Ling's large one, circulated her Dou Qi, and leaped lightly onto Rayquaza, settling down in front of him.

Xiao Ling naturally wrapped his left arm around Xiao Xun'er's slender waist, pulling the young lady a little closer into his embrace.

Feeling the tiny, soft, sweet-smelling figure in his arms, Xiao Ling felt utterly refreshed and content.

At Xiao Ling's command, Rayquaza, which had long since become attuned to his thoughts, immediately understood. It threw back its head and let out a long cry before diving toward the heavens and vanishing from everyone's sight.

Lin Xiuyai remained where he was, staring after the two disappearing figures as the corner of his mouth twitched.

This was absurd. They were even stuffing dog food directly into my mouth right in front of me. Was there any justice left? Any law left?

At this point, Lin Xiuyai had not yet fallen for Xiao Xun'er. Perhaps it was because he was already an adult while Xiao Xun'er was still a nine-year-old little girl, nearly half his age. Or perhaps it was because she already had Xiao Ling, her childhood sweetheart, so he had no intention of competing.

If Xiao Ling had known about this, he would only have shaken his head disdainfully. My start was the genius route, not Xiao Yan's trash-to-prodigy comeback route. I can't be bothered with showing off and slapping faces.

With Rayquaza's astonishing speed, they passed through the clouds and reached the Stratosphere in less than a quarter of an hour.

By then, the sun was setting. The sea of clouds churned endlessly, while the sunset cast its glow over the cloud layer, making it seem as though they had entered a world of orange and red—beautiful and magnificent. Of course, neither of them had come to admire the scenery. What mattered was the person beside them.

Their feelings were mutual. Riding the same mount together, even if they were only wandering aimlessly through the streets and alleys of the city, would have been enough to satisfy them completely.

As for the scenery, it was merely a small embellishment.

As Rayquaza flew, fierce winds brushed against their cheeks, scattering their hair through the air.

Blue-silver hair and black hair intertwined, creating a scene of tranquil beauty.