Zi Yan

Riding Rayquaza back to the new students' dormitory area, Xiao Ling arrived at the entrance to his small courtyard, jumped to the ground, and rubbed Rayquaza's head with a smile. "Go play with your Sister Xun'er. Ask her for more pills to eat. Her family can afford one more mouth to feed."

Rayquaza nodded, rubbed its head against Xiao Ling's cheek, then flew toward Xiao Xun'er's courtyard. It seemed it intended to have a proper feast.

Seeing this, Xiao Ling shook his head with a smile, pushed open the courtyard gate, and walked inside.

The moment he opened the gate, he felt the aftershock of a battle. Casually swatting aside an energy wave flying his way, Xiao Ling looked into the courtyard.

In the open space within the courtyard, Lin Yan and Liu Qing were engaged in a fierce battle.

Seeing that Xiao Ling had returned, Lin Xiuyai, who stood nearby, nodded in greeting.

Xiao Ling walked over to him and asked curiously, "What's gotten into those two? Why are they fighting here?"

Lin Xiuyai smiled and shook his head, speaking helplessly. "Lin Yan took the Purple Heart Barrier Breaking Pill he asked you to refine before. His cultivation has already caught up to Liu Qing's, so he went looking for Liu Qing, and the two started sparring. Who do you think will win?"

After watching for a moment, Xiao Ling answered, "Lin Yan definitely can't beat Liu Qing. He only just broke through, and his realm hasn't even stabilized yet. He can't perfectly control his own strength, and he was younger than Liu Qing to begin with. Liu Qing simply hasn't taken a Purple Heart Barrier Breaking Pill yet, so there's still a certain gap between their cultivation levels."

No longer discussing the matter, Xiao Ling asked about the Supreme Freedom Gate. "How is the faction coming along? Have you recruited any new members?"

Lin Xiuyai stroked his chin before answering, "We've already submitted an application to the Academy elders, and they've approved it. We haven't recruited any members yet. Right now, we're preparing the faction uniforms, badges, and such."

Xiao Ling was quite satisfied with this. After all, it was only their second day after entering the Inner Academy, and the progress was already very good. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Don't recruit people who like causing trouble, and don't accept those who are too weak either. Otherwise, if they get into trouble or get bullied, they'll come bother us. I'm not the kind of person who likes cleaning up other people's messes. We just need to treat the people in our faction a little better."

Lin Xiuyai nodded in agreement. "Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on those things." On the Dou Qi Continent, strength was revered. Only those with sufficient strength could earn the respect of others.

Xiao Ling nodded slightly, remembering the Heavenly Flame Refining Qi Tower. He told Lin Xiuyai about what had happened that day...

"Gather more ingredients for Clear Heart Pills. I'll refine them into pills for you. That way, you won't have any worries when cultivating in the Heavenly Flame Refining Qi Tower."

"Don't worry, I'll take this matter seriously."

Seeing that it was getting late, Xiao Ling planned to practice Alchemy. After saying goodbye to Lin Xiuyai, he headed to his room.

Back in his room, Xiao Ling took out his medicinal cauldron, infused it with Beast Flame, and began refining Clear Heart Pills. He would have many uses for this kind of pill in the future, so he could refine more of them.

After arriving at the Inner Academy, Xiao Ling's daily life became more regular. Every day, he cultivated Dou Qi in the Heavenly Flame Refining Qi Tower, practiced Alchemy in his courtyard, and helped students or elders refine pills. Sometimes, he went to the Academy arena to spar with others, improving his practical combat experience while earning some Fire Energy. When he was bored, he would take walks around the Academy with Han Yue or Xiao Xun'er. His days were quite leisurely.

In the quiet courtyard, Xiao Ling sat cross-legged on the grass with a medicinal cauldron before him. His hand seals shifted continuously as he controlled the flames nurturing a milky-white pill.

As Xiao Ling's hand seals changed rapidly, the flames within the cauldron swiftly contracted, and a pill appeared before his eyes. It was a Purple Heart Barrier Breaking Pill.

The Purple Heart Barrier Breaking Pill was a Peak Fourth-grade Pill. It could raise a Da Dou Shi's strength by one star without creating much resistance. In other words, if a Da Dou Shi could obtain two Purple Heart Barrier Breaking Pills, they could steadily increase their strength by two stars.

Within Jia Nan Academy's Inner Academy, the vast majority of students were at the Dou Ling and Da Dou Shi realms. Thus, the Purple Heart Barrier Breaking Pill was a pill sought after by most people.

Whenever Xiao Ling had time, he would refine a few and hand them to Lin Xiuyai to sell through the Supreme Freedom Gate, earning some Fire Energy.

One never understood how expensive daily necessities were until one had to manage a household. After arriving at the Inner Academy, the Fire Energy needed to cultivate continuously on the lowest level of the Heavenly Flame Refining Qi Tower was no small amount. Moreover, he did not intend to let Xiao Xun'er and Han Yue waste their time earning Fire Energy. Thus, refining some marketable pills while practicing Alchemy was a rather good choice.

Taking out a porcelain bottle, Xiao Ling lightly activated the Suction Palm, and the Purple Heart Barrier Breaking Pill flew into the bottle.

Just as Xiao Ling was about to put it into his Storage Ring, he suddenly sensed a ripple in space. A fair little hand abruptly appeared before his eyes and, before he could react, snatched the porcelain bottle from his hand.

The sight gave Xiao Ling quite a fright. Even though he had not been concentrating on sensing his surroundings just now, he had still kept an eye on the situation around him. If the visitor had intended to harm him, he could have been in great danger.

Xiao Ling hurriedly pulled back some distance, focusing his Soul Perception entirely on the spot where the hand had appeared.

Yet he saw a little girl in white crouching silently beside the medicinal cauldron at some unknown time. Her tender hand held the porcelain bottle he had just intended to put away. She removed the stopper, stared curiously at the pill inside with her large eyes, then aimed the bottle at her mouth and swallowed the freshly refined Purple Heart Barrier Breaking Pill in one gulp. A satisfied smile appeared on her face.

Xiao Ling's gaze flickered at the sight. He had more or less guessed her identity: the Brute Force King, first on the Inner Academy's Strong Ranking, and the daughter of the Ancient Void Dragon's Old Dragon Emperor, Zi Yan.

With the answer in mind, the tension on his face eased somewhat. He spoke calmly. "This student, casually entering someone else's dormitory is against the rules. What's more, you stole the pill I just refined. According to Academy rules, you should be punished."

Hearing this, the little girl's expression did not change. She muttered, "That old man Su wouldn't punish me. This young lady isn't under his control."

The girl's eyes shifted as she stared intently at Xiao Ling with anticipation. She asked excitedly, "Are you an alchemist? Can you refine pills like that one for me to eat?"

Knowing her identity, Xiao Ling no longer bothered about that Purple Heart Barrier Breaking Pill. Smiling, he said, "Of course I'm an alchemist. As long as there are enough ingredients, I can refine any pill within my capabilities."

Upon hearing that, Zi Yan rushed in front of Xiao Ling in a single stride and asked excitedly, "Then can you refine pills for me to eat? I'm very strong. I'm the one ranked first on that Strong Ranking. If you refine pills for me, I'll look after you at the Academy. If anyone bullies you in the future, you can come to me, and I'll teach them a lesson."

Xiao Ling took a few steps back and asked curiously, "There are so many alchemists in the Inner Academy, and the elders can refine pills too. Why did you come looking for me?"

After thinking for a moment, Zi Yan said indignantly, "All those students look terrified whenever they see me, like they can't wait to stay as far away from me as possible. Every time, those old men try to snatch away my medicinal ingredients, so I've always had no choice but to eat them raw." After speaking, Zi Yan moved a little closer and asked hopefully, "Can you help me refine pills to eat?"

With his doubts resolved, Xiao Ling also knew that Zi Yan's medicinal ingredients would not be difficult to handle. He said, "I can help you refine them, but you'll have to prepare the ingredients yourself."

Xiao Ling had come to the Inner Academy intending to get acquainted with this daughter of the Dragon Emperor.

As long as he handled his relationship with Zi Yan well, she would be of enormous help on his future path to Becoming Emperor.