Gu Zhen

Huo Xuan chatted casually with Xiao Ling and Xiao Yan for a while longer, his tone peaceful throughout. At last, he clasped his hands in farewell and departed with a smile.

After the moon-white figure disappeared at the end of the cabin corridor, Xiao Ling watched his retreating back. His brows drew together slightly, and his expression gradually darkened as he fell into thought.

Huo Xuan's overtures were far too obvious. It did not seem like a simple attempt at friendship. Granted, Xiao Ling's current strength and his title as "Central Plains' foremost alchemist" were enough to make many factions regard him differently, but the Yan Clan behind Huo Xuan was no ordinary force.

The Yan Clan was currently at the height of its power, with a clan chief at the peak of the eight-star Dou Saint realm presiding over it. On the Dou Qi Continent, it was only slightly inferior to the Hun Clan and the Gu Clan, its foundations far deeper than those of the long-declined Xiao Clan.

With the Yan Clan's heritage, why would it have one of its young geniuses so proactively trying to "curry favor" with the descendant of a fallen clan? There was likely more to it than simply valuing his personal abilities.

Still, Xiao Ling could not figure out the deeper reason for the moment, nor did he intend to pursue it any further.

Perhaps Huo Xuan truly was simply interested in the two of them.

After all, both he and Xiao Yan possessed Heavenly Flames. That was not something they could conceal. From the very beginning, Xiao Ling had never intended to hide the aura of his Heavenly Flame before a clan like the Yan Clan, which was so proficient in the Dao of fire.

Moreover, his subjugation of a Heavenly Flame