Qingshan Town

At dawn, just as the sky was beginning to lighten,

Xiao Ling opened his eyes. A rare trace of tenderness flickered through them and vanished. After watching Xun'er all night, he had only just seen the icy energy around her slowly recede.

To put his mind at ease, he had even attached a wisp of soul power to the icy energy and sent it into Xun'er's body.

Through his sight, he saw a layer of icy energy covering the meridians and bones throughout her body. It could perfectly shield her from the Heavenly Flame burning inside her, giving her a buffer period. Only then did he finally let out a breath of relief.

The tenderness in his eyes earlier had also been because, the moment his soul power swept over her, he had seen the girl completely.

So... of course he had to take responsibility...

As all sorts of thoughts flitted through his mind, Xiao Ling rose and walked out of the Xiao Clan beneath the rising sun.

Elsewhere, atop a huge boulder on the Back Mountain, Xiao Zhan and the Three Great Elders watched the White-robed Youth disappear into the distance. They exchanged glances, each seeing the same helplessness in the other's eyes.

Ever since Xiao Ling had displayed the strength of a Da Dou Shi and crushed Wu Ming,

they had understood that they were no longer qualified to protect the boy. His strength was already on par with theirs.

They figured that unless Xiao Yu had been in danger, the boy would never have revealed his true strength. Just as he had told them openly, he was only a Nine-Star Dou Zhe??

Xiao Zhan shook his head and looked at the Third Elder beside him.

"Xiao Ting, follow him carefully. With your strength as a three-star Da Dou Shi, you can help Ling'er deal with a few minor problems. Try not to let him notice you."

"Rest assured, Clan Chief."

The Third Elder cupped his hands and left.

Inside the room, Xun'er lay on the bed with just her little head showing. Her cheeks were flushed, and she kept murmuring someone's name.

Through her Heavenly Flame, she had sensed someone's soul power enter her body and make a thorough inspection before leaving once it was satisfied.

To be seen completely by a member of the opposite sex through soul power... Even if he had only been worried about her, still...

"Phew~"

Xun'er took a deep breath. Her long lashes fluttered as she opened her bright eyes and looked toward the door. In a soft voice, she asked,

"Elder Ling, did Brother Xiao Ling... leave?"

"Miss, Young Master Xiao Ling just left."

"Oh~"

Xun'er answered, then began worrying about his safety. Her beautiful eyes flickered, and her voice carried a shy note.

"Elder Ling, sorry for the trouble. Uncle Xiao Zhan and the others are here with me, so nothing will happen."

At her words, a reply came from somewhere in the shadows outside the door.

"Since you asked, Miss, this old servant will go take a look. But please try not to go out. I'm afraid that fellow called Wu Ming might target the people around Young Master Xiao Ling."

"Mm, I know. Hurry and go, Elder Ling," Xun'er urged.

"Ah... these old bones of mine really can't keep up with you young people... This old servant will be off."

Ling Ying gave the room a fond look. His entire figure seemed like a shadow, disappearing in the sunlight.

Elsewhere, Xiao Ling had just left Wutan City. He looked at the broad road before him, which led straight to the entrance of the main branch of the Magic Beast Mountain Range.

He was familiar with it, since he had entered the outer reaches of the Magic Beast Mountain Range from here last time. But he had no intention of going in that way today.

After all, he planned to check out a cave in the outer reaches of the Magic Beast Mountain Range, so he intended to enter the mountain range from Qingshan Town on the other side and search for treasure.

With that in mind, Xiao Ling headed toward a path on the other side. His voice reached an old man standing beneath the city gate.

"Thanks for the effort, Third Elder. I plan to train on my own."

The Third Elder, who had just been about to step forward, paused. Watching the White-robed Youth walk away, he sighed, turned around, and headed back to the Xiao Clan.

Along the way, Xiao Ling took in the sights as if he were viewing a series of passing scenes. He wasn't in a hurry. To him, the cave's only possible value was the Seven-Colored Poison Scripture.

The rest was just gold coins.

As for why he cared about the gold coins, it was because Xiao Ling had another identity.

He was an Alchemist, and a Second-grade Alchemist at that. He was also on the verge of advancing to become a Third-grade Alchemist.

So what he lacked most right now was money.

That was why he had pocketed all the two hundred thousand gold coins he'd won, without leaving a single one for Xiao Zhan and the others. He was flat broke, with only two hundred thousand and five hundred coins to his name.

And it had taken five million gold coins to buy his Second-grade Alchemist credentials...

If he hadn't spent the past four years going out to hunt and earn some extra money, he really wouldn't have been able to afford it.

Sometimes he envied his Yan Di. With an alchemy master like Yao Lao to teach him, if Xiao Ling had had such a master, he would probably already be a Fourth-grade Alchemist.

Instead, he was stuck in the middle, not good enough to rise and not bad enough to fall.

Walking along the sunlit path, Xiao Ling lifted his still-youthful face. A wry smile tugged at his lips as he glanced at the flowers and plants by the roadside.

He paused, his gaze settling on a Blade Grass pinned beneath a stone, yet still stubbornly trying to break through the soil. His eyes narrowed slightly, as if something in his heart had been kindled.

But when he tried to examine it closely, he couldn't make sense of it. With no other choice, he stopped pondering and continued on his way.

And so, Xiao Ling walked from early morning until afternoon, when a small town nestled against the mountains finally appeared at the edge of his vision.

A glint appeared in his eyes.

"The old saying from my previous life really is true: reading ten thousand books is no match for traveling ten thousand miles."

He hadn't fought anyone or cultivated along the way.

But he could clearly feel that he had changed. The most obvious sign was that his Dou Qi circulated more smoothly than before.

It was a small but welcome surprise. Better than nothing.

Looking toward distant Qingshan Town, Xiao Ling smiled faintly and stepped off the bluestone. His figure flashed several times, leaving a long trail in the air that lingered for a surprisingly long time.

Ling Ying, hiding in a shadow somewhere, wore a look of surprise on his smooth, baby-like old face.

In the distance, Xiao Ling landed and walked toward Qingshan Town. The mercenaries passing by with easy smiles shot him curious glances.

His youthful face showed no reaction, but his heart was pounding. Could someone be about to pick a fight with him?

"Come on... pick a fight with me already..."

That way, he could gather enough lifespan.

After all, he had less than ten years of lifespan left—nine years and ten months, to be exact. Otherwise, he wouldn't have come to the Magic Beast Mountain Range so soon.

But his unspoken wish went unanswered. Xiao Ling narrowed his eyes slightly, feeling helpless. It seemed he hadn't gotten the protagonist's troublemaking aura.

In truth, he was just grasping at straws. The mercenaries were straightforward, but they weren't fools. Anyone could tell that a family strong enough to let a boy train alone couldn't be weak.

In other words, how weak could the boy himself be?

These mercenaries risked their lives every day. If they didn't have that much sense, the magical beasts would have gnawed them down to scraps long ago.

As for those who picked fights with people at the drop of a hat, they were either rookies or idiots, and they all met miserable ends.

Seeing that there was no one to provoke him, Xiao Ling had no choice but to head toward Qingshan Town.