One Picture, Multiple Meals!

Two and a half months after the White-Clad Female Devil broke through to the Dou Wang realm, the former second and third-ranked students on the Strong Ranking, now fourth and fifth, Lin and Liu, also made their breakthroughs one after another.

Suddenly, the top five of the Strong Ranking were all Dou Wang powerhouses, and the atmosphere for cultivation within the Inner Academy became even more intense.

Especially for those in the top ten of the Strong Ranking, all of whom were at the nine-star Dou Ling realm; now that the two ahead of them had already broken through, they couldn't afford to be left too far behind!

Sensing the current atmosphere in the Inner Academy, Su Qian had to admit that sometimes pressure could truly be transformed into motivation.

Previously, Wu Yong and Zi Yan were fine; these two restless fellows had simply beaten everyone on the Strong Ranking into submission, so the others felt it was only natural that people stronger than them would reach the Dou Wang realm first.

But now, even a junior who had entered the Inner Academy less than a year ago had reached the Dou Wang realm, so how could this group of people continue to bury their heads in the sand with peace of mind?

Once, twice, and then a third time?

Extreme pressure transformed into extreme motivation, and just like that, two newly promoted Dou Wangs were born.

It was enough to show that the previous lack of progress was simply because the pressure within the Inner Academy hadn't been great enough.

"Not bad, not bad..."

Su Qian was secretly sighing to himself that this generation of the Inner Academy was truly overflowing with talent.

Buzz, buzz~

The Communication Crystal stirred, and Su Qian heard Zi Yan's somewhat smug voice.

"Old man, I feel like I'm about to level up. Should I come out of the cultivation room?"

"Level up!?"

Su Qian was stunned for a moment. Was this girl going to reach the Dou Huang realm so soon?

But thinking about it, it made sense; this girl had promoted to Dou Wang even earlier than Wu Yong. Plus, after those two had cleared out all the high-level Magic Beasts in the surrounding area a while back, she must have consumed plenty of good things, so it was reasonable for her to have accumulated enough energy to advance.

"Then come out. Whether you want me to watch over your advancement or have that brat Wu Yong do it, either is fine."

"Oh, then I'm going to find Boss!"

"..."

Zi Yan's decisiveness made Su Qian feel a little hurt. He had raised this little troublemaker for so many years, so how did she become closer to that brat after only spending a short time with him?

Could it be that these two were truly birds of a feather?

Shaking his head with a wry smile, Su Qian felt he was getting old and muddled, getting angry at two little ones.

However, he still had to go over and take a look. These two had no sense of restraint, and an advancement was a major event that couldn't be taken lightly; he had to help keep an eye on things.

Whoosh!

As soon as Su Qian arrived at Wu Yong's residence, he felt the intense energy fluctuations coming from within.

Zi Yan had already transformed into a purple cocoon of light, lying quietly in the room.

A cyan barrier tightly surrounded the cocoon, and Su Qian could sense spatial fluctuations emanating from it.

Countless medicinal herbs flew out from Wu Yong's Storage Ring, were completely pulverized by wind blades, and their energy was funneled into the spatial protective shield.

Even from far away outside, Su Qian could feel the energy density inside, which had reached an extreme level.

Wu Yong naturally sensed Su Qian's arrival and greeted him without stopping his movements.

"Great Elder."

"You are truly generous. No wonder when I told her to choose, she picked you without a second thought." Su Qian looked at Wu Yong's actions in surprise; so many medicinal herbs were flowing out like water, and even he felt a pang of heartache watching it.

Wu Yong smiled slightly and said candidly:

"It's alright. None of these are particularly precious or rare herbs; I wouldn't be willing to part with the truly top-tier ones. As for these that aren't particularly valuable, it doesn't matter. At worst, I'll just wipe out a few more Dou Huang-level factions."

Listening to Wu Yong's nonchalant words, Su Qian didn't know why, but he suddenly understood why Zi Yan and that proud daughter of heaven, Little Fairy Doctor, stood so firmly by this boy's side.

This was true protectiveness, combined with the sense of security brought by his formidable strength.

For the sake of this girl's advancement, he could actually say "at worst, I'll just wipe out a few more Dou Huang-level factions" without a care in the world.

Suddenly, Su Qian remembered a major incident that had caused quite a stir a year ago.

"That Poison Scorpion Sect in the Chu Yun Empire—that wasn't your doing, was it?"

Wu Yong nodded. Feeling that the energy density inside the spatial protective shield was already high enough, he stopped his actions.

Then, he and Su Qian, who didn't know what to say, went to the tea table on the balcony and began to brew tea.

"Great Elder, there is no need to worry. I have a sense of proportion. I investigate thoroughly before taking action; as long as it doesn't involve those super-factions, I have nothing to fear."

"It seems I am truly old. Such courage and boldness..."

Su Qian took the tea handed to him by Wu Yong, who wore a sincere and respectful expression, and sighed with emotion.

Fortunately, this boy did indeed know his limits, and his performance within the academy was impeccable.

He had also shown sufficient tolerance toward the other little ones, not treating them the way he treated those people outside...

"Speaking of which, I have a matter here that I need to trouble you with, Great Elder."

"Oh? Let's hear it, though I might not necessarily be able to help you with much."

Wu Yong's strength was too great; Su Qian could no longer see through this boy at all. If there was something he couldn't resolve, he feared he himself would find it difficult as well.

"The auction at the Eight-Fan Sect in Black Seal City is coming up soon, and I'd like to go join in the fun. I'll have to trouble you to keep an eye on Zi Yan while I'm away."

"So that's what it is. Go ahead; if you need any help, just contact me using the Communication Crystal."

Hearing this, Su Qian let out a sigh of relief. He had been worried that this kid was planning to make a move against some Dou Zong powerhouse and would need his assistance.

Since it was just the Black-Corner Region, he had nothing to worry about.

Given this kid's methods, there shouldn't be anyone among the powerhouses active in the Black-Corner Region capable of keeping him there.

After seeing Su Qian off, Wu Yong began to recall the good items that would appear at the upcoming auction.

The most important thing was undoubtedly the map fragment of the Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame. Once he obtained this piece, Wu Yong would hold three-quarters of the map for the Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame, which was the key to subduing it.

Without this map, unless one was one of those few nine-star Dou Sheng, no one would be able to forcibly subdue the Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame while it held the advantage of terrain.

Even the Void Devouring Flame might not necessarily be able to swallow the Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame. Only Hun Tiandi and Gu Yuan, those two existences standing at the pinnacle of the Dou Sheng realm, could forcibly subdue it.

However, their opposing stances meant they would never have the opportunity to intervene.

For the sake of a single Heavenly Flame, risking injury was simply not worth it.

What kind of nonsense Heavenly Flame? In front of existences at that level, it was just a matter of two punches.

If three rounds didn't blow this Heavenly Flame to pieces, it would be considered a dud...

Under these circumstances, the map left behind by the Purifying Demonic Saint was extremely useful. As long as one was well-prepared, even a four-star Dou Sheng could subdue the Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame.

"Heh... I obtained three map fragments with almost no cost. I'll split them into three parts and sell them to three top-tier factions—I'll get paid three times over!"

The corners of Wu Yong's mouth curled up slightly, as if he could already see the beautiful image of three Heaven-tier cultivation techniques and Dou skills in his hands.

He traded the Green Lotus Earth Flame Heart to Xiao Yan because Xiao Yan could provide things that Wu Yong needed; it was a fair price, so he made the trade.

But as for this map fragment of the Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame, hmph, even if Xiao Yan sent Gu Xun Er to Wu Yong's bed, Wu Yong wouldn't trade it with him, because he couldn't provide what Wu Yong wanted.