Confession, Successfully Gaining a Little Sister, Preparing to Absorb the Fallen Heart Flame

"Mask..." Xiao Yan repeated absentmindedly.

Since leaving the Magical Beast Mountain Range, he has spent far more time wearing the mask than taking it off.

He's even gotten used to wearing a mask.

He really liked the feeling of not having to worry about others observing his expressions.

At the same time, wearing a mask also allows him to avoid a lot of unnecessary trouble.

A masked man whose true nature is unknown, and a young man whose real background can be investigated, even if the latter has more terrifying potential and a more promising future.

Contrary to common sense, it is often the former who gains the trust of others more easily.

Gradually, Xiao Yan stopped removing his mask to reveal his true face.

However, it would be ridiculous to not even see someone's face if you wanted to truly connect with them.

Xiao Yan thought for a moment and said to Zi Yan, "You can take off your mask, but don't tell anyone else about it."

Zi Yan nodded, her eyes filled with curiosity, and urged, "So hurry up!"

Why are you wearing a mask? Is it because you don't want to show your face, or because you can't show your face?

Oh, you're not really ugly, are you? It's okay, even if you are, I don't care. If anyone looks down on you because of this, I'll back you up. I might even hit them harder than you would.

Listening to Zi Yan's rambling, Xiao Yan smiled slightly and took off his mask.

In an instant, Zi Yan's voice disappeared. Her mouth was slightly open, and her eyes widened, her pupils reflecting Xiao Yan's face.

With sword-like eyebrows and bright eyes, a face as handsome as jade, and a dashing and heroic appearance, no beautiful adjective would seem out of place on Xiao Yan's face.

After several evolutions, his face also underwent some optimization. He still looked the same and could still be recognized as a person, but the details of his facial features and face were all optimized in every way.

If it were a game by Ga La Ge Mu, he could raise the affection level of the character he was trying to win over to 80 just by looking at that face.

Unfortunately, this is the Dou Qi Continent, where martial arts reign supreme. His face, aside from eliciting more gasps, serves no other purpose.

"You..." Zi Yan suddenly spoke, her voice not quiet. "You're not allowed to wear a mask anymore!"

Xiao Yan:?

Xiao Yan looked at Zi Yan in surprise.

Noticing Xiao Yan's gaze, Zi Yan said somewhat embarrassedly and angrily, "It's not because you're handsome. I just feel happy looking at your face, so I asked you not to wear a mask."

"It's because... it's because wearing a mask all the time is stuffy and uncomfortable."

Xiao Yan: I believe you.

"Wearing a mask saves me a lot of trouble in my daily life."

It wasn't because of her appearance, but because of her age.

"I look too young, which subconsciously makes people distrust me," Xiao Yan explained.

Zi Yan tapped her fingers, indicating that she didn't quite understand, or rather, she hadn't heard at all.

Looking at Xiao Yan's face, she thought to herself, "Hmm, how come he's so handsome? Being around him feels very comfortable."

He doesn't seem like the kind of person with bad intentions, so should we agree to his offer?

Zi Yan finally asked, "I can be your sister, but I won't call you brother, is that okay?"

Xiao Yan naturally had no objection. "No problem, you can just call me by my name."

After thinking for a moment, Xiao Yan decided to reveal one more thing. "I'll tell you secretly, but remember not to tell anyone else, Yan Xiao is my alias, my real name is Xiao Yan."

"Xiao Yan..." Zi Yan's lips curled up. "Okay, then you'll be my brother from now on. When I become successful, I'll never forget you."

Having achieved his goal, Xiao Yan was in a good mood and extended his little finger. "Pinky promise."

Zi Yan also extended her little finger, making it even shorter, almost miniature. "Here, pinky promise."

After making a pinky promise, Zi Yan suddenly took out a few medicinal herbs and said with a grin, "Xiao Yan, help me refine some more pills."

Xiao Yan was taken aback for a moment, then smiled and said, "Okay!"

The Myriad Beast Cauldron roared to life once more.

One pill after another floated out of the Medicine Cauldron. Zi Yan ate them one after another until her belly was round. Xiao Yan then refined more than ten bottles of pills before he was satisfied.

Xiao Yan didn't feel tired at all. He was currently focused on refining medicine to improve his alchemy skills, and refining anything was still refining.

Suddenly, an aura emanated from within the Jia Nan Academy.

Xiao Yan quickly put on his mask and said directly to the entrance of the Small Courtyard, "Come in."

An elder from the Jia Nan Academy, possessing the cultivation level of Dou Wang, entered and said respectfully, "Elder Yan Xiao, Great Elder Su Qian requests your presence at the Heavenly Burning Qi Refining Tower, saying everything is ready."

"Ready?" Xiao Yan stood up, put away the Medicine Cauldron, and turned to Zi Yan, saying, "I have things to do. Take your time consuming these pills I made for you. I probably won't be back for a few days."

"You won't be back for a few days, okay then." Zi Yan didn't argue.

Xiao Yan waved to Elder Dou Wang, signaling him to lead the way.

The two left the Small Courtyard and headed towards the Heavenly Burning Qi Refining Tower.

Because it was located in the core area of the Inner Academy and not far from the Heavenly Burning Qi Refining Tower, it took only a short while to arrive at the destination.

The Heavenly Burning Qi Refining Tower is located in an extremely deep pit, with most of the tower buried inside. Only the very top of the tower is exposed above the ground, serving as the entrance.

At the entrance, Xiao Yan saw Su Qian and Hu Gan looking exhausted, as well as Bai Lie and Qian Mu looking as usual.

The four Dou Zong that Jia Nan Academy currently possesses are all waiting for him here.

Xiao Yan nodded to the group as a greeting, knowing perfectly well why Su Qian and Hu Gan tired.

That day, Bai Lie and Qian Mu promised to let him absorb the Fallen Heart Flame as soon as possible, and he naturally did not refuse.

Although Su Qian and Hu Gan were somewhat unwilling, they couldn't disobey Bai Lie and Qian Mu's words.

Therefore, the sudden shutdown of the Heavenly Burning Qi Refining Tower triggered a series of repercussions, with many students dropping out and the atmosphere in the entire Inner Academy becoming extremely oppressive.

However, in Xiao Yan's view, this was actually a kind of screening for the Jia Nan Academy, weeding out students who had no attachment to the Jia Nan Academy. Even if these students graduated in the future, they would most likely not want to stay at the academy, so let them go.

However, he would never say this aloud; from his perspective, it sounded disgusting no matter how you looked at it.

"Elder, what should we do next?" Xiao Yan asked Su Qian.

Su Qian roused himself, trying to hide the worry and fatigue on his face, and forced a smile as he said, "Elder Yan Xiao, the Fallen Heart Flame is suppressed by the formation, so normally there shouldn't be any unusual activity."

Therefore, we plan to reduce the sealing strength of one of the formations in a while, inducing the Fallen Heart Flame to launch an attack.

"We'll work together to contain the Fallen Heart Flame. Elder Yan Xiao, you can simply take the fire seed."

Xiao Yan had no objection to the plan and nodded, saying, "Alright, let's do it that way then."

After saying that, he looked at the Heavenly Burning Qi Refining Tower and felt his body inexplicably hot.

"Is it because of the Fallen Heart Flame?"