Returning to Jia Nan Academy

"Great Elder! I'm back!"

Zi Yan shoved open the door to Su Qian's office, and the pen in his hand snapped in two.

"You! Zi... Yan?"

Su Qian froze when he saw who had arrived. So it was Zi Yan. A few years had passed, and she still hadn't grown...

No! Why had they come back again?

Su Qian's heart lurched. The academy had only just recovered from the battle a year ago. They couldn't come and wreak havoc again!

"Zi Yan, where's Yun Zimo?"

"Brother? He went to the Heaven Burning Qi Refining Tower with Elder Lin."

Zi Yan thought for a moment before answering. Yun Zimo had said he wanted to see the rebuilt tower, so Elder Lin had taken him there. Hearing this, Su Qian's heart tightened. I hope nothing happens.

"Little Yanzi's statue? He looks a lot more handsome than he did in person!"

Yun Zimo gazed at the enormous statue standing before the Heaven Burning Qi Refining Tower. The figure wore a black robe, and a gentle smile lingered on his face. From this angle, that originally delicate face looked rather handsome.

"He was the academy's most outstanding student, a fierce man who nearly took down Han Feng all by himself. We have him to thank for sealing the Fallen Heart Flame, too. Sigh, it's a pity that heaven is jealous of genius..."

Elder Lin spoke with great interest as he told Yun Zimo about Xiao Yan's exploits. But when he spoke of Xiao Yan's death, he couldn't help sighing. The Jia Nan elders had all thought highly of the young man. What a pity...

Yun Zimo followed Elder Lin as he quietly explained things, and they made their way into the Heaven Burning Qi Refining Tower. As they passed Xiao Yan's statue, Yun Zimo noticed quite a few students bowing slightly before it. Each wore a badge with a black ruler against a blue background on their chest. They were clearly members of the same Inner Academy organization.

"Little Yanzi's Pan Gate..."

The Heaven Burning Qi Refining Tower was much more spacious than when Yun Zimo had last visited. More intricate patterns had been engraved into its walls, making the whole tower look exceptionally sturdy. Only the pitch-black pit at its center remained just as it had been in the past.

"Now, elders take turns standing guard at the bottom of the tower every day. If there's the slightest disturbance, we notify the Great Elder immediately. But I don't know what's happened to the Fallen Heart Flame. It's been quiet this whole past year. If the heart flame still didn't manifest, we'd have thought it had disappeared."

Elder Lin led Yun Zimo toward the bottom of the tower. Yun Zimo merely smiled at Elder Lin's words and said nothing more.

Mysterious formation patterns had been carved into the Millennium Cold Iron at the bottom of the tower. Three elders sat cross-legged at the formation's three points, keeping constant watch on the movements below.

"Hall Master Yun?"

The elders had all interacted with Yun Zimo before. They were surprised to see him arrive. After several years apart, Hall Master Yun's strength had become even more unfathomable...

After they exchanged greetings, Yun Zimo fixed his gaze on the pillar of light at the center and considered it quietly. He'd heard Elder Lin say earlier that the academy didn't plan to resume the "Heart Flame Origin Tempering" program for the next two years, lest they provoke the Fallen Heart Flame. The formation patterns here were all designed to suppress Heavenly Flames.

"Without Queen Medusa, how's Little Yanzi supposed to get out?"

Yun Zimo suddenly realized how serious this was. Without Medusa, how would Xiao Yan get out of the Magma World? And what's more, Xiao Xiao seemed to be gone, too?!

At the thought that he might have erased the eldest princess of the Endless Fire Territory, Yun Zimo's scalp prickled!

"Should I have my daughter take Xiao Yan as her godfather in the future?"

Yun Zimo stared blankly at the pillar of light, lost in wild thoughts. The Jia Nan elders exchanged glances, until Elder Lin couldn't help calling to him softly a few times.

"Oh, sorry, I was distracted just now!"

Yun Zimo came back to himself and bowed slightly. Elder Lin's calls had snapped him out of it. I'll deal with the future when it comes!

"Hall Master Yun, did you notice something?"

Elder Lin thought Yun Zimo might have spotted something they'd missed. After all, Yun Zimo's soul and Dou Qi had both far surpassed theirs.

"There's no problem, exactly. It just seems like there's a life force down there."

Yun Zimo thought it over, then decided to offer a subtle warning, lest Xiao Yan break out of seclusion and get mobbed under the assumption he was a Heavenly Flame.

"A life force?"

The elders found it hard to believe. How could there be a living presence in the Magma World? Even the Fallen Heart Flame, a Heavenly Flame, should only possess the unique spiritual nature of a heavenly treasure!

"This... Thank you for the warning, Hall Master Yun."

Although Elder Lin thought Yun Zimo might have sensed wrong, he still thanked him and decided to report the matter to the Great Elder for him to judge.

Once they left the Heaven Burning Qi Refining Tower, Elder Lin parted ways with Yun Zimo. He had to go to the dean's office and report what was happening underground to Su Qian.

Yun Zimo was a little bored on his own. He had no idea where the Three Beast Emperors and Zi Yan had gone.

Zi Yan was surely more familiar with Jia Nan Academy than Yun Zimo was. He couldn't be bothered to keep an eye on her, so he decided to let her have a little vacation.

Yun Zimo concealed his aura and let Water Cloud Dou Qi cling to him, subtly altering his appearance. Disguised as a student of Jia Nan Academy, he quietly blended into the crowd.

"Hm?"

Yun Zimo had been watching Xiao Yan's statue for a while when he spotted a young man with a somewhat fierce expression leaning quietly against its base. He wore a light gray robe and held a bottle of wine. An elder's badge was pinned to his chest, and every so often, when he looked toward the statue, a faint sadness flickered in his eyes.

"Dou Wang?"

Yun Zimo thought it over. He vaguely remembered that the man was Little Yanzi's friend. What was his name again? Lin Yan?

But he had no intention of getting acquainted. He wouldn't be going to the Central Plains for now, so he'd leave those connections there in the Inner Academy for Little Yanzi.

"I'll go check out the Dark Night Clan on the Southwest Continent in a while, then head south toward the continent's southern regions..."

Yun Zimo nodded slightly to himself as he thought, strolling through the Inner Academy plaza. His body instinctively dodged one student after another and avoided the obstacles in his path. Before he knew it, someone had stopped him.

"Student, the arena's been booked for today. If you want to challenge someone, please come back early tomorrow."

The instructor overseeing the arena spoke very politely. Only then did Yun Zimo realize he'd somehow wandered over here.

"Sorry, I'm not here to challenge anyone."

Yun Zimo explained quietly, then spotted the figures on the arena and asked curiously,

"Aren't those academy elders? Why are they fighting in the arena, too?"

"A new student? Heh..."

The instructor smiled as he explained.

"They're newly appointed elders, Liu Qing and Lin Xiuya. They were outstanding students of the Inner Academy, and after graduating, they chose to stay on as elders. Every so often, the two of them spar in the arena."

Yun Zimo understood. After thanking him, he went to the spectator seats. He wanted to see how the geniuses from families in the Central Plains fought, and how their methods differed from those of the people in the western regions.

"Do they focus more on fine control of Dou Qi?"

Yun Zimo watched as the two wielded weapons formed entirely from condensed Dou Qi, as well as simple Dou Qi armor, and nodded thoughtfully.

Still, the Great Dao was simple. With enough strength, even a casual movement of the hand could have the power to overturn rivers and seas.

"Decent swordsmanship, but no clear sword intent."

"Plenty of dominance, but too much hardness makes it brittle."

"They may be invincible among their peers, but if they meet a prodigy who can fight above their level, they'll lose within three moves!"

On the arena, spear and sword clashed. Below it, Yun Zimo shook his head slightly. Liu Qing truly lived up to his title of Tyrant Spear. His style was sweeping and domineering, but as the saying went, when a dragon soars to its highest point, it has regrets; what is full cannot last. His excessive ferocity would hinder him from reaching higher realms in the future.

As for Lin Xiuya, his swordsmanship used softness to overcome strength. It was graceful and exquisite, but it wasn't his own sword...

Yun Zimo felt a little disappointed. After having his marrow washed and bones reforged with medicinal baths, he'd begun cultivating. More than a decade later, he'd chosen to disperse his energy and start over, rebuilding his Dou Qi to make up for his weak foundation. Only once his three treasures of essence, energy, and spirit had reached perfection had he dared to enter the Dou Emperor realm. He'd done it so he wouldn't suffer humiliation later, in the Central Plains, a place teeming with monsters. He hadn't expected...

"Forget it. I should just follow my heart. There's no need to compare myself with others."

Yun Zimo felt at peace. His soul realm, which hadn't budged in a long time, quietly advanced, giving him a pleasant surprise.

Late Spirit Realm. Almost there!