Return to Jia Nan Academy

"Great Elder! I'm back!"

Zi Yan slammed open the door to Su Qian's office, causing the brush in Su Qian's hand to snap in two.

"You! Zi... Yan?"

Su Qian froze after clearly seeing the person before him. It was indeed Zi Yan; years had passed, yet she hadn't grown a single bit...

Wait! Why had they returned again!

Su Qian felt a jolt of alarm. The academy had only just recovered from the great battle a year ago; he prayed they wouldn't be plagued by trouble again!

"Zi Yan, where is 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 mentioned wanting to see the rebuilt Heaven Burning Qi Refining Tower, so Elder Lin had taken him there. Upon hearing this, Su Qian's heart tightened; he hoped nothing would go wrong.

"Little Yanzi's statue? He looks much more handsome than he does in person!"

Yun Zimo gazed at the massive sculpture standing before the Heaven Burning Qi Refining Tower. Clad in black robes with a warm, gentle smile always gracing his face, the originally refined features actually looked quite dashing.

"That is the academy's most outstanding student, a fierce man who nearly took down Han Feng single-handedly. We owe the sealing of the Fallen Heart Flame to him as well. Sigh, it is a pity that heaven envies the talented..."

Elder Lin recounted Xiao Yan's deeds to Yun Zimo with great interest, though he couldn't help but sigh when mentioning Xiao Yan's fall. The entire council of Jia Nan Academy elders had held this junior in high regard; it was such a shame...

Yun Zimo followed Elder Lin, who was speaking in a soft voice, as they walked quietly into the Heaven Burning Qi Refining Tower. Passing the statue of Xiao Yan, he caught sight of many students bowing slightly before it. They all wore badges featuring a black ruler on a blue background, clearly members of the same Inner Court organization.

"Little Yanzi's 'Pan Gate', is it..."

The current Heaven Burning Qi Refining Tower was much more spacious than when Yun Zimo had last visited. More complex patterns were engraved upon the tower's body, making the entire structure appear quite sturdy. Only the pitch-black, deep hole at the center remained exactly as it had been back then.

"Now, elders take turns guarding the base of the tower every day. Any slight disturbance is immediately reported to the Great Elder. However, I don't know what has gotten into the Fallen Heart Flame; it has been strangely quiet for the past year. If not for the fact that the Heart Flame Origin is still manifesting, we would have thought it had already vanished."

Elder Lin led Yun Zimo toward the bottom of the tower. Yun Zimo merely smiled at Elder Lin's words and did not say much.

Mysterious array patterns were carved into the Millennium Cold Iron at the base of the tower. Three elders sat cross-legged at the corners of the array, keeping a constant watch on the movements beneath the earth.

"Hall Master Yun?"

Several elders had interacted with Yun Zimo before, and they were all stunned to see him arrive. It had been a few years, and Hall Master Yun's strength had become even more unfathomable...

After they exchanged greetings, Yun Zimo stared at the pillar of light in the center, lost in thought. He had heard from Elder Lin earlier that to avoid agitating the Fallen Heart Flame, the academy had suspended the "Heart Flame Origin Body Tempering" program for the past two years, and the arrays here were entirely focused on suppressing the Heavenly Flame.

"Without Queen Medusa, how is Little Yanzi supposed to come out!"

Yun Zimo suddenly realized a very serious issue. Without Medusa, how would Xiao Yan emerge from the magma world? Furthermore, it seemed Xiao Xiao was gone too?!

The mere thought that he might have accidentally erased the eldest princess of the Endless Fire Territory made Yun Zimo's scalp tingle!

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

Yun Zimo stared blankly at the pillar of light, his mind wandering. The Jia Nan elders looked at each other in confusion until Elder Lin couldn't help but call out to him softly a few times.

"Oh, apologies, I was just lost in thought!"

Yun Zimo snapped back to reality and bowed slightly. Elder Lin's call had awakened him; he would deal with the future when it arrived!

"Did Hall Master Yun discover something?"

Elder Lin assumed Yun Zimo had noticed something they hadn't, as Yun Zimo's soul and Dou Qi were far beyond their own.

"There are no problems, it's just that there seems to be a trace of life energy down there!"

Yun Zimo thought for a moment and decided to offer a subtle warning, lest Xiao Yan be swarmed and beaten as a Heavenly Flame when he finally broke through.

"Life energy?"

The elders found it hard to believe. How could there be life energy in the magma world! Even if it were the Fallen Heart Flame, as a Heavenly Flame, it should only possess the unique spirituality of a natural wonder!

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

Although Elder Lin felt that Yun Zimo might have sensed incorrectly, he still expressed his gratitude and decided to report it to the Great Elder for a final decision.

After exiting the Heaven Burning Qi Refining Tower, Elder Lin parted ways with Yun Zimo; he had to go to the Dean's office to report the situation beneath the earth to Su Qian.

Yun Zimo was left alone and felt a bit bored. He had no idea where the Three Beast Emperors and Zi Yan had run off to.

Zi Yan was certainly more familiar with Jia Nan Academy than he was, and Yun Zimo couldn't be bothered to keep her on a leash; he would just consider it a holiday for her.

Yun Zimo restrained his aura, using his Water Cloud Dou Qi to slightly alter his physique and appearance. Disguised as a student of Jia Nan Academy, he quietly blended into the crowd.

"Eh?"

Yun Zimo had been observing the statue of Xiao Yan for a long time when he noticed a youth with a somewhat fierce expression leaning quietly beneath the sculpture. Dressed in pale gray robes and holding a bottle of wine, the youth wore an elder's badge on his chest, his eyes flashing with a faint sorrow whenever he looked at the statue.

"A Dou King?"

Yun Zimo thought for a moment and vaguely remembered him being a close friend of Little Yanzi. Was his name... Lin Yan?

However, he had no intention of making his acquaintance. He wouldn't be going to the Central Plains for the time being, so he would leave the connections in the Inner Court to Little Yanzi.

"In a few days, I'll head to the Southwest Continent to check on the Dark Night Clan, then travel south to the southern part of the continent..."

Yun Zimo nodded slightly, lost in thought as he strolled through the Inner Court plaza. His body moved autonomously to avoid students and obstacles in his path until, before he knew it, he was blocked by someone.

"This student, the arena has been reserved for today. If you wish to challenge someone, please come back early tomorrow."

The instructor guarding the arena spoke with great politeness. Only then did Yun Zimo realize how he had ended up here.

"Apologies, I am not here to challenge anyone."

Yun Zimo explained softly before catching sight of the figures on the arena, asking with some curiosity.

"Aren't those academy elders? Why are they on the arena?"

"New student? Heh..."

The instructor chuckled and said.

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

Yun Zimo realized, thanked him, and entered the spectator area. He wanted to see how the fighting styles of these geniuses from Central Plains families differed from those in the Western World.

Do they place more importance on the nuanced application of Dou Qi?

Yun Zimo looked at the weapons in their hands, which were completely condensed from solid Dou Qi, as well as their simple Dou Armor, and nodded thoughtfully.

However, the Great Dao is simple; as long as one's strength is sufficient, even a casual gesture can possess the power to overturn rivers and seas.

"The swordsmanship is passable, but the sword intent is unclear."

"There is an excess of tyranny; what is too rigid is easily broken."

"Although they may be invincible among their peers, if they were to encounter a prodigy capable of fighting across ranks, they would be defeated within three moves!"

On the arena, spears and swords clashed. Below the stage, Yun Zimo shook his head slightly. Liu Qing was worthy of the title Tyrant Spear; his spear techniques were wide-open and exceptionally domineering. But just as the dragon that goes too high will have cause to repent, excess cannot last long; being too rigid and fierce was detrimental to his future breakthroughs into higher realms.

As for Lin Xiuya, while his sword art of overcoming the hard with the soft was elegant and exquisite, it was not his own sword...

Yun Zimo felt slightly disappointed. After using medicinal baths to cleanse his marrow and cut his bones, he began his cultivation. Over a decade later, he chose to disperse his Qi into his body, re-cultivating his Dou Qi to mend his foundation. Only after his essence, energy, and spirit were perfected did he dare to step into the Dou Emperor realm, all because he did not want to suffer humiliation in the land of monsters that was the Central Plains. He hadn't expected...

Forget it, just follow my own heart. There is no need to compare myself to others.

Yun Zimo felt a sense of relief in his heart. His soul realm, which had not budged for a long time, grew quietly, giving him quite a pleasant surprise.

Late stage of the Spirit Realm—almost there!