A heart-to-heart

Fama was the first to react, stroking his beard and chuckling, "Good, good! With Xiao Yu participating in this Alchemist Tournament, our Jia Ma Empire is guaranteed to be invincible!"

Standing to the side, Yao Zhantian said with some concern, "What if the other empires also come prepared this time?"

Upon hearing Yao Zhantian's words Yao Yue softly explained, "Uncle, don't you know the strength of a Sixth Grade Alchemist? Besides, how old is Xiao Yu to have reached the sixth grade? If other empires had such a monstrous talent, we might as well just admit defeat in this Alchemist Tournament!"

Yao Zhantian glanced at Xiao Yu somewhat embarrassedly and said, "I'm really sorry, I didn't mean anything by it. It's just that this Alchemist Tournament is extremely important to our Jia Ma Empire, so I wanted to ask!"

Xiao Yu waved his hand and said, "It's alright. Since I promised President Fama to participate in this Alchemist Tournament, I will naturally give it my all. The Jia Ma Empire will not rank low!"

Yao Zhantian nodded slightly and smiled, "With your words, I am relieved. Now that you have arrived at Black Mountain Fortress, let me extend my hospitality!"

"No need to be so polite!" Xiao Yu said with a light laugh.

However, this did not dampen Yao Zhantian's enthusiasm. Not only did he prepare rooms for Xiao Yu, Cai Lin, Zi Yan, and Huo Yue'er, but he also prepared a sumptuous dinner to welcome everyone that evening!

After dinner, Xiao Yu walked alone up the walls of Black Mountain Fortress. The sandstorms here had stopped; they came and went quickly.

A slight breeze blew from the city wall, carrying a hint of coolness. The guards around him exuded a chilling aura. Xiao Yu could sense that most of them were Dou Master, and he estimated that there were no fewer than two thousand of them. Such a large-scale garrison was rare in other city defense fortresses within the Jia Ma Empire, which was enough to show how much importance the Jia Ma Imperial Family attached to this place!

Moreover, Xiao Yu could also see that the prince of the Jia Ma Empire, Yao Zhantian, the uncle of Yao Yue, was also Dou Emperor.

"You're here too!" Suddenly, a soft and charming voice reached Xiao Yu's ears. He turned around and saw a beautiful figure walking up from the other end of the city wall. It was Princess Yao Yue!

Xiao Yu was slightly surprised when he saw Yao Yue, but he still chuckled and said, "Princess Yao Yue, are you also unable to sleep and want to come up and enjoy the scenery?"

Yao Yue put her slender hands behind her back, her bright eyes staring at Xiao Yu as she chuckled, "What's wrong? We were comrades-in-arms in the alchemist competition, are we getting so distant now?"

Xiao Yu was taken aback. They hadn't met many times during the Alchemist Tournament, and they'd barely exchanged a few words. At most, they were just comrades-in-arms who had fought together!

However, Xiao Yu was naturally not foolish enough to say these things aloud. He smiled slightly and said, "If you don't mind, I'll call you Yao Yue?"

Yao Yue nodded in satisfaction and smiled, "Not at all, not at all. How could I mind a Sixth Grade Alchemist calling me Yao Yue?"

Xiao Yu chuckled upon hearing Yao Yue's words, "Yao Yue and Liu Ling must be quite familiar with each other, right?"

When Yao Yue saw Xiao Yu mention Liu Ling, she didn't think much of it and simply nodded, saying, "We're not exactly familiar with each other, but since our teacher and Pill King Gu He often exchange ideas on alchemy, we inevitably meet quite often. Why did you ask about this?"

Yao Yue was genuinely puzzled; how did the topic suddenly shift to Liu Ling?

Xiao Yu simply smiled and said, "That's right. So Gu He must often call you Yao Yue, right? You shouldn't have such a flattered expression!"

"Get lost! How can this be the same? Although Pill King Gu He is also a genius, he's not the same as you. We're the same age, but your strength is on a completely different level than ours!" Yao Yue said irritably, making no attempt to hide her envy and jealousy.

Xiao Yu looked up at the bright moon in the sky and said with some melancholy, "Actually, I didn't want to either, but my Yao Tian is just too good. Alas, you can't understand this feeling!"

Hearing Xiao Yu's words, Yao Yue's pretty face turned red with anger. She raised her hand to punch Xiao Yu, but Xiao Yu simply dodged it with a smile.

Xiao Yu looked at Yao Yue with a smile and asked, "Are you feeling better now?"

Yao Yue's small hand, which was about to punch Xiao Yu, suddenly froze in place. She looked at Xiao Yu with a complicated expression and said, "You figured that out?"

Xiao Yu pointed to his eyes and said, "You're practically writing 'I'm in trouble' in your eyes, aren't you?"

"Pfft!" Yao Yue burst out laughing at Xiao Yu's actions. She looked at Xiao Yu and said with a smile, "I never expected you to have this side to you!"

Xiao Yu shrugged casually and said, "You haven't really gotten to know me, so of course you don't know what I look like!"

Yao Yue nodded and said softly, "That's true!"

Then Yao Yue looked at Xiao Yu and chuckled, "Then I wonder if you'd be willing to give me such an opportunity?"

"Huh? What do you mean?" Xiao Yu looked at Yao Yue with some surprise.

Yao Yue smiled and said, "Actually, besides this reason, another reason why Teacher asked you to come here to participate in this Alchemist Tournament is that Teacher hopes I can go back to the Black Corner Region with you this time and learn alchemy from you!"

Xiao Yu hadn't expected the old man to have such thoughts, but he could understand. Last time in the Imperial Capital, Fama had told him about Yao Yue, but at that time, Yao Ye and Fama were worried that Yao Yue had only just broken through to the Fourth-grade Alchemist, so it would be better to wait until she consolidated her strength before going to the Black Corner Region!

It seems that Fama is quite comfortable letting Yao Yue follow him. Xiao Yu looked at Yao Yue and asked, "Does your sister know about this?"

Yao Yue's face darkened slightly as she said, "Sister knows, but she doesn't quite agree. However, Teacher told Sister that she only said I should stay by your side for a while, and if I don't adapt well, I can go back!"

Xiao Yu shook his head and chuckled, "Your sister seems quite wary of me! And what about you? What are your own thoughts?"

"Me?" Yao Yue paused slightly, then said, "I want to improve my alchemy skills, and I think being by your side would be very helpful!"

Xiao Yu looked at Yao Yue seriously for a moment, then nodded and said, "Alright, then you'll come back to the Black Corner Region with me after this Alchemist Tournament!"

"Really?" Yao Yue suddenly looked up at Xiao Yu in surprise and said.