A Complete Mess

Xiao Yan's murmur was no different from a bolt from the blue to Nalan Yanran at that moment.

She wanted to pretend she had not heard it, but the enormous impact it had on her made it impossible for her to remain calm. Naturally, she could no longer treat it as if it were nothing.

"Y-You... what do you mean?!"

Nalan Yanran panicked, and even her long, fair legs instinctively pressed together.

"...I originally thought it might feel like when you cultivated in the Heavenly Flame Refining Qi Tower."

Xiao Yan hesitated involuntarily before speaking softly in a somewhat strange tone.

"The Heavenly Flame Refining Qi Tower?"

Nalan Yanran froze, then immediately flew into a rage, nearly blacking out as she blurted out, "What the hell does that thing have to do with the Heavenly Flame Refining Qi Tower?!"

"...That makes no sense."

Xiao Yan sighed softly and rubbed his brow. He had not expected this outcome either.

He had originally thought that the Heavenly Flame he planted would be like the Falling Heart Flame within Jia Nan Academy's Heavenly Flame Refining Qi Tower: while giving Nalan a slight burning sensation, it would refine her Dou Qi and the energy of heaven and earth, while burning away all the cold energy in her body.

Once Nalan had fully adapted to that wisp of Heavenly Flame, she might even be able to refine and absorb it. Given that Nalan could now refine the cold energy of the Nine Nether Yellow Springs into her own sword intent, perhaps she could even turn it into fire-attributed sword intent.

Then Xiao Yan would naturally have no need to retrieve that wisp of fire seed later.

Yet this seemed rather different from what Xiao Yan had initially imagined...

"Do you know... how I've lived... these