Yao Chen looked at the system panel. Just moments ago, he had completed a mission by successfully auctioning off a Rank 4 Pill and earning Ya Fei's approval.
He had also received a Red Blind Box as a reward.
Yao Chen opened the system inventory and saw a red blind box inside.
He immediately made his choice. "System, open the blind box now."
[The host has opened a Red Blind Box, triggering a critical reward. The prize drawn is the Heavenly Flame, Sea Heart Flame.] [Helpful reminder: All items the system rewards to the host have been taken from their original owners through the methods of the Heavenly Dao.]
Yao Chen's expression flickered with surprise as he read the system's explanation.
So that meant the Sea Heart Flame he had just obtained had been taken from Han Feng by the system through the methods of the Heavenly Dao?
The system replied: [Exactly.]
At that moment, far away on the other side of the continent, in the Black-Corner Region,
inside a pill room, Han Feng—who had just been refining pills—glowered viciously.
He continued to curse under his breath. "That old bastard Yao Chen refused to pass the Flame Mantra on to me, no matter what, back then. Now that he's dead, his friend Venerable Feng is hunting me across the whole continent. I had no choice but to hide away in this godforsaken Black-Corner Region, living in darkness all these years."
"If he'd listened to me back then and passed the Flame Mantra on to me early, I wouldn't have had to kill him with a single slash, and I wouldn't have had to hide in this wretched place."
"That old bastard was hateful. He wouldn't even pass his cultivation method on to me before he died."
"And he wouldn't give me his Bone Spirit Cold Flame, either. What kind of teacher was he?"
"Good thing I subdued the Sea Heart Flame." As soon as Han Feng finished speaking, he urged his Heavenly Flame, only to discover in shock that no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't summon the Sea Heart Flame.
Han Feng immediately panicked. What was going on? Where was his Sea Heart Flame? Why couldn't he call it forth?
What had happened?
Han Feng had no idea what was going on. After several hours of investigation,
he discovered that the Heavenly Flame inside him had vanished. What was happening?
What on earth was going on?
Han Feng completely lost it. He had poured countless years of effort into the Sea Heart Flame and risked his life to finally devour and refine it.
And now it had simply vanished? He couldn't accept it!
After a long time and repeated searches, he discovered that there wasn't a trace of a Heavenly Flame inside him. Han Feng completely broke down.
Without the protection of a Heavenly Flame, apart from his ability to refine pills, how was he any different from an ordinary Nine-star Dou Huang?
Inside the Miteer Auction House in Wutan City,
Yao Chen didn't know what was happening to Han Feng, so far away in the Black-Corner Region, and he couldn't watch the scene there in real time.
But he figured that Han Feng must be completely losing it after having his Sea Heart Flame taken away.
"I have to say, this system is pretty great. Every reward it gives me is taken from its original owner by means of the Heavenly Dao, preventing two identical Heavenly Flames from appearing and disrupting the order and balance of the Dou Qi Continent."
And it had taken the Sea Heart Flame right out of that treacherous disciple Han Feng.
Yao Chen was delighted. No wonder Han Feng, that bastard, had the same online rating as the old witch Empress Dowager Cixi.
His character really was trash.
Yao Chen had raised him from childhood, and yet he'd betrayed his own teacher. How was that any different from killing his own father?
Was he even human? He was worse than a beast!
Yao Chen now possessed two Heavenly Flames: the Bone Spirit Cold Flame and the Sea Heart Flame.
Thanks to the Flame Mantra, along with the system's fusion, the conflict between the two Heavenly Flames could be kept in check.
Otherwise, he might have exploded.
But now that he was a Dou Sheng, this sort of thing was unlikely to happen even without the Flame Mantra.
Unless the Heavenly Flame he subdued was one of the highest-ranked ones.
Although he had obtained the Sea Heart Flame, Yao Chen's strength hadn't increased.
He was already a Dou Sheng. A low-ranked Heavenly Flame like the Sea Heart Flame wasn't nearly powerful enough to raise his Dou Sheng cultivation.
Only if he devoured the second-ranked Purifying Lotus Demon Flame
might it help him advance to Two-Star Dou Sheng.
Yao Chen shifted his attention away from the system panel and returned to reality.
Before him stood Ya Fei, dressed in a red cheongsam and brimming with sex appeal. She spoke with utmost respect.
"Mr. Yao, the patriarch of the Jia Lie Clan would like to meet you and discuss a possible partnership. Would you like to see him? If you'd rather not, I'll turn him away for you."
When Ya Fei saw that Yao Chen hadn't said anything, she understood what he meant.
She beckoned to Master Gu Ni, intending to have him keep Yao Chen company while she went to refuse the Jia Lie patriarch.
But Yao Chen suddenly spoke. "Wait. There's no harm in meeting him once. Let's hear what he has to say."
The Jia Lie Family was one of Wutan City's antagonists. Its young patriarch, Jia Lie'ao, was especially hostile toward Xiao Yan.
He also lusted after Xiao Xun'er.
Yao Chen naturally had no fondness for him. If they provoked him, he'd crush them with a single slap rather than waste his breath on them.
But if he could squeeze something out of them before crushing them, all the better.
He might as well make them serve some purpose first.
If Yao Chen wished, he could wipe out the entire Jia Lie Clan with a single finger.
"Of course, Mr. Yao." Ya Fei nodded, then left the VIP room to inform Jia Liebi and Jia Lie'ao, father and son.
"Patriarch Jia Lie, the Rank 4 Alchemist has agreed to meet you. He's in the VIP room. I'll take you there."
"Really?" Jia Liebi was so excited that he could hardly believe it.
The other party was a Rank 4 Alchemist. How could someone like that possibly take an interest in the little Jia Lie Family?
So at first, Jia Liebi had only been trying his luck and hadn't expected much.
He hadn't imagined that the Rank 4 Alchemist would actually agree to meet him.
Jia Liebi was beside himself with excitement. If he could partner with this Rank 4 Alchemist, he'd gladly offer the man anything he wanted.
He'd even bankrupt the entire family just to win the Alchemist's favor.
Then wouldn't the Jia Lie Family have Wutan City completely under its thumb?
As for the Ao Ba Family and the Xiao Clan, he'd wipe them out sooner or later.
Led by Ya Fei, they arrived at the VIP room and saw Yao Chen dressed in a black robe.
Jia Liebi and Jia Lie'ao respectfully addressed him together.
"Sir, Miss Ya Fei told us that you're the Alchemist who made the Three-Pattern Green Spirit Pill I bought today. So I asked her to arrange a meeting with you."
"Now that I've met you, I can see your bearing is truly extraordinary. Even from a distance, I felt a chill wash over me."
"As a Rank 4 Alchemist, you're one of a kind in all of Wutan City."
"I'm willing to commit the full resources of the Jia Lie Family to earn your favor. I hope you can help us refine pills. I want to completely take over the pill business at the Xiao Family Market."
Jia Liebi laid out his plans.
"This Jia Liebi clearly didn't have good intentions when he asked to meet the teacher. So that's it—he's after our Xiao Clan's market!" Xiao Yan thought to himself.
"Teacher, what are you planning to do next?" Xiao Yan asked.
He knew his teacher, Yao Chen, wouldn't harm the Xiao Clan's interests.
But what he wanted to know was how the teacher planned to handle this.