Past Events of the Strange Fire

In the Magical Beast Mountain Range, Xiao Yan was leaping between a pile of wooden stakes when, suddenly, one of the logs swung horizontally toward him.

Xiao Yan cast a glance, a pair of massive wings unfurling from his back before he soared into the sky.

He finally landed on the ground, a colossal heavy ruler strapped to his back.

Elsewhere, two old men were playing chess—Elder Yao and Hai Bodong.

At this moment, Elder Yao had forced Hai Bodong into a dead end, prompting the latter to change the subject: "Why did Xiao Yan only last ten minutes this time?"

Elder Yao stroked his beard without calling his bluff, while Xiao Yan lay there, utterly exhausted.

"Master, I've been training for two months now. I've even mastered the Purple Cloud Wings; isn't that enough?" Xiao Yan lay on the grass, devoid of any remaining strength.

Two months ago, just after parting ways with the Little Doctor Fairy, Elder Yao had told Xiao Yan that his cultivation realm was rising too terrifyingly fast, breaking through several stars within a few days.

Fearing that Xiao Yan's foundation was too unstable, Elder Yao had given him the Mysterious Heavy Ruler and made him train here for over two months.

During these two months, Xiao Yan had slain many Rank 1 magical beasts, and even a few Rank 2 ones.

Seeing Xiao Yan's realm becoming increasingly solid—though the system's boosts to his cultivation were very gentle, they still required time to settle—he felt a sudden heat in his body. Under Elder Yao's supervision, he broke through to an eight-star Dou Zhe.

Hai Bodong watched Xiao Yan with a look of shock, sighing helplessly: "This little fellow is truly terrifying; his strength grows as easily as drinking water. At this rate, in three years, the entire Cloud Mist Sect won't be able to withstand his fury."

Elder Yao nodded, acknowledging Xiao Yan's talent. During these two months, he had also frequently taught Xiao Yan alchemy.

However, Xiao Yan always complained of fatigue and was unwilling to study properly, which resulted in him still failing to become a first-tier alchemist, capable only of refining simple medicinal liquids.

The reason Xiao Yan didn't take alchemy seriously was that he had discovered he could exchange for alchemy levels using summoning points.

Thus, he didn't want to waste the effort learning it; he figured he could just exchange for the level and then practice to consolidate it later.

Xiao Yan looked at Elder Yao and asked, "Master, about getting news of the Myriad Beast Spirit Fire from the Amethyst Winged Lion King—didn't you say everything was already arranged?"

Elder Yao looked at Hai Bodong, and the two shared a smile. While Xiao Yan was still bewildered, they began their departure; he didn't even know the plan for the operation yet.

The Amethyst Winged Lion King was sleeping in his cave when he suddenly widened his eyes, which were as large as lanterns.

"Damnable, why is there the scent of humans nearby?"

Hai Bodong's voice drifted in from outside: "Amethyst Winged Lion King, show yourself!"

The Amethyst Winged Lion King rose in a rage, spread his massive wings, and emerged.

"Where is this human from! Do you not know this is my territory?" After stepping outside, the Amethyst Winged Lion King glared at Hai Bodong and roared in anger.

Hai Bodong smiled calmly and said, "Amethyst Winged Lion King, I have long heard of your reputation. I am Hai Bodong, the Ice Emperor, once one of the ten strongest experts of the Jia Ma Empire."

The Amethyst Winged Lion King sniffed the air, then shook his massive head and said, "You are but a Dou Ling. As far as I know, the Ice Emperor is a Dou Huang."

Hai Bodong sighed; as long as the Amethyst Winged Lion King had heard of his name, things would be easier to manage.

"The Lion King has sharp eyes, but I am indeed the Ice Emperor. It is just that, for certain reasons, my strength has been sealed," Hai Bodong said unhurriedly.

The Amethyst Winged Lion King circled Hai Bodong several times before stopping to say, "Even if you are the Ice Emperor Hai Bodong, what business do you have with me? We don't seem to have any connection."

"We didn't before, but now I have a request for the Lion King. You should be able to sense the sealing power within me, right?"

The Amethyst Winged Lion King nodded and continued, "So what if I can? My seal and the one within you are completely different; even I cannot help you break it."

"I do not need the Lion King to help me, I only need to borrow something from the Magical Beast Mountain Range to help me dissolve this seal," Hai Bodong said with a smile.

The Amethyst Winged Lion King asked vigilantly, "What is this thing you speak of?"

"The Lion King should know in his heart that the sealing power within me is of a cold, yin nature; only a Heavenly Flame could possibly dissolve it. Therefore, I wish to borrow the Myriad Beast Spirit Fire." After finishing, Hai Bodong, fearing the Amethyst Winged Lion King might grow angry, instinctively shielded himself with Dou Qi.

Yet, the Amethyst Winged Lion King said with unusual calm, "Ice Emperor, if that is your purpose, then I cannot help you. Because that flame no longer belongs to our Magical Beast Mountain Range."

This left even Hai Bodong stunned, and Elder Yao and Xiao Yan, upon hearing this news, were equally shocked.

"Why?"

The Amethyst Winged Lion King sighed and said, "In your human world, perhaps that event had little impact. But in the eyes of us magical beasts, it was a catastrophe."

Following the Amethyst Winged Lion King's description, a complete story unfolded.

The Magical Beast Mountain Range spanned four great empires: the Jia Ma Empire, the Chuyun Empire, the Luoyan Empire, and the Mulan Empire.

The magical beasts within these four empires had each formed their own factions, creating four distinct powers.

In the beginning, the magical beasts in the Jia Ma Empire were the strongest, and naturally, the Myriad Beast Spirit Fire was in the hands of the strongest beast in the Jia Ma Empire's mountain range.

However, as that strongest beast died, the magical beasts of the Jia Ma Empire began to decline day by day.

This eventually drew the covetous eyes of the other three factions, leading to a great war.

The high-tier magical beasts of the Jia Ma Empire were decimated, and several Rank 6 beasts, along with the final Rank 7 beast, all perished.

Only the Amethyst Winged Lion King, a peak Rank 5 beast at the time, remained to become the leader of the Jia Ma Empire's beasts, though he later broke through to Rank 6.

Yet, to reclaim the Myriad Beast Spirit Fire on his own was simply impossible.

The Jia Ma Empire became the weakest of the four magical beast factions, possessing only the Amethyst Winged Lion King as a Rank 6 beast.

After hearing this history, Hai Bodong fell into deep thought. He had not expected that there would be so much division and war in the world of magical beasts.

The Amethyst Winged Lion King waved his massive claws and said, "Enough, Ice Emperor. You should head back early. Find some other solution; don't even think about the Myriad Beast Spirit Fire."

Just as the Amethyst Winged Lion King was about to turn back, Hai Bodong suddenly called out to him.

"Lion King, wait. If we were to try and take the Myriad Beast Spirit Fire back, would you help us?"