In the Magical Beast Mountain Range, Xiao Yan was hopping back and forth between a pile of wooden stakes when one of them suddenly swung horizontally at him.
Xiao Yan glanced aside, and a massive pair of wings spread open behind him before he flew into the sky.
When he finally landed, he still had a huge heavy ruler strapped to his back.
Meanwhile, two old men were playing chess nearby. They were Old Hai and Elder Yao.
Elder Yao had already forced Old Hai into a hopeless position. Left with no choice, Old Hai changed the subject. "Why did Xiao Yan only last ten minutes this time?"
Elder Yao stroked his beard without exposing him, while Xiao Yan was utterly exhausted.
"Master, I've been training for two months already. I've even mastered the Purple Cloud Wings. That should be good enough, right?" Xiao Yan lay on the grass, completely drained of strength.
Two months earlier, just after parting ways with Xiao Yi Xian, Elder Yao had told Xiao Yan that his cultivation had advanced far too terrifyingly fast. He had broken through several stars in just a few days.
Worried that Xiao Yan's foundation would become too unstable, Elder Yao gave him the Mysterious Heavy Ruler and made him train here for more than two months.
Over those two months, Xiao Yan had slain many first-rank magical beasts, as well as several second-rank ones.
Xiao Yan's cultivation had gradually become more stable. Although the system's improvements to his cultivation were extremely gentle, he still needed time to adapt.
Xiao Yan suddenly felt his body heat up, and under Elder Yao's watch, he broke through to an eight-star Dou Zhe.
Hai Bodong looked at Xiao Yan in shock and sighed helplessly. "This kid is truly terrifying. His strength rises as easily as drinking water. At this rate, even the entire Misty Cloud Sect won't be able to withstand his wrath in three years."
Elder Yao nodded. He also acknowledged Xiao Yan's talent. During these past two months, he had often taught Xiao Yan how to refine medicine.
However, Xiao Yan always complained that it was too tiring and refused to study properly. As a result, he still had not become a first-tier alchemist and could only refine ordinary medicinal liquids.
The reason Xiao Yan did not seriously study alchemy was that he had discovered he could exchange Summoning Points for alchemist ranks.
That was why Xiao Yan was unwilling to spend so much effort learning it. Once he exchanged for the rank, he only needed to practice a little to consolidate it.
Xiao Yan looked at Elder Yao. "Master, about getting information on the Myriad Beast Spirit Fire from the Amethyst Winged Lion King—you said everything had already been arranged, didn't you?"
Elder Yao looked at Hai Bodong, and the two exchanged a smile. While Xiao Yan was still bewildered, they had already set off. Xiao Yan did not even know the plan for the operation.
The Amethyst Winged Lion King was lying in his cave asleep when his lantern-sized eyes suddenly widened.
"Damn it, why is there a human presence nearby?"
Hai Bodong's voice came from outside. "Where is the Amethyst Winged Lion King?"
The Amethyst Winged Lion King rose angrily, spread his enormous wings, and flew outside.
"Where did this human come from? Don't you know this is this king's territory?" After coming outside, the Amethyst Winged Lion King glared at Hai Bodong and spoke angrily.
Hai Bodong smiled calmly. "Amethyst Winged Lion King, I have long heard of your great name. I am Hai Bodong, the Ice Emperor, once one of the Jia Ma Empire's Ten Great Experts."
The Amethyst Winged Lion King sniffed him, then shook his huge head. "You're merely a Dou Ling. As far as I know, the Ice Emperor was a Dou Emperor."
Hai Bodong sighed. As long as the Amethyst Winged Lion King had heard of his reputation, this would be easy to handle.
"Your Majesty truly has sharp eyes, but I am indeed the Ice Emperor. It is only because of certain reasons that my strength was sealed." Hai Bodong spoke unhurriedly.
The Amethyst Winged Lion King circled Hai Bodong several times before finally stopping. "Even if you are Hai Bodong, the Ice Emperor, what business do you have with me? We seem to have no connection."
"We had none before, but now I need Your Majesty's help. You should be able to sense the sealing power within my body, right?"
The Amethyst Winged Lion King nodded and continued, "So what if I can sense it? My seal and the seal inside you are completely different. Even I cannot help you undo it."
"I do not need Your Majesty to help me. I only need to borrow something from the Magical Beast Mountain Range to dissolve this seal." Hai Bodong smiled.
The Amethyst Winged Lion King asked warily, "What is this thing you speak of?"
"Your Majesty should understand. The sealing power within me is cold and yin in nature, and only a Heavenly Flame might be able to dissolve it. Therefore, I wish to borrow the Myriad Beast Spirit Fire." After saying this, Hai Bodong instinctively used Dou Qi to protect himself, worried that the Amethyst Winged Lion King would become angry.
Yet the Amethyst Winged Lion King said with unusual calm, "Ice Emperor, if that is why you came, then I cannot help you. That flame no longer belongs to the Magical Beast Mountain Range."
This left Hai Bodong completely confused. Elder Yao and Xiao Yan, who heard the news, were also greatly shocked.
"Why?"
The Amethyst Winged Lion King sighed. "In your human world, that matter may not have had much impact. But in the eyes of us magical beasts, it was a catastrophe."
As the Amethyst Winged Lion King described it, a complete story unfolded.
The Magical Beast Mountain Range ran through the four great empires of the Jia Ma Empire, Chuyun Empire, Luoyan Empire, and Mulan Empire.
The magical beasts within the mountain ranges of those four empires had each banded together, forming four magical beast factions.
At the beginning, the magical beasts of the Jia Ma Empire were the strongest. Naturally, the Myriad Beast Spirit Fire was held by the strongest magical beast in the Jia Ma Empire's Magical Beast Mountain Range.
However, after that strongest magical beast died, the magical beasts of the Jia Ma Empire began to decline day by day.
This eventually drew the covetous attention of the other three magical beast factions, and war finally erupted.
The Jia Ma Empire's high-level magical beasts were nearly wiped out. Several sixth-rank magical beasts, along with the last seventh-rank magical beast, all perished.
Only the Amethyst Winged Lion King, a peak fifth-rank magical beast, remained as the leader of the Jia Ma Empire's magical beasts. Although the Amethyst Winged Lion King later broke through to the sixth rank,
he was still far from enough on his own to reclaim the Myriad Beast Spirit Fire.
The Jia Ma Empire thus became the weakest of the four magical beast factions, possessing only the Amethyst Winged Lion King as a sixth-rank magical beast.
After hearing this past story, Hai Bodong fell into deep thought. He had not expected the world of magical beasts to contain so many conflicts and wars as well.
The Amethyst Winged Lion King waved his massive claw. "Enough, Ice Emperor. You should return early and find another solution. Forget about the Myriad Beast Spirit Fire."
Just as the Amethyst Winged Lion King turned to head back inside, Hai Bodong suddenly called out to him.
"Lion King, wait. If we wanted to take back the Myriad Beast Spirit Fire, would you help us?"
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