"Why?" Huo Yi could understand if Huo Xuan disdained using underhanded means to influence Xiao Yan, but Huo Xuan taking the initiative to protect Xiao Yan left him utterly baffled.
"Xiao Yan... is a very good opponent." Appreciation showed in Huo Xuan's eyes, though beneath it lay even greater confidence in himself. "But he is still far too weak. I would not want him to suddenly die at the hands of some nobody."
Though Huo Xuan called them nobodies, anyone capable of threatening Xiao Yan now would surely be a major figure in the Central Plains. Behind Huo Xuan stood the entire Flame Clan. Although he would only support Xiao Yan in his own name, when the time came, who would not have to weigh in their hearts the consequences of angering this rising star of the Flame Clan?
"Little Xuan, cultivating an opponent like this is extremely unwise! You should have felt his flames, right? They are formed by fusing several Heavenly Flames! It is not as though no one in the Flame Clan has accomplished this throughout its long history, but for a mere Dou Zong to do so is an achievement beyond belief. Have you considered what will happen if, once he grows strong enough, he covets the Heavenly Flames of our Flame Clan?"
"A true man knows what he should and should not do!"
Huo Xuan stood atop the peak, overlooking the mountain ranges below. A fierce gust swept past, making his robes flutter loudly. Yet he remained motionless against the wind. "Xiao Yan is merely an ordinary man without Dou Di bloodline. If I must resort to schemes even against him, what right would I have in the future to compete with Lei Dong, Hun Feng, Gu Qingyang, and the others?"
"If he can seize