Zi Yan

The sudden voice from behind startled Xiao Yun, who had been fretting over his failure to find the Purple Spirit Flower. When did this person get here? I remember being the only one who came in. And my Soul Perception didn't even detect them?

In his shock, Dou Qi surged from within him. In an instant, Xiao Yun entered a battle stance, whirling around and staring behind him with alarm in his eyes.

When Xiao Yun saw the owner of the voice behind him, the corners of his mouth twitched slightly. The churning Dou Qi returned to his body, and the vigilance on his face vanished, replaced by a look of realization.

Standing before him was a little girl in white, slightly taller than him. She was no more than twelve or thirteen years old, with long pale-purple hair falling to her waist. Her cheeks were fair and tender, and her large black eyes shimmered with life. She looked as adorable as a finely sculpted doll.

In the Inner Academy, who else could look so cute and approach Xiao Yun from behind without him noticing but Zi Yan? And judging by the look of things, she had come to steal medicinal herbs again.

"Kid, didn't you hear me talking? Are you asking for a beating?" Seeing that Xiao Yun ignored her and only kept staring, Zi Yan stepped forward impatiently and raised her fist.

"Uh, put your fist down first so we can talk properly. Also, I'm not called kid. My name is Xiao Yun." Seeing her raised fist, a bead of cold sweat immediately appeared on Xiao Yun's forehead. He had not expected this little auntie to be so violent. She wanted to hit him just because he had not answered her question. And with Zi Yan's strength, one punch from her could kill him, alright?

"Hmph, then hurry up and tell me why you came here. Did you come to look for medicinal herbs to eat too, just like me?" Hearing Xiao Yun's words, Zi Yan snorted softly but lowered her fist. She then picked up a medicinal herb beside her and began gnawing on it.

Xiao Yun recognized that medicinal herb. It was a high-tier fifth-grade herb, the Taiyi Bamboo Vine. Its body was incomparably tough; even ordinary Beast Flames could not do anything to it. Yet Zi Yan had bitten a small chunk out of it.

Quietly taking a step back, Xiao Yun said, "I didn't come here to find medicinal herbs to eat. I need them to refine pills. Besides, you're not exactly looking for them—you're stealing."

"Who says this is stealing? I eat them so I can grow up. There are so many things here sitting unused; they might as well let me eat them and help me grow." Hearing Xiao Yun's words, Zi Yan's face darkened slightly, and her childish voice echoed throughout the room.

"Fine, fine, fine. You're not stealing. You're just taking what's yours by right, okay?" Hearing that deafening voice, Xiao Yun covered his ears and hurriedly soothed her. He truly feared Zi Yan throwing a childish tantrum. If she beat him up, he would not even have anywhere to complain.

Rolling her adorable eyes, Zi Yan suddenly moved close to Xiao Yun. One hand pressed down on his shoulder, stopping him from retreating further. "Hehe, you said just now that you can refine pills, right? Can you help me refine this? I've eaten pills before. They taste much better than this stupid bamboo."

Looking at the Taiyi Bamboo Vine with a corner bitten off, Xiao Yun's mouth twitched repeatedly. She had ruined such a precious medicinal herb, then brought it before an Alchemist and complained that it did not taste good. If he could beat her, he would have snatched it away long ago.

"I can, but what benefit do I get from helping you refine it?" Xiao Yun asked calmly. A plan gradually formed in his mind. Zi Yan's combat strength was extremely formidable. If he could cooperate with her, he could bring her along to seize some of the rare treasures in the back mountain.

"Hehe, I can be your boss. If anyone in the Inner Academy bullies you, I'll beat them up for you!" Zi Yan put one hand on her hip, her little face full of pride. "Don't think I'm only a little older than you. There aren't many people in the Inner Academy who can beat me."

"No need. I don't need a boss, and no one in the Inner Academy can bully me. Are you good at anything else?" Xiao Yun asked with a smile.

Though Xiao Yun was smiling, Zi Yan could still sense a trace of disdain within it, as if he were saying, "You don't seem very useful."

The pride faded from Zi Yan's face. Lowering her head, she thought hard, trying to prove that she was also impressive in other areas. But even after racking her brains, she realized that apart from being good at fighting, she knew nothing else.

"Hmph, just tell me what you want me to do. Whatever it is, I can do it!" Though she was not skilled at anything else, she could not lose in presence. Zi Yan shouted loudly.

"Anything?" The smile on Xiao Yun's face grew wider, making him look exactly like a villain tricking a child.

"Hmph! Of course. I'm very capable. I can do anything!"

"Then help me find a medicinal herb later. It looks like this. As long as you find it, I'll refine this Taiyi Bamboo Vine for you."

With a flash from his Storage Ring, Xiao Yun took out a scroll containing information about the Purple Spirit Flower and handed it to Zi Yan. "One medicinal herb for another. That's fair, right?"

"Not fair! Finding medicinal herbs takes a lot of time, while refining medicinal herbs doesn't take much effort for you. If I help you find one herb, you have to refine twenty herbs for me. That's fair!" Taking the scroll, Zi Yan looked at the picture and information on it. Her large black eyes brightened slightly, though Xiao Yun did not notice.

"Who told you that refining pills doesn't take much effort? It consumes a great deal of mental energy, alright? Even merely extracting their essence takes quite a bit of time. How could it possibly be as simple as you say? Only an outsider would think pill refinement is easy."

Curling his lips, Xiao Yun saw Zi Yan raise her fist again and hurriedly said, "How about this? One for five. For every herb you find for me, I'll refine five herbs for you. Any grade is fine. Are you satisfied now?"

"That's more like it." Zi Yan nodded. With a flip of her little hand, a small flower completely purple in color appeared in her palm. "Here, take it. This is the flower you wanted."

No wonder I couldn't find it. You took them all!

Xiao Yun silently grumbled in his heart, but he accepted the Purple Spirit Flower with a cheerful smile and placed it into his Storage Ring. "Do you have any more? One flower is too few."

"Use this one first. Once you finish refining for me, I'll give you another." Zi Yan looked guarded as she handed the half-eaten Taiyi Bamboo Vine to Xiao Yun. "Now refine this for me first."

"No rush. How am I supposed to refine it here? Come outside with me first. I'll register these medicinal herbs with Elder Hao, then find somewhere quiet to refine them for you." Xiao Yun spoke. This place was full of precious medicinal herbs. What if he lost control and blew the place up?

"What is there to say to that old man? I always just leave directly." Zi Yan muttered, but she still followed Xiao Yun out of the Medicinal Herb Repository.

"So you really are stealing... Ah, don't hit people! If you do it again, I won't refine anything for you."

"Who told you to say I stole them? Hmph!"

In the quiet room, Elder Hao was still sitting leisurely in his chair, reading the book in his hands. Hearing the door open, he spoke without even raising his head. "Little fellow, did you find the medicinal herbs you needed?"

"I found them, Elder. Not only did I find the herbs, I found a person too." Xiao Yun replied while rubbing his head, his eyes repeatedly darting toward Zi Yan at his side until she clenched her fist again.

"A person? Didn't you go in alone?" Hearing Xiao Yun's words, Elder Hao finally raised his head. Only then did he see Xiao Yun's aggrieved expression and Zi Yan beside him, clenching her fist as though preparing to strike.

Elder Hao looked at Xiao Yun, then at Zi Yan. A moment later, he came to his senses and leaped up from his chair, roaring, "Why are you here again? Didn't I tell you not to come? If you want medicinal herbs to eat, can't you go find them in the back mountain? The herbs here are all needed for something!"

"Yeah, needed for me to grow up. Why can't I eat them? I'm part of the Inner Academy too! You old fool, if you keep talking, watch out or I'll beat you up." Zi Yan shot Elder Hao a glance, and the fist she had been aiming at Xiao Yun shifted direction as she shouted.

Elder Hao was so enraged by Zi Yan's arrogant attitude that his entire body trembled. After a long while, he finally said bitterly, "Go ahead and hit me. I'll report your misdeeds to the First Elder afterward!"

This elder, respected by the Inner Academy's students, could only appeal to the First Elder when facing Zi Yan, despite being furious enough to grind his teeth. He was like a bullied child complaining to a teacher.

"...Hmph! Go ahead and tell him. I'm not afraid of Old Man Su either. Tell him to come find me!" Hearing Elder Hao's threat, Zi Yan immediately lost some of her confidence. But after seeing Xiao Yun beside her, she instantly stiffened up again and shouted in her childish voice.

Hearing their exchange, Xiao Yun knew that if he did not say something soon, Elder Hao might really make a move. He hurriedly stepped forward and stood between them. "Elder Hao, these are the medicinal herbs I need. Please register them for me."

With a flash from his Storage Ring, a large pile of medicinal herbs appeared on the table. Seeing this, Elder Hao stopped paying attention to Zi Yan and asked quietly, "How did you run into her? She didn't do anything to you, did she?"

"No. I only agreed to help her refine medicinal herbs."

"Uh, refine medicinal herbs? Then you should be careful. This little auntie has an extremely violent temper. She often hits people over the smallest things. Pretty much everyone in the Inner Academy has been beaten by her." Elder Hao patted Xiao Yun's shoulder, his face full of sympathy.

I've already experienced that.

Thinking this, Xiao Yun glanced back at Zi Yan. There was still a bump on his head from where she had punched him.

"What are you looking at? Hurry up and finish registering them. You still have to help me refine pills!" Seeing Xiao Yun's gaze, Zi Yan bared her teeth at him.

"Alright, you took quite a lot. Four hundred Heavenly Fire Energy in total. Swipe your card." After tallying all the medicinal herbs, Elder Hao took out the exact same thing Xiao Yun had seen at the Arena before.

This time, Xiao Yun had not only taken the ingredients for the Purple Heart Barrier-Breaking Pill, but also ingredients for many other pills. In the outside world, they would cost at least several hundred thousand gold coins, yet in the Inner Academy, four hundred Heavenly Fire Energy was enough to exchange for them. It was rather cheap.

After paying the Fire Energy, Xiao Yun left the Medicinal Materials Repository with Zi Yan. "To refine your medicinal herbs, we need somewhere quiet with abundant fire-elemental energy. Let's go to the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower."