Zi Yan

The sudden voice from behind gave Xiao Yun, who had been troubled by his inability to find the Purple Spirit Flower, a fright. When did this person get here? I remember being the only one who came in. And my soul perception actually failed to detect them?

Startled, Dou Qi surged out from within him. In an instant, Xiao Yun entered a combat stance, spinning around sharply as he stared behind him with alarm.

When Xiao Yun saw the owner of the voice, the corner of his mouth twitched slightly. The turbulent Dou Qi within him retreated back into his body, and the vigilance on his face was replaced by realization.

Standing before him was a little girl in white, just slightly taller than him. She was only twelve or thirteen years old, with pale purple hair hanging straight down to her waist. Her cheeks were fair and tender, and she had a pair of large, bright black eyes. She looked as adorable as a finely carved doll.

Within the Inner Academy, who else could have such a cute appearance and sneak up behind Xiao Yun without him noticing, other than Zi Yan? From the looks of it, she had come to sneak medicinal ingredients again.

"Kid, didn't you hear me talking? Are you asking for a beating?" Seeing that Xiao Yun ignored her and only kept staring at her, Zi Yan impatiently stepped forward 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." A bead of cold sweat immediately appeared on Xiao Yun's forehead when he saw that raised fist. He had not expected this little ancestor to be so violent. Just because he had not answered her, she wanted to hit him? And with Zi Yan's strength, that punch would kill him, all right?

"Hmph, then hurry up and tell me why you came here. Did you come here to find medicinal ingredients to eat too, like me?" Hearing Xiao Yun's words, Zi Yan gave a light snort but still lowered her fist. She then picked up a medicinal ingredient beside her and began gnawing on it.

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

Silently taking a step back, Xiao Yun said, "I didn't come to find medicinal ingredients to eat. I need them to refine pills. Besides, this hardly counts as finding them. This is stealing."

"Who says this is stealing? I eat them so I can grow up. There are so many things sitting here unused, so why not let me eat them and grow?" Hearing Xiao Yun's words, Zi Yan's expression darkened slightly, her childish voice echoing through the entire room.

"Fine, fine, fine. You're not stealing. You're just taking what you're entitled to, all right?" Hearing that ear-splitting voice, Xiao Yun covered his ears and hurriedly placated her. He was truly afraid Zi Yan would throw a childish tantrum. If she beat him up, he would have nowhere to seek justice.

Rolling her adorable eyes, Zi Yan suddenly moved close to Xiao Yun. One hand pressed against his shoulder, stopping him from backing away any farther. "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 lousy bamboo."

Looking at the Taiyi Bamboo Vine before him with one corner bitten off, Xiao Yun's mouth twitched continuously. She had ruined such a precious medicinal ingredient, then brought it before an alchemist and said 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 said calmly. A plan gradually formed in his mind. Zi Yan's combat strength was extremely formidable. If he could cooperate with her, then he could bring her 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 help you beat them up!" Zi Yan put one hand on her waist, her little face full of pride. "Don't look down on me just because 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 anyway. Are you good at anything else?" Xiao Yun asked with a smile.

Although Xiao Yun was smiling, Zi Yan could still sense a trace of disdain in it, as though 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 impressive in other areas too. Yet no matter how hard she racked her brains, she realized that aside from being good at fighting, she knew nothing else.

"Hmph, just tell me what you want me to do. I can do anything!" Though she had no particular talents, she could not lose in terms of momentum. Zi Yan shouted loudly.

"Anything?" The smile on Xiao Yun's face grew even broader, making him look just like a bad man trying to trick a child.

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

"Then help me find a medicinal ingredient later. It looks like this. As long as you can 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 ingredient for one medicinal ingredient. That's fair, right?"

"Not fair! Finding medicinal ingredients takes a lot of time, while you don't need much effort to refine them. If I help you find one medicinal ingredient, you have to refine twenty for me. That would be fair!" Taking the scroll, Zi Yan looked at the picture and information on it. Her bright black eyes lit up slightly, though Xiao Yun did not notice.

"Who told you refining pills doesn't take effort? Even extracting the essence from them takes quite a bit of time. How can it be as simple as you say? Only an outsider would think refining pills is so easy."

Curling his lips, Xiao Yun saw Zi Yan raise her fist again and hurriedly said, "How about this? One for five. As long as you help me find one, I'll refine five medicinal ingredients for you. Any tier will do. Are you satisfied now?"

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

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

Grumbling inwardly, Xiao Yun accepted the Purple Spirit Flower with a cheerful smile and placed it into his Storage Ring. "Do you have any more? One flower is still too little."

"Use this one first. Once you finish refining for me, I'll give you another one." Zi Yan looked guarded as she handed Xiao Yun the Taiyi Bamboo Vine she had taken several bites from. "Now refine this for me first."

"No rush. How can I refine it here? Come out with me first. I'll register these medicinal ingredients with Elder Hao, then find a quiet place to refine them for you." Xiao Yun spoke cautiously. This place was filled with rare medicinal ingredients. What if he failed to control things properly 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 ingredient storehouse.

"So this really is stealing... Ah, don't hit me! If you hit me again, I won't refine anything for you."

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

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

"I found them, Elder. Not only did I find the medicinal ingredients, I found a person too." Xiao Yun answered while rubbing his head, his eyes repeatedly darting toward Zi Yan beside him until she clenched her fist again.

"A person? Weren't you the only one who went in?" Hearing Xiao Yun's words, Elder Hao immediately raised his head. Only then did he see Xiao Yun's aggrieved expression, as well as Zi Yan beside him, who was raising her fist as if preparing to strike.

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

"Exactly, they're needed for me to grow up. Why can't I eat them? I'm part of the Inner Academy too! Stinky old man, if you keep talking, watch out or I'll beat you up." Zi Yan glanced at Elder Hao, turning the fist that had been aimed at Xiao Yun toward him as she shouted.

Elder Hao was furious. Zi Yan's arrogant attitude angered him so much that his entire body trembled. After a long while, he finally said through gritted teeth, "Go ahead and hit me. I'll report your good deeds to the First Elder afterward!"

This elder, respected by the students of the Inner Academy, could only reason with the First Elder when facing Zi Yan, even when she made him grit his teeth in anger, like a bullied child complaining to a teacher.

"...Hmph! Go ahead and tell him. I'm not afraid of Old Man Su either. Let him 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 puffed herself back up 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 inserted himself between them, saying to Elder Hao, "Elder Hao, these are the medicinal ingredients I need. Please register them for me."

With a flash from his Storage Ring, a large pile of medicinal ingredients 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 some medicinal ingredients."

"Uh, refine medicinal ingredients? Then you should be careful. This little ancestor 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 with a sympathetic expression.

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 earlier.

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

"All right, you took quite a lot. Four hundred Heavenly Fire Energy in total. Swipe your card." After Elder Hao finished tallying all the medicinal ingredients, he took out something identical to what Xiao Yun had seen at the arena before.

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

After paying the Fire Energy, Xiao Yun left the medicinal ingredient management storehouse with Zi Yan. "Refining medicinal ingredients for you requires a quiet place with abundant fire-element energy. Let's go to the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower."