Xiao Xun'er Takes Action: Out of the Dragon's Pool, Into the Tiger's Den

Half a month had passed since Wutan City was unified. Xiao Yan had established deep cooperation with his old acquaintance Ya Fei, contacted the merchant caravan sent by the Nalan Family, and set the Xiao Clan's businesses back on track.

He had obtained several Xuan-class cultivation methods and Dou Techniques from Yao Lao to leave behind, along with some specially refined equipment for his father Xiao Zhan and Xun'er. Xiao Yan had originally intended to stay a while longer.

However, Xiao Xun'er came to talk him through things almost every day, as though she were declaring her claim. Seeing his complexion grow more sallow by the day, Xiao Yan decided he could not keep degenerating like this. It was time to get the main quest moving.

After settling all the follow-up matters, making one final purchase from the auction house, and tactfully declining Ya Fei's invitation for further exchanges, Xiao Yan finally went to find Xiao Xun'er.

"Sniff, sniff. Xiao Yan-gege smells so strongly of perfume. Do you like that scent very much?"

A strange glint flashed through Xiao Xun'er's eyes. Her tone was gentle, yet it made cold sweat break out on Xiao Yan's back.

One hand stroked Xiao Yan's chest while the other pinched the soft flesh at his waist. As she spoke, Xiao Xun'er's hand began sliding downward.

But this time, Xiao Yan firmly caught her delicate hand.

"Ahem. I went to the Mittel Auction House to buy some materials."

Xiao Yan coughed dryly and offered an explanation. That woman Ya Fei had not been behaving herself either. The last time he and Xiao Xun'er went shopping together, she had insisted on joining them, and it seemed Xiao Xun'er had become somewhat triggered by it.

At those words, Xiao Xun'er immediately fell silent.

Her body stiffened slightly. Only after a long while did she slowly raise her head. "Xiao Yan-gege, are you leaving?"

"Yes. The threat from Soul Hall is a little too great. I need to improve myself quickly." Xiao Yan nodded, seemingly mentioning Soul Hall without much thought. Yet when he caught Xiao Xun'er's gaze, his earlier suspicions were confirmed.

Sure enough, after he had told Xiao Xun'er about the information gained from killing that person before, her expression had indeed looked somewhat off.

"...Actually." After another long silence, as though she had finally made up her mind, Xiao Xun'er bit her silver teeth.

She wanted to make use of some things that had originally belonged to her. She had remained quiet and unassuming for more than a decade, but this time, she wanted to face her own heart directly.

Before she could speak, Xiao Yan gently pressed a finger against Xun'er's lips.

Their eyes met at close range, and Xiao Xun'er fell silent at once.

"I don't know what lies behind you, Xun'er, and I don't care what they want. I only care about you. Xun'er is Xun'er." Xiao Yan gently pressed his forehead against Xiao Xun'er's and stared straight into the slightly dazed eyes of the young woman.

He wanted to say something more, but upon seeing her expression, Xiao Yan merely revealed a brilliant smile.

"A year from now, let's enroll at Jia Nan Academy together. Heh, heh, heh. Academy life should be pretty good too."

Rubbing Xun'er's chin, Xiao Yan was rather curious about what Jia Nan Academy would be like. His cousin Xiao Yu, who had returned home early, had roughly described it to him. In any case, Xiao Yan found it quite jarring.

The whole damn world used Heaven, Earth, Black, and Yellow ranks, yet Jia Nan Academy alone used A, B, C, and D?

For some reason, it reminded Xiao Yan of a pathetic kid with lions in his eyes. There would not be dragons at Jia Nan Academy, would there?

He could go take a proper look when the time came.

Upon hearing Xiao Yan's words, Xiao Xun'er nodded without hesitation. She cast all those thoughts aside and giggled.

"All right. Xiao Yan-gege, you have to work hard too. Xun'er is going to start working hard as well, so don't let Xun'er surpass you."

Feeling there was something hidden in Xiao Xun'er's words, Xiao Yan stared at the somewhat unusual expression on her face. Without revealing anything, he began backing away.

Yet at some point, Xiao Xun'er had shut the door. Xiao Yan watched helplessly as a shadow fled into the distance, completely leaving the range of his senses. Then, with a snap of Xun'er's fingers, a sensory barrier was set up around the room.

He only had time to reinforce Yao Lao's seal before Xiao Yan, with his weakness caught in her grasp, could only be led by the nose.

"Call me big sister." Xiao Xun'er gave a wicked smile, crouched down gently, and began tying up her hair.

Half a day passed.

Ling Ying stood atop the city gate tower, watching the youth carrying a massive ruler depart into the distance.

Just as he was about to sink back into the shadows and return, Ling Ying saw Xiao Yan, with his back to him, suddenly wave his hand before leaving without looking back.

There was a certain tragic grandeur in that departing figure, like one who would never return until he had made a name for himself.

Ling Ying froze for a moment, then laughed silently.

To be fair, that young man really did have a certain presence when he got serious.

It was about time to return and await the young lady's instructions.

Smacking his lips, Ling Ying once again slipped into the shadows.

Not long afterward, he arrived outside Xun'er's bedchamber and knocked lightly on the door.

"Come in."

The moment he entered, Ling Ying saw Xiao Xun'er setting down the silk handkerchief she had just used to wipe her mouth. Sitting before the mirror, she leisurely arranged her hair, undoing the hair she had tied up and combing it loose again.

The fragrance in the room was especially rich, calming anyone who smelled it.

Ling Ying immediately felt that he had returned too early. After seeing Xiao Yan leave the city, he should have gone for a meal before coming back.

The corner of Ling Ying's mouth twitched. He lowered his eyes and waited obediently for Xiao Xun'er to speak.

In truth, he knew nothing.

He heard nothing, smelled nothing, saw nothing, and asked nothing.

He had still not been professional enough this time. There absolutely would not be a next time. If there was, he would stab his own eyes blind and puncture his ears deaf.

The thought flashed through his mind, and Ling Ying's gaze became especially vacant.

He truly knew nothing.

"Elder Ling." After quietly pondering for a long time, Xiao Xun'er finally spoke in a calm voice.

"Young Lady, I am here."

"When Xiao Yan-gege returns, I only want him to see that the Xiao Clan has become better. He does not want anything to happen here."

Clutching the pure white jade pendant engraved with flame patterns that Xiao Yan had given her, Xiao Xun'er could faintly sense Xiao Yan's aura fluctuations from afar.

Ling Ying nodded. Although he had not been present that night, he had been waiting outside the Jia Lie Clan Grounds.

He knew everything Xiao Xun'er needed him to know, and knew nothing she did not need him to know.

The self-cultivation of the Gu Clan's number one Dou Emperor.

Yet Ling Ying did not respond, because he knew Xiao Xun'er had more to say.

"Has there been any news from the clan?" Xiao Xun'er raised her head. She did not want those irritating matters to disrupt her mood. Generally speaking, messages from the clan could be divided into two kinds.

One kind reminded her of matters she was required to handle in principle. Xiao Xun'er usually did not read those and simply tossed them to AI... ahem, to Ling Ying for analysis and a summary.

The other kind could theoretically be ignored.

Those required her to consider them personally.

"Well... there have been some murmurs in the clan. Over the past few months, flying letters have been sent twice, something unprecedented." Ling Ying carefully chose his words and handed over the two letters. Xiao Xun'er glanced through them. Although they did not explicitly state what she was meant to find, they were no more than demands urging her to locate the Tou She Ancient God Jade, along with some requests for her to return.

Xiao Xun'er was also annoyed by this. Urge, urge, urge—what was there to urge for?

A few days ago, when Xiao Yan was leaving treasures for the Xiao Clan, he had even deliberately taken her through all kinds of secret treasuries within the Xiao Clan so she could openly inspect them for anything she needed.

But she had already searched every secret treasury!

She had even directly asked Xiao Yan whether the clan possessed any jade treasures, telling him to keep them safe.

Yet Xiao Yan had no idea whether the Xiao Clan had any treasured jade at all. He said he only had a broken jade fragment Xiao Zhan had given him, which he kept in his room to prop up a table leg.

He had even asked whether that was what she wanted.

Xiao Xun'er had been so angry that she laughed.

She seriously suspected that the higher-ups in her clan were constantly fighting between their left and right brains.

Although she no longer wanted to do this job, she could not make a request for resources without showing some progress.

After thinking for a moment, Xiao Xun'er gently rubbed her chin.

"Elder Ling, you... forget it. Go tell the clan that after many years of hard work, I have finally made a major breakthrough. I am only one step away from success, but I have hit a bottleneck and require funding, resources, and support..."

Feeling that the excuse was still not convincing enough, Xiao Xun'er thought of how she would be going to Jia Nan Academy with Xiao Yan later. Her eyes immediately lit up.

"Right, I've got it. Say that I have found a major clue. Although I have not found the jade fragment yet, the method of using the Tou She Ancient God Jade may be connected to this northwestern corner of the continent. Xiao Xuan did not send the Xiao Clan here for no reason back then.

"It must be confirmed by awakening the bloodline of the Xiao Clan's prodigy, whose Imperial Clan bloodline may very well have revived. Therefore, a massive amount of resources is needed.

"So I also need a great deal of time.

"And I need to prepare some protection for Xiao Yan-gege..."

The more Xiao Xun'er spoke, the brighter her eyes became. Even the professional Ling Ying could not help twitching at the corners of his mouth.

Was this excuse not a little too absurd?

Young Lady, could this really trick them into sending funding?

"Young Lady, this may be..."

"Forget it. I will write a letter to my father personally. You should also help smooth things over."

Ling Ying: ???

Smooth things over with a peak nine-star Dou Sheng?

Me?

Was this the contest between the Gu Clan's number one Dou Emperor and number one Dou Sheng?

That was some serious weight behind it.

"Young man, do you need this Liuwei Dihuang Pill for kidney yin deficiency, or this Golden Coffer Qi-Replenishing Pill for kidney yang deficiency?"

On the road toward the Beast Mountain Range.

Watching Yao Lao buzz around his ear like a mosquito, three black lines appeared across Xiao Yan's forehead.

They had been out for so long already, yet Yao Lao was still going on about it! What an annoying old man!

"If I hear the words 'kidney deficiency' again, I'll stab my ears deaf!"

Yao Lao immediately raised an eyebrow. In response to this kind of statement, he had learned a standard answer from Xiao Yan.

"Deaf? Being deaf is the sign of an emperor!"

Xiao Yan: (눈益눈)

Damn it. He should not have said so much trash talk normally.

This old man seemed to have completely let himself go.

But at that thought, Xiao Yan's brows furrowed slightly.

"Teacher, why not go to the Black-Corner Region first? Although Jia Nan Academy's continent-wide recruitment only happens once every three years and will not take place until next year, with my current strength, I can apply on my own."

If he remembered correctly, there was also a senior brother in the Black-Corner Region. Knowing that such a beast was still alive made Xiao Yan rather unhappy.

"...That is exactly why I will not let you go." Yao Lao's mouth twitched. Though a trace of gratification flashed through his eyes, it was quickly followed by deep helplessness.

Xiao Yan was far too reckless. The moment he learned about Han Feng, he wanted to head to the Black-Corner Region and seek revenge. While Yao Chen felt that the two of them joining forces to clean house should not be a problem, there was absolutely no need to do so now.

A Dou Zhe wanted to kill a Dou Emperor. How massive a mess would Xiao Yan cause after growing stronger? Yao Chen did not dare imagine it.

That was what gave him such a headache. He had no methods for fighting with soul power. He could only use soul power through methods not specifically intended for combat, just as he had done in his youth when he possessed no Dou Techniques and used medicinal-processing methods to treat people like pills and refine them.

It was better to be more cautious.

Speaking of which, Yao Chen was also somewhat path-dependent. He wanted to see whether Xiao Yan's next encounter with some fortuitous opportunity might get him a secret art he could use too... ahem.

"That beast can be dealt with later. The urgent matter is to set all those strange inheritances in your body onto the right path, such as that inheritance of the Shrouding the Heavens Emperor.

"The Beast Mountain Range is a good place. You lack nothing now except time and energy.

"If it were someone else, I definitely would not recommend using a huge number of pills during the early stages.

"But if it were you, all I can say is..." Yao Chen tried to organize his words, but found himself at a loss.

Xiao Yan did not need to consider foundation issues at all. Three years of body tempering, the low Xuan-class Flame Mantra, that incomparably profound Shrouding the Heavens Method, and so on had made Xiao Yan's foundation unbelievably solid.

There were also those superb Artifact Refining and pill-refining methods. Everything extracted was essence among essence, then further tempered by flames, leaving no side effects whatsoever.

Others might spend ten years sharpening a sword, yet their foundation would still not be as stable as Xiao Yan's path of cultivating through pills. Yao Chen did not even know what to say.

"Heh, heh, heh. That makes perfect sense." Xiao Yan grinned brightly.

"Their cultivation was built bit by bit through their own training, so naturally it is unbearably flimsy."

"But my cultivation soared directly through cheats!"

"The difference is obvious!"

After some idle chatter, Xiao Yan continued walking and cultivating with the Heavy Xuan Ruler on his back.

At the same time, he listened to Yao Lao's plan.

To be honest, what he lacked most right now truly was time.

He had no bottlenecks whatsoever. So long as he had time and resources, his strength could rise like a rocket.

He also possessed an advantage others did not: he could literally level up by killing monsters.

The Beast Mountain Range was a treasure land for him.

Besides tempering himself there, every magical beast he killed would become nourishment for him.

Xiao Yan gladly accepted the essence of flesh and blood and energy crystals. He needed vast quantities of life essence to cultivate the Sea of Bitterness and Dou Qi. As for soul essence, he intended to use it to heal Yao Lao's injuries.

Good steel had to be used on the blade. On the Dou Qi Continent, Yao Lao was one of his backup plans. If things truly came to it, he could use a Heaven-class Dou Technique and have a ghost possess him.

Naturally, he had to properly nourish this trump card.

As he continued toward the southern foothills of the Beast Mountain Range, Xiao Yan suddenly remembered the graceful woman in Qingshan Town, whose temperament was entirely different from those of his other beauties.

"Oh right, old man, do you know of a constitution that is born with poison?"

Yao Chen was slightly taken aback upon hearing this.

He remembered an old friend from back then. In those days, his romantic connections had spread across the world, and he had once shared some fate with someone possessing a Woeful Poison Body.

But Xiao Yan had encountered a Woeful Poison Body?

Yao Chen gave him a questioning look.

"How should I put it? There seems to be some strange poison in her body, but it is dormant. I barely managed to suppress it with a sealing technique before." Xiao Yan scratched his head. That time, he had used a specially prepared artifact filled with Dou Qi for power, opened the Eight Gates, and cast the Evil-Sealing Talisman with all his strength. It had nearly exhausted him to death before he barely managed to suppress it.

Times had changed. This time, he could visit Qingshan Town and check on her again.

With his luck, he would surely gain something else.

A poison-bearing constitution? One that could erupt? The confusion in Yao Chen's eyes grew even deeper.

"Does she have any physical characteristics? For example, anything unusual compared to ordinary people?"

At those words, a wonderful naked body immediately surfaced in Xiao Yan's mind.

White...?

Ahem. That probably did not count.

"There is a seven-colored pattern on her lower abdomen?"

Yao Lao's eyes immediately widened.

Was it really a Woeful Poison Body?