The Sorrowful Confession and Pleading of Feng Xiaotian

Huo Lei's last words were clearly directed at Lin Yin. He wasn't actually worried about being robbed; his real concern was that if he couldn't defeat the attackers, Marshal An Jun, who was secretly protecting him, would definitely intervene. If the attackers were from the Spirit Hall, and he didn't kill them all, his defection to the Heaven Dou Empire would be exposed, and the consequences would be unimaginable. Even if exposed, he hoped that day would come later.

"Young Master Lei, is there some arrangement you're making by telling us all this?" Lin Yin had been following Huo Lei for some time, and he knew that Huo Lei wouldn't say something useless without reason.

Huo Lei nodded. "That's right. Now I'll share my thoughts. If someone robs us and it's just one person, we'll fight them together. If it's two or more people, Brother Xiaotian, you should go to my brother and sister's side immediately and organize them to ensure effective combat. We absolutely cannot panic; this will reduce the chance of casualties."

"No problem," Feng Xiaotian replied firmly.

Huo Lei exhaled a breath of stale air and said hopefully, "I still hope that our return journey will be smooth and unobstructed."

On the first day of the return journey, everything went smoothly with few stops along the way. After traveling for three hours, we finally arrived at a small town before nightfall and found a relatively upscale hotel to stay in.

The group of eleven from the Blazing Fire Academy booked six rooms in total. Huo Wu had a room by herself, Huo Lei and Lin Yin shared a room, Huo Wushuang Feng Xiaotian room, Xie Chong and Huo Lie shared a room, and the other two rooms were shared by two brothers.

After dinner, Huo Lei gathered everyone from the Blazing Fire Academy in Xie Chong's room, shared his worries and thoughts with them, and discussed some strategies and methods to deal with unexpected situations before returning to their assigned rooms.

As soon as Huo Lei and Lin Yin entered their room, Huo Lei said, "Lin Yin, you should get some rest. I need to break through my bottleneck tonight, so don't disturb me unless it's absolutely necessary."

Lin Yin nodded and turned to walk towards his bed.

With nothing else to do, Huo Lei went straight to bed, sat cross-legged, and began meditating and cultivating.

The next morning, fresh sunlight streamed into the room.

Huo Lei awoke from his cultivation and found Lin Yin already waiting on the sofa.

"Congratulations, Young Master Lei, on your successful breakthrough." Lin Yin offered his congratulations immediately.

Huo Lei smiled slightly, "Thank you, I've finally broken through the bottleneck and reached level fifty-seven."

Huo Lei jumped out of bed, stretched his body, and said, "Wait for me to wash up, and then we'll go have breakfast."

The students from the Blazing Fire Academy split into three tables, ate breakfast, and then checked out of the hotel.

Xie Chong found another carriage company and hired three carriages. He began his return journey the following day, following the same arrangements and order as the previous day.

The Blazing Fire Academy changed carriage companies wasn't out of suspicion, nor because yesterday's carriages were bad. It was because most carriage companies handled short-distance travel, between cities, rarely running long distances. The reasons for this were simple: first, fewer long-distance customers, which was detrimental to business; second, unfamiliar routes were dangerous; and third, each region had its own territory and domain, and doing business across regions easily led to conflicts with local competitors.

Huo Lei's carriage was still at the back. The carriage was filled with joy. Not only had Huo Lei achieved a breakthrough, but Feng Xiaotian had also done so last night. Even more surprising was that, after everyone left the hotel this morning, during their conversation on the way to find the carriage shop, Huo Lei learned that not only he Feng Xiaotian had achieved breakthroughs, Xie Chong, Huo Wushuang, Huo Wu, and Huo Lie had also made breakthroughs.

Currently, Xie Chong is at level Level 72, Huo Wushuang at level 43, Huo Wu at level 48, and Huo Lie at level 39. As for the other four, they only leveled up before the start of the Promotion Round, and not much time has passed since then, so there are no signs of them breaking through yet.

Feng Xiaotian sat in the car, grumbling, "What a coincidence! Everyone broke through overnight. I was a little smug when I broke through to level 45. Now that everyone has improved, I've lost all my sense of superiority."

Huo Lei looked at Feng Xiaotian's expression and couldn't help but laugh out loud, "Hahaha! What? You have a problem with everyone promoting you?"

Feng Xiaotian quickly waved his hand, "I wouldn't dare. It's a good thing that everyone is improving. I was just venting."

Immediately, Feng Xiaotian's expression changed, and he smiled obsequiously at Huo Lei, saying, "Little brother Huo Lei, there's a question that's been on my mind for a long time. Can you tell me how you and your sister leveled up so quickly?"

"My level was always higher than your sister's, but just before the Soul Master Tournament started, her level increased faster than this carriage could run. In just a few months, Huo Wu has increased five or six levels. This is too abnormal. And you, you are even more terrifying. In just over a year, you have increased from level 41 to level 57, a full sixteen levels! I never dared to dream of such a thing."

"Huo Lei Brother, my good brother, my dear brother, do you have some special method? Could you help me level up? I want to improve faster too. Please, I'm begging you! As long as my level increases, I don't need much, just surpassing Huo Wu will be enough for me. If you can do that, I'll follow you like Brother Lin Yin. What do you say? I'll do whatever you say. Please! I've been working really hard at cultivating, but at your sister's rate of improvement, I'll never catch up to her."

Feng Xiaotian became more and more agitated as he spoke, his voice growing increasingly choked with emotion, almost to the point of tears. He paid no attention to Lin Yin standing beside him, and by the end, he had even made a Feng Xiaotian as if he were about to kneel down.

Huo Lei reacted quickly and helped Feng Xiaotian, who was about to kneel down.

"Xiaotian, you mustn't! Get up! You can't do this, I can't bear it."

With Huo Lei's help, Feng Xiaotian sat back down. After calming himself down, he continued, "I, Feng Xiaotian, am a man of great pride. I'm not afraid of being laughed at today. I genuinely want to improve my strength, and I also genuinely like your sister. You should be able to see that. Over the years, I've gone to the Blazing Fire Academy from time to time, ostensibly for sparring and exchange, but actually just to see your sister."

Huo Lei quickly interrupted Feng Xiaotian's venting, "Alright, alright! Brother Xiaotian, I don't doubt your sincerity. You can tell my sister what you're saying when you have the chance. As for your desire to quickly improve your strength, there are ways. But now is not the time."

Feng Xiaotian's eyes suddenly lit up, and the expression on his face instantly changed from bitterness to joy. He excitedly grabbed Huo Lei's arm with both hands and asked eagerly, "Is there really a way? When can we do it?"

Huo Lei hesitated for a moment before speaking, "It will take at least half a month, and at most a month. However, there will be a small test. If you can pass it, then there will be no problem. Don't worry, that test won't be difficult for you."

Feng Xiaotian said firmly, "No matter how great the test, I will overcome it, for Huo Wu."

"Feng Xiaotian is truly a devoted lover; men like him are hard to find. He's talented, handsome, has a good background, is so loyal, has great future potential, and is ambitious—he embodies all the best qualities. If a man like that were on his home planet, Blue Star, the line of beautiful women pursuing him would stretch from the north to the south."

Huo Lei couldn't help but feel a sense of admiration for a man like Feng Xiaotian. Although he had feelings for Shui Bing'er, he wasn't quite at that level.