Jia Nan Academy and Xiao Yu's Fury

The Xiao Clan.

"So what kind of extraordinary encounter did you have these past two years, you little brat?" Xiao Yu pinched Xiao Yan's cheek and leaned in, studying him closely with her beautiful eyes. She still hadn't recovered from the shock.

As a student of Jia Nan Academy, she knew just how terrifying his talent for alchemy was. She had even forgotten that Xiao Yan had just sent Liu Xi flying and regained his talent for Dou Qi.

A sixteen-year-old Three-Rank Alchemist. If Instructor Ruo Lin found out, she would probably come charging into Wutan City to recruit him this instant...

And in sheer talent for Dou Qi, even that Little Demoness probably couldn't compare.

Xiao Yu clicked her tongue in wonder.

The brat had grown even more handsome. With his refined, striking features, once those shameless girls from the academy arrived and learned of his talent, they'd probably throw themselves at him.

For some reason, a sour feeling rose in her heart. He wouldn't accept every offer, would he?

"Tch."

Xiao Yan swatted her hand away. "What are you doing to the pillar of the Xiao Clan? Do you know how tiring it is to carry all 1,332 clan members on my shoulders? Give them a rub. Or..."

He stole a glance at Xiao Yu's long, fair legs. "I could rest my head on your lap instead."

"You little bastard! Where are you looking?!" Xiao Yu's brows shot up. Gritting her teeth, she grabbed his ear.

What the little bastard had done before came rushing back to her.

"I told you it was a misunderstanding! The Back Mountain belongs to the Xiao Clan, not you. How was I supposed to know you were bathing there? You didn't even tell anyone." Xiao Yan glared back, baring his teeth.

"Do I have to tell you every time I take a bath?!" Xiao Yu snapped.

"Well, uh... you could." Xiao Yan rubbed his nose.

Xiao Yu: "..."

After all these years, he was still utterly shameless!

But banter aside, this brat truly was the Xiao Clan's future. At the thought, Xiao Yu's gaze softened despite herself. Even someone as outstanding as her might have to rely on this younger clansman at Jia Nan Academy one day.

"Forget it. Just remember, Jia Nan Academy will send people to Wutan City to recruit students in three months. Make sure you attend. I'll take you to meet my instructor, so you won't have to wait in that long line." Xiao Yu thought for a moment, then gave him careful instructions.

"In three months?" Xiao Yan paused.

"Mm-hmm." Xiao Yu twirled a strand of hair around her finger. Her long, slender legs were especially eye-catching, and even the Xiao Clan disciples passing by couldn't help letting their gazes wander.

"Then why did you come back so early? Are you skipping classes?" Xiao Yan picked at his ear, looking rather serious.

Xiao Yu froze. Then her eye twitched violently. She clenched her pale fist, and her hand drifted toward the sword at her waist.

Xiao Yan ducked his head, dodged her slash with practiced ease, and ran.

"Xiao Yan, I'm going to cut you down!"

In the hall.

Xiao Yan idly toyed with his Storage Ring. The Old Lord wouldn't wake from being jostled anyway. Xiao Zhan, meanwhile, wore a broad smile as he discussed with several elders how to teach the Jia Lie Family a harsh lesson.

With Xiao Yan, a Three-Rank Alchemist, in their ranks, the Xiao Clan would sooner or later rise beyond the backwater of Wutan City. His future was tied to the fate of the entire clan.

"Yan'er, Jia Nan Academy is the finest academy on the continent. It has countless high-level Cultivation Methods and Combat Skills. The Xiao Clan can't offer you much help, so we can only make use of this opportunity..." Xiao Zhan said gently, looking at his distracted son.

"I know, Father." Xiao Yan closed his hand around the Storage Ring. "In six months, I'll go with Cousin Xiao Yu to take the entrance examination."

He had no shortage of Cultivation Methods and Combat Skills. With the Old Lord around, he could even have one made to order.

The Eight-Nine Arcane Arts had a far higher ceiling than the Flame Mantra. Perhaps he wouldn't be called the Flame Emperor in the future? No, forget it. There was fire in the name; his destiny couldn't possibly be free of it.

But he couldn't miss out on that gluttonous Young Dragon, or the Fallen Heart Flame. Though he wasn't cultivating the Flame Mantra, his Qi Fire was still too weak. Until it truly matured and the three fires merged into Samadhi True Fire, he would have to draw on the power of Heavenly Flames.

That didn't mean abandoning Qi Fire. It had plenty of uses: he could channel it into a Heavenly Flame to control that flame more easily and even amplify its power.

Once his Qi Fire had awakened, subduing Heavenly Flames would also become much easier.

That was what the Old Lord had told him, and he certainly wouldn't lie.

"Hmph!" Xiao Yu sat on a stool, teeth clenched as she glared at the seemingly oblivious Xiao Yan. If so many elders hadn't been present, she would have rushed over and given him a beating. Unfortunately, the brat was as slippery as an eel. She hadn't caught him earlier...

How infuriating.

"I'll refine another fifty Second-Rank Pills and five Third-Rank Pills for the Xiao Clan. During the six months before Jia Nan Academy begins recruiting, I'll leave Wutan City to train in the Magical Beast Mountain Range. So... sell them sparingly," Xiao Yan said calmly, paying Xiao Yu no mind.

"Of course. Little Yanzi, you go ahead. With us old bones handling the clan's affairs, and the Pills you're leaving behind, nothing will go wrong," the Grand Elder said.

He looked at Xiao Yan, then at his pretty granddaughter, who sat with her arms crossed in a sulk. Stroking his snow-white beard, he began silently working through the family tree.

Surely his family and Xiao Zhan's had been outside the ten degrees of kinship for ages...

A month passed in the blink of an eye.

On the Xiao Clan's Back Mountain.

"Hmm..."

With a low hum, wisps of smoke rose from the dark Mystic Cauldron. An ink-black Pill Pellet took shape inside it. Xiao Yan plucked it out and dropped it into a Jade Bottle.

"Phew... finally done." Xiao Yan stretched and let out a long breath.

After a month of intensive pill refining, his cultivation had surged to Three-Star Dou Master. His control over Qi Fire could probably rival that of quite a few Fifth- or Sixth-Rank Alchemists.

His control over the Dou Qi within him also far surpassed that of an ordinary Dou Shi. A few days earlier, he had knocked a Nine-Star Dou Shi of the Xiao Clan out of the Arena in just three moves. He had yet to challenge a Da Dou Shi, but by his estimate, even without forming Dou Armor, he could hold his own against one.

He had only reached the second transformation of the Eight-Nine Arcane Arts, yet it had changed him completely.

Feeling the surging Dou Qi within him, Xiao Yan grinned.

Next came... the Magical Beast Mountain Range.

Before that, though, he had to visit the Jia Lie Family.

Ever since learning that the Xiao Clan had a Three-Rank Alchemist, the Jia Lie Family had gone quiet and fallen into decline, ceding marketplaces and territory one after another. Only Liu Xi continued scheming in secret.

He was still trying to stir up trouble.

In that case...

It was time to send him to his grave.

That would keep him from causing the Xiao Clan trouble while Xiao Yan was away training.