Ah, I really envy Little Yanzi. So young, and he's already captured the heart of the Gu Clan's young lady.
Meanwhile, I'm still constantly running around. Luckily, I already have a whole series of plans.
This plan should take about a year to complete. Once it's done, Feng Qing'er's aunt, Fenghuang, will replace Huang Tian as clan chief and take control of all the Heavenly Demon Phoenixes again.
According to Feng Qing'er, she and her aunt are very close. Her aunt almost never refuses any of her requests.
Looking at it that way, the entire Heavenly Demon Phoenix Clan listens to Fenghuang, and Fenghuang listens to Feng Qing'er.
Right now, Feng Qing'er is nominally my mount.
She listens to me most of the time, too. So if I round things off, doesn't that mean I control the Heavenly Demon Phoenixes?
Perfect. As long as I can control the entire Heaven Demon Phoenix Clan, I'll have a powerful force backing me on the Dou Qi Continent.
Apart from the Ancient Eight Clans with their deep foundations, that's practically the ceiling.
If I want to go a step further, I'll have to see whether I can resolve the Old Dragon Emperor Zhu Kun's problem.
If I can remove the restrictions on him, all the better.
The problem is that his shackles were imposed by a Dou Di. Even someone as powerful as him, a Nine-Star Dou Saint, can't do anything about them.
Let alone a small fry like me. Still, it's not completely impossible.
I still have the system as my trump card. I can keep checking in and obtain skills from The Outcast.
I just don't know whether the legendary Divine Spirit can break a Dou Di's methods.
If it works, I can go straight to refusing to eat beef! Heh heh heh.
"Big brother, you're leaving so soon? Won't you stay a few more days?" When the time to part actually came, Xiao Yan was already reluctant to let him go.
After all, they had thoroughly enjoyed their time together. It definitely wasn't because Qin Yun had supplied him with pills in practically unlimited quantities.
"No banquet under heaven lasts forever. My teacher only gave me three months for this trip, and traveling back and forth takes quite a while, too.
"Once you become powerful, just don't forget this big brother of yours.
"Give me a helping hand then. Even if I can't become a Dou Di, I should at least become a Nine-Star Dou Saint."
Qin Yun dropped a seemingly casual hint, a crafty smile appearing on his face.
"Don't worry. From now on, your business is my business. Never mind a Nine-Star Dou Saint-even if I become a Dou Di, I'll share half my cultivation with you."
Xiao Yan thumped his chest in assurance. This truly had been the most carefree stretch of his life.
After exchanging a few more pleasantries, Qin Yun and his two companions left.
Xiao Xun'er, who had been watching in secret, finally breathed a sigh of relief once they were far away. Yet certain matters still weighed on her heart, leaving her unable to feel happy.
Although her father had sent her here as a child to search for the Tou She Ancient God Jade, she had thought at the time that it was merely a peculiar token.
Even if she took it, it wouldn't have much of an impact. At worst, she could compensate them with some cultivation resources.
Besides, something her father valued surely wasn't something such a small clan could afford to possess. Taking it would actually spare them some disasters.
But ever since Qin Yun had exposed some of the Gu Clan's immoral deeds, her heart had been unable to settle.
During this time, she had ordered Elder Ling to tell her everything he knew. Only then had she learned the full story behind it all.
She had also learned exactly how her father had "taken good care" of his old friend's clan.
She had to admit that, even if he believed in the law of the strong devouring the weak, her father seemed to have gone a little too far.
After all, even if he had intercepted every resource, giving the Xiao Clan just a few scraps that slipped through his fingers would have ensured that their clan chief was more than a mere Da Dou Shi.
At that thought, Xiao Xun'er could only sigh. This couldn't remain hidden forever. Sooner or later, she would have to lay everything out before Brother Xiao Yan.
She just didn't know where she should begin when the time came, or whether a rift would form between them once she finished. All of that remained unknown.
The scene soon shifted back to Qin Yun. The three of them had already boarded a spatial ship.
Over the past few days, however, Fei Tian had kept feeling that something was wrong. They had clearly agreed beforehand that he would only act as a last resort.
Yet now he was being ordered to do this and that. Those two bastards were treating him like a nanny.
Feng Qing'er in particular had been looking at him strangely these past few days, though he couldn't quite put the feeling into words.
In short, something was very wrong. Her constant staring had made his skin crawl these past few days, but given her background, he didn't dare ask her directly.
He could only steer the conversation elsewhere. "Little Yun, are you planning to stir up trouble again? If I remember correctly, this direction doesn't lead to the Central Plains at all."
At this, Fei Tian couldn't help rubbing his head. The past few days had been far too thrilling-more eventful than the rest of his life put together.
That little bastard Qin Yun, in particular, certainly didn't treat him as an outsider. He kept assigning him jobs that could cost him his head. These past few days, even things that would merely cost him his head hardly seemed worthy of Qin Yun's attention anymore.
"I want to take a look at Jia Nan Academy. It's right beside the Black-Corner Region we visited earlier.
"I hear they have a rather miraculous Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower there. I'm planning to go have an exchange."
As always, Qin Yun made things up as they came to him. The destination was the only truthful part of that statement.
His real objective wasn't the supposedly cultivation-accelerating Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower at all, but the Brute Force King, Zi Yan, who was there.
As long as he won over that little tyrant, wouldn't manipulating her daughter-doting father be as easy as turning his hand?
Heh heh heh. When father and daughter had first reunited, Zhu Kun had injured Xiao Yan, leaving Zi Yan seething with anger.
Once the misunderstanding had been cleared up, Zhu Kun had fussed over Xiao Yan to please his daughter. If she asked, he wouldn't even have minded calling Xiao Yan "Dad."
"Jia Nan Academy? That academy has something of a reputation even in the Central Plains.
"Especially its Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower, which can accelerate cultivation.
"And according to the rumors, that's because a Heavenly Flame is sealed inside it. As for which Heavenly Flame it is, I'm not too sure."
Fei Tian briefly recalled what he had heard in the past.
"The academy's background isn't simple, either. Its first headmaster was named Mang Tianchi.
"I hear he's apparently from the Lei Clan. He was already a Five-Star Dou Zun back then, so his cultivation should be even higher now."
Feng Qing'er, meanwhile, refrained from asking many questions for once.
After all, certain things weren't convenient to discuss right now. They could discuss them if they really had to, but someone would have to lose his head.
"Their headmaster does have some backing and strength, but he's always running all over the continent. He only returns for a visit once every decade or so.
"Right now, the strongest people there are just two guardians, known as Elder Qian and Elder Bai. They're Nine-Star Dou Zongs.
"They aren't all that strong, but in the Black-Corner Region, that's already enough to crush the competition."
Qin Yun nodded slightly, then gave Fei Tian a gentle smile.
"Uncle Fei, interested in coming along for some fun?"
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