Leaving Jia Nan Academy

"A young girl? Tsk, tsk, tsk. What do you want with her? Don't tell me you're eating from your bowl while eyeing the pot?" Fei Tian gave Qin Yun a discreet look.

What he meant was: Are you sure you want to go looking for another woman so openly? Won't the little princess beside you get jealous?

After all, members of the Heavenly Demon Phoenix Clan were utterly devoted when it came to love.

Are you sure she won't cry and go home to complain? When that happens, they'll shake the Wind and Lightning Pavilion so hard even the yolks in our eggs will fall apart.

Even Feng Qing'er felt an inexplicable twinge in her heart, a strange feeling she couldn't quite explain.

But she trusted Qin Yun. Though she felt a little uncomfortable, she wouldn't interfere with any decision he made.

He must have had his reasons.

"What are you thinking? I just thought you'd been alone for so long, Uncle Fei, and wanted to find you some company-"

"Stop, stop, stop. I like mature women. An eighteen-year-old isn't-"

"Like hell! An apprentice! I mean an apprentice, understand? Did you really think I'd be kind enough to find you a wife?

"You're already a five-star Dou Zong. You ought to have a successor to pass your knowledge on to. Otherwise, what'll happen when you're six feet under?"

Qin Yun wondered how he had ended up with these two. Just talking to them was exhausting.

At the mention of an apprentice, Fei Tian's eyes suddenly lit up. That did sound like a good idea.

"An apprentice would be fine, but I'm very picky. Are you sure this Xiao Yi Xian you mentioned can inherit my mantle?"

"You might not like hearing this, but Xiao Yi Xian's talent is at least ten times yours. Ever heard of the woeful poison body? The woeful poison body." Qin Yun revealed Xiao Yi Xian's constitution outright.

But he promptly offered an explanation as well.

"I have a way to bring her woeful poison body completely under control. She'll be able to live like an ordinary person, without the danger of it erupting at any moment. Well? Care to consider it?"

"Damn, you gave me a fright. If there's a way to control it, then she really would be an excellent prospective apprentice.

"And don't forget what I just told you. Some things are best kept to yourself. I won't pry either." Fei Tian was genuinely tempted now.

After all, the woeful poison body had tremendous potential. The difficulty lay in its being impossible to control.

Now that there was a way to control it, she was even better suited to becoming his apprentice.

"I know, but you're hardly an outsider, Uncle Fei." Qin Yun naturally understood that Fei Tian was hinting he seemed to know a little too much.

He shouldn't reveal it all so openly.

"All right, but why aren't you coming along? Is there somewhere else important you need to visit?"

Fei Tian wondered what sort of place Qin Yun planned to visit next, if even a woeful poison body wasn't worth a personal trip.

"Qing'er and I are going to the Tagor Desert. As for what's there, I'll follow the hint you just gave me, Uncle Fei, and keep it to myself." Qin Yun put his new lesson straight into practice.

"You little brat." For the sake of the fine apprentice he would soon have, Fei Tian let it slide and merely shook his head helplessly.

"But I have another question. Why can't we go to Qingshan Town together first, find this Xiao Yi Xian you mentioned, and then head to the Tagor Desert?"

Hearing that question, Qin Yun thought for a moment before offering his explanation. "If we visit them one by one, it'll feel too much like padding. Some people won't be happy."

"..." Fine, as long as you're happy. Fei Tian couldn't be bothered to waste any more words on him. He planned to set off for Qingshan Town immediately and get back as soon as possible.

First, he would bring Xiao Yi Xian to the Wind and Lightning Pavilion and take her as his personal disciple. Then he could flaunt her in the pavilion master's face.

"Oh, right. Take this Soul Body with you. He might have some means of controlling the woeful poison body for a short time."

Qin Yun suddenly remembered that, in the original story, the Heavenly Fire Venerable seemed to have a method for temporarily suppressing an outbreak of poison.

Since he had consumed so many of Qin Yun's soul-nourishing medicinal herbs, he ought to put in some work. Qin Yun was a man of principles, after all.

"Hello there, junior." The Heavenly Fire Venerable emerged from the Storage Ring and greeted him somewhat awkwardly.

Inwardly, however, he had already cursed Qin Yun every way he could. *Couldn't you just keep me safely hidden away

and let me get some peaceful sleep? Why insist on dragging me out in front of other people?

I'm just a Soul Body now, too weak to even truss a chicken. There's no need to treat me like a Pokémon and show me off to everyone you meet.

Back when I had the strength of a peak five-star Dou Zun, I would've beaten all you juniors' backsides to a pulp.

But given his current circumstances, he had to back down when necessary. As expected, a Soul Body had no say in anything.

"Holy crap, a Dou Zun's Soul Body! Are you a bag of treasures or something? You can pull out anything!"

Fei Tian visibly froze for a moment. He desperately wanted to see just what Qin Yun had hidden inside his Storage Ring. He even had a Soul Body in there.

"But may I ask your name, senior? Anyone who reaches Dou Zun is no ordinary figure."

Although only his Soul Body remained, he had once been a living, breathing Dou Zun expert. Fei Tian ought to show him at least a little courtesy.

"I am Yao Tianhuo, known as the Heavenly Fire Venerable. I wonder if you've heard of me?" The Heavenly Fire Venerable raised his chin and spoke with a proud expression.

"Never heard of you." Fei Tian calmly picked his ear, then flicked the earwax aside.

"..." Not a single one of you has any decency. Once I recover my strength, I'll kill you all.

The Heavenly Fire Venerable's face darkened. He had only been dead for a little over a hundred years. How had so many bastards sprung up in this place?

"Wait, wait, wait! Huh? What are you doing?" The Heavenly Fire Venerable had barely had time to catch his breath after emerging before Fei Tian put him into his Storage Ring. He had plainly been reduced to a tool.

"Don't worry. I'll take care of what you asked. But are you sure you won't run into danger without me as your bodyguard?"

Truthfully, Fei Tian was still quite worried about the safety of these two youngsters.

After all, Qin Yun was a stubborn mule who especially liked heading into dangerous places.

As for Feng Qing'er-well, she hardly needed mentioning. By now, she had become his mount through and through, going wherever he pointed.

"Don't worry. I have plenty of tricks up my sleeve. If I could really use every move I have, I might only be a little weaker than you."

Qin Yun held two fingers slightly apart to illustrate the gap between them.

"All right. Keep this jade pendant. I'm fast, so once I've finished my business, I'll come find you in the Tagor Desert.

"As long as we aren't too far apart, I'll be able to sense your location through the pendant. Whatever happens, be careful." Fei Tian nodded solemnly.

Afterward, they briefly got acquainted with the elders of Jia Nan Academy.

They also went to considerable trouble to replenish the energy in the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower.

If used sparingly, it would probably last a year without any trouble.