Retaliation

A thousand years. Do you know how I spent these past thousand years?

High in the night sky, Nihility Devouring Flame stood in midair with hollow eyes. Pitch-black flames poured from his body, forming a fireball a thousand zhang across that cast its black glow over the Xiao Realm's night sky.

A thousand years of nights, spent doing nothing but standing guard, day after day.

Hun Tiandi, I miss you so much. How I miss those days of throwing my weight around in the Hun Clan. As Nihility Devouring Flame thought this, two drops of black flame involuntarily trickled down his numb face.

The two drops fell freely, only for Nihility Devouring Flame to suck them back just before they reached the ground.

"Heh, I don't even dare damage the flowers and grass anymore." A trace of sorrow crept onto Nihility Devouring Flame's face.

Having left the Heavenly Flames Valley, Xiao Yan naturally knew nothing of Nihility Devouring Flame's current mood. Had he known, he might someday have written a few biographies for him on a whim.

Something like "My Thousand Years as the Xiao Clan's Beast of Burden."

Or "The Untold Story of Nihility Devouring Flame and Purifying Lotus Demon Flame."

Of course, what he wanted most right now was to hurry up and reach minor mastery of the Crimson Refining Flame Demon Body. Then he could head out to find beautiful women-no, Heavenly Flames.

Atop a huge boulder on the rear mountain, Xiao Yan sat bare-chested as wisps of green flame threaded in and out of his body, continuously tempering his flesh and bones.

He had already spent a week quietly cultivating since obtaining this High-grade Earth-tier Dou Technique.

This disposition had been forged through his extensive experience in society in his previous life. Xiao Yan usually seemed lazy and idle, but once he decided to do something, he strove for perfection.

Either do nothing or go all the way, cleanly and decisively, never dragging things through mud and water.

On the other side of just a few mountain peaks from Xiao Lin's branch, Xiao Jiande sat in a chair with a savage expression.

Nearly ten days had passed since Xiao Yan broke his leg.

With medicinal pills to aid his recovery, Xiao Jiande's injuries had long since healed. Yet he still could not forget that youth's condescending gaze or the pain he had inflicted.

"Xiao Yan..." Whenever Xiao Jiande thought of that name, he ground his back teeth so hard they nearly shattered.

After making a few inquiries over the past several days, he had learned that the youth named Xiao Yan was not only the grandson of the neighboring Xiao Lin branch's leader, but also an unparalleled genius.

A fifteen-year-old Nine-Star Dou Emperor-it was no exaggeration to say he galloped far ahead of everyone his age, leaving them in the dust. More infuriating still, he had a Dou Sheng grandfather.

As for the news that Xiao Yan had become the Emperor's Son, for the most part, only Dou Shengs were qualified to know.

Although the Xiao Clan's middle and lower ranks all knew that a new Emperor's Son had been appointed, they did not know who it was.

Following past precedent, most assumed it was some dazzlingly gifted Dou Sheng.

Xiao Jiande had approached several older clansmen who had long since become Dou Zongs, asking them to avenge him. Who would have thought that they would shake their heads outright upon hearing Xiao Yan's name?

Was he joking? Offend a rising star with extraordinary talent and powerful backing for the sake of a wastrel?

Anyone with a brain knew what to do.

More than the pain Xiao Yan had inflicted, his jealousy of Xiao Yan deepened Xiao Jiande's hatred.

"Xiao Yan! You were right. I really don't dare retaliate against you directly. I don't even dare retaliate against Xiao Yu directly. But... don't you have friends?"

"Heh, if I can't take revenge on you, I'll take revenge on your friends, on those lowly Descendants! So what if I can't beat you? Can't I still make you sick?"

"At worst, I'll just hide at home and never come out. Even if your grandfather is a Dou Sheng, he can't break the clan rules and force his way in to take revenge on me." A savage, twisted smile appeared on Xiao Jiande's face.

The sun and moon traded places. Whether Nihility Devouring Flame and Purifying Lotus Demon Flame had been fighting lately was anyone's guess. Atop the boulder, Xiao Yan's eyes remained tightly shut.

Suddenly, his eyes snapped open. Deep within his black pupils, a lion formed from green flames faintly flickered.

"The final step." Xiao Yan lightly brushed a finger over his Storage Ring, and two jade bottles appeared before him.

He first opened a small bottle and poured its fiery-red liquid straight into his mouth.

This treasure was called Stone Flame Body-Refining Paste and formed alongside the Heavenly Flame known as volcanic stone flame. Even this small bottle was worth no less than a high-grade seventh-tier medicinal pill.

Next, Xiao Yan poured the dark-green liquid from the other jade bottle and smeared it over his body.

This body-tempering spiritual liquid had been refined by his mother, Yao Xian, using the blood essence of an Eighth-Rank Magical Beast, the Azure-Winged Heavenly Demon Lion, along with various medicinal ingredients. It, too, ranked among seventh-tier medicinal pills.

To obtain the old lion's blood essence, Xiao Yan had nearly worn his lips raw. In the end, he had persuaded the old lion by offering to lend him Pure Lotus Demon Saint's Romantic Affairs, receiving three drops of blood essence in exchange.

As the Stone Flame Body-Refining Paste entered him, heat rose within Xiao Yan's body. Immediately afterward, he felt terrifying waves of fire-attribute energy spreading inside him.

That energy quickly entered his blood, then flowed through his limbs and every bone along with it.

"So hot!"

Xiao Yan felt as though his entire body had caught fire. A terrifying heat scorched him red from head to toe, like a steamed prawn.

That was not all. The dark-green liquid on his skin also began slowly seeping into Xiao Yan's body through his pores.

With a bubbling gurgle, the dark-green and fiery-red energies soon met, then merged into streams of greenish-red energy.

These energies looked unremarkable, but the moment they entered Xiao Yan's flesh and bones, a terrifying tempering process began.

"Fuck!" Xiao Yan's relatively calm state instantly shattered. His entire body turned greenish-red, and veins that were normally barely visible looked ready to burst at any moment.

A beastlike growl rose from Xiao Yan's throat. Then he called upon his innate beast flame, the Green Lion Demon Flame, carefully refining those energies into his body.

As the Green Lion Demon Flame tempered him, the burning pain grew even more terrifying.

I can't take it. Even the burning hell described in Buddhist scriptures couldn't be worse than this.

Veins bulged on Xiao Yan's forehead, but then his expression twisted fiercely, and a startling ruthlessness filled his eyes.

If I can't endure even this little hardship, how can I talk about devouring Heavenly Flames?

Heh, in my previous life, I started with nothing and fought my way into a world of my own. With such excellent resources supporting me in this life, wasting them would be the true betrayal of myself!

Xiao Yan suddenly grinned savagely and sharply intensified the flames.

The terrifying tempering continued for nearly an hour. Aside from occasional low growls escaping his throat, Xiao Yan made no further sound or movement.

Only his gums, bleeding from how tightly he clenched his teeth, betrayed the agony he was enduring.

Everyone thought this newly risen genius of the Xiao Clan was simply lazy by nature and blessed with extraordinary talent.

All they saw was his fondness for fooling around and his sneaky mischief. Few had ever witnessed Xiao Yan's earnestness and madness when he cultivated in private.

That madness was a ruthlessness Xiao Yan had honed through more than a decade of struggling through society in his previous life-ruthless toward others, and even more ruthless toward himself.

Most people who fought their way up from the bottom possessed a decisive, merciless streak.

At last, the green flames gradually shrank, eventually retreating to the surface of Xiao Yan's body and leaving a green lion tattoo on his back.

To achieve full mastery of the Crimson Refining Flame Demon Body, one had to temper the flesh with nine different flames. Each successful tempering left behind a tattoo resembling that flame's essence.

Forming nine flame tattoos signified full mastery.

The higher the flames' quality, the stronger the tempered body would be. In theory, if one used nine Heavenly Flames to temper the flesh, a body brought to full mastery could even clash head-on with a Dou Sheng.

That was only theory, however. After all, even its creator, the Flame Demon Venerable, had never tried it.

"Whew!" Xiao Yan exhaled a breath of stale air. Feeling the terrifying power within him, he thought a single punch could blast apart the rear mountain beneath him.

He did not try it, though. This was his family's mountain, after all. Breaking it would hurt, and he would get scolded too.

Feeling the terrifying strength in his body, Xiao Yan stretched, only to unexpectedly notice Xiao Yu flying toward him.

"Little Yanzi, something's happened!" Xiao Yu's pretty face was icy, her eyes filled with irrepressible fury.