Xiao Huohuo

"Teacher, is what Queen Medusa said true? Is the Heavenly Flame really gone?"

Xiao Huohuo hid behind a huge boulder, peeking at the battle in the sky. He had planned to fish in troubled waters and slip into the Snake-People Tribe while the two sides fought, but Medusa's words left him bitterly disappointed. Getting his hands on the Heavenly Flame now seemed rather unlikely.

Besides, the situation was completely one-sided. Medusa had actually broken through to Dou Zong, leaving Gu He no choice but to slink away with his tail between his legs.

"That shouldn't be possible. I doubt Medusa has the ability to destroy a Heavenly Flame. But I can't see through her current strength either. She doesn't seem like someone who has only just reached Dou Zong. Let's keep watching and see whether an opportunity arises."

Yao Lao's soul hid inside Xiao Huohuo's Storage Ring, keeping a constant eye on Queen Medusa.

"Then what do we do? Won't all our efforts go to waste?"

"Don't worry. Since we're here, we'll find a way. We just need to locate that Heavenly Flame."

"Mm."

Xiao Huohuo nodded. He trusted Yao Lao's words: all they needed was to find the Heavenly Flame. As for how to obtain it, that would depend on luck. He had to believe in himself-enough force could work miracles.

"So your name is Xiao Huohuo?"

Suddenly, a hand patted Xiao Huohuo's shoulder, startling him. He turned and saw a young man dressed in white standing before him, looking at him with a warm smile and gentle eyes.

"Who are you?"

Xiao Huohuo frowned. The man before him possessed an extraordinary bearing, and he was human. Why would he appear in the Snake-People Tribe?

"Long Xiao."

Long Xiao answered.

After sizing Long Xiao up, Xiao Huohuo asked Yao Lao, "Teacher, can you see through this fellow?"

As his words fell, a vast surge of soul power flowed from Xiao Huohuo's Storage Ring and enveloped Long Xiao.

A moment later.

"Hm? Strange. Why does this fellow feel just like a mortal? I can't sense anything about him, yet he doesn't look like a mortal."

"Could he be a slave of the Snake-People? This young man is exceptionally handsome. Perhaps he's a pretty boy kept by some powerful woman of the Snake-People Tribe?"

Yao Lao's puzzled voice sounded in Xiao Huohuo's mind.

Although Long Xiao wore a warm smile, Xiao Huohuo knew he was anything but simple. Gripping his ruler, he took two steps back from Long Xiao, just in case.

"Teacher, I don't think he looks like a slave."

Seeing Xiao Huohuo's reaction, Long Xiao's face darkened with exasperation. He could hear every word of their soul conversation, and they were actually slandering him like this! A kept pretty boy?

From the very beginning, he had already examined Xiao Huohuo from head to toe with the Extinction Immortal Eye. With such meager strength, none of his secrets had anywhere to hide.

"Xiao Huohuo, I'm guessing you came for the Heavenly Flame, right? Your cultivation method needs to devour Heavenly Flames. Also, that old man in your Storage Ring is your teacher, isn't he?"

Long Xiao leaned forward and whispered close to Xiao Huohuo's ear, his tone teasing.

"What?!"

At those words, Xiao Huohuo and Yao Lao cried out in unison, their eyes widening. Xiao Huohuo had never expected Long Xiao to know about both the Flame Mantra and Yao Lao's existence. Just who was this man?

Yao Lao's expression changed abruptly as well. He had concealed himself so thoroughly, yet Long Xiao could still detect his presence. It was inconceivable.

An expert!

This man was definitely an expert. No wonder their probing had revealed nothing earlier. His mastery of the soul had to be incredibly powerful-powerful enough to see through Xiao Huohuo at a glance.

Their reactions were exactly what Long Xiao had expected. He continued, "If you came for the Heavenly Flame, your timing is unfortunate. My flame has already devoured it."

With that, a wisp of golden flame appeared at his fingertip.

"Th-this flame!"

Yao Lao's expression changed drastically. He could feel even his own bone spirit cold flame trembling in fear of Long Xiao's flame. What was going on?

Bone spirit cold flame ranked eleventh on the Heavenly Flame Ranking!

A mere wisp was enough to frighten bone spirit cold flame. One could only imagine how terrifying Long Xiao's flame was. Could it be among the top three?

Yao Lao relayed all of this to Xiao Huohuo through voice transmission.

Xiao Huohuo was dumbfounded. Now he had no hope of obtaining the Heavenly Flame. With this fellow and Medusa here, it was simply impossible.

But this man could actually devour Heavenly Flames without the Flame Mantra?

Had Yao Lao deceived him? Or was the Flame Mantra simply useless?

Who the hell was this guy?

Boom!

While the two faced each other, the battle in the sky had already ended.

Yun Yun and the other three had been defeated and were fleeing into the distance.

Medusa had no intention of killing them. She merely wanted to intimidate them. Presumably, the Jia Ma Empire would know which way the wind blew from now on.

Long Xiao glanced up at Medusa, then turned back to Xiao Huohuo.

"You should leave now. Take this. If something comes up, crush it to summon me."

He handed Xiao Huohuo a jade token. Xiao Huohuo accepted it and put it away.

"All right, I'll leave right now."

Xiao Huohuo cupped his fist toward Long Xiao, then swiftly left the Snake-People Tribe.

Though his heart was full of questions, he knew this was no place to linger. Besides, he had a feeling that he and Long Xiao would meet again soon.

Watching Xiao Huohuo leave, Long Xiao's lips curved into a smile. "I didn't expect to encounter someone touched by fortune. Consider it the sowing of a friendly bond. Still, he's merely a child of destiny."

While Long Xiao was lost in thought, Medusa appeared before him at some point. Watching the direction Xiao Huohuo had left in, she asked, "Who is he?"

"He's the little fellow Yue Mei mentioned. His aptitude seemed decent, so I let him leave. Why? Do you object?" Long Xiao asked with a smile.

"Do as you please."

Medusa nodded lightly and turned to leave, but suddenly stopped and looked back at Long Xiao. "Long Xiao, do you like slaughter?"

"Me? No."

Long Xiao shook his head. Naturally, he understood what Medusa meant.

The Snake-People Tribe now had more than enough strength to replace the Jia Ma Empire and leave this world of nothing but yellow sand. That had always been Medusa's obsession.

She was asking for his opinion.

Although he disliked slaughter, this was merely the cycle of cause and effect. Whatever Medusa did, he would support her. He stood with his own, not with whoever was right.

In the broader scheme of things, as the divine son of the Heaven Realm, he regarded all living beings on the Dou* Continent as mere ants and natives, utterly insignificant.

The Dou* Continent was nothing more than a speck of dust in the Great Thousand Divine Cosmos.

That was indeed how an ordinary deity would see things. But his soul came from Earth, so he could still get along with ordinary people, following his heart.

The warmth of everyday life soothed mortal hearts best.

"All right."

Medusa gave a soft hum, then left.