That's Not Too Much to Ask, Right?

"What do you think of the Jia Ma Empire?" Fa Ma asked.

"I'm a citizen of the Jia Ma Empire."

Xiao Yan said only that one sentence, but it made her stance clear.

Clap, clap, clap... A burst of applause suddenly rang out nearby.

Feigning surprise, Xiao Yan turned to see an old man in hemp robes who had appeared behind her at some point.

"I am Jia Xingtian, a peak Eight-Star Dou Emperor."

"So it's Elder Jia." Xiao Yan naturally rose and bowed. "This junior, Xiao Yan, pays her respects to you, Senior."

Blah, blah, blah...

After another round of "pleasantries" laden with hidden meanings, Xiao Yan successfully begged for a meal... ahem, no, successfully secured "investment" from the Imperial Family and the Alchemist Guild.

Yes, and she had gotten it while still "standing tall."

With the "business" concluded, Xiao Yan smiled at Fa Ma and Jia Xingtian. "Seniors, if there's nothing else, I'll take my leave."

After exchanging a few more courtesies, Xiao Yan rose, walked out, and returned to the courtyard where she was temporarily staying.

And within her... Apothecary's perception, the number of "guards" around the courtyard had increased considerably.

Presumably, if anything unexpected happened—for instance, if a certain sect with a Sixth-Rank Alchemist that preferred to remain anonymous tried to eliminate Xiao Yan—Jia Xingtian would appear immediately.

Xiao Yan pretended not to see them-though she genuinely hadn't seen them-and began cultivating in the courtyard's bedroom.

The next day, as though afraid Xiao Yan might change her mind and refuse their investment, the Imperial Family and the Alchemist Guild sent people straight to her door to deliver food... ahem, gifts.

The Alchemist Guild sent a Storage Ring full of medicinal herbs, while the Imperial Family gave her a blue beast flame.

The beast flame resembled a mass of blue liquid. Judging by its fluctuations, it should have been sixth-rank.

Of course, having been "fed" an "unlimited supply" of beast flames by Xun'er, Xiao Yan had already "seen the world."

It was only a sixth-rank beast flame. All it did was make her marvel at how much the Imperial Family was willing to spend to win her over.

Of course, the medicinal herbs in the Storage Ring might not have all come from the Alchemist Guild. The Imperial Family had probably contributed some as well.

But that didn't matter to Xiao Yan. Securing the "investment" was enough.

"Tsk, I never imagined you'd swindle a sixth-rank beast flame out of them so easily." Apothecary's marveling voice rang out in Xiao Yan's mind.

"Tsk, how can you call it 'swindling,' Teacher? We earned this. Didn't you see how worried they were that we wouldn't take it?"

"Tch..."

"Don't be like that. They've already given it to us, so let's not waste it-Teacher, take a look at these herbs. Can we prepare something to go with this beast flame and boost its power?"

"Raising your strength directly through a beast flame's energy is nowhere near as reliable as cultivating with pills to support you. Have you thought this through?"

"Yes." Xiao Yan nodded. "It's still a sixth-rank beast flame, after all. There's no harm in trying, right?"

Even if she swallowed another beast flame, she probably wouldn't be able to advance the Flame Mantra to Mystic Rank. Even with a sixth-rank beast flame, the chances of a breakthrough weren't very high.

Probably only a Seventh Rank, or even an Eighth Rank beast flame, could pierce that barrier.

But what if-and she meant what if-this sixth-rank beast flame pushed the Flame Mantra straight into Mystic Rank? Wouldn't that be a huge win?

Besides, even if the Flame Mantra failed to advance, she could use this blue beast flame for Body Tempering and use its energy to raise her strength directly along the way.

Even if this kind of "leapfrogging" advancement might plant hidden dangers such as "unstable dou qi," those were still only "hidden dangers."

As long as she spent more time compressing and refining her dou qi, it wouldn't be a problem.

Xiao Yan dared to say that among all the Dou Zhe on the continent, not one had a firmer foundation than hers!

If she charged through this time, she'd make a killing. Even if she couldn't break through, she wouldn't lose out!

"All right. I'm not the one who'll be worn out if you can't get it any higher, anyway."

Apothecary's soul power attached itself to the Storage Ring delivered by the Alchemist Guild, tossing out medicinal herbs one after another.

"This one, this one, this one, and this one... Refine these into medicinal liquid, and this one into medicinal powder. Just swallow them together with the beast flame."

After taking out several medicinal herbs, Apothecary promptly "muted" and left Xiao Yan to do the work herself.

Xiao Yan didn't dawdle either. She took out the small Second Tier Medicine Cauldron she had used to refine pills before and tossed her multicolored flame inside.

She had used only the peach blossom flame during the Alchemist examination because she was worried something might go wrong. Now she naturally had no such concerns and could use it freely.

Although the fused beast flame was more difficult to control, extracting medicinal herbs was no problem, and it was even more efficient.

After processing the herbs Apothecary had selected, Xiao Yan first spent some time restoring her dou qi and bringing herself into peak condition.

Then she gave Apothecary a heads-up, asking for a watchful eye, and swallowed the medicinal powder, medicinal liquid, and liquid-like mass of beast flame together.

The beast flame felt warm as it passed down her throat, but once it entered her stomach, it was like a bomb, exploding inside Xiao Yan's abdomen in an instant.

Wave after wave of fire-attribute energy rippled out from Xiao Yan's lower abdomen, surging through her meridians toward every part of her body. Wherever it passed, her dou qi seemed to boil.

"Hiss... now that's got some kick!"

Having swallowed several beast flames, Xiao Yan already had considerable experience refining them.

Xiao Yan immediately mobilized the multicolored flame inside her. While protecting her meridians, she began making flames "born of the same root burn one another," driving the blue beast flame into the Flame Mantra's circulation route.

She had thought that, as a sixth-rank beast flame, it would surely put her through an exhausting, bitter struggle. Unexpectedly, this beast flame was quite gentle.

With only a little guidance, the blue beast flame followed the Flame Mantra's circulation, showing no intention of resisting at all.

Not only that, as it traveled along the technique's route, the blue beast flame continuously released heat that was somewhat scorching but by no means unbearable, forming "ripples" that tempered Xiao Yan's body.

Xiao Yan felt as though she were soaking in a hot spring, comfortable from head to toe.

Inside her, the medicinal potency from pills that had not been fully absorbed and lay "dormant" was also stimulated and gradually digested through cultivation, strengthening her physique.

Though the Ganlan water flame was only sixth-rank, it definitely ranked among the best of the sixth-rank flames.

This flame leaned toward a yielding, yin nature, making it considerably easier to refine than other sixth-rank beast flames.

Moreover, after swallowing several beast flames "kindly sponsored" by Xun'er, Xiao Yan's multicolored flame could already suppress the Ganlan water flame at its very origin.

Thus, Xiao Yan soon completely refined the blue beast flame, and it gave the Flame Mantra a "push."

But the Flame Mantra... was still Yellow Tier High Grade.

"Sigh, forget it..."

Although she had already anticipated that the technique might fail to advance, Xiao Yan still felt a little disappointed.

Xiao Yan sighed softly inwardly, quickly steadied her mind, and redirected the beast flame's energy, slowly feeding it into her qi vortex.

Since her technique couldn't advance, using that energy to raise her dou qi cultivation a level wasn't too much to ask, right?