Zi Yan's breakthrough!

"Bang!"

At a certain moment, as though an imaginary sound had echoed inside his body, Jiang Yun broke through to Three-Star Dou Zhe with the help of the Saint Heavenly Demon Flame.

Xiao Yan's cultivation always soared after he devoured Heavenly Flames, but that rule did not apply to others, because they lacked one crucial thing.

Flame Mantra!

Xiao Yan used Flame Mantra to devour Heavenly Flame Origin, driving the evolution of his cultivation method. Only then did he receive a massive influx of energy that raised his cultivation.

Jiang Yun's increase in cultivation this time bore some similarities to Xiao Yan's. The Saint Heavenly Demon Flame had already given him a special kind of Dou Qi, making him something akin to a young Saint Heavenly Demon Flame himself. By devouring the powerful Saint Heavenly Demon Flame, he strengthened himself.

That was how Jiang Yun advanced from One-Star Dou Zhe to Three-Star Dou Zhe!

It was an unexpected bonus!

Looking at the Saint Heavenly Demon Flame at the center of the vortex in his dantian, Jiang Yun could not help feeling a touch of joy. This was his first step toward the summit.

He believed that as his cultivation rose and he refined more and more of the Saint Heavenly Demon Flame, this greatest flame of the Great Thousand World would also reveal its divine splendor on the Dou Qi Continent.

Who could say which flame would claim first place on the Dou Qi Continent?

Somewhat delighted, Jiang Yun extended his right hand. With a thought, the vortex in his dantian trembled, and a surge of black-and-white flame shot out, traveling along his meridians into his palm.

With a whoosh, black-and-white flame appeared in Jiang Yun's hand. The black flame was sinister and unfathomable, while the white flame was sacred and radiant.

These two utterly opposing flames were now perfectly united. This was the Saint Heavenly Demon Flame. If the Great Thousand World also had a Heavenly Flame Ranking, it could certainly contend for the top spot.

Though the flame in Jiang Yun's hand was not even one ten-thousandth of the one wielded by the Saint Heavenly Demon Emperor, they were fundamentally the same. Jiang Yun believed that one day, he would carry his own Saint Heavenly Demon Flame to the summit, step by step, and stand before the Saint Heavenly Demon Emperor.

"You seem to be doing well." Just then, Qing Ming's voice reached him. He was looking at Jiang Yun with a pleased smile.

"It's all thanks to your help, Senior Qing Ming!" Jiang Yun put away the flame and solemnly thanked Qing Ming. Without Qing Ming sealing the Saint Heavenly Demon Flame, he would never have had a chance to obtain such an opportunity.

"Don't belittle yourself. The opportunity was there, but if you hadn't been capable, it would have amounted to nothing. Your success proves that it was yours to obtain." Qing Ming continued to regard Jiang Yun gently as he spoke.

"All right, you should head back. Otherwise, that little dragon will get anxious when she wakes up and can't find you!"

Jiang Yun's heart stirred. It seemed Zi Yan was about to emerge from seclusion as well. She would then be a fifth-rank Magical Beast, and with the might of an Ancient Void Dragon, taking on a Three- or Four-Star Dou Wang would be no problem.

After thanking Qing Ming, Jiang Yun left the Azure Nether Tower. Outside, night had already fallen. Stars dotted the sky, and a bright moon hung overhead.

"It looks like refining the Saint Heavenly Demon Flame took me quite a while!"

Still, he would no longer need to enter the tower to refine it. Whenever he cultivated from now on, the Azure Nether Tower would gradually transmit the Saint Heavenly Demon Flame's power to Jiang Yun through its base, strengthening the flame inside him.

Suddenly, Jiang Yun felt the entire house shake, and he immediately realized what had happened.

"It looks like Zi Yan succeeded!"

Jiang Yun walked slowly to Zi Yan's room. The bright purple cocoon of light had deepened in color, and mysterious runes were gradually appearing on its surface. They gave off faint glimmers, looking quite wondrous.

As the light on the cocoon reached its peak, a faint cracking sound finally rang out.

Tiny cracks began appearing across the cocoon. As time passed, they widened until it abruptly split open, sending countless dazzling rays of purple light shooting skyward through the fissures. Fortunately, the Space Seal Su Qian had set up earlier blocked them. Otherwise, no one in the Outer Academy would have slept that night.

More and more cracks appeared. Finally, a large piece of the cocoon's shell fell away. That first piece triggered a chain reaction, and the cocoon rapidly burst apart.

Then, an earthshaking Dragon Roar erupted from within the purple light.

"Roar-!"

Jiang Yun immediately plugged his ears with his newly acquired Saint Heavenly Demon Flame. Just now, even the Space Seal had shuddered violently. That Dragon Roar had nearly pierced a Space Seal erected by a Dou Zong, showing just how powerful it was.

"This little one's race is anything but ordinary. Even among the dragon races of the Great Thousand World, it would rank quite highly!"

Qing Ming's slightly astonished voice reached Jiang Yun's ears. Evidently, even he was surprised by the Ancient Void Dragon bloodline.

Jiang Yun, however, was not particularly surprised. After all, knowing that the Dou Qi Continent had once witnessed a war of a hundred emperors, he imagined that the ancestors of the Ancient Void Dragons, those favored children of space, had been a terrifying lineage among the dragon races.

"Roar-!"

Just then, another Dragon Roar sounded within the purple light. A moment later, a purple, dragon-shaped phantom soared into the air. Jiang Yun knew this was the Ancient Void Dragon's true form.

The dragon phantom slowly dissipated when it reached the Space Seal. The purple pillar of light gradually faded, and a short while later, a figure appeared before Jiang Yun.

Her bare body was revealed, wreathed in faint purple light that lent her an alluring air. Long, silky purple hair spilled down her back, reaching her pert buttocks.

Above her strikingly voluptuous figure was a face poised between youthful innocence and maturity, the contrast adding still more allure.

Was she about to reach maturity? But wasn't her figure getting a little ahead of itself?

Within the pillar of light, Zi Yan stretched lazily, perfectly accentuating her already enticing curves. She languidly opened her eyes and looked at Jiang Yun in the distance, delight flashing through them.

"Xiao Yun!"

Her clear voice rang out, carrying a hint of enchantment. Like an empress reigning high above, it inspired an urge to submit.

Before Jiang Yun could think, he found himself caught in a warm, soft embrace, and a suffocating sensation immediately followed.

"Xiao Yun, how did you know I'd come out of seclusion today? Where are my pills? You got them ready, right?"

Faced with Zi Yan's barrage of questions, Jiang Yun could not answer at all. At that moment, he had only one thought.

I really want to grow up!

He never wanted to endure this damned humiliation again!

As though she had heard the cry in Jiang Yun's heart, Zi Yan's body trembled. A burst of green light surged out of her, and under its influence, her body rapidly shrank.

Within just a few breaths, the beautiful woman with the shapely figure had once again become a little sprout no taller than Jiang Yun.

Staring at her own palm in shock, Zi Yan cried out mournfully, "Damn that Transformation Grass!"

She had only just been reveling in the joy of growing up, yet in the blink of an eye, she had been knocked back to her old form. Zi Yan was so furious that her two little willow-leaf brows stood on end.

"I'll find you a Transformation Pill someday and help you get rid of this problem for good," Jiang Yun promised softly, averting his gaze.

Though Zi Yan was no longer as alluring as before, her skin, as white and smooth as mutton-fat jade, still made Jiang Yun steal a glance.

"Then make sure you remember!"

Zi Yan stared intently at Jiang Yun and reminded him anxiously. Only after he nodded repeatedly did she relax.

At that point, Zi Yan also noticed a slight chill. She lowered her head to look at the tips of her toes, then pursed her lips, her eyes full of disdain. A flash of purple light swept over her, and she returned to her adorable appearance.

"Oh, right, where's my candy?"

Now that everything had settled, Zi Yan immediately thought of food. Blinking her large purple eyes, she looked Jiang Yun up and down, seemingly wondering where he had hidden her candy.

"Uh-" Jiang Yun felt rather awkward. Seeing Zi Yan's willow-leaf brows begin to crease at his silence, he hurriedly said, "I didn't know what flavors you liked, so I wanted to wait until you came out and make them for you on the spot. That way, you could taste your favorite flavors right away."

"Hmm." Zi Yan blinked at Jiang Yun as she considered this. Her instincts told her he was lying, but his sincere gaze made it seem true. She hesitated a little, then quickly put it out of her mind.

"Then let's hurry to the Medicinal Materials Treasury! Last time, I spotted several herbs I wanted to eat. Let's take them all this time." Zi Yan suddenly grew excited. Purple light flashed behind her, and a pair of purple wings spread out. Grabbing Jiang Yun, she started to rush outside.

"Wait-!" Seeing this, Jiang Yun hurriedly shouted.

Zi Yan looked back at Jiang Yun in puzzlement, her big eyes filled with little question marks.

"The Great Elder already found out about our last visit. Stealing things so openly again wouldn't be very appropriate."

"But I'm hungry! That old man promised he'd let me eat my fill!" Zi Yan spoke as though it were only natural.

Jiang Yun immediately felt embarrassed and silently mourned for the Great Elder. Disaster comes from the mouth—the ancients had not lied.

"Are you coming or not?" Watching Jiang Yun dawdle, Zi Yan grew a little impatient and raised her brows. Had she still been in her newly matured form, she would have looked every bit the domineering empress. But now...

She was simply adorable!

"Yes!"

Faced with Zi Yan's question, Jiang Yun answered without hesitation. Though he knew it was wrong, Zi Yan had been willing to oppose Su Qian, whose identity she had not known, for his sake back in the cave. He could indulge her whims as well.

At worst, I'll pay it back later!

Taking out a cultivation loan from the Great Elder when the time came was one possible solution.

Seeing Jiang Yun agree, Zi Yan smiled, utterly delighted. At that moment, she once again felt warmth in her heart, making her feel that she was no longer alone.

Jiang Yun and Zi Yan slowly appeared in the same corner as before. Now that Zi Yan had advanced to Dou Wang, her command of Spatial Force was naturally far stronger than it had been at the Dou Ling stage.

Moreover, Jiang Yun had taken a "crash course" himself and could help Zi Yan fill in the gaps.

A small head poked out from the corner and cautiously surveyed the surroundings. After confirming it was safe, its owner waved behind him.

The next second, a purple figure flashed past and stopped atop a display counter. Looking at the Azure Glow Fruit inside, Zi Yan wiped away her drool and quickly reached her little hand straight into the light barrier, treating the seal as though it did not exist.

She swiftly took out both the contents and their box, then turned excitedly to exchange a glance with Jiang Yun.

Like partners who had worked together for years, they were perfectly in sync. After quickly taking several more herbs used to refine third- and fourth-tier pills, they lingered no longer and quietly departed.

The moment they left, the elderly figure who had been guarding the pavilion while reading a scroll sighed helplessly and slowly walked over to the display counter from which they had taken the herbs.

Taking identical herbs out of his Storage Ring to replace them, the old man shook his head helplessly. "The Great Elder really does value them, letting them run wild like this. That little girl has reached Dou Wang, hasn't she? She's already at the same level as this old man."

Recalling the waves of ferocious might he had just sensed from Zi Yan, the old man's heart fluttered with fear. He now understood why Su Qian indulged her so much, but...

"You're already at the same level as this old man. I hope you go to the Inner Academy soon. The Outer Academy can't withstand many more rounds of your antics."

The old man had not noticed Jiang Yun and Zi Yan entering, but the repeated disappearance of medicinal herbs had alerted him.

Although Zi Yan had not touched the restrictions, as the elder guarding this place, how could he not have a few methods of his own?

Afraid of alerting the expert guarding the storehouse, Jiang Yun had not used his spiritual power to keep watch. He had even suppressed his spiritual fluctuations to a minimum, leaving them unaware that they had been discovered.

When he first discovered that the Medicinal Materials Treasury was being robbed, the old man had been about to act. Fortunately, he recognized the two new students the Great Elder had mentioned and stopped in time.

Otherwise, he did not know what would have happened to Jiang Yun and Zi Yan, but he himself would certainly have taken a punch.

Now, he only hoped they would head to the Inner Academy soon. He dearly wanted to see Old Man Hao's expression there.

It would certainly be entertaining!

"Hurry, hurry, hurry, Xiao Yun! Refine all of these into pills!"

As soon as they returned to the dormitory, Zi Yan impatiently dumped all the medicinal herbs into Jiang Yun's arms and urged him on.

Jiang Yun chuckled. Only when food was involved did Zi Yan act like this.

Nodding to Zi Yan, Jiang Yun summoned the Saint Heavenly Demon Flame from his dantian. With a whoosh, a white flame appeared in his palm.

This was the white flame within the Saint Heavenly Demon Flame. A thought had just occurred to Jiang Yun: since the Saint Heavenly Demon Flame consisted of two utterly opposing flames, could he use them separately?

To his surprise, it actually worked. Or perhaps that was how it was meant to be used all along.

The instant the flame appeared, Zi Yan shuddered beside him. Her eyes darted around in alarm, and she silently retreated several steps.

On the Dou Qi Continent, cultivators and Magical Beasts without a fire affinity all recoiled from Heavenly Flames, let alone Jiang Yun's Saint Heavenly Demon Flame.

"It's all right. Don't be afraid!" Jiang Yun reassured Zi Yan when he saw her nervousness.

"Hmph!"

"I'm not afraid!"

Zi Yan did not appreciate Jiang Yun's reassurance and lifted her chin with a proud little tilt.