Zi Yan struck!

Hearing Jiang Yun's praise, Zi Yan immediately tipped her chin up, her nostrils pointing skyward, and said smugly, "Of course! Let me tell you..."

As Jiang Yun listened to Zi Yan recount her experiences in the Magical Beast Forest, he controlled his flames, refining the medicinal ingredients one by one into pills suited to her tastes.

His heart was filled with tranquility when the Saint Heavenly Demon Flame within him suddenly gave a faint, fleeting tremor.

An inscrutable look flashed through Jiang Yun's eyes as he refined the ingredients, but he soon returned to quietly preparing them for Zi Yan.

Credit where credit was due: although Jiang Yun was something of a half-baked alchemist who could only make a handful of pills, his skill at refining medicinal ingredients had been shooting upward under Zi Yan's constant "feeding"!

The darkness in the east slowly gave way to white. After refining ingredients all night, Jiang Yun finally put away the last pill.

Despite working overtime through the night, he looked bright and energetic, without the slightest trace of exhaustion. This little workload was child's play to him.

Watching Zi Yan sleep soundly with her arms wrapped around his thigh like a sloth, Jiang Yun's lips curved into a gentle smile.

The night before, Zi Yan had fallen asleep across his legs after tiring herself out talking. Jiang Yun raised a hand to wipe away her drool, wondering what delightful dream she was having.

Jiang Yun took out a wonderfully fragrant pill and held it beside Zi Yan's mouth. As though catching a familiar scent, she furrowed her brows in her sleep, her nostrils twitching slightly. A little tongue darted out, striking the pill in his hand with perfect accuracy.

With a few crunches, she swallowed the pill. Zi Yan woke then, opening her bright, wide eyes that shone like purple gemstones.

"Jiang Yun, you've finished!"

"If I hadn't, my trousers would have been done for!" Jiang Yun said with a smile, handing Zi Yan a Storage Ring.

Zi Yan spotted the drool on Jiang Yun's trouser leg, and her face flushed slightly. She retorted loudly, "Those trousers aren't worth as much as my spit! I don't know what kind of magical beast I am, but I'm definitely no ordinary one. Maybe... maybe my spit can even be used as medicine! Consider this a sample for your experiments!"

By the end, Zi Yan was nodding with an utterly serious expression, applauding her own quick thinking.

Jiang Yun gave the "nonsense-spouting" Zi Yan a strange look. This time, she might actually have stumbled onto the truth.

What was Zi Yan's true form? She might not know, but how could he not? She was an Ancient Void Dragon, a supreme being of the Beast Realm. In that case, wasn't her spit dragon saliva?

He wondered what uses dragon saliva had on the Dou Qi Continent. If he could develop them, wouldn't he strike it rich?

Watching Zi Yan wolf down her "meal," Jiang Yun pushed those strange thoughts out of his head and smiled. "You can research that yourself! I'm not interested in studying someone else's spit."

As he spoke, Jiang Yun took a jade bottle from his Storage Ring. The bottle felt smooth and warm, and the liquid within glowed faintly white, almost as though it were swimming.

"Zi Yan, where did you find this?" Jiang Yun asked, holding up the jade bottle.

Naturally, the contents were no ordinary substance. It was precisely the earth core body tempering milk that Zi Yan had failed to obtain in the original story.

In the original story, Zi Yan had returned empty-handed because she could not defeat the magical beast guarding the earth core body tempering milk. But for the current Zi Yan, defeating a Snow Demon Sky Ape whose temporary burst of power reached the five-star Dou Wang level was effortless.

"You mean this? It tastes really good!" Zi Yan stopped eating and looked at the jade bottle in Jiang Yun's hand, first nodding in approval.

"As for where I got it, let me think..."

This was one of the few things that had left a deep impression on Zi Yan-not because of that Blood Demon Sky Ape, but because of its taste.

It was one of the rare drinks that earned her endless praise without needing any refinement, so she had thought to bring some back to share with Jiang Yun.

"Ah! I remember! It belonged to that big gorilla!" After a moment, Zi Yan clapped her hands and exclaimed excitedly.

Earth core body tempering milk was formed from pure earth energy compressed over countless years. After a hundred years, it became mist; after a thousand, liquid. The higher-quality form was called earth core body tempering milk and possessed the miraculous ability to cleanse marrow and temper bones.

It was a treasure countless Dou Ling dreamed of, capable of increasing their chances of breaking through to Dou Wang. It was even immensely beneficial to a Dou Wang attempting to reach Dou Emperor.

"Then let's go there again!" Seeing that Zi Yan had remembered, Jiang Yun smiled happily. Earth core body tempering milk could help him swiftly pass through the Da Dou Shi realm and reach Dou Ling. He could not miss this opportunity.

"It really does taste good, but I already drank it all!" Zi Yan grew rather bashful and spoke with some embarrassment.

"Just trust me!" Jiang Yun offered no explanation. He simply took Zi Yan's hand and walked slowly outside.

Trusting Jiang Yun, Zi Yan let him lead her out by the hand.

However, they encountered a little trouble on their way out.

Looking at the tall man before him, whose expression was as dark and still as deep water, Jiang Yun felt helpless. Had beating the youngster really brought the "elder" running?

"And you are, senior?"

"Feng Wuhen!" the man answered calmly. He was indeed Feng Wuhen, second on the Strong Ranking and a Half-Step Dou King.

"Have you come to avenge Xue Zhen, Senior Feng?" Having learned his identity, Jiang Yun recalled what he had heard yesterday about the man's relationship with Xue Zhen and asked with some curiosity.

"No!" To Jiang Yun's surprise, Feng Wuhen rejected his guess. "He lost because his skills were inferior. I wouldn't stoop to that. I merely wanted to see what this prodigy whose name has shaken the Inner Academy was like."

"And now?"

"Your reputation is well deserved!" After a moment's silence, Feng Wuhen spoke in a low voice. "I'll be waiting for you at the Strong Ranking Tournament."

As he spoke, the fierce, domineering aura around him suddenly surged forth like a snake awakening from hibernation!

That domineering pressure bore straight down on Jiang Yun!

"Hey, you big oaf! Are you done yet? Jiang Yun and I are going to find something tasty. Get out of the way, or I'll hit you!"

Before Jiang Yun could react, Zi Yan spoke impatiently. She and Jiang Yun had been perfectly happy heading out to find food, but this big oaf had not only blocked their path-he even dared threaten someone under her protection. He clearly thought nothing of her!

"Hmm?" Feng Wuhen's aura faltered as he frowned at Zi Yan. So this was the little girl rumored to have dared shout at the Great Elder. Apart from being rather cute, she seemed entirely unremarkable!

"I really don't like that look in your eyes." Zi Yan frowned at Feng Wuhen and spoke coldly, her clenched fists cracking. "If you want to challenge Little Yun, take a punch from me first."

With a sharp shout, Zi Yan charged straight at him. She was fast, and her explosive power was even greater. As she threw a punch, waves rippled through the wind it stirred, and Feng Wuhen's pupils abruptly contracted.

Boom!

Feng Wuhen suddenly stepped forward, pale golden Dou Qi erupting around him. His entire body gleamed like a god of war as he raised his fist and punched toward Zi Yan.

Feng Wuhen's Dou Qi was actually metal-attributed. This relatively rare type excelled in both attack and defense, falling only slightly short in speed.

But in this short-distance burst, Feng Wuhen was by no means slow. As his fist shot out, dazzling golden light erupted like a raging torrent.

Feng Wuhen truly deserved his place as second on the Inner Academy's Strong Ranking. He was already exceedingly close to Dou Wang and might break through after this round of Heart Flame Body Tempering. Unfortunately, he had encountered Zi Yan.

Boom!

The two fists, one large and one small, collided with a thunderous explosion that shook everything within a hundred meters. Naturally, the result was Feng Wuhen being sent flying.

Fortunately, they were already near the outskirts of the Inner Academy, where few people were around. Otherwise, who knew what another blow this would have dealt them?

"Urgh..." Feng Wuhen stared at Zi Yan in disbelief. His arm was still trembling violently, fresh blood slowly running down it, yet he felt no pain at all. His entire arm had gone numb.

"Dou Wang..."

Staring at Zi Yan, Feng Wuhen clenched his teeth and tremulously voiced her level of strength.

There was no trace of his earlier disregard in the eyes he now turned toward Zi Yan. Who could have imagined that such a harmless-looking little girl possessed such terrifying power-and was a Dou Wang expert at that?

The very goal pursued by all of them in the top ten of the Strong Ranking.

"What? Am I not allowed to be a Dou Wang?" Zi Yan raised her little fist smugly, making the corner of Feng Wuhen's eye twitch.

Only now did he realize that Zi Yan had not even released any Dou Qi. Her pure physical strength had left him utterly unable to resist. Feng Wuhen was certain she was no ordinary Dou Wang.

"No wonder the Great Elder thinks so highly of you two. Compared with you, how can people like us possibly be called geniuses?"

The instant Zi Yan revealed her strength, Feng Wuhen connected many things: why she had not needed to participate in the Fire Energy Capture Tournament, and why the Great Elder treated her that way. With enough talent, one really could do whatever one pleased.

Feng Wuhen looked dejected. Zi Yan's single punch had all but shattered his confidence, and he walked away as though he had lost his soul.

"What's wrong with him?"

Watching Feng Wuhen leave, Zi Yan looked up at Jiang Yun in confusion, her big eyes filled with little question marks.

"You probably dealt his confidence a blow!" Jiang Yun chuckled and rubbed the top of Zi Yan's head.

"Tch! I only used a tenth of my strength, and that was enough to crush his confidence? Then he's not much after all! Magical beasts used to beat me up all the time when I was looking for food, but I never lost heart. Later, I beat every one of them right back!"

Zi Yan enthusiastically recounted her past experiences, her casual tone concealing the brushes with death she had faced when she was weak.

Jiang Yun's heart ached. Looking at the lively, cheerful girl before him, he found it hard to imagine that a princess of the Ancient Dragon Clan had endured such a childhood.

Yet she had still managed to keep this attitude. Zi Yan truly was "strong"!

"Don't worry! I'll be with you from now on. If anyone bullies you, I'll help you beat them up. Let's start with the Magical Beast Forest outside the Inner Academy!" Holding Zi Yan's hand, Jiang Yun slowly walked toward the forest.

"Hmph! You're not even as strong as me. I'd better protect you! In the Beast Realm, the boss has to protect her little followers. Besides, those crooked melons and cracked dates out there are no match for me."

Jiang Yun's words filled Zi Yan with warmth, but she still held her head high with a rather proud air.

Morning light spilled down, stretching the shadows of the two walking side by side until, little by little, they merged into one.

A boundless sea of forest stretched as far as the eye could see. A light breeze stirred the branches, sending green waves rolling through the trees like a surging ocean.

This was deep within the endless forest outside Jia Nan Academy's Inner Academy. Many powerful magical beasts lived in this vast woodland, and even a Dou Ling could easily encounter danger while venturing here.

A figure bearing purple Dou Qi Wings descended onto a small hill, carrying another, slightly larger figure.

Without the slightest embarrassment, Jiang Yun climbed out of Zi Yan's arms. Looking over the terrain before them, he asked, "Are you sure this is the right place?"

"I never get places with tasty things wrong!" Zi Yan was rather displeased by Jiang Yun's doubt. He could question her in other respects, but never her devotion to delicious medicinal ingredients.

Jiang Yun nodded and carefully examined the valley before him. It was a small valley beside a mountain, with a gourd-shaped entrance.

"Come on, let's meet your old friend!" Jiang Yun spread out his spiritual perception and soon smiled, taking the lead into the valley.

Zi Yan followed close behind Jiang Yun, her little hand naturally grasping a corner of his sleeve.

Soon, they reached the end of the valley, where a snow-white figure lay inside a cave over ten meters high.

Judging by its build, this Snow Demon Sky Ape was a full thirty to forty feet long. Wisps of cold emanated from its white body as it lay on the ground, snoring soundly. Heavy breaths puffed from its enormous nostrils like two plumes of white smoke.

Its arms were quite long, and its claws resembled black iron, each as large as two adult heads. An unconscious swipe in its sleep sent several fierce gusts shooting out, slicing into a nearby boulder and scattering fragments everywhere.

"Want to go say hello?" Having spotted their host, Jiang Yun asked Zi Yan with a chuckle.

"This big gorilla might be a little stupid, but it does have a few tricks!" Zi Yan's gaze grew serious. Although it was no match for her, even a lion used its full strength when hunting a rabbit. With Jiang Yun here as well, she dared not be careless.

Just then, the magical beast seemed to sense something. Its heavily breathing nose twitched as it took two deep sniffs, and then its blood-red eyes locked onto Zi Yan.

"You again." Seeing Zi Yan, the Snow Demon Sky Ape's pupils first contracted, and its body gave an involuntary shudder. Then it quickly turned its gaze toward Jiang Yun.

"A human?"

"You actually brought a human into my territory, you traitor to magical beasts!"

The Snow Demon Sky Ape moved, rising straight to its feet. Force burst from its towering body, and its blood-red eyes overflowed with fury and loathing as it glared viciously at Jiang Yun and Zi Yan.

Had Zi Yan's strength not left such a "deep impression," it would already have charged over and torn the two of them in half.

"You dare insult me?!" Zi Yan was so furious that even her ponytail stood on end, rage blazing in her eyes. "Looks like the lesson I gave you last time wasn't enough. Watch how I teach you a lesson now!"