A new Heavenly Flame!

A few days later, outside Peace Town at Jia Nan Academy.

Two black-robed figures stood on a small hillside, gazing into the distance.

They were Zi Yan and Jiang Yun, fresh from the secret realm. After leaving it, they had been transported to an unfamiliar place and had spent considerable effort finding their way back.

In the distance, a town shimmered faintly between two towering mountains. The sight of it eased both Jiang Yun's and Zi Yan's minds.

Over the past few days, they had encountered plenty of desperadoes in the Black-Corner Region. Many who had not entered the secret realm had been waiting outside, watching for people emerging from it to prey upon.

Even though they had been transported to a remote location after leaving the secret realm, they had still fought through several rounds of bloody combat. They had even encountered a Dou Wang blocking their path.

Jiang Yun and Zi Yan had shown no mercy to these highway robbers, sending every last one of them to report to the underworld.

That Dou Wang had met the same fate-Zi Yan had beaten him to death with a barrage of dragon punches!

After collecting several more valuable Storage Rings, Jiang Yun and Zi Yan had finally struck it rich. Their wealth now befitted Jiang Yun's status as an alchemist.

"Remember, if anyone asks, stick to the story we agreed on!" Jiang Yun reminded her as they approached Peace Town, still feeling uneasy.

"I know, I know! If Old Man Su Qian asks, we'll say we discovered an unknown Heavenly Flame in a secret realm. You absorbed it, Xiao Yun, and it unexpectedly gave you the talent to refine pills!"

Looking at Jiang Yun, Zi Yan patiently repeated their agreed-upon story several times.

Jiang Yun nodded and rubbed the top of her head. "Sneaking around is inconvenient, after all. With a legitimate reason, I can use alchemy to acquire medicinal ingredients in bulk. That way, you can grow stronger faster, too!"

Jiang Yun had already planned to reveal his talent for alchemy. On the Dou Qi Continent, the status of an alchemist could provide considerable assistance and spare him plenty of trouble.

Besides, he truly needed to study alchemy systematically. This was the perfect opportunity.

Whether Su Qian and the others believed him was beyond Jiang Yun's control. In any case, the fact remained: he, Jiang Yun, was an alchemical genius!

If anyone had questions, they could ask the Heavenly Flame!

"Hmph! Otherwise, I wouldn't help you get our stories straight!" Zi Yan lifted her little head and declared haughtily.

"Hehe!" Jiang Yun chuckled as he watched her. She really did have a child's disposition!

After identifying themselves as Inner Academy students, the two entered Peace Town with ease. The stir Jiang Yun had caused had yet to die down, which helped as well.

Under the surrounding students' varied gazes of reverence, fighting spirit, and admiration, Zi Yan unfurled her Dou Qi Wings and carried Jiang Yun toward the Inner Academy.

"That's Jiang Yun, the one who supposedly swept through the Fire Energy Capture Tournament, right?"

"Jealous? Then work hard at cultivating! Maybe you'll have a chance to do the same someday!"

"Who's jealous? I know my own talent. Rather than envy Senior Jiang Yun's talent, I'm more jealous that he has a childhood sweetheart who's a Dou Wang!!!"

"..."

"Fuck, I'm jealous too!!!"

Before long, Zi Yan and Jiang Yun returned to their dormitory. Days of continuous fighting had left their nerves stretched taut. Once back, they each headed to their own room and enjoyed a good night's rest.

The next day.

Jiang Yun woke in his room and nodded in satisfaction as he felt the abundant Dou Qi within him. The secret realm had been an unexpected development. He had originally only wanted some earth core body tempering milk to break through to Dou Ling, but now he had reached Four-Star Dou Ling outright.

Even more valuable was his discovery of another way to use the Saint Heavenly Demon Flame.

The Saint Heavenly Demon Flame consisted of black and white flames. The white flame governed life, while the black flame governed death. This reminded him of the yin-yang twin flames, ranked twenty-first on the Heavenly Flame Ranking of the Dou Qi Continent.

How alike the two were!

"Hmm?" Just then, Jiang Yun's expression shifted, and he headed out of his room.

As expected, Great Elder Su Qian was sitting calmly in a chair in the living room.

"Great Elder!"

"You've reached Dou Ling?" The moment Jiang Yun appeared, Su Qian's gaze landed on him, his face full of astonishment.

"Just a lucky break!"

"Good, very good!" Seeing Jiang Yun's modesty, Su Qian smiled in satisfaction, his eyes filled with gratification.

"What's all this noise? Are you going to let me sleep or not?" Just then, a clear, angry shout rang out. Zi Yan came downstairs looking disgruntled, her little face practically bearing the words I'm not awake yet!

"..."

Su Qian and Jiang Yun exchanged a glance, each seeing helplessness in the other's eyes.

"Oh! Old Man Su is here!" Only then did the bleary-eyed Zi Yan finally notice Su Qian, looking as though realization had dawned on her.

"Zi Yan's worn herself out these past few days. Please don't mind her, Great Elder!" Jiang Yun walked over, led Zi Yan to a chair, and took out a bottle of pills to keep her mouth occupied.

"You..." At Jiang Yun's words, Su Qian stared at him in disbelief, then looked at Zi Yan, his expression complicated.

"?"

Seeing Su Qian's heartbroken expression, Jiang Yun felt that he had been misunderstood. He hurriedly spoke up. "Great Elder, do you know about the Dou Zun ruins that appeared in the Black-Corner Region a few days ago?"

"Hmm?" Su Qian's thoughts were immediately pulled back. He looked at Jiang Yun, then Zi Yan, and understanding crossed his face. "You went there!"

When Jiang Yun merely smiled without denying it, Su Qian could not help exclaiming, "You two really are bold! I heard that all the Dou Emperors and Dou Zongs in the Black-Corner Region were drawn there. A Dou Wang and a Dou Ling, and you actually dared to join the excitement?"

"I really am getting old!"

"Old Man Su, those fellows weren't all that impressive. We got something really good this time!" Zi Yan swallowed the pills in her mouth and curled her lip.

"What did you get?" Su Qian's curiosity was piqued. The treasures within Dou Zun ruins were bound to be extraordinary, and anything Zi Yan called good was certainly no ordinary item. He wondered what they had managed to pick up from among those Dou Emperors and Dou Zongs.

"Great Elder, I was fortunate enough to obtain a Heavenly Flame!" Jiang Yun replied with a smile. At the same time, he turned his hand over, and a white flame surged from his palm, radiating a stirring aura of life.

"A Heavenly Flame!!!"

The Great Elder stared at the white flame. It radiated terrifying heat yet was strangely brimming with vitality, and it gave him a faint sense of danger. His pupils contracted, and he finally lost a little of his composure.

"Indeed, a Heavenly Flame!" A timely look of delight appeared on Jiang Yun's face.

"You really are fortunate!" Su Qian gazed at the flame before him, overcome by emotion.

Why was Jia Nan Academy so famous? Because it possessed fallen heart flame, ranked fourteenth on the Heavenly Flame Ranking.

Every appearance of such a wondrous creation of heaven and earth drew countless experts rushing to compete for it, yet those who actually obtained one were exceedingly few.

A Heavenly Flame was also something every alchemist dreamed of possessing. Jiang Yun had obtained one, and even Su Qian felt a little envious of the boy's good fortune.

"However, this Heavenly Flame of yours doesn't seem to correspond to any of those on the Heavenly Flame Ranking!"

Having calmed himself, Su Qian studied Jiang Yun's Heavenly Flame and spoke with some puzzlement.

Jiang Yun's flame was whitish and carried a rich aura of life. As far as Su Qian knew, only bone spirit cold flame, ranked eleventh, was white, while only life spirit flame, ranked fifth, carried an aura of life.

Neither matched Jiang Yun's Heavenly Flame!

"The Dou Qi Continent is vast. Who can say whether a new Heavenly Flame has been born somewhere?" Jiang Yun turned his palm over, put away the flame, and spoke with a faint smile.

"That's true!" Su Qian paused briefly, then nodded in agreement. "Then why not give your Heavenly Flame a name? Perhaps one day, it will follow you onto the Heavenly Flame Ranking as its twenty-fourth flame!"

"I'll call it the undying saint flame!"

"Very well. I hope that someday, while I'm here at the academy, I'll hear of the undying saint flame's name spreading across the continent." Su Qian nodded in satisfaction beside him and stroked his graying beard.

"Old Man Su, after Xiao Yun refined this Heavenly Flame, he seems to have become able to refine pills!" Zi Yan excitedly "reported" him to Su Qian.

"Ahem..." Su Qian's hand jerked, and he pulled out a tuft of his graying beard, a clear sign of how deeply the news had shaken him.

"What did you say?" Su Qian looked at Zi Yan in disbelief, then turned to stare at Jiang Yun and asked uncertainly, "Jiang Yun, is what Zi Yan just said true? You can refine pills?"

Jiang Yun nodded. "The only thing separating me from an alchemist was a trace of wood energy. Now I've substituted the flame's life force for it, and it works. This is a first-tier Spring-Returning Pill I refined. Please take a look, Great Elder!"

He took out a pill he had prepared long beforehand and handed it to Su Qian!

Su Qian hurriedly accepted it. Upon careful examination, he discovered that it truly was a first-tier pill, and an exceptional one bearing faint pill patterns at that. The discovery left him momentarily dazed.

"Hahaha! Wonderful, wonderful!" A burst of laughter then rang out from the dormitory. Su Qian now looked at Jiang Yun as though he were gazing upon a rare treasure.

Jiang Yun's extraordinarily gifted soul power had already made Su Qian regard him differently. Unfortunately, when Jiang Yun had first broken through to Dou Zhe, they had discovered that his body lacked wood energy. Su Qian had deeply regretted that for quite some time.

Now all was well. Jiang Yun had encountered a tremendous opportunity, remedied his lack of wood energy, and become able to refine pills. Su Qian was immensely excited, as though he could see a Grand Alchemist rising before his very eyes.

"Right, how did you learn the method for refining a Spring-Returning Pill?" Coming back to himself, Su Qian looked at Jiang Yun and asked curiously.

"What's so hard about that? My Xiao Yun is a genius!" Zi Yan declared proudly beside them.

Jiang Yun then explained to Su Qian how he had learned alchemy.

"Ah... if you couldn't refine pills, even heaven's justice would not tolerate it!" After hearing him out, Su Qian could not help sighing in admiration. He had reproduced pills merely by watching several elders of the Alchemy Department refine them. With such talent, even the heavens could not bear to see Jiang Yun unable to practice alchemy!

"Great Elder, I would like to join the Alchemy Department!" Jiang Yun cupped his hands and spoke.

"As you should! Old Man Huo will certainly be delighted to see you!" Su Qian agreed with a broad smile, teasing his old friend in passing.

"No time like the present. Let's go right now!" Su Qian was decisive by nature. No sooner had he agreed than he was ready to take Jiang Yun there.

"Zi Yan..." Jiang Yun nodded and turned to ask her.

"Xiao Yun, you two go ahead. I'm a little tired!" Before Jiang Yun could finish, Zi Yan waved listlessly, her face full of fatigue. She even yawned at the end.

Is she about to advance?

Jiang Yun's eyes flickered as he silently considered the possibility.

After reminding Zi Yan to rest properly, Jiang Yun followed Su Qian toward the Inner Academy's Alchemy Department.

The Inner Academy's Alchemy Department was somewhat different from the Outer Academy's.

The building before them was shaped like a medicine cauldron. Windows resembling a cauldron's fire vents had been set around its sides, and an enormous cauldron lid rested atop its lofty roof.

Above the building hung a pale purple sandalwood plaque bearing several indistinct, archaic characters.

"Inner Academy Alchemy Department!"

Jiang Yun noticed several more characters beside those five large ones. Looking closely, he found that they read "Alchemist Guild."

"This is...?" Jiang Yun looked at Su Qian in puzzlement.

"Hehe, our Jia Nan Academy's Inner Academy Alchemy Department is also the only Alchemist Guild in the Black-Corner Region. Alchemist ranks assessed here are recognized across the continent."

Su Qian explained it to Jiang Yun, a faint pride in his voice.

Jiang Yun immediately understood. Various cities had Alchemist Guilds that could assess alchemists' ranks and gain recognition from the Pill Tower in the Central Plains. Jia Nan Academy was also renowned throughout the Northwest Continent, so there was nothing strange about it having an Alchemist Guild.

Otherwise, would graduates of the academy have to undergo another assessment after returning home?

As they entered, a faint medicinal fragrance greeted them, refreshing both mind and spirit.

There were few people in the hall, only a handful quietly attending to their own affairs. Hearing footsteps, some raised their heads and looked surprised when they saw who had arrived.

A middle-aged man stepped forward and greeted him respectfully. "Great Elder!"

"Is Old Man Huo here?"

"Elder Huo is in the rear courtyard!"

"I see. I'll go myself. Return to your work!" With that, Su Qian led Jiang Yun toward the rear courtyard.

Several instructors nearby exchanged curious glances, looking thoughtfully at Jiang Yun's departing figure.

Is this the Great Elder's relative everyone's been talking about?

As head of the Alchemy Department, Elder Huo naturally had his own little courtyard. It was not luxurious; the dwelling was built entirely from fresh green bamboo.

Looking at the tranquil courtyard before him, Su Qian pushed open its gate and slowly approached the door of the dwelling, calling out, "Old Man Huo, I've brought you a treasure."

"Great Elder?" A faintly puzzled voice came from inside, and Elder Huo emerged a moment later.

"What brings the Great Elder here?"

With monthly votes counting double, I shamelessly ask for some votes. Today is the Mid-Autumn Festival, so I'm adding two extra chapters, also to thank all my readers for their support.

My heartfelt thanks to you all!!!