Seclusion Ends!

As though something had occurred to him, Su Qian's expression tightened. In a few flickering movements, he reached the Black Well at the center of the tower's lowest level.

Seeing this, Zi Yan hurried after him!

The two looked down, and their pupils abruptly contracted at the sight inside!

Within the tranquil Magma World, the enormous Invisible Fire Python had vanished.

"???"

Su Qian's head was filled with question marks. Where did our Inner Academy's great big Fallen Heart Flame go? How had it all disappeared?

"Xiao Yun!"

Zi Yan covered her lips with one hand, her eyes moist as she gazed at the figure in the center of the magma.

It was Jiang Yun!

But his current state was far beyond either of their expectations. He was gaunt all over, and even with his eyes closed, they could see the deep exhaustion etched between his brows.

There was no trace of the handsome, radiant young man he had been a year ago!

Pain pierced Zi Yan's heart. She stirred, about to leap up and fly to Jiang Yun's side.

"Wait." Su Qian reacted swiftly, grabbing Zi Yan as he hurriedly said, "Jiang Yun is fine. He's reached a critical moment. Are you sure you want to disturb him?"

"Mm-" At his words, Zi Yan stopped, but her pearly teeth bit hard into her lip. With reddened eyes, she watched Jiang Yun's tightly furrowed brows, her heart twisting in pain.

"Ah-" Seeing that Zi Yan had regained her senses, Su Qian sighed. Looking at Jiang Yun, he scolded him with a quiet chuckle, "Who would have thought you'd be the one to reap the rewards in the end, you little brat?"

"I hope you treat her well!"

Although Jiang Yun was gaunt and covered in bloody streaks, Su Qian could still sense his powerful aura steadily rising. He knew Jiang Yun had already weathered the danger.

All that remained was to refine the Fallen Heart Flame step by step. To think this brat had resolved a problem that had plagued the academy for so many years.

With heavenly flames protecting him, Jiang Yun would no longer be in danger. Wait... heavenly flames?

Jiang Yun could actually absorb two heavenly flames?

Coming to his senses, Su Qian turned to look at the cross-legged figure with a trace of shock. As he marveled inwardly, a little envy rose within him as well.

What a lucky brat.

With that thought, Su Qian looked at Zi Yan beside him, whose beautiful eyes had never once left Jiang Yun, and said gently, "Jiang Yun is fine, and he's gained a tremendous opportunity, too. You can rest easy now, can't you?"

Zi Yan did not answer. Her pearly teeth lightly bit her alluring lips, and her grip on the edge of the well tightened. Under the heart-pounding gazes of the two elders behind her, cracks slowly began to spread.

Their hearts shuddered inwardly!

As she watched the figure sitting cross-legged in the magma, an emotion called heartache appeared for the first time in Zi Yan's usually carefree eyes.

Looking around, Su Qian frowned slightly. Since Jiang Yun had laid down the Spirit Gathering Array, the worldly energy here had grown much denser, but the surrounding fire poison had intensified as well.

Staying here for long periods was even more dangerous than before!

"Zi Yan, staying here won't help, and it will harm your body. Why don't we wait for Jiang Yun outside?" Su Qian patted her shoulder, a trace of concern in his voice.

"No-"

"I'm staying here to watch Jiang Yun and make sure he's safe!"

Her clear, resolute voice rang out. Zi Yan's gaze rested on Jiang Yun as she turned a deaf ear to Su Qian's advice.

"You..." Su Qian was momentarily at a loss for words. He took a long look at Jiang Yun and Zi Yan, then sighed. "Ah-be careful. If you can't hold on any longer, come out. You wouldn't want Jiang Yun to find you riddled with fire poison when he wakes up, would you?"

After a moment's hesitation, Zi Yan finally gave a small nod.

Having received her answer, Su Qian left the bottom of the tower with Elder Huang and Elder Shi. He needed to handle the aftermath, while the two elders were due to change shifts and cleanse the fire poison from their bodies.

After the three left, purple Dou Qi Wings slowly unfurled behind Zi Yan. She leaped up and charged straight toward Jiang Yun in the center of the magma beneath the tower.

Rumble-

Countless eruptions of magma blasted toward Zi Yan with terrifying heat, but none could penetrate the thin purple barrier around her.

She reached Jiang Yun with ease. Seeing how much more bedraggled he was than before, her heart trembled, and she involuntarily reached out to caress his face.

"Little girl, Jiang Yun is fine. It's best not to disturb him now!" Just then, an aged voice sounded. Qing Ming's figure slowly appeared, his expression gentle as he looked at Zi Yan.

Zi Yan had met Qing Ming before, so he was naturally no stranger to her. In fact, she had managed to regain her senses earlier precisely because she remembered that Jiang Yun still had Qing Ming as his hidden trump card.

"Senior Qing Ming, how is Xiao Yun?" Even though she already knew the answer from Su Qian, Zi Yan could not help asking.

"He had a scare, but he's safe. Yun'er has gained a great deal this time!" Qing Ming smiled at Zi Yan, warmth showing in his eyes. He approved of this "little dragon" whom Jiang Yun had met by chance.

"That's good!"

"You need to be more careful than Yun'er, little girl!" Seeing Zi Yan sigh in relief, Qing Ming suddenly looked at her seriously.

"???" Now completely relaxed, Zi Yan had returned to her endearingly clueless self. She looked at Qing Ming, her head full of question marks.

"If I'm not mistaken, your true form possesses an extraordinary bloodline, one of the finest on the entire continent. You accidentally ate transformation grass before and took human form far too early. You also became separated from your clan by accident when you were young. As a result, your bloodline never awakened, and you never received the various inherited abilities of your race."

"This time, for some unknown reason, part of your bloodline actually began awakening on its own. You must have received quite a few inheritances, haven't you?"

Qing Ming explained softly. The moment he saw Zi Yan, he had noticed something was wrong. Races with powerful bloodlines, as well as Emperor Clans, generally had to undergo a bloodline baptism before their bloodlines could fully awaken and grant them their various benefits.

But Zi Yan was an Ancient Void Dragon living away from her clan, with no one to help awaken her bloodline. That in itself was no great problem. Yet part of her bloodline had awakened through an unexpected twist of fate last time, and this advancement had set its awakening fully in motion.

Without any baptism whatsoever, this was extremely dangerous. The slightest carelessness in the future could even lower the grade of her bloodline.

That was why Qing Ming had voiced his concerns!

"Mm... there really is a lot of new stuff in my head!" Zi Yan held her head in bewilderment. Now that she deliberately tried to recall it, there was indeed a great deal of information.

There were ways to use spatial force, several Dou Techniques, and... the origins of her race.

"So... I belong to the Ancient Void Dragon Clan!" Holding her head, Zi Yan skimmed through her bloodline inheritance and murmured, momentarily feeling a little lost.

One of the reasons she longed to grow up was that she wanted to know where she came from.

She wanted to know why she had had no parents since childhood, why she had to compete all alone with those powerful magical beasts for resources, and why she had appeared there.

Far, far too many questions had troubled her. Yet now that she knew her race, she suddenly felt as though there was no stirring of emotion at all.

Was it because of you?

Confusion flickered through Zi Yan's eyes. Reflected in those amethyst-like eyes, Jiang Yun's figure sat quietly cross-legged.

"Your bloodline has only just awakened. Your inheritance may contain many powerful Dou Techniques, but... remember this, Zi Yan: avoid using them whenever possible. Techniques like these often require a powerful bloodline to support them. Yours is not yet stable, so you cannot squander its power recklessly."

Hearing Zi Yan's murmuring, Qing Ming nodded and solemnly warned her once more.

"Mm, I understand!" Zi Yan held Qing Ming in great respect. She knew he was Jiang Yun's only family in this world, and he was also knowledgeable and experienced. She firmly committed his words to memory.

"Speaking of which, I still prefer solving problems with my fists rather than these Dou Techniques." Finally, Zi Yan playfully raised her little fists and chuckled, revealing two adorable canine teeth.

"Hehe!" Looking at the innocent Zi Yan, Qing Ming's spirits brightened as well.

Only after her worries eased did Zi Yan examine her surroundings closely. Dark red magma lay all around them, and the omnipresent aura of the Fallen Heart Flame made her wrinkle her delicate brows in distaste.

"Hmm? What a familiar, comforting presence?" Just then, Zi Yan looked deeper underground in puzzlement.

An extremely faint trace of aura lingered down there. It felt both familiar and strange, yet filled her with a deep sense of closeness.

She could not help sensing it more carefully, but this time, the aura did not appear again, as though it had been an illusion.

Having found nothing, Zi Yan lightly furrowed her brows. After a while, she gently shook her head and murmured.

"An illusion?"

Coming back to her senses, Zi Yan slowly moved toward Jiang Yun.

Qing Ming, who had been watching Zi Yan all along, narrowed his eyes slightly. His profound gaze turned toward the magma below, a glimmer flashing in his eyes as understanding dawned within him.

"To think that was how it was. No wonder I unconsciously brought Yun'er down here back then." Looking at Zi Yan and Jiang Yun, Qing Ming's smile deepened, his eyes filled with gratification. "Fate truly works in wondrous ways!"

At that moment, Jiang Yun was quietly absorbing the Fallen Heart Flame's essence within his body, oblivious to everything outside.

Zi Yan, meanwhile, hugged her knees with a smile in her eyes, staring unblinkingly at Jiang Yun with her purple gaze.

Together, they seemed like a perfect painting, filled with tranquility and beauty.

An unknown amount of time passed. As though she had remembered something, a faint blush appeared on Zi Yan's pretty face. After this advancement, she seemed to have undergone another change.

"Xiao Yun, no matter what enemies you have to face, I'll always stand by your side."

Zi Yan was very clever. From the moment Qing Ming appeared, she had sensed that Jiang Yun was anything but ordinary, especially when she considered all the unbelievable things he had done before.

Unknown heavenly flames, unknown formations, and an endless succession of unknown Dou Techniques, among everything else.

All of it revealed that Jiang Yun was no ordinary orphan, but someone with an extraordinary background.

In their everyday life, she had also noticed his thirst for strength. Vaguely, she had already realized that he probably had some terrifying opponent to face.

She did not care about any of that. All she knew was that she wanted to stand beside him and help him!

Silently making up her mind, Zi Yan's eyes filled with the flames of fighting spirit. She gave Jiang Yun one last look, lightly furrowed her brows, then slowly closed her eyes and began cultivating.

Although she disliked the environment here, she still chose to remain with him so that she would be the first person he saw when he woke.

As the two entered cultivation one after the other, the underground space grew quiet once again. Only the slowly gathering worldly energy marked the presence of formidable beings silently growing stronger.

Time slipped by.

The crimson Underground Magma World remained as lifeless as ever. Apart from the sounds of flowing and erupting magma, it was as silent as a realm of death.

Deep within that deathly still space, two figures sat cross-legged inside a green barrier, their silhouettes faintly visible.

Crack-

At a certain moment, a faint shattering sound, so subtle it almost seemed nonexistent, rang out in the depths of his soul.

The sudden change seemed to stir the graceful figure beside him. Her eyelids twitched, and a pair of eyes as bright as amethysts slowly opened.

Sensing movement from the figure beside her, intense joy filled her eyes. She shifted slightly, staring at him without blinking.

Within Jiang Yun's body, a trace of lingering hunger appeared in the Black Dragon's eyes. A moment later, he belched as though he had eaten his fill.

As he spat out a mouthful of flame, an invisible flame slowly appeared. It seemed completely wrung dry, even the flames around it flickering uncertainly.

Like a heartless scoundrel, the Black Dragon cast a contemptuous glance at the Fallen Heart Flame before leisurely heading toward Jiang Yun's dantian.

Left behind, the Fallen Heart Flame could only watch the Saint Heavenly Demon Flame depart, at a complete loss. Even its intelligence had now been devoured. Like a newborn heavenly flame, it had already forgotten the pain the other had inflicted upon it.

It had even less idea who had taken everything from it, and could only flicker helplessly in place.

As the Saint Heavenly Demon Flame returned to its position, Jiang Yun's aura surged abruptly, as though it had broken through a barrier. At the same time, an indescribable sense of ease spread from within him, flowing into every corner of his body.

At that very moment, Jiang Yun's eyes, which had been shut for who knew how long, finally trembled slightly before slowly opening.

Hiss-

As his eyes opened, black-and-white flames instantly blazed within his dark pupils. Two streaks of fiery light shot from his eyes, forcibly tearing two gaps a full hundred feet wide through the underground sea of magma.

As the fiery streaks swept past, the magma sea churned before slowly beginning to close again.

"Whew-"

An exceptionally scorching breath slowly escaped Jiang Yun's mouth. Only as he exhaled did his sharply surging aura gradually subside.