Six-Star Dou Wang!

"Xiao Yun-"

A clear voice tinged with allure rang out. Before Jiang Yun could turn to look, someone with an aura both familiar and unfamiliar flung herself into his arms.

He instinctively reached out to encircle the slender, firm waist in his arms. Looking down, he found a pair of bright eyes gazing up at him, brimming with delighted surprise.

"You're... Zi Yan?" Feeling the youthful body in his arms, Jiang Yun hesitated for a moment.

Had refining the fallen heart flame taken him that long? Zi Yan had already grown this much?

"Hmph! You heartless jerk! I was so worried about you, and now you don't even recognize me!" Zi Yan's excitement vanished as her expression changed. She pushed Jiang Yun away, snorted, and turned her head aside, speaking coldly.

"Haha, I just didn't expect you to change so much. I was a little dazed!"

Now that felt right! Seeing Zi Yan's petulant expression, Jiang Yun immediately felt that familiar sense return. He shook his head and chuckled.

"Hehe!" Zi Yan's little temper was famous for vanishing as quickly as it came. She immediately tugged at Jiang Yun's robe with a grin, thrusting out her chest as she spoke.

"Well? I'm all grown up now. Have I charmed you?"

As she spoke, Zi Yan stretched languidly in an alluring pose, perfectly accentuating her already enticing curves. Her gaze grew lazy.

She cast Jiang Yun a shy glance carrying ripples of affection.

"Stop fooling around!" Exasperated, Jiang Yun gave Zi Yan's smooth forehead a firm knock. This girl had no idea how to seduce anyone.

She had a mature woman's body but a little girl's heart. No matter how Jiang Yun looked at her, it felt awkward.

"Ow!" With her head "injured" and Jiang Yun making fun of her, Zi Yan bared her teeth indignantly and muttered, "You obviously like it. What a prude!"

With his keen hearing, Jiang Yun naturally heard Zi Yan's grumbling, but he had no time to pay her any attention. He slowly lowered his head.

Clenching his hand, he summoned a mass of black-and-white flame with a soft puff.

The instant the flame appeared, Zi Yan grew alert and instinctively took half a step back. Realizing what she had done, she became annoyed and took three great strides toward Jiang Yun in a fit of defiance, pressing right up beside him. Her unblinking eyes fixed on the slowly burning flame.

After devouring the fallen heart flame, the Saint Heavenly Demon Flame has grown even stronger. It should be a match for the bone spirit cold flame now, but how far does it still fall short of the top ten heavenly flames on the Heavenly Flame Ranking?

Feeling the intense heat of the flame in his palm, Jiang Yun pondered silently. Every heavenly flame in the top ten of the Heavenly Flame Ranking was extraordinary, with a clear gulf separating them from those ranked below.

He believed this child flame of his was no weaker than any heavenly flame outside the top ten. To truly enter those ranks, he still needed to put in more effort. For instance...

The sea heart flame!

A bright gleam flashed through his eyes. Jiang Yun clenched his hand and drew the black-and-white flame back into his body. His lips parted, and a clear, ringing cry, like a crane's call, echoed through the deathly silent underground world!

The cry lingered, and at that moment, Jiang Yun's aura began soaring at an astonishing speed!

As Jiang Yun's aura surged, the Magma World erupted into turmoil. The magma roared wildly like waves upon the ocean.

One-Star Dou Wang, two-star, four-star...

In the blink of an eye, Jiang Yun's aura had surged to a jaw-dropping level. Had anyone else witnessed it, that terrifying speed of advancement would have shaken their very understanding of life.

A goal others could not reach in decades, or even an entire lifetime, Jiang Yun achieved in just a few breaths.

Truly, comparing oneself to others could drive a person to their grave!

His wildly surging aura swept straight past five-star, then climbed again. Only after breaking through the threshold of Six-Star Dou Wang did it gradually slow, finally stabilizing completely.

As Jiang Yun's soaring aura settled, the surrounding waves of magma gradually subsided as well.

"Six-Star Dou Wang. Not bad!" Feeling the tremendous surge of power within him, Jiang Yun could not help voicing his satisfaction. The boundless strength and the worldly energy around him that he could freely command gave him a profound sense of security.

Devouring the energy the fallen heart flame had accumulated over countless years had brought him a tremendous leap in strength. Not only had he broken through the Dou Wang barrier, he had reached Six-Star Dou Wang, falling just short of Seven-Star Dou Wang. Now, he truly possessed the strength to travel this continent.

"Tch! I'm already a Dou Emperor. Six-Star Dou Wang is only so-so!"

Just then, a nonchalant voice reached him. Zi Yan was idly playing with her purple hair, but Jiang Yun still caught the delight in her eyes.

Delight for him!

Jiang Yun smiled gently and lightly rubbed the top of Zi Yan's head. She immediately leaned comfortably against his side, her large eyes narrowing into crescents.

"I must also thank you for guarding me, Senior Qing Ming. May I ask how long this seclusion lasted?" Jiang Yun turned toward Qing Ming, who stood quietly nearby, and cupped his hands slightly as he asked.

Qing Ming looked at Jiang Yun with a smile and nodded in satisfaction before replying, "It's been two years."

"Two years..." Jiang Yun murmured. Nearly seven years had passed since he came to the Dou Qi Continent. He was already thirteen, almost fourteen!

It's time to see this world! The thought flashed through his mind in an instant. He turned back to Zi Yan, his gaze exceptionally tender.

Two years. He could already guess that Zi Yan had stayed by his side the entire time. That devotion warmed Jiang Yun's heart, and a subtle change appeared in the way he looked at her.

"Let's go. We should head out, or the Great Elder will start worrying!" Jiang Yun said softly to Zi Yan, extending a hand.

"???" Zi Yan looked at Jiang Yun in confusion. She had no ingredients left in stock, and this was hardly a suitable place to refine pills, was it?

Jiang Yun helplessly pressed a hand to his forehead, then stepped forward and took Zi Yan's soft, smooth hand in his own. Smiling at her, he said, "You always carried me when we flew before. This time, let me carry you!"

Understanding immediately dawned on Zi Yan. Before she could react, her whole body rose into the air. Then... then Jiang Yun swept her into a bridal carry. A pair of pure-white Dou Qi Wings beat behind him as the two flew upward.

Nestled in Jiang Yun's arms, Zi Yan could clearly hear his heartbeat. It felt strange, as though the world had suddenly gone quiet and only she and Jiang Yun remained.

Looking up at Jiang Yun as he concentrated on flying, Zi Yan's lips curved into a captivating smile. She closed her eyes and burrowed deeper into his arms, pressing her ear against his chest and quietly listening to his powerful heartbeat.

At that moment, Zi Yan felt something strange quietly take root and sprout in her heart. She did not know what it was. All she knew was that her face felt a little hot.

Inside the Heavenly Burning Qi Refining Tower.

The students, already accustomed to the enhanced Heavenly Burning Qi Refining Tower, were happily immersed in deep cultivation, reveling in the joy of their rapidly increasing strength.

At a certain moment, the Inner Academy students deep in cultivation on every floor of the Heavenly Burning Qi Refining Tower suddenly opened their eyes in horror, for they had all discovered a shocking fact.

The heart flame clones that had continuously tempered their Dou Qi and bones were dwindling at a rate visible to the naked eye. Now, they had vanished completely.

Yes, completely vanished. Not even the slightest trace of a heart flame clone could be found.

"Something terrible has happened!"

At that moment, every student felt a sinking sense of dread. The elders guarding the tower, however, all showed a trace of relief in their eyes.

Not only were they unhurried, they began gathering in one direction. Clearly, someone had already informed them beforehand.

"Jiang Yun succeeded!" Once everyone had arrived, Elder Liu, who had always thought highly of Jiang Yun, spoke excitedly, his face full of joy.

His judgment had indeed been right. The first time he saw Jiang Yun, he had felt the boy would amount to something and had formed a good connection early on. And now... a Dragon Strength Pill lay quietly inside his Storage Ring.

"From the looks of it, yes!" Another elderly elder nodded slightly, a trace of regret in his eyes.

The Spirit Gathering Array was good, but after experiencing twice the pleasure, who would want to go back to the way things were?

"Let's go. It's already a boiling pot of chaos outside. Elder Liu, go out and disperse the students immediately. Seal the Heavenly Burning Qi Refining Tower for now, and notify Great Elder Su Qian to come at once. I'll go down and investigate first. The remaining elders will stay on guard." A gray-robed elder with a profound aura issued his instructions calmly. He was the most senior and strongest among them.

He also knew the truth of the matter, so he took command without hesitation.

"Yes!" The elders cupped their hands.

After everyone dispersed, the gray-robed elder headed toward the bottom of the Heavenly Burning Qi Refining Tower.

Just as he reached the lowest floor of the Heavenly Burning Qi Refining Tower, a ripple slowly spread through the space in one corner, like a ripple across water.

Whoosh! A figure appeared and swiftly approached.

"Great Elder!" Seeing the newcomer, the gray-robed elder hurriedly cupped his hands.

"Mm!" Su Qian nodded, his eyes fixed on the Space Seal over the central Black Well.

After they waited for a while, a humming sound rang out. The Space Seal slowly split open, and two figures walked out together without obstruction.

"Zi Yan, Jiang Yun!" an astonished, delighted voice called out.

Jiang Yun paused briefly, then smiled at Su Qian. "Did you come to welcome me, Great Elder?"

Su Qian, who had been excited just a moment earlier, now laughed and scolded him. "You troublesome little brat! Bringing you back really cost me both the lady and the troops!"

Jiang Yun smiled without speaking!

Indeed!

Ever since Su Qian brought Zi Yan and Jiang Yun back to the academy, medicinal ingredients had gone missing here, or magical beasts had suffered there and caused an uproar. Now, even the fallen heart flame, the very foundation of the academy, was gone.

No matter how one looked at it, Su Qian had lost everything but the shirt on his back!

"What happened to the fallen heart flame? Did you successfully refine it?" Looking at Jiang Yun, who was completely unharmed and whose aura had only grown more profound, Su Qian could not help asking curiously.

"I refined the fallen heart flame." Jiang Yun nodded, looking embarrassed for the first time. Whatever the circumstances, he had concealed this from the academy and deceived the Great Elder.

Even if much of it had been unavoidable.

"That's good, then. Keeping that thing at the academy was a disaster waiting to happen. Sooner or later, it would have endangered the academy. Now that you've refined it, perhaps this was fate." Having received a definite answer, Su Qian felt somewhat bereft. No matter what, a trace of reluctance remained in his heart.

Still, from another perspective, this might well be a good thing!

Seeing Su Qian's magnanimity, Jiang Yun felt a surge of emotion. Mang Tianchi had truly chosen a good elder. Su Qian genuinely had the academy's best interests at heart.

"Don't worry, Great Elder. Look..." Jiang Yun extended his hand. With a puff, the infant heart flame emerged from his body and burned quietly above his palm.

"This is..." Su Qian was momentarily dazed, staring in disbelief at the invisible flame that seemed both familiar and unfamiliar.

"I absorbed the fallen heart flame, but not all of it. This is what remains. It has lost all its intelligence and energy now. Even with every effort devoted to nurturing it, it would take nearly a hundred years to restore its original state. However, it can still summon heart flames, which is enough for it to serve as the array's core and sustain the Heavenly Burning Qi Refining Tower..."

As Jiang Yun spoke, he gently pushed his hand forward. The uncomprehending fallen heart flame drifted toward Su Qian and flickered quietly before his eyes.

Su Qian's expression filled with excitement. Though it was unbelievable, seeing the newborn-like infant heart flame was enough to convince him of Jiang Yun's words. At the same time, the question in his heart was answered.

Why Jiang Yun could absorb a second heavenly flame when he already possessed one.

He had heard rumors of heavenly flames devouring one another. Now, it seemed they were true.

Su Qian stared intently at the infant fallen heart flame before him and asked in a trembling voice, "It has lost all its intelligence. Does that mean its hostility toward the Inner Academy is gone as well?"

Jiang Yun nodded. "If fire-attribute elders nourish it day and night from now on, they should be able to raise a fallen heart flame that feels close to the academy."

Su Qian cast Jiang Yun a grateful look. Even without Jiang Yun saying anything, he could imagine what an enormous price preserving such a seedling must have required.

Su Qian: Jiang Yun really is a good child!

Saint Heavenly Demon Flame: ??? Was it that hard?

With trembling hands, Su Qian cradled the infant heart flame and carefully sensed the fluctuations it emitted. Feeling the same body-tempering effect as before, he immediately burst into excited laughter. It took quite a while for him to calm down. Looking at Jiang Yun, he spoke.

"Jiang Yun, you've given the academy a tremendous gift!"

Jiang Yun chuckled and nodded. "The academy is my home, too. This is what I should do!"

"Good, good, wonderful!" Su Qian looked at Jiang Yun with deep emotion, his eyes filled with gratification.

The gray-robed elder beside them had listened to Su Qian and Jiang Yun's conversation from beginning to end. Learning that the fallen heart flame remained, and that it had lost all its intelligence, filled his eyes with delighted surprise.

The feeling of regaining something lost was wonderful!