Intelligence!

"Old Man Su, can we leave now? I'm in a hurry to get back so Xiao Yun can refine pills for me!"

While Su Qian and the gray-robed elder kept examining the fallen heart flame in their hands, Zi Yan, whose hand Jiang Yun was holding, grew a little impatient.

"Er-" Zi Yan's shout made Su Qian realize he had lost his composure. His aged face reddened despite himself. With a light cough, he said cheerfully, "Thank you both for your hard work lately. Go back and get some proper rest. Cultivation requires a balance between tension and relaxation. Don't keep yourselves wound too tightly."

"Tch-got it, got it!" Listening to Su Qian drone on, Zi Yan shook her head impatiently, looking just like a poor student enduring a teacher's lecture.

Seeing that Su Qian showed signs of continuing, Zi Yan immediately pulled Jiang Yun toward the tower's exit.

"That girl..." Watching their retreating figures, Su Qian sighed helplessly.

The elder beside him silently scoffed. Great Elder, kindly smooth out those wrinkles on your face. You're grinning from ear to ear, yet you're still pretending to be aloof?

"Great Elder."

"Great Elder!" × n

After Zi Yan and Jiang Yun left, Su Qian and the other elder did not linger at the bottom of the tower. Before long, they reached the top.

Then...

Every elder present crowded around Su Qian. They had already learned about the fallen heart flame from Jiang Yun, who had come ahead, but that did nothing to dampen their curiosity.

They kept jostling one another, peering excitedly at the juvenile fallen heart flame burning quietly in Su Qian's palm.

Indeed, seeing that enormous fallen heart flame Fire Python suddenly become so tiny took some getting used to.

"So this is the little thing we both love and hate? I've guarded it for twenty-three years. Hurry up and let me see!"

"I've guarded it for thirty-eight years! You youngsters, move aside. Stop shoving me..."

"Make way, all of you. I cultivate fire attribute dou qi. Raising this 'little fellow' should fall to me..."

However many years these Inner Academy elders had guarded the fallen heart flame, it had tormented them for just as long. Now that the culprit had become like this, their excitement knew no bounds...

Some elders were not satisfied with simply looking at the juvenile fallen heart flame. They could not resist reaching out to touch or stroke it.

Under the teasing of these academy elders, all of whom were at least Dou Wang experts, the juvenile fallen heart flame looked so small, pitiful, and helpless.

Truly, the wheel of fortune had turned!

This little thing had once "tormented" them until they wished they were dead. Now it was their turn to play "Daddy"!

Just as the fallen heart flame could no longer stand it, Su Qian put on a stern face and said with authority, "You're all getting on in years. What kind of behavior is this?"

At his words, some of the elders finally restrained themselves, their smiles turning sheepish.

"Elder Wang, you'll need to oversee the aftermath at the Heavenly Burning Qi Refining Tower. There must be no mistakes in resettling the students. Elder Su, Elder Li, you and the others with fire attributes should devise a method to nurture the fallen heart flame. Everyone else, return to your duties!"

"Yes!"

They walked out of the Heavenly Burning Qi Refining Tower.

Jiang Yun and Zi Yan saw the many students gathered around to watch, including quite a few unfamiliar faces.

Come to think of it, he was now a senior student of the Inner Academy. All the experts on the Strong Ranking from his intake had successfully graduated and left the academy.

Sweeping his gaze over the crowd, Jiang Yun paused slightly, for he spotted several figures who were both familiar and unfamiliar.

There was a handsome, refined young man dressed in green, who always seemed as tranquil as a gentle breeze beneath drifting clouds.

There was also a man carrying a spear on his back, his face resolute and domineering, his entire body radiating a fierce aura.

And there was a silver-haired beauty with a cool expression, exuding the aloof air of a snow lotus on an icy mountain.

Lin Xiuya, Liu Qing, Han Yue, Lin Yan... One after another, characters from the original story were beginning to appear.

Sensing their auras, Jiang Yun judged that they had only recently entered the Inner Academy, their strength still around that of a Six- or Seven-Star Great Dou Master.

A gleam flashed through his eyes. Had it already reached this point?

Without approaching them to say hello, Jiang Yun quietly led Zi Yan toward their residence.

"Huh-what a terrifying pair. Does the Inner Academy have people like that?" In the crowd, Lin Xiuya lost his usual elegant, smiling composure, beads of cold sweat forming on his forehead.

"What's wrong with you?" Liu Qing looked questioningly at the young man nearby. As freshmen from the same intake, he and Lin Xiuya had always been rivals.

Although he deeply disliked the other's fighting style, Liu Qing had to admit that Lin Xiuya was indeed a genius and a difficult opponent.

Seeing his expression now, Liu Qing could not contain his curiosity. Even when facing people on the Inner Academy's Strong Ranking, Lin Xiuya had never looked like this.

Meeting Liu Qing's curious gaze, Lin Xiuya wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and glanced into the distance. Finding that the source of that sensation had vanished, he shook his head and said with lingering unease, "Nothing. Perhaps I imagined it!"

Since the other man would not explain, Liu Qing did not invite a rebuff. He resumed his aloof, handsome demeanor.

Lin Xiuya stared blankly at the ground and murmured, "Did I imagine it?"

With his mastery of the wind attribute, he knew from the information carried back by the wind that two terrifying individuals had just emerged from the Heavenly Burning Qi Refining Tower. He had also seen their figures from afar.

Yet he still found it hard to believe that the two people who had given him a stronger sense of danger than even the Dou Wang elders were actually youngsters.

Wait.

Could they have been those two?

After returning to their residence and refining several batches of pills for the greedy Zi Yan, they each went back to their rooms to rest.

The prolonged strain of cultivation had already left him mentally exhausted. Without another thought, Jiang Yun fell into a deep sleep the moment his head touched the pillow.

He slept all the way until the third day before finally stirring awake.

Rising and leaving his room, he immediately felt refreshed, all his mental fatigue swept away.

He glanced toward Zi Yan's room but could not sense her aura. Who knew where she had run off to frolic this time?

Sitting in the courtyard, Jiang Yun pondered for a long time, his gaze flickering.

Although he had been fortunate enough to resolve the hidden danger in his body this time, and had gained considerable benefits in the process, that did not mean he could safely absorb the suppressed Saint Heavenly Demon Flame.

The Saint Heavenly Demon Emperor's will still existed within it. A complete child flame was itself an existence comparable to nihility devouring flame or purifying lotus demon flame. Even Gu Yuan or Hun Tiandi would be unable to remove the imprint inside it.

If he continued absorbing it, he would inevitably repeat his past mistakes! That was something he could not tolerate, yet he was utterly unwilling to abandon such a heaven-sent opportunity.

After pondering for a long while, Jiang Yun let out a quiet sigh. "It looks like I'll still have to get hold of the Flame Mantra and take a look!"

According to the information left by the Saint Heavenly Demon Emperor, the owner of the Wan Huo Indestructible Body had once fallen on the Dou Qi Continent. His essence had scattered across the continent and merged with its various native essences, thus creating its many unusual heavenly flames.

Given that, Jiang Yun had reason to suspect that the Flame Mantra, that peculiar cultivation method, might be the method for cultivating the Wan Huo Indestructible Body, or perhaps a portion of it.

If his conjecture was correct, there would be a way to resolve the problem with the Saint Heavenly Demon Flame.

Both stood at the pinnacle of fire attributes in the Great Thousand World. He could only defeat magic with magic.

Having made his decision, Jiang Yun rose to his feet and walked slowly toward the Great Elder's office.

It was also time to meet our Medicine Emperor. Had the esteemed Medicine Emperor unraveled the secrets of the Bodhi Body-Transformation Saliva yet?

When he reached the pavilion where the Great Elder worked, deep within the Inner Academy, the personnel on duty clearly recognized Jiang Yun. He proceeded unhindered to Su Qian's room on the second floor.

"Great Elder!" Pushing open the door, he immediately saw Su Qian leafing through a register.

Jiang Yun's voice drew Su Qian's attention. Looking up, he saw Jiang Yun enter through the door. Surprise crossed his face, but a smile soon replaced it.

"How are you feeling? Refining a heavenly flame couldn't have been easy. Did you get enough rest?"

Su Qian spoke with concern. When he had seen Jiang Yun that day, he had noticed the exhausted spiritual strength beneath the surface of his profound aura.

"Thank you for your concern, Great Elder. I'm fine now!" Warmth filled Jiang Yun's heart, and his tone was gentle.

Su Qian nodded. Looking at Jiang Yun, whose youthful inexperience was gradually fading as he matured, he grew rather emotional. "Now that you've reached the Dou Wang realm, the academy has little left to teach you. What are your plans from here?"

Perhaps even Su Qian did not realize the traces of melancholy in his heart as he spoke those words.

He had personally picked up both Jiang Yun and Zi Yan in the Magical Beast Forest. Over these past few years, deep bonds had long since formed between them. Now, seeing them both grown and capable of roaming the continent, he felt a sudden sense of loss.

There was pride, but also a profound reluctance to part!

He knew that the skies awaiting Jiang Yun and Zi Yan did not belong to Jia Nan Academy. A far wider world awaited their adventures, yet at the same time, his heart was filled with disappointment.

Jiang Yun considered briefly before voicing the request he had already prepared. "Jia Nan Academy has its own informants in the Black-Corner Region, doesn't it? I'd like to ask you to help me find out whether anything major has happened there over the past few years. Or, more specifically, whether anything has changed in Maple City?"

A sharp gleam flashed through Su Qian's eyes. He immediately grasped the deeper meaning behind Jiang Yun's words. Giving him a searching look, he said gravely, "You intend to make a move against Han Feng?"

Jiang Yun nodded. Dealing with Han Feng would require only himself and Zi Yan, but Maple City held many other powerful fighters, and they would also have to guard against the hyenas of the Black-Corner Region. For that, they would need Jia Nan Academy's strength.

And to enlist Jia Nan Academy's strength, he could not bypass Su Qian. Besides, Jiang Yun had never intended to hide this from him.

Seeing Jiang Yun admit it, Su Qian asked cautiously, "Do you know who Han Feng is?"

His voice carried deep apprehension. Without waiting for Jiang Yun to answer, he continued.

"He's a Sixth-grade Alchemist of the Black-Corner Region, and rumors even say that he's reached the seventh grade. With his influence, a single call from him could rally hundreds throughout the region. On top of that, he's a Peak Dou Emperor himself. Almost no one in the Black-Corner Region is willing to make an enemy of him. And that's only the old information. His circumstances have changed again since then."

"I know all that. But who told him to have something I'm interested in?" Jiang Yun nodded calmly and spoke in an inscrutable tone, laying bare this world's law of the jungle.

"You mean the Bodhi Body-Transformation Saliva!" Su Qian gave Jiang Yun a deep look and spoke with certainty.

Jiang Yun's gaze flickered. Although his primary target was not the Bodhi Body-Transformation Saliva, since Su Qian had misunderstood, he offered no further explanation.

"An opportunity to reach Dou Sheng-who wouldn't be interested? Besides, I've heard he also possesses a heavenly flame."

Su Qian's heart skipped a beat. Even though he had long known of the Bodhi Body-Transformation Saliva's existence, mentioning it again still kindled a fiery longing within him.

That was Dou Sheng!

A true pinnacle expert of the continent!

Looking at Jiang Yun's resolute expression, Su Qian fell silent for a moment, then rose and walked to a row of cabinets. After a complicated series of spatial manipulations, he took a scroll from a box.

"This contains everything that has happened in Maple City during this period!"

Jiang Yun accepted the scroll Su Qian handed him. As expected, Jia Nan Academy had its own Intelligence Network in the Black-Corner Region, constantly monitoring developments there.

He slowly unrolled the scroll and carefully read the intelligence recorded on it. Before long, he had committed it all to memory.

Since the departure from the Dou Zun Secret Realm, several groups had descended on Maple City, including no shortage of Dou Emperors and Dou Zong experts.

But Han Feng, the master of Maple City, was exceedingly crafty and refused to show himself. Those old foxes also feared that if they wrecked Maple City, Han Feng would flee for good, leaving them grasping blindly.

As long as Maple City remained, they could at least cling to the hope that Han Feng would not abandon such a vast foundation and run. Thus, no one had taken advantage of his predicament.

Still, it was true that people throughout the Black-Corner Region were searching for Han Feng's whereabouts, both openly and in secret.

As for Han Feng, he had proven remarkably patient and only reappeared a year ago.

The moment he appeared, a battle erupted in Maple City. Han Feng revealed his strength as well: he had advanced to Dou Zong, and another Dou Zong was accompanying him.

Two Dou Zong experts-their strength completely cowed the monsters and demons of the Black-Corner Region. At that point, Han Feng publicly announced his advancement to Seventh-grade Alchemist.

He even produced a seventh-grade Instant Qi Pill for auction, driving everyone into a frenzy.

Maple City's prestige climbed even higher, and people arrived every day to seek medicines.

Han Feng turned away none who came seeking medicine. Whether they were Dou Emperors, Dou Wangs, or Dou Lings, as long as they agreed to join Maple City, he accepted their requests and fired up his cauldron.

After a year of aggressively recruiting followers, Maple City had grown into the largest faction in the Black-Corner Region.

Its prominence was unrivaled!

Reading the intelligence in his hands, Jiang Yun's heart sank. Han Feng's advancement to Dou Zong and Seventh-grade Alchemist had caught him by surprise.

And there was that other, unknown Dou Zong!

The waters of Maple City had grown even deeper!