First encounter!

A smile appeared on Jiang Yun's delicate little face as he looked at the "Second Senior Brother" he had toppled. This counted as the first opponent he had knocked down in this world!

"Ugh-"

Before he could celebrate for long, weakness surged through his body. The aftereffects of that explosive burst of strength had finally caught up with him.

"Huff, huff, huff." Jiang Yun dropped helplessly to his knees, his mouth wide open as he gasped for breath. Fine beads of sweat dripped down one after another.

The palms that had just toppled a five-meter-tall Magical Beast now struggled to support his own small body.

Damn it. Unable to muster even a shred of strength, Jiang Yun cursed inwardly in frustration.

"Roar-"

As if a leaking roof had met a night of relentless rain, an angry beast's roar rang out in the distance just when he was utterly at another's mercy. Jiang Yun's expression changed at once.

The "Second Senior Brother" he had knocked to the ground was now shaking its enormous head and advancing toward him, step by step.

Thud! Its heavy footfalls carried such fury that Jiang Yun could feel its anger. In the end, he was simply too young. Even if his strength had reached the necessary level, the creature's formidable defenses had allowed it to recover quickly.

"Don't rush... let me catch my breath first."

"Roar-"

At his words, the ferocity in "Second Senior Brother's" eyes intensified. The next instant, it charged. Wind element surged around it as it shot forward like a streak of light, even faster than before.

"Big pighead, stop! He's mine!" Just then, a childish voice rang out. In the next instant, Jiang Yun saw a streak of light hurtling toward "Second Senior Brother."

It flashed before Jiang Yun's eyes like lightning, and "Second Senior Brother's" charging body inexplicably stiffened. Its enormous frame stopped a few meters in front of him, utterly motionless, as though frozen in place.

An unidentified wooden spear as thick as Jiang Yun's arm had pierced precisely into its eye, burying itself deep and delivering a fatal blow.

"Whew, good thing I didn't waste it!" Jiang Yun murmured. On his left hand, held behind his back, a deep, unfathomable eye quietly closed, then vanished.

That was a defining trait of the Evil Spirit Clan, as well as its most powerful innate divine ability, with countless wondrous uses. Jiang Yun was called the most perfect evolved being not merely because his body had evolved to look exactly like a human's; the distinctive Evil Eyes in his palms had also become concealed. Concealment did not mean disappearance. His two Evil Eyes had merged into one, normally hidden within his spiritual sea of consciousness. When needed, it could manifest between his brows, on his palm, or elsewhere.

His innate gift had also been strengthened to an unprecedented degree. The number of times an Evil Spirit Clan member could use this unique divine ability in a lifetime varied according to talent and cultivation. He could use it nine times, the most in the clan. That distinction had previously belonged to Jiang Ya, who could use it seven times.

It was precisely his talent that had shown Jiang Ya a glimmer of hope and made him risk helping him once.

"Hey, I saved you!" Just then, a clear voice rang out, and Jiang Yun saw two tender little bare feet appear before him.

Jiang Yun looked up and saw a purple-clad little girl around eight or nine years old, not much older than he was.

As far as looks went, the little girl was truly flawless. Her little face seemed carved from jade and dusted with pink, while her large, dark eyes blinked gently, brimming with innocent charm and lively intelligence. She looked sweet and babyish, exceptionally adorable.

Yet the faintly fierce aura emanating from her made Jiang Yun, whose spiritual senses were outstanding, pause. Since this was a new plane, he had yet to understand how its power levels were divided.

Judging her by the system of power he already knew would inevitably leave room for error, but one thing was certain: "Second Senior Brother" was nowhere near her level.

Glancing at "Second Senior Brother's" gruesome corpse, he estimated that he probably could not withstand a single punch from her.

While Jiang Yun was pondering, the little girl, clearly impatient, waved her small hand before his eyes in displeasure and repeated, "Hey, I said I saved you!"

As she spoke, she gestured with her hands and looked at Jiang Yun eagerly, her little mouth slightly open, with a faint, transparent thread of drool trickling out.

"I..." Jiang Yun had just begun to speak when another wave of weakness washed through him. Unable to hold himself up any longer, he collapsed helplessly toward the little girl.

"Hey!"

"Wake up! Don't faint!"

"You haven't paid me yet! I'm not picky. Just give me a few of those tasty things I sensed!"

The little girl caught Jiang Yun in a fluster and anxiously patted his face. Her tremendous strength left his cheeks red and swollen. She wore a mournful expression, though whether it was for that unknown food or for Jiang Yun was anyone's guess.

As she supported Jiang Yun, the little girl felt a sense of kinship. That intangible spatial power was exactly the same as the one she wielded.

Looking at Jiang Yun's tightly shut eyes, she realized he had probably fainted from exhaustion. As though possessed by some whim, she lowered her head and sniffed him, and an "intoxicated" expression immediately appeared on her face.

Jiang Hong had been feeding Jiang Yun since childhood. As a Heavenly Sovereign's grandson, nothing Jiang Yun ate, drank, or played with was ordinary. If those things were brought into the outside world, even Sovereigns would fight him for his food.

To the people or Magical Beasts of this world, Jiang Yun was a first-rate "heavenly treasure."

The little girl seemed to remember something. She quickly put away her smile and scanned her surroundings with a stern face. Once she confirmed no outsiders had seen her, she breathed a sigh of relief.

Looking down at Jiang Yun, she asked, "I've saved you twice now! When you wake up, you have to pay me double. Otherwise, I'll eat you!"

As she spoke, she even gave Jiang Yun a fierce little glare that was more adorable than threatening!

"Roar-"

Just as Jiang Yun answered this capitalist with silence, several terrifying beast roars rang out in the distance.

The little girl's expression changed instantly. She bent down and scooped Jiang Yun into her arms in a bridal carry. "Run!" she shouted. Space rippled, and she had already appeared dozens of li away with Jiang Yun.

Meanwhile, just as Jiang Yun and the little girl met...

In the distant forest, the pursuing Magical Beast Emperors encountered an uninvited guest.

"Su Qian, this is no place for you!"

An enormous tiger-shaped Magical Beast roared. It was a full seven or eight meters long, and its golden fur shone brilliantly in the sunlight, dazzling to behold.

A pair of flaming wings sprouted from its back. Clusters of golden flames swept out to blanket the sky as its purple wings beat.

"This Magical Beast Forest is also part of Jia Nan Academy's territory. Besides, Red-Gold Tiger King, by mobilizing together, you have already violated our original agreement." Su Qian stood in midair with his hands calmly clasped behind his back, utterly unafraid of the dozen or so fifth- and sixth-rank Magical Beasts before him.

"Su Qian, leave at once! Don't think we're afraid of your Jia Nan Academy!" an enormous Gale Eagle with a wingspan exceeding thirty meters cried in a shrill voice.

The remaining Magical Beasts all watched Su Qian like tigers eyeing their prey. This human Dou Zong placed tremendous pressure on them. Despite their fierce words, none of them actually wanted to offend Jia Nan Academy.

Back when Mang Tianchi was still a Dou Zong, he had traveled to the Black-Corner Region. As a member of the Lei Clan, he had overwhelmed those desperadoes as though striking from an entirely higher dimension.

After beating the Black-Corner Region into submission, Mang Tianchi discovered the fallen heart flame. Unfortunately, by then he had already broken through to Dou Zun and was about to leave. To a lightning-attribute Dou Zun like him, the fourteenth-ranked fallen heart flame had become something he could take or leave.

To avoid wasting a heavenly flame, and also out of the spontaneous whim of an expert, Mang Tianchi used the fallen heart flame's properties to establish the renowned Jia Nan Academy.

Although he had left Jia Nan Academy considerable resources and never involved himself with it again, when the academy was first founded, Mang Tianchi had swept through the Magical Beast Forest on its behalf.

He had left a deep shadow over these Magical Beasts. Compared with humans, Magical Beasts lived longer, and the Red-Gold Tiger King and the others, or their parents, had all lived through Mang Tianchi's era.

They knew all too well how terrifying the power behind Jia Nan Academy was. Even setting Mang Tianchi aside, the Dou Zong Su Qian standing before them was enough to give them a headache.