Su Qian!

"I'm telling you, I risked being hunted down to save you! It was really dangerous. That huge tiger behind me was this long!"

Watching the little girl chatter away, occasionally stretching out her hands to demonstrate, Jiang Yun opened his mouth but said nothing. He could tell she meant no harm, but he had no idea what she was trying to get across.

Yet when he heard her mention a third-tier magical beast, something felt familiar. Looking again at the purple-haired little girl and the unusually active spatial power around her, he thought he knew who she was.

"Zi Yan!" Jiang Yun ventured cautiously. If she really was Zi Yan, he probably couldn't withstand even a single punch from her.

"Hm?" Zi Yan, who had been absorbed in recounting how she had rescued Jiang Yun with such "difficulty," blinked her big, puzzled eyes. "Zi Yan? Are you talking to me?"

Wasn't she?

Just as Jiang Yun began to feel disappointed, she said happily, "Zi Yan. That sounds nice! I'll be Zi Yan from now on. Oh, right, what's your name?"

"Jiang Yun!"

He was rather speechless. He had never expected to be the one who gave Zi Yan her name, but he still slowly introduced himself.

"Hmm, Jiang Yun. Little Yun." Zi Yan folded her arms, put on a stern expression, and nodded slowly.

Soon, she leaned her little head toward him with another solemn look, her eyes brimming with earnestness. "Even though you gave Zi Yan a nice name, you still have to pay me for saving you!"

"What payment?" Jiang Yun looked at the suddenly serious Zi Yan in confusion.

"You're trying to wriggle out of paying!" Seeing his confusion, Zi Yan immediately shrieked. She pointed at Jiang Yun, gritting her teeth, while her right hand slowly curled into a fist.

"A debt for saving a life is greater than the heavens! I would never try to evade it!" Catching sight of Zi Yan's little fist out of the corner of his eye, Jiang Yun shuddered. He immediately put on a solemn little face and spoke with complete sincerity.

"Hmph! You wouldn't dare!" Looking at the "heartfelt" Jiang Yun, Zi Yan snorted, flicked her ponytail, and raised her little head haughtily.

"Phew..."

Now that he had smoothed Zi Yan's ruffled feathers, Jiang Yun immediately breathed a sigh of relief. Zi Yan was wonderful, but he needed the strength to keep up with her. Otherwise, if she threw a punch at him one day, wouldn't he end up paralyzed?

"But I don't have anything on me right now. Can I owe you for the time being?" After searching himself from head to toe without finding a single thing, Jiang Yun spoke awkwardly.

"You..." Zi Yan immediately grew annoyed, but when she saw that Jiang Yun's pockets were even emptier than hers, she deflated a little. "All right!"

Soon, however, she returned to her lively self. Wrinkling her little nose, she leaned close to Jiang Yun and sniffed gently, occasionally lifting her head, curiosity in her large, clear black-and-white eyes.

"Are you human? You smell so nice!"

With her delicately sculpted features, Zi Yan was adorable and endearingly innocent. She really was easy to like.

"I am human. As for the smell... I don't know either!" Jiang Yun smiled gently.

Jiang Yun had a guess about the scent Zi Yan mentioned. It was probably because he came from the Great Thousand World. Although he had never cultivated, he had indeed been touched by spiritual energy, a higher form of energy than Dou Qi.

For Zi Yan, who possessed an Ancient Void Dragon imperial bloodline and a terrifying physique, spiritual energy was indeed a very tempting "tonic."

"Who's there?"

Suddenly, Jiang Yun's pupils contracted, and goosebumps rose all over his body. A chill came from deep within him, and his spiritual perception screamed a warning.

The next instant, he instinctively shielded Zi Yan behind him. Although he was weaker than her, he still couldn't bring himself to use her as a shield.

Zi Yan still had no idea what had happened, but looking at the figure before her, even younger and smaller than herself, she felt warmth for the first time.

From the moment she was born, she had competed with other magical beasts.

An Ancient Void Dragon youngling lost in the outside world was not merely something other magical beasts feared because of her bloodline; she was also a mouthwatering delicacy. She had to evade powerful magical beasts hunting her while searching for enough resources to grow.

Her Ancient Void Dragon imperial bloodline had never helped her. Instead, it had become a "burden."

She had never known what it felt like to be protected by someone else. At that moment, looking at Jiang Yun, this weak human, she felt a trace of aching sadness in her normally carefree heart.

"What terrifying perception."

A voice rang out with a chuckle. Dressed in gray robes, Su Qian, who had tracked them here, observed Zi Yan and Jiang Yun with a smile.

His attention rested chiefly on Jiang Yun.

He could discern a little of Zi Yan's background. She was a magical beast with an extraordinary bloodline, and judging by her appearance, she was still a juvenile. To possess peak fourth-tier strength at such a young age clearly meant she had tremendous potential.

For the moment, however, he couldn't tell what kind of magical beast she was.

Yet he was even more interested in Jiang Yun, this six- or seven-year-old human child. He couldn't have mistaken that terrifying perception. The boy had been born with extraordinarily powerful soul strength.

Although he wasn't an alchemist, he knew that people with powerful souls rarely lacked talent.

Moreover, the shimmering spatial power surrounding the boy further demonstrated his exceptional gifts.

As an academy's first elder and someone who enjoyed teaching, he suddenly felt a strong urge to bring both children back to the academy.

"Senior, with your strength, isn't it a little improper to spy on two children like us?"

Jiang Yun's entire body was taut. One hand gripped Zi Yan tightly, while a sinister eye slowly appeared in the palm of the other, giving off a faint aura of annihilation, as though it could unleash an earth-shaking strike at any moment.

He knew nothing of this old man's origins. His instincts told him that this was an extraordinarily terrifying expert, at least far stronger than Zi Yan.

"Little fellow, if I meant you harm, with my strength, you wouldn't still be standing there safe and sound." Su Qian studied the mature-minded Jiang Yun with interest.

"You jest, Senior!" Su Qian's words drew an awkward laugh from Jiang Yun. Even so, he didn't lower his guard, subtly keeping his chest facing the old man.

"Heh, what a wary little brat!" Su Qian wasn't offended. He merely chided him with a laugh.

Just then, Zi Yan, whom Jiang Yun was shielding, grew impatient. She shoved him aside, her terrifying strength leaving him utterly unable to resist.

"Hey, old man! Who are you? If you dare scare Little Yun, I'll beat you up!" Zi Yan planted her hands on her hips and threatened Su Qian "fiercely."

Yet with her babyish appearance, she looked adorable no matter how one saw it.

Pushed aside by Zi Yan, Jiang Yun felt both helpless and touched. They had only met by chance, yet she dared to face an unknown enemy for his sake. That earnest warmth kindled a little warmth in Jiang Yun, who had grown up without companions among the Outer Realm Evil Clan.