How Xiao Yan won Xiao Xun'er's heart

The Xiao Clan, a young lady's boudoir.

"Father?"

Xiao Xun'er looked stunned.

She had never expected to see her own father while at the Xiao Clan, tens of thousands of miles away.

But her cry could not reach into the space.

She could only watch everything unfolding within it, filled with surprise and doubt.

The Tagor Desert.

"Who's there? Get out here!"

The mighty Queen Medusa, a Peak Dou Emperor, released her Dou Qi with an icy expression.

But no matter how hard she exerted herself, the people in the space continued doing as they pleased, unable to hear her at all.

Surprise flashed in her eyes, and she stopped to ponder.

The Misty Cloud Sect.

Xiao Yan's residence.

"Ancestor!"

Xiao Yan's trembling cry woke the sleeping Yao Chen. He swept the room with his soul power, found nothing wrong, and asked in puzzlement, "Child, what's wrong?"

Even Ancestor Yao Chen, who was right beside him, could not discover the space's secret. Towering waves surged in Xiao Yan's heart, but he was no fool and did not trust this ancestor completely. He immediately said, "I had a nightmare."

"A nightmare?" Yao Chen frowned.

"Yes. I dreamed my Dou Qi vanished again." Xiao Yan gave a bitter chuckle.

Yao Chen had no response to that. He could only comfort him, telling Xiao Yan not to overthink it and that he really no longer needed to absorb Dou Qi.

Xiao Yan took the offered slope to get off his donkey, covering the matter up. Then, after rambling about this and that, he steered the conversation toward the Flame Mantra, talking to the ancestor while watching the space in his field of vision.

The Jia Ma Imperial Capital.

The Lion King's Nalan Family.

Panicking, Nalan Yanran burst into her teacher's room.

"Teacher, I seem to..."

"Huh?"

"Where's Teacher?"

Unable to find her teacher, she could only crouch trembling in a corner, watching everything inside the space with her heart pounding in fear.

Qingshan Town.

Inside a manor only a few miles from Xiao Han's inn.

Clutching medicinal powder in both hands, Xiao Yi Xian closed one eye and slowly walked into her boudoir.

Although she did not understand what was happening in her field of vision, she knew this was an enormous opportunity.

The six people inside the space had no idea that five others were observing their every move.

"First question!"

"In the world of Battle Through the Heavens, how did Flame Emperor Xiao Yan win the heart of Empress Gu Xun'er, whose status differed from his as greatly as heaven differed from earth?"

A, the strength of a Dou Di; B, the closeness of innocent childhood sweethearts; C, Gu Xun'er's rebelliousness; D, sneaking into her room at night.

"Please answer!"

The moment the question appeared, Hun Tiandi understood. That fellow Gu Yuan definitely knew who Xiao Yan was. This also brought him a realization.

He immediately said coldly, "Gu Yuan, Gu Xun'er is your daughter, isn't she? What a fine scheme you've laid. If I'm not mistaken, this Xiao Yan must be a member of the Xiao Clan."

"My Xiao Clan?" Xiao Xuan froze at those words, an inexplicable sense of guilt rising within him.

So he had wronged Gu Yuan. A man who could send his own daughter to the Xiao Clan to become childhood sweethearts with his descendant could hardly be the petty villain he had imagined.

"Hmph." Gu Yuan snorted. "So what if he is? You're merely a Mid-Stage Eight-Star Dou Sheng. Do you actually dare leave the Soul Realm?"

"You!" Hatred seethed in Hun Tiandi's heart.

He truly did not dare leave the Soul Realm now.

Heaven knew whether that scoundrel Gu Yuan was lying in wait outside the Soul Realm.

The gap between Nine-Star Dou Shengs was considerable, but escape was still possible. The gap between eight stars and nine stars, however, was far from ordinary. If Gu Yuan actually caught him, a single slap could kill him.

"Answer the question. What's there to argue about?" Zhu Kun spoke up to stop them.

Then, putting on a shameless smile, he looked at Gu Yuan. "Little brother Gu, since this Gu Xun'er is your daughter, you must know the answer. As long as you tell me, I certainly won't let you lose out. How about I trade you the coordinates of Heavenly Flames?"

Gu Yuan's heart twitched at those words.

He didn't know a damn thing.

He had sent his daughter to the Xiao Clan shortly after she was born.

He wasn't even sure whether she felt close to him.

At that thought, he sighed. "Heavenly Flames may be good, but that is no reason to use my daughter as a bargaining chip. Brother Zhu Kun, you should choose an answer yourself."

"Hypocrite!" Zhu Kun sneered.

Since Gu Yuan did not want to trade, there was nothing he could do. He could only stare at the answers with his bull-like eyes, turning them over in his mind.

"Brother Gu, I wronged you. I never imagined you treated my Xiao Clan so well." Just then, Xiao Xuan spoke to Gu Yuan, his face full of guilt.

"?"

What's gotten into this soul body? Gu Yuan blinked, not knowing how to respond.

He could only give an awkward laugh and nod at Xiao Xuan before fixing his eyes on the options, looking as though he wanted nothing to do with anyone.

After all, he could hardly tell Xiao Xuan, I've treated your family so well that they don't even have a Dou Ling.

Xiao Han had no leisure to bother with the love and hatred between the three. All he wanted was points. The moment the question appeared, he promptly chose D.

Heh, I wonder if Gu Yuan will go give Xiao Yan a beating once he learns the answer? Xiao Han thought gleefully.

The six inside the space were busy choosing.

Outside the space, an uproar had erupted.

"Flame Emperor Xiao Yan, a Dou Di?" Medusa swallowed, never having imagined that this strange space was actually connected to the legendary Dou Di.

And the people inside the space were actually at the Dou Sheng level.

A Mid-Stage Eight-Star Dou Sheng-what a towering colossus.

The entire Jia Ma Empire did not even have a single Dou Zong.

Along with her shock, Medusa could not help feeling a surge of longing.

She turned to look at the green lotus core flame she had found after enduring countless hardships, a trace of resolve flashing in her eyes.

"Flame Emperor Xiao Yan? How is that possible?"

Nalan Yanran looked stunned. Xiao Yan's face flashed through her mind, and she shook her head hard. "Impossible, absolutely impossible! How could he become a Dou Di?"

Although she kept muttering that it was impossible, her eyes were already fixed unblinkingly on the space, afraid of missing anything.

"A Dou Sheng?"

"A Dou Di?"

Xiao Yi Xian was also deeply shocked.

But her cultivation was too low, and she did not understand the differences between cultivation levels as well as a Dou Emperor did. So after a brief exclamation, she watched the space thoughtfully, silently choosing answer B.

Her background made her yearn all the more for a childhood sweetheart.

Xiao Xun'er, meanwhile, looked astonished and flushed.

She had never imagined that this so-called space could actually expose the secret between her and Brother Xiao Yan.

She did not care whether he was a Dou Di or not.

Right now, she only feared that once her father found out, he would rush over in a rage and slap Xiao Yan to death.

Then, never mind becoming a Dou Di-even becoming a Dou Zhe would be a stretch.

"What? Xun'er is actually a Dou Sheng's daughter?"

"And I actually became a Dou Di?" Xiao Yan, meanwhile, looked utterly dazed.

The information inside the space had already stunned him senseless.

The information he had received in these few short breaths left him more bewildered than everything he had learned in the dozen-plus years since his rebirth on this continent.