Chapter 235: The Mysterious Little Girl (Part 1)

"Ten thousand!?"

Ten thousand Fire Energy is an astronomical sum in the Inner Court, especially with the Tian Fen Lian Qi Ta—a "gold-swallowing beast"—that drains so much energy, most can't save any.

Just like the recent Fire Energy Capture Contest: last year's top fifty had spent a full year in the Inner Court, yet their Fire Energy cards held only a pitiful ten to twenty days' worth—only Luo Hou and Bai Feng, the two Dou Spirits, had over three digits.

Even if all members of these dozen gangs combined, gathering ten thousand Fire Energy would be difficult.

"What? If you can't afford it, don't imitate others by starting gang wars or placing bets," Xiao Yan said, his eyes slightly narrowing.

"Fu Da, don't accept it—he's got hidden cards, and I've got a feeling his strength isn't just this much. I'm afraid even Bai Cheng won't beat him; if that happens, our White Gang will be in serious trouble—we can't afford to lose Fire Energy before the Strong List Conference," Bai Shan urgently grabbed Fu Ao, truly terrified of this freak, Xiao Yan.

Fu Ao exchanged glances with the others from his gang, then sneered: "Hmph, why should we bet with you? We'll all attack together—we outnumber your New Students, and you won't stand a chance!"

Fu Ao was clever—he knew Xiao Yan was hard to handle, so he planned to target the weaker New Students, forcing them to abandon Xiao Yan's Hall and isolate Xiao Yan.

Xiao Yan smiled faintly, his eyes filled with madness and ferocity: "Is that so? Then from now on, I'll do nothing but wait for the Tian Fen Lian Qi Ta to open each day—I'll follow you. When you enter a cultivation chamber, I'll smash each one, one by one."

"I'm still a New Student—I've got five years left. But some of you are graduating this year, aren't you?"

Hearing Xiao Yan's all-or-nothing threat, even Fu Ao frowned tightly—if they didn't kill Xiao Yan, they'd suffer just as much.

Just as both sides were locked in stalemate, a voice suddenly came from behind.

"We, the Crack Mountain Gang, are also very interested in challenging him."

Xiao Yan's gaze sharpened—he recognized the voice immediately: Yao Sheng, who'd just clashed with him.

Besides Yao Sheng, several other Crack Mountain Gang members followed, all trailing behind a young woman, as if she were their leader.

The woman at the front wore a snowfox-fur dress, her appearance exquisitely beautiful: an oval face, cherry lips, willow-browed elegance, and large, sparkling eyes—all combining into a sight that brought pure aesthetic pleasure, no wonder she was so admired.

"It's Lei Na! And Yao Sheng! They're the second and third leaders of the Crack Mountain Gang!"

"The one in the middle—isn't that Miss Liu Fei! Does that mean even Liu Qing, ranked third on the Strong List, is going to act?"

Seeing the effeminate Yao Sheng, the giant Lei Na, and Liu Fei with her sweet smile, Fu Ao acted as if he'd met his master—he hurried forward and bowed respectfully: "Brother Lei Na, Brother Yao Sheng, Miss Liu Fei, long time no see. How is Brother Liu Qing doing?"

Liu Fei smiled calmly and sweetly, her voice soft: "My cousin Liu Qing is well—he's training hard for this year's Strong List Conference, too busy to come out."

Hearing "Strong List Conference," Fu Ao froze in surprise: "But the conference is still half a year away—Brother Liu Qing has already started preparing so early?!"

Yao Sheng stepped closer to Xiao Yan with a cold smile: "I told you—I won't let you live easily."

"Oh? Your nose is healed, so now you're thinking of your mouth?" Xiao Yan flicked his sleeve lightly, speaking calmly.

Yao Sheng's face darkened instantly; he pointed at Xiao Yan, laughing bitterly with rage: "Fine! You've got guts. I've been itching to fight for days. Let's see if you can still be so defiant without the advantage of terrain."

As Yao Sheng spoke, a powerful Seven-Star Dou Spirit spiritual pressure erupted from his body, so intense that nearby students couldn't help but step back several paces.

"Such strong spiritual pressure!"

"Yao Sheng has reached Seven-Star Dou Spirit! No wonder he's ranked seventeenth on the Strong List!"

At that moment, a delicate, boneless hand gently clasped Xiao Yan's tightly clenched fist. Xiao Yan glanced sideways at Xun Er—she nodded.

Xiao Yan smiled faintly; they had long understood each other without words. Then he turned to Yao Sheng: "I, Xiao Yan, representing Xiao Hall, formally declare war on all you cat-and-dog gangs. Seven days from now, at the Duel Plaza in the Inner Court—bring as many as you want. I'll take them all."

In a spacious, brightly lit room, over a dozen elders sat scattered about; under the soft lighting, their chest badges were clearly visible—each one was the special emblem reserved exclusively for Elders.

Though the room was large, the atmosphere was heavy. After a long silence, the white-haired elder seated at the head coughed softly, breaking the stillness: "I believe all of you have noticed—these past few days, the Fallen Heart Flame has begun to destabilize again."

Hearing this, all other Elders frowned deeply; their expressions made clear that the Fallen Heart Flame had become a growing concern.

"After prolonged observation, I've found the Fallen Heart Flame's fluctuations have grown far more violent than before, and its emotional resonance has become increasingly agitated. The sealing array the Dean set up now requires longer and longer to suppress it," the elder continued, his voice aged and steady. "Given this trend, within the next year, it will likely erupt in a massive backlash. If mishandled, it could become a grave crisis—even bring about the Inner Court's utter destruction."

"Should we reinforce our defenses together? If worse comes to worst, we must notify the Dean. If the Fallen Heart Flame truly breaks free, the desperate outlaws of the Black Horn Region will rush here in a frenzy to seize it. Though our Inner Court lies deep in the mountains, we're close to the northern Black Horn Region—and the Medicinal Emperor is always hunting for strange flames."

"We must reinforce the defenses," said Elder Su Qian slowly, shaking his head. "But the Dean left to return to his clan over a decade ago and has sent no word since. No one knows where he is now."

After a moment of silence, Su Qian suddenly turned his gaze toward an elder in the corner: "Liu Elder, could the Fallen Heart Flame's recent unrest be linked to the strange flame Xiao Yan possesses?"

The Liu Elder, who had once met Xiao Yan, immediately rose and replied respectfully: "Likely so. It's certain that strange flames have some connection. Originally, the Fallen Heart Flame appeared only to confirm Xiao Yan's presence—and quickly retreated."

Su Qian nodded slowly: "Not long ago, Xiao Yan trained for a day and a half on the sixth level. Not only did he show no fear of the fire poison, he even absorbed the wild flame energy surrounding the Tian Fen Lian Qi Ta."

!!!!!!!!

All Elders in the room showed shock—the energy within the tower carried lethal fire poison; even staying inside too long caused poison to seep into the body, let alone absorbing it.

Xiao Yan, a Dou Spirit, could absorb it freely!

Truly terrifying.

Su Qian's aged voice grew slightly somber: "Alas, who would have thought—the Fallen Heart Flame once lifted our Inner Court to glory, and now a mere twenty-year-old boy stands alone in possession of this wonder. Truly enviable."

"Elders, if you encounter this boy, extend him every courtesy. Perhaps, when the Fallen Heart Flame erupts, we'll need his strength. Never underestimate the power of strange flames—such wonders are born of heaven and earth's essence, wielding destructive force. One misstep, and our Inner Court may face annihilation," Elder Su Qian sighed.

"Yes!" The dozen Elders, revered by Inner Court students, rose instantly and replied respectfully.

After everyone had left the room, the Elder wrapped entirely in black robes slowly stood up. As he straightened, his body grew increasingly insubstantial—until, when fully upright, he had vanished from the room in a bizarre manner.

They didn't know this fellow Xiao Yan was wicked—he wished the Fallen Heart Flame would erupt as soon as possible.

Not long after, news of the gang war between Xiao Yan's Xiao Hall and the alliance of over a dozen senior student gangs spread instantly through the entire Inner Court.

Xiao Yan, with a wave of his hand, paid for all New Students in Xiao Hall to enter the Tian Fen Lian Qi Ta for the next seven days, so they could rapidly boost their cultivation.

The entire Xiao Hall entered the Tian Fen Lian Qi Ta as teams to cultivate—except Xiao Yan, who had just advanced one star and chose not to enter the tower, instead beginning to train his Dou Technique.

"Aaaahhh!!!"

Meow meow meow!!

"What the hell is this?! Can this even be mastered?!" Xiao Yan's throat was nearly hoarse, his voice raspy—but instead of a Dragon Roar, it sounded like a ghost wailing.

Panting, Xiao Yan sat on the ground, picked up a water flask chilled by the Ice Spirit Cold Spring, and gulped it down. Instantly, a cool, refreshing sensation soothed his burning throat.

Xiao Yan had left the Inner Court and trained in the vast forest for seven days now—but still no trace of the Ancient Dragon Roar.

If he hadn't been clever enough to brew his own throat-protecting medicinal essence, he'd have lost his voice before mastering the Ancient Dragon Roar.

Xiao Yan picked up the Scroll, sank his mind into it, and used his Soul Force to read its contents.

The Ancient Dragon Roar Scroll not only recorded the Qi circulation path and the method of merging Dragon Qi with Dou Qi, but also contained a vivid spiritual memory image.

Within it, a dragon coiled atop a mountain, its dragon scales shimmering faintly with purple-gold light under the sun, its wings blotting out the sky, its body as long as a mountain range, half of it hidden within space—only space could contain such a being.

The Void Ancient Dragon, seemingly provoked, suddenly opened its dragon eyes and unleashed a deafening, soul-shaking roar toward the distance.

(End of chapter)