Chapter 238

"Yay!! I finally pulled off Thunder Flash!!"

Even Xiao Yan jumped up in excitement—using Thunder Flash in just seven days was a legend, a miracle, even within the Wind and Thunder Pavilion.

Mastering the Three Thousand Thunder technique allows one to use Thunder Flash; achieving minor mastery grants Thunder Instant; full mastery enables Three Thousand Thunder, covering three kilometers in an instant. Once perfected, one may begin cultivating the Wind and Thunder Pavilion's treasured technique: the Three Thousand Thunder Illusion Body.

The white-clad little girl looked puzzled, utterly unable to understand why Xiao Yan was so thrilled—it was just a body technique evading an attack.

"Hey, what's so exciting about that?" the girl said, blinking her eyes.

Xiao Yan turned his head and smiled. "Of course it's worth celebrating—mastering a body Dou Technique! Come on, let's keep fighting!"

"Three Thousand Thunder—Thunder Flash!" Xiao Yan once again channeled his Dou Qi. Fortunately, his Burning Decree had evolved to Earth Rank, otherwise his Dou Qi would've been depleted long ago from such frequent use of Earth Rank Dou Techniques and the Heavenly Flame.

In a flash, Xiao Yan's body vanished—but this time, he slipped, skidded face-first, and slid right up beside the girl, leaving her speechless.

Is this guy an idiot?

Clearly, succeeding once doesn't mean success the second time—Xiao Yan still needed far more practice.

The girl was at a loss, feeling Xiao Yan was just there to make a fool of himself.

"Hehehe, just an accident, just an accident!" Xiao Yan quickly stood up, awkwardly brushing dirt off his backside.

Then Xiao Yan resumed battling the mysterious little girl. Fortunately, she held back and didn't intend to kill him—Xiao Yan kept testing his techniques, failing repeatedly.

In the end, naturally, Xiao Yan's Tian Huo San Xuan Bian timer expired, his body wracked with agony as he collapsed to the ground, his Dou Qi completely drained and defeated.

Xiao Yan lay on the ground, gasping wildly. Even with the Sheng Yan mitigating the side effects of Tian Huo San Xuan Bian, his entire body still throbbed with pain.

"Hey, you alive? If you die, I'll be in big trouble," the white-clad girl walked over, kicking Xiao Yan's arm with her foot—she showed some concern, but not much.

Xiao Yan struggled to move his arm, pulling a Healing Pill from his Storage Ring—it was a peak Five-Grade Healing Pill—which he immediately swallowed.

Instantly, the pill's power surged through his body as a warm current, easing his side effects, healing bruises and scrapes, and steadily restoring his Dou Qi.

"Elixir! You're an Alchemist?" the girl stared at Xiao Yan, eyes wide with longing as she asked.

Xiao Yan exhaled and sat up, frowning at the thoughtful little girl—he'd dealt with many beasts before, and this expression felt familiar.

"You're not trying to get me to brew a Transformation Pill for you, so you can switch freely between human and beast form, are you...?" Xiao Yan's gaze grew certain as he looked at her.

The girl's cheeks flushed slightly with embarrassment, but she nodded.

"If I try to transform on my own now, I'd need at least Sixth Rank or even Seventh Rank to do it autonomously—but with a Transformation Pill, I could do it much faster."

Xiao Yan rolled his eyes, exasperated. "Do you even know... uh, what's your name?"

"I'm Zi Yan. What about you?"

"I'm Xiao Yan."

After introducing themselves, Xiao Yan got back on track. "So, little sister Zi Yan—first, I'm not even a Seven-Grade Alchemist yet, just barely approaching Six-Grade. I can't brew a Seven-Grade Transformation Pill. Even if I could, a Seven-Grade High Elixir is worth having a high Seventh-Stage Beast fight for you once."

Brewing Seven-Grade Pills has never been easy. Xiao Yan's Alchemy skill isn't sufficient yet, nor is his Soul Force at Seven-Grade level.

Especially since the Transformation Pill is among the most advanced of Seven-Grade Pills.

Hearing Xiao Yan's words, Zi Yan grew despondent, lowering her head, curling her legs and hugging her knees, her white, even teeth biting her lip tightly—she looked pitiful.

Xiao Yan couldn't help feeling a pang of sympathy at her pitiful expression—but sympathy alone couldn't make him brew pills for free.

Xiao Yan slowly stood up, patted Zi Yan's head, and said: "I've got a team battle coming up soon—I need to head back to the Inner Court. Here's the deal: if you're willing to train with me, spar with me, I'll brew Five-Grade or lower Pills for you for free. With Pills to assist, your cultivation should accelerate faster—even a Dou King Pill, I can brew."

"As for the Seven-Grade Transformation Pill... I'd love to have one too, but I just can't do it yet."

Hearing Xiao Yan mention training Dou Techniques, Zi Yan suddenly remembered something, stood up, and looked at him. "If you promise to brew me a Transformation Pill, I'll tell you why you can't master that roaring Dou Technique you just tried."

"Huh? You know Dragon Roar?" Xiao Yan's expression changed, staring at Zi Yan in confusion—then it hit him: Zi Yan was a beast! Dragon Roar was actually a Beast Technique!

Do beasts have special methods for cultivating Beast Techniques, different from Dou Techniques?!

"Hehehe, if you promise to brew me a Transformation Pill, I'll help you," Zi Yan grinned, as if she'd caught Xiao Yan in a trap.

Xiao Yan sized up Zi Yan, skeptical but intrigued. "If you can help me master Dragon Roar, I'll promise you this: when I reach Seven-Grade High and can brew Transformation Pills, I'll brew one for you. I'm nearly Six-Grade—I'm confident I'll reach Seven-Grade High in three or four years. Deal?"

"Deal!" Zi Yan beamed and slapped Xiao Yan's palm.

Zi Yan gestured for Xiao Yan to bend down, whispering something secretly into his ear.

"Huh???" Xiao Yan stared at Zi Yan, who was still smiling, his expression strange.

He was now even more curious about Zi Yan's origins.

"When is that Xiao Yan guy going to show up?!" On the Duel Plaza, Xiao Yu's long, slender, smooth legs were exposed beneath her skirt, her face tinged with worry.

Xun Er gently patted Xiao Yu's handback and whispered: "Don't worry—Brother Xiao Yan probably just went to train his Dou Technique."

Today was the seventh day—the day Xiao Dian had challenged the thirteen Old Student Gang Alliance. The plaza was already packed, with three Elders seated early, waiting.

This team battle was prearranged, with Elders serving as witnesses.

The Inner Court always encouraged healthy competition among students—disputes were settled by cultivation level.

Han Yue, who had met Xiao Yan once, glanced at the sky, frowning slightly—she too was intrigued by this New Student who dared enter the Tian Fen Lian Qi Ta's sixth level, so she'd inquired.

The more she inquired, the more speechless she became—this guy was someone who refused to be taken advantage of and fiercely protected his own.

Demanding that Old Students return all the Fire Energy they'd seized—and even pay compensation—was unprecedented.

"Looks like this fight won't happen."

"What? Little Yue, you don't seem to think Xiao Yan will win?" Liu Elder, guarding the first level, asked with a smile.

He was also one of today's judges.

Han Yue didn't deny it, nodding. "Xiao Yan is strong—he's a Three-Star Dou Spirit under twenty. But the other side has two hundred people, and he's angered the Crack Mountain Gang. Though Liu Qing didn't show up, Yao Sheng is a Seven-Star Dou Spirit ranked seventeenth on the Strong List—Xiao Yan's chances of winning are extremely low."

Liu Elder nodded slightly, agreeing with Han Yue. "Hmm, I also think Xiao Yan's odds are slim, but I haven't ruled out his chance. That kid... how do I put it? Hard to say."

Generally speaking, a Three-Star Dou Spirit leading a group of New Students challenging two hundred Old Students—including many Dou Spirits and a Seven-Star Dou Spirit—is an overwhelming mismatch.

It looks like a one-sided battle.

Even a war of attrition could wear Xiao Yan down to death.

Meanwhile, sitting on the other side, Liu Fei still wore a fox-fur coat, basking in the admiration of the crowd.

"Yao Sheng, if you lose, you won't just lose face—you understand that, right?" Liu Fei said to Yao Sheng, who was sharpening his blade with a menacing sound.

"Relax, Fei'er, this time Crack Mountain Gang has only me and Reina—but even if it were just me, I won't lose." Yao Sheng curled his lips, a cruel smile spreading across his soft-faced expression.

On the other side, as the main force of this battle, the White Gang had mobilized everyone— even their boss, Bai Cheng, had joined the fight.

"Bai Shan, are you sure you won't fight?" Bai Cheng looked at his cousin in confusion. Knowing his cousin as he did, how could he possibly miss such a chance for revenge?

After much hesitation, Bai Shan finally shook his head and said, "Cousin, I… I think we White Gang should just call it off."

"Call it off?! Bai Shan, have they beaten your brains out?" Bai Feng, who had once been defeated by Xiao Yan, snapped.

He had only lost once to Xiao Yan, and he knew he truly couldn't beat him—but now, with this group and Yao Sheng from Crack Mountain Gang, this battle was surely a guaranteed win.

Bai Shan stammered for a long time, then still shook his head, too afraid to step forward.

Fu Ao glanced toward Xun Er's group and sneered, "But I think we might not even need to fight—Xiao Yan's probably hiding somewhere."

Fu Ao's voice wasn't quiet; many heard it. Seeing Xiao Yan hadn't appeared, people began murmuring among themselves.

"Xun Er, that guy hasn't come back yet—should we ask the Elder for a delay?" Hu Jia, dressed in a red dress beside Xun Er, watched the Xiao Sect members' morale sink due to Xiao Yan's prolonged absence, and a bitter smile crept onto her lovely face.

Xun Er slowly clenched her slender hand, her watery eyes narrowing slightly as she whispered, "It's fine. If it truly comes to it, I'll take Xiao Yan's place. This is the faction Xiao Yan built—I won't allow anyone to destroy it!"

After a while longer, Liu Elder walked over and asked, "How's it going? The time you agreed upon has passed—has Xiao Yan still not shown up?"

Xun Er shook her head, then slowly stood up and said, "Thank you for your concern, Elder. Let's begin. We don't need Xiao Yan to fight them."

Liu Elder and the two Elders beside him couldn't help but smile bitterly. Was arrogance contagious? How had even Xun Er become like this?

"Alright then—will you choose wheel combat, one-on-one rotations, or a group battle?" Liu Elder asked.

"We'll all go at once." At that moment, a voice filled with amusement came from the Sky!

Hearing the voice, everyone immediately looked up—and saw Xiao Yan standing midair, sporting a pair of fiery wings!

"Spiritual Qi Wings?!!"

Bai Cheng, Yao Sheng, and others all leapt to their feet. Has Xiao Yan become a Dou Wang in seven days?!!

"No—that's a Flying Dou Technique. Xiao Yan isn't a Dou Wang yet."

"Wait, who's the little girl beside Xiao Yan? Why does she look familiar?"

Xiao Yan descended slowly beside Xun Er with Zi Yan and said to Liu Elder, "Sorry I'm late."

(End of Chapter)