Chapter 33: Hun Lao Gui

Wealthy and arrogant!

Xiao Yan did not doubt it, because according to the books in his storage ring, the Dou Qi Continent had two most powerful organizations: one was the Soul Sect, and the other was the Dan Tower, formed by all Alchemists uniting to resist the Soul Sect's widespread abductions of Alchemists.

The Soul Sect was precisely such a powerful organization that all Alchemists had to unite for self-preservation.

The Heavenly Flame Ranking's most coveted flames, to the high-ups of the Soul Sect, might truly be nothing at all.

Undeniably, this was an evil organization, terrifyingly powerful.

Hearing the old man's words, Xiao Yan said nothing, only smiled slightly, politely thanked him, then turned and walked toward the wooden door, preparing to leave.

The old man, watching Xiao Yan prepare to leave, slowly said: "The second-ranked Heavenly Flame, Void Devouring Flame, is within my clan."

!!!!!!!!

Xiao Yan froze in place—could the second-ranked Heavenly Flame, Void Devouring Flame, truly be within the Soul Sovereign?!

The higher a Heavenly Flame ranked on the list, the more mysterious it was; especially the top few flames had only a single image and a few brief lines. The textual description of the second-ranked Void Devouring Flame was even scarcer than that of Pure Lotus Demonic Flame.

It was merely said that this flame was born from Space and could devour all things under heaven and earth.

Not only could no one find it, no one even knew what it looked like.

The first-ranked Heavenly Flame on the list was even more mysterious—its name was unknown, the description on the ranking was completely blank, utterly enigmatic.

"Hehehe, boy, since you possess Hun Xu Zi's Soul Token, I might as well tell you: if you have sufficient Alchemy talent, even if you are not of my clan, you may obtain a sub-flame of Void Devouring Flame." The old man dropped a bombshell.

Even though Xiao Yan knew the Soul Sect was an evil and dangerous place, at this moment, he could not help but feel a desire to join the Soul Sect.

The second-ranked Void Devouring Flame—what temptation could resist that!

Xiao Yan took a deep breath, calmed himself, then turned his back to the old man and asked: "As far as I know, Heavenly Flames do not have so-called sub-flames."

"The world is vast—how much do you truly know? If you wish to join the Soul Sect, return here and seek me. I am Hun Lao Gui." Hun Lao Gui's green eyes flickered once, then slowly closed, and he fell silent.

After Xiao Yan left the Soul Sacrifice Old Shop, the closed-eyed Hun Lao Gui muttered slowly to himself: "This boy carries an extremely faint Xiao Clan scent. If Xiao Xuan learned his clansman had joined the Soul Sect, I wonder what he'd think. Hehehe, interesting."

The next morning, Xiao Yan stepped out of his room and happened to see Xun Er stepping out of hers.

"Good morning, Xun Er. Did you kick off the covers last night?" Xiao Yan walked up to her and teased with a smile.

Xun Er chuckled softly: "Brother Xiao Yan is the one—you can't even fix your collar properly."

The two walked downstairs, chatting and laughing.

After all the New Students finished breakfast, a squad of Jia Nan Academy's Lion Griffin Flight Squad lined up neatly to transport the newcomers into Canaan City.

"Classmates, keep your newly issued Class Badges—only those with badges may enter the academy." Ruolin Mentor pulled out a sky-blue badge; outside the academy was a Barrier, and without a badge, one could not pass through.

What Xiao Yan hadn't expected was that Peace Town and Canaan City were so far apart—it took nearly half a day to fly, not counting the two or three hours of rest during the journey; they finally arrived at dusk, as the sun was about to set.

Xiao Yan, who had been meditating with closed eyes, suddenly felt something—he opened his eyes and gazed toward the distant horizon.

There, the vast silhouette of a city, astonishing in scale, slowly emerged in the golden twilight.

"This is Canaan City?"

"So huge!"

"What a beautiful sight!"

Even from high in the air, they could not fully take in the entire city—clearly, the city's area was immense.

Only Jia Nan Academy had the power to occupy such a vast expanse at the heart of the Black Horn Region.

At Canaan City's Flying Mount parking area, Xiao Yan slowly exhaled and stretched lazily—he swore he would reach Dou Wang rank as soon as possible and gain flight ability; his buttocks were numb.

Following Ruolin Mentor, all the New Students walked along the streets; the surging crowds made Xiao Yan secretly marvel—this level of population surpassed even the capital of the Jia Ma Empire; no wonder, as the oldest academy on the continent, its very name drew countless pilgrims.

Canaan City had no Lord's Mansion; at its center stood Jia Nan Academy. The city could largely meet students' daily needs; for hunting beasts, one simply left the city to find a vast forest rich in Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures, where students could freely hunt and gather medicinal materials.

"Alright everyone, you are now part of Jia Nan Academy. Your class is Yellow Class Two—you may choose to live in the class dormitory or within Canaan City," Ruolin Mentor gently told the newcomers.

The New Students recruited from Wutan City naturally formed one class; Xiao Yu, however, was a year ahead—last year's Inner Court Examination had seen her at only Second-Star Dou Zhe, so naturally, she had failed to enter the Inner Court.

"Everyone is tired. Tomorrow, be punctual for Yellow Class Two—I'll explain the Outer Court rules and the academy's Credits System."

Xiao Yan and the others had already heard from Xiao Yu about Outer Court rules—in the Inner Court, the most important thing was Fire Energy from the Heavenly Flame Qi Refining Tower, but in the Outer Court, the most important thing was Credits.

This Credits System differed from university credits—it was used to exchange for Cultivation Methods and Dou Techniques, and even some Elixirs, Magic Crystal Weapons, and practice room usage required Credits.

In the Dou Qi Continent's world where the strong ruled, there were no free meals—anything gained required payment.

Jia Nan Academy was no charity—it could not freely offer its Dou Techniques and Cultivation Methods. Completing academy tasks earned Credits, which could be exchanged at the Outer Court's Library Pavilion for Cultivation Methods and Dou Techniques.

Even cleaning the school daily earned a small amount of Credits, but the fastest way to earn Credits was entering the academy forest to gather medicinal materials and selling them to the academy for Credits, then exchanging them for Cultivation Methods and Dou Techniques.

"Ruolin Mentor, may I speak with you privately?" Xiao Yan asked softly.

"What's the matter, little genius?" Ruolin Mentor was in excellent spirits—with Xiao Yan and Xun Er as her two aces, this year's Yellow Class Two would surely be the most brilliant class.

"I want to enter the Heavenly Flame Qi Refining Tower as soon as possible."

Upon hearing Xiao Yan's words, Ruolin Mentor was not the least surprised. Had this year's Inner Court Examination not already ended, with Xiao Yan's current Cultivation Realm, he would have passed without issue.

Outer Court studies offered him little benefit; wanting to enter the Inner Court for cultivation was natural.

Ruolin Mentor looked troubled: "Xiao Yan, with your cultivation and strength, passing this year's Inner Court Examination wouldn't be difficult. Can't you wait a year?"

Xiao Yan shook his head—a year? Wasting a year at this point was impossible. And Xiao Yan's goal was not to learn Jia Nan Academy's Cultivation Methods or Dou Techniques—his goal was the Heavenly Flames!

Even though he knew his chance of swallowing a Heavenly Flame was slim, he could not bear not to try!

"Sigh." Ruolin Mentor sighed—geniuses were always troublemakers.

"Alright, your situation is indeed unusual. I'll discuss it tonight with the Vice Dean of the Outer Court and see how to handle it."

Being a teacher is too hard! I can't even rest after getting off the flying mount!