Gazing at the hint of fear that flashed across Lin Yan’s face, Xiao Yan was slightly taken aback. His brows furrowed, and a faint turbulence stirred in his heart. Since he had known Lin Yan, this arrogant fellow had never shown any fear towards anyone. Even when facing people like Lin Xiu Ya and Liu Qing, he merely held some admiration for their strength but never showed even a speck of fear. However, now, this Lin Yan, who was famous for his wildness in the Inner Academy, fell into silence at the mention of the first name on the Strong Ranking, and displayed such an expression. This made it impossible for Xiao Yan to remain calm.
“Hehe, I was just asking casually. Senior Lin Yan doesn’t need to take it to heart.” After a brief moment of silence, Xiao Yan smiled and gently placed his teacup down, saying, “Just a casual question.”
Hearing Xiao Yan’s words, Lin Yan’s expression eased slightly. He sighed bitterly and said, “That guy, I really don’t want to mention him. I’m sure you’ll see him at the big competition in a month. But let me warn you beforehand: if you encounter him in the competition, do not anger this guy. If it’s absolutely necessary, forfeiting is also acceptable.”
With a slight pursing of his lips, Xiao Yan nodded silently. Could that guy at the top of the Strong Ranking be so powerful? As thoughts flickered in his mind, Xiao Yan suddenly felt a bit curious about the first-ranked person. For Lin Yan to say such things, this must be a truly terrifying person. Does he have three heads and six arms?
“Hehe, but it’s not certain that you will meet that guy. If you want to break into the top ten, it will be at least ten times harder than defeating Bai Cheng. The top ten are all at the peak of Dou Ling, with extremely rich combat experience. They each have their own formidable fighting techniques, and their combat power is far beyond what Bai Cheng can compare to,” Lin Yan chuckled.
Lin Yan’s blunt words did not leave much face for Xiao Yan. Smiling bitterly, Xiao Yan found Lin Yan’s straightforwardness hard to deal with. He could only vaguely respond, “I will do my best.”
“How about we have a fight first? If you can defeat me or hold out for a few rounds, you might have a chance,” Lin Yan suggested, his eyes suddenly alight with eagerness as he looked at Xiao Yan.
Startled, Xiao Yan, seeing Lin Yan’s hungry expression, couldn’t help but feel a chill run down his spine. This guy’s love for battle was almost comparable to Wu Hao. He didn’t want to waste energy fighting a guy who would go crazy in battle. So he hurriedly waved his hand and said, “Forget it, forget it. I haven’t fully recovered yet. Let’s wait until later.”
Seeing Xiao Yan refuse, Lin Yan could only nod in disappointment. After half a month of training in the Sky Fire Refining Tower, he felt his hands itching, and he was eager to have a good fight with someone.
Seeing Xiao Yan’s expression, he quickly changed the topic and chatted with him for a while before eagerly finding an excuse to send him out.
Seeing Xiao Yan shut the door forcefully after sending Lin Yan out, Xuner couldn’t help but shake her head and smile. However, when Xiao Yan glared at her, she quickly put away her smile and said playfully, “I know, Little Brother Xiao Yan isn’t afraid of him, just worried about hurting him during a friendly match.”
“You can boast…” After being teased by Xuner, Xiao Yan awkwardly touched his nose. Glancing at the sky outside, he mused for a moment and said, “I want to go to Elder Hao. He manages the Inner Academy’s herbal medicine storage. I’m missing some important herbs, and if he has them, I will try to get some from him.”
Xuner nodded slightly and then asked, “You’re missing herbs? Our Pill Sect’s herb collection team has been established and has gone into the mountains several times. We’ve had quite a good harvest. Maybe we have what you need.”
Xiao Yan laughed bitterly. The herbs he needed were so rare that even he had never seen them. But he didn’t want to disappoint Xuner, so he mentioned the last herb he needed: the Dragon Whisker Ice Flame Fruit.
Hearing the name, Xuner frowned and thought for a while before shaking her head helplessly. She had checked the herb collection lists and hadn’t found this particular herb.
Seeing Xuner’s reaction, Xiao Yan wasn’t surprised. He smiled and, after saying goodbye to Xuner, darted out the door.
…
After leaving, Xiao Yan looked around and found a secluded spot. He summoned the Purple Cloud Wings and leaped into the sky, heading towards the freshmen area. As he flew over the entrance, he glanced down and, as expected, saw some nosy people guarding the door. He sighed and, with a flutter of his wings, transformed into a faint black shadow, disappearing into the night.
The Inner Academy was filled with strong practitioners, and Xiao Yan didn’t want to cause trouble. So, avoiding those who sought to challenge him, he landed in a sparsely populated area. Retracting the Purple Cloud Wings, he quickly headed towards the herbal medicine storage.
As the place where the Inner Academy stored precious herbs, the herbal management storehouse was heavily guarded. Not only was there a Dou Wang level expert, but also about a dozen mentors patrolling twenty-four hours a day. Students were generally forbidden from entering, but fortunately, perhaps due to Elder Hao’s instructions, when Xiao Yan was stopped by a patrolling mentor, he was not expelled but instead brought to Elder Hao.
“Ha ha, two months ago, you were already at the Dou Ling stage, and even defeated Bai Cheng, who is a six-star Dou Ling. You really are impressive,” Elder Hao, who was inspecting the herb storage, greeted Xiao Yan. He hastily set aside his work and instructed his subordinates to bring Xiao Yan in, clearly already aware of the events in the arena.
“Just lucky,” Xiao Yan bowed slightly to Elder Hao and smiled. After the mentor left, he whispered, “I came here to find a specific herb for a pill. I was hoping to see if I could find it. Ha ha, now that my strength has increased, I think my chances of successfully refining the ‘Dragon Strength Pill’ have improved.”
Staring intently at Elder Hao’s expression, Xiao Yan relaxed when he saw the latter’s face light up with joy.
“Ha ha, these herbs will eventually be taken by the old rogues of the Alchemist Guild under some pretext,” Elder Hao waved his hand, approached Xiao Yan, and patted his shoulder. “Xiao Yan, I won’t beat around the bush. If you can refine a pill that satisfies me, I will let you take one herb from the storage, how about that?”
Xiao Yan was taken aback. A herb for a pill that satisfied Elder Hao? This…
“Don’t think I’m taking advantage of you. If a herb is hard for you to find, it must be very rare. Such a high-level herb, in exchange for a pill, is not a loss. What do you think?” Seeing Xiao Yan’s hesitation, Elder Hao seemed to understand his thoughts and chuckled.
After a brief pause, Xiao Yan nodded slightly. If the Dragon Whisker Ice Flame Fruit, the last herb he needed, was indeed here, exchanging a Dragon Strength Pill for it would not be a loss. Otherwise, the deal might not be worth it.
“Alright, I agree, Elder.”
Seeing Xiao Yan’s agreement, Elder Hao’s face lit up with a smile. His forehead wrinkles smoothed out, and he tossed a white object. “This is where we keep the most precious herbs. Go look for what you need, and if you find it, we can make our exchange.”
Xiao Yan quickly caught the white object and, upon inspection, found it to be a jade plaque made of white jade. The plaque was intricately carved with various vivid herbs, and a faint medicinal aroma permeated, refreshing the mind.
“The Inner Academy really has a deep foundation, even using such rare materials for a jade plaque,” Xiao Yan murmured, holding the plaque. Without further delay, he turned and headed for the door leading to the herb storage.
“By the way, young man, remember to only look for what you need. Don’t touch anything else. The herbs there are marked with energy traces. Any movement, and I will notice,” Elder Hao reminded him as Xiao Yan entered. The herbs were too valuable to be left unguarded.
“Ha ha, Elder, rest assured. I am not greedy,” Xiao Yan smiled, understanding the elder’s reminder.
Elder Hao grinned, waved his hand, and returned to his chair, reviewing the herbal documents. Xiao Yan smiled and pushed open the door. Behind it was a wide corridor. Following the instructions, he walked to the end, where an energy shield glowed faintly. Glancing around, Xiao Yan saw a groove on the wall and carefully placed the jade plaque into it.
As the plaque was placed, the energy shield’s light dimmed and eventually disappeared. Retrieving the jade plaque, Xiao Yan looked at the wooden door hidden behind the shield, rubbed his hands eagerly, and stepped into the herb storage, surrounded by a fragrant aroma.
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