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**
Night fell. The moonlight spilled like water, quietly bathing the land.
Atop the cliff.
Before a small table, Wei Yang and Xiao Yan sat facing each other, quietly sipping tea.
A peaceful night and a calm cup of tea—such moments were rare and relaxing.
Swish!
Not long after, a patch of space nearby distorted slightly. A shadowy figure stepped out from within.
It was Ah Da. He landed silently beside Wei Yang and bowed, saying, "Master, it's done."
Wei Yang nodded without a word.
Xiao Yan looked over as well. Ah Da gave him a subtle nod and said softly, "Soul completely destroyed."
Upon hearing this, a wave of relief swept across Xiao Yan's face. He nodded in gratitude toward Ah Da.
There was no need for many words. Everyone already knew the fate Han Feng deserved.
In Xiao Yan's heart, it felt as though a heavy stone had finally been lifted.
Han Feng had to die. That was his bottom line.
A touch of sentiment appeared on Wei Yang's face too.
With Han Feng's death, this treacherous disciple's story had finally come to an end.
Yet within the storage ring—hidden from both Wei Yang and Xiao Yan—an old figure hunched silently, eyes closed, motionless. But behind those eyelids, his eyeballs trembled violently.
Sigh…
A barely audible sigh—tinged with sorrow, relief, and a mix of emotions—echoed softly within the vast space of the ring.
After chatting idly for a while...
"Brother Wei, I'm planning to leave in a few days—return to the Jia Ma Empire for a while," Xiao Yan said quietly as he looked at Wei Yang.
"So soon? I thought you'd wait until you at least stepped into the Dou Huang realm before going back." Wei Yang raised an eyebrow.
"That would take too long. I can't wait any longer," Xiao Yan clenched his fists slowly, his expression darkening. "The remnants of my Xiao Clan… my eldest brother… they're all waiting for me."
He shook his head, sighing. "I've only just broken through to the peak of Dou Wang two months ago. Right now, I'm still stabilizing. A breakthrough won't come quickly. Since it'll take time anyway… I've decided to return early and check on things."
"My blood feud with Yun Lan Sect and Hall of Souls… I can't even stand to wait a moment longer!"
As he spoke, his fist slammed heavily against the table in front of him with a dull bang. The veins on the back of his hand bulged from the force.
This long period of quiet development had become an agonizing test of patience for him.
"Oh." Wei Yang nodded.
Since Xiao Yan liked to fight above his level, so be it.
After all, with that ultimate move—Angry Buddha Lotus Flame—if he got serious and threw it out, even a Dou Zong could be silenced in an instant.
"Of course, Brother Wei, I'll still be relying on you to make the trip with me," Xiao Yan added sincerely.
With Wei Yang's strength, how could Xiao Yan not want to bring him along?
"No problem. I promised you back then, didn't I?" Wei Yang nodded. "Leave that old bastard Yun Shan to me."
"Haha! Good!" Xiao Yan laughed aloud.
The reason he had the confidence to return now was precisely because of Wei Yang's support.
"Brother Wei, I won't thank you with words—your help, Xiao Yan will always remember it in his heart."
He cupped his fists in gratitude, his heart moved.
Wei Yang had helped him many times already, and he had never forgotten.
"Heh, it's nothing." Wei Yang waved it off with a smile. "Just doing what I can. No need for thanks."
"Mm!" Xiao Yan nodded firmly.
"Oh, right—Brother Wei… about that Sea Heart Flame…" Xiao Yan rubbed his hands together, eyes starting to shine with heat.
"Stop right there." Wei Yang raised a hand to cut him off, rolling his eyes. "Do you have anything valuable to trade? I'm not giving you the Sea Heart Flame on credit."
"Uhh…" Xiao Yan choked for a moment and gave an awkward laugh—but he still stared at Wei Yang with hopeful eyes.
Beside them, Ah Da was visibly anxious as he glanced at Wei Yang and shot several fierce glares at Xiao Yan.
The Sea Heart Flame… Ah Da had been eyeing it too.
Xiao Yan could only lower his head and look away, pretending he didn't see anything.
He wouldn't argue over most things—but a Heavenly Flame like this? He wasn't about to give up that easily.
"You've still got the Wind and Thunder Fury Flame, don't you?" Wei Yang said, speechless. "You haven't even dealt with that one yet, and now you're eyeing my Sea Heart Flame? Don't you think you're being a little greedy?"
"And besides," he added, "You just devoured the Fallen Heart Flame. Even if you swallow the Wind and Thunder Fury Flame next, a peak Dou Huang-level flame like the Sea Heart Flame won't really do much for Flame Mantra, right?"
"It will! Of course it will!" Xiao Yan licked his lips eagerly. "As long as it's a Heavenly Flame, it's useful! The Sea Heart Flame ranks fifteenth—it's more than enough to trigger another evolution of Flame Mantra!"
"Besides, I plan to use the Sea Heart Flame to break through to Dou Huang. Once I reach the peak of Dou Huang, I'll use the Wind and Thunder Fury Flame to advance to Dou Zong."
Whether it was breaking through to Dou Huang or Dou Zong, both required a tremendous amount of energy. Without enough energy support, the time required for the breakthrough would be long and arduous.
Now that Flame Mantra had evolved into a Mid-Level Earth Grade technique, devouring the Sea Heart Flame would be enough to push it further to High-Level Earth Grade.
And with the Wind and Thunder Fury Flame, once he broke through to Dou Zong, Flame Mantra might even evolve into Quasi-Heaven Grade!
Quasi-Heaven Grade!
That was Xiao Yan's goal—his fastest shortcut to rapid growth in the shortest time possible. How could he not crave the Sea Heart Flame?
Growing stronger quickly—this was Xiao Yan's greatest need. He desperately needed power.
"You sure know how to dream big." Wei Yang shook his head with a light laugh. Then, after some thought, he said, "...It's not that I won't sell the Sea Heart Flame—but no credit. Unless you can offer me something that truly moves me."
"Uh…" Xiao Yan frowned slightly, then forced a bitter smile.
He was dirt poor right now. Where could he find a treasure worthy of trading for the Sea Heart Flame?
Besides, he knew very well—there weren't many things that could genuinely impress Wei Yang.
Still, he didn't want to give up the Sea Heart Flame, so he gritted his teeth and said, "Brother Wei, why don't you just tell me directly what price or item you want? That way, at least I'll have some direction to work toward."
"Hmm…" Wei Yang tapped the table with his fingers lightly. After a while, he finally spoke softly, "To be honest, I'm not sure what exactly I want. But if I had to name something…"
As he spoke, he glanced at Xiao Yan.
Xiao Yan's eyes lit up and he quickly said, "Brother Wei, feel free to speak your mind."
He wasn't afraid of Wei Yang naming a price—he was only afraid of him not naming one.
"Mm… you should know that my Black Sun Burning Heaven Flame is a Yang-type flame." Wei Yang said thoughtfully.
"I do," Xiao Yan nodded slowly. Of course he knew that.
"I've heard… that the flame ranked fourth on the Heavenly Flame Ranking—Gold Emperor Incinerating Heavenly Flame—is also a Yang-type flame…" Wei Yang paused deliberately.
"Gold Emperor Incinerating Heavenly Flame?!"
Xiao Yan's eyes widened instantly, almost bulging out of their sockets. He stared at Wei Yang in horror, his voice turning sharp. "You—you actually have your eyes on the Gold Emperor Incinerating Heavenly Flame?!"
Good lord, he nearly choked on his own saliva—and was almost scared half to death by Wei Yang's ambition.
Was this guy insane? Out of his mind?
He actually wanted to trade the Sea Heart Flame… for the Gold Emperor Incinerating Heavenly Flame?!
Even within the storage ring, Yao Lao—who had been silently eavesdropping—trembled and nearly tore out a handful of his beard.
Then his face turned utterly speechless.
He nearly rushed out to grab Wei Yang by the collar and roar: "What the hell are you thinking?!"
"Brother Wei, that's the Gold Emperor Incinerating Heavenly Flame we're talking about! Don't you think that request is a bit… outrageous?" Xiao Yan said after recovering from the shock, looking at Wei Yang in disbelief.
"Don't jump to conclusions. Hear me out first." Wei Yang raised a hand and explained, "I'm not asking for the main flame or its core essence. I only want a sub flame."
"A sub flame?" Xiao Yan finally let out a long breath.
If it was just a sub flame, that was… barely acceptable. But still, he couldn't help but smile bitterly in his heart.
Even a single sub flame wasn't something he could casually obtain.
In truth, a suspicion had long been buried deep within Xiao Yan's heart.
He had once seen Xun'er use a terrifying golden flame.
If he hadn't guessed wrong, that flame was definitely related to the legendary Gold Emperor Incinerating Heavenly Flame.
He had just… chosen to deliberately ignore and forget about that possibility.
Because if not, every time he faced Xun'er, he was afraid he wouldn't be able to stop himself from asking her directly.
But now, it seemed Wei Yang had likely made the same discovery.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have brought up this seemingly absurd request.
After all, this was the Gold Emperor Incinerating Heavenly Flame—one of the top five Heavenly Flames on the list. Even a single sub flame wasn't something ordinary people could ever hope to touch.
Still, it wasn't that strange. After all, Wei Yang was also from Wu Tan City and had lived there for many years.
Perhaps, at some point in the past, he had witnessed Xun'er secretly using the Gold Emperor Incinerating Heavenly Flame.
"That's right. A single sub flame of the Gold Emperor Incinerating Heavenly Flame—at the Dou Zong level." Wei Yang said seriously. "If you can promise me that, I can give you the Sea Heart Flame right now."
Hiss—
Xiao Yan sucked in a sharp breath, his eyes narrowing as he stared deeply at Wei Yang.
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