Chapter 189: Intentions, Resignation

Qing Lin was having a great time at the Inner Academy.

Every morning when she woke up, she would meet with Xiao Yi Xian to practice, then, she would finish mastering her Dou Techniques while Xiao Yi Xian focused mostly on controlling her poison.

A while back, Xiao Ming had approached and handed her the Inheritance Crystal with the Sky Serpent Secret Code, after a detailed explanation from Xiao Ming, Qing Lin couldn't help but jump for joy.

Although she did not show it on the outside, inside she felt that her cultivation speed could not compare to that of her sister Xian'er, who in a very short time had reached high-star Dou Grandmaster, while she was still at the Dou Practitioner realm. However, with the Inheritance Crystal bringing together a very high-level Qi Method and several quite useful Dou Techniques, coupled with the experience of people who had cultivated these techniques before, she felt it was only a matter of time before she would be able to help her Young Master.

In a matter of a few days of seclusion, she had exchanged the Qi Method previously given to her by Xiao Ming, for the Sky Serpent Secret Code, on top of that, she even got an initial mastery of it.

That was how powerful an Inheritance Crystal was.

All this added to the acceleration provided by the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower in her cultivation, causing her to break through to Dou Master in a very short time.

Usually, whenever she left the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower, Xiao Ming and Xiao Yi Xian used to wait for her outside the Tower to return to the courtyard together.

Knowing her sister Xian'er very well, Qing Lin had noticed the joy hidden in her usual calm personality and knew that most of that had to do with her increasingly close relationship with her Young Master.

She was sure that they only needed one last step to make their relationship a reality.

This also made her feel happy. Qing Lin, despite being the youngest among the girls, was the most sensible and empathetic among the three, so she knew very well her two sisters' feelings for her Young Master.

Although she also felt the same way, she did not seek to compete for his affection, so she was genuinely happy for her sister.

However, even if she thought so, she knew that her sisters might not be as receptive to each other in the future.

...

From the day he consumed the Yin-Yang Mysterious Dragon Pill, Xiao Ming's life returned to normal.

Every day, he studied alchemy or cultivated.

In addition to helping Qing Lin to delve into the Dou Techniques given by the Inheritance Crystal and Xiao Yi Xian to control her poison. From time to time, he would also go to the academy run by the Alchemy Department to tutor the students.

Whenever this happened, the classrooms of the Alchemy Department would be filled to capacity.

The reason he was able to cause this effect was that the people listening to the lectures, apart from those young students, were also the professors of the Alchemy Department.

Lectures given by someone of the caliber of Xiao Ming, a sixth-tier Alchemist, were attractive to any Alchemist below the sixth tier, and his teaching style was well received by the audience.

As a way for her to continue learning how to control her poison, Xiao Ming would take Xiao Yi Xian with him to the academy, as the knowledge of alchemy could be useful for her to discover new ways to use her poison.

Xiao Yi Xian's dream had been to be an Alchemist, so although she could not refine pills like the others, she was still very enthusiastic about the lectures.

The first time Xiao Yi Xian appeared at the academy, she caused a small stir, the current Xiao Yi Xian was undoubtedly the most beautiful woman in the Inner Academy. However, when they found out that she might be Elder Xiao Ming's partner, all the students were stunned.

They didn't know if Xiao Yi Xian was really here to learn alchemy, or was Elder Xiao Ming showing off his beautiful partner. Otherwise, couldn't Elder Xiao Ming teach her in private?

Whatever the reason was, after the first day, no one cared anymore.

Most of the young students who could enter a Xiao Ming class were true alchemy enthusiasts. So, no beautiful woman could compare to the knowledge of a sixth-tier Alchemist like Xiao Ming.

Besides, no one would be displeased that such a beautiful woman was listening to the lecture next to them.

In fact, if it was Xiao Ming, let alone a woman, even if he brought a harem of ten women, besides admiring Xiao Ming even more, they would remain unperturbed.

Only a girl who had just joined the Alchemy Department, with blonde hair and an extravagant pink dress, looked at Xiao Yi Xian with traces of hostility in her eyes.

When lecturing the students, Xiao Ming also took the opportunity to review what he himself had learned long ago.

Reviewing what he had learned in the past and learning new things.

Xiao Ming's Alchemy skills slowly improved during this time, gradually approaching the level of a seventh-tier Alchemist.

...

The first beauty of the Inner Academy had changed hands.

These were the rumors that came from the Alchemy Department.

When the students heard this, they thought it was a joke.

Most of the students had seen, albeit from afar, the Inner Academy's incomparable beauty, Han Yue.

She was a young woman in a silver dress, tall, with a face of a rare beauty, her skin was snow white, but what surprised the students most at the time was that her long hair, which reached her waist, was actually a rare silver color. Combined with her clothing, her very presence released a cold disposition that repelled people thousands of miles away from her, which is why she was described by all as an unattainable flower.

None of the students would think that there could be a more beautiful woman than her within the Academy.

That was until they met Xiao Yi Xian.

Brought by the legendary Elder Xiao Ming, she first showed herself before the eyes of all the Inner Academy students at the Strong Ranking Grand Competition.

As a way to control her poison, and with Xiao Ming's arrangements, Xiao Yi Xian obtained a place in the competition and when she appeared, she immediately won the adoration of all the male students of the Inner Academy.

Her appearance was like a fairy, with a gentle disposition and a captivating smile, she quickly bewitched all the students with her beauty. And with her incredible way of controlling poison, she even became the idol of many women.

The students of the Inner Academy came from all over the Dou Qi Continent, so they were much more receptive to a Poison Master than people from a small place like Jia Ma Empire.

So, although many rumored that she was Elder Xiao Ming's partner, since it was unconfirmed, a few brave ones who thought they would still have a chance emerged.

Among those brave ones, the one who stood out the most was Liu Qing, who had boasted on stage that he would get the beauty's heart.

.....

Finally, it was time for the battle between Liu Qing and Xiao Yi Xian.

Seeing the burly Liu Qing approaching, while trying to flirt with her in the middle of the battle, as if he thought that she would not attack him, made Xiao Yi Xian's usually kind eyes turn extremely cold.

What happened next chilled the crowd of spectators, with a single movement of her, one of the strongest-ranked students in the strong ranking fell to the ground with foam coming out of his mouth, his skin turning green, and his eyes rolled back in his head. His body kept convulsing all over the battle arena.

No one thought that the gentle fairy, who only attacked her opponents just enough to make them admit defeat, and even detoxified them after the fight was over, could become so cruel.

This caused the students who had previously been deluded that they would have a chance with her to have cold sweat pouring out of their entire bodies, their skins turning pale from the lack of blood. Not daring to have such suicidal thoughts again.

A rather beautiful girl with blonde hair and an extravagant pink dress, who was among the spectators, watched in shock at the scene happening in the battle arena.

Actually, in normal times, Liu Qing would not be so stupid as to try to flirt with Xiao Yi Xian, however, instigated by his beloved cousin Liu Fei, who claimed that there was nothing between Xiao Ming and Xiao Yi Xian, was that he got the courage to try to woo her.

That's right, Liu Fei, who was part of the Alchemy Department, had instigated Liu Qing to make a move. All because, during the alchemy lectures, she had foolishly fallen in love with Xiao Ming.

However, seeing that there was an extremely beautiful woman who was so close to him, made her, who since childhood had always gotten whatever she wanted, develop envy and jealousy towards Xiao Yi Xian, so she looked for ways to make that woman lose face in front of Xiao Ming.

So, when she learned that Xiao Yi Xian would participate in the Strong Ranking Competition, she didn't think twice and began to plan against her. And the first thing she did was to circulate rumors about the new number one beauty, seeking to antagonize Xiao Yi Xian with Han Yue.

This did not turn out as planned, instead, when they met in the arena, both beauties happily chatted with each other and Han Yue even publicly invited her to visit her newly formed "Moon Spirit" faction, in which a certain Xiao Yu had joined.

This had left Liu Fei speechless.

Finally, she had no choice but to send her cousin to "test the waters" and check the real relationship between Xiao Ming and Xiao Yi Xian.

After all, Xiao Yi Xian had just entered the Academy, she shouldn't be stronger than a powerful Strong Ranking student, right?

The rest was history.

In the main seats, looking at Liu Qing's tragic state, First Elder Su shook his head and turned to look at Xiao Ming, who was in the seat next to him.

"In just over three months, the speed at which the two girls you brought with you are cultivating has surpassed all Academy records, and not only that, this girl Xiao Yi Xian, with the cultivation of an eight-star Dou Grandmaster, was able to effortlessly beat Liu Qing, a Dou Spirit".

"Cough cough, however, she also has to learn to control her anger, If her toxins had been a little more intense, she could have killed Liu Qing". First Elder Su said with a frown.

"Don't worry, First Elder Su, Xian'er knows what she's doing." Xiao Ming replied nonchalantly, quite satisfied with Xiao Yi Xian's performance.

As the person who had instructed Xiao Yi Xian in her poison control, he knew better than anyone else the limit of it. And even though Xiao Yi Xian had become really enraged, she still controlled the intensity of her toxins, so that Liu Qing would not die immediately.

With all the resources Xiao Yi Xian had consumed over the months, the toxins from her poison could even affect a Dou King who did not have a detox pill. So just now she had already restrained considerably.

Right after Xiao Ming finished speaking, Xiao Yi Xian reluctantly detoxified Liu Qing, while her characteristic gentle smile showed on her face again.

This sent a chill down the spine of the rest of the fighters and spectators alike, and they decided to never underestimate her again.

First Elder Su watched Xiao Yi Xian's actions as he nodded, but in his mind, he recalled an event that had happened a while back.

It turns out that after he and the rest of the Elders had finished eradicating the forces that had joined Han Feng in attacking the Jia Nan Academy, Hu Gan had returned to the Outer Academy to report that he would be entering seclusion to try to break through to Dou Ancestor, but before he could leave his office, he was stopped by his granddaughter, Hu Jia, who questioned him about Xiao Ming's condition. After learning that Xiao Ming had been injured, Hu Jia heard no more and demanded to be let into the Inner Academy to see him, and after Hu Gan refused, she became furious and caused a commotion throughout the Outer Academy, which made the students terrified while the instructors didn't dare to get involved in a fight between the Deputy Headmaster and his granddaughter.

Hu Gan, unable to calm her down, could only travel to the Inner Academy and inquire about Xiao Ming, and upon hearing that he was still in seclusion, he almost pulled out his beard from stress, until, unexpectedly, Xiao Yi Xian offered to visit Hu Jia.

No one but them knew what things they talked about, however, Hu Jia did not cause any more trouble and waited obediently, and a few days after Xiao Ming was out of seclusion, he went to talk to her at the Outer Academy.

Thinking about the accident that almost left Hu Gan beardless, First Elder Su shook his head as a single thought came to his mind.

'Women in love are terrifying'.

.....

Without Zi Yan's participation in this competition, Xiao Yi Xian managed to take the first place in the Strong Ranking after defeating Lin Xiuya, earning the admiration and respect of all the Inner Academy students.

After this, Xiao Yi Xian and Xiao Ming visited Xiao Yu in the Moon Spirit faction, in which their leader, Han Yue, had made it to the top ten of the Strong Ranking.

Han Yue, despite looking cold on the outside, when it came to talking about her faction, she turned into a very talkative girl, which made her and Xiao Yi Xian get to know each other very quickly. And after learning the purpose of the faction, Xiao Yi Xian agreed to join as an honorary member.

Even if she was not present most of the time, just the name of the number one of the Strong Ranking was enough for the faction to grow smoothly.

Xiao Yi Xian also met Xiao Yu again, and the two of them became much closer, Xiao Yu even taught her some things she had heard from her good friend from the Outer Academy, and every time they talked about it, both of them would end up blushing up to their ears. Whatever they talked about at those times, for some reason, Xiao Yi Xian kept coming back to keep on talking about it.

A few days later, Xiao Yi Xian suggested to her little sister Qing Lin to join, and after she agreed, she took her to the faction. When the faction members saw the lovely Qing Lin, who was wearing a beautiful green dress, she was immediately surrounded and adored by everyone. Xiao Yi Xian saw this with a smile, the reason why she wanted Qing Lin to join would naturally not be for resources, but because they would soon not be able to accompany her for a period of time.

...

Such a quiet life continued until one day, three months after Xiao Ming's emergence from seclusion, was interrupted by an important event.

In the middle of Xiao Ming's courtyard hall, beside him, Zi Yan, Xiao Yi Xian, and Qing Lin were sitting on chairs in front of the table.

"Oh, Xian'er, did you break through to Dou Spirit?". Xiao Ming asked, sitting across from Xiao Yi Xian with a seemingly surprised tone, although inside he was already expecting something like this.

"Mhm, yesterday, after swallowing the Qing Fei Fruit you had given me, I broke through the nine-star Grandmaster Dou barrier and advanced two levels in a row to the two-star Dou Spirit." An extremely bright smile appeared on Xiao Yi Xian's face, and her beautiful eyes curved into a cute crescent shape.

"Sister Xian'er is so powerful!" Qing Lin, who was by her side, was also extremely happy when she heard this, Xiao Yi Xian took her as her little sister from the very first moment, and has taken care of her all this time, so naturally, she was sincerely happy that her sister became stronger.

Zi Yan, who was sitting next to Xiao Ming, put a blue pill into her mouth, chewed and swallowed it, and then said in a tone of an older person evaluating a younger one, "Not bad, it seems like you have been cultivating very hard."

Although she spoke in a flat tone, seeming not to care, her little legs that had begun to swing happily, and the smile on her face, told a different story.

Obviously, the little exchange of words they had had three months ago had not affected their good sisterly relationship at all.

Seeing Zi Yan wanting to look mature again, Xiao Ming couldn't help but pinch her tender cheeks, pausing until Zi Yan begged for mercy.

Satisfied, he turned to look at the amused Xiao Yi Xian and said, "The Qing Fei Fruit is effective even against a Dou Emperor, the toxin in it is really extraordinary to even make you advance two levels in a row, however, the higher the poison, I'm afraid it will be more difficult to try to find some equally effective herbs, so it seems to be time to leave."

"Leave… is it time to leave again?" Said Zi Yan, who, due to her puffy cheeks, spoke with an uneven tone, but that didn't stop her eyes from lighting up. She was tired of staying in the Jia Nan Academy, last time they hadn't been out for long, and she hadn't even had enough fun when they had to go back again.

And, to be honest, she missed the new friend she had made at the Jia Ma Empire.

So Zi Yan was quick to ask expectantly, "Are we going back to the Jia Ma Empire?".

Qing Lin also looked at Xiao Ming with some curiosity, she didn't know about Xiao Ming's plan to search for the Nether Poison Flame.

Xiao Ming, for his part, patted Zi Yan's little head as he shook his head.

"No".

"Woo..."

Zi Yan let out a groan of extreme disappointment.

Xiao Ming, who was very familiar with Zi Yan, understood Zi Yan's thoughts.

However, he also did not have the idea to change his mind, after all, they were going out with a goal in mind.

"This time, when we go out, we will look for the Nether Poison Flame marked on the map, with this Heavenly Flame, Xian'er's strength can soar to a very terrifying level in a short period of time, even Dou Emperor shouldn't be a problem." Xiao Ming lightly explained, to respond to Qing Lin's confusion.

His words instantly shocked Qing Lin and Zi Yan, and even the person in question, Xiao Yi Xian, was very astonished.

"Does this Nether Poison Flame really have such a powerful effect?" Xiao Yi Xian asked him in a low voice, a Dou Emperor was considered a true powerhouse in the North-Western Region.

Although Xiao Yi Xian's current cultivation speed was very fast, a Dou Emperor powerhouse was still an elusive realm in her eyes.

In front of her was Xiao Ming, who was known in the outside world as the most monstrous genius of the Jia Nan Academy, not to mention inside the Academy, where he was worshipped as an idol.

Although she had also become famous and had many fans, she subconsciously felt that it was not equivalent to Xiao Ming's achievements.

Even someone as talented as him had to cultivate for more than ten years to reach the seven-star Dou Emperor.

Zi Yan felt even more incredulous than she did.

The Dou Emperor she had been longing for so many years, having to rely on searching for medicinal herbs everywhere, was as easy as eating and drinking for her sister, who not long ago was merely a child in her eyes.

For a moment she felt a little unable to accept it and turned to look at Xiao Ming with pitiful eyes.

"Sigh, sometimes that's how the gap between people is." Xiao Ming shook his head, he wasn't lying.

In fact, he was still trying his best to minimize it a bit, so that it wouldn't be too shocking, since, in the Simulator, after obtaining the Nether Poison Flame, the speed at which Xiao Yi Xian cultivated would make anyone who looked at her cry in aggravation.

Some people could never catch up in their lives.

It couldn't be helped; the Woeful Poison Body was that powerful.

In fact, the Woeful Poison Body wasn't the most exaggerated.

It was those high-grade Dou Di bloodlines that were the most exaggerated.

In the Xuanhuan Worlds, a good bloodline was supreme.

Xiao Ming first waited a moment to let the three of them digest the information.

After a while, he continued, "The place where Nether Poison Flame is located is quite far away, so Qing Lin, you will have to stay at the Academy and train properly, do you want to go, Zi Yan?".

Qing Lin wanted to go with Xiao Ming and her sisters, but she also knew that with her current strength, she would only be a burden to them.

Zi Yan, for her part, nodded her head hurriedly, "I want to go, I want to go!".

She didn't want to leave Xiao Ming's side.

"Let's arrange it this way, we'll pack up later and leave tomorrow."

The girls did not object and, each with different thoughts in their heads left separately.

As they left their small courtyard, Xiao Ming went to look for Su Qian to raise the question of their early departure.

Xiao Ming was, after all, an Elder of the Jia Nan Academy, so this sort of thing still required First Elder Su Qian's consent.

...

In the chair, Su Qian looked at Xiao Ming's young face and spoke with a slight sigh.

"Are you going out again?"

"Mm."

"Young people need to go out and explore more to increase their knowledge. You are the most talented young man I have ever met and it would be a pity if you limit yourself to the Jia Nan Academy. However, your Master is still in seclusion, counting down the time, it won't be long until he gets out, won't you wait until he gets out before you leave?"

"No need." Xiao Ming shook his head, he had performed a dozen simulations in these three months, apart from obtaining another seventh-tier pill, the Yin-Yang Mysterious Dragon Pill, and an eighth-grade wind attribute Monster Core, he was also aware of his Master's exit time, which was still more than half a month away.

"About my Master, I would like to ask First Elder to convey congratulations on my behalf for his breakthrough into the Dou Ancestor realm".

"Haha, you sure have a lot of confidence in him." Su Qian smiled and shook his head slightly before adding, "I will convey it to him, is there anything else?".

Xiao Ming thought for a moment and took out a stack of bottles from his storage ring.

"These are the pills that the Academy tasked me to refine, and I have already managed to refine them all."

"Your efficiency in refining pills is much higher than your Master's."

"It is only due to Heavenly Flame." At Su Qian's praise, Xiao Ming shook his head modestly.

The Heavenly Flame augmentation in alchemy was so terrifying that it was difficult for someone who wasn't an Alchemist to comprehend it.

Taking his Master as an example, with the Sea Heart Flame, he would be able to at least double his success rate when refining pills, and the time he would take to refine them would be greatly reduced.

It is not for nothing that Heavenly Flames were so attractive to Alchemists.