Chapter 418: Heirloom Jade Piece
Wu Hao’s hoarse, indifferent voice focused all of the gazes in the stadium onto the black-robed young man. These gazes were filled with a gloating feeling, expectations and all sorts of other emotions. Regardless of what it was, the sentence Wu Hao had just said caused Xiao Yan to be the focus of attention in the entire arena.
Xiao Yan’s gaze stared intently at the blood-robed human figure in the arena. His eyes narrowed before he immediately stood up slowly in front of the countless number of gazes. There was not the slightest hint of fear on his face, even when faced by the great strength of his opponent.
The two sets of gazes met in midair, and faint, powerful Dou Qi simultaneously surged out of the bodies of the two of them without any prior agreement. A slight energy ripple also spread out from the surface of the two people’s bodies. This was the phenomenon created by Dou Qi swiftly circulating within their bodies.
Seeing the two of them, who were steadily beginning to face each other with their force, the students in the surrounding viewing gallery immediately got excited. If these two people were to fight, it would definitely be a fierce battle.
Xun Er frowned slightly by Xiao Yan’s side. She opened her mouth. That hesitating manner of hers where she hovered before speaking, otherwise revealed her desire to stop Xiao Yan, but at the same time worried that if she was to speak, those students would think that Xiao Yan only knew how to hide behind a woman. Therefore, the words that came to her mouth were finally not voiced.
“Hee hee, fight. It would be best if the both of you end up suffering serious injuries and letting me save some energy.” Bai Shan coldly smiled and watched the two people facing off against each other from the other side of the viewing gallery.
“It would be really fun if they were to really fight. Unfortunately, that old fellow will definitely not let such a thing happen.” The red-clothed young lady placed her hands on the guardrail. Her gaze swept across Xiao Yan and Wu Hao as she said regretfully.
Seemingly accompanying her thoughts, an old cry suddenly sounded, just as the force of Xiao Yan and Wu Hao in the stadium gradually escalated. The voice suddenly shook the force that the two of them took much effort to raise until nothing was left.
“The both of you better follow the rules and not create any trouble. Now is the Qualifying Competition, not a place for the both of you to privately challenge one another!”
The force which the two of them had already brewed was forcefully shattered, causing Xiao Yan’s and Wu Hao’s bodies to tremble. Each of them immediately took a step back. They lifted their gaze and looked in the direction of the voice, only to find a white-haired old man, who carried a fury on his face at the middle position.
“That is the Deputy Headmaster Hu Gan. Other than the Headmaster, he has the greatest authority in the Outer Academy. Do not contradict him. Otherwise, it would not be good if you leave a bad impression.” Xun Er’s soft voice suddenly sounded by Xiao Yan’s ear.
Xiao Yan nodded slightly. His gaze paused for an instant on Wu Hao’s body in the arena before he lowered his gaze and slowly sat back down.
“Wu Hao, you will also withdraw. Tomorrow is the last day of the Qualifying Competition. When the time comes, there will naturally be an opportunity for all of you to fight with one another!” After seeing Xiao Yan pull back, Hu Gan’s gaze turned toward the blood-robed human figure in the arena and shouted.
Wu Hao knit his brows slightly when he heard Hu Gan shout. His eyes, however, were staring intently at Xiao Yan, who sat in the viewing gallery. The latter also looked back at him without any change in expression. After they exchanged stares for a while, Wu Hao shook his hand and the blood-colored heavy sword was placed into his storage ring. A hoarse voice was slowly emitted, “I hope that you will not disappointment me tomorrow. I don’t wish to see that the person whom Xun Er has waited for such a long time, to be a useless person.”
Xiao Yan smiled faintly, but did not reply. Once Wu Hao spoke these words, he, too, did not continue to stay. He turned around and walked out of the arena.
Seeing that the Deputy Headmaster had forcefully torn apart an intense fight that was about to break out, the students in the viewing gallery immediately shook their heads in disappointment.
“Alright. The competition will continue.” Hu Gan ordered, after breaking the two of them up with a wave of his hand
As the voice rang out, names were once again begin read from the judges’ seats.
During the next ten plus competitions that followed, Xiao Yan had finally personally witnessed Xun Er in a fight. However, after observing for a while, he helplessly shook his head. It was clear that this girl only displayed a portion of her strength to fight with her opponent. Even if this was the case, she obtained her expected victory after only ten exchanges.
Xiao Yan eyes watched that saucy-looking Xun Er, who had withdrawn from the arena, and rolled his eyes. Seeing this action of hers, Xiao Yan’s intention of analyzing her exact strength during her fight was dashed.
Not long after Xun Er fought, Bai Shan and that red-clothed young lady also came forward to fight once. The two people were indeed worthy of being the ones whom Instructor Ruo Ling had warned him to be careful of. The two people’s opponents were a six star Dou Shi and a seven star Dou Shi respectively. The six star Dou Shi, who had faced Bai Shan, was a little better. After ten plus exchanges with Bai Shan, he chose to take the initiative to admit defeat and ended up leaving the arena unharmed.
The opponent of the red-clothed young lady, on the other hand, was very unlucky. The two people finished performing the initial etiquette and before the judge’s voice could finish saying ‘begin’, the red-clothed young lady had already strangely appeared in front of her opponent. Her gentle, drifting palm contained a powerful force that caused people’s expression to change greatly. With a slap, she violently smacked the seven star Dou Shi, who had a Dou Qi cloak, out of the arena. After which, the latter continued rolling on the ground for over ten meters before he came to a miserable stop.
On the viewing gallery, shock involuntarily appeared on his face as he watched the red-clothed young lady’s sturdy action, which left some people speechless
After Bai Shan and the red-clothed young lady participated, there were not many interesting situations in the remaining competition. Therefore, after Xiao Yan, Xun Er had observed a few rounds, they chose to be the first to exit the noisy stadium. Xiao Yan and Xun Er slowly walked within the academy, enjoying this warm moment of being alone together, something which had been absent for the last two years.
The sky gradually darkened. Xiao Yan and Xun Er once again returned to that elegant home which belonged to Instructor Ruo Ling. When they returned to the house this time around, they met a familiar person, which Xiao Yan had remembered quite deeply back then.
There was a tall, young lady standing prettily in the living room. A pale-purple colored blouse, and a short skirt that placed the legs together undoubtedly exposed the liveliness and energy of the young lady. That face, which held some enchanting and pure characteristics, now appeared even more filled with temptation. Her large, watery eyes appeared as though they could speak.
The face of the young lady contained a smile as she looked over. She appeared to be muddling along quite well in the academy. Of course, with her appearance, there would be a large number of people courting her no matter where she went. However, this young lady, who usually appeared extremely calm in front of the men, anxiously stood up when she saw Xiao Yan enter. She then timidly called out ‘Elder Cousin Xiao Yan’.
After Xiao Mei stood in front of him for a while, Xiao Yan eyed that face, which was even prettier than in the past and now filled with temptation. He smiled and nodded but was not overly warm. Back then, when he had become a useless person, the young lady in front of him had chosen to avoid him, completely hurting his younger self. Therefore, Xiao Yan had a great resistance toward her. Although after two to three years, that kind of resistance had paled significantly, Xiao Yan did not reveal an overly warm expression. He accompanied Xun Er, Xiao Yu, and the others to chat with Xiao Mei in the living room for a while before randomly finding an excuse to stand up and return to his room.
The girls sat on the soft sofa and eyed Xiao Yan’s back as he slowly went up to the next floor. Xiao Mei bit her red lips tightly with the back of her teeth. Her eyes were filled with dismay and regret. After some things were done wrongly, there was no longer any chance to reconcile with him. Back then, before Xiao Yan had become a useless person, the relationship between Xiao Mei and Xiao Yan could be unceremoniously said to be comparable to that between Xiao Yan and Xun Er. However… ever since the genius fell from the sky, she chose a route that was in the opposite direction from Xun Er. Xun Er still stayed by his side and never betrayed him, while she was too realistic, cutting an extremely heart-breaking boundary between the two of them…
That boundary still had an eye-piercing crack line even now, regardless of how she tried to make-up for it.
Xun Er could only maintain silence as she eyed Xiao Mei’s gloomy expression. She understood Xiao Yan extremely well. This man, who appeared to be gentle, was peerlessly haughty within his heart. Xiao Mei had hurt him back then. Regardless of whether it was on purpose or not, intentionally or unintentionally, she would forever lose the chance to completely mend the relationship between the two of them.
No matter how a person, who had hurt him in the past, treats him in the future, he would have great difficulty accepting them. On this point, Xiao Mei was such a person, and Nalan Yanran was also this way. Back then, when Xiao Mei had chosen to alienate herself from her relationship with Xiao Yan, as well as when Nalan Yanran had come to the Xiao clan to cancel the engagement, Xun Er had said one sentence, “I hope that you will not regret this in the future…”
At this moment, the two women, whom had once hurt Xiao Yan, indeed regretted their actions. However, it was already too late. This man with a proud heart would no longer go and touch something which had abandoned him, nor would he think that it was worthwhile to do so.
Xun Er suddenly smoothed out her breath as she thought up to this point. She rejoiced a little at her choice back then. Otherwise, no matter how outstanding she was, it was likely that she would never break into that man’s heart.
Faint moonlight scattered into the quiet room from the window. Xiao Yan sat cross-legged on the bed. There was a slight fluctuation in the air around him. Threads of energy followed his breathing and entered his body. After which, they were refined into Dou Qi and stored within the Dou Crystal of his vortex.
This training continued for three hours. Only then did Xiao Yan slowly opened his eyes. A wisp of green-colored flame flashed past his dark pupils. It swiftly disappeared.
“There is an increasing amount of Dou Qi in the Dou Crystal. According to this speed, I should be able to reach a six star Da Dou Shi if I am given another ten days.” Xiao Yan clenched his fist as he softly muttered.
“Ah, my strength is still far from sufficient…” Xiao Yan frowned and waved his hand. An ancient jade piece appeared in his hand. The jade piece was entirely pale-green in color. There was a spot of light slowly swimming in it. This spot of light represented the life of Xiao Yan’s father, Xiao Zhan. If the spot of light was lit, it meant that his life was not in any danger, if the light spot disappeared, that was the moment when Xiao Zhan, including his spirit, had been destroyed.
Xiao Yan held the ancient jade piece. He felt a little absent-minded and sad. When he was young, regardless of whether he was a genius or a useless person, his father had never flashed him any unusual looks. At the time when there were eyes rolling and ridicule all over the clan, his father still maintained his pampering toward him. Each time when the Xiao Yan, who was a little boy, was injured, he would smile, pat the little boy on his shoulders and tell him that a man must be strong. Tears and dispirited feelings would not let anyone become a strong person.
All of this caused Xiao Yan, who had another matured spirit to accept him, place his father in an extremely important position in his heart.
“Father, I will find you.” Xiao Yan held the jade piece tightly in his head. His eyes had slowly become a lot colder. Regardless of what kind of great beings captured his father were, he would let them pay the price in the future!
As the emotions fluctuated within his heart, a wisp of green-colored flame rose from his palm. The sudden appearance of the green-colored flame caused Xiao Yan to be startled. Immediately, his expression changed drastically. With a thought, the green-colored flame swiftly disappeared. Xiao Yan hurriedly spread out the hand, which he used to hold the jade piece. However, he was stunned to realize that the ancient jade piece, which he originally thought was extremely weak, was actually able to resist the terrifying temperature of the ‘Green Lotus Core Flame’.
“This…” Shock flashed across Xiao Yan’s eyes. For the first time, he used a scrutinizing gaze to study this piece of ancient jade, which had always been passed down within the Xiao clan. According to the Elder, this jade piece was something old that only the clan leader had the qualification to hold. Even they did not know much about it.
Xiao Yan’s eyes carefully observed the ancient jade piece. He borrowed the moonlight and suddenly realized that under the shine of the moonlight, this jade piece seemed to have some extremely complicated and mysterious markings. Xiao Yan’s eyes observed it for a very long time until he started to feel dizzy.
Shaking his head, Xiao Yan shook off the feeling from his mind. The astonishment in his heart grew even more intense following his careful observation. This piece of jade did not appear to simply have the effect of storing a thread of the spirit of the clan leader as he had thought. Xiao Yan’s hand moved along the edge of the jade piece and slowly rubbed it. A moment later, his finger abruptly stiffened. When he rubbed up and down along the top edge of the jade piece, he realized that the edge at this point was different from the other sides. The other sides were naturally formed but this spot appeared to be like a whole piece of jade was forcefully split apart.
“What exactly is this thing? It appears that I can only properly ask the few elders the next time I return to the Xiao clan. The Xiao clan seems to have some things that we, the younger generation, do not know about.” Doubt rose within Xiao Yan’s heart. He stared at this ancient jade piece for a long time, but did not discover anything. He could only shake his head helplessly as he carefully returned the jade piece to his storage ring.
Not long after Xiao Yan stored the jade piece, the dark, black ring on his finger trembled slightly. Immediately, the illusionary figure of Yao Lao slowly drifted out.
“I do not sense the presence of the ‘Heavenly Flame’ in this Jia Nan Academy.” Yao Lao said somewhat helplessly the moment he came out.
“Uh?” The bad news that had suddenly arrived caused Xiao Yan’s expression to change immediately. He frowned and whispered, “Did teacher not say that it was possible to obtain news about the ‘Fallen Heart Flame’ here at the Jia Nan Academy?”
“Back then, I had indeed discovered the presence of the ‘Heavenly Flame’ in this region belonging to the Jia Nan Academy. Now, however, I do not have that kind of feeling.” Yao Lao laughed bitterly.
“Don’t tell me that it has ended up in someone else’s hand?” Xiao Yan expression was a little ugly. The ‘Fallen Heart Flame’ was a key factor for his strength to soar.
“I don’t think that is the case. Although I cannot sense the exact presence of the ‘Fallen Heart Flame’, the unique attraction between ‘Heavenly Flames’ allows me to use the ‘Bone Chilling Flame’ to vaguely sense that there is still a weak remanent presence of the ‘Fallen Heart Flame’ within a few thousand kilometer radius of the academy.
“Thousands of kilometers… until when are we going to find it?” Xiao Yan pulled at the corner of his mouth.
“I think that with those old fellows within the Jia Nan Academy, it is not possible that they did not discover the presence of the ‘Fallen Heart Flame’. I keep feeling that the Inner Academy has a little relation to this…” Yao Lao spoke slowly.
“Inner Academy?” Xiao Yan was startled.
“Yes, the Inner Academy is the true core of the Jia Nan Academy. If you can infiltrate it, I think we should be able to obtain some information about the ‘Fallen Heart Flame’. Yao Lao was quiet for a while before he suggested.
“Ah, I will try my best…” Xiao Yan sighed. Since he had already arrived at Jia Nan Academy, it was natural that he would not leave empty handed.
“Ah, I will seldom appear in the future. There is a strong person concealing himself around your little girlfriend. It is not convenient for me to appear for too long in order to avoid being discovered…” Once Yao Lao said this, his body swayed and entered the black ring.
Xiao Yan knit his brows slightly together when he saw Yao Lao disappear. He lifted his head and looked at the moon shining outside the window while muttering, “Inner Academy? Does that place really have the ‘Fallen Heart Flame?”
“I hope that it will not disappoint me.”