“Bastard!
I hate you, you rich brat…
you little stinker…”
The young girl gnashed her teeth in indignation, but she could only pull her long, shapely legs back.
After shooting Yan Qingshan a fierce glare, she sat down again.
The girl opposite Yan Qingshan was not very old, perhaps seventeen or eighteen.
Her face was quite exquisite, with slightly upturned thin eyebrows that gave off a faint air of defiance, much like a young female leopard of the desert.
This temperament, combined with her bold figure, provided a unique charm.
This desert flower was beautiful, but she was covered in thorns and had a rather foul temper—at least, she was very unpleasant toward Yan Qingshan.
Her attire was quite daring and fiery, somewhat resembling the hot cheerleaders from Yan Qingshan’s past life.
Her sexy, bronze-colored waist was exposed to Yan Qingshan’s view.
Having just woken up, Yan Qingshan wasn’t at his most composed.
His eyes were instinctively drawn to the scenery, wandering down from the delicate navel on her lower abdomen.
Beneath an equally short leather skirt, a section of her sexy, long legs rested not far from his hand.
It seemed that with just a slight reach, he could experience the enticing feel of those long legs.
“Heh…
little pervert!”
The girl naturally noticed Yan Qingshan’s gaze.
However, being bold by nature, she didn’t mind his prying.
Instead, a faint smile played at the corners of her mouth; she was actually quite satisfied that he was attracted to her.
Of course, the prerequisite for a man looking at a girl like this without being hated is that his own looks must be decent.
If he were a greasy, lecherous old man, he’d be called a hooligan in a heartbeat.
“Staring so intensely?
Want a touch?”
Yan Qingshan was slightly dazed when the girl’s red lips moved, and a seductive voice came from beside him.
A rounded, long leg was placed right next to his hand.
“Cough, cough…
this…
some other day, some other day.”
Yan Qingshan was no saint, and the scene was just a step away from physical contact.
However, the girl’s sudden change in attitude made him alert.
Catching a glimpse of approaching footsteps outside the door, he quickly straightened his posture and leaned back against the chair.
“Hmph…
a kid with the heart for it but no guts.
You only know how to bully little girls…”
The sexy girl retracted her long leg with some dissatisfaction.
A pale green figure carrying a basin and washing tools entered the room.
After crisply calling him “Young Master,” Qing Ling approached with the items to help Yan Qingshan freshen up first.
After gurgling through his morning wash, Qing Ling cleared the items and left.
She returned pushing a small cart, arranging various plates and dishes of food before departing once more with the cart and miscellaneous items.
With the morning routine completed and his state of mind adjusted, Yan Qingshan raised a cup of black tea toward the sexy girl.
After taking a light sip, he set the teacup down.
“Xue Lan, I assume there are results for the matter I asked you to handle?”
The girl opposite him wrinkled her nose in annoyance, but since they were talking business, she didn’t flare up.
She simply pulled out a scroll of a map from her side. This chapter is updated first at g.com.
“This is what you wanted.”
“I had to ask my father and several uncles, and look through many people just to get such detailed information about that area.
What on earth are you looking for?”
The girl’s name was Xue Lan, a local of Rock Desert City.
Born into a mercenary family, her household conditions were decent for mercenaries.
Her father was a middle-ranking member of a certain mercenary group and did not show favoritism due to gender, having cultivated Xue Lan with care since she was young.
Xue Lan’s talent was quite good.
She was a 9th Stage Dou Zhi Qi at not even nineteen years old.
Although she had failed to break through to Dou Zhe several times, she was currently at the peak of 9th Stage.
It was said she was preparing to make another attempt soon.
For her age, this level of cultivation would have no problem entering the Jia Nan Academy.
Of course, this talent wasn’t particularly outstanding within the Jia Nan Academy—at least, it was far inferior to the current Yan Qingshan.
“Thank you.”
Yan Qingshan took the map.
It was marked with detailed information about an area east of Rock Desert City, including specific terrain, water sources, and the types of Magical Beasts active in the vicinity, as well as the activity range of the Snake-People to the east.
“Hey, kid, what exactly are you looking for?”
Seeing that Yan Qingshan’s attention was entirely on the map with no intention of answering her, Xue Lan grew restless.
she leaned in close to him, trying to grab his attention, but she failed this time; Yan Qingshan didn’t even turn his head.
“This area—it’s not too cold at night, right?”
Yan Qingshan finally turned his head, but not because he was attracted by her beauty or figure.
Instead, he pointed at a marked sandy region on the map and asked.
“Uh…”
Xue Lan was visibly stunned.
But since Yan Qingshan had thrust the map right in front of her face, she could only take it and look.
“This area…
it seems so.”
“I once went there with my father.
When we stayed overnight, the sand was very warm, not cold like in other places.
However, there’s nothing there but yellow sand.
Forget water—there aren’t even mountains or rocks, let alone mineral deposits.
Some people tried digging down, but they only found more sand.”
“Is that so…?”
Yan Qingshan’s eyes shifted.
He took note of this suspicious location, as it was very likely his target.
Yan Qingshan had traveled all the way from the Magic Beast Mountain Range to Rock Desert City for two main purposes.
The first was naturally the high-potential Qing Ling.
The second was to find the location of the first Heavenly Flame the protagonist obtains in the original work: the Green Lotus Core Flame.
Currently, there were still several years before Queen Medusa would use the Heavenly Flame to break through.
According to the original work, Medusa attempted to evolve her bloodline and break through to Dou Zong six months after finding the flame.
This meant the Green Lotus Core Flame was still in its nurturing grounds.
Of course, Yan Qingshan had no designs on the Green Lotus Core Flame for the time being.
Although he had collected the materials for a Blood Lotus Essence Pill, he truly had no intention of obtaining a Heavenly Flame yet.
A Heavenly Flame is indeed a treasure, and even if not used to evolve the Flame Mantra, it is a rare gem of heaven and earth.
However, for a mere Dou Zhe—and a Wood-attribute one at that—it was practically useless.
Fire counters Wood; there was a fundamental elemental suppression. The source of this chapter is g.com.
Furthermore, this was a Heavenly Flame.
Forget absorbing it—he would likely perish just by getting too close.
What he wanted wasn’t the Heavenly Flame, but another item—or rather, a creature—residing in its hiding place: the guardian of the Green Lotus Core Flame, the extremely rare Magical Beast, the Two-Headed Flame Spirit Serpent.
The Two-Headed Flame Spirit Serpent generally grows in extremely hot places and lives by devouring magma.
It has massive potential for evolution.
At birth, it is only a 1st Rank Magical Beast, but if it has enough opportunity, it can evolve into a 6th Rank Magical Beast comparable to a Dou Huang.
The Two-Headed Flame Spirit Serpent at the nurturing grounds of the Green Lotus Core Flame was one such snake with sufficient opportunity.
Because it was the birthplace of a Heavenly Flame, the magma in that area was far superior in quality to ordinary magma.
This Fire Spirit Snake was already a 4th Rank Magical Beast.
Within the magma, its strength was even more formidable than a 5th Rank Magical Beast.
Of course, its luck was rather wretched.
First, it was wounded and driven away by Queen Medusa because it had to guard the flame.
Before it could recover, it was cornered by the protagonist.
After being subdued, it was ambushed…
its end was quite miserable.
The 4th Rank Two-Headed Flame Spirit Serpent was stronger than an average Dou Ling, but its beastly nature still overrode its rationality.
Generally, only 5th Rank Magical Beasts or those with high-rank bloodlines possess high enough intelligence to attempt to break free from the influence of their beastly instincts.
A Magical Beast below 5th Rank, while stronger than a human of the same level one-on-one, can still be defeated by a coordinated group if they target its beastly habits and calculate a plan, even if their overall strength is inferior.
But once a Magical Beast reaches 5th Rank, its intelligence is no lower than an ordinary human’s.
Those human tricks and schemes rarely work.
At that point, the Magical Beast exerts a one-against-many slaughter against humans.
Encountering a 5th Rank or higher Magical Beast without a powerhouse of the same level to stall it often results in the entire team being wiped out.
Yan Qingshan came from a humble background with no backing.
On this Dou Qi Continent, if you have no background or trump cards, it is extremely difficult to grow.
It wasn’t that if you avoided trouble and hid away, nothing would happen.
The world is unpredictable; as long as you are alive, you cannot avoid conflict.
Even if you live in seclusion, you might be pulled into grudges for various reasons.
Besides, Yan Qingshan was not one to seek a life of absolute avoidance.
It was because he knew hiding forever was meaningless that he chose to reveal his strength at the appropriate time.
The Lion Heart Baptism required many resources, and collecting them alone would have been incredibly difficult.
Such a large amount of precious materials would inevitably leave clues.
Rather than operating in the dark, it was simpler and easier to take control of the Thousand Medicinal House.
Since he had already revealed his strength, Yan Qingshan had to accelerate his pace.
Not having a background or trump cards wasn’t a problem; he could find and create them himself.
A fifteen-year-old Dou Zhe was definitely a genius.
With his current strength and talent, no faction in the Jia Ma Empire would refuse his entry.
However, he had no interest in the petty factions of the Jia Ma Empire.
He preferred something strong yet more free, and the Jia Nan Academy was a good choice.
Joining the Jia Nan Academy was a mid-term goal, so there was no immediate rush, as their recruitment only happened during fixed periods.
However, the other short-term goal—creating a backing and a trump card for himself—could be done.
A 4th Rank Two-Headed Flame Spirit Serpent, equivalent to a Dou Ling, was naturally powerful.
But knowing its specific situation beforehand, it was possible to successfully subdue it if he targeted it specifically.
Once the subdual succeeded, with a 4th Rank Magical Beast comparable to a Dou Ling, Yan Qingshan would truly have a playable trump card.
And once he had a trump card, he would have much more leeway in many matters, making further plans easier and more diverse.
(End of Chapter)