While in Battle Through the Heavens, one can pre-appoint oneself as an emperor.

Zi Yan was completely unaware that the so-called thief was standing right next to her, her little face full of resentment.

The amount of Earth Core Tempering Milk in the groove isn't even enough for her to drink in one big gulp, so how can she divide it?

Chen Xiao didn't reply. Purple Cloud Wings appeared on his back, and he flew up to the huge stalactite directly in front of the groove below. After a careful search, he saw a little bit of True Earth Core Tempering Milk inside the stalactite, like a speck of emerald green light on a raw stone.

This shows that although he had obtained both the genuine and fake Earth Core Tempering Milk in advance, the root of the problem was not severed. If it were nurtured over many years, it could continue to grow.

This is quite humane.

"The Earth Core Tempering Milk has the effect of cleansing the marrow and refining the bones. It is extremely attractive to unformed magical beasts. If they can obtain this, it will greatly help them in their future transformation. Now there is only a little left, so it is not of much use to you or me. If you want it, you can take some to try. I will not consider it."

After landing back on the ground, Chen Xiao looked at Zi Yan, whose face was filled with conflict.

Zi Yan nodded slightly, making a move to get her hands on the object.

Chen Xiao quickly grabbed her arm and took out a jade bottle and a jade spoon from his storage ring, handing them to her.

Zi Yan took it, and surprisingly did not collect all the remaining fake Earth Core Tempering Milk, leaving half of it, although it was only a few drops in total.

"I accidentally ate the Transformation Grass. Apart from the energy it contains, its greatest effect is no longer effective for me. I'll leave it for the big monkeys outside."

With a muttered sound, under Chen Xiao's gaze, Zi Yan poured the few drops of fake Earth Core Tempering Milk she had collected into her mouth, swallowed them in one gulp, and smacked her lips, still not quite satisfied.

"The taste isn't great, but the energy content is quite good."

Orally ingesting the Earth Core Tempering Milk seemed to have no effect on Zi Yan; she could even squint her eyes and offer a comment.

Without lingering, the two returned the way they came.

After emerging from the Snow Demon Ape's lair, Zi Yan kicked a white ape guarding the cave entrance.

"Big monkey, tell me, did someone get there before us?"

"Waaah~"

Hearing the Snow Demon Ape's excited shouts and gestures, Zi Yan looked suspicious, seemingly not quite believing it.

"What did it say?"

"This big monkey said that no one else has ever gone down there except for itself. It guards the cave entrance every day, and any magical beasts that come near the valley will be driven away by it," Zi Yan translated.

"It only barked twice, but said so much?"

"Communication in Warcraft is definitely different from that in humans."

"..."

Having achieved their goal, Chen Xiao and Zi Yan no longer had any intention of causing trouble for the Snow Demon Ape.

This big monkey is growing quite fast, and Chen Xiao plans to keep it as a training ground for himself in the future.

"Chen Xiao, why aren't you saying anything? What are you thinking about?"

After leaving the valley, Zi Yan noticed that Chen Xiao seemed distracted and asked him curiously.

Chen Xiao was naturally thinking about what he should borrow in advance.

A mid-level Earth-rank cultivation technique is more than enough; I won't need to worry about cultivation techniques for a long time to come.

Therefore, he should now improve himself in all aspects, including combat skills, realm, and the power of ice-attribute battle qi.

Meeting Zi Yan's curious gaze, Chen Xiao asked with interest, "Let me ask you a question. If you had a chance to fulfill a wish without paying any price—be it medicinal herbs, fighting techniques, or anything else you can think of—what would you do with that wish?"

"Of course, it's to exchange for more wishes!"

Zi Yan answered without hesitation, her decisiveness leaving everyone speechless.

After giving her a thumbs up, Chen Xiao abandoned his idea of ​​gathering wisdom. If he could really exploit such a bug, he wouldn't have thought so deeply about every advance payment.

Back in the inner courtyard.

Chen Xiao paid Zi Yan the reward for her help in advance: a Fire Lotus Seed.

To be honest, this price is a bit expensive. Given how rare the Earth Fire Lotus Seed is, it might be possible to hire a Dou Huang (Battle Emperor).

However, Chen Xiao is currently focused on investment, so he wouldn't feel bad about using his money on Zi Yan.

"Hehe, it was a pleasure working with you. Please call me again if there are any good opportunities like this in the future."

"Let's talk about it another time. Where do you usually live?"

"Old Su arranged for me to stay near the senior students, but I rarely go there. Most of the time I'm in the mountains, or near the inner courtyard's medicinal herb storage area..."

"Okay, come find me again after the Freshman Fire Energy Hunting Competition is over."

Zi Yan nodded, didn't ask any more questions, waved her little hand and disappeared from the spot.

Chen Xiao continued to consider the upcoming advance payment.

In his mind, there are three things that are currently available for advance payment and are suitable.

Firstly, the Earth-rank fighting technique that has been confirmed to have flowed into the Black Corner Region is Three Thousand Thunderclaps!

If he could master this technique and use it to his advantage, the combination of Earth-rank cultivation method and Earth-rank combat skill would dramatically increase Chen Xiao's combat strength and survival ability, giving him a true trump card to fight enemies beyond his current level.

Secondly, the Heavenly Cold Qi in Han Feng's hand!

This is a spiritual object, its value comparable to those rare flames ranked lower in the eyes of those with fire attributes.

If he could obtain it in advance and successfully refine it, it would greatly enhance the power of his ice-attribute battle aura, fundamentally improving him and giving him the ability to fight beyond his current level.

At that time, ordinary fire-attribute people will be completely suppressed by him. Even those who control the strange fires at the bottom of the strange fire ranking will not be inferior to Chen Xiao in terms of fighting spirit power.

Thirdly, the Heavenly Jade Fruit!

This is a rare medicinal herb that can enhance strength even when taken directly. If it is made into a pill using the Heavenly Jade Fruit as the main ingredient, it can be effective even for those at the Battle King level.

This item is in the library of Canaan Academy. Although Chen Xiao did not see it some time ago, Xiao Yan discovered the Heavenly Jade Fruit in the original timeline, proving that the medicinal material really exists.

"Let's see what happens next..."

With a thought, Chen Xiao's consciousness entered his mind.

【Three Thousand Thunderclaps: Advance payment available.】

[Follow-up to the advance payment: Six months of training in the Black Corner Region.]

...

[Cold weather: Can be borrowed in advance.]

[Follow-up to the advance payment:]

① Inform Han Feng about Yao Chen's whereabouts.

② Assist Han Feng in obtaining the Fallen Heart Flame from the Inner Court.

③Help Han Feng obtain the Azure Lotus Earth Core Flame.

④ Go to the Central Plains Pill Tower and inform Xuan Yi…

...

⑩ Try every means to kill Han Feng.

You only need to complete one of them.

...

[Heavenly Jade Fruit: Can be advanced.]

[Follow-up to the advance payment: Achieve a top-ten finish in the ranking competition eight months later.]

Chen Xiao had some understanding of the aftermath of the Three Thousand Thunderclaps and the Heavenly Cold Qi from the last time, and now, upon looking at it again, there were slight changes, but the differences were not significant.

As for the subsequent steps of the Heavenly Jade Fruit, the difficulty is not high, but it takes eight months to get started, which is too long.

"What I want most is the cold air, but the previous options are like asking a tiger for its skin. Han Feng doesn't have the same clan ties as Queen Medusa. His character is too bad."

"Going to Zhongzhou to deliver the message would also take a long time. With my current strength, if I encounter any enemy in Zhongzhou, it will be a life-or-death battle. Moreover, even if everything goes smoothly, there will be a lot of trouble to explain afterwards."

"Killing Han Feng would be straightforward, but he's a sixth-grade alchemist and a peak Dou Huang; each of his identities is extraordinary."

After careful consideration, Chen Xiao could only temporarily suppress his desire for the Heavenly Cold Qi and instead set his sights on the Earth-rank combat skill, Three Thousand Thunderclaps.

All this is because the cycle of three thousand thunderclaps in advance is, relatively speaking, the shortest.

Chen Xiao could easily have received another Heavenly Jade Fruit in advance after completing the rest of the project!

Having made up his mind, Chen Xiao did not immediately extract the Three Thousand Thunderbolts.

After all, he is currently in the inner courtyard, and if he wants to go to the Black Corner Region, he still needs Elder Su Qian's approval.