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

After responding to the Grand Elder, Chen Xiao turned his gaze to the nine people beside him.

It is evident that everyone, including Zi Yan, is still undergoing the tempering of the Heart Fire Origin.

Half of them were sweating profusely, clearly nearing their limit.

Even so, the time they spent undergoing body tempering was actually longer than his, which surprised Chen Xiao slightly.

"Don't overthink it. It's just a difference in attribute reactions. It's like throwing a piece of charcoal into ice and snow; it will cool down much faster than if you just threw it on the road. That's the same principle."

Having read the look in Chen Xiao's eyes, Su Qian chuckled and explained.

Chen Xiao nodded slightly, recalling the scene when the source of the heart fire entered his body, and couldn't help but fall into deep thought.

The mere wisp of the original heart flame of the Fallen Heart Flame, when fused with his ordinary ice-attribute battle qi at the Dou Ling level, was able to produce such a violent reaction, even giving him the illusion that his body would be torn apart at any moment.

If this were the Fallen Heart Flame itself, or even a higher-ranked Strange Flame on the Strange Flame Ranking, and if its own strength were further improved, and it refined more ice-attribute spiritual objects to enhance its battle qi intensity, what terrifying power would be unleashed when ice and fire came into contact under such conditions?

Just imagining it in his mind was enough to make Chen Xiao gasp in amazement.

terror!

That scene was absolutely terrifying!

However, it is just a hypothetical scenario. As Xun'er said on the night she left, it seems that among the strange flames on the Strange Flame Ranking, only the Bone Spirit Cold Flame can perfectly match her.

The rest can basically be disregarded.

The Bone Spirit Cold Flame is Yao Chen's lifeblood; obtaining it is no less difficult than acquiring the Burning Technique.

Therefore, we shouldn't have any expectations for now.

Although apart from the Void Devouring Flame and the Pure Lotus Demon Flame, none of the other Strange Flames on the Strange Flame Ranking are unique, the Dou Qi Continent is so vast that finding another Bone Spirit Cold Flame would still be extremely difficult.

And relying on advance payment to search for information about the Bone Spirit Cold Flame is probably not something that can be done in a short time.

Chen Xiao is currently only certain that the upper limit of advance spending will increase as his strength improves, but the pattern is unpredictable. He himself does not know what level he needs to reach to be able to advance items of a higher grade.

"What are you thinking about?"

Like a ghost knocking on the door, a childish whisper startled Chen Xiao awake.

Looking up, he saw that Zi Yan had finished her body training at some point and was standing in front of him with her hands on her hips, staring at him.

Chen Xiao's gaze shifted again, and he found that apart from Zi Yan, only three of the other eight people were struggling to hold on, while the other five stood quietly to the side with pale faces.

Judging from their expressions, one could roughly guess the outcome; they had probably all failed.

Only the little dragon in front of him remained in good spirits, showing no signs of having undergone physical training.

"Which clothes do you want to change into when you go back?"

Zi Yan gently pursed her lips, ignoring Chen Xiao's perfunctory attitude, and secretly gave him a wink, the meaning of which was quite clear.

Tell Old Man Su that I need to go to the Black Corner Region!

For Zi Yan, the inner courtyard was very leisurely, and the medicinal herb management warehouse was more like a self-service canteen.

But it's also very boring.

Looking at the little dragon man in front of him who wanted to force himself to endure the hardship, Chen Xiao nodded slightly and gave him a look that said, "Don't be impatient."

Su Qian watched their conversation and subtle interactions throughout, and couldn't help but shake her head and chuckle.

"The remaining three are all fire-attribute, and it seems that their body tempering has reached a critical moment. The chances of success are high. I'll take you out first and not disturb you here. If five people can successfully temper their bodies this time, it will be a record broken in previous years."

"I'm leaving the three of them to you."

Su Qian spoke to the two elders and, after receiving their response, waved slightly, leading the seven who had finished their business back the way they came.

Half an hour later, outside the Heavenly Flame Refining Tower.

"Zi Yan and Chen Xiao, come with me. You two go back first and practice diligently. Even if you fail to temper your bodies, after this experience, you will not encounter any more bottlenecks before advancing to the Dou Wang level."

"Moreover, while external help is important, one's own foundation is fundamental. Take Chen Xiao for example, the Heavenly Flame Refining Tower's effect of accelerating cultivation is almost useless to him, but he is still a nine-star Dou Ling now, no worse than anyone else. If he can do it, you can do it too."

Su Qian offered encouragement to the five people who failed their physical training.

It's clear that this elder not only treats Zi Yan well, but also shows great care and concern for the inner court students.

The five men glanced at Chen Xiao, nodded emphatically, then respectfully bowed to Su Qian before dispersing.

Chen Xiao and Zi Yan followed Su Qian to his study.

Su Qian sat down in the chair behind the table and spoke.

"Speak, what is it?"

Zi Yan glanced up at Su Qian, then lowered her head and remained silent, while her hand kept tugging at Chen Xiao's sleeve, urging him on.

Helpless, Chen Xiao had no choice but to comply with her wishes and stepped forward to explain the situation.

After Chen Xiao finished speaking, Zi Yan, who was usually fearless, became a little nervous.

Don't be fooled by her casual way of referring to him as "Old Man Su." In Zi Yan's heart, Elder Su Qian's status is currently unmatched.

"Can."

Zi Yan was mentally prepared to be rejected, to keep trying, to be rejected again, and to try again, but she didn't expect Su Qian's reply to be so straightforward that she felt like she was hallucinating. She looked up in disbelief, her expression quite amusing.

Su Qian chuckled, "You heard me right, I agree."

"However, I'm not reassured about you. I just trust Chen Xiao. After more than half a year of training, Chen Xiao has a thorough understanding of the rules of the Black Corner Region. I also pay close attention to the Black Corner Region, but I haven't heard any news about Chen Xiao. This is a good thing. You two can go on your training together. With him watching over you, I feel at ease."

Deep down, Su Qian never intended to restrict Zi Yan; he was happy to see her grow up.

However, in the past, Zi Yan didn't have many friends and couldn't find anyone to take care of her.

Given Ziyan's personality, letting her go out alone would be like letting a wild horse run free; she would easily lose control.

But things are different now. Zi Yan has made friends and they are training together. With Chen Xiao helping to take care of her, Su Qian is happy to see this happen.

Having understood what Su Qian said, Zi Yan was not entirely satisfied with the explanation, but the result was acceptable, so she decided to turn her back on Tian Gang and not hold it against him.

Seeing that Xiaolongren didn't speak again, Su Qian turned to look at Chen Xiao.

"Before the start of the Strong Ranking Competition, the movement technique you displayed was of extraordinary origin. It may be fine in the Black Corner Region or even the Northwest Continent, but if you go to the Central Continent in the future, you must not use it lightly, otherwise you may easily bring about your death."

Clearly, he recognized the Three Thousand Thunder Movements and knew that this was a closely guarded secret of the Wind and Thunder Pavilion.

This is also one of the reasons why Su Qian felt comfortable letting Zi Yan go out with him for training.

These two individuals, one possessing the power of the Three Thousand Thunderbolts and the other with an inconceivable talent in spatial manipulation, could freely enter and exit the inner courtyard's medicinal herb storage without being detected by the Douhuang elders guarding it.

With this combination, there are very few things in Black Corner Region that can threaten them.

Even if things go wrong, they can still escape.

Given the distance between Canaan Academy and Black Corner Region, as long as Chen Xiao and Zi Yan can hold out, Su Qian will be able to arrive soon after receiving the message.

Under these circumstances, Su Qian's decision to let Zi Yan go out was not without confidence.

"Thank you for the reminder, Elder. However, I am aware of this matter. I obtained the movement technique from a traitor from the Wind and Thunder Pavilion who came from Central Continent. I have already killed that person."

Chen Xiao nodded his thanks and did not hide anything.

He understood better than anyone the trouble that the Three Thousand Thunderclaps might bring; Xiao Yan in the original timeline was a negative example.

"Well done. When traveling, kill when necessary, especially in places like the Black Corner Region. Better to kill the innocent than let the guilty go free."

After praising him, Su Qian changed the subject and took out an exquisite wooden box from her storage ring that looked very familiar to Chen Xiao.

"Actually, even if you and Ziyan hadn't said anything today, as long as you made it into the top ten of the rankings, I originally planned to have you take her out for training. Although Canaan Academy is open-minded, it is still an academy after all. Ziyan can't stay here forever. She needs to experience life and death, learn about human relationships, and see more of humanity."

"This is a Heavenly Jade Fruit from the academy's collection. It can enhance the strength of a Dou Ling level cultivator by consuming it directly, and it can also be used to refine it into a pill for Dou Wang level cultivators. I'm giving it to you as a personal gift from this old man. You should find a reliable alchemist to process it in the future; it should be of some help in improving your strength."

In Su Qian's original plan, this Heavenly Jade Fruit was considered as payment for Chen Xiao taking care of Zi Yan.

However, he now realizes that the two have a very good relationship, and mentioning payment again would be too formal.

Therefore, I presented it in a different way.

Upon hearing the elder's words, Chen Xiao suddenly understood.

He had some doubts before. The rewards for the top ten on the leaderboard were the same every year, and there was never a free gift like the Heavenly Jade Fruit. Why was the advance payment for the top ten a guaranteed spot?

Moreover, after achieving a top-ten ranking, subsequent improvements were slow to materialize.

Until this moment, everything became clear.

This was exactly what he needed to repay his debt, so Chen Xiao didn't hesitate.

"Thank you, Elder!"

He took it with both hands, and the moment he touched the wooden box, the pre-existing information in his mind changed.

[Advance payment for subsequent completion.]

[Current number of advance payments available: 1!]