Battle Through the Heavens: Xiao Yan, I am your second master.

"However, that mistake just now made me realize how convenient it is to refine medicinal herbs with different kinds of fire. It's much easier without beast fire. Let's continue!"

Xiao Li emptied the residue from the medicine cauldron, then put another portion of the ingredients for the Douling Pill into the cauldron, followed by the transparent Fallen Heart Flame entering the cauldron.

Xiao Li controlled the intensity of the flames, and the Fallen Heart Flame obediently refined the medicinal herbs, turning them into a medicinal liquid.

Because Xiao Li's cultivation and soul power have both improved, and with the blessing of the strange fire, refining the Dou Ling Pill has become much easier. Previously, Xiao Li's success rate in refining the Dou Ling Pill was close to 50%.

To say it's 100% now might be an overstatement, but it's definitely 80% or 90% certain!

"open!"

Xiao Li used his battle qi to open the medicine cauldron, and then a unique celestial phenomenon characteristic of sixth-grade pills shot straight into the sky.

Then a bright green pill appeared before everyone.

"My God, such a celestial phenomenon, and the quality of this Spirit-Fighting Pill is top-grade!"

Unexpectedly, Xiao Li refined the Dou Ling Pill to the highest quality on his second attempt.

"I didn't expect the amplification from the strange fire to be so great. No wonder." Xiao Li stroked his chin and smiled. He could only say that it was indeed a treasure of the Dou Qi Continent, and its effect was truly remarkable.

The elders of Canaan Academy, especially those who had never taken the Battle Spirit Pill, were practically drooling as they looked at it.

"Ahem, mind your image, mind your image!" Su Qian coughed, realizing that his appearance was damaging to the image of Canaan Academy.

"The feel is good now, let's try the Imperial Extreme Pill directly." Xiao Li took out a jade bottle from his storage ring, poured out a Qi Cultivation Pill, and swallowed it.

Qi Cultivation Pill is a fifth-grade consumable pill. It can accelerate the recovery of Dou Qi for Dou Huang and even Dou Zong, and is considered a relatively high-level consumable pill.

Even ordinary Dou Huang might not be able to take Qi Cultivation Pills, but Xiao Li took them without hesitation. Perhaps this is a luxury unique to alchemists.

Afterward, Xiao Li began a long period of alchemy, and the next step was to refine the Imperial Extreme Pill, which he had never succeeded in refining before.

The Imperial Pill is a top-grade sixth-rank pill. Most sixth-rank alchemists cannot refine the Imperial Pill. An sixth-rank alchemist like Elder Wang, who can refine the Imperial Pill, is already an outstanding individual.

In the days that followed, numerous strange phenomena occurred at Canaan Academy, both large and small. These phenomena attracted many forces in the Black Corner Region to gather together, intending to launch a collective attack on Canaan Academy in order to seize wealth and power.

Led by the old demon of Demon Flame Valley, many powerful figures from the Black Corner Region headed directly towards the inner courtyard of Canaan Academy.

But what happened in the end? The old demon saw a guy who could give him nightmares appear there, and he was so scared that he wet himself and ran away without caring about his image.

Then, a perceptive expert from the Black Corner Region cupped his hands in the direction of Canaan Academy, saying that they had come to observe the celestial phenomena but had mistakenly entered Canaan Academy, and asked for their forgiveness before immediately fleeing.

The remaining cowards were all beaten to death by the elders of Canaan Academy, and their bodies were hung on the Death Tree in Peace Town.

The way is:

The Canaanite visions startled the Blackhorn, and the demons of the Blackhorn rose in a raging storm.

Demons gather to plot against Canaan, sharing in its glory and wealth.

The Earth Demon, with its sharp eyes, spotted the Heavenly Ruler and ran home without looking back.

Those with brains all agree that we are wrong; when disaster strikes, everyone flees for their lives.

They recklessly charged forward, amidst flashing blades and splattering blood.

A rope is tied to the tree of the dead, and from then on, brothers are bound together.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

The demons of Blackhorn invade Canaan; the intelligent flee, the mindless savages do. Amidst the flashing blades, blood splattered, and souls scattered, sworn brotherhood was forged on the Tree of the Dead.

(This is just a random limerick; the author isn't very good at writing, so just enjoy it for fun. The simpler part is mine, and the shorter part is mine, written by my group admin.)

"call--"

Xiao Li was completely absorbed in alchemy, his attention focused entirely on the cauldron, until he finished refining a Royal Extreme Pill, at which point he prepared to rest before continuing his alchemy practice.

Xiao Li looked up and saw that the elder was covered in blood and exuded a murderous aura.

"What happened?" Xiao Li asked, completely bewildered.

"It's nothing, just a few bugs flying around, but we've taken care of them now." Su Qian patted Xiao Li's shoulder. At this moment, Su Qian's left cheek and clothes were covered in undried blood, which looked rather eerie.

"Insects? Forget about it. After absorbing the Fallen Heart Flame, my alchemy skills have improved a lot. Before, I was probably only at the initial sixth rank level, but now my alchemy skills are at least at the advanced sixth rank."

Xiao Li was still concerned about his alchemy skills, as they were related to whether he could prolong Old Master Wang's life and elevate the Xiao family to a higher level.

"Hehe, Xiao Li is too modest. Your soul power has reached the late stage of the mortal realm. The next step is to reach the peak of the mortal realm. Oh, you may not know about the division of soul levels."

The soul realm is divided into four levels: Mortal Realm, Spiritual Realm, Celestial Realm, and Emperor Realm. The vast majority of people, even alchemists below the eighth rank, remain at the Mortal Realm in terms of their soul realm.

Your late-stage mortal realm is equivalent to a mid-level seventh-grade alchemist, except that your alchemy skills and battle qi level are still at the sixth-grade level.

You have a lot of room for improvement right now. In any case, you won't have any problems with insufficient soul power before you refine a mid-grade seventh-rank pill. Moreover, your soul power will increase again when you break through to the Douhuang level.

"Once you break through to the Dou Zong realm, tsk tsk tsk, your soul might even reach the Spirit Realm. Reaching the Spirit Realm means you're at the level of an eighth-grade alchemist."

Mang Tianchi introduced Xiao Li to some knowledge about the soul of alchemists.

"Thank you for your guidance, Dean," Xiao Li said, bowing with his hands clasped in thanks.

Chapter 43 The Canaanite Affairs Are Over, Returning Home

During the following period, Xiao Li devoted himself to studying alchemy, while Canaan Academy collected medicinal herbs for him.

Especially medicinal herbs of grade five or above, as long as they appear in the Black Corner Domain Pharmacy or are discovered by students in the back mountain, will be seized by the elders of Canaan Academy.

The entire Black Corner Region was filled with unease because of that incident, dozens more corpses had been added to the Dead Tree, and they didn't want to provoke Canaan Academy.

Rumor has it that the old demon of Demon Flame Valley has announced his departure for travel, and the valley has closed its gates. Some speculate that the mysterious dean of Canaan Academy has returned!

That's a Dou Zun powerhouse! He was able to sweep through the entire Black Corner Region. Now, all the powerhouses in the Black Corner Region are hiding, waiting for the storm to pass before they come out again.

For the next six months, Xiao Li immersed himself in alchemy, refining batch after batch of pills with the support of Canaan Academy.

They exchanged pills for resources that aided their cultivation, such as Xiao Li's newly acquired body-refining fighting technique, "Heavenly Burning Flame Demon Body".

The "Heavenly Burning Flame Demon Body" is a mid-level Earth-rank technique. The key is that it is a body-refining combat skill, which is quite rare. This technique was created a hundred years ago by a powerful figure named Flame Demon Venerable.

It absorbs various powerful flames and uses these powerful flames to temper its physical body, thereby forging a powerful physique no less than that of a magical beast.

This fighting technique is extremely suitable for people with strange flames to cultivate. Back then, the Flame Demon Venerable only possessed a powerful eighth-order beast fire and several seventh-order beast fires to refine the Flame Demon Body, making him virtually invincible when fighting against opponents of the same level.

Theoretically, this fighting technique has no upper limit. If one possesses a different kind of fire, then the strength of this fighting technique is equivalent to the high-level Earth Rank, since the power of different kinds of fire is beyond doubt.

The Flame Demon Venerable specifically mentioned that if someone possessed five different flames and cultivated the Heavenly Flame Demon Body, its power would probably be equivalent to a Heaven-rank combat skill, but the Flame Demon Venerable believed that this was impossible.

Upon seeing this, Xiao Li suddenly felt that the fighting technique was no longer appealing. So, he was just going to spar with him for now, and then leave it to Xiao Yan?

However, Xiao Li felt that the stronger Xiao Yan became, the sooner he could become a Dou Di, the better, because then he could finally relax and become a powerful ruler.

Xiao Li collected four seventh-tier beast fires at Canaan Academy, all of quite high quality. There were even eighth-tier beast fires in the library, but Mang Tianchi refused to give them to Xiao Li.

If he keeps taking from Canaan Academy, Xiao Li will take everything from it. Mang Tianchi left this eighth-order beast fire for the academy's outstanding alchemists. Xiao Li already has a different kind of fire, so taking this beast fire is really a waste.

Although Elder Huo was only a beginner at the fifth rank, he was the most dedicated and gained the most from observing Xiao Li's alchemy. Elder Huo plans to devote himself to cultivation for the next period of time, first raising his cultivation to the Dou Huang level, and then refining his alchemy skills.

"It's time to go home and visit." Xiao Li stretched and prepared to say goodbye to the Dean and the First Elder.

At the Grand Elder's place,

Quite by chance, Dean Mang Tianchi was playing chess with Elder Su Qian, but Su Qian was getting completely crushed. Despite Mang Tianchi's carefree and unserious demeanor, he is not only strong but also a very good chess player.

"Oh? Kid, you're here. You're leaving, aren't you?" Mang Tianchi said with a smile.

“Yes, I’ve been at the academy for two years now, it’s time to go home and visit.” Xiao Li nodded.

"Then go ahead. I will be staying at Canaan Academy for the next two years. If you encounter any difficulties, just come to me. There is nothing in the Northwest Continent that I need to fear."

Oh, and if you come across any promising young talents, remember to send them to the academy! Hahahaha!

Mang Tianchi was in a great mood after returning from this trip; he hadn't felt this relaxed in a long time.

"no problem."

"Huh? Xiao Li, are you leaving? No! What will I do if you leave!" Zi Yan rushed over and hugged Xiao Li's leg, almost bursting into tears.

"You're still young, so stay at the academy. When I come back next time, if your cultivation level is high enough, I'll take you out to play," Xiao Li said gently, patting Zi Yan's head.

"Okay." Zi Yan was completely deflated, looking listless.

Now that Zi Yan is about to advance in her cultivation level, probably within the next six months, Xiao Li thinks it's best to let Zi Yan stay at Canaan Academy for safety!

"Dean, can you tell what kind of magical beast Ziyan is?" Su Qian suddenly asked.

"I can't tell that the little girl has taken the Transformation Grass. Unless her cultivation reaches the seventh level, or she takes the Transformation Pill again to revert to her original form, I really can't tell what kind of magical beast this girl is."

"This girl must have a very high bloodline level. She was already at the fourth rank when you picked her up, and now she looks like she's about to reach the fifth rank. She's still in her juvenile stage, which means she can grow into at least an eighth-rank magical beast."

Mang Tianchi couldn't tell what kind of magical beast Zi Yan was either. There were so many magical beasts on the Dou Qi Continent; who could tell just by looking at her human form?

Zi Yan hadn't yet revealed her spatial talent at this point. Actually, even if she had, there were quite a few creatures in the Warcraft world with spatial talent, given the rich history of the Dou Qi Continent.

It's possible that Zi Yan is some kind of mysterious magical beast with a bloodline that has reverted to its ancestral form.

Apart from Xiao Li, who knew that Zi Yan was the Ancient Dragon of the Void, no one from Canaan Academy would recognize her.

Before leaving, Xiao Li prepared many pills for Zi Yan, enough for her to take for a while. After doing all this, Xiao Li took Xia Yilong back to the Jia Ma Empire.

. . . . . .

The Gama Empire, the Gama Holy City, the Xiao Family

"It's been a long time since I've been back. Home feels so good. Ah Long, let's go." Xiao Li led Xia Yilong into the Xiao family home.

"Stop! Who are you? Why are you barging into the Xiao family?" This scene appeared just as Xiao Li was about to enter the house.

He, Xiao Li! The young master of the Xiao family, the only alchemist in the Xiao family, and one of only two Dou Wang experts in the Xiao family, was stopped at the door.

"Haa~ Who dares to barge into our Xiao family? Hmm? Li! Li! Young Master Li? You've returned from your studies?" A middle-aged man yawned as he walked out, and was immediately surprised to see Xiao Li.

This person is named Xiao Che, a disciple of the Xiao family. He was originally a Dou Shi, but after Xiao Li appeared in the Xiao family, he became a Da Dou Shi. He is the gatekeeper, which means he is the head of the gatekeeper for the Xiao family.

Guarding the family gate is no small matter! The gate is both the face and the reputation of the family, making this a very challenging job!

Of course, this job is a lucrative one, with plenty of perks. Everyone knows that the Xiao family is one of the four great families in the capital, so there are many people who want to curry favor with the Xiao family. This gatekeeper job is quite lucrative.

Those who can serve as the gatekeeper are basically people with some status in the family, and the gatekeeper is replaced every three years.

Therefore, Xiao Che naturally recognized Xiao Li.

"Oh? It's Xiao Che. Long time no see. A four-star Great Dou Master, not bad. Keep up the good work. Alright, take us to see our elder brother."

Xiao Li stroked his chin and said with a smile, "He's not the kind of person who would act violently against someone from the same clan. We're all clansmen, what's the point of targeting clansmen? Isn't that just pure idiocy?"

"Yes, sir. This way, please, young master."

Xiao Che quickly led Xiao Li and Xia Yilong to the main hall.

Chapter 44 Reunion

"Hahahaha, little brother, you're back!" Xiao Lin gave Xiao Li a bear hug as soon as he saw him and picked him up.

Xiao Li is now eighteen years old, almost nineteen, which is already an adult in the Dou Qi Continent, but he is still a little bean sprout in his elder brother Xiao Lin's eyes.

Xiao Li is quite tall, standing at 1.85 meters, but Xiao Lin is much bigger, over 2 meters tall, with arms almost as thick as Xiao Li's thighs.

"Big brother, you've gotten more and more robust. But you also have a lot more gray hair." Xiao Li also noticed that Xiao Lin's temples were turning gray, his hair was mixed with some white hair, and his crow's feet and nasolabial folds had become much more pronounced.

"Sigh~ There are too many things to deal with as the head of the family, but fortunately the family is stable now, and we don't have to worry as much as before. Come on, let's have a good drink together, brother, until we're drunk!"

Xiao Lin put his arm around Xiao Li's shoulder and said with a big laugh.

“There’s no rush. Let me introduce you to someone. This is Xia Yilong, from Blackrock City. He was my classmate at Canaan Academy. Since he’s all alone, I invited him to join our Xiao family and want him to be our steward.”

Xiao Li introduced Xia Yilong to Xiao Lin, since Xia Yilong was quite capable and had good talent and cultivation. With careful training, he could become a Dou Huang in the future.

"Clan Chief Xiao." Xia Yilong bowed to Xiao Lin, who was Xiao Li's elder brother and the head of the Xiao family, so he had to be respectful.

“Xia Yilong, right? Since he’s Xiao Li’s classmate, you can call me Big Brother in private, just like he does.” Xiao Lin also noticed that Xia Yilong was no ordinary person; he was much younger than him and his cultivation had reached the six-star Dou Ling level.

He'll likely become a Dou Wang powerhouse in a few years. Since it was me who recommended him, it means I've already seen through his character, so I can use him.

"No, no, I wouldn't dare." Xia Yilong was a cautious person. Although his senior had given him face, he didn't dare to take it for granted. He would just keep a low profile.

"Hehe, it's alright. The family's steward is getting old and has worked hard for half his life. He should take a good rest."

"Xia Yilong, from now on you will live in the second room of the main house in the west wing of the family compound. The first room is the steward's residence. I will write a letter to him, and he will teach you about the steward's duties."

Xiao Lin quickly went to the desk, picked up a pen and wrote a letter of conviction, then stamped it with his seal and handed it to Xia Yilong.

“Take this letter and go find him. Treat this place as your own home. Our Xiao family doesn’t have those complicated rules. As long as you don’t betray the family, we don’t discriminate against outsiders. Just stay here without worry.” Xiao Lin patted Xia Yilong on the shoulder and said.