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Hun Xiao sensed the danger and retreated a great distance like a rabbit.
She stared intently at the Heavenly Burning Training Qi Tower, her gaze filled with both fervor and vigilance.
"Hoh, it seems like a big fellow."
Su Qian's face was ashen; with the seal broken, suppressing the Fallen Heart Flame would be difficult now.
A hint of joy flashed in Xiao Yan's eyes as he secretly observed; the current situation was close to the best he had hoped for.
The Soul Hall and Jia Nan Academy were evenly matched, in a stalemate, and the Fallen Heart Flame had broken free.
"Xiao Yan, don't be impulsive. The more critical the moment, the calmer you need to be. Right now, you... our strength is much weaker than both of their sides," Yao Chen reminded him.
Xiao Yan smiled and replied, "Teacher, I know. If it's really not possible, giving up is fine."
"Grand Elder, what should we do?" Hu Qian asked anxiously.
Su Qian didn't answer immediately but looked at Hun Xiao, who shrugged and chuckled, "You all are busy; I'll just watch."
With that, she retreated far away.
"Damn it, is she trying to make us exhaust ourselves fighting the Fallen Heart Flame, to weaken us?" Su Qian cursed.
Hun Xiao could retreat immediately after releasing the Fallen Heart Flame, but Su Qian couldn't, because this was within Jia Nan Academy, and there were teachers and students around.
The Fallen Heart Flame had been imprisoned by Jia Nan Academy and used as a tool for so long; its hatred had seeped deep into its bones. Once it broke free, it would surely wreak havoc and seek revenge.
So, even knowing this was Protector Xiao's overt scheme, they could only bite the bullet and, while the Fallen Heart Flame had not yet emerged from underground, mend the seal.
"Follow me. Before it comes out, we'll seal it back."
Su Qian flew to the top of the collapsed tower body, looking at the deep passage below, and quickly formed complex hand Sealed Artifacts with both hands.
The other Academy Elders gritted their teeth and followed, dispersing in an orderly fashion, subtly forming a formation.
An invisible sound wave spread from below; this was the silent roar of the Fallen Heart Flame.
Then, a terrifying force surged from below, and the formation formed by Jia Nan Academy's Elders instantly collapsed.
Many Elders were swept away by the air current, flying backward, and even Su Qian retreated several steps.
"How can its power be so strong?" Su Qian's expression changed drastically.
He had never directly confronted a fully unsealed Fallen Heart Flame before. Previously, he had always relied on the formation left by Mang Tianchi to suppress it, so he hadn't thought much of it, assuming this was normal.
In fact, that last strike had already exceeded the original Fallen Heart Flame's power... This was the Amon version of the Fallen Heart Flame acting on impulse... Its power would fluctuate, depending on the specific situation at hand.
A colorless, transparent, seemingly Formless Fire Python slowly emerged from the dark underground passage, like a graceful giant dragon.
It was difficult to see the appearance of the Fallen Heart Flame with the naked eye; one could only feel the massive, scorching mass that caused the air around it to distort.
Su Qian raised his hand, held it over his shoulder, palm facing backward, and swung it back and forth, signaling the Academy Elders to retreat.
Before it fully broke free, he would try to mend the seal, but once it was free, in the presence of powerful enemies eyeing them, continuing to fight it would be inappropriate.
As long as the Fallen Heart Flame didn't actively attack the Academy's teachers and students, Su Qian was unwilling to provoke it.
Even watching the Fallen Heart Flame escape would be better than engaging in a fight that would allow the Soul Hall to reap the benefits.
The Fallen Heart Flame stretched its body, and the two distinct flame-like marks where its eyes should be flickered. It seemed to be surveying its surroundings.
Hun Xiao, Su Qian, and the Fallen Heart Flame remained motionless, resulting in a stalemate for a moment.
In the sky further away, red, yellow, green, and cyan... four colors of Dou Qi continuously intertwined and collided, emitting bursts of roars. Terrifying energy fluctuations spread, making everyone's hair stand on end. This was Qian Mu, Bai Lie, and Guardian Feng, Guardian Cheng engaging in battle.
Su Qian did not want to see too many casualties among the Inner Courtyard Elders, so he ordered, "All Elders below Dou Emperor go to the students' refuge to protect them. Dou Emperor Elders stay behind to support me..."
This made the slightly weaker Academy Elders breathe a sigh of relief...
Hun Xiao looked at the Fallen Heart Flame, which was stunned in place, and then at Guardian Feng and Guardian Cheng, who were entangled with Bai Mu and Qian Lie. She felt a slight urgency.
Guardian Feng and Guardian Cheng were helpers she had promised a price to find. They were willing to fight for her to a certain extent, but they would never fight to the death. Therefore, she had to resolve this situation before the battle over there escalated to a life-and-death struggle.
She thought for a moment, then revealed a sinister smile.
"Heh, I've got a good idea!" With that, she waved her hand, and a burst of energy struck the Fallen Heart Flame. Although not powerful, it was full of provocation.
The Fallen Heart Flame's distinct flame-like eyes flickered violently. As Hun Xiao had hoped, it distorted its body and charged towards her.
Hun Xiao stomped her right foot in the air, and a circle of air current generated beneath her foot. Her figure, propelled by this force, flew rapidly in one direction.
Seeing her direction, Su Qian's face changed drastically.
"You dare!"
The direction Hun Xiao was heading was precisely where the students were gathered for refuge!
He wanted to stop her, but his position was poor, making it difficult to catch up. Hun Xiao was closest to the students, followed by the Fallen Heart Flame, and then him.
Bai Mu and Qian Lie were also enraged by Hun Xiao's actions. In their eyes, the Fallen Heart Flame was not the most important thing; the more than a thousand students in this Inner Courtyard were the most precious things in the Academy!
Although they had retreated behind the scenes and didn't interfere much with Academy affairs, they were ultimately teachers who educated and nurtured people!
"Bastard!" Bai Mu roared, abandoning his opponent and charging towards Hun Xiao.
Qian Lie, on the other hand, used a secret technique, his aura suddenly surging, temporarily blocking the two helpers Hun Xiao had brought, who weren't using their full strength.
"Ah? Hun Dan?" Hun Xiao was slightly startled, then realized the other party was cursing her. She ignored it and accelerated towards the students.
Therefore, Xiao Yan, hidden in a thicket, held his breath and watched Hun Xiao fly overhead. Thanks to Yao Chen's soul power protection, he was not discovered by those Dou Ancestor powerhouses.
Following closely behind Hun Xiao was the enormous Formless Fire Python. Watching the Fire Python gradually close in, Xiao Yan's heart suddenly leaped... He saw the Fire Python's distinct eyes, also flickering, and its gaze was not fixed on Hun Xiao, but on himself!
His heart skipped a beat, then his expression changed drastically. His Purple Cloud Wings instinctively spread behind him, and a cyan flame rotated and wrapped around his wings, forming a pair of wings different from ordinary Dou Qi wings.
At the same time, lightning flickered on his legs, and a faint sound of wind and thunder emanated.
Flying Dou Technique, Dou Qi Transformation Wings, Three Thousand Lightning Movement... The superposition of these three increased his speed to an extremely fast degree.
The Formless Fire Python opened its large mouth and lunged down from high in the sky.
At the last moment, Xiao Yan retreated sharply, dodging the Fire Python's pounce.
Others couldn't detect Xiao Yan due to Yao Chen's soul power barrier, but the Fallen Heart Flame could!
There was a special connection between different Heavenly Flames. Xiao Yan could sense the Fallen Heart Flame underground through Mang Tianchi's seal, and the Fallen Heart Flame could naturally sense him in return!
This beast is truly cunning. It clearly discovered and targeted me long ago, but it just didn't show it, taking this opportunity to pretend to pursue that Protector and launch a sneak attack... Xiao Yan thought to himself.
Yao Chen let out a long sigh, "I also underestimated this Heavenly Flame and overlooked this point."
The Fallen Heart Flame, realizing its intentions were exposed, no longer concealed itself. It stopped pursuing Hun Xiao, distorted its body, and looked at Xiao Yan with greedy eyes.
"Is it trying to devour the Heavenly Flame within me?" Xiao Yan guessed.
Yao Chen responded, "Probably so. Heavenly Flames can devour each other, but it's extremely dangerous... It seems this fellow is the type that craves evolution more than it fears danger."
"Heh heh, it seems the hunter and the hunted aren't fixed after all." Battle intent gleamed in Xiao Yan's eyes.
Hun Xiao belatedly realized that the Fallen Heart Flame was no longer chasing her but had turned back to attack some unknown brat who had suddenly appeared. A hint of irritation flashed in her heart. Her plan had fallen through...
She had originally intended for the Fallen Heart Flame to attack Jia Nan Academy's students, forcing Su Qian and the other Elders to fight it, thus depleting both sides' strength.
As her gaze swept over the wings behind Xiao Yan, she understood the reason... Heavenly Flame! This suddenly appearing youth also possessed a Heavenly Flame!
A strong sense of crisis rose from behind Hun Xiao. She turned her head, her pupils contracting, as Bai Lie formed a hand seal aimed at her.
"Go!" Bai Lie, filled with killing intent, condensed an ancient character that struck towards Hun Xiao with unstoppable momentum.
Hun Xiao's figure suddenly became illusory, and a dense black smoke surged from her body, then erupted, shooting in all directions.
The ancient character imprinted on the black smoke, tearing a large hole, but ultimately failed to cover all of it.
A wisp of the outermost black smoke suddenly gathered, forming a human figure.
As this figure materialized, it immediately shot into the distance, putting distance between itself and Bai Mu.
"So troublesome..." Hun Xiao muttered. Her chest heaved continuously, and her aura was somewhat chaotic, clearly indicating that the recent secret technique had consumed a lot.
"Xiao Yan?" Su Qian, who had finally caught up, paused for a moment. Looking at the wings behind him, which were clearly different from his previous Purple Cloud Wings, and sensing his aura, he said with slight surprise, "You've broken through to Dou King?"
"Just lucky," Xiao Yan replied with a smile, cupping his hands.
Normally, Su Qian would have praised him happily, but at this moment, the Fallen Heart Flame was eyeing them menacingly. He said with a stern face, "What are you still doing here? Hurry to the refuge!"
Although Su Qian's tone wasn't good, Xiao Yan heard his concern for him, and his heart warmed, while a sense of guilt also arose.
He took a deep breath, suppressed his fluctuating emotions, shrugged, and showed a rather helpless smile:
"I want to go to the refuge too, but this guy seems to have targeted me. I can't bring it to my classmates."
"Heavenly Flame?" Su Qian also realized the reason the Fallen Heart Flame had suddenly changed its target, and he felt a headache coming on.
Now, even for Xiao Yan's sake, he couldn't avoid fighting.
However, on second thought, he felt this wasn't bad either. If it weren't for Xiao Yan, the Fallen Heart Flame might have been led to the refuge by that damned Soul Hall Protector, which would have been a true disaster!
Protecting one Dou King was much easier than protecting a group of Dou Grandmaster and Dou Spirit.
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