Once Xiao Lin heard that, he nodded his head with a smile appearing in his face.

He then said, "But wow, you have a powerful Spiritual Energy that I can actually become envious of. Haha."

"Yea. Most people, if not everyone that hears about how special my energy is, become totally envious of it." Zhao Yu said with a smile appearing in her face..

"Hmm. That should be right" Xiao Lin said.

Zhao Yu nodded her head and continued, "As for the other characteristic of my Devouring Flame Spiritual Energy, it can turn anything that it engulfs into ice. I mean, solid, blood-colored ice that's absolutely much more colder than normal ice. Anything that makes contact it with it or enters a close range with it, will also turn into blood-red ice. And I have a feeling that it is kind of permanent. It wouldn't unfreeze or have it ice thaw under some heat."

"Well, except the heat of cultivators which are much more powerful than mine, should be able to undo or eliminate the near-irreversible and flash-freezing effect of my Spiritual Energy."

Immediately Zhao Yu said that, Xiao Lin looked at her with an astonished look on his face.

"Wow. So, you mean your Devouring Flame Spiritual Energy can either become a consuming burning fire or a chilling coldfire?" Xiao Lin asked to confirm the thought that had abruptly surfaced in his head.

"Yes. So, with just a simple thought from me, my fire can either burn or freeze, or do both simultaneously, that is it will burn and freeze at the same time. And nothing, I tell you, Li Huang, can escape the fearsome dual-elemental onslaught of my Devouring Flame Spiritual Energy. Haha."

"Therefore, because of that special and exceedingly rare characteristic that my Spiritual Energy possesses, I have always battled opponents of higher cultivation layers and even stages and then took them down with great ease."

"My challengers always scurry off like some colossal, invincible elemental beast was right in front of them to devour them whole. Haha."

"The female senior that I fought at the first examination ground, had to run away from me with expression of both fear and terror written all over her pale, swollen and bloodied face." Zhao Yu said with a smile on her face while Xiao Lin nodded his head with an impressed look on his face.

"Hmm. From the way that you speak, I have a feeling that you must be one incomparably ruthless female, right?" Xiao Lin said as he looked at her.

While Zhao Yu only produced a slight smile in her face. She then said, "Well, I can't really say if I am ruthless. But what I know is that I can be really ruthless and emotionless whenever I want to. As for now, this is the jovial and carefree me. You wouldn't want to see the other me, Li Huang"

Haha!

Xiao Lin giggled.

He then said, "Well, that's good, Zhao Yu. It's really great of you to be ruthless, cold, distant and aloof whenever the time for you to be comes"

Then still looking at her, he asked with a solemn look on his face, "But what I want to understand is why you are comfortable telling me all these. Especially about the dual characteristics of your Devouring Flame Spiritual Energy which you are supposed to keep as a secret to yourself, just so that it would serve as a great advantage to you anytime that you are involved in some battle with another person who isn't aware of the shocking exceptional properties of your peculiar fiery Spiritual Energy"

"Well, I myself can't actually understand why I felt comfortable telling you all those things that I said. But promise me that you will keep what I told you a secret." Zhao Yu said.

"Oh! Well, I don't know if I am good at keeping secrets, but just so you know, when we leave here, I don't think you will be seeing me again... Including everyone else in this sect, except maybe the elders, the teachers, some seniors, and a few of the disciples in the department that I will be taken to by the elder who has now fixed his eyes on me." Xiao Lin said.

"Hmm. I like that. Well, I don't mind the secret properties of my Spiritual Energy being in your hands" Zhao Yu said with a smile.

She then continued with a puzzled expression appearing in her face the next instant, "But why do say that when we leave this place, which is the exam ground, nobody would be able to see you again? Why is that?"

Haha!

Xiao Lin laughed.

He then said, "Well, I am someone that you can call 'ride alone, die alone', not 'ride together, die together'. I am a lone ranger. I like being only with myself. I like my own company, very much."

"Wow. That's really cruel of you to do that to yourself" Zhao Yu said with a solemn expression manifesting in her face and then shook her head.

"Well, that's the only way to grow stronger very quickly. I don't want to be pulled behind by people called friends. They would only slow me down. So, I don't want to be concerned about anyone but only myself and my abilities which I want to grow and develop fast so that I can handle everything that will be thrown at me, or come my way on my journey to become the strongest in our world." Xiao Lin said with a smile.

Although he said that with a smile, anyone who would hear, this will immediately strongly perceive the unbreakable intent and determination in his voice.

And as he said those, he could picture himself unleashing all sorts of powers to take down his father, who he believed still held his mom in captivity and treated her immensely bad.

"Well, you still need a company of friends, I mean friends of the same mindset. Only they can produce the pressure needed to push you to achieve your goals." Zhao Yu said as she gazed at Xiao Lin, who only shook his head and said, "Nah. I don't need them. The sounds and images in my head are enough to generate the pressure needed to push me to my goals. So, I really don't need them"

"Hmm. Well, I would like to become your friend. Since I can feel comfortable with telling you all that I should keep as secrets, then that should quickly mean to you that I have taken you as a friend. Therefore, in my own eyes, you are no longer a stranger, but a friend."

"So I want to become your friend, and you mustn't refuse or decline. Or I will fight you so hard till you agree" Zhao Yu said while Xiao Lin looked at her with a shocked gaze in his eyes.

"What? You would fight me for that?" Xiao Lin asked with an intensely surprised expression manifesting on his face.

"Yea. Since asking by mouth wouldn't work. Then asking via battle should work. We are going to fight like real enemies till either you or I give up and we make a truce and then become friends." Zhao Yu said with a really serious expression in her face.

And immediately she said that, Xiao Lin's eyes widened with great shock. He didn't know what else to say.

Then still looking at her, he asked to confirm if she was truly serious about what she just said, "Wait Zhao Yu, are you really serious about what you just mentioned to me? That you will intensely battle me like we are actual adversaries of each other and fight till anyone of us surrenders and makes a truce, then we become friends?"

"Exactly!" Zhao Yu said out loud.

And immediately she said that, her Devouring Flame Spiritual Energy which was actually blood-red in color, abruptly erupted out of her two hands and began to burn as brilliant blood-red flames on her two palms, which then began to generate both intense cold and heat of extreme degree at the same time.

"Wow. This girl is a maniac." Xiao Lin who was shocked by what she just did, said with his brows furrowed.

He then quickly said to avoid creating a scene here, "Alright, Zhao Yu. I will become your friend."

Once he said that, the raging blood-colored flame burning on her two hands immediately vanished like they weren't there in the first place.

And why they previously raged and howled like they were wrathful, instead of the peaceful and gentle nature of her peculiarly-colored fire, was because Zhao Yu wanted to go all out with Xiao Lin, who she felt would be incredibly strong since he was the first to arrive at this particular examination ground.

So, when the oddly-colored flames burning fiercely on her hands vanished, Zhao Yu whose eyes had also begun to brightly shine in the color of blood, but immediately receded after Xiao Lin mentioned that, looked at him with her lips curling into a smile.

She then said "Thank you!", while Xiao Lin only nodded his head and said "Don't mention."

However, a few moments ago when flames suddenly erupted out of Zhao Yu's hands, the elders who were looking at the people taking the comprehension tests to see who would stand up next after Xiao Lin, couldn't help but have their gazes attracted towards them. Then they began to wonder what had suddenly happened between her and Xiao Lin with deep pondering gazes in their narrowed eyes.