"If you don't want to do it yourself, I could kill Xu Xiaoshou for you." Lan Xinzi shrugged, causing her dress to slip even further down her shoulders.

"One of the thirty-three of the Inner Yard kill one of the Outer Yard disciples who just became the champion of the Contest of Wind and Cloud?" Zhang Xinxiong stared directly at her. "How would you do that?"

​​

"Assassination." Lan Xinzi raised her chin a little, and a sneering look appeared in her eyes. "You said it yourself. He's but an Outer Yard disciple."

"Heh, he's but an Outer Yard disciple, eh?

"Killing Xu Xiaoshou would indeed be simple, but do you really think you could fool the enforcer elder of the Spiritual Law Division so easily?"

"Kill him today, and you'd be executed tomorrow." Zhang Xinxiong smirked.

"So you're worried for me!" Lan Xinzi immediately flashed him a beaming smile.

"I just don't want to have myself cornered over someone like that." Zhang Xinxiong looked into the distance, a spirited look on his face. "The Tiansang Prefecture is nothing to me. Dongtianwang City is where the truly strong ones will fight in half a year."

Lan Xinzi stared at his chiseled features with yearning in her eyes. Zhang Xinxiong's mettle, which befitted a supreme overlord whom all submitted to, was what struck her the most.

She thought that it was quite a pity that he didn't fancy her at all.

Zhang Xinxiong turned around and looked at her instead, causing her to become flustered, then said in a serious tone, "Get someone to keep a close eye on Xu Xiaoshou. Remember, don't do anything rash."

"Sure," she said. "My Lord Master Zhang."

Lan Xinzi then snickered and asked, "More wine?"

"No. I need to head out."

"Where are you going?"

"None of your business."

Lan Xinzi's expression immediately changed, and she slammed the flask down on the table, shouting, "You're going to find that b**ch Rao Yinyin, aren't you?"

Zhang Xinxiong halted and slowly turned around. The look in his eyes made him look like he was about to eat someone. "Say that one more time."

Lan Xinzi backed away and fell on a chair.

Zhang Xinxiong's terrifying aura washed over her like a tsunami when he was angry. Despite being at Upper Spiritual Level just like Zhang Xinxiong, she still was unable to resist.

Yet, Lan Zinxi didn't just back off this time. She immediately stood up and shouted furiously, "You won't even be able to get inside her place. You've tried over and over. What's the point in doing it again?"

Zhang Xinxiong walked up to her with heavy steps. His expression was glum as he pushed her onto a chair and said slowly, "There are some things that are beyond you.

"You have good talents, and you're now part of the Inner Yard, so devote yourself to your training and forget about everything else.

"Know your place. You're but a servant of the Zhang family, a messenger…

"And nothing more."

Lan Xinzi stared at Zhang Xinxiong with a blank look in her eyes until the man was no longer within sight. Then, her stiffened body immediately slumped over, and she felt that her back was drenched in a cold sweat.

She then laughed at herself, realizing that the gap between them in terms of level and status was something that could never be filled in that man's eyes.

That fact had remained the same, even after she became one of the thirty-three in the Inner Yard.

Crack!

She then shattered the flask made of spiritual silver jade by sweeping it to the floor, and the fragrance of Murky Sage Brew immediately filled the entire place.

She stared at the pieces on the ground with teary eyes.

The very next second, she siphoned spiritual source and dried her eyes.

"He Yuxing!"

At that moment, a man came in from outside the compound. He looked dashing, and wore a sword at his waist. He looked like he'd been waiting for a while.

"Why do you have to do this to yourself?" He Yuxing's eyes, under those vibrant eyebrows of his, were filled with hurt and pity. He stepped on the wine and started picking up the pieces of the flask.

"Leave it be." Lan Xinzi waved her hand, and blue flames sprouted from the ground, causing him to back away.

"The flask was his, and I broke it."

"I know."

"Get me one that looks just like it."

"…"

"Will do." He Yuxing snickered bitterly and turned to look at her, but she was gazing far into the distance.

Just as Zhang Xinxiong never saw her as anything more, she too never regarded He Yuxing as anything more.

He shook his head to dispel his messy thoughts.

"A flask. That's all?"

"Of course not."

Lan Xinzi straightened her dress and rose, heading for the door.

"Kill someone for me."

"And that would be?"

"Xu Xiaoshou."

…

Asschhuumm!

"Who's talking about me?" Xu Xiaoshou thought.

He rubbed his nose.

If he had to name the prettiest girl he'd ever seen so far, it would probably be the woman in the red dress who went to the group matches with Su Qianqian that day. The woman had even shot him a seductive look when she left.

"She's probably the one thinking about me, eh…

"I wonder what her name is...

"Sigh. I guess being good-looking does come with the perk of being unforgettable."

Xu Xiaoshou shifted his focus. He had returned from the Spiritual Library Division and was currently spacing out on his bed.

That trip had been nothing short of mystical. He remembered the sympathetic look on Xiao Qixiu's face when he'd finished registering; the older man had been so sympathetic he'd even offered him words of encouragement when he left.

"Judging from Xiao Qixiu's attitude, that old man may actually be of a higher status. But Xiao Qixiu is already an enforcer elder, no? What could that old man be, then?"

"The dean?

"No, that can't be right.

"The dean is someone named Ye Xiaotian…"

Xu Xiaoshou rolled around on the ground. He was unable to get on the bed, as he would reduce the bed to charred pieces if he were to lose control, and that would be utterly terrifying.

The temperature on the surface of his body had already burned the blanket and sheets to cinders.

"Whatever. No more thinking about that d*mned old fart. Gets on my nerves every time I think about him…"

Due to all that had happened, he had to resign to his fate of becoming a guinea pig of some sort, as the old man seemed to be doing some kind of experiment with him.

Objectively speaking, there were pros and cons to it.

Xu Xiaoshou took out the jade scroll and pressed it to his forehead, extending his will to learn what was in it again.

"Infernal Heavens…"

That was an extremely special type of spiritual technique that didn't have a grade designation.

Yet, from his perspective, things that lacked a grade designation were probably the most formidable types of all.

In actual fact, this wasn't far from the truth. The prerequisite for picking up this skill was to have Innate-level Physique with the addition of a fire elemental treasure—the Infernal Fire Seed.

Training this skill was straightforward and simple. So long as one was able to withstand the might of the seed, one would gain the "Infernal Spiritual Source."

He was very familiar with Spiritual Sources.

When one was at Spiritual Cultivation Level 10, absorbing ambient spiritual energy would enable one to cultivate Spiritual Strength at one's energy reserve. After one had gotten to the Innate Stage, said Spiritual Strength would then become Spiritual Source and would amplify the might within by several times over.

That technique, which he was currently training in, would enable one to cultivate the unique Infernal Spiritual Source once one mastered it, regardless of one's level. It was indeed something fearsome and supreme, yet that was also a testament to the difficulty of acquiring it.

Xu Xiaoshou bared his torso as he sat cross-legged on the floor with steam emanating from him all the time.

He had actually yet to get into the zone.

According to the introduction, the longer the Infernal Fire Seed stayed in one's body, the more unstable it would become, which fitted his speculations.

This thing was indeed a time bomb!

He shot a glance at the red interface in his mind.

Passive Points: 48662.

According to his previous experience, internalizing that thing would require four to six hours, and getting through that stage would earn him a hefty sum in Passive Points.

"Alright. Time to eat it up."

Xu Xiaoshou steeled himself. While the pain was still there, having been through the process and succeeded once, he deemed that nothing untoward would happen, so long as he was cautious.

He even began to look forward to his transformation after the session was successful.

The fire elemental Infernal Spiritual Source.

That would be akin to having mastered Innate Elemental Powers of fire, man!