BTTH: From Genius to Invincible

Chapter 267 - 267: Underhanded Method

Word Count: 2,113 Words

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Within the Hun Realm, there existed a courtyard. It was an ancient place that seemed to have stood since the primordial era.

The courtyard bore the marks of antiquity; the timber used in its construction had long since become extinct. Despite this, the courtyard was considered the supreme sacred ground in the hearts of the Hun Clan members.

An overwhelming might permeated the courtyard, capable of suppressing all beings. Such a place was inviolable; any existence before it had to prostrate in submission.

This was the Soul Court—the residence where the Hun Clan's Dou God, Emperor Hun, once lived. Now, it served as the place where successive Clan Heads conducted affairs and resided, equivalent to the imperial court of the Hun Clan. It was the highest symbol within the Hun Realm.

"Xiao Clan, Xiao Yan?"

A man dressed in white stood by the fish pond in the center of the courtyard, scattering some fish food with his left hand. The koi fish in the pond splashed about, scrambling for the food. These koi were nothing special, just ordinary ornamental fish, not some magical beasts of special bloodlines.

From a distance, it looked like he was simply feeding fish, and in reality, he was indeed just feeding fish.

Hun Huzi nodded slightly. He had never dared to secretly keep the Tou She Ancient God's Jade, because the man before him was someone who stood on par with the heavens.

Hun Tiandi, the Clan Head of the Hun Clan, was also the only person within the clan who had cultivated the Emperor Soul Technique to perfection. His Spiritual Strength had even surpassed the Great Perfection of the Heavenly State and reached the Emperor State!

After emptying the feed, Hun Tiandi toyed with the Tou She Ancient God's Jade in his hand. He could sense a familiar aura from the past emanating from this ancient jade.

"After all the twists and turns, this piece of Ancient Jade has finally fallen into my hands. If Xiao Xuan had been willing to help me back then, perhaps today would be a different story." Hun Tiandi gazed into the pond below, lost in thought.

Back then, the Hun Clan wanted to annihilate the Xiao Clan not only because their Dou God Bloodline depletion was the most severe among all Dou God Clans but, more importantly, because Xiao Xuan's immense strength made Hun Tiandi uneasy.

The severe depletion of the Xiao Clan's bloodline was also for a simple reason. It was because the Xiao Clan's Dou God had become a Dou God the earliest among all; naturally, their Dou God Bloodline was the earliest to deplete.

Legend had it that the Xiao Clan's Dou God was the first Dou God on the Dou Qi Continent, making their bloodline the oldest Dou God Bloodline, and, naturally, the first to deplete.

Slowly shaking his head, Hun Tiandi casually tossed the Xiao Clan's Tou She Ancient God's Jade, and with a 'plop,' it sank into the pond.

"Clan Head! Is that Ancient Jade a fake?" Hun Huzi saw Hun Tiandi throw the Ancient Jade into the pond and was suddenly shocked.

Hun Tiandi gently shook his head, hands clasped behind his back, revealing a warm smile as he said, "No, it's genuine."

"But just as that young man from the Xiao Clan said, an incomplete Ancient God's Jade is as useless as a pebble by the roadside. Our clan's Tou She Ancient God's Jade is also in this pond."

If one looked closely, one would notice that at the bottom of the pond, scattered among various pebbles, there were two pieces that were different from the rest, as they had the texture of jade.

Moreover, one of them was already covered in moss; it had likely been in the pond for a very long time.

Hun Huzi swallowed hard. That was the Tou She Ancient God's Jade! To actually put it in such a place?? Although within this courtyard it was absolutely safe, wasn't this taking it too lightly, using it as a pebble in a fish pond!

"Pass on my order. Accelerate the collection of soul bodies to help the Nihility Devouring Flame cultivate the Emperor Soul Technique to perfection and elevate its Spiritual State to the Emperor State!" Hun Tiandi waved his hand, and a Spiritual Strength that covered the entire Hun Realm emanated from the courtyard.

A gentle smile appeared on his face, but a gleam of cruelty flashed in his eyes as he said, "An incomplete Ancient God's Jade is meaningless, so let's complete it. Ling Clan, Shi Clan—since you refuse to see reason, don't blame me."

...

News of Xun Er's departure naturally spread, and coupled with the eruption of the Fallen Heart Flame causing the closure of the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower that made most people idle, an uneasy mood spread throughout the Inner Academy.

"Sigh, the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower has been closed for a day now. First Elder and the others are inside the tower, and we don't know what's going on."

"Exactly, what's happening now?"

"I don't know. Could it be that we won't be allowed into the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower anymore?"

"No way!"

Countless Inner Academy students craned their necks and anxiously stared in the direction of the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower.

At this moment, Xiao Yan sat cross-legged in his room, regulating his breath. Thanks to Elder Tong Xuan's power, his injuries from using the Skyfire Three Mysterious Change had healed, but what he needed to adjust was his own heart.

Xiao Yan closed his eyes. In his mind, every smile and gesture of that young lady was deeply etched, as if carved with a knife.

He hadn't felt this way when Xun Er was by his side. Now that she had left, those feelings began crawling out from the depths of his memories, like tangled threads wrapping around his heart.

After half a day, he slowly exhaled and opened his eyes. His gaze had returned to its usual calm, but Xun Er's departure had taken away some of the gentleness.

'Now that I've reached the strength of a Dou King, it's time to leave this Inner Academy.' With Xun Er gone, Xiao Yan no longer had any attachments here. Only one thing remained unfinished.

His eyes narrowed slightly as he looked toward the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower. He hadn't forgotten his purpose in coming to Jia Nan Academy from the very beginning.

Meow~! Mao Wu jumped out from the void and gently scratched Xiao Yan's cheek with its little paw.

"Mm, let's begin."

Meow! (Roger!)

Mao Wu made a saluting gesture, then tore open the void and disappeared.

Xiao Yan turned his head to look at Medusa, who was sitting cross-legged on the Green Lotus, and said with a smile, "Your Majesty, it's time to wake up. Whether you can obtain a Heavenly Flame Body depends on today."

Queen Medusa slowly opened her eyes while sitting on the lotus platform. As she gently did so, it was like something out of a dream; her beautiful eyes could captivate one's soul, carrying the lazy charm of a beauty who had just awakened.

If someone with a weaker will saw those eyes, they might have already lost their soul, perhaps even had their mind controlled by her.

"Don't look at me like that; I don't have much self-control." Xiao Yan smiled, but his gaze remained clear, not the least bit bewitched by Medusa's naturally enchanting allure. Even though she possessed captivating beauty and an alluring figure, they had no effect on the current Xiao Yan.

Medusa glanced at him when she noticed he was unaffected. That clear gaze was something she had never seen in other men.

"Since I promised you, I will lend a hand. But my current body has only recovered to the Rank 6. Even if my bloodline evolution is completed, the strength I can exert is only around a 1- or 2-star Dou Ancestor." Gently brushing her hair, Medusa slowly rose from the Green Colored Lotus Platform, her jade-like feet stepping on the empty space.

"We aren't the main force anyway. The foundation of Jia Nan Academy can't be that shallow. We'll observe and act accordingly when the time comes." Xiao Yan looked toward the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower. At this moment, he already had a comprehensive plan in mind.

...

Meanwhile, in Feng City within the Black-Corner Region, Han Feng's eyes sharpened upon hearing his subordinate's report.

"Is that true?"

"Yes. According to information from our contact in the Inner Academy, there was a large-scale eruption in the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower more than half a day ago. First Elder Su Qian and all the elders have entered the tower and sealed it off. They haven't come out yet."

Han Feng abruptly stood up, his body erupting with a blue flame as he said in a deep voice, "Good! It's finally here! I've been waiting so long for this moment!"

If the Fallen Heart Flame remained trapped, even if he was a peak 6th-tier alchemist and could mobilize the experts of the entire Black Corner region, he wouldn't be able to forcibly seize it from the Jia Nan Academy.

But if the Fallen Heart Flame erupted, then Jia Nan Academy would be besieged from within and without. At that time, he would have a chance to take the Fallen Heart Flame.

Such an opportunity might only come once!

Generally speaking, no one would want to provoke Jia Nan Academy, but when the interest reached a certain level, people would risk even their lives to gamble, and a Heavenly Flame was worth his gamble.

"Han Beng!" he suddenly turned around and shouted in a deep voice.

A figure like a phantom flashed out as soon as his voice fell and finally appeared in the bamboo house, kneeling on one knee. Though his voice was hoarse, it was not lacking in respect: "Master, what are your orders?"

"Take these tokens and notify the Ground Fire Sect, Eight Gates, Black Skeleton's Tomb, and have their Sect Leaders come to Feng City within two hours. I have a matter that requires their assistance. Also, these two tokens—deliver them personally to that place. Invite the two gentlemen ranked first and second on the Black Ranking to come as well. Just say that I, Han Feng, have a request, and the reward is the Zong Breaking Pill." Han Feng casually flicked out several tokens with strange designs and tossed them to the kneeling figure. The latter swiftly caught them and, after storing them into his storage ring, two more tokens—one gold and one silver—were shot over.

Upon receiving the somewhat special gold and silver tokens with both hands, the always expressionless figure showed slight emotion and said in a low voice, "The Zong Breaking Pill! I believe Mister Gold and Mister Silver won't refuse."

Han Feng watched the black figure disappear and slowly exhaled; his eyes filled with fervent anticipation.

The forces were in motion!

...

At this time, at the bottom of the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower, the First Elder and all the elders were forming seals to suppress the Fallen Heart Flame. Although the Fallen Heart Flame was indeed formidable, the seal of a Dou Venerate was not so easily broken. The two sides had been in a stalemate for a day and a night, neither able to overcome the other.

"First Elder! This eruption of the Fallen Heart Flame is much more intense than before. I'm afraid that if this continues, one day we won't be able to stop its outbreak!"

First Elder Su Qian looked solemnly at the Fallen Heart Flame impacting the seal. Right now, they were just using temporary measures, not addressing the root cause at all.

In theory, the Fallen Heart Flame could continue to grow. Once it absorbed enough geothermal energy and reached a certain level, it might become unstoppable. At that time, the entire Inner Academy would become a purgatory!

"Let's suppress the Fallen Heart Flame first before we discuss further!"

"Yes!"

Just then, in a corner of the tenth floor of the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower, space slowly distorted, and a small cat's paw stretched out from the void.

With a 'zing,' several sharp claws extended from the cat paw; these weren't ordinary claws but rather black flames.

The cat paw flicked a bit of black flame with a whoosh. That tiny bit of black flame was like a spark, slowly drifting up and finally landing onto the seal.

Like a flame touching tissue paper, a tiny hole appeared in the supposedly impregnable seal!