109: Five-star fighting master!

"Who...who are you?"

Hu Jia's voice was extremely hoarse, trembling in a way she herself hadn't noticed.

She even forgot her recent attempt to cripple Mo Yuhan, her eyes fixed solely on the azure figure.

Xiao Xuner didn't even turn to look at her.

She slightly turned her body, her clear gaze falling on Mo Yuhan, carrying a hint of imperceptible scrutiny.

"Are you alright?"

Her voice was like a clear mountain spring, calm and unruffled, yet possessing a strange calming power.

Mo Yuhan snapped out of his extreme shock, quickly shaking his head and suppressing his churning blood: "N-no...I'm fine, thank you, Senior Sister Xuner, for saving me."

His heart was also in turmoil; Xiao Xuner's strength was simply unfathomable, and that golden flame...it must be the Golden Emperor Sky Burning Flame, ranked fourth on the Heavenly Flames List.

"Xuner, thank you." Lin Fei ran over, still shaken, looking at Xiao Xuner gratefully.

Xue Mei also let out a sigh of relief, nodding slightly to Xiao Xuner in acknowledgment.

Mo Yuhan looked at Xiao Xuner, his heart filled with complex emotions.

It was her again; every time he fell into a crisis, she always seemed to appear in time, resolving it in a way he couldn't comprehend.

That understated blow...to what extent had her strength reached?

Xiao Xuner merely gave him a faint glance, saying nothing, as if her earlier action was just a casual move.

Her gaze swept over the lingering Xuan Huang Purple Flame aura on Mo Yuhan's body and his slightly pale face.

Nine years old, a three-star Dou Master, that strange fused flame, and the several Dou Skills he just displayed...this little boy she had been observing had even more astonishing potential than she had anticipated.

Her gaze calmly shifted to Hu Jia.

That gaze wasn't sharp, yet it seemed to possess a penetrating power that saw through everything, making Hu Jia feel as if all her pretenses and thoughts were laid bare.

"Within the Academy, you bully the weak, gang up on others, and even attempt to kill a fellow disciple."

Xiao Xuner's voice remained calm, but each word was clear, carrying an undeniable accusation, "If such despicable conduct were known to the enforcement team, I wonder if it would result in severe punishment?"

Hu Jia's face instantly flushed crimson, as if she had been slapped hard.

If anyone else dared to question her like this, she would have long since erupted in fury.

But at this moment, facing Xiao Xuner, she couldn't muster a shred of anger, only immense panic and an urge to explain and make amends.

"I...I'm not..."

Hu Jia stammered incoherently, her usual sharp tongue gone without a trace.

She looked at Xiao Xuner's impossibly perfect profile, at her eyes as clear and cold as stars, feeling her mouth dry and her heart's strange flutter growing stronger, almost bursting through her chest.

She even subconsciously put away her long whip, trying hard to force out a "friendly" smile, but the smile was stiff beyond belief.

"I...I'm Hu Jia, the granddaughter of Vice President Hu Qian of the Outer Courtyard!"

She almost eagerly announced her identity, as if this status could give her more presence before Xiao Xuner, "That was...that was a misunderstanding! Yes, a misunderstanding! It was all those idiots who acted on their own!"

She unhesitatingly pushed the blame onto her subordinates who were still groaning on the ground.

Xiao Xuner was noncommittal about this.

She merely gave Hu Jia a faint glance, her eyes calm and unruffled, as if looking at something unimportant.

"Take your people and leave."

Her tone held no command, yet it carried an irresistible will.

Hu Jia trembled all over.

Under that gaze, she felt an inexplicable chill, as if all her thoughts had been seen through.

But even stronger was the ineffable flutter in her heart and a nearly subservient desire to please.

She dared not say another word, nor even look at Xiao Xuner's face, which made her flustered; she just nodded frantically.

"Go! Hurry!"

She roared at her groaning subordinates on the ground, her voice carrying a hint of imperceptible trembling.

The few female students struggled to get up, supporting each other, and under the gaze of countless complex eyes, they awkwardly followed the suddenly "docile" Hu Jia, like defeated roosters, quickly leaving the training ground without daring to look back.

A disturbance thus ended in such a dramatic fashion.

Xiao Xuner's gaze lingered for a moment on the lingering Xuan Huang Purple Flame aura on Mo Yuhan's body, and a faint golden gleam seemed to flash in her deep eyes, so fast that no one noticed.

"Your foundation is well-laid, but Canaan Academy is full of hidden talents. While it's good to show your edge, you also need to know when to conceal it and play it safe."

Her words were brief but made Mo Yuhan's heart tremble, lost in thought.

This was to remind him that his earlier concern about Hu Jia was correct, and also to hint that he should not easily expose his full strength.

"Thank you for the guidance, Senior Sister Xuner. Yu Han has noted it."

Mo Yuhan replied earnestly.

Xiao Xuner nodded slightly, saying no more.

Turning around, her azure skirt brushed the ground, as silently as she had arrived, and soon disappeared at the end of the tree-lined path leading to the small courtyard.

A disturbance, due to Xiao Xuner's appearance, vanished into thin air.

Mo Yuhan stood rooted to the spot. He looked down at his palm, where a faint wisp of Xuan Huang Purple Flame rose, flickering with a mysterious luster.

The Dou Qi in his body, which had been somewhat chaotic from Hu Jia's shock, had largely calmed down under the gentle power Xiao Xuner had brushed past.

He slowly clenched his fist.

What came from his fingertips was the warmth of the flame and the tangible sensation of power.

"Let's go, we're going back." Mo Yuhan suppressed the chaotic thoughts in his heart, showing Lin Fei and Xue Mei a reassuring smile, "It's alright now."

Meanwhile, on the quiet path leading to the Inner Courtyard, Xiao Xuner's steps remained unhurried.

Only at her fingertips, a wisp of pure golden flame, so pure it seemed capable of purifying everything in the world, flashed and disappeared.

"Xuan Huang Flame...the beast flame of the Purple Crystal Winged Lion King...it can fuse so perfectly?"

She murmured to herself, almost inaudibly, a trace of genuine surprise flashing in her clear eyes, "Nine years old, a three-star Dou Master...this talent is quite good."

After the conflict in Maple Forest, Hu Jia indeed quieted down considerably; at least she no longer openly came to harass him at the pavilion courtyard.

Mo Yuhan's focus in life once again returned to his almost ascetic cultivation and alchemy.

Time quietly slipped away amidst the rising flames of the qingyan cauldron, the whistling of sword edges piercing the air, and the monotonous process of his Soul Power repeatedly sifting through the chaotic energy of the star glow grass.

Fire Elder's "Seventy-Two Basic Fire Control Techniques" were like a hellish tempering.

Discarding the aid of Heavenly Flames, he relied solely on Soul Power to control the most primitive Dou Qi flames, completing seventy-two distinct and impossibly demanding flame shape transformations.

Mo Yuhan's fingers were burned countless times, and the splitting headaches from overexerting his Soul Power became commonplace.

But he gritted his teeth and persevered. After each exhaustive recovery, he could feel his perception and control over the most minute details of fire improving at a visible pace.

The light from the three earth core fire crystals in the qingyan cauldron also seemed to resonate more with him.

The Flowing Wind Sword became increasingly proficient under Xiao Yu's tempestuous "sparring."

Each time he was knocked down, each time he was sent flying, each time he lay on the ground exhausted and panting, it transformed into a deeper foundation for his sword techniques.

His movement techniques became faster, his sword moves more cunning, and his Dou Qi circulation more fluid and unhindered.

Soon, he broke through to a five-star Dou Master.

Moreover, his realm became increasingly stable under the continuous tempering and extreme pressure of the Fire Essence Pills, quietly advancing towards the threshold of six stars.

And the star glow grass patch became the best place for him to hone his spirit perception.

Each time he sorted through the chaotic, cold stellar energy, it was like dancing on a knife's edge, meditating in an ice cave.

He tried to recall the profound trajectory of Xiao Xuner's fleeting glimpse, and although he still couldn't grasp even a fraction of it, his clumsy imitation gave him a new understanding of the subtle guidance of Soul Power.

The boundary of his Mortal Realm peak Soul Power seemed to have expanded slightly through these repeated extreme temperings.