The Thunder Supreme felt a bit numb. He never imagined he would encounter the Technique Saint Lord here. She had vanished without a trace for years—even the Holy Lord couldn’t find her. Yet now she had suddenly reappeared, and she had even taken such an outstanding disciple under her wing.
“This Old One didn’t know the kid was your disciple,” he said. “Otherwise, even if you gave me a hundred times the courage, I wouldn’t dare compete with you for him… I was muddleheaded for a moment. Please don’t take it to heart, Technique Saint Lord.”
There was no one else present, so the Thunder Supreme backed down quickly.
With her Nine Turns Half-Saint cultivation, beating a Fifth Grade Supreme like him would be like an adult bullying a child.
Moreover, he was the one at fault here. Was he supposed to stubbornly wait for a punch in the face?
Chen Xi spoke indifferently. “You need to work on that temper of yours.”
The Thunder Supreme replied respectfully. “You’re right, Technique Saint Lord. This Old One will never try to poach someone else’s disciple again.”
Chen Xi was speechless. She knew that reasoning with this thunder tiger was a futile endeavor, so she didn’t bother saying more.
At that moment, the sound of pattering rain drifted in from beyond the isolated space. Yan Zhen looked up and saw a rain cloud hovering over the Thunder Supreme’s head. Torrents of rain poured down from it, each droplet sharp as a longsword.
The Thunder Supreme’s heart tightened. He immediately unleashed a torrent of ferocious lightning, shattering the rain swords one by one.
Yu Shizun’s figure slowly materialized beside Yan Zhen. Her exquisite face was veiled, revealing only a pair of clear, indifferent eyes.
“Thunder Supreme, you have some nerve showing such disrespect to Lady Chen Xi!” she declared.
The Thunder Supreme felt somewhat depressed. As expected, this “fangirl of the Technique Saint” had shown up at the first opportunity. If this continued, things would only get more troublesome.
“It’s a misunderstanding—all cleared up now,” he said hastily. “This Old One has urgent business to attend to, so I’ll take my leave. Technique Saint Lord, if you have time, please visit my Thunder God Peak sometime.”
With that, he finished in one breath and bolted, transforming into a bolt of lightning that vanished in an instant.
Yu Shizun narrowed her eyes, clearly dissatisfied. She turned to Chen Xi, bowed, and said, “My apologies, Lady Chen Xi. Shishi arrived too late, or else you wouldn’t have needed to reveal your identity.”
Chen Xi shook her head. “No harm done. The thunder tiger may be reckless, but he’s rough but shrewd. He won’t leak This Seat’s whereabouts lightly. Zhen’er, you’re not frightened, are you?”
“I’m fine,” Yan Zhen said, scratching his cheek. He eyed the ethereally beautiful female master and asked, “Master, does projecting yourself like this take a lot of effort?”
Chen Xi smiled faintly. “It’s just an illusory projection—barely any drain at all.”
Hearing that, Yan Zhen recalled how the beautiful female master in the script often projected herself to supervise and guide his cultivation, rather than having him enter the Fire Refining Starry Sky from the start.
He had originally thought that projecting in reality would be taxing for her, which was why she had brought him straight into the Fire Refining Starry Sky. But now it seemed no different from the script.
It felt a bit strange.
On the other hand, the beautiful female master’s intervention had intimidated the Thunder Supreme, preventing Yan Zhen from comprehending a deeper layer of the Flame Yama Ninefold Transformation under the pressure of a supreme powerhouse. That was unfortunate—this was a key plot point, after all.
Though System-chan was dormant, the role-playing tasks for critical plot points would still trigger as usual. Failing to complete them left him feeling uneasy.
“Since everything’s settled, This Seat will take her leave,” Chen Xi said. Her figure gradually faded until it vanished completely, and the sealed space restored itself.
Yan Zhen tucked the crystal pendant back into his collar.
Elder Yu Yan and the others spotted the Yu Shizun and hurried over to pay their respects. Aside from Elder Yu Yan, the other elders assumed it had been her doing all along and didn’t connect it to Yan Zhen.
Yu Shizun turned to him. “Given your outstanding performance, you more than qualify for special permission to cultivate in the holy land. Will you come back with This Seat?”
Yan Zhen politely declined. “I’d like to break through to the Mystic King Realm before entering the holy land.”
Only then did the Yu Shizun notice that Yan Zhen had already reached Nine Star Mystic General. Just a few days ago, when he had been summoned, he was only at One-Star Mystic General. Refining a single Extreme Flame had elevated his cultivation to such heights?
“Nine Star Mystic General—you’re not far from Mystic King,” she said. “Very well, follow your own path. Xuan’er is waiting for you on Rain God Peak.”
“Thank you, Yu Shizun. I won’t keep Mentor Yu Xuan waiting long.”
With the matter resolved, the Yu Shizun departed as swiftly as she had arrived, and the elders dispersed.
Yan Zhen returned to his third-floor room in the Yan Huang Tower, where the girls immediately crowded around him.
“You’re okay, right, Cousin?”
“No need to worry—it’s all sorted.”
“Was that Lady Chen Xi who intervened just now?”
“Yeah. Master scared off the Thunder Supreme, and then the Yu Shizun showed up.”
“Junior Brother Yan Zhen, are you heading to the holy land?”
“Not yet. I need to find the fifth Extreme Flame first. Otherwise, after breaking through to Mystic King, I’ll hit a bottleneck again.”
“Any leads?”
“The Volcanic Cauldron from the Technique Refining Conference reward contains a wisp of sub-fire from the Rootless Earth Spirit Fire. Following that clue should yield results.”
“When do you plan to set out?”
“After tying up loose ends.”
“I’m coming too!”
Yan Zhen ruffled Long Ying’s head and said to Cai Lian, “Cai Lian, you should stay here and rest?”
The Sovereign Lady crossed her arms and said coolly, “This Sovereign isn’t as frail as you imagine…”
It looked like she was coming along.
Yan Zhen naturally didn’t want his pregnant wife tagging along on his travels and hardships, but Cai Lian had come here precisely to make up for the time they had lost together in her previous life.
“Besides, more people mean more strength. In a pinch, This Sovereign could even save your life. Hmph~”
Yan Zhen smiled wryly. Seeing her determination, he didn’t press the issue.
“You four stay in the Inner Academy and cultivate diligently,” he told the others. “I’ll come back once before entering the holy land.”
The four girls looked dejected. Their cultivations were too low to be of any help.
“Don’t overthink it,” Yan Zhen comforted them. “Focus on training. If anything comes up, go to the Great Elder—she’ll help.”
That evening, Cai Lian took the initiative to call Long Ying to her room so they could share a bed, freeing up space for Yan Zhen and his four junior sisters.
In the brightly lit room, Yan Zhen stood before the bed, his left arm around Yan Meng’er and his right around Mi Xue’er, while Yan Ruyu and Xiao Xinyan knelt in front of him.
The four girls used every trick in the book to serve him, their soft moans echoing until late into the night.
The next day, true to his word, Yan Zhen set up a new Thunder Avoidance Array in the Thunder Pool Secret Realm, allowing Mystic King and Mystic Lord Realm mentors and elders to enter the Thunder Pool for cultivation.
With that done, he informed Elder Yu Yan of his plans to venture out in search of the fifth Extreme Flame. She approved his leave and even gifted him a new flying skiff.
Elder Yu Yan’s “garage” was stocked with quite the collection—each one a prized possession of hers.
Yan Zhen scratched his head. In the past, he would have felt shy about how much Elder Great-Aunt doted on him. But now that he knew she viewed him as the “Shared Husband,” it gave him the odd sensation of being a kept man.
Still, he didn’t refuse her kindness. Having a mode of transport was far more convenient than, say, riding Long Ying everywhere.
After a quick packing, Yan Zhen, Cai Lian, and Long Ying set off.
