Asshole, I hate you, you rich bastard, you little brat..."
The girl gritted her teeth in indignation, but could only pull back her long, beautiful legs. She glared at Yan Qingshan fiercely before sitting down again.
The girl across from Yan Qingshan wasn't very old, perhaps seventeen or eighteen, with a pretty face, delicate and delicate. Her slightly raised eyebrows evoked a hint of the arrogance of a desert leopard.
This aura, combined with her imposing figure, created a unique charm. This desert flower was beautiful, but covered in thorns and possessed a rather ill-tempered temper, at least towards Yan Qingshan.
She was dressed rather boldly and aggressively, somewhat reminiscent of the fiery cheerleaders in Yan Qingshan's past life. Her voluptuous, bronzed waist was exposed to Yan Qingshan's gaze.
Yan Qingshan, feeling a bit uneasy from waking up that morning, was drawn to the view, moving from the delicate navel on her belly downwards.
Beneath the equally short leather skirt, a long, sexy leg rested just within reach of his hand, as if he could feel the allure of it just by reaching out.
"Heh... little pervert!"
The girl naturally noticed Yan Qingshan's gaze, but being a bold woman, she didn't mind his gaze. Instead, a faint smile played on her lips, as if she was quite pleased with his attraction to her.
Of course, for a man to look at a girl like this without being disliked, he had to be decent looking. If it was a greasy, perverted old man, you wouldn't be called a hooligan.
"You're looking so intently, do you want to touch it?"
Yan Qingshan was lost in thought. The girl's red lips moved slightly, and a seductive voice came from the side, and a round, slender thigh was placed within his reach.
"Ahem, this... some other time, some other time..."
Yan Qingshan was no saint, and the situation was almost ready for action, but the girl's sudden change in attitude still made him a little wary. He noticed the sound of approaching footsteps outside the door with a glance, and quickly straightened his face and leaned back in his chair.
"Hmph... a little brat with a dirty mind but no guts, only knows how to bully little girls..."
The sexy girl withdrew her long legs with some dissatisfaction. A green figure entered the room, carrying a basin and toiletries. After a crisp call of "Young Master", Qingling came with her things to help Yan Qingshan wash up.
After a gurgling wash, Qingling packed up and left. The next person came in, pushing a cart, set out the dishes and food, and then left with the cart, carrying the sundries.
After the whole process was complete, Yan Qingshan, having regained his composure, raised a cup of black tea towards the sexy girl, raised it, took a sip, and set it down. "Xue Lan, did you get the result I asked you to do?"
The girl across from Yan Qingshan wrinkled her nose in dissatisfaction, but now that the matter was settled, she couldn't get angry. She simply pulled out a map from her side. "This is what you're looking for.
I asked my father and several uncles, and I've consulted many people to get such detailed information about that place. What exactly are you looking for?"
The girl's name was Xue Lan. A native of Shimo City, she was born into a mercenary family. Her family was well-off for mercenaries. Her father was a mid-level member of a mercenary group. He didn't show favoritism towards her because of her gender, and he had been nurturing her since she was a child.
Xue Lan had excellent talent. Before she was nineteen, she had reached the ninth level of Dou Qi. She had attempted to become a Dou Li several times but failed. Now, she had reached the peak of the ninth level of Dou Qi and was rumored to be preparing to pursue Dou Li again soon.
At her age, this level of cultivation would easily qualify her for Canaan Academy. Of course, this talent wasn't particularly outstanding at Canaan Academy, at least not compared to Yan Qingshan's current talent.
"Thank you!"
Yan Qingshan took the map from the girl. It contained a detailed map of an area east of Stone Desert City, including specific terrain, water sources, and other information. It also indicated the types of magical beasts that roamed nearby, as well as the ranges of the Serpentmen east of Stone Desert City.
"Hey, kid, what are you looking for?"
Xue Lan noticed Yan Qingshan's complete focus on the map, his complete lack of response. She immediately became impatient and moved closer to her, hoping to catch his attention. This time, however, she failed. Yan Qingshan made no move to turn around.
"It's not too cold around here at night, is it?"
Yan Qingshan finally turned, but not because he was drawn to her figure or beauty. Instead, he pointed to a sandy area on the map and asked.
"Uh..."
Xue Lan was visibly stunned, but since the map of Yan Qingshan was right in front of her, she could only take it and look at it before saying, "This area seems to be like this.
I've been there with my father before, and the sand was very warm when I stayed there at night, not as cold as other places.
But there's nothing but yellow sand in that area, let alone water sources, not even mountains or rocks, and no mineral deposits. Some people have tried digging, but all they've dug up is sand."
"Is that so..."
Yan Qingshan's eyes flickered, his mind racing at this suspicious location, as it could very well be the object of his search.
Yan Qingshan had traveled all the way from the Demonic Beast Mountains to Stone Desert City. His primary goal, naturally, was to find Qingling, a potential talent. His second, of course, was to locate the location of the Azure Lotus Earth Core Fire, the first Strange Fire obtained by the protagonist in the original novel. It
was still several years before Queen Medusa used the Strange Fire to achieve a breakthrough. According to the novel, Medusa attempted to evolve her bloodline to the Dou Zong level six months after finding the Strange Fire, meaning the Azure Lotus Earth Core Fire was still in its nurturing place.
Of course, Yan Qingshan had no immediate plans for the Azure Lotus Earth Core Fire. Even though he had gathered the ingredients for a Blood Lotus Pill, he had no real desire to acquire it.
The Strange Fire was indeed a valuable treasure. Even without using it to evolve the Burning Technique, it was a rare treasure in itself. But for Yan Qingshan, a mere Dou player with a Wood attribute, it was practically useless.
Fire overcomes wood; there's a restraining relationship between their properties. Furthermore, this was a strange fire. Even approaching it would be disastrous, let alone absorbing it.
He desired something else, or rather a living being, within the Blue Lotus Earth Core Fire's lair. The guardian of the Blue Lotus Earth Core Fire, the extremely rare Two-Headed Fire Spirit Snake, was a magical beast.
These snakes typically inhabit extremely hot regions, consuming magma for survival. They possessed immense potential for evolution, initially emerging as mere first-tier beasts. With sufficient opportunity, they could potentially evolve into sixth-tier beasts, rivaling Dou Huang powerhouses.
The Two-Headed Fire Spirit Snake from the Blue Lotus Earth Core Fire's cradle was a truly blessed creature. Because this was the birthplace of strange fire, the magma in this land was far superior to that of ordinary magma lands.
This fire spirit snake was already a fourth-tier magical beast, and within this magma land, its power surpassed even that of fifth-tier beasts.
Of course, its fate wasn't exactly unfortunate. First, due to its role in protecting the strange fire, it was injured by Queen Medusa several years later and forced to flee. Before it could recover from its injuries, it was blocked by the protagonist. After being subdued, it was ambushed and stabbed. Its fate was truly unfortunate...
The fourth-tier Two-Headed Fire Spirit Serpent, a magical beast, was more powerful than the average Douling, but its bestiality overwhelmed its rationality.
Generally, only fifth-tier magical beasts or those of higher bloodlines possessed the intelligence to try to overcome their bestiality.
While beasts below the fifth tier were stronger in single combat than humans of the same tier, if surrounded, even if the opponent's overall strength was inferior, they could be defeated by tactics exploiting their bestiality.
However, after reaching the fifth tier, their intelligence rivaled that of ordinary humans, and the tactics and tricks humans used against them were rarely effective. In such situations, the beasts would become a one-on-many crushing force against the humans.
Encountering a beast above the fifth tier, without a powerful opponent of the same tier to contain it, the entire team was often wiped out.
Yan Qingshan came from a humble background, with no connections. In the Douqi Continent, rising without any backing or trump cards is extremely difficult.
It's not that avoiding trouble and hiding will guarantee a smooth sailing. Life is unpredictable, and as long as you're alive, you're bound to encounter conflict. Even if you retire, you could still be embroiled in conflicts for various reasons. Furthermore, Yan Qingshan isn't someone who seeks seclusion.
Knowing the futility of hiding, Yan Qingshan reveals his strength when the time is right.
The Lionheart Baptism requires a vast amount of resources, and gathering them alone is a challenge. Furthermore, with such a large amount of precious materials, there's always the possibility of discovery. Rather than proceeding in secret, controlling the Wanyaozhai is a simpler and easier task.
Having already demonstrated his strength, Yan Qingshan must accelerate his pace. Having no connections or trump cards doesn't matter; he can source and create everything himself.
A fifteen-year-old Douzhe is a true prodigy. With his current strength and talent, no faction in the Jiama Empire would refuse him a spot.
However, he had no interest in the petty Gama Empire. He preferred a stronger and more free force, and Canaan Academy was a good choice.
Joining Canaan Academy was a mid-term goal, so there was no rush, after all, Canaan Academy had fixed enrollment periods.
But another short-term goal was to create a backstage and a trump card for himself.
A fourth-order two-headed fire spirit snake, a fourth-order magical beast equivalent to a Douling, was certainly powerful. But if the specific situation of the fire spirit snake had been known earlier and it had been specifically targeted, it would still have been possible to successfully subdue it.
Once it was successfully subdued, Yan Qingshan would have a trump card that he could play, a fourth-order magical beast comparable to a Douling.
And once he had a trump card, he would have more leeway for many things, and it would have been easier to plan more.