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--- Chapter 318 ---
As Han Yuan had expected, it was barely twenty-four hours since Zi Yan had run away in shame, yet she had already returned to his dormitory with an awkward yet expectant expression.
This time, however, she was not alone. Alongside the little dragon girl was her guardian, none other than the academy's First Elder, Su Qian!
Han Yuan was meditating near the same pond as he had the day before, contemplating his cultivation.
When he saw Zi Yan again, his mouth couldn't help but twitch in response to her 'smug' look.
Su Qian greeted Han Yuan with a friendly smile, saying, "I believe this is our first meeting, Han Yuan."
"Allow me to introduce myself."
"My name is Su Qian, the First Elder of Jia Nan Academy, and I also have the responsibility of being the guardian of this wild girl."
"Old man, who are you calling a wild girl?" Zi Yan instinctively cried out, hissing at Su Qian. "This lady is a great beauty!"
Su Qian playfully smacked Zi Yan on the head, making her cry out even more, before he laughed it off. "See? A wild girl."
"However, Zi Yan isn't a bad girl. She's just a little rough around the edges—other than that, she's no different from any other girl."
'What do you mean she's no different from any girl? She is an Ancient Void Dragon in human form!' Han Yuan thought in disbelief, stunned by Su Qian's behavior.
Thankfully, he chose not to reveal the truth about Zi Yan.
He merely chuckled and said, "First Elder, please be direct with me. You're coming here not just for this, right?"
Su Qian raised an eyebrow and nodded in approval. "As expected of a genius, your composure surpasses that of others your age."
"Then I'll be direct. I'm here to apologize on behalf of Zi Yan."
"Trust me, she's a kind and lovely girl. It's just that she doesn't have many friends in the Inner Court, which is also my fault."
"I hope you can communicate with her more from now on."
"You don't need to apologize, First Elder. She already did that yesterday," Han Yuan replied, shaking his head gently. "Besides, I wasn't really offended by her."
"Like, what kind of mature person would take words of children so seriously?" he added with a shrug, earning a smirk from Su Qian and a resentful glare from Zi Yan.
'You're the child; your whole family is a bunch of children!' Zi Yan thought to herself, clenching her little hands tightly.
"Is that so?" Su Qian chuckled in amusement. Initially, he had thought Zi Yan had offended Han Yuan greatly, which could have caused a conflict—something unacceptable at Jia Nan Academy. After all, Han Yuan was a rare genius that the world had never seen before, and losing him would be a significant blow to the academy.
As the First Elder, this outcome is unacceptable. However, it seemed Su Qian had overthought the situation.
Despite being a bit fickle with the girls around him, as Ruo Ling had reported, Han Yuan was in fact a sensible young man.
At the same time, Su Qian had an idea in mind. He understood how willful Zi Yan was, being the strongest 'student' in the Inner Court, and that her title as 'Queen of Strength' made her look down on others.
It wasn't until yesterday that Zi Yan had tasted humiliating defeat at Han Yuan's hands.
Initially, Su Qian was shocked and recalled Ruo Ling's report once more, which highlighted that Han Yuan possessed a defensive secret technique he had developed himself, making him immune to almost anything except spatial-based ones.
So, in simpler terms, unless the enemy had special powers, Han Yuan was practically invincible under the Dou Ancestor Realm.
If Su Qian were to call Han Yuan the 'strongest genius under heaven' now, it wouldn't be an exaggeration at all!
Of course, Han Yuan would be very annoyed if people referred to him that way.
Anyway, back to the conversation.
"As for communicating more..." Han Yuan said, glancing at the resentful little dragon girl with a faint smile. "My little sister Qing Lin also needs a friend, and I think they would get along well."
"Qing Lin? Hmm, that could work," Su Qian replied, remembering some information about Han Yuan's sisters.
Though they were talented, they were not as monstrous as Han Yuan. He thought that having them befriend Zi Yan might make her more sociable.
Nonetheless, Han Yuan thinks otherwise; he knew very well that the girls around him were anything but ordinary.
If he knew what Su Qian was thinking, he would definitely laugh his ass off, as he was doubtful whether mingling with the girls would improve or worsen Zi Yan's temperament.
"Also, I heard you're quite the Alchemist yourself?" Su Qian shifted the topic.
"You've heard..." Han Yuan glanced at Zi Yan again.
"Whoa, the sky is bluer today!" Zi Yan quickly avoided Han Yuan's gaze and began to whistle amateurishly as if this had nothing to do with her at all.
Haha, there is no way Zi Yan accidentally gave one of the pills Han Yuan gave to her yesterday to Su Qian, right?
Han Yuan rolled his eyes secretly, playing it safe. "Well, I'm not a true alchemist in a sense."
"I only have some skills in mixing ingredients," he continued casually.
Su Qian smiled upon hearing this. "Don't be so modest. You're already a remarkable talent on the path to Dou Fighters."
"Although I don't quite comprehend how you can refine pills without possessing fire-attributed Dou Qi, achieving any level of success in this field is already impressive."
"Everyone's time is limited, yet you've managed to leave others behind and still find time to learn alchemy."
"You're overpraising me," Han Yuan replied humbly.
"Catch!" Su Qian suddenly threw something to Han Yuan, who caught it calmly.
"This is..." Han Yuan stared at his hand, where he saw a black token with a 'tower' logo engraved on both sides.
"Take it," Su Qian explained. "That's a special token the elders made just for you. It grants you some extra privileges in the academy, such as access to the training ground, discounts, and special missions."
"If you ever need to purchase ingredients for refining pills or resources for your cultivation, you can show that token to the elders in the Alchemy Hall." He added,
"Think of it as compensation because you can't enter the Inner Court for now."
"Thank you, First Elder," Han Yuan said, giving Su Qian a solemn look.
Su Qian waved his hand dismissively. "You deserve it. Once you enter the Inner Court, the academy will provide you with even more compensation."
"For now, just stay low-key and cultivate."
"Well then, I will excuse myself." After saying this, Su Qian shoved Zi Yan toward Han Yuan and then vanished from their sight in an instant.
"..." Han Yuan stood in silence.
"..." Zi Yan was equally quiet.
Han Yuan looked down at the embarrassed little dragon girl and teased, "Your mouth really can't shut up for a day, huh? What a glutton."
Zi Yan shot back, "Who did you call a glutton? What part of this lady looks gluttonous to you?"
Han Yuan looked her up and down before nodding. "You're right. There's nothing gluttonous about you at all..."
"There is nothing to see, too." He added in a barely audible voice.
"YOU!" Zi Yan exclaimed, offended.
"I heard that, you jerk!"
"I'm going to beat you up!"
"Oh, really?" Han Yuan playfully pressed Zi Yan's head down as she threw angry punches at him. However, no matter how furious she was, none of her punches reached him.
Believe it or not, this had nothing to do with infinity this time.
Zi Yan's arms were just too short to reach Han Yuan.
"Shorty, you're ten thousand years too early to defeat me," Han Yuan said smugly, flicking Zi Yan's forehead and eliciting a frustrated cry from her.
Zi Yan crouched on the ground, holding her forehead, and looked up at him with a pitiful expression. "You bully! How can you flick my forehead like that? What if I get a scar?"
Yet deep inside, Zi Yan was shocked because she actually felt pain from Han Yuan's flick. She knew just how monstrous her physical prowess was, including her physical defense, but it was useless against this mysterious human's seemingly ordinary flick.
She had two possibilities in mind.
One, Han Yuan possessed a strange power that could bypass her defenses, possibly derived from his Magical Beast bloodline.
Two, he was fricking stronger than her!
After considering these possibilities, Zi Yan grew curious about Han Yuan's identity.
'Someone like him can't be an ordinary human, right?'
He's strong.
He can make delicious pills.
He's mysterious.
And he can make delicious pills! Yummy!
Slurp~!
He's my cook!
'Since he can make those delicious pills, he can surely make other kinds of pills!' Zi Yan wiped her nonexistent drool and stared at Han Yuan with a fonder expression. She seemed to have forgotten her earlier resentment, all because of the food.
Speaking of being a glutton.
'Oy, oy, oy, what's with that look!' Han Yuan noticed the change in Zi Yan's gaze and expression. She was staring at him as if he were a magical treasure or a juicy piece of meat.
'Damn, this little dragon girl is lusting after my innocent body!'