It had already been two full days since the Top Ten members entered the Sky Burning Qi Refining Tower for their Body Tempering.
The entire Inner Academy had become much quieter than usual.
Most students were either cultivating desperately or discussing the shocking events from the Strong Ranking Competition.
Meanwhile—
Inside the Fire Faction—
Several important members had already entered closed-door cultivation.
Xiao Yi Xian had secluded herself completely .
Her Calamity Poison Body seemed to be undergoing subtle changes recently.
Even Xiao Feng did not dare disturb her casually.
As for Xiao Qiao Lin—
The Qilin Queen had also entered closed-door cultivation.
Especially after successfully condensing her own bloodline essence recently—
She had finally formed a true Qilin Spirit Egg.
An egg born completely from her own bloodline origin.
Her child.
Unlike ordinary magical beasts—
Ancient Qilin bloodlines possessed special inheritance abilities.
Once their cultivation and bloodline purity reached a certain level—
They could independently condense offspring using their own origin essence without requiring a mate.
However—
Such a process consumed enormous vitality and carried tremendous risks.
Because of this—
Xiao Qiao Lin had become extremely serious and protective during these past few days.
At this moment—
Inside her cultivation room—
A large crimson-golden egg floated quietly within a powerful formation array.
Ancient Qilin aura continuously pulsed from within it.
Every heartbeat-like fluctuation carried astonishing vitality and pressure.
The surrounding fire energy naturally gathered toward the egg endlessly.
Clearly—
The little life inside possessed extraordinary talent even before hatching.
Meanwhile—
Xiao Qiao Lin continuously nourished the egg using her own bloodline aura and soul energy.
Her usually proud and teasing expression became incomparably gentle whenever she looked at it.
At this moment—
Several jade bottles floated quietly nearby.
Inside them were high-tier medicinal pills personally refined by Xiao Feng.
However—
These pills were different from ordinary beast-nourishing medicines.
To refine them—
Xiao Feng had even extracted a small portion of his own heart blood.
Using an ancient Beast Venerable inheritance recipe—
He refined special Blood Fusion Spirit Pills.
These pills were specifically created for ancient magical beasts capable of independently producing offspring.
Their purpose—
Was to stabilize the child's bloodline and naturally fuse another trusted bloodline into the newborn's origin essence.
Meaning—
Although the child was born entirely from Xiao Qiao Lin herself—
After consuming these pills during the hatching process—
The child would also carry traces of Xiao Feng's bloodline and aura.
In every meaningful sense—
The child would become theirs together.
At first—
Xiao Qiao Lin had remained silent after learning this.
After all—
Xiao Feng technically had no obligation to do such a thing.
The child was not biologically his.
Yet—
He still willingly used his own heart blood to refine the pills personally.
Clearly—
He had already accepted the child completely in his heart.
Not as someone else's offspring.
But as his own.
At this moment—
Seeing the pile of jade bottles Xiao Feng prepared carefully—
Xiao Qiao Lin became silent briefly.
Her crimson eyes softened noticeably.
"You…"
"You really used your own heart blood?"
Xiao Feng smiled helplessly.
"It's only a little."
"Besides…"
"If I'm going to raise this little fellow later…"
"It's better if the child recognizes me properly too."
Hearing those words—
Xiao Qiao Lin's beautiful eyes trembled slightly.
For once—
The proud Qilin Queen became completely quiet.
Because she understood clearly what those words meant.
Xiao Feng was not merely helping her.
He had already accepted both her and the child fully.
At this moment—
Her usually arrogant and teasing gaze gradually softened completely.
Only warmth remained.
She slowly walked toward him.
Then—
Standing slightly on her toes—
She directly wrapped both arms around Xiao Feng's neck tightly.
A rich feminine fragrance instantly surrounded him.
The next moment—
Her soft lips directly pressed fiercely against his.
Unlike Xiao Yi Xian's gentle affection—
Xiao Qiao Lin's kiss carried obvious possessiveness and emotion.
Her lips lingered against his for several long moments.
As though trying to express feelings she normally never spoke aloud.
She even lightly bit his lower lip before finally pulling away slowly.
Their faces remained extremely close.
Xiao Feng could even feel her warm breathing brushing against his skin.
At this moment—
Xiao Qiao Lin lightly rested her forehead against his chest.
Then softly whispered,
"You better take responsibility properly later…"
"For both me and our child."
Even Xiao Feng became slightly stunned hearing those words.
Meanwhile—
Seeing his rare dazed expression—
Xiao Qiao Lin instantly smiled proudly again.
"Hmph."
"So even you can become speechless sometimes."
Before Xiao Feng could recover—
She suddenly kissed the corner of his lips once more teasingly.
Then lightly traced her finger across his chest while smiling mischievously.
"Don't spend all your time outside flirting with girls."
"Otherwise when our child hatches…"
"I'll make sure it bites you first."
Xiao Feng helplessly laughed.
"You're already threatening me before the child is even born?"
Xiao Qiao Lin narrowed her beautiful crimson eyes proudly.
"Of course."
"I'm the mother."
Then—
Without giving Xiao Feng another chance to respond—
She directly pushed him outside the cultivation room playfully.
Bang!
The door closed immediately afterward.
Leaving Xiao Feng standing outside speechless for a long moment.
Meanwhile—
A soft satisfied laugh could still faintly be heard from inside the room.
Several nearby Fire Faction members passing through the corridor instantly lowered their heads and escaped awkwardly as though they saw nothing at all.
Meanwhile—
Xiao Feng rubbed his slightly bitten lower lip helplessly.
"That woman…"
Soon afterward—
The entire courtyard became quiet again.
At this moment—
Xiao Feng suddenly realized something.
Recently—
He had been so busy with cultivation, alchemy, faction matters, and Fire City development…
That he completely neglected Xiao Yu.
Thinking carefully—
It had already been almost three months since he properly visited her.
Because of the resources and cultivation support Xiao Feng secretly provided—
Xiao Yu's cultivation speed had advanced rapidly.
Her originally outstanding talent now became even more terrifying.
She had already stepped into the One-Star Dou Grandmaster realm.
Meanwhile—
Xue Ni had also reached Peak Dou Master level successfully.
Although Xiao Feng did not provide her with the same terrifying amount of resources as Xiao Yu—
What she received was still more than enough for her current level.
And because of that—
Xue Ni had become extremely close to Xiao Yu.
Just like in the original timeline—
The two women had become best friends within the Outer Academy.
Thinking about this—
Xiao Feng suddenly felt slightly guilty.
"I really ignored her feelings lately…"
At this moment—
He quickly finished several remaining documents related to Fire City management.
Then—
Without delaying further—
He directly headed toward the Outer Academy.
The Inner Academy roads remained lively as usual.
Many students respectfully greeted Xiao Feng wherever he passed.
Some younger students even revealed worshipful expressions.
However—
Just as Xiao Feng turned near a garden pathway—
A soft fragrant figure suddenly bumped directly into his chest.
"Ah!"
The girl immediately stumbled backward slightly.
Xiao Feng instinctively reached out and grabbed her wrist gently.
Only then did he clearly see her face.
Liu Fei.
At first—
Liu Fei looked slightly angry after accidentally colliding with someone.
However—
The moment she saw Xiao Feng clearly—
Her expression changed instantly.
Like flipping a page in a book.
Her eyes immediately brightened beautifully.
"Senior Brother Xiao Feng?!"
Her voice instantly became excited and happy.
Seeing this—
Xiao Feng could not help smiling slightly.
Meanwhile—
Liu Fei quickly straightened her clothes before apologizing hurriedly.
"S-Sorry!"
"I wasn't paying attention!"
At this moment—
She secretly looked at Xiao Feng again.
Her beautiful eyes were filled with obvious admiration.
After everything Xiao Feng had done for her—
Saving Liu Qing…
Helping her clan…
Giving her enough status and influence to protect her future freedom…
Even allowing her to avoid becoming merely a marriage tool for political alliances…
How could she not become deeply devoted and grateful toward him?
Especially within large clans—
Women often possessed very little control over their futures.
But Xiao Feng had directly given her that freedom.
To Liu Fei—
This favor was greater than anything else.
At this moment—
She suddenly noticed Xiao Feng seemed slightly hurried.
Curiously—
She tilted her head slightly.
"Senior Brother Xiao Feng…"
"Where are you going alone?"
Xiao Feng calmly slowed his pace slightly.
Looking at the current Liu Fei—
He honestly treated her somewhat like a younger sister and loyal follower now.
So he did not hide anything.
"I'm heading to the Outer Academy."
"To visit my other girlfriend."
The moment those words entered Liu Fei's ears—
Her eyebrows instantly rose.
Although everyone knew Xiao Feng and Xiao Yi Xian were together—
Very few people actually knew about his second girlfriend.
Only core members were aware of Xiao Yu's existence.
At this moment—
Liu Fei's eyes instantly sparkled with curiosity.
"Really?!"
"Senior Brother actually has another girlfriend hidden outside?!"
Her expression became increasingly excited.
Then—
Without hesitation—
She immediately moved closer beside Xiao Feng.
"Take me with you!"
"I promise I'll behave properly!"
"And… and I also have a few female friends in the Outer Academy I want to visit anyway!"
At this moment—
Liu Fei secretly smiled inwardly.
Whether those friends were actually there or not—
Only she herself knew clearly.
Hearing Liu Fei's excited request—
Xiao Feng could not help laughing slightly.
"You really want to come that badly?"
Liu Fei immediately nodded rapidly.
"Yes!"
"I promise I won't disturb Senior Brother and your girlfriend!"
Then—
She quickly added another sentence softly.
"And… I'm actually a little curious too…"
Seeing her sparkling eyes—
Xiao Feng helplessly shook his head.
"Alright."
"You can come."
The moment she heard that—
Liu Fei instantly became happy.
A bright smile bloomed across her face immediately.
"Really?!"
"Senior Brother Xiao Feng is the best!"
Meanwhile—
Several nearby passing students instantly became stunned.
The usually proud Liu Fei—
Actually acting this obedient before Xiao Feng?
At this moment—
Xiao Feng calmly continued walking forward.
Since the Outer Academy was outside the Inner Academy's restricted area—
Leaving casually still required temporary permission from the elders.
Soon—
The two arrived near the Inner Academy entrance hall.
Several elders guarding the area immediately stood up respectfully after seeing Xiao Feng.
"Elder Su already informed us beforehand."
"You may leave temporarily."
Xiao Feng nodded lightly.
"Thank you."
At this moment—
An elder suddenly smiled helplessly.
"Try not to cause another huge incident outside this time."
Hearing this—
Even Liu Fei could not help laughing softly.
Clearly—
Xiao Feng's reputation for creating disturbances had already spread throughout the academy.
After receiving permission—
Xiao Feng slowly walked toward the open mountain platform outside the academy gates.
The surrounding wind became increasingly strong.
At this moment—
He suddenly raised two fingers toward his lips.
Then—
A sharp whistle echoed throughout the sky.
Screeeechhh—!!
The next moment—
Two enormous blue figures suddenly descended rapidly from the distant clouds.
Powerful wind pressure instantly swept across the mountain platform.
Liu Fei's beautiful eyes widened immediately.
"Lightning Blue Eagles?!"
Boom!
The two magical beasts landed heavily nearby.
Their gigantic wings carried crackling lightning currents continuously.
Compared to before—
Their auras had become much stronger.
Especially the male eagle.
Its body was now nearly twice as large as before.
Clearly—
It had already successfully advanced into a genuine Fifth-Tier Magical Beast.
Meanwhile—
The female eagle also radiated Fourth-Tier Peak aura fluctuations.
The two giant eagles immediately lowered their heads respectfully toward Xiao Feng.
Back then—
Xiao Feng had saved their lives and even helped raise their young.
Naturally—
The pair trusted him completely.
At this moment—
Several tiny blue-feathered eagle chicks curiously poked their heads out from beneath the female eagle's wings.
They were still only Second-Tier Magical Beasts.
Clearly—
The little fellows had not matured yet.
Seeing this—
Xiao Feng lightly smiled.
Then—
He gently rubbed the male eagle's head.
"You'll take us to the Outer Academy."
The giant eagle immediately let out an excited cry.
Screeeechhh!
Meanwhile—
Xiao Feng looked toward the female eagle.
"You stay behind and guard the children."
The female eagle softly lowered its head obediently.
Clearly—
The little eagle chicks still required protection.
At this moment—
Liu Fei looked at Xiao Feng with even more admiration.
Not only could he command powerful magical beasts—
Even these creatures genuinely trusted and followed him willingly.
Soon—
Xiao Feng directly jumped onto the male eagle's back calmly.
Then—
He extended one hand toward Liu Fei.
"Come."
Liu Fei blinked slightly.
Then—
Her cheeks faintly reddened before she quickly grabbed his hand.
Xiao Feng lightly pulled her upward onto the eagle's back.
The giant magical beast slowly spread its enormous wings afterward.
Crackling lightning danced across the feathers beautifully.
The surrounding wind instantly became violent.
"Hold tightly."
Before Liu Fei could react—
Boom!!
The Lightning Blue Eagle instantly shot into the sky like a bolt of blue lightning.
Liu Fei immediately grabbed Xiao Feng's clothes tightly in panic.
The mountain platform rapidly became smaller beneath them.
Meanwhile—
The enormous eagle flew steadily through the clouds.
The surrounding scenery passed extremely quickly.
Liu Fei slowly relaxed after some time.
Then—
She carefully looked toward Xiao Feng beside her.
The strong wind continuously blew through his black hair.
His calm expression remained completely steady despite the terrifying flight speed.
At this moment—
Liu Fei quietly smiled to herself.
Following behind Xiao Feng like this—
Actually felt surprisingly safe.
After flying for quite some time—
The familiar Outer Academy buildings finally appeared within the distance.
The enormous Lightning Blue Eagle slowly descended toward the academy outskirts.
Meanwhile—
Many Outer Academy students instantly became shocked after seeing the gigantic Fifth-Tier Magical Beast descending from the sky.
"What magical beast is that?!"
"So powerful!"
"Wait… is that Senior Xiao Feng?!"
The entire Outer Academy instantly became lively once again.