Not long after Xiao Lan took flight, Xiao Ting began writing in the Journal while distracted.
Xun Er, Medusa, and Qing Lin naturally checked it at the first moment.
…
[This time heading to Rock Desert City, I need to find a way to stop over when passing through Desert City.]
[There is a map shop in Desert City. The shop owner is Hai Bodong, once one of the Ten Strongest in the Jia Ma Empire.]
[Last time I wanted to "bump into" him by chance, so I could reasonably learn information about the Green Lotus Core Flame and obtain another piece of the Pure Lotus Demon Flame remnant map.]
[Xun Er sensed the existence of the Green Lotus Core Flame with the Gold Emperor Incinerating Heavenly Flame and disrupted my plan.]
[This time, while obtaining the Green Lotus Core Flame, I'll take care of this matter as well.]
[Obtain the remnant map and befriend Hai Bodong.]
…
Seeing this, the girls were quite surprised.
They could understand if it was for the remnant map, but why was a mere Hai Bodong being valued so highly?
It wasn't that they looked down on Hai Bodong, but with Xiao Ting's identity as a world observer and already eating soft rice from Xun Er, there seemed to be no reason to value a weak Dou Emperor from the Jia Ma Empire so much.
In another year or two, Xiao Ting himself would probably reach the Dou Emperor level.
According to what he wrote in the Journal, he would reach Dou Saint in ten years.
However, the answer soon appeared in the Journal.
…
[If Nalan Yanran is the biggest joke, and even Yun Yun counts as half a joke, then Hai Bodong is the complete opposite.]
[The ridiculousness of the Misty Cloud Sect highlights Hai Bodong's character and insight.]
…
Yun Yun: "..."
…
[Medusa]: Tsk, joke.
[Yun Yun]: I'm already very hurt, can you stop stabbing my heart?
[Little Fairy Doctor]: This is your indelible dark history.
[Yun Yun]: So speechless. These are all things that won't happen again.
[Xun Er]: The three-year agreement didn't happen?
[Yun Yun]: Nalan Yanran has eyes but no insight. What does that have to do with me, Yun Yun? I clearly only told her to properly break off the engagement, yet she brought back a three-year agreement.
[Yun Yun]: But it's fine. She couldn't grasp the future Flame Emperor, but I can grasp Xiao Ting.
[Medusa]: You can grasp him?
[Yun Yun]: There's no doubt about that.
[Medusa]: No, you can't grasp him.
[Yun Yun]: ???
….
"Why do I feel a wave of malice?" Yun Yun rubbed her arm.
She had the Journal copy and could see the notes. How could she possibly fail to grasp Xiao Ting?
…
[In the previous life, many people jokingly called Hai Bodong the number one angel investor.]
[I remember someone joking that Hai Bodong picked up a book called Battle Through the Heavens while walking on the road. Because he had no patience, he flipped straight to the last page and saw only four words at the end: "Flame Emperor, Xiao Yan."]
…
"Flame Emperor?"
Upon seeing this, Huo Zhi felt extremely uncomfortable.
You're from the Xiao Clan. After becoming an emperor, you call yourself Flame Emperor. Then what about my Yan Clan!? (TL: Yan = Flame)
My Yan Clan was founded by the Flame Emperor in ancient times and later revived under the Fire Emperor. Will we have to change our name to Fire Clan in the future?
Thinking of this, Huo Zhi suddenly felt it wasn't impossible. After all, she was surnamed Huo, not Yan. After becoming emperor, she could take an emperor title starting with "Huo" and rename the entire clan to the Huo Clan.
As for her father Yan Jin—if he had any objections, whoever had the bigger fist would be listened to.
"What happy thing are you thinking about again?" A mature, elder-sister-like voice sounded.
"It's something interesting." Huo Zhi casually slapped a seventh-tier magical beast to death with one palm and elegantly retrieved its magic core. "Aunt, if I become emperor in the future, what do you think about renaming the Yan Clan to the Huo Clan?"
Huo Ling: ?
This little girl really dares to think big.
"Reversing heaven and earth!"
…
[On the contrary, if Nalan Yanran picked up Battle Through the Heavens on the road and opened it to see the title of the first chapter Fallen Genius, she would casually throw the book away and go break off the engagement.]
…
Yun Yun: I knew it!
So Nalan Yanran was the negative example, while Hai Bodong was the positive one.
…
[These are just jokes, playful banter, and humorous summaries of facts.]
[Hai Bodong never picked up Battle Through the Heavens. Everything he did was based on his own character.]
[At first, it was just a transaction with Brother Yan. He hoped Brother Yan would refine a pill to remove the seal Queen Medusa left in his body. The reward was the remnant map of the Heavenly Flame.]
[After the seal was removed, because too much time had passed, his strength had regressed. Brother Yan then promised to refine a pill to restore his two-star strength, and in return he would act as a guard for a period of time.]
[Hai Bodong values promises...]
…
Xiao Ting detailed the interactions between Hai Bodong and Xiao Yan in the Journal.
With nothing better to do, he wrote out the experiences of the two in one go, conveniently adding more content.
The girls treated it as a story, reading through everything and gaining some understanding of both Hai Bodong and Xiao Yan.
…
[In terms of talent, Hai Bodong is definitely not lacking. In a place like the Jia Ma Empire, he became one of the Ten Strongest. Later, after joining the Yan Alliance, he reached the peak of Dou Ancestor in less than ten years.]
[Before the Xiao Clan's Dou God bloodline was reactivated, there was no one in the Xiao family with better talent than him.]
[In the future, both Brother Yan and I will inevitably leave the Jia Ma Empire to develop. We need someone to look after the family.]
[Hai Bodong and the Miteer family are excellent cooperation partners—trustworthy and strong enough.]
[...]
…
Seeing this, the girls understood.
Before he and Xiao Yan rose to power, Xiao Ting was finding a reliable protector for the Xiao family.
His high regard for Hai Bodong came from a comprehensive understanding of the man's character, talent, and other aspects.
That was why Xun Er and the others had known early on that Xiao Ting wanted to make a trip to Desert City.
…
"This Desert City is the most prosperous city within several hundred li. Shall we go out for a stroll?"
Inside a restaurant in Desert City, after finishing their meal, Xiao Ting suggested going out.
The Little Fairy Doctor and Xun Er readily agreed. Queen Medusa, however, refused: "This Queen is not suitable to walk around in your human cities."
The moment she went out, people would immediately detect her identity. Everyone she passed would retreat three zhang. It would be meaningless.
"Then Queen can stay here. In the future, after breaking through to Dou Ancestor and gaining human form, you can stroll around human cities." Xiao Ting did not force her.
But Medusa's mood instantly soured. This was different from what she had imagined. "You're not going to invite me again? Maybe if you invite me one more time, I'll give… Xun Er face and agree?"
Xun Er and Qing Lin exchanged a glance, barely holding back their laughter.
Ever since Xiao Ting pointed out Queen Medusa's personality, no matter how they looked at her, this sister seemed especially cute in a special way.
"That won't do." Xiao Ting shook his head with a very serious expression. "The first invitation was me being overly polite without considering the practical problems Queen would face if she went out with me."
"Knowing it would be inconvenient for you, if I repeatedly invited you, that wouldn't be politeness—it would be thoughtlessness."
"Queen can just stay in the restaurant. When we return, we'll share the sights and sounds of the city with you."
Do I need you to share them with me?
"This Queen has changed her mind." Medusa revealed a smile. "This Queen has decided to go with you all."
Xiao Ting showed a helpless expression. "Queen, isn't that inappropriate?"
…