ETR | Chapter 25

Xiao Wan glanced back in the direction the arrow came from, and saw three people stepping out from behind the bushes.

Two guys and one girl, all about the same age as him. Their clothes were fancy, their appearance and vibes all top-tier. The boy in the lead had just put away the bow in his hand—the golden bow vanished into his palm in an instant.

It was a spirit instrument, and he used a bow and arrow—this guy must be metal-type.

It was already late. Anyone still hanging around in the forest at this hour probably had confidence in their own strength. The trio walked up to Xiao Wan, and the girl among them actually spoke quite politely, her tone soft and gentle… but the words coming out of her mouth only made Xiao Wan even more pissed.

She said, “It was nothing, no need to thank us. It’s dangerous in the forest this late. You’d better hurry home.”

Beneath that gentle tone was a superiority complex that couldn’t be hidden.

Xiao Wan: “???”

If Daddy hadn’t taught him to be polite when he’s out and about, he would’ve rolled his eyes right then and there.

The boy in front had already drawn the dagger at his waist, clearly wanting to collect the spoils. Xiao Wan raised his hand to stop him and gave him a shove back.

“You guys think way too highly of yourselves,” he scoffed. “I killed this snake. What the hell does it have to do with you?”

The girl was probably being talked back to like this for the first time. She froze, her expression almost disbelieving. “What’s wrong with you? We just saved your life. Are all people from the Lower Realm this ungrateful?”

From those words, Xiao Wan figured these three were probably some pampered young masters and misses from the Upper Realm. But no matter where they came from, reason was still reason.

Xiao Wan turned around and kicked the snake over, slicing open the wound that had dealt the fatal blow—clear as day.

A closer look would show that the fire-type burns came earlier than the arrow wound. Plus, the fire had burned deep and hit right where it should. There were lots of wounds all over the snake’s patterned body, but its colorful scales made them hard to spot from a distance. Even without that final strike, this snake was already at death’s door. It was only a matter of time before it dropped.

Xiao Wan didn’t need their help at all.

With all the evidence laid bare, Xiao Wan didn’t bother being polite: “So who’s really being unreasonable here—me, or you guys butting in where you’re not wanted?”

The girl went silent. She exchanged a glance with the metal-type boy, both of them a little embarrassed, but unwilling to back down. She insisted, “We meant well, okay? Look, I happen to need the skin of the Bān lán Snake King for refining medicine. It’s rare to find one, so how about this—you sell it to us, and I’ll pay you double the market price, fair enough?”

She still looked all high and mighty, not the least bit apologetic.

Xiao Wan’s face turned colder. He reminded her, “You also wrecked my backpack. All the fruit I collected is ruined.”

The girl clearly didn’t think that was a big deal. She assumed he was just trying to squeeze more money out of them, and got even more annoyed. “Fine, I’ll give you double.”

Maybe some people really did have the kind of brain that could twist any sentence into nonsense.

If talking didn’t work, doing was always faster.

The item on Xiao Xueman’s list was the gallbladder of a Bān lán Snake. Xiao Wan turned around and dug it out first. His broken backpack strap got tied back into a makeshift knot, and when he tested it, it held up okay.

During this process, he quietly slipped the shredded Xuemucao he’d just picked into his hand. He still remembered what the book said—besides being medicinal, once ground into powder, it was an excellent fire accelerant.

Seeing him lower his head to handle the snake gall, the trio figured he had agreed to sell the skin. The girl’s expression eased up a little, thinking at least he knew his place. She took a few steps forward and offered, “Let us handle the skin then.”

She was actually worried he might mess up the material. Even though the snake’s skin had a bunch of wounds, it didn’t matter for refining medicine. It wasn’t about looks. Now that the snake had just died, it was the best time to harvest.

They had attacked with the snake as their goal to begin with. Saying they were “helping” Xiao Wan was just lip service. If they’d really wanted to help, why would they shoot arrows from behind, grazing his back? If Xiao Wan hadn’t dodged fast, it wouldn’t have been just his bag strap that got snapped.

As soon as she stepped forward, Xiao Wan lifted his leg and kicked the snake backward.

While digging out the gall, he’d noticed that under the Bān lán Snake’s skin was a layer of translucent, oily stuff. He’d already dusted shredded Xuemucao over it. When it was alive, the snake’s spiritual power circulated and made it hard to burn. But now, under his fire-type spiritual power, it ignited instantly—and that precious snakeskin went up in flames, clean and complete.

“What are you doing?!” the girl couldn’t react in time. “Ah—!”

Before she could finish, Xiao Wan flung her aside with a burst of fire-type spiritual power.

“Better to burn it than give it to you.”

Xiao Wan didn’t believe in rules like “don’t hit girls.” In the Spirit Realm Continent, whoever’s being unreasonable gets smacked—no one gets immunity.

The girl had just revealed she was a spiritual alchemist. Generally speaking, alchemists had weak combat ability, and when Xiao Wan struck, he realized she couldn’t fight back at all.

The third guy, the one who’d been silent the whole time, went to catch the girl who’d been flung to the side. But just then, Xiao Wan turned around, grabbed the half-burnt snake body, and hurled it at the metal-type guy.

Everything happened so fast. The metal-type guy used a bow, good for long-range—not so much for close combat. He had just summoned his spirit weapon and tried to block the flaming snake when he felt a sharp pain at his waist—a blast of fire-type spiritual power had burned through his clothes and left a scorched mark.

A perfect case of an eye for an eye.

Xiao Wan didn’t stick around after landing the hit. He knew how powerful that bow was—metal boy was probably at the spirit practitioner level. And the quiet one? Looked even stronger. Xiao Wan had just fought the Bān lán Snake King and was already low on spiritual power. His sneak attack only worked ‘cause they weren’t ready. If they got serious, three-on-one, he probably wouldn’t win.

These three were definitely oddballs. All looked about his age—one was an alchemist, one had similar spiritual power to him, and one stronger. From what that girl said, they weren’t from Seventeenth Heaven, so maybe from First or Second Heaven?

Would they really come all the way down here just for a Bān lán Snake King?

As Xiao Wan thought this, he quickly made his way out of the forest. But gradually, something felt off—the fog around him was getting thicker and thicker until he couldn’t see the path at all. All he could see was white, endless mist.

He stopped. Turned around. Nothing but fog.

The mist clung to his face, forming droplets. Xiao Wan instinctively wiped his face, only to see yellow-black streaks on his sleeve. The camouflage ointment he’d applied earlier was coming off—it wasn’t very stable and dissolved easily when wet.

“Hit someone and thought you could run? Not that easy.”

A calm, chilly male voice came from behind him. It was deep—way too deep for a ten-year-old kid.

It was that third person—the one who hadn’t said a word this whole time. Just as Xiao Wan had guessed, he was the toughest of the bunch.

“You were rude first. I’m just returning the favor,” Xiao Wan said coolly. “If you want to fight, just fight. Stop talking crap.”

From the look of it, this guy’s attribute was a rare variant spiritual power—fog.

Xiao Wan had never encountered fog-type before, only heard of it. Now, he was on full alert. Fog was hard to pin down. He couldn’t locate the guy’s position, and all his attacks missed. His spiritual power was running low—he was out of steam. That’s when the guy made his move.

The mist behind Xiao Wan formed a giant fist and punched toward him. Xiao Wan dodged, but the hair tie keeping his hair up snapped. As he turned, he and the attacker came face-to-face.

The camouflage had almost completely washed off, revealing his real face. Even as a kid, his looks were already stunning—and now, seen up close, even more jaw-droppingly beautiful.

The other boy clearly froze for a second. His movements slowed.

Just then, Xiao Wan’s necklace began glowing green. A protective shield lit up, revealing the path through the mist. The attacker’s strike was blocked by the shield.

Xiao Wan seized the moment and bolted, no longer looking for a fight. This time, the others didn’t get a chance to catch up.

Back in the forest, the girl Xiao Wan had tossed was still shaken. Seeing the boy return, she went up to him with a pitiful expression. “Ning Ling gege, where is he? I’m hurting all over…”

The boy with fog-type spiritual power, named Ning Ling, turned to her and said flatly, “Lian Sheng, don’t pretend in front of me. You’re fine.”

The attack hadn’t been that harsh.

“Also, our sect has rules. Your real brother is Lian Yan. He’s standing right next to you. You should call me Ning shixiong.” Ning Ling added, “We didn’t come to the Seventeenth Heaven to throw our weight around. Don’t treat the people here like toys. The Spirit Realm Continent is full of hidden experts—even in the Lower Realm, Dijun rose from there too. Don’t go looking down on others.”

Lian Sheng didn’t dare say anything after getting told off. She turned to Lian Yan for help.

Lian Yan, the metal-type boy with the bow, was the only one who actually got injured. They’d never thought there’d be any danger in Seventeenth Heaven, so they weren’t on guard. He wasn’t even wearing armor, just regular clothes. His sister, being a weak alchemist, had even less protection. After getting slashed, he treated it quickly with spiritual medicine, but it still left a strong impression.

And honestly, Ning Ling wasn’t wrong.

Just like Xiao Wan guessed, they were from Wangtian Immortal Sect in First Heaven, the sect’s elite next generation. Ning Ling was a standout even among them—a Spirit Practitioner Tier 9 at just twelve years old, almost breaking through to Grand Spirit Practitioner, and he had the rare fog-type attribute. A true prodigy.

Coming to Seventeenth Heaven wasn’t a whim. Ever since Wang Tian Dijun exited seclusion, he kept running to the Lower Realm. Even Elder Yin Ying, who rarely showed his face, had been coming here a lot. The sect already knew—it was all for the Empress.

But spirit instruments that suppress cultivation were extremely rare. Even if others in the sect wanted to follow, the rules didn’t allow it. So people started thinking differently: send the next generation to the Lower Realm.

Young cultivators had low cultivation and wouldn’t get punished by the rules. Even if they didn’t help the Dijun, just showing their face in front of him would be worth it.

Wangtian Immortal Sect had an outer sect and inner sect. The inner sect picked its elites carefully.

And among them, there were nine branches. Each branch had its own competition. Ning Ling’s group represented the Jiyun Pavilion of the Wangtian Nine Pavilions. They weren’t the first to come to Seventeenth Heaven, but they still hadn’t seen the Dijun.

⸻

Author’s Note:

Xiao Wan has no CP. He’s a true dragon destined for greatness—he’s got Daddy, and that’s enough.
Yes, I’m once again subtly praising Xiao Xueman for being ridiculously good-looking (1/1)

Today’s chapter is extra spicy! Please drop a little bookmark on the author’s profile if you like it~ Thanks everyone, mwah~