BTTH: Transmigrated with the Devouring Ancestral Symbol

Chapter 127: Zi Yan: Are You Going to Ask for My Essence Blood Again?

In the northeastern part of the Inner Academy, far from the noisy crowds, the environment was tranquil and serene. Verdant trees dotted the area, creating a quiet and comfortable atmosphere.

This was the Inner Academy's exclusive residential area reserved for the top ten experts of the Strong Ranking. Even with fire energy credits, it wasn't something one could simply buy.

However, most of the Strong Ranking experts rarely stayed here. Firstly, these homes were too peaceful for intense training. Secondly, most of the top ranking experts had already established their own factions. Abandoning their followers to enjoy luxury alone wasn't a good look. As such, this area served more as a symbolic status marker than a practical living space.

As the Strong Ranking's number one, Zi Yan naturally had her own residence here an entire villa estate complete with a house, a garden, and even a swimming pool. It was more luxurious than most villas Lu Bu had seen even in his past life.

Of course, Zi Yan rarely stayed here. Most of her time was spent searching for medicinal herbs or eating them. Still, this was the only place she considered her personal residence within the Inner Academy.

In the kitchen, Lu Bu hummed a cheerful tune as he worked. With practiced ease, he chopped a medicinal herb called Fire Spirit Root into small cubes. Nearby, steam rose from a clay pot on the stove, its contents bubbling with white vapor.

Once the Fire Spirit Root was diced, Lu Bu lifted the pot's lid, revealing a fragrant beef porridge within. He added the herb to the mixture, stirred it evenly, and covered the pot again to let it simmer over low heat.

He was making a medicinal dish for Zi Yan. Losing essence blood was no trivial matter it could easily damage her foundation if not handled carefully. Strong tonics weren't suitable in this situation; instead, a gentle and nourishing approach like medicinal cooking was the best option.

After about half an hour, the porridge in the pot had taken on a color somewhere between white and fiery red, infused with the essence of the Fire Spirit Root.

Satisfied, Lu Bu nodded and called upstairs, "Zi Yan, it's time to eat!"

Thump, thump, thump!

Moments later, the sound of hurried little footsteps echoed down the stairs. Zi Yan appeared, her short legs carrying her quickly to the dining table.

"Lu Bu, what are we eating today?" Zi Yan asked, her bright eyes curving into crescents as she smiled.

After a few days of care especially under the guidance of Lu Bu, a seventh tier alchemist she had fully recovered. Her rosy cheeks and vibrant demeanor made her look even more adorable.

"Here, Fire Spirit Root porridge," Lu Bu said, pushing the clay pot toward her.

Zi Yan's eyes immediately lit up. She grabbed a spoon and began eating heartily, her large eyes narrowing in delight. The sweetness of the rice, the tenderness of the beef, and the potent medicinal energy of the Fire Spirit Root brought her immense joy.

Watching her devour the porridge, Lu Bu couldn't help but laugh. "Is it good?"

"Mm hmm… it's delicious, but… the medicinal energy of the Fire Spirit Root has diminished a lot…" Zi Yan mumbled between bites, a hint of regret in her voice.

Lu Bu shrugged. "That's just how it is. The more processing an herb undergoes, the more medicinal energy is lost."

While this wasn't usually a problem, anyone with even a basic understanding of medicinal theory knew that overly potent tonics could act as poison. When refining pills, the goal was to balance the medicinal energy, not maximize it.

The same principle applied to medicinal dishes especially those designed to replenish one's essence. Lu Bu had spent the past few days preparing meals to help Zi Yan recover from the loss of her essence blood.

But Zi Yan was different. What she enjoyed most was overwhelming, potent medicinal energy the stronger, the better. With her physique, she could easily handle it.

"Alright, this should be the last meal you need. Your body's recovered now, so I'll be heading back," Lu Bu said.

"Huh?" Zi Yan looked up from the clay pot, staring blankly at him. A grain of porridge clung to the corner of her mouth.

"No, no, no! I don't feel fully recovered yet… I need a few more days of this!" Zi Yan protested, her big eyes widening as her childlike voice rushed out in a single breath.

Lu Bu rolled his eyes and flicked her forehead.

"Ow…" Zi Yan pouted, rubbing her forehead. She had nearly forgotten that Lu Bu was an alchemist.

"Then… Lu Bu, when will you need my essence blood again?" Zi Yan asked, looking at him expectantly. She was already anticipating the next time she could enjoy more medicinal dishes.

"Hmm… not for now," Lu Bu said, stroking his chin. The three drops of essence blood she had given him were more than enough for his current needs. Their potency exceeded his expectations, containing enough energy to support his progress through the first three levels of the Azure Sky Dragon Transformation Technique.

"Oh… okay," Zi Yan sighed, looking genuinely disappointed.

Lu Bu flicked her forehead again, amused by her single minded focus on eating.

"Here, I've already prepared this for you," he said, pulling out a jade bottle from his storage ring. The bottle was filled with medicinal pills.

Seeing the bottle, Zi Yan's disappointed expression instantly turned into a radiant smile. "Lu Bu, you're the best!"

After spending another hour with Zi Yan, Lu Bu left her residence and returned to the Saint Gate. He had been gone for a few days and was curious to see how things were progressing.

As he approached, the sounds of shouting and combat echoed from within the gates.

Lu Bu raised an eyebrow. It seemed Lin Yan, Wu Hao, and Xiao Yan were sparring.

Perhaps sensing something unusual, one of the members turned his head and immediately spotted Lu Bu. Overjoyed, he called out, "Leader..."

Lu Bu raised a finger to his lips, signaling him to keep quiet.

The member scratched his head with a sheepish grin and nodded, closing his mouth.

In the arena, three fighters wielded heavy weapons, their moves wide and forceful. Lin Yan's giant axe, Xiao Yan's heavy ruler, and Wu Hao's greatsword all showcased a battle style of overwhelming force and brute strength.

However, each of the three had their strengths. Wu Hao excelled in speed, using his Blood Shadow Flash technique to weave across the battlefield. Xiao Yan's flames were powerful, and even Lin Yan didn't dare face his Ten Thousand Beast Flame head on. As for Lin Yan, being the strongest of the three at the peak of the Dou Spirit stage, he practically toyed with the other two while holding his ground.

It wasn't long before Xiao Yan and Wu Hao began to show signs of defeat.

"Hmm… looks like your Xiao Yan is about to lose," Lu Bu said, appearing silently behind Xiao Xun'er with a faint sigh.

Xiao Xun'er glanced at him but didn't bother responding. Xiao Yan was only a seven star Dou Grandmaster right now; losing to a nine star Dou Spirit was inevitable.

Truth be told, Xiao Xun'er was baffled by Lu Bu's rapid advancement in cultivation. When they first met, he was a two star Dou Grandmaster, then rose to five star by consuming pills still within reason. But after that, in a single month, he skyrocketed three stars!

She could achieve the same feat herself if she stopped suppressing her bloodline power. However, her fragile body wouldn't be able to withstand the strain, so she had no choice but to hold back.

Lu Bu's robust physique made sense, but… did this guy also have a powerful bloodline?

And it wasn't just that. Advancing three stars in one month as a Dou Grandmaster might be explainable, but then he broke through to Dou Spirit within another month.

If she hadn't thoroughly investigated him and confirmed that all his actions were geared toward acquiring cultivation resources, Xiao Xun'er might have suspected that he belonged to some imperial bloodline clan.

Bang!

At that moment, the fight in the arena came to an end. Xiao Yan and Wu Hao were both thoroughly defeated, while Lin Yan smacked his lips, looking unsatisfied.

"That wasn't much fun. You two still need more training," Lin Yan said with a cheeky grin.

"How about I find you a worthy opponent?" Lu Bu's amused voice rang out.

Lin Yan's body immediately froze. Scratching his head, he let out an awkward laugh and said no more.

He knew that when Lu Bu talked about finding him an opponent, it was either the so called "Brute Force King" or that black clad, white masked figure. Neither option was good news for him.

Wu Hao and Xiao Yan helped each other up, throwing surprised glances at Lu Bu. Lin Yan, ranked tenth on the Strong Ranking, was an elite, yet a single sentence from Lu Bu made him back down?

The crowd of spectators exchanged looks, all impressed by their leader's mysterious authority.

Lin Yan smacked his lips, reluctant to recall his recent ordeal. For one, he didn't know if Lu Bu wanted it mentioned; for another, it was an embarrassing story best left untold.

"Huh? Your fire poison seems to have diminished quite a bit," Lu Bu noted, glancing at Lin Yan's eyes, where the fiery red hue had notably faded.

"Haha, that's all thanks to your Saint Gate's pills and spirit liquids!" Lin Yan laughed heartily. When he returned, he didn't even rest but immediately sought information about Lu Bu.

It didn't take long to learn about Saint Gate: a newly rising faction with a fourth tier alchemist capable of crafting spirit liquids to remove fire poison. Though a freshman, Lu Bu's reputation was nothing to scoff at.

Lin Yan had sold two fifth tier magic cores and used the funds to purchase Saint Gate's pills. After just a few days of using them, the fire poison that had plagued him for so long had significantly lessened.

"I have to say, Lu Bu, your Saint Gate is way better than that useless Medicine Gang! They're nothing but frauds!" Lin Yan gave a thumbs up in praise.

"Frauds?" Lu Bu raised an eyebrow, and Xiao Yan also glanced over curiously.

"Yeah, frauds," Lin Yan scoffed disdainfully. "The pills that the Medicine Gang sells are absolute trash not even dogs would eat them!"

Lu Bu stroked his chin thoughtfully. Now that he thought about it, Han Yue had approached him before… probably to escape the Medicine Gang's monopoly.

"Forget it, let's not talk about those buzzkills," Lin Yan said, waving dismissively. "Since you're back, I'll be on my way. Your Saint Gate's great, but your members could use some work."

With that, he waved goodbye and walked off.

Lu Bu, Xiao Yan, and Wu Hao exchanged helpless glances before shrugging. Lin Yan truly had a carefree attitude.

As Lin Yan left, the crowd of Saint Gate members began to disperse as well. After all, they had training to do standing around watching all day wouldn't accomplish much.

Seeing Xiao Yan preparing to leave, Lu Bu raised an eyebrow. "Xiao Yan, interested in a business deal?"

"Hmm?" Xiao Yan frowned slightly, puzzled.

"About the Earth Heart Flame Ganoderma and Ice Fire Dragon Beard Fruit…" Lu Bu said, a sly smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

Xiao Yan's pupils contracted, and a trace of joy flashed across his face.

But upon seeing Lu Bu's mischievous grin, Xiao Yan froze. A sense of foreboding crept into his heart.

(End of Chapter)

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