Seeing his dear disciple so happy, Jin Long could not help but to feel very grateful. To think that he would actually find such a remarkable disciple! Xiao Huoyan sure is the disciple everybody would dream of having! His potential was truly unmeasurable. He was smart, strong, kind and caring. He was not the least bit arrogant, even though he knew that he was both smarter and stronger than even most adults.
"You hungry?"
"Uhm… a little."
"Then do not worry my dear disciple! I, Jin Long, happen to be an amazing cook! How do you wish for me to cook this Fire Serpent?", Jin Long asked while patting his chest, looking extremely proud with a beaming smile on his face.
"Cook? Why do you have to cook it?"
"Well, you could not possibly think of eating it raw, right?"
As Jin Long said that, he could not help but laugh a little.
"I have never cooked anything before. I always ate it like it was."
"What?! But Fire Serpents are extremely venomous!"
"I know, but it has never really affected me. I am immune to all kinds of poisons."
"Okay, but would you like to have a taste of my cooking? I can guarantee that it will taste a lot better than eating it raw!", Jin Long said and began to smile again.
"Well then please cook it as you wish!"
As he said this, Xiao Huoyan was also smiling brightly.
"Then I shall grill this Fire Serpent!"
"Hahaha, okay. Can I try too?"
"Of course you can! But be careful not to burn yourself."
"Okay!"
They both helped each other prepare the Fire Serpent. Then Xiao Huoyan used one of his spirit essences to light a fire. Then they began to grill it.
To make it more fun, they decided that Xiao Huoyan would have to eat the part that Jin Long had grilled, while Jin Long would have to eat the one Xiao Huoyan had grilled.
Jin Long knew that since Xiao Huoyan had never grilled anything before, it was most likely to become half raw or burned to a crisp. Whether it tasted good or not, he would still eat it. It would be worth it as long as he would be able to see his dear disciples bright smile.
"The food is finished!"
As he said that he brought his part of the grilled Fire Serpent to Xiao Huoyan. But when he saw Xiao Huoyan sitting quietly on the ground, he was greatly surprised.
Xiao Huoyan's piece of the Fire Serpent was levitating in the air! And beneath it was Xiao Huoyan was holding his hand, while his palm was emitting a small flame. He had great control of his fire, and the piece of meat that was levitating in the air, moved very slowly.
Seeing as Xiao Huoyan was sitting there, cross-legged on the ground, while looking so concentrated and grilling his piece of meat so skilfully, Jin Long was shocked beyond belief.
'How could this possibly be his first time doing this?!', Jin Long thought to himself.
"Are you sure this is the first time you have done this, my dear disciple?"
Jin Long could not help but ask.
"Oh, I am sorry if it is not good enough. I promise I will try harder next time!"
"That is not what I meant!"
"…Then what did you mean?"
"I meant that this could not possibly be your first time grilling something since you are doing it so skillfully. It is as if you have not done anything else for all your life!"
"Really?! Then here!"
As he said that, Xiao Huoyan smiled while the piece of meat flew towards Jin Long, stopping only a few inches from Jin Long's face.
"How many spirit essences do you have?"
"Uhm… let me see…"
And as Xiao Huoyan said that he started to count them one by one.
"… one, two, three, four…"
As he kept on counting, Jin Long could not help but admire his dear disciple.
"… seven, eight, nine, ten and eleven!"
"WHAT?! You actually have ELEVEN spirit essences?!"
"…Uhm, yes."
"Then quickly tell me!"
"Tell you?"
"Yes! Tell me what kind of spirit essences you have!"
"Uhm… sure. Well they are 'Absolute Ice', 'Silver Lightning', 'Demonic Flame', 'Shadows of Darkness', 'Holy Light', 'Evil Nightmare Illusions', 'Vines of Judgement', 'Asura's Wrath', 'Heaven's eyes', 'Icy Hurricane' and 'The Golden Dragon'."
"WHAT?!?! You even absorbed my second spirit essence without me knowing it?!
"Oh… about that… It was an accident! I did not know about it until just now either."
"Okay, then that is fine, but how come you have so many top tier spirit essences?! All of them are in the top 50! If you only collected them from people who came here, then I wonder who the hell those people were?!"
"I do not know who they were. I just know that they were bad people. Some of them even tried to force me to come with them! How rude!"
"Yeah! Trying to take away my dear disciple against his will? Hmph! They deserved to lose their lives!"
"…"
"Hmm? Did I say something wrong, my dear disciple?"
"… I did not mean to kill them. I lost control. I did not wish for them to die!"
As Xiao Houyan finished saying that, he began to cry. Seeing his dear disciple cry, Jin Long felt as if his heart was about to break. He wanted to do something, but he did not know what.
"I am sorry. I know it was not your fault. You did not mean for them to die, but I am happy that you killed them."
"Why?"
"Because if you had not kill them, then I might not have had the chance to meet you. If you would have let them go, I am afraid that they would have exposed your secret."
"But I never treated it like a secret. Besides, what is wrong with letting the world know that I am too strong for them to bully?"
"Have you ever heard of the Royal family?"
Hearing Jin Long's question, Xiao Huoyan could not help but to let out a sigh of disappointment.
"What are you sighing for?"
"Just because I have yet to take a step outside of this array, does not mean that I am dumb to the point where I do not even know about the existence of the Royal family!"
"Oh… S-sorry. But what did you say about you having never taken a step outside of 'this array'?"
"Hahahaha, did you not notice? We are currently inside an array. You really must have ended up here by chance, just like everybody else that ever came here."
"You…! Do not make fun of your teacher!"
"Haha, okay. Sorry teacher! The array confuses you by using different kinds of illusions. If you stray off from the right path even once, you will forever be lost inside of it."
As he said that, Xiao Huoyan had a proud smile on his face.
"Wow… May I know what this array is called?"
"Sure! It is called 'Death's Road of Illusions' and should be an eight ranked array."
"Eight rank?!"
"Yes."
"Do you know who made this array? Could it perhaps have been your father who left this array here, before he left?"
"Hahaha!"
"What are you laughing at?! Did I not tell you to stop making fun of your dear teacher?"
"Hahaha, sorry! It is just… I already know who made this array, and it is someone really strong!"
"You already know? Then, hurry up and tell me already!"
"Well, the super strong and amazing person who laid this array is…"
"Just tell me already!"
"It is… me!", Xiao Huoyan said as he smiled proudly.
"YOU?!"
"Exactly!"
"To think that you are actually capable of laying an eight ranked array all by yourself! But who taught you this array?"
"Self-taught."
"You are joking, right?"
"No, I am not! I accidently created it while playing with some of my spirit essences!"
"Which spirit essences did you use to create such an amazing array?"
"Uhm… let me see… I used 'Evil Nightmare Illusions', 'Shadows of Darkness' and 'Heaven's Eyes'."
"You actually used three spirit essences at the same time?!"
"Uhm, yes."
"Then, how many can you use at the same time?"
"I am not sure. I have never tried using more than five at the same time."
"Five?! Then how about we try it out right now?"
"You mean I am supposed to try and use as many of my spirit essences at the same time, to see when I reach my limit?"
"Exactly!"
"Okay, then I shall begin right away!"
As he finished his sentence, Xiao Huoyan began to use them all at the same time! Jin Long originally meant that he should calmly add them one at a time, but Xiao Huoyan actually began to use all eleven at the same time!
"How long am I supposed to do this for?"
"Until you feel tired."
3 hours later, Xiao Huoyan was still continuing without showing any sign of wanting to quit. This made Jin Long feel astonished beyond belief!
"Do you not feel tired yet?!"
"Not really."
"You can stop now. I have seen enough. To think that you can actually use all of them at the same time incessantly for more than 3 whole hours!"
Jin Long shouted excitedly! He was truly happy to have found such an amazing and talented disciple.
As soon as he came back to his senses, he cleared his throat and quickly changed the topic.
"Okay, go back to bed now! We shall leave early and begin our travel tomorrow morning, so rest well!"
"Rest well teacher!"
Then they both went to bed. Xiao Huoyan let Jin long stay in his bed, and so they slept side by side.
"What are you thinking about, my dear disciple?"
"… I miss my parents…"
"Then what would you say if I told you that I could be-"
"Really?!"
"Hahaha, you did not even let me finish speaking!"
"S-sorry, but do you really mean it?!"
"Yes, I mean it. If you would like, I could adopt you legally as soon as possible. A master is already like a second parent to their disciple anyways."
"…"
"You are unwilling?"
"Thank you."
"For what?"
"For being like the father I have never known."
Hearing this, Jin Long really felt his heart melt.
"I can not understand why your father chose to leave you here! To have a son like you is truly a blessing by the heavens!"