"You're so pretty, sister!" Zhuo Fan entered kid mode the instant he saw her, raining fake praises on her.
The woman started pinching Zhuo Fan's wittle cheeks with a smile of joy, "That's so sweet, you little rascal! Sister doesn't much like anyone from Regent Estate, but I'll make an exception just for you!"
Zhuo Fan nodded with a smile, pointing at Qiu Yanhai, "Sister, are you his granddaughter? You look nothing alike! He's just so damn ugly. How can that thing ever relate to someone as beautiful as you?"
The woman's charming laughter made the world seem vibrant. She then pinched Zhuo Fan's cheeks stronger, "You're so adorable, you scamp. Hi-hi-hi…"
The two spectators broke into a coughing fit.
Li Jingtian in particular, who was doing his best to signal Zhuo Fan.
[I say, Steward Zhuo, I won't judge if you do it without even realizing. But if you are doing it knowingly… sigh, have you no conscience?]
Qiu Yanhai stared a hole into Zhuo Fan and cursed, "Are your eyes for decoration? That hag is a hundred years old. Even while using some cultivation to keep up appearances, her aura is nothing like that of a young lass. You mean to tell me that in all your time cooped up in Regent Estate you've never even seen a girl?"
"Oh?"
The woman replied before Zhuo Fan could, with a biting remark, "Old fart, just where exactly do you see me as a grandma and not a lady? You want to be slapped?"
"Humph, I rest my case. What lady in her right mind would call herself grandma? You're so old, but ever shameless!" Qiu Yanhai mocked.
The women went red and huffed in anger as she sent a palm attack.
In a flash of white, even the shimmering heat around them started turning into ice crystals!
Qiu Yanhai was fully focused on fighting back. With a flick of his sleeve, a blaze erupted, blocking the white light, "Old crone, you want to go at it again?"
"And what if I am? Who told you to run your mouth before this child that this grandma is old?"
"Humph, so what if I call you old? You're so on in years yet still thinking of raising a cherry boy into your sugar daddy?"
"Shut your mouth, you old fart!"
"..."
The two snapped at each other at every chance they got. Zhuo Fan and Li Jingtian smiled inside. It was then that Li Jingtian shook his hands vehemently, "People, I came here for this child to get a master, not to see a lovers' spat. And since brother Qiu is very much against the idea, we'll be taking our leave!"
"Later, sister!" Zhuo Fan waved sadly at the woman.
The woman's heart softened and shouted, "Wait, I love this child dearly. I'll teach him!"
"You can teach shit! He has a fire physique and only my fire cultivation method fits him. Why are you butting in when you're just a water cultivator?" Qiu Yanhai retorted sourly.
The woman brushed him off as she puffed out her chest, "Grandma fought with you for so long that I figured out your Heaven Searing Inferno and know it like the back of my hand. Why can't I take this kid in?"
Qiu Yanhai paused for a moment, realizing the truth of it, but still ridiculed, "He-he-he, I am not the best fire expert in Tianyu just from my cultivation method, but also this…"
His hand was holding a rumbling scarlet flame.
Zhuo Fan's eyes widened in shock, "Heaven and earth spirit flame, Earth Erupting Firesea!"
"Kid, you've got quite the eyes!" Qiu Yanhai raised an eyebrow, then nodded in pride, "Precisely, if you were to be my disciple, beside the Heaven Searing Inferno, you will get a fragment of this Earth Erupting Firesea. That will make you my true successor!"
Zhuo Fan nodded.
Now he knew why Raging Ancestor was so strong to fend off ten Radiant Stage experts alongside Ice Moon Witch. They were not only in sync, but had the Earth Erupting Firesea as well.
Despite all being called heaven and earth spirit flame, some were better than others. Vicious Pill King's Bone Soul Truefire came from the bowels of a corpse deep in the earth, a yin but gentle flame. It was best used in refining, while falling short in combat.
As for the Earth Erupting Firesea, it came from the heart of a volcano, volatile to extreme. It was a yang and fierce flame that not only helped in refining but also an important asset in battle!
Zhuo Fan flicked his eyes on Li Jingtian.
[This guy got the upper hand on Qiu Yanhai back then, even when the other used the Earth Erupting Firesea. It is obvious how strong his body was. And that was only at the 7th stage of Imperial Tyrant Body Art.]
Now, he not only changed to the Wraith Art, but also had the three matching profound ranked martial arts. Who knew how far he could go? Mad Dipper was a martial fanatic through and through. He has a body of a refining genius. Zhou Fan truly struck gold when he had this old man join his gang.
Noticing his gaze and easily figuring out what he was thinking, Li Jingtian chuckled with his head thrown back.
"Uh, sister, he said I can get the heaven and earth spirit flame if I become his disciple. What if…" Zhuo Fan pointed at Qiu Yanhai with a bright smile.
Squinting, Ice Moon Witch wasn't about to back down just like that, "Child, don't be so hasty. What that old guy has, so do I! "
[Damn, the guy is a fire expert. Getting a heaven and earth spirit flame was a cinch for him. While you, a water expert, dare say you have one as well? Aren't you afraid it's gonna conflict with your cultivation method?]
But the next thing he knew, Zhuo Fan was staring into the Ice Moon Witch hand. She was holding a flickering and bright bluish fire.
Zhuo Fan's eyes twitched and shouted, "Holy hell, the Ice Heart Moon Soul?"
Correct. Among the rarest heaven and earth spirit flames, the one to match a water cultivator the most was this Ice Heart Moon Soul!
This fascinating flame came to be in the core of a ten thousand years old ice that had been bathed by moonlight for another ten thousand years. Its warmth was bliss, its nature one that brought inner peace while also doing wonders to one's cultivation.
But its most redeeming quality was that it could freeze any and every single thing in the world. No one could fend it off.
Taking another look at the two, Zhuo Fan now knew why these monsters could repel Regent Estate's ten Venerables.
With Earth Erupting Firesea and Ice Heart Moon Soul working in tandem, their power would explode. They were capable of drawing out the most of their power by joining hands. That was how they beat those ten Radiant Stage experts!
"Oh my, you sure know a lot, child! It is a rare heaven and earth spirit flame, but not many know of it. How is it you recognized the Ice Heart Moon Soul with just a glance?" Xue Qingjian eyed him inquisitively.
Zhuo Fan laughed wryly, "Something I picked up from an ancient book, ha-ha-ha…"
"Hey, the kid wants to train in fire. You're Ice Heart Moon Soul is pretty enough, but doesn't suit him! I advise you to stop butting in!" Seeing Zhuo piqued Xue Qingjian's interest, Qiu Yanhai shouted.
Darting his eyes around in thought, Zhuo Fan caught on to something. He grabbed Xue Qingjian's hand and started waving it around in his best childlike tone, "Sister, I really really want to train with you, but our attributes don't match. I can't use the Ice Heart Moon Soul either. Can you make the old man share his Earth Erupting Firesea with me?"
"Hey, punk, hands off the crone!" Qiu Yanhai was fuming mad.
Xue Qingjian raised an eyebrow and laughed, "Alright, I'll help you!"
She turned to Qiu Yanhai, "Old fart, are you up for a bet?"
"What kind?"
"Per usual. If you get even half a move over me, I won't take the kid as a disciple. If I get the upper hand, then you will give the Earth Erupting Firesea to the kid as a gift to my disciple. What do you say?" Xue Qingjian shouted.
Zhuo Fan hugged Xue Qingjian, "No, sister. I want to stay with you. I want no Earth Erupting Firesea!"
"No worries, child, this old geezer has never beaten me once!" Patting his head, Xue Qingjian giggled.
Qiu Yanhai was pissed off by the taunt, "Damn punk, didn't I tell you to lay off the crone?"
"No way!" Xue Qingjian and Zhuo Fan jutted their chests and replied at the same time. One could almost see steam coming out of Qiu Yanhai's head. But since he didn't dare flare at Xue Qingjian, he directed it all on Li Jingtian, "Old freak, you brought this pretty boy. After I finish here, I'll settle the score with you!"
Li Jingtian shrugged.
"Fine, it's a deal!" Huffed Qiu Yanhai, "Let's go to our old place!"
He vanished the instant he finished talking. Xue Qingjian laughed and followed, with Zhuo Fan shouting behind her, "Sister, I don't care about that fire. Just don't get hurt…"
But when the two were gone, Zhuo Fan flipped back to his calm and calculating face, "Have a pleasant flight, you two~!"
"Ha-ha-ha, Steward Zhuo changes faces quite fast. If I didn't know you any better, that innocent act of yours would've taken me in from the start, thinking you're just a naive kid!"
"Tone down the flattery!"
Zhuo Fan snapped his flickering eyes on Li Jingtian, "You think those monsters are that easily fooled? Humph, they were always on guard!"
"Uh, does that mean our plan is botched? They won't fight?"
"Hardly!"
Zhuo Fan snickered, "Oh, they will fight alright, and go all out as well. Because whenever the old hag wants a fight, the old guy will naturally assist her! But they will always be on guard, because of you!"
Li Jingtian frowned.
Zhuo Fan continued with a chuckle, "While disregarding me completely…"
Just then, a massive boom echoed, followed by the sky splitting in half. One side was filled with a raging inferno to burn the world asunder, while the other a fierce blizzard capable of freezing everything.
Zhuo Fan snickered, "One is extreme fire and the other extreme water, but neither can escape from my palm. I must have these elders…"