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--- Chapter 87 ---
Sitting on the other side of the hotel for guests, Baek Ain sipped a wine offered by Lan Guan. This mysterious milf clearly had an alcohol addiction as she chugged three jugs of wine in a flash.
They talked about mundane things for fifteen minutes, opening a way into the proper conversation.
Lan Guan burped in satisfaction and asked, "So, what do you want from me?"
"What do you think?" Baek Ain returned with a smile.
Lan Guan shrugged as she kept drinking to her heart's content, which caused Su Qian to sigh more.
Baek Ain is somewhat troubled because he tries to read this woman's thoughts, but she appears to be a free soul with a wild mouth. She is also quite wise, considering she doesn't openly shout random things.
She spoke like a gangster who had vast knowledge.
Thinking about it, Baek Ain decided not to act mysteriously and casually commented, "War."
As if something triggered her, Lan Guan awkwardly stopped drinking and moved her gaze back to Baek Ain. Her brass yellow-colored eyes lit up slightly, observing Baek Ain solemnly.
Baek Ain smiled inside and immediately countered her gaze with Cinder's Eyes, creating an invisible spark between them.
'I can't read him. Those eyes are weird...' Lan Guan faked a cough, putting her wine jug down.
"War? What are you talking about?"
Baek Ain chuckled and tested her calmness even further, "Don't act like a fool, Senior Guan. You know very well the situation of your Fallen Orchid Sect isn't good right now."
On the other hand, Su Qian frowned when hearing Baek Ain's words.
Without letting Lan Guan belittle him, Baek Ain added, "Han Feng, the Medicine Emperor, has waged war against the Fallen Orchid Sect."
"And you're drinking like an addict here. Hmm, I wonder what happened to you..."
Lan Guan cursed, "Damn it."
"So the news has reached the northern region..."
"The Fallen Orchid Sect is doing fine without me, and that pesky Han Fang who called himself Medicine King wouldn't be able to do much."
"First, the news hasn't reached the northern region yet, as even Senior Su Qian didn't know about this. I know because Black-Corner Region has an exceptional information gathering force." Baek Ain shook his head gently.
"Second, are you sure the Fallen Orchid Sect would be fine if I told you Han Feng has two Half-Step Dou Venerate and ten Dou Ancestors on his side?"
He stared at her and continued, "The influence of a high-tier alchemist is not something you can scoff off easily, Senior..."
"Fuck, that slimy bastard has two Half-Step Dou Venerates!" Lan Guan cursed solemnly.
There is a trace of fear in her eyes.
Even though the Fallen Orchid Sect isn't weak, the sect leader and elders are merely 5-Star Dou Ancestors or lower. They are far from enough to deal with Half-Step Dou Venerates.
And she is only a 2-Star Dou Ancestor.
"Half-Step Dou Venerate." Su Qian's eyes widened in shock. The two guardians of Jia Nan Academy are Half-Step Dou Venerate, but they wouldn't come out unless the academy faces absolute danger.
He couldn't help Lan Guan, even if he wanted to.
His cultivation is merely 3-Star Dou Ancestor.
"I must go now. Sorry, Senior Su Qian, I can't fulfill my promise to attend the Thousand Flame Refinement Ceremony." Lan Guan stood up, flicking her wrist to summon her weapon.
It's a massive sword, twice her size. The words "Slay-All-Fiends." are written on the blade.
Lan Guan was about to fly away, but Baek Ain casually grabbed her great sword's handle and caused her to slip onto the ground. Her face slammed onto the dirt awkwardly.
"..." Su Qian.
"..." Yafei.
"..." Yi Xian.
"..." Lan Rou.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Lan Guan lifted her head and spatted dirt from her mouth.
Baek Ain looked down at her and said, "Senior, you took at least weeks to reach Jia Nan Academy. What do you think you were doing just now?"
"Even with spatial portals, it would still take seven days of the journey."
"Get yourself together first. Calm down."
Lan Guan scowled and returned, "Then, why did you warn me about this in the first place?"
"Good question. Of course, to help you."
"Help me?"
"Yup."
"You must be joking... Your cultivation is only 2-Star Dou Ancestor." Lan Guan doubtfully stared at him.
"And I defeated 7-Star Dou Ancestor, that's Old Ground Demon Ghost when I'm only 6-Star Dou Emperor. A realm that, realm this, no wonder old people like you got caught off guard whenever someone can increase their strength explosively..." Baek Ain sneered indifferently.
"Be more open-minded, can't you? Don't set your standard too much on the cultivation realm because many variables decide the victors..."
"Bai Ya is right, junior sister." Su Qian agreed with Baek Ain's statements.
"Don't panic, and think about this carefully first."
Lan Guan gritted her teeth and sighed, "Fine."
"Here, for you..." Lan Rou went down and offered a handkerchief to Lan Guan, surprising Baek Ain, and her fellow sisters.
But then, they had already expected Lan Rou to show more curiosity after knowing someone with an almost similar appearance to her exists.
Lan Guan accepted the handkerchief and smiled, "Thank you."
"At least you weren't so senseless like others." She glared at Baek Ain.
"If I was senseless, then you're brainless." Baek Ain glared back. He isn't afraid of her.
"Haha~!" Su Quan laughed because that was a good comeback. Someone actually has the same intensity of venom on their tongue as his junior sister.
"Don't laugh. You bastard senior!" Lan Guan let out a frustrated groan.
...
...
Returning to the side of the guest hotel, Lan Guan opened a new jug of wine and sipped slowly now. After relishing the taste, she stared at Baek Ain and questioned, "You wanted to help the Fallen Orchid Sect, but there must be a reason behind it, right?"
"Correct." Baek Ain responded with a nod.
"I just want to know why Han Feng abruptly waged war against Fallen Orchid Sect. He's an alchemist, and Fallen Orchid Sect is a sect with swordsmanship origin. These two things aren't correlating to each other."
"Unless Han Feng bore hatred toward Senior Guan's sect, which is not as far as I know."
A grim expression appeared on Lan Guan's expression. As expected, there is something people didn't know about the Fallen Orchid Sect.
She moved her gaze to Su Qian and considered that he was trustworthy enough to know this knowledge, the Fallen Orchid Sect's secrets.
After all, they have become brother and sister under the same banner for years. She looked back at Baek Ain and knew she had to explain the source of the problem.
"There is no point concealing this fact anymore..."
"Junior Ya, you should know about the Heavenly Flame, right?"
Baek Ain nodded calmly as he also possessed Heavenly Flame inside his body. "I do." He silently guessed Lan Guan's following words.
Lan Guan closed her eyes and opened them gently, "Just like Jia Nan Academy, which possesses the Fallen Heart Flame. The Fallen Orchid Sect actually has a Heavenly Flame of our own..."
"The ancestor of Fallen Orchid Sect is the former owner of this flame before she perished and disappeared from the world. As time passes, the flame becomes the number one secret our sect vows to protect."
"We have guarded it for centuries, refining the heat and receiving the benefits of prosperity. It's lower than Fallen Heart Flame in Heavenly Flame Ranking, but its effect is greater in the long run."
Lan Guan clicked her tongue as she continued, "I don't know how, but Han Feng seems to know about this information..."
"The information about our Six Path Reincarnation Flame."
"Six Path Reincarnation Flame." Baek Ain was stunned. 21st on the Heavenly Flame Ranking, this flame is "extremely." mysterious, and its power hasn't been "properly." explained in the original story.
Lan Rou trembled again, shaking her head back and forth because something was causing her to feel an extreme headache.
She grunted behind the veil and hugged Baek Ain in discomfort.
"Rou?" Baek Ain caught her immediately.
"What happened?"
"Ain, my head feels fuzzy." Lan Rou whispered weakly.
SWOOSH!
A dense Dou Qi exploded from Lan Rou's body, sweeping everyone away from her. A mysterious black-and-white hue escaped her body and created this cocoon-like shape.
Bang!
After resisting for a moment, Baek Ain also got pushed away from the cocoon.
"This hue... No way." Lan Guan's eyes widened in surprise.
"Orchid Ancestor!!"