The surging wave of fire that swept out carried not a trace of flourish, only a mountain-crushing, sea-overturning blast of scorching air.

The gatekeeping Disciples who had originally surrounded the area were blasted flying in an instant.

And the figures that had burst through the sky from the distant high heavens, each wrapped in a torrential aura, all had their expressions change on the spot.

Under the scorching air current, they all descended one after another.

They were all old men.

Several whose strength was extremely formidable flashed forward, and in an instant caught the gatekeeping Disciples who had been blasted away.

"Are they Great Power Elders of Heavenly Hidden Mountain?" The gatekeeping Disciples recognized the newcomers, their faces lighting up with delight.

Whoosh...

The mountain-crushing, sea-overturning scorching air had appeared fast and vanished just as quickly.

More than a dozen old men flickered and directly arrived before Xiao Yi.

"Hm?"

The dozen or so people fixed their gaze on Xiao Yi.

In almost an instant, they could see that the person before them was not very old—in fact very young, not much older than the Disciples in their Academy.

Though the newcomer wore a mask and his features could not be seen, that pair of clear eyes was obviously icy cold.

"Impressive—at such an age, to actually have such heaven-shaking Cultivation."

"That blast of scorching air just now was no more than a casual move, yet it carried such terrifying momentum."

"Looking across the Central Region, someone this young with such terrifying Fire Control, I fear there is only that famed Purple Flame Yi Xiao."

"Am I right, Vice Hall Master Yi Xiao?"

Among the dozen old men, the one in the lead cupped his hands and spoke in a deep voice.

The leading old man wore plain white robes. The white was not spotless, but it was very clean.

Looking closely, there was nothing extra on his hands and feet; on his feet he wore only a pair of dull gray cloth shoes.

Looking at his head, a full head of white hair hung loose to his shoulders, with no topknot or hairpin to bind it, yet it did not appear messy in the slightest. Instead, as a whole he gave off a crisp, neat impression.

Yes, the old man could not be said to have an immortal’s bearing, but that trace of plainness and decisiveness made him all the more solemn in others’ eyes.

At this moment, the old man had his hands cupped, and the salute he gave was actually one between equals.

On the Flame Dragon Continent, strength was paramount; everything else, such as age, was but illusory.

Clearly, the old man had already placed Xiao Yi on the same tier of strength as himself.

And in fact, the moment he saw that scorching wave of air and the clothes the young man before him wore, he had already roughly guessed the newcomer’s identity.

In addition, Xiao Yi had already announced himself upon arrival as "Demon Hunter, Yi Xiao."

Across the Central Region, to be called "Yi Xiao" and to possess such shocking Fire Control and strength—there was only that Purple Flame Yi Xiao.

Naturally, the old man directly spoke Xiao Yi’s name.

And now, while the old man cupped his hands and addressed him as "Vice Hall Master Yi Xiao," the three words "Vice Hall Master" were bitten out especially heavily.

The group of ordinary old men behind him showed cold looks on their faces. "Purple Flame Yi Xiao, we have heard of your great name."

"Sweeping across every region all the way, slaughtering Evil Cultivation Branches, killing countless Evil Cultivators—your merits are numerous and your fame shook a generation."

"But that doesn’t mean you can come to my Heavenly Hidden Academy and run wild."

"Run wild?" Xiao Yi’s tone was indifferent. "I don’t have that kind of interest."

What Xiao Yi said was not "I didn’t come to run wild," but "I don’t have that kind of interest."

The meaning was self-evident.

The faces of the dozen old men instantly turned ugly, anger flashing across them as they were about to bark in rebuke.

Xiao Yi cut them off coldly. "No need to waste words with me. I came only to take someone. Once I’ve taken them, I’ll leave."

"Take someone? Who?" the white-robed old man asked blandly.

"Mo Youh," Xiao Yi replied.

"Mo Youh? Which Mo Youh?" The white-robed old man chuckled lightly. "My Heavenly Hidden Academy has over a thousand Academy Stewards and more than a hundred thousand Disciples. I don’t know who you’re looking for."

"Furthermore, since Vice Hall Master Yi Xiao, you belong to the Demon Hunting Hall, Flame Hall, and Medicine Venerate Hall of the Three Halls—"

"Then you should understand what Hall Rules are."

"My Heavenly Hidden Academy has neither demon beasts nor Evil Cultivators. As for wanted criminals—if there were any, we would be the first to know."

"I don’t know what exactly Vice Hall Master Yi Xiao intends by coming to my Heavenly Hidden Academy."

"You say you’re here to take someone? Heh." The white-robed old man suddenly let out a cold laugh. "You blow my Heavenly Hidden Academy’s mountain gate to smithereens—is that how you ’take someone’?"

Every word from the white-robed old man was sharp as a blade, his tone pressing aggressively.

Xiao Yi’s eyes did not change; they were still that same chilling indifference that made one’s skin crawl.

"Hua Qingyi, you still remember the Hall Rules?" Xiao Yi spat out the words, flat and cold.

The originally calm expression of the white-robed old man abruptly changed.

Xiao Yi said coldly, "Hua Qingyi, Vice Hall Master of the Flame Hall Main Hall, bearing one of the Supreme flames—the Clear Sky Pure White Flame."

"For any mission you took on, you struck with Lei Ting-like fury, handling everything with violent means."

"For wanted targets, you never asked for the reason—either dead or crippled. On demon beast missions, you’d casually burn entire forests to ash, regardless of the cultivators training within or the Martial Artists from all sides."

"As for Evil Cultivators, you didn’t kill that many, but every time you hunted them, you stirred up grievances across all regions, throwing everything into turmoil."

"Thirty-three years ago, you mysteriously vanished without a trace."

"Later, it became known that you were at Heavenly Hidden Academy, but you no longer concerned yourself with the Flame Hall’s affairs."

"You never again accepted a single Flame Hall mission; and every few years when the Main Hall held its reporting assemblies, you ignored them all."

"You..." Xiao Yi paused, his tone icy. "Have the face to speak to me of Hall Rules?"

"You... how could you possibly know all that so clearly?" The white-robed old man—Hua Qingyi—now had an incomparably ugly expression on his once-placid face.

Xiao Yi ignored him and instead said coldly, "Within Heavenly Hidden Academy, there are indeed no demon beasts, Evil Cultivators, or wanted criminals."

"But who ever said I came here to carry out a mission?"

Hua Qingyi gave a cold laugh. "Then you barged into my Heavenly Hidden Academy for no reason at all?"

"Also, do you have an edict from the Main Hall? If not, what right do you have to come here to take someone? What right do you have to run wild in Heavenly Hidden Academy?"

"Though I, Hua Qingyi, have not returned to the Flame Hall Main Hall for decades, this old man’s friends are still there. If I go back and impeach you, I’m afraid you, this newly announced successor, might not be able to sit your seat securely."

"Heh heh." Xiao Yi let out a faint laugh. This was the first time he had smiled—yet it was cold to the extreme.

"Hua Qingyi, you’re playing word games with me?"

"You think I, Yi, need an edict to take someone?" Xiao Yi’s eyes suddenly turned frigid.

"If it weren’t for the fact that my little brother has some slight connection with your Academy Steward, you think I, Yi, would be standing here wasting breath with you?"

"If it weren’t for my little brother’s sentimentality, what I’d have blasted today wouldn’t be your Heavenly Hidden Academy’s mountain gate, but that Heavenly Hidden Mountain peak that pierces straight into the clouds."

Boom... 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

As soon as Xiao Yi’s words fell, a sky-reaching flame instantly condensed.

The terrifying aura and scorching wave of fire were even more intense than before.

Where the fire wave passed, not a single blade of grass survived; the ground turned charred-black as if roasted.

"You..." Hua Qingyi and the more than ten Elders behind him all had their faces change drastically.

Heavenly Hidden Mountain was the tallest peak of their Heavenly Hidden Academy, and also a Forbidden Land of the Academy, the place where the Great Power Elders went into seclusion.

The meaning in Yi Xiao’s words was already beyond obvious.

And the aura contained within that sky-reaching flame already showed that he had no interest in wasting words any longer.

If they didn’t hand the person over, then they would fight!

...

First Chapter update.