Chapter 167: Submission (Please subscribe, please vote)

The members of Canaan Academy were all shocked when they saw the Invisible Fire Python break through its seal. The elders had struggled greatly just moments ago to imprison it, and now its escape could not have come at a worse time. If the people from the Black Corner Region decided to take advantage of the chaos, it would be a dire situation.

Everyone’s gaze was fixed upon the Invisible Fire Python, watching intently to see whether it would ally itself with the Black Corner Region.

“Enough! Silence!” Xiao Xie shouted at the Invisible Fire Python, his cold eyes staring it down.

The Invisible Fire Python, which had been roaring furiously toward the sky, immediately closed its mouth at Xiao Xie’s command. It lowered its body and flew to Xiao Xie’s side, bowing its head in a submissive gesture, rubbing its serpent head against Xiao Xie’s leg in a manner both docile and ingratiating.

Witnessing the python’s groveling before Xiao Xie, Su Qian and his companions were utterly dumbfounded. Was this truly the Fallen Heart Flame they had exerted so much effort to seal? If they had known Xiao Xie could handle it so easily, all that trouble would have been unnecessary!

The mighty figures from the Black Corner Region were speechless as they watched the scene unfold. In their hearts, they grumbled, “Damn! Fallen Heart Flame, where’s your dignity as a Heavenly Flame? Aren’t you ashamed to behave like this? Truly a coward, bullying the weak and fearing the strong!”

“Split off a portion of your essence,” Xiao Xie ordered the Fallen Heart Flame. Before he possessed the Mangekyō Sharingan, dealing with the Fire Python would have been troublesome. But with the Mangekyō Sharingan, intelligent Heavenly Flames like this one were easier to subdue. Just like the nine tailed beasts in the world of Naruto, before the Mangekyō Sharingan, they were mere pets, easily manipulated.

Although the Invisible Fire Python was reluctant, under the control of the Mangekyō Sharingan, it split off a tenth of its essence, forming a smaller python more than two meters long. Having parted with a portion of its essence, the python appeared weakened—it was a considerable loss for it.

Xiao Xie temporarily stored the Invisible Fire Python in his spatial ring. Though the ring could not hold living creatures, the Fallen Heart Flame was not truly alive, only an intelligent Heavenly Flame, so it could be stored.

He placed the smaller python inside the Heavenly Burning Qi Tower. This ensured the tower would continue to operate, which was vital for the Inner Academy. Without this accelerator for cultivation, the Inner Academy would be little different from the Outer Academy.

“Great Elder, this young Fallen Heart Flame has low intelligence. Let it grow within the Heavenly Burning Qi Tower. Once it matures, it will become dependent on the Inner Academy and may serve as its guardian,” Xiao Xie said to Su Qian after placing the flame in the tower.

Su Qian nodded and smiled. “Xiao Xie, we owe you greatly this time.”

Su Qian fully approved of Xiao Xie’s actions. For Canaan Academy, a controllable Fallen Heart Flame was far more valuable than one prone to violent outbursts. Their need was not for a battle-ready flame, but one that would sustain the Qi Tower’s operation.

After finishing his conversation with Su Qian, Xiao Xie used Shunpo to appear beside Han Beng, snatching Han Feng from his grasp. With a slight squeeze of his palm, Xiao Xie killed Han Feng, a flash of white light passing through his hand as he used the Divine Refining Hand to extract a white treasure chest from Han Feng’s corpse, which he promptly stored in his spatial ring.

He looked coldly at the frightened experts of the Black Corner Region. “You have two choices: submit to me, or join Han Feng in death.”

“I’ll give you ten breaths to decide. Ten, nine, eight, five, four…” Xiao Xie counted down in a chilling voice, his battle energy already gathering.

“I submit! I submit!” The Blood Sect’s leader, Fan Lao, was the first to buckle under the pressure. For him, living, even in submission, was better than dying. Yielding to a powerful figure like Xiao Xie was no shame.

“I submit as well!”

“I submit!”

With Fan Lao taking the lead, the others quickly followed suit. Anyone able to thrive in the Black Corner Region was no fool; they would not stubbornly cling to pride only to die. More than anyone, they understood that survival was paramount.

“Release your minds,” Xiao Xie said, “I will mark your souls with my imprint. If you resist, don’t blame me if you turn into imbeciles!”

Fan Lao and his group turned pale. With Xiao Xie’s soul imprint upon them, their lives would be at his whim. Though they were reluctant, the murderous intent in Xiao Xie’s gaze left them with no choice but death if they refused.

Between slavery and death, the decision was simple. Otherwise, there would not be so many slaves in the world. The moment they chose submission, the group was prepared for this. Fan Lao led the way, allowing Xiao Xie to mark his soul, knowing that avoiding it was impossible, and it was better to make a good impression.

With Fan Lao taking the lead, the others quickly followed, receiving soul imprints. After marking everyone, Xiao Xie flashed over to the bodies of the Gold and Silver Elders, using the Divine Refining Hand to extract two white treasure chests from their corpses, storing them in the spatial ring.

He then placed the three corpses—Han Feng and the Gold and Silver Elders—together, using Bone Summoning Technique. Three masses of black mist shot forth from his hands and entered the bodies.

Moments later, the corpses vanished, replaced by three skeletons. Xiao Xie then used Hellfire to reinforce them, transforming all three into skeletal knights clad in bone armor.

The two skeletons transformed from the Gold and Silver Elders’ bodies, after being fortified by Xiao Xie’s Hellfire, possessed power comparable to a one-star Dou Zong. These skeletal knights, due to their undead resilience, could continue fighting as long as they were not utterly destroyed, making them far more troublesome than ordinary Dou Zongs. The skeleton created from Han Feng’s corpse, likewise reinforced, reached the strength of a seven-star Dou Huang.

With a thought, Xiao Xie turned the three skeletal knights into three bone spheres—summoning mediums for the knights, who returned to the realm of the dead. When needed, the user could summon them for battle through the bone spheres.

Xiao Xie handed one bone sphere, containing a Dou Zong-level skeletal knight, to Fan Lao. Rewarding his subordinates was the proper way to keep them motivated. Though Xiao Xie had just marked their souls, and they dared not complain, resentment lingered. If not properly rewarded, they would drag their feet in carrying out future tasks.

Fan Lao had been the first to submit and allow his soul to be marked, setting an example. Thus, Xiao Xie gave him a bone sphere, both as a reward and an incentive to the others.

“Thank you, master! Thank you, master!” Fan Lao was momentarily stunned as he received the bone sphere from Xiao Xie, then hastily knelt and bowed in gratitude. This skeletal knight was at the Dou Zong level; Fan Lao himself was only a four-star Dou Huang. With this knight, he could dominate the Black Corner Region.

His earlier resentment over the soul imprint was now replaced by pure gratitude. A Dou Zong-level bodyguard was priceless; even selling the entire Blood Sect wouldn’t be enough to buy one.

“Enough, rise,” Xiao Xie said indifferently.

“Yes, master!” Fan Lao respectfully stood, unable to hide the joy on his face.

The others looked at him with envy. Contempt? The people of the Black Corner Region secretly thought, “If someone gave me a Dou Zong-level bodyguard, I’d gladly call him grandfather!”

“You need not envy him. If you perform well, your rewards will not be lacking,” Xiao Xie said, sensing the fervent gazes from the Black Corner Region’s experts, shaking the remaining two bone spheres in his hand.

“We shall obey our master’s orders!” they all responded in unison.