Female Protagonist Assistance System

Chapter 87 : . Sudden Anomaly

As expected of a high-ranking Heterogeneous Flame, it had developed intelligence comparable to a Magical Beast. If not for the Tribulation Lightning as her trump card, Xiao Han might not have dared to be so reckless.

"Boom—"

The blood-red lightning collided with the magma, the massive shockwave shattering the surrounding structures. Xiao Han retreated two steps, barely suppressing the surging qi and blood within her body.

"It's indeed somewhat forced," Xiao Han's brow furrowed slightly. She seemed to have underestimated the Fallen Heart Flame's strength, now feeling somewhat overwhelmed.

[Host, something's amiss!] The system suddenly exclaimed, [According to the data, this Fallen Heart Flame shouldn't possess such terrifying power. Its strength is abnormal!]

Hearing this, Xiao Han's heart jolted.

[I advise the Host to leave this place immediately!] The system's voice sounded urgent.

At that moment, Su Qian hurriedly returned: "Everyone has been evacuated from the Sky Burning Qi Refining Tower. Xiao Han, we should leave quickly too. The elders have begun preparing the seal."

Xiao Han nodded, her figure flickering as she swiftly departed towards the exit alongside Su Qian.

As they were about to reach the exit, Xiao Han suddenly felt an intense pain in her dantian. Her Dou Qi instantly stagnated, and she violently coughed up blood, her body uncontrollably plummeting at high speed.

Su Qian was startled and instinctively reached down to catch Xiao Han.

"What's happening?" Su Qian's expression was grave, his face looking unwell.

Xiao Han's face had turned pale. She felt as if her dantian was being torn apart, the pain penetrating to her bones.

She tremblingly tugged at Su Qian, her voice quavering: "Quickly, leave. Something's wrong here!"

Although Su Qian didn't understand what had happened to Xiao Han, he could sense that her aura had undergone a subtle change, becoming increasingly weak. He hesitated no longer and increased his speed dramatically.

Just as they were about to leave, a violent surge of Dou Qi suddenly appeared from nowhere, striking Su Qian's arm. Unable to dodge in time, Su Qian was hit squarely, causing him to release his grip on Xiao Han in pain, and she fell.

Below, the fire python roared upwards, with scorching magma surging up alongside it.

With no time to search for the attacker, Su Qian instinctively channeled all his Dou Qi and rushed towards Xiao Han, but a black shadow blocked his path.

The shadow was a man wrapped in a black robe, his face slightly pale, his whole body exuding an uncomfortable aura of malevolence.

"Elder Su Qian, it's better to mind your own business and not meddle in affairs that don't concern you," the man's voice was somewhat hoarse, as if his throat had suffered some injury.

Hearing this voice, Su Qian's eyes widened: "You are... the Left Envoy of the Soul Hall, Hun Jing Lang!"

The man chuckled softly, not denying it.

"This Fallen Heart Flame, it's your Soul Hall's doing?!" Su Qian gnashed his teeth, his voice filled with overwhelming anger, "Is your Soul Hall seeking to make an enemy of our Jia Nan Academy?!"

Hun Jing Lang spoke indifferently: "It's merely an order from the Young Hall Master... But even if we were to become enemies with your Jia Nan Academy, so what? Do you think the Soul Hall fears your Jia Nan Academy?"

Indirectly admitting that this incident was indeed their Soul Hall's handiwork, Su Qian, upon hearing this, roared in anger. He circulated his Dou Qi and raised his hand to strike at Hun Jing Lang. With every movement, powerful Dou Qi erupted, causing the air to seemingly fracture.

"Get out of my way!"

Concerned about Xiao Han's abnormal situation, Su Qian hesitated no longer and immediately unleashed his strongest Dou Technique.

A dark Dou Qi brilliance emerged, the powerful energy distorting the space around it. Violent air currents surged upwards, directly towards Hun Jing Lang.

"If you wish to save that woman, you needn't bother," Hun Jing Lang sneered, his aura suddenly skyrocketing. With Dou Qi nearly on par with Su Qian's, he fiercely met the attack: "Anyway, the Young Hall Master has decreed that Xiao Han must die today!"

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"Damn it!" Xiao Han cursed softly as she fell. Whenever she tried to summon her Dou Qi, her dantian would be wracked with excruciating pain, as if it might shatter at any moment.

Soon, this intense pain spread from her dantian upwards, engulfing her entire body. Although Xiao Han was known for her pain tolerance, under this agony, she felt utterly helpless.

What was happening?

The Tribulation Lightning seemed to be restrained by something, completely unresponsive to her commands. Upon internal inspection, she could see a seemingly ethereal black mist entwining her dantian, enveloping the Tribulation Lightning. Around the black mist, a faint golden light lingered, carrying a familiar aura.

[This is— Sha Qi??] The system's voice broke, filled with intense disbelief, [How is this possible?!]

As her consciousness gradually blurred, hearing the system's terrified voice in her mind, she instinctively asked: "Sha Qi... what is it?"

[It's the collective embodiment of negative emotions from all living beings... Host, please stay awake!!] If it weren't a machine, the system would likely have burst into tears. It desperately wanted to shake Xiao Han's shoulders, urging her to stay conscious, to not faint here.

[Damn it, when did this Sha Qi...] The system was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan, pacing back and forth. A overwhelming sense of helplessness surged through its circuits.

What it didn't tell Xiao Han was that amidst the Sha Qi, there lingered a rich aura of karmic fortune. Generally, karmic fortune belongs to heaven and earth. Even those with the densest karmic fortune, the children of destiny, only borrow it from heaven and earth. Upon their death, the karmic fortune detaches from them, returning to heaven and earth. During this process, the personal aura on the karmic fortune is cleansed, becoming ownerless once again until heaven and earth bestow it upon another person.

However, karmic fortune forcibly stripped from a person retains the original owner's aura as it hasn't been recalled by heaven and earth.

The system could sense that the rich karmic fortune clearly carried Hun Jin's aura!

It instantly understood.

However, Xiao Han had already fallen into a semi-comatose state, her body plummeting straight down.

Below, formless flames surged upwards, followed by a sea of fire. The fire python opened its blood-red maw, swallowing the falling Xiao Han.

"Boom—"

The moment it swallowed Xiao Han, the flames surged again. The sturdy Qi Refining Tower began to crumble gradually. Massive stone blocks were shattered, falling like cannonballs, yet vanishing instantly upon contact with the flames.

"Bang— Bang!"

Two figures clashed. Sensing the changes in the Sky Burning Qi Refining Tower, Su Qian's pupils contracted sharply.

Hun Jing Lang's figure retreated violently. He looked up at the collapsing Sky Burning Qi Refining Tower and cackled: "Old ghost, this thing is about to collapse. If you don't leave now, you might never get out."

As he spoke, the black qi around him suddenly surged. Then, with a piercing screech that tore through the sky, his entire being transformed into a streak of black light, darting towards the exit like lightning.

Su Qian looked down, his eyes revealing a hint of sorrow. He released his spiritual sense, scanning the tower. When his spiritual sense touched the Fallen Heart Flame, it was instantly shattered. Su Qian had no choice but to focus his attention on areas unaffected by the Fallen Heart Flame, yet he couldn't detect Xiao Han's aura.

He gritted his teeth and finally left.

The moment Su Qian emerged, a golden formation instantly appeared at the exit. The Fallen Heart Flame crashed against the golden light with a thunderous "boom".

Su Qian's expression was grim. He landed beside the elders and saw about a dozen black-robed figures in the distance. The leader seemed familiar to him. After a moment's thought, his expression changed slightly.

That was...

"Xiao Yan?" Su Qian spoke, his voice tinged with uncertainty.

Hearing his name called, Xiao Yan lazily raised his head. Seeing it was Su Qian, he revealed a smile that could only be described as malicious: "Ah, Elder Su. I have a question, if Elder Su would be willing to answer?"

Su Qian's face was somber. Seeing Xiao Yan's demeanor and the Soul Hall members behind him, how could he not understand what was happening?

How could someone who had attained the position of elder at Jia Nan Academy be a fool?

"What do you want to ask?" Su Qian's voice was cold.

Xiao Yan smiled faintly, the malice in his black eyes seemingly about to overflow. His words, however, made everyone present break out in cold sweat: "I wonder... is Xiao Han dead or not?"

Su Qian narrowed his eyes slightly: "You're behind all this?"

Xiao Yan laughed arrogantly: "Who else?"

In truth, it wasn't entirely his doing. Heaven's Path had informed him that the Fallen Heart Flame would erupt today. All he did was, with Heaven's Path's assistance, add certain elements to the Fallen Heart Flame, making it more volatile and terrifying.

Most importantly, when Xiao Han used her Tribulation Lightning, he injected the seal created by Heaven's Path into her body.

Only then did Xiao Yan realize that when Xiao Han had thrashed him in the Outer Court selection finals, Heaven's Path had already placed part of the seal in her dantian. This seal had been dormant in her dantian, merely making Xiao Han feel fatigued and weak, without any other effects. The most crucial part was today's seal.

That seal was made using Hun Jin's karmic fortune. It could isolate Dou Qi from the dantian, preventing Xiao Han from using Dou Qi or even that bizarre lightning.

The thought of his greatest enemy being eliminated made Xiao Yan tremble with excitement.

Xiao Yan swept his gaze over the terrified students in front of the Sky Burning Qi Refining Tower, threw back his head and laughed loudly. With a wave of his hand, he shouted: "Let's go!"

Then, he looked towards the grim-faced elders and smiled: "Elder Su, I'll leave this for you to deal with. I hope I won't hear news of the Inner Court's complete destruction tomorrow."

Watching the departing Soul Hall members with a cold expression, Su Qian turned and shouted sternly at the numerous students in the distance: "All of you, leave the Inner Court and head for the deep mountains!"

Hearing Su Qian's shout, the Inner Court students crowded on various rooftops began to panic. The Fallen Heart Flame in the sky, though not enormous, emanated a terrifyingly destructive force. They had no doubt that if it fell, the entire Inner Court would be incinerated in an instant!

Su Qian glared hatefully at the Fallen Heart Flame, gritted his teeth, and closed his eyes: "Xiao Han... she is a hero of the Inner Court!"

If Xiao Han hadn't held back the Fallen Heart Flame, the entire tower would have likely shattered the moment it erupted, and the excellent students inside would have had no chance of escape.

After a while, he opened his eyes and clenched his fists:

"Begin the sealing!"