Starting as a supporting character in Doupo

After the system's punishment, he clearly felt the change in his eyes.

It was just dawn, and he hadn't activated his battle qi, yet he could easily see the veins of leaves hundreds of meters away.

"The opposite effect of depriving someone of sight is actually enhancing their vision...?"

Xiao Fan pondered to himself, it seemed that all the so-called punishments from the system were actually a form of retaliation.

After regaining his composure, Xiao Fan headed towards the inner courtyard students' accommodation area. He hadn't gone far when he heard a loud explosion ahead.

"Is someone fighting here?"

Xiao Fan stood atop a large tree. The distance from the inner courtyard was neither too far nor too close, but generally no one would come here. Moreover, the oppressive aura he could feel from afar suggested that this magical beast was no ordinary creature.

"Let's go and take a look."

After all, it's the inner courtyard, and you'll usually encounter other students from the inner courtyard. If they encounter any difficulties, you might as well help them.

Xiao Fan concealed his aura and cautiously approached the battleground. The surrounding trees had all been snapped in half by the fierce wind, and the landscape was in a mess. The sounds of fighting could still be heard in the distance.

Xiao Fan flashed past the obstructing trees and quickly saw the battle unfolding.

"This is... the Wind Shadow Wolf King? And, the Sky Howling Ape?"

Hiding behind a tree, Xiao Fan saw the battle taking place; it was two Dou Wang-level magical beasts fighting.

"Strange? The Wind Shadow Wolf King and the Sky Howling Ape are usually magical beasts with a strong sense of territory. They shouldn't be fighting to the death like this, right?"

Xiao Fan hid behind a tree, cautiously observing. He dared not reveal his presence, or he might have to flee for his life.

"However, it's fine as long as they're not students of the academy."

With a change of heart, Xiao Fan became curious about why the two magical beasts were fighting. After all, when these two types of magical beasts fight, it is usually to fight for territory or for rare and precious treasures. Judging from their strength, Xiao Fan guessed it was the latter.

"A rare and precious treasure that could cause two Dou Wang-level magical beasts to fight over it."

Xiao Fan licked his lips, carefully looked around, and wandered around for a while, but found nothing.

"That shouldn't be the case? Why isn't it there?" Xiao Fan scratched his head, puzzled.

"What are you looking for?"

Just as Xiao Fan was scratching his head, a childish voice came from behind him, and Xiao Fan subconsciously answered.

"Find the medicinal herbs they're fighting over..."

As soon as he finished speaking, Xiao Fan suddenly realized something was wrong and instantly created some distance. What appeared in front of Xiao Fan was a little girl who looked about twelve or thirteen years old. She was exquisitely beautiful, wearing a white dress, and her light purple hair fell to her waist.

The little girl was chewing, as if she was still eating something.

Seeing that it was a little girl, Xiao Fan relaxed his guard and quickly pulled her to his side, whispering, "Be careful, don't let those two magical beasts find you..."

Halfway through his sentence, Xiao Fan sensed something was wrong. He glanced down at the little girl he had pulled over, a hint of suspicion flashing in his eyes.

Where did these children come from in this primeval forest?

The inner courtyard, a child? Could it be her?

"What are you afraid of? They can't beat me."

Just as Xiao Fan was pondering, the little girl waved her white fist and said proudly.

Upon hearing the little girl's words, Xiao Fan immediately confirmed her identity; it seemed she was Zi Yan, adopted by Elder Su Qian of the Inner Court.

Xiao Fan then carefully examined the little girl's mouth and noticed a small amount of yellow residue. After a careful observation, he realized it was "bitter lotus." In the little girl's other hand, she held a piece of blue medicinal herb with a row of small teeth marks faintly visible on it.

Case solved!

Xiao Fan has found the reason for the fierce battle between the two magical beasts.

It seems that Zi Yan picked and ate the medicinal herbs they were guarding, causing the two to go berserk and collide, which led to the battle.

Having understood what had happened, Xiao Fan quickly grabbed the little girl by the back of the neck and left the place of trouble.

For some unknown reason, the legendary "King of Brute Strength" Zi Yan did not resist at all. She was led by the back of Xiao Fan and ate the last remaining stalk of medicinal herb in his hand, bite by bite.

After carrying Zi Yan to a safe place, Xiao Fan put her down and carefully examined her.

"Did you fight those two magical beasts because of you?"

Upon hearing this, Zi Yan tilted her head and thought for a moment before saying, "But I want to grow up. When you grow up, you have to eat."

As she spoke, she threw the medicinal herbs in her hand into her mouth, chewed them a few times, swallowed them in one gulp, stuck out her tongue, and scrunched up her little face.

Even though he knew the little girl in front of him was a magical beast in disguise, Xiao Fan was still charmed by her. He took out a small bottle of companion amethyst source from his storage ring and handed it to her.

Upon seeing what Xiao Fan handed her, Zi Yan's eyes lit up. She took it and drank it in one big gulp, her eyes curving into crescent shapes.

"How's it going? Does it taste good?"

Xiao Fan looked at her and smiled faintly.

"Mmm." After taking a sip of the Purple Crystal Essence, the bitterness in Zi Yan's mouth seemed to lessen somewhat. "You're a good person. If you encounter any problems in the inner courtyard in the future, you can come to me!"

"Okay." Xiao Fan smiled. Those medicinal herbs probably don't taste good, right?

Hearing Xiao Fan's words, Zi Yan's face showed a bitter expression again. "I don't want to eat it either, but I won't grow up if I don't eat it. I want to grow up quickly so that I can switch between human and magical beast at will."

Zi Yan recounted to Xiao Fan her story of being bullied by other magical beasts in the mountains, and how she eventually took a Transformation Grass by chance and was taken back to the inner courtyard by Elder Su Qian.

After listening, Xiao Fan rubbed her head and asked, "Aren't you afraid I'm a bad person?"

Upon hearing this, Zi Yan glanced at Xiao Fan, as if to say, "Someone like you, do you think you can beat me?" She shook her head before saying, "I don't think you're a bad person."

Being recognized by Zi Yan would certainly make things more convenient. Xiao Fan smiled and said to her, "I can help you make those medicinal herbs taste better."

Upon hearing Xiao Fan's words, Zi Yan's eyes lit up, and she asked curiously, "Are you an alchemist?"

Seeing Xiao Fan nod, Zi Yan took out a packet of medicinal herbs and handed it to him. "Could you help me make this taste better?"

He accepted the medicinal herb given to him by Zi Yan. It was an extremely rare herb called "Ice Spirit Bitter Cold Fruit". There was a small tooth mark on it. The Ice Spirit Bitter Cold Fruit tasted even blander than ordinary medicinal herbs, and even had a strong bitter taste. No wonder Zi Yan took a bite and then stopped eating.

Xiao Fan glanced at her. Although he was prepared, he was still somewhat shocked to see her eating rare medicinal herbs like candy.

Chapter 157 Returning to the Inner Court

After receiving the Ice Spirit Bitter Cold Fruit from Zi Yan, Xiao Fan took out the medicine cauldron from his storage ring.

A wisp of cyan flame emerged from Xiao Fan's fingertip. In front of outsiders, Xiao Fan usually used the Azure Lotus Earth Core Flame. After all, the Chaos Flame was quite special, and Xiao Fan would not use it outside of combat if outsiders were watching.

The Bone Spirit Cold Flame was originally Yao Lao's flame, and if it were used, there was a risk that someone with ulterior motives might make connections.

Seeing the Azure Lotus Earth Core Flame appear at Xiao Fan's fingertips, a hint of fear flashed in Zi Yan's eyes. After all, magical beasts have an instinctive fear of these violent wonders of nature.

"Don't be afraid."

Seemingly sensing Zi Yan's fear, Xiao Fan softly comforted her before throwing the Azure Lotus Earth Core Flame into the medicine cauldron.

Seeing Xiao Fan throw the strange fire into the medicine cauldron, Zi Yan moved closer to Xiao Fan to watch him refine the medicinal herbs.

Xiao Fan threw the Ice Spirit Bitter Cold Fruit into the medicine cauldron, carefully refining it by controlling the flames, extracting the impurities. After thinking for a moment, he took out several medicinal herbs from his storage ring and threw them into the medicine cauldron.

The Ice Spirit Bitter Cold Fruit has a bitter taste. Xiao Fan just added some herbs that would not affect its medicinal power, which slightly changed its flavor.

After all, this isn't about refining elixirs; it's just a matter of slightly processing them. As long as one is proficient in pharmacology, it's quite easy to do.

Soon the medicinal herbs inside the cauldron turned into liquid. With a gentle shake, Xiao Fan produced more than ten perfectly round pills inside the cauldron.

Xiao Fan put it into a small bottle and handed it to Zi Yan, who was blinking her eyes.

"Hey, why don't you try it and see how it tastes?"

Zi Yan took the bottle from Xiao Fan's hand, eagerly opened it, and popped a pill into her mouth.

"Mmm~" Zi Yan's eyes narrowed into crescent shapes instantly, her childish voice carrying a hint of pleasure. "Not bad, not bad, it's delicious."

"Don't give it to anyone else," Xiao Fan quickly reminded her. "After all, it's just been refined into pills, and the medicinal power inside is still the same. Others don't have your constitution. If they eat it casually, it might cause their meridians to be directly shattered by the medicinal power."

Upon hearing this, Zi Yan quickly waved her hand and clutched the bottle to her chest. "How could that be? I don't even have enough to eat myself."

Seeing that Zi Yan had put away the jade bottle, Xiao Fan smiled slightly and said to her, "You must have come out to look for medicinal herbs, right? Do you want to go back to the academy?"

Upon hearing this, Zi Yan pouted and said, "It's all that old man's fault. I only ate a few of his herbs. I'll give them back to him when I grow up. Why are you being so stingy..."

Xiao Fan knew that Zi Yan often sneaked off to the academy's medicinal herb storage area to have a snack. Elder Hao, who was in charge of the herb storehouse, complained about this a lot. Although the herbs were protected by arrays, Zi Yan was an ancient dragon of the Void and was skilled in spatial arts, so the arrays were just decorations to her.

No wonder I ran into her outside the academy today. It seems she got caught sneaking into the herb warehouse to steal food and had to come out to find something to eat on her own.

"I'm going back to the academy, what about you?" Xiao Fan looked at Zi Yan, whose face was still full of complaints, and couldn't help but feel happy. Just like seeing his younger sister acting cute, he couldn't help but ruffle Zi Yan's hair.

"I'll go back with you."

Zi Yan, who had just received the pill, was extremely happy. Although she didn't want anyone to touch her head, she glanced at the pill in her arms and knew that she would need this person to make candy for her in the future, so she decided to let him touch it.

Hearing Zi Yan's words, Xiao Fan nodded, and then the two of them headed towards the inner courtyard.

As they approached the inner courtyard, Zi Yan told Xiao Fan and then ran off, saying that she would come back to Xiao Fan for help in refining the candy after she finished eating it.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Fan told her where he was and then stopped worrying about it.

When Xiao Fan arrived at the freshman dormitory area, he didn't see anyone. After thinking for a moment, he figured they must have gone to the Heavenly Flame Refining Tower to cultivate, so he didn't bother with them anymore.

On his way back to his room, Xiao Fan encountered Lin Yan, who lived next door.

"Hey? You're back so soon?" Lin Yan smiled as he walked over to Xiao Fan. The bloodshot in his eyes had faded considerably, indicating the medicine was working well. "You seem different to me?"

Walking up to Xiao Fan, Lin Yan looked him over and said with a suspicious expression.

"There's been a breakthrough." Upon hearing this, Xiao Fan simply said it softly, then changed the subject. "How are you feeling now?"