Nine Star Burden

Chapter 242: Big Brother

“Oh my god, this is too spectacular,” Jiang Xiao remarked in awe when he looked at the magma lake not too far away, only to be amazed by the wonder of nature’s masterpiece.

The magma lake was bubbling and boiling with loud, bubbling sounds. Sometimes, sparks would dart outwards, creating a rather eye-catching scene. If one were to look at it for a long time, they would definitely find it an eyesore. It was truly glowing.

If Xia Yan were to be thrown in there, she would probably be burnt badly, regardless of how thick her skin might be, right?

Jiang Xiao subconsciously looked at Xia Yan beside him.

Xia Yan was drenched in sweat after the long journey that lasted more than two hours. She was raising her head and chugging water.

“Yeah.” Xia Yan chugged half of a large bottle of mineral water and removed the mask before pouring the mineral water on her head and face. She then shook her head left and right, seemingly rather pleased and comfortable.

To his surprise, Jiang Xiao felt that she was behaving like a husky shaking its body after a shower...

Xia Yan threw the mineral water bottle into the magma lake, watching as it slowly submerged and got melted by the magma, before finally disappearing without a trace. Xia Yan’s eyes glistened with some excitement.

Jiang Xiao was slightly astonished.

What kind of expression is that?

He looked at the mineral water bottle that was “destroyed” and then turned to look at Xia Yan, who seemed to be rather interested. Although Jiang Xiao was standing near the hot magma lake at this moment, he still felt a cold chill down his spine.

“Shall we continue?” Jiang Xiao suggested feebly.

Xia Yan glanced at him and smiled casually before taking out another specially-made anti-dust mask and putting it on her face. She then said in a muffled voice, “I heard that there are some strange creatures in this magma too.”

“Oh?” Jiang Xiao looked at her in bewilderment, as the information that she revealed could not be found in books at all. Of course, Xia Yan’s statement had yet to be verified.

“Keep your eyes fixed on the correct place,” Xia Yan said while noticing Jiang Xiao’s gaze and tugging his wet collar to pull him forwards. However, her actions couldn’t hide her alluring body and curves at all.

“Uh...” Jiang Xiao muttered as he frantically turned around.

“Ah, the old Xiaopi is still better. You used to be so weak, pitiful, and helpless. You were so likable, unlike now. Sigh... you dart your eyes around and your mind is corrupted.” Xia Yan lamented while pulling the giant sword out of the sheath on her back, giving Jiang Xiao a great shock.

Jiang Xiao frantically pulled his giant sword out too and carried his backpack on his back, thinking to himself that if Xia Yan were to suddenly fly into a rage and attack him, he would at least be able to shield himself with the sword.

He and Xia Yan rarely went on missions together.

When Jiang Xiao first arrived in this world, Xia Yan was the one who took on the role of a teacher and helped him integrate into the world while teaching him some swordsmanship techniques.

Jiang Xiao thought about it and found it to be rather interesting. Back then, he couldn’t even fight a single White Ghoul and was still a clumsy little greenhorn.

Now, Jiang Xiao had already evolved into a great toxic healer in the volcano.

Time passed rather quickly.

“What do you mean?” Xia Yan suddenly asked.

“Huh... huh?” Jiang Xiao was suddenly stunned and he glanced at Xia Yan’s beautiful and toned body before finally noticing the battle that was taking place.

He finally understood why Xia Yan pulled her giant sword out of the sheath. It turned out that there was a team attacking them.

It was a Lava Ghoul General, a strong and domineering Silver Quality creature of another dimension that lived in the volcanic Dimensional Space. It contained the Star Techniques, Flame Arc and Scorch.

Jiang Xiao only saw a team of four being hunted by a massive red demon.

The good news was that Lava Ghoul Generals were lone rangers and did not live in clusters.

The bad news was that the Lava Ghoul General was really menacing!

It was about two meters tall, had a huge body, broad shoulders, powerful limbs, fiery red skin, and a head that resembled a Western demon.

It had sharp fangs and claws that were extraordinarily powerful and fast.

The most important thing was that whenever the Lava Ghoul General waved its claws, it would throw out a fiery red Flame Arc.

Jiang Xiao didn’t know the team of four in the distance, but clearly, their combat skills were not that superb. A warrior was fighting hard in front, but he was entirely outclassed by the Lava Ghoul General.

The other warrior seemed to be out of touch with the team and retreated from the battle. However, his body wasn’t too flexible or nimble; it seemed that he had been hurt.

The Rules Awakened at the back would throw out Bursting Flames fireballs every now and then, but their accuracy and power were limited, and it was very likely that the fireballs would affect the melee members nearby.

The Medical Awakened at the back was holding onto a shot of Bell on one hand and continuously healing their teammate, according to the rules.

People tended to look at the small group of people at the top of the hierarchy and mistakenly believed that their abilities were normal for the Awakened students.

However, in reality, teams like Jiang Xiao’s, Wu Haoyang’s, and Zhou Cang’s were minorities.

Most High School Awakened students were of the same competency as the team of four in front of Jiang Xiao.

Hence, when the students saw the team from Jiangbin High School, they got into an uproar and were rather jealous and green with envy.

Even for the team from Xindan Creek High School No. 11, which came in second during the Beijiang Provincial High School League, An Youyou immediately protested without hesitation when Wu Haoyang suggested that they imitate the actions of the team from Jiangbin High School.

“Are we going to help them?” Xia Yan asked.

Her sentence stunned Jiang Xiao.

She... was asking for his opinion!

In terms of strength and qualifications, Xia Yan definitely deserved to be a leader. However, she was actually asking for Jiang Xiao’s opinion at this moment.

What did that mean?

It meant that the wisdom and wit that Jiang Xiao had displayed during the battle was recognized by her.

Otherwise, even if Han Jiangxue forced Xia Yan to obey him, she wouldn’t succumb. She couldn’t be careless because the matter concerned their lives and the team’s future.

“Xiaopi?” Xia Yan asked while looking into the distance, only to see that the team was losing and was in a horrible predicament.

The physical attributes of the Lava Ghoul Generals were extremely strong. It was no wonder that the “Volcano” was considered a high-level Dimensional Space where the creatures were indeed tough and menacing.

The Lava Ghoul General had sharp claws, and the Flame Arc that it threw out had a long attack range. The more infuriating thing was that the melee fighters didn’t dare to get too close because the explosive Scorch was fatal!

The explosive flames and rolling waves of air flowed outwards, making the team feel helpless.

After just a few rounds, Jiang Xiao found the Achilles’ heel of the team. The Rules Awakened had been restrained!

Due to the special terrain, the Rules Awakened’s control Star Technique, Vine, was growing very slowly out of the ground, though it was unclear if the speed was limited because of the attributes of the Star Technique.

Besides, even if the Rules Awakened succeeded in predicting and really wrapped the vines around the ankles of the Lava Ghoul General, the Lava Ghoul General would be able to tear the vine apart easily with his sharp claws.

Jiang Xiao squatted down, grabbed a handful of hot, black soil with one hand before rubbing it and removing his mask with the other. He then began sniffing the hot soil.

Xia Yan’s temper would never change. Having failed to get a response from him for a long time, the angst Xia Yan turned around and kicked Jiang Xiao when she saw him squatting on the ground and sniffing the soil.

Jiang Xiao sat down on the ground, feeling a little dumbfounded.

“Say something. Do we help them or not?” Xia Yan questioned in exasperation.

Jiang Xiao was filled with resentment. He initially thought that he was the commander of the team and that he had a high status. However, it seemed that that was not the case.

“We can help, but it’s not necessary,” Jiang Xiao answered.

Xia Yan picked up the giant sword and patted it on Jiang Xiao’s face before barking in anger. “Give me a clear answer! Do we help or not!?!”

“Wow...” Jiang Xiao raised his head and looked at her solemn and austere expression. He suddenly felt like some strange attribute in his body was awakened, and he couldn’t help but ask, “Missy, I’ll acknowledge you as my big brother. Can you give birth to a child for me?”

Xia Yan was dumbfounded.