Five-Colored Fire Lotus

Jade Balance Ten Thousand Spears Art!

Facing the Five-Colored Fire Lotus brimming with destructive energy, Yao Ling did not dare let her guard down in the slightest. Dou Qi surged rapidly through her body. She had seen Xiao Yan use fire lotuses to repel enemies more than once. A mere Four-colored Fire Lotus could drive back a Nine-star Dou Zun; if she were truly struck by a Five-Colored Fire Lotus today, she feared she would not emerge unscathed!

Countless cold flashes appeared in the void. In the blink of an eye, each one transformed into a long spear that radiated silver light from end to end. Yao Ling took a deep breath and pointed at the Five-Colored Fire Lotus. Thousands upon thousands of spears shot toward it. Then her figure flickered, and within a few breaths, she had retreated a hundred zhang away. Both the Five-Colored Fire Lotus and the Ten Thousand Spears Art possessed devastating power. She had no desire to be caught in the blast's aftermath.

Xiao Yan took a deep breath and pushed out the Five-Colored Fire Lotus. The fire lotus suddenly accelerated, streaking forward. Before the eyes of the four people on and below the stage, it was pierced straight through by a silver spear. In an instant, a flame storm hundreds of zhang wide swept outward, forcibly detonating every one of the countless incoming spears! Even the space within a hundred zhang collapsed entirely into nothingness.

Xiao Yan did not escape unscathed either. The violent shockwave sent him flying before smashing him heavily into the ground. His clothes were shredded to tatters by the impact, exposing streak after streak of bloodied wounds across his body. Resisting the dizziness, he forced himself to stand with the last wisps of Dou Qi he had left and said indistinctly, "I've taken these hundred moves!"

Yao Dao's eyes were filled with shock and displeasure. The Jade Balance Ten Thousand Spears Art Yao Ling had used was a secret Earth Rank high-level Dou Technique of the Yao Clan. The moment she displayed such a technique, he had concluded that Xiao Yan would surely die beneath it. Who could have expected Xiao Yan to withstand such a technique?

"Elder Yao Dao, the hundred moves are over. It is time for you to fulfill your promise. As for what you instructed me to do beforehand, forgive me, but I cannot comply. I, Yao Ling, cannot possibly condemn an innocent person to death for such an utterly foolish reason." A cold female voice rang out from the arena, and Yao Dao's expression immediately became exceedingly colorful...

"Elder Yao Dao, Ling'er is accusing you, as a teaching elder, of abusing your authority for personal revenge." Yao Chen turned his head and stared fixedly at Yao Dao, his gaze blazing with fury. "If what Ling'er said is true, then having elders of such vile character is truly a misfortune for the Yao Clan!"

"No, no, how would I dare do such a thing? Nine Nether Wind Flame is the sacred flame of our clan. Even members of our clan must pass extremely harsh trials before they are qualified to obtain it. Ling'er can testify that my words are true." Yao Dao explained guiltily. Facing the hostile gazes of the three people, he hurriedly added, "Little friend Xiao Yan has already passed my trial. He only needs to inform me, and I will arrange a suitable time for him to collect the Nine Nether Wind Flame."

"I hope Elder will keep his word." Upon hearing this, Xiao Yan let out a long breath and immediately fainted. His condition had indeed worsened to the absolute limit. He had only held on through sheer determination to obtain the Nine Nether Wind Flame.

"Xiao Yan!" Yao Chen no longer had the mind to argue with Yao Dao. In a single stride, he rushed onto the stage and began examining Xiao Yan's injuries.

"Senior Yao Chen, Xiao Yan's injuries this time must be severe. You should hurry and treat him. It is also my fault—I struck a little too heavily." Yao Ling hurriedly flew to Xiao Yan's side and spoke with extreme guilt.

"It's fine. It is not your fault. If anyone is to blame, it can only be the ill-intentioned person who arranged this match." Yao Chen said grimly. He did not harbor the slightest ill will toward Yao Ling; on the contrary, he felt some goodwill toward her. If Yao Ling had not held back repeatedly, Xiao Yan would likely have died within ten moves.

There was nothingness, and after the nothingness came endless darkness. After an unknown length of time, the darkness gradually dispersed, transforming into more than a dozen Heavenly Flames of various colors: Nine Nether Wind Flame, Turtle Spirit Earth Fire, Three Thousand Burning Flame... After another unknown period of time, the dozen or so Heavenly Flames slowly gathered into a hazy, indistinct consciousness. Then Xiao Yan opened his eyes.

"You're awake." A familiar, lovely female voice reached him. Following it, Xiao Yan saw Yao Ling, dressed in a white gown, sitting upright on a chair at the foot of the bed. Even that slight movement sent a sharp pain through his shoulder, making him suck in several breaths of cold air.

"Don't move around. Your injuries are quite serious." Yao Ling spoke softly in a reproachful tone. Then she took a tube of medicinal ointment emitting a herbal fragrance from her Storage Ring and carefully applied it to the wound on Xiao Yan's shoulder.

"Big Sister Yao Ling, how many days was I unconscious?" Xiao Yan slowly asked as he desperately tried to recall what had happened before he fainted.

"Seven days. During that time, your master personally refined many Eighth-grade Pills in an effort to save your life. On the first day, I fed you three Eight-grade Nine-color Rejuvenation Pills." Yao Ling spoke worriedly. "It is all because I struck too heavily. Had I known, I would have held back even more."

"No, no, thank you for holding back with every move, Big Sister. If you had used your full strength from the start, I would probably already be dead." Xiao Yan hurriedly said. Yao Ling had only used one Dou Technique, yet even he had not expected before their battle that she would go so easy on him. "You need not blame yourself either. The suffering I endured while collecting the other Heavenly Flames was far worse than this."

"Is that so? Then it truly has not been easy for you along the way. How many hardships must you have endured?" Yao Ling sighed. "Compared to you, the so-called peerless geniuses among us Ancient Eight Clans can only be considered fragile flowers raised in greenhouses."

"No, no, Big Sister is still very formidable. You are clearly about the same age as me, yet several times stronger. Xiao Yan truly admires you." Though Xiao Yan was secretly overjoyed, he maintained a calm expression as he spoke.

"Oh, you are too polite..." Bell-like laughter rang out, refreshing the hearts of all who heard it.

A massive abyss cut across the northwestern region of the Medicine Realm, running between several enormous mountain ranges. At the deepest point of the abyss lay the place where the Yao Clan stored and cultivated the Nine Nether Wind Flame. Only Yao Clan members who had reached Nine-star Dou Zun or possessed a Nine-star bloodline were qualified to obtain the Nine Nether Wind Flame from this place. For that reason, the abyss had always seen few visitors. Yet today, several figures flashed through it, bringing a trace of life to the deathly silent chasm.

"Elder Yao Dao, it has been a long time since you came to collect Nine Nether Wind Flame. And now you are taking two at once—what sort of talent has emerged from our Yao Clan?" the guard responsible for watching over the Nine Nether Wind Flame asked curiously.

"Ahem, do not mention it. Because of this matter, I was severely rebuked by the Clan Leader and punished with three months of secluded reflection. If not for collecting the Nine Nether Wind Flame, I would not even have had the chance to come out and move around." Yao Dao said awkwardly. He then recounted everything that had happened recently to the guard in full detail.