"Exactly. I only understood after coming up here. This was set up by Ji Xueyao. She—she's at Cloud Palace Academy. This tower was built to wait for you."
"I'm unwilling to accept this, but I—I couldn't do it..." As Chu Wan'er spoke, two streams of tears rolled down her cheeks.
"Don't cry, don't cry..."
Ye Xuan tenderly wiped the tears from Wan'er's face and comforted her. "The Ji Family's Imperial Formation is unmatched. Even with only a trace of its dao resonance remaining, no outsider could hope to decipher it."
"But I, Ye Xuan, am the exception!"
With that, he raised his hand and pressed it against the barrier. Lightning arcs coursed across it as he began condensing the Ye Clan's Imperial Seal.
The Ye Clan had the support of the contemporary Great Emperor's dao fortune. The Imperial Seal could break all laws.
Even though Ye Xuan's current cultivation only allowed him to roughly draw one ten-thousandth of it, that was already enough.
Thus, before half an hour had passed, the barrier empowered by the Ji Family's Imperial Formation shattered completely!
Ye Xuan lifted Chu Wan'er into his arms and walked toward the Heavenly Thunder Seed floating in the center.
At the same time, in the Central Region of the Barren Continent, Cloud Palace Immortal Mansion.
Inside the Heavenly Pivot Institute Forbidden Area, Ji Xueyao, her hair silver as frost, suddenly opened her eyes.
At that moment, the pendant on her chest floated in the air, radiating wisps of Saint Radiance.
"The Imperial Formation has been broken. Brother Ye Xuan is here!"
Silver light flashed wildly in Ji Xueyao's pupils, and immense delight surged across her face, beautiful as that of a banished immortal.
"Someone!"
Immediately afterward, she shouted sharply.
"Academy Master, what are your orders?"
An aged voice rang out from outside the secret chamber in the forbidden area.
"Immediately notify the Tianxuan City Lord's Mansion and have Qi Chuan head to the Hundred Refinements Tower at once. He must take good care of whoever comes out of the tower!"
"Also, activate all the teleportation arrays along the route to Tianxuan City. I want to descend upon Tianxuan City tomorrow!"
Ji Xueyao rose to her feet, her entire body trembling faintly.
"Tianxuan City?"
The voice outside sounded puzzled, but its owner immediately withdrew to make the arrangements.
"No, wait. I absolutely cannot let that savage girl in the Imperial Palace find out!"
Ji Xueyao suddenly remembered something. She formed hand seals and struck them into the pendant, erasing the Purgatory Mode completion information and severing its connection with the Imperial Capital.
Only then did she rush out of the secret chamber.
On this day, Cloud Palace Academy was shaken to its foundations.
After nearly three years of seclusion, its number-one beauty and Academy Master, Ji Xueyao, emerged and left the academy!
At the same time, inside the Hundred Refinements Tower of Tianxuan City, Ye Xuan held a piece of Heavenly Thunder Wood covered in azure-gold lightning patterns.
A Thunder Bead the size of a dragon's eye floated above the thunderwood.
This was the Heavenly Thunder Seed that Chu Wan'er had risked her life to obtain.
For Ye Xuan now, this item was indeed a supreme treasure.
"Wan'er, you're not allowed to be so reckless again!"
Ye Xuan looked at Chu Wan'er in his arms, nine parts heartache and one part command.
"I—I only wanted to do something for Brother Ye Xuan..." Chu Wan'er buried her face in his chest and muttered softly.
"Take good care of your body. In the future, give me a son and a daughter. That will be more than enough for me." Ye Xuan pinched Wan'er's little cheek.
"Huh?"
Chu Wan'er froze, and then her face flushed crimson with embarrassment.
She suddenly realized that Ye Xuan's cultivation had already reached the peak of the Spirit Sea Realm. Wouldn't that mean he could...
"Let's get out first!"
Ye Xuan smiled and carried Chu Wan'er out of the tower.
At this moment, exactly one hour had passed since Ye Xuan entered the Hundred Refinements Tower.
Outside the Hundred Refinements Tower, waves of shocked cries erupted, disbelief written across everyone's faces.
The Hundred Refinements Tower, which had been silent for a year, had actually erupted with light that shot into the heavens!
"Gasp, what's going on?"
"All nine levels are lit! Someone broke the record!"
"Could it be... Xiao Chengfeng of the Azure Mist Sect?"
The crowd cried out in astonishment.
The cultivators from Cloud-Leaving Monastery and Ba Yue Mountain all turned toward the Azure Mist Sect.
"Brother Chengfeng broke the record?"
Liu Yunxi came to her senses and was instantly overjoyed.
She had never expected Xiao Chengfeng to be so impressive. If he broke the record, wouldn't he become the nominal number one across the four regions?
As his fiancée, she would share in the glory.
"Xiao Chengfeng? Impossible. Didn't Ye Xuan enter too?"
However, Lin Churan, who was standing beside Nangong Fei, shook her head decisively.
They had arrived half a day earlier. After learning that the Violet Firmament Sect had arrived and that Ye Xuan was there as well, she had immediately dragged Nangong Fei over.
If Ye Xuan had entered the Hundred Refinements Tower, then the one who broke the record absolutely could not be Xiao Chengfeng!
Nangong Fei, however, wore a puzzled expression. She did not understand why Lin Churan was so confident.
"How laughable. Ye Xuan? That trash is worthy of breaking the record?!" Ling Tian, who had arrived with Lin Churan, laughed wildly.
During their journey through the secret realm, he had lost all face.
However, after learning that Xuan Ye had failed to emerge, he had secretly reveled in it. Anyone who opposed him deserved to die.
"You must be crazy!"
Liu Yunxi looked at him as if he were an idiot. "Remember this: Ye Xuan is trash!"
"He'll never break the record in his entire life!"
"He's probably already dead inside!"
Buzz!
Before his voice had even faded, the Tower Gate opened, and a figure walked out.
Liu Yunxi looked over, and her expression instantly froze.
Because that person was none other than Ye Xuan!
Ye Xuan wasn't dead!?
And he had come out at this time. Could it be...
In an instant, Liu Yunxi's heart turned cold!
"Wan'er!"
Su Ziyun, however, cared nothing about records. The moment she saw Chu Wan'er in Ye Xuan's arms, she rushed over.
As long as Wan'er was safe, nothing else mattered!
"Sect Master, don't worry. Wan'er needs to recuperate. Let's go!"
Ye Xuan paid no attention to the crowd's astonishment. Carrying Chu Wan'er, he returned to the sect's residence with the Violet Firmament Sect cultivators.
Only after they had gone far did everyone finally come to their senses.
What was going on!?
One person had entered, but two had come out?
When had Chu Wan'er entered the Hundred Refinements Tower!?
Before the crowd could figure it out, light flickered before the Tower Gate, and another figure walked out.
"Brother Chengfeng!"
When Liu Yunxi recognized the person, she was immediately overjoyed.
The one who had broken the record and triggered the Hundred Refinements Tower's phenomenon was clearly her Brother Chengfeng!
Lin Churan frowned at the sight.
"Make way, make way!"
At that moment, a sudden shout rose from outside the crowd.
The sect cultivators all felt an extremely powerful pressure descend without warning, as if the heavens themselves were collapsing and covering the entire area!
The crowd parted, and a large group of black-armored cultivators riding Black Cloud Leopards charged in.
"This is the City Lord's Mansion's Black Cloud Cavalry!"
The crowd cried out in alarm. Even Liu Yunxi and Xiao Chengfeng were rooted to the spot.
The several hundred Black Cloud Cavalry split to either side, and a figure strode forward with the bearing of a dragon and tiger, descending beneath the Hundred Refinements Tower.
The man wore black-and-gold armor, with the build of a tiger-backed bear-waisted warrior. His eyes seemed to seize the soul.
His cultivation was even at the Nirvana Realm, above the Myriad Manifestation Realm!
The Tianxuan City Lord, Region Marquis Qi Chuan!
"Greetings, Marquis Qi!"
The sect masters recovered and hurriedly bowed in salute.
Qi Chuan was not merely the Tianxuan City Lord. He governed the four regions and was also a marquis of Great Gan!
Yet Qi Chuan did not spare them a glance. His gaze fell upon the Hundred Refinements Stele, and he saw that the name ranked first had indeed changed to the Northern Region!
Someone had truly broken the record!
Although the time taken was almost the same as Ji Fengliu's.
"You broke the Hundred Refinements Tower's record?"
Qi Chuan then looked toward Xiao Chengfeng before the Tower Gate.
"Huh?"
Xiao Chengfeng raised his head, utterly bewildered.
Broke the record!?
Although he was confident he could compete with Cloud-Leaving Monastery and Ba Yue Mountain, he should not have been faster than Ji Fengliu, right?
"It was our Brother Chengfeng who broke it!"
By now, Liu Yunxi had recovered. She hurried over, hooked her arm through Xiao Chengfeng's, and whispered, "You broke the record. The City Lord must have come to reward you!"
"I..."
Xiao Chengfeng remained puzzled. But when he saw that the Northern Region was indeed ranked first on the Hundred Refinements Stele, he was dumbfounded.
Could he have miscalculated his time!?
"Hahaha, the Northern Region truly produced a genuine dragon!"
Qi Chuan suddenly laughed and praised him.
Although Xiao Chengfeng did not look capable of surpassing Ji Fengliu, there was nothing he could do. Since Master Ji had arranged this matter, he had to handle it properly!
"This marquis shall bestow a reward!"
His gaze landed on Liu Yunxi. "And this is?"
"Reporting to Marquis, I am Liu Yunxi, Chengfeng's fiancée!" Liu Yunxi hurriedly introduced herself.
Opportunities to show her face like this were few and far between!
"Oh?"
Qi Chuan was startled, but did not think much of it. He directly took a brocade box from his ring.
"I see that your cultivation has reached the Half-step Heavenly Gang Realm. Then this high-grade Yuan Gang Pill shall be your reward!"
"The fiancée of a genuine dragon cannot be trapped before the Heavenly Gang Realm, can she?"
A high-grade Yuan Gang Pill!?
But as she stared at the brocade box, Liu Yunxi stood frozen in place.
Had happiness come too suddenly?
She had yearned for a Yuan Gang Pill but never obtained one. Now, Marquis Qi had actually rewarded her with a high-grade Yuan Gang Pill!?
This item had an eighty percent chance of attracting the Heavenly Tribulation!
Then she could undergo tribulation before the Sect Tournament tomorrow and become a Heavenly Gang Realm expert!
Liu Yunxi trembled with excitement. She stood stunned for a long while before hurriedly accepting the Yuan Gang Pill and preparing to offer her thanks.
"Tsk, no need to stand on ceremony."
"It's only a pill. Nothing worth mentioning!"
"Come, the two of you will accompany me to my manor!"
Qi Chuan waved his hand, then pulled the bewildered Xiao Chengfeng away.
His heart was positively blooming.
"Who said this old Qi didn't understand human relationships?"
"When Master Ji arrives, she'll definitely praise me for handling things so thoughtfully!"
Before you continue