Xiao Yan and Yao Chen

"Miss Nalan, for your grandfather's sake, Xiao Yan has a few words for you. Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river. Don't bully a youth for being poor!"

Xiao Yan's stern words echoed throughout the grand hall, the classic line from the original work finally spoken. Xiao Yi Xian watched this epic drama unfold with great interest.

"Father, in three years, Yan'er will go to the Misty Cloud Sect and personally wash away today's humiliation for you!" With teary eyes, Xiao Yan kowtowed heavily, then rose straight up and walked out of the hall without hesitation.

As he passed Nalan Yanran, Xiao Yan paused his steps, his clear, tender voice spitting out coldly.

"In three years, I will find you!"

The youth's retreating figure, bathed in sunlight, stretched out long, appearing lonely and desolate.

Xiao Zhan, watching from the high platform, felt a headache coming on as he looked at the onlookers below. He had opened the Xiao Family's doors to let people watch in the first place to leverage their support.

He never expected it to turn into such a grand spectacle. Just thinking about it made his head hurt...

Xiao Yi Xian, seeing that the farce had concluded, didn't want to witness Xiao Xun'er's Golden Emperor Burning Heaven Flame later. She cautiously followed behind Xiao Yan.

"Today's humiliation, I, Xiao Yan, do not wish to suffer a second time!" A roar filled with grief and indignation echoed from afar.

Xiao Yi Xian chuckled upon hearing Xiao Yan's furious cry. With a flash, she appeared before him, blocking his sudden turn.

Xiao Yi Xian activated the Fighting Energy within her body, channeling it into the Sword Box on her back. After a slight tremor, a special pressure emanated from her.

Xiao Yan saw a person in a black robe standing about thirty feet away. He felt that this person had definitely come to mock him.

But when he met the eyes beneath the black robe, as deep as a cold abyss, Xiao Yan felt as if he were submerged in a pool, unable to breathe.

"You"

Run, run fast! Xiao Yan roared in his heart, but his feet refused to move. His entire body felt frozen and numb, unable to even utter a sound.

'She wants to kill me?! Why?'

Xiao Yan's eyes widened in disbelief. In a blur, he felt an immense pressure that seemed about to crush him. As his heart pounded, those abyss-like eyes met his, so close that he could see his own terrified, distorted, pale face reflected in the minute glints of light within them.

The next instant, Xiao Yi Xian, who was inches away, shattered like a mirror!

Xiao Yan's face turned pale, and he almost collapsed to the ground. He gasped for air, his sense of control returning in an instant, as if he had returned to reality from a dream.

"Junior Xiao Yi Xian greets Senior." Her voice was as clear as a mountain spring.

Xiao Yan suddenly looked up and saw the black-robed figure still standing thirty feet away, bowing in his direction.

Seeing this, he was utterly bewildered. What "Senior"?

The powerful figure who had just tried to kill him was calling him Senior?

Then, an ancient voice suddenly sounded within Xiao Yan.

"No need for excessive formality, little girl. You are so undisciplined, you really should be spanked."

Some people, after living a long time, cultivate an immortal aura.

Some people, the longer they live, become even more lewd.

Looking at the white-haired youth floating out of Xiao Yan's ring, Xiao Yi Xian suddenly felt that these two weren't contradictory. The person before her was a prime example: outwardly ethereal and refined, inwardly disrespectful.

Don't be fooled by his handsome looks; you have no idea how long he's lived. He's practically a grandpa's grandpa...

The white-clothed youth was also observing her.

She looked no older than sixteen or seventeen, yet the pressure she exuded was no weaker than his own. Although his current power was only at the Dou Spirit level, it was still not something a girl her age should possess.

He felt like his past efforts had been wasted. If he had possessed such talent back then, would he have been expelled from the Yao Clan?

Would he have avoided losing the one he loved?

"Little girl?"

Although Xiao Yan was confused about what was happening, it didn't stop him from daydreaming.

Xiao Yi Xian retracted her black robe, strands of purple hair fluttering in the air. Her exquisite beauty and gentle aura, especially her waist, caused a flicker of admiration in Yao Chen's eyes.

Xiao Yan hid even further behind Yao Chen, staring intently at Xiao Yi Xian...

Xiao Yi Xian glanced at Xiao Yan, and an immense pressure instantly bore down on him, vanishing just as quickly.

Frightened, Xiao Yan clung tightly to Yao Lao's back. The old man grinned, amused. Xiao Yi Xian couldn't help but pout and interject, "Young Master Xiao, this person is the culprit who absorbed your Fighting Energy for three years. Are you sure you still want to hide behind him?"

"What?" Xiao Yan blinked in surprise.

The old man awkwardly cleared his throat, glared, and played the victim, "You're being unfair, little girl. If this old man hadn't intervened in time, this kid would have been killed by you!"

Xiao Yi Xian's delicate eyebrows arched slightly as she smiled and said, "I was just trying to scare Young Master Xiao. As a weak woman, what bad intentions could I possibly have?"

Hearing Xiao Yi Xian say this, Xiao Yan scorned her from behind. That was almost enough to destroy him just now, and she called herself weak? Smiling with a hidden dagger, she clearly had malicious intentions.

This girl in front of him was definitely wicked...

"Your pressure is almost at the Dou King level!"

Yao Chen smiled as he looked at Xiao Yi Xian, slowly condensing his Soul Power, ready to escape at any moment.

"Dou King?"

Hearing Yao Chen's words, Xiao Yan gasped sharply. Was this girl, who didn't look much older than him, a legendary Dou King expert?

Xiao Yi Xian chuckled without saying anything. The Sword Box contained the oppressive aura left by that Dou Venerate expert back then. With her current strength, she could only activate it to the Dou King realm.

But even just the aura of a Dou King was enough to scare Yao Chen. If she didn't say anything, who would know that she was actually only a Two-star Fighter?

A flicker of curiosity flashed in Yao Chen's eyes. "If I hadn't intervened just now, what would you have done?"

"So that's how it is--"

Xiao Yan couldn't help but glance at Xiao Yi Xian. With the experience of two lifetimes, he understood the whole story after a moment's thought.

"If Senior hadn't intervened, I would have thrown the ring away. Young Master Xiao couldn't have stopped me anyway, and I wouldn't say where I threw it," Xiao Yi Xian said, shrugging calmly.

"With Senior's Soul Power, it shouldn't be difficult to retrieve it. If you didn't want it back, that would be fine too. Young Master Xiao's talent would naturally recover as before."

"Hehehe, you little girl," the old man let out a teasing laugh. "If I didn't come back, wouldn't this kid have supplied me with three years of Fighting Energy for nothing? Aren't you afraid he'll demand compensation from you then?"

"Oh?" Xiao Yi Xian raised an eyebrow and smiled. "Young Master Xiao, you heard that, right? Ask him for whatever you want. Three years of Fighting Energy can't be wasted for nothing."

The old man smacked his own head.

Right, why would she throw the ring away? She could just take it off and keep it safe. He had been led around in circles.

Although he was a bit annoyed, the old man wasn't angry. Instead, he found the girl clever and lively, quite likable.

It's not fair, good looks mean you can do whatever you want.

Thinking this, the old man glanced at Xiao Yan, who was still somewhat stunned, his expression changed, and he chuckled, "Kid, do you hate me?"

Xiao Yan's feelings were complex.

To say he didn't hate him at all would be impossible. The humiliation he had suffered over the past three years was still vivid in his memory. Nalan Yanran's relieved expression after distancing herself from him was also unforgettable.

And all of this was thanks to the old man in front of him. If it weren't for the lingering fear of the near "oppressive aura," he probably would have exploded in rage the moment the old man revealed his identity.

"I want to become stronger."

As long as you can make me stronger, I won't hate you.

He knew very well that there was no such thing as a free lunch, but he still asked for the help of this mysterious old man. He didn't want to be a useless person anymore, didn't want to be humiliated again. He wanted to become stronger, stronger than Nalan Yanran!