Former Lower Four Sects, Southern Alliance

Former Lower Four Sects, Southern Alliance

A rough, broad palm came straight at him. Its owner was hidden in the blinding light, and Shu Yan could not make out the figure clearly for the moment. Still, judging from the hand and arm, he could tell that its owner was definitely a burly, powerfully built man.

Shu Yan tilted his head slightly. The massive palm grabbed at empty air, and as it clenched into a fist, it let out a dull crack. It was clear just how great its owner's strength was.

Perhaps surprised that his attack had missed, the arm's owner froze for a moment. But in the next instant, another fist carrying a ferocious aura came hurtling toward him. Shu Yan laughed softly. From the movement, he could see the probing intent behind it. With no reason to yield, he casually threw a punch to meet it head-on.

The two fists collided in midair, and a shockwave swept outward. Shu Yan stood as steady as a mountain, never moving an inch from start to finish. Yet the owner of the other fist could not withstand such tremendous force and was sent flying backward, crashing into some glass-covered object with a series of crisp shatters.

The light gradually dimmed and returned to a normal level. Shu Yan raised a brow as he looked at the young men and women filling the hall, then walked inside as though nothing had happened. The two women behind him followed closely.

Shu Yan swept his gaze over the dozen or so people in the hall, his steps never stopping until he came to a halt in the center.

Faced with the gazes of nearly twenty people, Shu Yan showed almost no reaction. He smiled faintly, his aura peaceful and restrained, then slowly said:

"Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Shu Yan, and these two behind me are Princess Jiujiu and the empire's consecrated Ice God Douluo. On behalf of the empire, I welcome you all from afar."

Shu Yan's voice was not loud, but it carried exceptionally well. Several burly men at the back of the crowd glared at him with fury, but after hearing his words, they seemed to suddenly deflate. Judging by their attire, they happened to be companions of the man from before.

Not far away, two people were helping the burly man whom Shu Yan had just sent flying to his feet. The man shook his muddled head, the fury in his eyes almost undisguised. He roared, violently shook off the support of the two beside him, and four soul rings abruptly rose beneath his feet—two yellow and two purple, a standard configuration.

After Martial Soul Possession, the man's already bulging muscles swelled again, and his height increased to around two meters. Black demonic patterns crawled across his chest and cheeks. Visible to the naked eye, his hands transformed into black tiger claws gleaming with cold light. The next moment, his body shot forward, charging viciously at Shu Yan in the manner of a hunting beast.

Shu Yan chuckled. Looking at the obvious demonic patterns on the man's body and the phantom martial soul behind him, he had already determined what martial soul the man possessed.

Black Tiger. It was considered one of the weaker top-tier beast martial souls, its quality slightly inferior to the White Tiger, the inherited martial soul of the White Tiger Family. It possessed immense strength and attack power, while its speed far surpassed that of other Assault System beast martial souls. This martial soul had a lineage within the Star Luo Empire, and their ancestors were the Black Tiger Sect, a continental sect that had submitted to Spirit Hall ten thousand years ago.

Since the Divine War ten thousand years ago, bearers of this martial soul had almost never appeared again. Those unaware of the truth might have thought they had long since vanished into the river of time. Yet now, it seemed that in dark corners unknown to the world, they were still tenaciously surviving and taking root, perhaps even remaining fairly prosperous.

Faced with the man's savage assault, Shu Yan did not even spare him another glance. He raised a hand and casually snapped his fingers. In the next instant, frost began spreading rapidly from the ground. The expression on the man's face suddenly froze, and his body stiffened inch by inch. His body, suspended in midair, was encased in solid ice, turning into a human-shaped ice sculpture that crashed heavily onto the floor.

A commotion broke out among the crowd. Those connected to the man on the ground all wore dark expressions, while the others did not look much better.

Shu Yan swept his gaze across the crowd once more, then sat down on a soft sofa as though nothing concerned him and spoke again:

"He's fine. I merely made him quiet down for a while. We mean no harm. We came this time only to discuss an important matter with all of you. I believe you will be interested in it..."

The crowd exchanged glances. The people who had originally been blocking the front voluntarily stepped aside, revealing an incomparably beautiful young woman leaning quietly against a sofa behind them.

The young woman appeared to be about the same age as Shu Yan. She had smooth dark-blue hair, delicate and defined features, and a faint sense of aloof detachment between her brows. Yet the most eye-catching feature was the cerulean fringe hanging before her forehead. That unusual combination did not diminish her beauty in the slightest; instead, it gave her an innate air of mysterious haziness that could not help but stir one's curiosity.

Overall, the young woman's beauty was stunning, enough to rival Xu Jiujiu's. Yet the greatest difference between them lay in the focus of their beauty. Xu Jiujiu was noble and elegant, while this young woman was aloof and mysterious.

The young woman's gaze lightly settled on Shu Yan and the two women behind him. A trace of barely perceptible amazement flashed through her eyes, but she quickly returned to her cold composure and asked in an even voice:

"The Star Luo Imperial Family has maintained a secret friendship with us for thousands of years. What, are you now preparing to personally shatter this friendly covenant and wipe us out completely? Or have we already lost our value to exist?"

Shu Yan smiled gently and said softly:

"You're overthinking it. The imperial family still holds a friendly attitude toward you. I do not know when the covenant of thousands of years will finally break, but at least nothing like that will happen in our generation."

The young woman stared into Shu Yan's eyes and gave a light scoff before saying:

"That would be for the best. Otherwise, it would not be good news for either side."

Shu Yan waved a hand, his manner casual yet elegant. Looking into the young woman's beautiful smoky-blue eyes, he chuckled.

"What? Aren't you going to introduce yourself? My understanding of you extends no further than this meeting today."

At his words, the young woman sat up slightly. Her gaze swept over the people behind her before she said indifferently:

"Luo Qinghan, a forty-ninth-rank Control System Battle Soul Ancestor. Those behind me are descendants of other families in the Southern Alliance. I will not introduce them one by one."

When Shu Yan heard the term Southern Alliance, he was slightly taken aback. The information Xu Jiujiu had given him indeed had not mentioned this term.

Luo Qinghan seemed to notice the subtle change in Shu Yan's expression. Her tone remained calm as she said:

"The Southern Alliance is a new force formed by families and factions like ours, those who have suffered exclusion from the secular world and bear hatred and humiliation. Only we call ourselves that. To the outside world, we are the Martial Soul Hall Remnants and those burdened with sin."