First Meeting with Tang San! Son of the Old Emperor!

The next day passed without incident.

The convoy entered a hilly region, where the terrain rose and fell and their field of vision was limited.

Jian Douluo Chenxin remained suspended in midair for almost the entire journey. The intent of the Seven Kill Sword covered an area several miles around, and nothing escaped his perception.

Ning Rongrong was strictly ordered to stay inside the carriage and not go out.

Although she was dissatisfied, she did not dare throw a tantrum when she saw the solemn expressions on her father's and Grandpa Jian's faces.

Lan Aotian continued sitting on the carriage shaft, eyes closed as he rested.

But his Mental Power remained spread out across its maximum range the entire time.

On the second night, the convoy made camp on an open plain.

According to Ning Fengzhi's plan, tonight would be their last night on the road.

After traveling for another day tomorrow, they would be able to enter the vicinity of Spirit City by evening.

As long as they could make it through tonight.

Night fell.

Campfires were lit throughout the camp, and the guards took turns standing watch.

The two bishops, Claude and Jason, personally held the line and did not dare relax in the slightest.

On the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's side, Ning Fengzhi had arranged twice as many hidden sentries. Almost all the guards had given up their rest, remaining on full alert.

Lan Aotian sat cross-legged inside his tent.

The Stone Box was placed before him.

The Stone Box remained calm, its runes dim and lifeless, as if asleep.

But Lan Aotian could sense that its obscure fluctuations had become slightly more active than before.

It was as if something was resonating with it from somewhere beyond sight.

He raised his head and looked north.

That direction was where Spirit City lay.

It was also the center of the storm.

The night wind howled.

The campfires swayed.

The atmosphere in the camp was tense to the extreme.

Everyone was waiting.

Waiting for the arrival of that final battle.

On the morning of the third day, the convoy set out on schedule.

According to plan, they would reach the vicinity of Spirit City by evening.

As long as they crossed the Rift Canyon stretching across the end of the plain ahead, they would have entered the core sphere of influence of Spirit Hall.

The Rift Canyon had gotten its name from the natural rift formed by the movement of the earth's crust.

The canyon stretched for more than thirty miles. Steep cliffs towered on both sides, and at its narrowest point, only two carriages could pass side by side. It was the only route to Spirit City and also a natural ambush site.

Ning Fengzhi rode over to Lan Aotian's carriage, his expression solemn. "Brother Lin, the Rift Canyon is just ahead. If the other side truly intends to make a move, that will be the best location."

Lan Aotian nodded. His Mental Power had already extended ahead.

At the canyon entrance, cliffs towered on both sides, covered in jagged rocks.

Sunlight could only filter down through narrow gaps. The light inside the canyon was dim, and the field of vision was extremely poor.

It truly was an excellent place to kill someone.

"Uncle Jian has already gone ahead to scout the road," Ning Fengzhi said. "If there's an ambush, he'll warn us immediately."

As soon as he finished speaking, a Silver Sword Light swept back from the direction of the canyon and landed in front of the convoy.

Chen Xin revealed himself. His expression was calm, but there was a trace of something unusual in it.

"Master, something's happening inside the canyon."

Ning Fengzhi's heart tightened. "Who is it?"

Chen Xin glanced at Lan Aotian and slowly said, "The Heaven Dou Empire's Competition Team."

Ning Fengzhi froze.

The Heaven Dou Empire's Competition Team?

Shouldn't they have gone to Spirit City long ago?

Why were they still here?

Lan Aotian's eyes shifted slightly.

The Heaven Dou Empire's Competition Team... Wasn't that the team containing the Shrek Seven Devils?

His lips curved upward slightly.

Interesting. They had met at just the right time.

The convoy continued forward and soon reached the canyon entrance.

Sure enough, not far inside the canyon, another convoy was moving slowly forward.

That convoy was quite large, with roughly twenty carriages and more than a hundred fully armed soldiers guarding them.

The flags on the carriages bore the emblem of the Heaven Dou Empire.

Meanwhile, beside several slightly smaller carriages in the center of the convoy, a group of young men and women were following on foot.

They wore matching Team Uniforms, and the Soul Power fluctuations around them were not weak. They were clearly elite students from various academies.

Lan Aotian's gaze passed over the crowd and landed on a familiar figure.

Tang San.

He walked in the middle of the group, his posture upright and his features delicate. His long blue hair drifted gently in the canyon's breeze.

Beside him was a broad-shouldered young man with a fierce gaze—Dai Mubai.

Farther back were Xiao Wu, Oscar, Ma Hongjun, and the others.

Lan Aotian silently watched that figure.

Tang San, son of Tang Hao and Ah Yin.

The bloodline of the Old Emperor.

The instant he looked at Tang San, Tang San suddenly stopped and whipped his head around, his gaze shooting straight toward the Spirit Hall convoy!

Their gazes met in midair across a distance of several hundred meters!

Buzz!

Lan Aotian clearly felt the Blue Silver Emperor Bloodline within his body tremble faintly at that moment!

It was an indescribable resonance.

It was as if two beings sharing the same origin had somehow established a connection.

But that connection was not friendly.

The Emperor Bloodline's perception told him that the other party was a former rival.

He was the only orthodox imperial bloodline left behind by the Old Emperor.

According to the laws of the Soul Beast World, once a New Emperor ascended the throne, if the Old Emperor's offspring had reached adulthood and possessed sufficient strength, there would inevitably be a battle to the death to determine the true uniqueness of the emperor.

But Tang San was different.

He was human.

Although he possessed the Blue Silver Emperor Bloodline, it had never truly awakened, and he did not even know his true connection to the Blue Silver Grass Clan.

Lan Aotian withdrew his gaze, his expression calm.

As expected.

Even the Perfect Transformation Pill could not completely sever a connection at the bloodline level.

He and Tang San would ultimately become connected in some way because of Ah Yin.

But it did not matter.

At this moment, Tang San was only a Soul Ancestor in the forties. Before him, he was no different from an ant.

That trace of bloodline connection could not affect him in the slightest.

Unless the other party entered his world, or he died, or he left this continent, there was absolutely no chance of awakening the Blue Silver Emperor Bloodline.

At most, he would become the Blue Silver King.

At that moment, however, Tang San stood rooted to the spot.

His brows drew tightly together, and his right hand instinctively pressed against his chest.

In that instant, he had felt an indescribable palpitation.

That palpitation had not come from his martial soul or his Soul Power. Instead, it had originated from somewhere deeper... his bloodline?

He raised his head and looked toward the Spirit Hall convoy.

That convoy had arrived a little earlier than them and was currently resting at the canyon entrance, seemingly waiting for something.

The gaze from earlier had come from an ordinary carriage in the convoy.

The distance was too great for him to make out the person's face. He could only vaguely see a figure wearing a dark blue Jinzhuang, sitting on the carriage shaft.

But that single glance had made his heart clench violently!

It was as if something had been stirred at that moment.

"Xiao San? Xiao San!"

Xiao Wu's voice rang beside his ear.

Tang San came back to himself and saw Xiao Wu looking at him worriedly. "What's wrong? You look awful."

Tang San shook his head. "It's nothing. I'm just... feeling a little uncomfortable."

Xiao Wu followed his gaze and also saw the Spirit Hall convoy.

A strange look flashed through her eyes, but she quickly concealed it and smiled. "That's Spirit Hall's convoy, right? I didn't expect them to take this road too."

Tang San nodded, suppressing the strange feeling in his heart as he continued forward.

But that palpitation remained in his heart, lingering no matter how he tried to dispel it.

As the two convoys drew closer and closer, the atmosphere inside the canyon became increasingly subtle.