The Move

The Medusa serpent head slowly nodded.

Ye Xiu turned and left. With a thunderous boom, Dou Qi Wings unfurled behind him, and he shot into the sky, smashing straight through the top of the Temple.

Outside the Temple, it was as if a great enemy had descended. Everything had descended into chaos.

Several figures hovered in the sky. Their powerful Dou Qi roared and exploded, lighting up the entire night sky.

Facing them were the eight great chieftains of the Snake-Person Race.

Ye Xiu flew into the air and narrowed his eyes as he surveyed the scene.

He recognized the figures in the sky at a glance.

The most eye-catching was a woman dressed in black robes, with a pair of green wings on her back.

Ye Xiu had made no effort to conceal his Dou Emperor aura. So when Gu He and the others sensed his formidable presence approaching, they instinctively moved to shield the woman in black.

The middle-aged man beside her, who looked to be in his forties and wore an Alchemist's robe, was probably Gu He.

There were also four or five Dou Kings. They were helpers Gu He had invited.

As soon as Ye Xiu appeared, everyone looked over.

Mo Basi and the other Snake-Person Dou Kings' eyes lit up when they saw him.

Ye Xiu nodded without saying much, then flew over and positioned himself in front of Yun Yun.

Yun Yun froze when she saw him.

"...Ye Xiu?"

Ye Xiu looked at her and smiled calmly.

"Sect Master Yun, long time no see."

Yun Yun furrowed her brow and looked him up and down.

How long had it been? Two months? Three? She remembered that the last time they met, Ye Xiu had been a Three-Star Dou Wang. But now, she couldn't make out his strength at all.

"You... What are you doing here?" Yun Yun asked.

Ye Xiu replied, "Shouldn't I be asking you that? What are you doing here with people from the Snake-Person Race?"

Before Yun Yun could answer, Gu He flew over.

He looked at Ye Xiu, then at Yun Yun, his eyes filled with confusion. Still, he suppressed his irritation and asked politely,

"Sect Master Yun, who is this?"

Yun Yun was silent for a moment before saying, "Ye Xiu. He's... a friend I knew before."

Gu He nodded and cupped his fists toward Ye Xiu. "I'm Gu He, a Sixth-grade Alchemist of the Jia Ma Empire. I came to the Snake-Person Race today hoping to discuss a deal with Queen Medusa."

Ye Xiu glanced at him and said coolly, "I know who you are. But you won't be making that deal today."

Gu He's expression changed.

The Dou King Yi Shi beside him exploded with rage. "What the fuck did you say? Do you even know who we are?"

Ye Xiu didn't even look at him. With a casual wave of his hand, Yi Shi vanished in the blink of an eye. A moment later, a deafening crash came from the distant desert, as if some enormous object had struck the ground!

Cold sweat broke out on the Dou Kings' faces. No one but a Dou Emperor could have dealt with Yi Shi so effortlessly!

"I know why you're here. You want a Heavenly Flame, right?" Ye Xiu said. "But the Heavenly Flame already belongs to me."

Everyone froze at his words.

Gu He's expression turned ugly. "What did you say?"

Ye Xiu opened his hand. With a soft poof, a mass of green flame sprang to life in his palm.

Gu He's pupils contracted.

He was an Alchemist, of course he recognized the genuine Green Lotus Core Flame!

"You..."

Ye Xiu withdrew the flame and looked at him. "The Heavenly Flame is mine. If you want it, come and take it from me."

Gu He trembled with rage, all traces of courtesy vanishing from his face.

How long had he spent preparing for this Heavenly Flame? How many people had he gathered? And now some young upstart had snatched it from under his nose?

If Queen Medusa had swallowed the Heavenly Flame first, he wouldn't have dared say a thing. But this was some unknown Dou Emperor who had appeared out of nowhere.

"Fine, fine, fine!" Gu He said, his face turning livid. "Since you dared to take my Heavenly Flame, don't blame me for showing no mercy!"

He turned to Yun Yun. "Sect Master Yun, please lend me your aid!"

Yun Yun didn't move.

Gu He froze. "Sect Master Yun?"

Yun Yun looked at him in silence for a moment, then shook her head.

"Gu He, I... I'm not getting involved in this."

Gu He's eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets. "What?!"

Yun Yun offered no explanation. She just looked at Ye Xiu.

Ye Xiu was a little surprised, too.

Gu He was completely dumbfounded. He looked from Yun Yun to Ye Xiu, his expression changing by the second.

"Sect Master Yun, you... What's your relationship with him?"

Yun Yun said nothing.

But her expression said it all.

Gu He wasn't stupid. He could tell something was going on between them.

He took a deep breath, tamped down his anger, and spoke in a conciliatory tone. "Sect Master Yun, we had an agreement. Please don't go back on your word."

Yun Yun glanced at him. "I'll refund what you paid me. But I really can't get involved in this."

Gu He's face flushed, then paled.

He stared at Ye Xiu for a long while before finally gritting his teeth. "Fine! I'll handle this myself!"

He waved his hand, and the four Dou Kings immediately surrounded Ye Xiu.

Ye Xiu glanced around at them and smiled.

Four Dou Kings: two five-star, one six-star, and one seven-star. In the Jia Ma Empire, that was certainly an impressive lineup.

But to him...

"Are you sure you want to fight?" Ye Xiu asked.

The four Dou Kings looked at one another without replying, but their Dou Qi had already begun to surge.

Ye Xiu sighed.

He didn't want to fight, either. But they were practically asking for it; he had no choice.

He was just about to make his move when Yun Yun suddenly spoke.

"Ye Xiu."

Ye Xiu turned to look at her.

Yun Yun bit her lip and said quietly, "Don't kill them... They're only following Gu He's orders."

Ye Xiu paused, then smiled.

This woman really was kindhearted.

"Fine." He nodded. "For your sake, I'll let them live."

As soon as the words left his mouth, he moved.

No one saw how he did it.

They only saw a flash of green light. All four Dou Kings were sent flying at once, crashing hard to the ground. They couldn't get back up for a long time.

Gu He stood there, frozen, utterly dumbstruck.

Four Dou Kings, all taken down in a single exchange?

He opened his mouth as if to say something, but no words came out.

Ye Xiu walked up to him and looked down at him.

"Gu He, do you still want to fight?"

Gu He trembled all over, but didn't dare say a word.

Ye Xiu patted him on the shoulder, then turned and walked toward Yun Yun.

Yun Yun looked at him, her eyes filled with an emotion he couldn't quite read.

Ye Xiu stopped in front of her and smiled.

"Didn't expect to see me here, did you? Surprised? Happy?"

"Mm." Yun Yun nodded, then said, "But I still have to thank you for sparing their lives."

Ye Xiu smiled. "That was because you were here. If you hadn't been, they'd be a pile of corpses by now."

At his words, Yun Yun felt her cheeks grow warm. She forcibly suppressed the corners of her mouth from turning up.

Ye Xiu glanced back at the four Dou Kings sprawled on the ground, then looked at Gu He.

"Get out of here. As for the Heavenly Flame, forget it ever happened. Don't come looking for trouble with the Snake-Person Race again. Next time, I won't be so polite."

Gu He's face was livid, but he didn't dare say a word. He gathered his people and left in disgrace.

Yun Yun didn't leave, though.

She stood there, watching Ye Xiu.

The two of them gazed at each other for a long while.

At last, Yun Yun spoke first. "You... You've grown so much stronger."

Ye Xiu nodded. "I was just lucky."

Yun Yun was silent for a moment, then suddenly asked, "What's your relationship with Queen Medusa?"

Ye Xiu paused.

"We're partners. I help her evolve, and she lets me absorb the Heavenly Flame."

"That's all?"

Ye Xiu raised an eyebrow. "What else?"

Yun Yun said nothing.

After a while, she said softly, "Then I'll be going."

Ye Xiu nodded. "Take care on the way."

Yun Yun turned around. A pair of green wings unfurled from her back as she prepared to leave.

She flew a short distance, then stopped and looked back at Ye Xiu.

"Next time we meet, I'll treat you to grilled fish."

With that, she beat her Dou Qi Wings and shot into the sky, disappearing into the night.

Ye Xiu stood there, watching her figure grow more and more distant until it finally vanished.

"Grilled fish..." He smiled. "All right, then."

He turned to look toward the Temple.

Below, the evolution was still underway.