Imperial Capital

"Whoosh!" A huge Thick-Winged Bird descended from the sky, whipping up gusts of wind across the ground.

"Hurry, hurry, hurry! We've reached the Imperial Capital. Everyone, get down!"

"The Imperial Capital... we've finally arrived!"

Xiao Zhen, built like an iron tower, jumped down from the Thick-Winged Bird and sighed. Looking at the Imperial Capital's Flight Plaza, several times larger than the one in Black Rock City, he saw nearly a thousand Thick-Winged Birds constantly taking off and landing across the plaza. It was a bustling sight.

"Let's go to the exit. The Nalan Clan's people will be waiting for us there," Xiao Yan said as he walked over.

"Yes, Young Master."

"You must be Young Master Xiao Yan. I was sent by the Nalan Clan Head to receive you."

The moment Xiao Yan and Xiao Zhen reached the exit, a sharp-looking middle-aged man with a Griffin embroidered on his cuff approached them.

Xiao Yan swept his gaze over the capable-looking middle-aged man before him. He was probably some sort of steward of the Nalan Clan.

"Xiao Yan of the Xiao Clan," Xiao Yan said indifferently.

"Young Master Xiao Yan, this way, please. We'll take a carriage back to the residence." The middle-aged man efficiently led the way ahead.

Xiao Yan and Xiao Zhen rode in the swaying carriage for the time it took to drink a cup of tea before finally stopping before a magnificent estate.

Xiao Yan stepped out of the carriage and glanced up at the estate before him. Several groups of hardened, disciplined soldiers patrolled the surrounding grounds, while several obscure auras seemed to be concealed in every corner within the estate.

Hehe, Lionheart Marshal Nalan Jie truly deserves his status as a major military figure of the Jia Ma Empire. Not only does he have several squads of elite soldiers patrolling his residence, but he also has several Dou Ling experts guarding it.

Xiao Yan entered a spacious courtyard and saw Nalan Ruo approaching with a middle-aged man whose demeanor was even more solemn than his own.

"Young Master Yan, this is my elder brother, Nalan Su, the current head of the Nalan Clan," Nalan Ruo introduced.

At that moment, Nalan Su stared at Xiao Yan with twitching eyes. Even though Nalan Ruo had warned him beforehand, he still found it utterly absurd.

Are children these days raised on the meat of dragon-type magical beasts? How are they developing so well?

"Nalan Su... Nalan Yanran's father?"

Xiao Yan looked at the middle-aged man before him. Though he appeared stern, there was a trace of sorrow between his brows.

"Young Master Yan, I am Nalan Su. My father is in your hands." Nalan Su went straight to the point without a hint of pleasantry.

"May I first see your Heavenly Flames?" Nalan Su asked, hesitating slightly.

Xiao Yan nodded faintly and raised his right hand. "Whoosh!" A lotus of cyan-gold flame suddenly appeared in his palm.

Nalan Su looked at the flame lotus before him. Even with his strength as a Dou Ling, he found it incomparably dangerous. At last, a smile squeezed onto his perpetually tense face.

"This way, please!"

The group entered a secluded courtyard. When they pushed open the door, they found a white-haired old man with a withered complexion lying on a large bed in the center of the room.

Seeing people enter, the old man laboriously turned his head and gave them a silent smile.

Seeing his once most arrogant and untamable father smiling so bitterly, Nalan Su quickly lowered his head and stepped forward. "Father, this is Xiao Yan of the Xiao Clan. He's here to remove your poison."

Nalan Jie looked at Xiao Yan with his withered face. His voice was hoarse but calm. "I never thought I'd end up needing that old fellow Xiao Lin's grandson to clean up my mess. I've troubled you."

Xiao Yan calmly nodded at Nalan Jie, then walked to the bedside and sat down. Looking at the faint grayish-white hue on Nalan Jie's face, he reached out with his right hand, grasped Nalan Jie's dry right hand, and said, "Bear with it."

A thread of cyan-gold flame slipped nimbly through Xiao Yan's palm and into Nalan Jie's body.

"Mmgh!" The instant the flame entered his body, Nalan Jie's entire body tensed, and a muffled groan escaped his lips.

Xiao Yan's soul power entered Nalan Jie's body alongside the Heavenly Flames, where he saw a faint black glow spreading across his skeleton. When Xiao Yan guided the thread of flame to touch that dim glow, it began to melt away like ice and snow under the sun.

"Mmgh!" Nalan Jie suddenly clutched the bedsheet.

"How is it?" Nalan Su anxiously stared at Xiao Yan as he opened his eyes and pressed for an answer.

"The situation is still manageable. The poison has only just begun invading his bone marrow, so it can still be controlled," Xiao Yan said.

"Good!" Everyone in the room erupted in cheers, and even Nalan Jie, lying in bed, revealed a smile.

"However, removing it all at once would be too damaging to his vitality. Let's spread it over a month," Xiao Yan said after some thought.

"That will do. Go ahead, little friend." With Nalan Su's help, Nalan Jie sat upright.

"Don't call me little friend. You're an old friend of my grandfather's. Just call me Yan boy."

Xiao Yan turned Nalan Jie around and shattered his moon-white inner robe with a palm strike, exposing his thin back.

"I'm starting."

As he spoke, Xiao Yan lightly pressed both palms against Nalan Jie's back. Threads of cyan-gold flame swam into Nalan Jie's body like tiny fish.

Looking at the black poisonous grime covering Nalan Jie's internal organs and bones, Xiao Yan keenly sensed the pure energy hidden beneath its astonishing toxicity.

Hehe, the Branding Poison condensed from all the power a fifth-tier magical beast had before its death should keep me fed for quite a while.

Let's start here.

Xiao Yan guided the Heavenly Flames from Nalan Jie's legs upward, slowly devouring the poisonous grime.

Once the devouring formally began, the pain Nalan Jie felt was several times worse than during Xiao Yan's earlier probing contact.

The moment it touched him, Nalan Jie finally could not hold back any longer and roared.

"Roar!" The aura of a Dou Wang expert blanketed the entire room.

"Keep quiet!" Xiao Yan tapped Nalan Jie with his thumb.

"Urgh."

As time passed, the black poison attached to Nalan Jie's internal organs and bones was continually extracted and drawn away by the Heavenly Flames. The first poison-cleansing session was nearing its end.

Just as Nalan Jie was still struggling to endure it, bursts of commotion came from outside the door.

"Why won't you let me in? Who could possibly be inside treating Old Master Nalan? I know every Alchemist in the Imperial Capital with any reputation."

"I, Xu Yi, am a registered fourth-tier Alchemist of the Imperial Capital's Alchemist Guild. I've come up with a new prescription this time. Let me in—I want to test my new prescription."

Xu Yi relied on his status as a fourth-tier Alchemist and his familiarity with Nalan Ruo, the Nalan Clan's second master. When a maid told him it was inconvenient to let him in, he casually forced his way inside.

But he did not know how Nalan Jie had earned the character Jie in his name.

Upon hearing that familiar name outside while carefully directing the Heavenly Flames, Xiao Yan laughed inwardly. Xu Yi? That fool Lord Shan scared off with a single remark?

Hearing the commotion outside, the Nalan brothers, who had been attentively waiting in the room, frowned in unison and looked toward the door.