Xiao Yan, a Man of Deep Feeling and Loyalty

If anyone's expression was the darkest,

it was undoubtedly Hun Tiandi's.

Before his eyes, his lifelong nemesis had not only ascended to the higher realm,

but had also made a name for himself there and returned home in glory!

He had even single-handedly forced the entire Dou Qi Continent to rise to a higher plane!

Compared to what Xiao Yan had accomplished,

he himself had practically become synonymous with failure.

To become a Dou Di, he had needed to use the entire continent as a sacrifice;

yet when Xiao Yan advanced to Dou Di, not only had he caused no harm to his homeland,

he had instead elevated this world to an entirely new height!

Was this the fortune of one favored by destiny?

Even Hun Tiandi could not help but feel a deep sense of powerlessness—

Could there truly be any chance of victory against someone like this?

A trace of doubt quietly crossed his heart.

Yet in the next instant, he dispelled the gloom and reforged his resolve:

As long as there was a sliver of hope, there were infinite possibilities!

So what if Xiao Yan would make a name for himself in the higher realm in the future?

That was, after all, established history, not the reality of this moment!

Now that Xiao Yan's path to rise had been revealed to the world,

not only would he have to face the desperate counterattack of his archenemy,

but even after entering the higher realm, his road ahead would surely be fraught with danger!

Since these images had spread throughout the Heavens and Myriad Worlds,

they naturally included the Great Thousand World.

When the time came, with forces from every side waiting in strict formation to encircle him,

whether Xiao Yan could once again reach the Saint Heavenly Sovereign realm and rebuild the Endless Fire Territory remained uncertain!

Thinking of this, Hun Tiandi sneered coldly:

"Xiao Yan, do you really think you can recreate the glory shown in those images?"

"Who does not know now that you came from a lower plane?"

"With even the slightest precautions, you will never be able to establish the Endless Fire Territory again in the Great Thousand World!"

"Besides—right now, you still have to get past me!"

Xiao Yan slightly raised his eyes, his tone disdainful:

"Hun Tiandi, you are talking far too much today."

"You!"

Hun Tiandi's face twisted, and in the end, he swallowed the words he had yet to say.

Indeed, he had been unusually talkative today,

because cracks had appeared in that heart of his which had always been so steadfast!

Having witnessed Xiao Yan's future achievements,

even Hun Tiandi found it difficult to remain calm.

Not to mention,

in the original course of fate, he should have completely perished at Xiao Yan's hands!

Though he had temporarily escaped death, he was not fully confident that he could get away.

That was why he kept provoking him with words.

Yet these attacks had done little to affect Xiao Yan,

and instead, Hun Tiandi had been turned against himself and thrown into disorder...

After retorting, Xiao Yan said no more,

but had already raised his vigilance to the utmost.

If there was no realm above the Great Thousand World,

then this fated battle would likely soon be decided!

The future could be left for his future self to consider;

at this moment, as long as he slew Hun Tiandi,

that would be the greatest victory!

[Within the Endless Fire Territory, an old man and a youth were playing chess.]

[As the youth placed a piece, brilliant flames suddenly ignited in his eyes.]

[It turned out that an ancient ruin had suddenly appeared on a distant continent!]

[It had been left behind by an ancient expert no weaker than Xiao Yan, someone who had paid the price of his life for the peace of the Great Thousand World!]

[Within the ruins, there might still remain an Outer Realm Evil Demon that had caused this senior's death.]

[While chatting with Yao Chen, Xiao Yan made a resounding vow:]

["This senior protected the Great Thousand World in his time. As descendants who have benefited from his grace, we should naturally protect the peace behind him!"]

[The current Xiao Yan indeed had the confidence to say such words!]

[After thinking briefly, he decided to let his beloved daughter head to the ruins to gain experience.]

[This way, if anything happened, he could immediately sense it and rush to her aid.]

[Then Xiao Yan smiled and said to Yao Chen, "Teacher, nothing happened. Let us start over."]

[Yao Chen stared blankly at the chessboard—]

[Only to see that the pieces on the board had somehow already burned to ashes.]

[A game he had been certain of winning had been casually reset by Xiao Yan.]

[Seeing this, Yao Chen could not help but laugh.]

[He was already a ruler of the Great Thousand World, so why was he still cheating like he had as a youth?]

Xiao Yan's actions brought knowing smiles to the viewers across the Heavens and Myriad Worlds.

At first, seeing his solemn expression,

they had thought he had encountered some grave matter that even a Saint Heavenly Sovereign found troublesome.

But now, it was hard to tell

whether he had truly detected the traces of an evil demon,

or simply wanted an excuse to take back his move...

That said, given Xiao Yan's current status and cultivation,

it was indeed exceptionally precious that he could still retain such an innocent nature.

More importantly, he only displayed this carefree side before Yao Lao.

No matter how high he rose,

before his benefactor and teacher, he would always call himself a disciple,

forever maintaining the utmost respect.

Even more astonishing was that

the label beside Yao Lao now showed—

he had already become an Immortal Heavenly Sovereign!

Truly, when one person attained the Dao, even their chickens and dogs ascended to heaven!

Xiao Yan had reached the Saint Grade, and Yao Lao had advanced to the Immortal Grade!

Back in his prime, Yao Lao had only been a one-star Dou Sheng,

which had nearly been the limit of his aptitude.

Yet by following at Xiao Yan's side,

he had actually been forcefully elevated to an Immortal Heavenly Sovereign!

In the entire Great Thousand World, such a realm

already made one a dominant powerhouse of a region,

capable of ruling several continents!

Yao Lao's decision to take a disciple in Wutan City back then

had returned more than a hundredfold—this was a gain of tens of millions of times over!

To do so much for his teacher,

and still observe a disciple's etiquette after achieving fame and success,

such people were as rare as phoenix feathers and qilin horns throughout the Heavens and Myriad Worlds.

This was precisely why all beings across the myriad worlds admired Xiao Yan's character.

If speaking solely of strength, Xiao Yan might not be among the absolute strongest in the Great Thousand World,

but when it came to his sincerity toward close friends, he stood at the very pinnacle.

As for how he treated strangers and enemies—

that was another matter entirely.

[Much time had passed since the Ancient Heavenly Palace appeared.]

[The scene shifted. Xiao Yan stood shoulder to shoulder with another peak expert, facing a five-eyed Outer Realm evil god from afar!]

[This was the Great Thousand World's eternal nemesis—the Heavenly Evil God!]

[When the world-ending crisis descended once more, Xiao Yan stepped forward without hesitation!]

[Fighting alongside him was none other than Lin Dong, the Martial Ancestor!]

[This young man, whom Xiao Yan had encountered while crossing planes, had now also reached the late Saint Heavenly Sovereign realm!]

[Only by joining forces could the two peerless experts barely contend with the Heavenly Evil God in his Five-Eye State.]

[They represented the Great Thousand World's strongest fighting force!]

[Yet even facing two opponents alone, the Heavenly Evil God remained completely at ease!]

[At the critical moment, Xiao Yan and Lin Dong burned their origins and inscribed half of their true names upon the Firmament List!]

[They finally drove back the Five-Eyed Heavenly Evil God temporarily!]

[But everyone knew that the Heavenly Evil God's complete form should have possessed nine eyes!]

[His retreat this time was merely to gather strength for devouring the entire Great Thousand World in the future!]

[The times created heroes. At this moment of life and death, a new star emerged with shocking brilliance!]

[In the end, with this new star joining forces with Xiao Yan and Lin Dong, the Nine-Eyed Heavenly Evil God actually began to show signs of defeat!]

[In desperation, the evil god sacrificed his nine eyes and opened a tenth, clearly intending to make a final stand!]

[Facing the Heavenly Evil God, who was burning his life away, that new star also unleashed every last foundation he possessed!]

[When his complete name was inscribed upon the Firmament List, he became the Great Thousand World's first Master Realm expert!]

[Using this realm to mobilize the Great Thousand World's origin power, he finally completely suppressed the evil god, who had been preparing to self-destruct!]

[Thus ended this war of the era!]

[Twenty-eight years later, Xiao Yan and Lin Dong successively broke through to the Master Realm!]

[With three Masters overseeing it, the Great Thousand World finally welcomed an unprecedented age of peace!]