"Wind Brake Annihilation Gang!"
Yun Shan's anger surged. He glared at Shen Shihuang. "I don't care who you are. Today, you will pay the price!"
The broad, three-foot-long azure sword spun beneath Yun Shan's hand seals, then shot toward Shen Shihuang.
The terrifying power made everyone swallow hard. Jia Xingtian, a Peak Nine-Star Dou Emperor, was especially shaken. He was only one step away, yet the gap between their strength was like the difference between heaven and earth.
"So this is the power of a Dou Zong?"
Longing shone in Jia Xingtian's eyes.
Ling Ying and Hai Bodong looked grave. Yun Shan was giving it everything he had, and the sheer force of his attack was terrifying.
Xiao Yan watched Shen Shihuang's back.
He clenched his fists tightly. If Shen Shihuang hadn't appeared today, would he even have made it down the mountain alive?
A Dou Zong!!
That feeling of helplessness only made Xiao Yan yearn more desperately for strength. Once this is over, I have to head straight for Jia Nan Academy!
He needed to grow stronger quickly.
To do that, he had to subdue more Heavenly Flames. And the second Heavenly Flame he knew of was at Jia Nan Academy.
Shen Shihuang watched the azure sword hurtle toward him, gathering Dou Qi in his hand.
"Tyrant's Fury!"
Shen Shihuang swung a fist at the azure sword. His fist collided with its blade. "Yun Shan, that little trick won't hurt me!"
A force like annihilation spread from Shen Shihuang.
Black flames appeared along his arm.
In an instant,
the azure sword was swiftly obliterated by his punch, leaving behind only the remnants of its power. Shen Shihuang's speed suddenly surged, and he appeared right in front of Yun Shan.
Boom!
His fist slammed into Yun Shan.
Blood burst from Yun Shan's mouth as he flew like a kite with its string cut, crashing hard to the ground.
Xiao Yan had been watching the whole time.
The instant the black flames appeared on Shen Shihuang, he sensed them clearly.
"Heavenly Flame!"
"He has a Heavenly Flame, too?"
Though there had only been a trace of it, Xiao Yan was very familiar with the destructive force concealed within those flames.
Shen Shihuang swiftly descended from the sky and planted a foot on Yun Shan's chest.
"Ugh!"
Yun Shan's head jerked back as he spat out another mouthful of blood.
"I wonder, can I take him away now?"
"Sect Master Yun Shan?"
Shen Shihuang looked down at Yun Shan and asked coldly.
Blood continued to spill from Yun Shan's mouth. At last, fear crept into his eyes as he stared at Shen Shihuang. They were both One-Star Dou Zongs, yet Shen Shihuang had completely overpowered him. He hadn't even been able to fight back.
"If Sect Master Yun Shan has nothing to say, then I won't hold back."
Shen Shihuang's hands swiftly formed another set of seals.
Above them, the dragon's shadow coalesced into a great seal once more.
Seeing it take shape, Yun Shan's face filled with terror. He hurriedly said, "Do as you please!"
Only then did Shen Shihuang lift his foot from Yun Shan's body. He gave him a casual kick and sent him flying.
"That's more like it!"
Shen Shihuang glanced around. "Is anyone else from the Misty Cloud Sect going to stop me?"
The members of the Misty Cloud Sect fell silent.
Seeing that no one spoke, Shen Shihuang completely withdrew his aura and smiled again. Yun Shan was being helped to his feet. Shen Shihuang looked at him. "Why go through all that trouble?"
He turned around.
Then he waved to Xiao Yan.
"Let's go!"
As for Yun Shan?
There was still Protector Wu behind him, and Shen Shihuang wasn't sure he could beat Protector Wu right now. Besides, killing Yun Shan now wouldn't accomplish much.
Just a minor character.
At the foot of Misty Cloud Mountain,
Ling Ying stopped in a tree and glanced at Shen Shihuang before saying to Xiao Yan, "Since Young Master Xiao Yan has made it safely down the mountain, I should return and report."
With that,
before Xiao Yan could reply, Ling Ying disappeared without a trace.
Hai Bodong asked, "What are your plans now?"
Xiao Yan replied, "I'll go home for a while, then head to Jia Nan Academy. Elder Hai, don't worry. I'll make sure the pills I promised you are delivered."
Hai Bodong nodded. "I'll be staying with the Mite Family for now. Once they're ready, just have someone bring them over."
"I should get going, too!"
Hai Bodong looked at Ya Fei.
"Let's head back!"
Ya Fei nodded to Xiao Yan, then walked up to Shen Shihuang. "Are you leaving, too?"
Ya Fei could tell
that Shen Shihuang seemed to have come specifically for Xiao Yan.
Shen Shihuang smiled faintly. "We'll see each other again."
After Hai Bodong and Ya Fei left,
Xiao Yan finally cupped his hands toward Shen Shihuang. "Thank you."
"I'll remember your help today. If you ever need anything, I'll go through fire and water for you without hesitation!"
Shen Shihuang stepped forward.
He looked at Xiao Yan with a grin. "What? You called me big brother earlier. Does that not count anymore?"
Xiao Yan hurriedly shook his head.
"I'm only a Da Dou Shi. How could I dare call you big brother?"
Shen Shihuang patted Xiao Yan on the shoulder.
"Strength doesn't matter."
Xiao Yan studied Shen Shihuang's eyes. He didn't seem to be joking.
"Big brother!"
Shen Shihuang nodded in satisfaction.
"That's more like it. You may be weak now, but that doesn't mean you'll still be weak in the future."
"And don't second-guess me. I mean you no harm."
Xiao Yan smiled bitterly.
"I sensed the aura of a Heavenly Flame from you just now. Do you have one, too, big brother?"
Shen Shihuang snapped his fingers.
"Clever!"
"There's no such thing as a free lunch. You helped me so much because you wanted a Heavenly Flame, right?" Xiao Yan asked.
Shen Shihuang nodded without hesitation.
"The Heavenly Flame is only part of it. Don't worry, I won't take yours. I only need a little of the energy from your Heavenly Flame Origin."
Xiao Yan was puzzled.
"You mean you want some of the Origin Flame Seed energy from the Green Lotus Core Flame?"
Shen Shihuang replied, "That's right!"
"Of course, if you don't want to, I won't force you. If anything comes up later, just call for me."
"You called me big brother."
"And I'll do everything I can to help you."
In this world,
apart from Queen Medusa, Shen Shihuang felt like he was the only one standing apart from everything, with no ties to this world at all. The feeling was too lonely.
He hated it.
"Bzzzzzzzz—"
A wisp of azure flame appeared in Xiao Yan's hand. Smiling, he said, "If you need it, then of course I'm willing to give it to you."
Looking at the Origin Flame Seed energy of the Green Lotus Core Flame in Xiao Yan's hand,
Shen Shihuang didn't take it right away.
"You can think it over."
Xiao Yan simply shook his head.
"I trust you."
"If you'd tried to take it by force, what could I have done?"
"But you helped me first and only asked afterward. Go ahead and take it."
Just as Xiao Yan had said,
if Shen Shihuang had used force, Xiao Yan knew he couldn't have held on to the Green Lotus Core Flame. He might even have lost his life.
Unfortunately,
he didn't know that Shen Shihuang intended to make him his Heavenly Flame "supplier"...
"All right!"
Shen Shihuang took the Origin Flame Seed energy of the Green Lotus Core Flame.
"Big brother, who exactly are you?" Xiao Yan asked curiously.
Shen Shihuang thought for a moment.
"I suppose I'm just a wanderer passing through this world..."