Qing Lin snorted coldly, turned away, and said no more. Yet an exceptionally chilling surge of Dou Qi was gathering in her hand as she remained on guard against Elder Yan.
After years of experience, she was no longer the ignorant little girl from the Desert Iron Mercenary Company. It was simply that Xiao Yan had influenced her too deeply; only when she was by Xiao Yan's side did she resemble a little maidservant.
High above the sea of clouds, Xiao Yan had not failed to hear the verbal sparring from the spectators' area, even while clashing Heavenly Flames with Ling Zhuo. He had already harbored some suspicions. Ling Zhuo had given away something capable of strengthening soul power so readily—such conduct was far too reminiscent of the ancient clans. Now, it seemed that Ling Zhuo not only held the advantage in strength during this match, but the Spirit Clan's clan-protecting art had surely granted him unparalleled endurance. And the ability Tang Zhen had mentioned, the ability to bestow spirituality, was simply terrifying. It seemed he would have to find an opportunity to end this quickly.
Xiao Yan was also being exceptionally cautious now, with no intention of underestimating Ling Zhuo. He had just sensed Ling Zhuo's killing move through his soul power. Within what he believed to be a reasonable window of time, he had relied on his abundant experience in life-and-death combat to activate the Crimson Lotus Karma Flame floating not far away, using it to block Ling Zhuo's Heavenly Flame true dragon. Yet the soul vortex bubble hidden within the true dragon had been as terrifying as a genuine scythe of death, nearly taking half his life. If not for the Flame Mantra, the Crimson Lotus Karma Flame would not have been like an organ within Xiao