Xiao Yan, Who Had Lost His Dream

"Finally, I'm out of this hellish place, the Demon Fire Space." Xiao Yan stretched his limbs, took a deep breath, and felt a long-lost sense of freedom welling up inside him.

"Xun Er, are you planning to return to the Gu Clan now?" Then, as if remembering something, Xiao Yan turned to the elegant girl in green standing behind him and asked.

Xun Er nodded slightly. Looking closely, her elegant and refined face held a touch of alluring charm born of experience. Recalling her time in the Demon Fire Space, Xun Er couldn't help but feel a little shy.

Seeing Xun'er's girlish demeanor, even the resolute Xiao Yan couldn't help but suddenly reach out and pull her into his Xun Er hand on Xiao Yan's chest, complained slightly:

"Xiao Yan Gege, there are outsiders here!"

"Outsiders?" Xiao Yan was taken aback. Turning his head, he saw a group of figures standing frozen in place not far away. Seeing their familiar clothing and badges, he couldn't help but become interested and smiled gently:

"Are you from the Heavenly Mansion?"

Upon encountering his own people immediately after emerging from the Demon Fire Space, Xiao Yan felt a surge of relief, and his tone softened considerably.

"Squad Leader Yongnian of the Earth Squad of the First Great Squad of the Inner Alliance Heavenly Mansion Alliance, greets Young Mansion Lord!" The leader bowed respectfully.

"Oh? You know me?"

Xiao Yan became curious. Back then, Heavenly Mansion didn't have any so-called Inner Alliance, and these people were obviously unfamiliar faces. It seemed that Heavenly Mansion had undergone considerable changes in the past two years.

Yong Nian's lips twitched subtly. The Black-robed youth who appeared on the Demon Fire Plains was accompanied by a stunningly beautiful woman. Their auras were subtle yet terrifyingly powerful, and their cultivation was unfathomable. They were clearly unaware of the changes in Central Plains over the past two years. All of this was enough to determine the identity of this person even without ever having met her.

Moreover, the higher-ups required them to memorize the Young Mansion Lord's appearance as an instinct, so how could they not recognize him?

At this moment, Yong Nian's mood was quite strange. On the one hand, as one of the first members to meet the Young Mansion Lord, it was a great achievement to send the news back to the Heavenly Mansion, and he would naturally receive a reward for his contribution.

But the timing of the Young Mansion Lord's appearance is too coincidental. Is he destined to be alone forever?

However, since the Young Mansion Lord was in person, Yong Nian could not be too rude, so he quickly replied, "We are the people that the alliance specially sent to the Demon Fire Plains to wait for the Young Mansion Lord to emerge from seclusion."

"Besides us, there are three other teams that are just as good as us here."

After hearing Yong Nian's explanation, Xiao Yan felt a warmth in his heart. He naturally knew that these people were probably sent by Elder Yao to send the news of his return back to the Heavenly Mansion as soon as possible.

"What changes have occurred in Central Plains in the past two years? How is the Soul Hall doing?" Mentioning the Soul Hall filled Xiao Yan with pride. Now that he had fused with the Purification Lotus Demon Fire, his cultivation had reached the Six-Star Dou Sheng. His heart swelled with unprecedented arrogance. The little Soul Hall was nothing to him!

He was determined that if the power of the Heavenly Mansion was insufficient, he would pull in outside help from his family to completely wipe the Soul Hall out of the Central Plains.

However, Yong Nian's expression became even stranger. "The Soul Hall has been destroyed."

"They were wiped out?" Xiao Yan and Xun Er, who was aloof behind him, were both stunned and stared in astonishment at the source of the news.

If Xiao Yan hadn't been certain that the other party wouldn't deceive him on something so easily verifiable, his first reaction might have been to look at the Exotic Fire lake.

"How were they wiped out? Who did it?"

"Teacher? Langya Pavilion? Or Gu Clan?"

Xiao Yan spoke rapidly, rattling off his guesses like a machine gun.

Xiao Yan was more inclined to side with the Gu Clan, after all, the Soul Hall Soul Clan was the powerful backer of the Soul Hall. There were many who dared to attack the Soul Hall, and some who were capable of destroying it.

However, those within the group know their own situation. There is still a significant gap between the power of the Heavenly Mansion and the Soul Hall. Unless a group of top experts join Heavenly Mansion in the past two years, the latter can only defend itself against the Soul Hall.

It's possible for the Heavenly Mansion and Langya Pavilion to join forces, but they can't just ignore the Soul Clan, the backer of the Soul Hall. If their underlings get beaten up, are they just going to stand by and watch?

After much deliberation, the only possible candidate is Gu Clan whose strength on paper is comparable to that of the Soul Clan.

"The Soul Hall was destroyed by the Heavenly Mansion, the Langya Pavilion, and Ancient Races except the Soul Clan."

In any case, this was the final explanation given to the outside world by the Allied Forces, Yong Nian, as an ordinary Dou Zun, naturally received the same version.

"Huh?" Xiao Yan's eyes widened. The news today almost made his rock-solid mentality, honed through years of life and death, crumble.

Good heavens, what heinous things did the Soul Hall do to provoke the powerful figures of the Fierce Qi Continent to join forces and kill them?

No wonder the Soul Clan dared not interfere. With this lineup, let alone the Soul Hall, even the Soul Clan would be doomed if they encountered it!

Eh...

Xiao Yan's expression suddenly changed; something seemed amiss!

"What about the Soul Clan?" He needed to confirm one thing.

As it turns out, the saying "misfortunes never come singly" has its limitations. At least today Xiao Yan heard a second piece of good news, which is enough to make him happy for quite a while.

Feeling the Young Mansion Lord's intense gaze, Yong Nian unconsciously swallowed.

"The Soul Clan was also wiped out shortly after the Young Mansion Lord entered the Demon Fire Space."

Xiao Yan focused on this one sentence, completely ignoring the subsequent account of the war by Yong Nian and the tragic experiences of the Stone Spirit Two Tribes.

After learning roughly everything that had happened in Central Plains over the past two years, Xiao Yan remained silent for a long time. Xun Er, who was traveling with him, was not much better off. The news was just too shocking, enough to make one's scalp tingle.

After understanding all the information, the two left immediately. Not long after, they appeared on a mountaintop. Looking at the magnificent view below, they were slightly stunned, still feeling quite shocked.

However, Xun Er woke up earlier than Xiao Yan. She gently tugged at his sleeve from behind and comforted him, "Xiao Yan Gege, aren't these good things?"

Xiao Yan snapped out of his daze and gave a wry smile. "It really is a good thing."

"But..."

That's a bit too good!

Having toiled tirelessly for so many years, and been relentlessly pursued by the Soul Hall to the point of having nowhere to run or hide, Xiao Yan has always considered the annihilation of the Soul Clan as his ultimate goal, needless to say, the hereditary hatred between the Soul Clan and the Xiao Clan.

Now that his elders have achieved this extremely difficult goal ahead of time, he feels like a salted fish who has lost his dreams.

Although Xiao Yan looked a little dejected, Xun Er wasn't worried. With his temperament, he would naturally be able to adjust easily in a short time.

Moreover, Xun Er gleaned even better news from this, and her face immediately returned to its usual icy demeanor, adorned with a polite yet distant smile.

"Xiao Yan Gege, how did Senior Xiao Xuan get out of the Heavenly Tomb?"

"Xun Er doesn't know anything!"

Without Xiao Yan needing to explain, Xun Er could easily deduce that the trip to the Heavenly Tomb was a long-planned operation by the Xiao Clan, and that even Xiao Yan had kept it from her.

Although Xiao Xuan's resurrection is of great importance and it is understandable to conceal it a little, Xun Er will not let this matter pass by so easily.

Hearing Xun Er's light and melodious voice, Xiao Yan's heart skipped a beat. He hadn't thought things through when he hid it, and it wouldn't be easy to deal with it now that the truth had come out!

Sensing the increasingly oppressive atmosphere around him, Xiao Yan's mind raced. Suddenly, a brilliant idea struck him, and he blurted out:

"Xun Er, after we return this time, shall we have Father propose marriage to the Gu Clan?"

This move caught Xun Er completely off guard. Losing her composure, she stammered for a long time before finally managing to utter a single word, "Okay!"

While feeling shy, she was mostly happy. At this moment, Xiao Yan, whether in terms of strength, talent, or family background, was already considered the pinnacle of the younger generation in the Fierce Qi Continent. Absolutely no one in the Gu Clan would dare to obstruct their marriage.

Having gone through a long-term relationship, Xun Er was naturally overjoyed with this outcome.

"Please wait a moment, Xun Er Xun'er. Our Xiao Clan will prepare the Betrothal Gift immediately!"

A hearty laugh came from behind the two of them.