Central Plains Situation

When Xiao Yan left Canaan Academy, he did not alert many people. Aside from Su Qian, only Hu Gan and Fire Elder, the two senior figures Xiao Yan knew well, were present. Of course, Xun'er was accompanying him as well.

None of those present showed any surprise at Xun'er suddenly joining the journey, as though she had been meant to come along from the start.

The departure had been arranged in too much of a hurry. Fortunately, Xiao Yan did not know many people, so he had barely managed to bid farewell to those few before leaving.

After Lin Xiuya and the others heard about it from Xiao Yan, they simply happily dragged him off for a meal, then wished him a smooth journey.

Lu Mu, whom Xiao Yan had only informed in passing, nearly hugged Xiao Yan's leg and cried, begging him not to leave. Xiao Yan was utterly puzzled about when he and this kid had become so close.

Wu Hao was somewhat disappointed as well, but he still gave Xiao Yan his blessings. Wu Protector still wore that thousand-year-old expressionless face. As for Hu Jia...

Xiao Yan scratched his head. "Dean Hu, Hu Jia will be all right, won't she?"

Hu Gan sighed deeply as well. "I've locked her up already. After making a fuss for a couple of days, she'll probably come to her senses."

When Hu Jia learned that Xiao Yan was leaving, she had clamored to go with him too. Naturally, Hu Gan ruthlessly suppressed her.

At that moment, Fire Elder reached out and rubbed Xiao Yan's head, advising him, "Once you get to the Pill Tower, study alchemy properly. You must be diligent and hardworking, and you cannot slack off, just as you were at Canaan Academy..."

Xiao Yan listened respectfully before bowing deeply. "I will remember the elder's teachings. I will never forget the elder's guidance and kindness."

Seeing that Fire Elder still wanted to say something, Hu Gan hurriedly broke the mood. "All right, all right. It's not as though Xiao Yan will never come back. Besides, brat, you're only taking a leave of absence. No matter where you go, you're still a member of Canaan Academy. Don't disgrace us out there, understand?"

Xiao Yan hurriedly agreed.

Seeing that everyone had more or less finished their farewells, Su Qian spoke. "All right, time to depart. This old man hasn't traveled in many years. I've nearly forgotten what it feels like to use a Griffin Beast for transportation."

Su Qian was referring to the flying magical beast beside them. Since neither Xiao Yan nor Xun'er could fly, they naturally had to ride a magical beast.

After the final farewells, Xiao Yan and Xun'er climbed onto the Griffin Beast's back. The beast shot into the sky and swiftly flew toward the Central Plains.

On the Griffin Beast's back, Xiao Yan asked Su Qian, "Great Elder, how long will it take us to fly to the Central Domain of the Central Plains like this?"

"About three months."

"Three months?!"

Xiao Yan was rather shocked—not because it was too long, but because it was too short. It had taken him a month to travel from the Jia Ma Empire to Canaan Academy, yet reaching the legendary Central Domain would only take three months?

Could it be that Canaan Academy was not actually that far from the Central Plains?

Su Qian saw Xiao Yan's astonishment, but he kept him in suspense. "You'll find out when we get there."

Xiao Yan did not understand, but there was nothing he could do if Su Qian refused to explain. Xun'er smiled and said,

"The Great Elder wants Xiao Yan-gege to see it for himself. If he heard about it beforehand, it wouldn't be as shocking when he saw it."

Xiao Yan reluctantly accepted this explanation. Xun'er continued,

"The journey is boring, and aside from cultivating, there isn't much to do. How about Xun'er explains the power structure of the Central Plains to Xiao Yan-gege?"

Xiao Yan was immediately interested and waited for Xun'er's next words. He very much wanted to know what the mysterious Central Plains was like. Even the Great Elder became interested; he had remained at Canaan Academy for many years and did not know whether the Central Plains still had the same structure as when he had left.

"Among the public powers of the Central Plains, there is the saying: one hall, one tower, two sects, three valleys, and four pavilions."

"Of course, these are not all the powers there. They are merely the most famous and active ones. Let us start with the Four Directions Pavilion. They are really just four factions occupying the peripheral regions of the Central Plains. Though they have some renown, their strength is actually limited. They cannot even gain a foothold in the Central Domain and are merely included to make up the numbers."

Xiao Yan listened attentively, while the Great Elder, who had his back to them, twitched slightly. There were quite a few Dou Sect experts within the Four Directions Pavilion, and each pavilion master was a Dou Venerable expert known across the continent as a Venerable! Yet in Xun'er's mouth, they were merely "making up the numbers."

But considering Xun'er's background, Su Qian could only sigh. If not for the academy headmaster, he likely would not have known what sort of identity the chattering girl behind him possessed.

Even so, Su Qian had already decided that he would tell Xiao Yan the truth later. He could not let Xun'er "mislead" him.

"The three valleys and two sects that come after them are far stronger than the Four Directions Pavilion. These sects are connected to Dou Saints to varying degrees, and each has its own sphere of influence. Xiao Yan-gege will inevitably encounter people from these factions when traveling through the Central Domain in the future."

"That one tower is the Pill Tower. It is the holy land of alchemists on the Dou Qi Continent and possesses extraordinary influence and appeal among alchemists. Its headquarters lies in Saint Pill City, in the Central Domain of the Central Plains. It can be called the core of the core of the Dou Qi Continent!"

Xiao Yan was shocked as he listened. The factions ranked after the Pill Tower were all related to Dou Saints, so did that not mean the Pill Tower, which stood above them, truly possessed the legendary Dou Saints?

Such matters were nearly unimaginable to Xiao Yan, who had never even seen a Dou Venerable.

"Xun'er, what is that hall mentioned at the very beginning?"

When Xiao Yan asked this, he saw Xun'er's expression visibly darken. He had never seen such an expression on her face before.

"The Soul Hall is an evil faction. They have no territory, but it could also be said that everywhere is their territory. They specialize in capturing powerful souls, and as everyone knows, alchemists possess especially powerful souls! Thus, the Soul Hall can be considered the Pill Tower's mortal enemy. At the same time, the Soul Hall does not spare the souls of fallen experts, so they are the enemy of all powerful people as well."

"As long as Xiao Yan-gege understands that everyone wishes to destroy the Soul Hall, and that every faction in the Central Plains opposes them, you will understand what kind of organization they are."

"Once you become a powerful alchemist in the future, you may become one of their targets as well. Xiao Yan-gege, you must be careful of the Soul Hall!"

Xiao Yan was left somewhat stunned. He had truly not expected such a terrifyingly powerful faction to exist—one that required everyone to resist it together, yet still stood firmly ahead of the Pill Tower.

"Is the Soul Hall really that powerful? Even all the factions combined cannot suppress it?"

When Xun'er heard Xiao Yan ask this, she seemed to recall something. Her expression became slightly unnatural, but she quickly smiled again.

"It is not quite that exaggerated. Everyone despises the Soul Hall, and they usually operate discreetly, not daring to show themselves openly. It is simply that their movements are mysterious and difficult to guard against."

"Of course, the reason the Soul Hall has endured involves contests at a higher level, which is not something I can speak carelessly about."

Only after hearing Xun'er's explanation did Xiao Yan understand. However, he became interested in the "higher level" she mentioned. With entities like the Soul Hall and Pill Tower already standing before him, could an even higher level involve the absolute peak of the Dou Qi Continent—the Dou Emperor!?

Yet Xun'er likewise did not continue. Although Xiao Yan was extremely curious, he did not ask further. After all, even Xun'er probably only had a partial understanding of such matters.

Over the following days, Xiao Yan spent every day with Xun'er aside from cultivating. They actually spent far more time together than they had back when they were in the Xiao Clan.

Meanwhile, Xiao Yan began practicing the Dou Technique he had obtained, the Nether Dragon Prison-Suppressing Song. With Su Qian nearby to answer questions at any time, the Earth Tier Dou Technique, which should have been exceptionally difficult to cultivate, was rapidly mastered by Xiao Yan.