Situation

"I don't know either. It's just that shortly after I broke through to the Dou Zhe, I regressed back to the Ninth Stage of Dou Qi, and it's been like this ever since!"

Xiao Yan shook his head with a wry smile.

Xiao Ding took Xiao Yan's hand and headed towards his parents' residence.

"Come with me to see Father! Father will surely have a way!"

At this moment, Xiao Yan, who was following behind Xiao Ding, was also shouting in his heart:

"It's over, we can't hide it anymore!"

Xiao Yan was held by Xiao Ding until they arrived at his parents' residence before being released.

Fortunately, the two didn't encounter many people on the way. After all, Jia Nan Academy was recruiting students, which had attracted a lot of attention, and many members of the Xiao Clan had also gone to watch the excitement.

"How old are you? Still so reckless!"

Seeing Xiao Ding hurriedly lead Xiao Yan in, Ye Yan couldn't help but mutter to herself.

"Didn't you two participate in the Jia Nan Academy's assessment?" Xiao Zhan saw that his two sons were also somewhat puzzled. Then his gaze sharpened, and the teacup in his hand cracked into dust.

Tea spilled all over his body, but Xiao Zhan didn't care about that. Instead, he cried out in alarm.

"Yan'er, what is your cultivation level?"

Soon after, news of the Xiao Clan's third young master, the one engaged to the Nalan Family in the Imperial Capital, suffering a drop in cultivation and the fall of a genius, quickly spread throughout Wutan City and then further to the Jia Ma Imperial Capital.

Jia Ma Imperial Capital.

With the return of the Ice Emperor, the previously tense atmosphere instantly shifted into a delicate balance.

Both the Imperial Family and the Misty Cloud Sect extended olive branches to the Mittel Family.

However, after Ice Emperor Hai Bodong returned to the Mittel Family, the first thing he did was to announce that he would remain neutral like the Alchemist Association and would not participate in the affairs of the Misty Cloud Sect and the Imperial Family. Then he announced a cooperation with the Xiao Clan of Wutan City, helping the Xiao Clan to integrate the various forces in Wutan City. Even the Ice Emperor himself went to oversee the situation. His demeanor was completely like a gambler going all in.

At this moment, in a pavilion within the inner Jia Ma Imperial Palace, a noble and aloof young woman in a black dress—none other than Princess Yaoye of the Empire—was approaching an elderly man dressed in coarse linen clothes who was drinking tea, carrying a sheepskin scroll.

The old man was none other than Jia Xing Tian, whom Lin Qing had seen some time ago. However, the old man now did not have the same dejection and aging as before. His complexion was rosy, and his aura was perfectly concealed.

Yaoye bowed to Jia Xing Tian and said:

"Grandpa, everything has been investigated!"

The old man put down his teacup and asked:

What exactly is going on?

The girl opened the scroll, glanced at it, and said:

"According to the report from the secret guards, after Master Lin left Black Rock City, he went to Desert City. Hai Bodong had contact with Master Lin, and after Master Lin left, he went to Stone Desert City, where he took a human- Snake-People Tribe hybrid named Qing Lin with him. Then he led a group of mercenaries to dig a cave near Stone Desert City. The cave leads to an underground magma."

"After he entered the cave, Medusa appeared there, but it seems she was captured by one of his Dou Zong powerhouses. After he came out, the male Dou Emperor under his command flew back to Desert City and took Hai Bodong to Stone Desert City. Finally, there was the return of the Ice Emperor and a series of other actions."

"Therefore, based on my deduction, Master Lin is very likely Lin Qing from the Xiao Clan!"

"However, it seems that Master Lin also went to the Snake-People Tribe and stayed there for a while. Moreover, the Mittel Family is now not only close to the Xiao Clan, but also to the Black Rock City Lord's Manor and the Xue Clan."

Yaoye recounted all the intelligence she had gathered in one go. As for deeper matters, the Imperial Family, with its strength and methods, was ultimately lacking.

Jia Xing Tian put down his teacup, a glint of shrewdness flashing in his eyes, and asked in a deep voice:

"The Xiao Clan? It seems that the third young master of the Xiao Clan and Nalan Yanran of the Nalan Family are engaged, right?"

Yaoye immediately replied:

"Yes, Nalan Yanran was taken in as the only personal disciple by the Misty Cloud Sect Master a few years ago, and is also the future heir of the Misty Cloud Sect. Grandpa, should we break up this marriage?"

"Haha! Don't worry, this marriage won't happen! They can't be in-laws anymore, so there's no need to investigate further. Just remain vigilant towards the Misty Cloud Sect."

The old man laughed heartily. He understood that Yun Yun might not be the best at managing the sect, but she was definitely not stupid. On the contrary, she was very clever, and she would never let the sect fall into the hands of outsiders.

He just needs to wait for the other party to make the first move, and then he can strike back.

Actually, it wasn't that he didn't want to strike first; it was just that when he went to the Misty Cloud Sect, he discovered that the old codger Yun Shan had also broken through. The two immediately fought, and although he slightly defeated Yun Shan, he realized that if the Imperial Family wanted to take over the Misty Cloud Sect, they would suffer heavy losses unless they had the support of the Alchemist Guild and the Mittel Family.

Therefore, as an excellent emperor, he can only try his best to maintain his own advantages and wait for the other party to make a mistake first, so that he can defeat the other party with minimal losses.

Jia Nan Academy.

A fifth-tier flying magical beast, the Lightning Bird, known for its speed, landed on the window of the vice dean's office in the outer academy.

This Magical Beast is not large, about the size of a first-tier Blue Eagle, and its combat power is not high. At the Tier 5, it cannot even defeat Da Dou Shi. Its growth ceiling is only the fifth tier. However, it can be fed and tamed by some high-end forces on the continent because at the Tier 5, it has a speed comparable to Seventh-Rank Magical Beast, which means that it can deliver information quickly.

As for stronger forces, they said we don't need such things; we use spatial channels and sensing Jade Pendant.

"Dongdong!"

The small bird pecked at the window with its beak. Hu Gan quickly stepped forward, opened the window, and then took out a Medicinal Pill to restore Dou Qi from his Storage Ring and fed it to the Lightning Bird.

Then he took a piece of paper from the small bamboo tube tied to Lightning Bird's leg. He glanced at it, his expression slightly surprised, and then he disappeared from the room.

Soon after, in a quiet room filled with bookshelves, seven or eight elderly men sat in chairs around a round table. From their ordinary-looking demeanor, one could tell that they were probably quite powerful and held high positions. After all, ordinary elderly people were not qualified to sit in this meeting room where decisions were made about all matters in the courtyard.

At this moment, one of the elderly men slowly put down a document in his hand, glanced around the room, and smiled faintly:

"So? A Sixth-Grade Alchemist suddenly appeared—should we take him or not? Here's his information; you can look at it yourselves."

After saying that, he flicked his finger, and the documents in front of him shot towards the people around him.

An old man clicked his tongue and said:

"Such a young Tier 6, could he be after Heavenly Flames?"

"Agree with him. He has his own Heavenly Flames, so he should be different from Han Feng. If we disagree, people will think that Jia Nan Academy is stuck in its ways. Besides, he brought his family with him and has a bright future. He probably wouldn't be that stupid."

"Then let's agree. A young Sixth-Grade Alchemist is worth our effort to win over and invest in. And even if he wants something from us, we have nothing to fear!" said an elder sitting at the head of the table.

"Hmm!" The other elders nodded in agreement, then exchanged glances before mysteriously disappearing from their chairs.

That evening, Hu Bo put the academy's reply into a small bamboo tube, then touched Lightning Bird and said:

"Go! Deliver the letter to the Jia Ma Empire!"

Upon hearing this, Lightning Bird flapped its wings and quickly disappeared into the sky.