The Protagonist's Team

"Miss Nalan, for Old Master Nalan's sake, Xiao Yan has a few words of advice for you: thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river. Never bully a young man because he is poor!"

Xiao Yan's cold, ringing words filled the entire hall. Just as in the original story, he still uttered that classic line, while Xiao Yi Xian watched this epic drama with great interest.

"Father, three years from now, Yan'er will go to the Misty Cloud Sect and personally wash away today's humiliation for you!" Tears glistened at the corners of his eyes. Xiao Yan bowed heavily, then rose and walked straight out of the hall without hesitation.

As he passed Nalan Yanran, Xiao Yan paused. His young yet calm voice spoke with icy chill.

"Three years from now, I will come for you!"

The boy's shadow stretched long beneath the sunlight, looking lonely and desolate.

On the raised platform, Xiao Zhan felt a headache coming on as he looked at the gawking crowd below. He had opened the Xiao Clan's gates and allowed people to watch in order to borrow their influence.

Who would have thought they would end up watching such a grand spectacle? Just thinking about it made his head hurt...

Seeing that the farce had ended, Xiao Yi Xian had no intention of going to see Xiao Xun'er's Golden Emperor Burning Heaven Flame. She carefully followed behind Xiao Yan.

"I, Xiao Yan, will never suffer today's humiliation a second time!" A roar filled with grief and fury came from afar.

Hearing Xiao Yan's furious roar, Xiao Yi Xian smiled. With a flicker, she appeared before him and blocked him as he suddenly turned around.

The Dou Qi within Xiao Yi Xian's body activated the sword case on her back. After a faint tremor, a peculiar pressure spread from her body.

Xiao Yan saw only a black-robed figure standing over thirty meters away. He was certain that this person had come to mock him.

But when he met those eyes beneath the black robe, deep as icy pools, Xiao Yan felt as though he had been thrown into water and could no longer breathe.

"You..."

Run, run now! Xiao Yan screamed inwardly, but his feet would not move. His entire body felt frozen and numb. He could not even make a sound.

She wants to kill me?! Why?

Xiao Yan's eyes nearly split with rage. In a blur, a powerful pressure suddenly descended, as though it would crush him. With each beat of his heart, those icy-pool-like eyes stared directly into his. They were so close that, in the fragmented reflections within them, he could see his own pale, twisted face filled with fear...

The next instant, Xiao Yi Xian, who had been right before him, shattered like a mirror with a deafening crash!

Xiao Yan's face turned pale, and he nearly collapsed to the ground. He gasped heavily as control over his body returned in that instant, as though he had awakened from a dream into reality.

"I thought that hidden expert would keep hiding forever!" The black-robed figure's voice was as clear as a mountain spring, echoing through the air.

Xiao Yan abruptly raised his head and saw that the black-robed figure was still standing over thirty meters away, as though everything that had just happened had been an illusion.

Yet the sweat-soaked clothes on his back proved that it had not merely been a dream.

Before he could recover his senses and think over what the black-robed figure had said, an aged voice suddenly rang out from Xiao Yan's body.

"Hehe, little girl, you have no sense of propriety at all. You really ought to be caught and spanked."

Some people, after living long enough, cultivated an immortal, sage-like bearing.

Others grew more and more lecherous the longer they lived...

Looking at the white-haired young man floating out of Xiao Yan's ring, Xiao Yi Xian suddenly felt that the two were not contradictory. The man before her was the perfect example: ethereal and refined on the outside, utterly undignified for his age within.

He might look handsome, but who knew how long he had actually lived? He was practically a grandfather's grandfather...

The white-robed young man was observing her as well. She looked no more than sixteen or seventeen, yet the pressure radiating from her was not the least bit weaker than his current state. Though the strength he could unleash now was merely at the Dou Ling level, it was still not something a girl her age should possess.

Did she truly possess such strength, or was she using some secret technique?

If she really had that kind of strength, then he felt as though all his past cultivation had gone to the dogs. If he had possessed such talent back then, would he have avoided being expelled from the Yao Clan?

Would he have avoided losing the person he loved?

"Little girl?"

Although Xiao Yan was bewildered by the situation, that did not stop his thoughts from running wild.

Xiao Yi Xian removed her black robe, and strands of purple hair drifted through the air. Her looks were exquisite, her aura gentle, and her waist in particular made even Yao Chen's eyes flash with a trace of amazement.

Xiao Yan, meanwhile, hid behind Yao Chen and stared fixedly at Xiao Yi Xian...

Xiao Yi Xian glanced at Xiao Yan, and an enormous pressure instantly descended upon him before vanishing the next moment.

The corners of Xiao Yi Xian's lips lifted slightly as she said with a faint smile, "I'm not an enemy. I'm only here to cooperate."

"What?" Xiao Yan froze. His mind could barely process it. This girl who looked sixteen, seventeen, maybe eighteen wanted to cooperate with him, a mere three-stage Dou Qi practitioner?

"That pressure of yours has nearly reached the Dou Wang level, hasn't it?"

"I can't imagine how powerful the force behind someone of your strength must be. Why would you still need to cooperate with us?"

Yao Chen looked at Xiao Yi Xian with narrowed, smiling eyes. The soul power within him slowly gathered, ensuring that he could flee at any moment.

"Dou Wang?"

Hearing Yao Chen's words, Xiao Yan sharply sucked in a breath. This girl before him, who looked barely older than he was, was actually a legendary Dou Wang expert?

Xiao Yi Xian merely gave a sly smile and said nothing. The sword case contained the pressure left behind by that Dou Zun expert. With her current strength, she could only activate it to the Dou Wang level.

But the pressure of a Dou Wang alone was enough to frighten Yao Chen. If she did not say anything, who could know that she actually possessed only two-star Dou Zhe strength?

Curiosity flashed through Yao Chen's eyes. "If I hadn't intervened just now, what would you have done?"

"So that's how it was..."

Xiao Yan could not help glancing at Xiao Yi Xian. With the experience of two lifetimes, he understood the course of events after only a little thought.

"If you hadn't acted, I would have thrown the ring away. Young Master Xiao couldn't have stopped me anyway. As for where I would throw it, who knows?" Xiao Yi Xian shrugged frankly.

"With your soul power, returning shouldn't be difficult. If you didn't want to return, that would be fine too. Young Master Xiao's talent would naturally recover to what it once was."

"Hehehe, you little girl." The old man chuckled teasingly. "If I didn't return, wouldn't this kid have wasted three years supplying this old man with Dou Qi? Aren't you afraid he'll demand compensation from you?"

"Oh?" A trace of mockery flashed through Xiao Yi Xian's eyes. Raising a brow, she smiled. "Young Master Xiao, you heard him. Ask him for whatever you want. Three years of Dou Qi can't be wasted for nothing."

"..."

Yao Chen suddenly slapped his forehead. This little girl did not play by the rules. She was bullying an old man like him.

"That's right. Why throw away the ring? She could just take it off and keep it somewhere. I really let myself get led around by the nose."

Though somewhat annoyed, Yao Chen was not angry. Instead, he found the girl clever and quirky, rather likable.

Sorry, being beautiful really did let one do whatever one wanted.

As he thought this, the old man glanced at the still-dazed Xiao Yan. His expression shifted as he asked with a chuckle, "Kid, do you hate me?"

Xiao Yan's feelings were complicated.

To say that he did not hate him at all would be impossible. The humiliation he had endured over the past three years remained vivid in his mind, especially the look of immense relief on Nalan Yanran's face after she had severed ties with him.

And all of it had been caused by the old man before him. If not for the lingering terror from that near "pressure," he probably would have flown into a rage the instant the old man revealed his identity...

"I want to become stronger."

As long as you can make me stronger, I won't hate you.

He knew well that there was no such thing as a free lunch, yet he still asked this mysterious old man for help. He no longer wanted to be useless. He no longer wanted to be humiliated. He wanted to grow stronger—stronger than Nalan Yanran!

Thanks to Dreams Fly Heavenward for the monthly ticket. I can only post another chapter in thanks!