Xiao Yan's Teacher Was a Dou Wang? Nalan Yanran's Budding Romance!

After Xiao Yan disappeared around the street corner, Xun'er lingered by the entrance for a while.

"Uncle Xiao."

She turned to look at Xiao Zhan beside her.

"Are you really comfortable letting Brother Xiao Yan go to the Misty Cloud Sect alone?"

Xiao Zhan smiled. "With his teacher accompanying him, what do I have to worry about?"

"But he's going there to break off the engagement..." The girl's voice grew softer.

The Misty Cloud Sect was, after all, a major sect in the Jia Ma Empire. Ordinary people would have counted themselves lucky just to forge a connection with it. Yet Xiao Yan intended to go there and dissolve his engagement. Not every elder in the sect would necessarily be accommodating.

The smile on Xiao Zhan's face faded a little, though he still smiled as he said:

"I tried to talk him out of it, too. But since Yan'er has thought it through, I can't live his whole life for him just because I'm his father."

He looked toward the end of the street and gently pressed a hand against the jade bottle of pills beneath his clothes.

"Besides, that teacher of his is probably even more capable than we imagine."

Xun'er's eyes shifted slightly as she asked in puzzlement:

"Have you met that senior?"

"No." Xiao Zhan shook his head, then continued, "But how long has it taken Yan'er to advance from Dou Zhe to where he is now? The pills in the clan, these old injuries of mine—which of those could an ordinary person have dealt with?"

"In my opinion, that senior is at least a Dou Wang, and a fairly high-ranked Alchemist besides!"

As he spoke, his back unconsciously straightened a little.

A Dou Wang.

A powerhouse like that would rank among the notable figures of the entire Jia Ma Empire.

With the status of an Alchemist on top of that, even the Misty Cloud Sect would have to show him some respect.

After hearing him out, Xun'er did not immediately respond.

She recalled Ling Ying's earlier investigation. Even he had failed to uncover that expert's origins. The Dou Wang Uncle Xiao spoke of was probably just a guess based on a realm familiar to him.

But who exactly that senior was, and why he had chosen Brother Xiao Yan as his disciple, were questions she still could not answer.

Seeing her silence, Xiao Zhan assumed she was still worried and reassured her with a smile. "Don't worry. Yan'er is a clever boy. With an expert looking after him, he won't get the short end of the stick."

Xun'er nodded gently, her gaze drifting once more toward the far end of the street.

"I hope he writes soon."

The Misty Cloud Sect.

Clouds and mist surged among the mountains. A long flight of white stone steps stretched from the foot of the mountain straight into the clouds.

Inside the council hall, several reports sent from Wutan City lay on a long table.

"Dou Ling?"

Seated below the head of the table, Yun Leng set down the pages, his brows drawing together slightly.

"He advanced to Dou Zhe at eleven, and now, less than a year later, he's become a Dou Ling? Those people in Wutan City have probably never even seen what a Dou Ling looks like."

Beside him, Yun Lei also shook his head.

"The rumors grow more outrageous with every telling. They aren't worth believing."

The other elders in the hall clearly felt the same way.

At the head of the table, Yun Yun, dressed in a plain gown, did not rush to speak. She merely pushed another report toward them.

"Then what do you make of Han Kui's death?"

At that, Yun Leng's expression grew more serious.

Han Kui, an Eight-Star Great Dou Master.

Though he was hardly someone the Misty Cloud Sect needed to take seriously, he was no insignificant figure one could find just anywhere.

And now he was dead.

Jia Lie Bi and Oba Pa, both Da Dou Shi, had died that same night.

The fall of the two great clans and the Xiao Clan's takeover of their holdings could hardly have been fabricated.

Yun Sheng stroked his beard and said:

"The report says Han Kui was already dead when the two clans' men arrived at the West City Gate. There may not have been any eyewitnesses to who actually killed him."

"As for the other two, a battle at night is chaotic to begin with. If an expert was secretly helping him, it wouldn't be strange for the others to have seen only Xiao Yan making his move."

Yun Lei picked up the thread.

"That makes sense. Could a junior who only recently became a Dou Zhe really kill three Da Dou Shi in a single night?"

The elders exchanged glances, their expressions easing. Compared with Xiao Yan having already become a Dou Ling, the explanation that an expert stood behind him was clearly easier to accept.

Yun Yun nodded slightly.

"The Xiao Clan's recent changes go beyond acquiring a few more holdings."

"Members of the clan have been making breakthroughs one after another. The medicinal liquids sold in the Marketplace and the pills that appeared at the Mittel Auction House are all worth noting."

Yun Leng pondered for a moment before slowly saying:

"Sect Leader, do you mean Xiao Yan has taken an Alchemist as his teacher?"

"It's possible." Yun Yun nodded!

"To deal with Han Kui and bring about such changes in the Xiao Clan in so little time, this person must be at least a Dou Ling." Yun Leng paused. "He may even be a Dou Wang."

As those final words fell, the hall went quiet for a moment.

If the Xiao Clan had merely produced a talented junior, they could simply recruit him. But if a Dou Wang Alchemist stood behind him, that letter of invitation carried a different weight altogether.

Yun Yun said, "So there is no need to rush to conclusions before we meet him."

Standing beside her, Nalan Yanran finally could not resist speaking up.

"Teacher, even if the rumors are exaggerated, the Xiao Clan's increased strength is real. He himself... must have improved too, right?"

As soon as she finished, several gazes turned toward her.

Only then did the girl realize she seemed a little too eager to ask. She hurriedly added, "I mean, with an expert guiding him and pills to help him, his cultivation could hardly progress slowly."

Yun Yun glanced at her, a hint of a smile suddenly appearing on her lips. "Since you're so concerned about his cultivation, you can ask him yourself when he arrives."

Nalan Yanran's cheeks warmed.

"Teacher!"

Yun Lei raised his teacup and lowered his head to conceal his smile.

Even Yun Leng, who had kept a stern face throughout, softened a little.

Nalan Yanran had just advanced to Dou Zhe and was feeling quite confident in her own cultivation. Yet over the past few days, she had constantly heard about the fiancé she had never met.

A Dou Zhe at eleven.

The young genius of Wutan City.

And those battle records that grew more astonishing with every telling.

Naturally, she was curious.

But having her teacher expose that curiosity in front of all the elders left her somewhat flustered.

Yun Yun stopped teasing her and turned back to the others.

"If Xiao Yan truly has talent, we can certainly ask whether he would be willing to cultivate at the Misty Cloud Sect. But if he already has a teacher, there is no need to press the matter."

"For this visit, let's meet him first and get a clear understanding of the situation."

Yun Leng nodded.

"And the engagement?"

"Since the elders of their two families arranged the engagement, there's no harm in asking about it while we're at it. As for what happens afterward, we should hear what the two of them want."

Nalan Yanran lowered her eyes, her fingertips lightly brushing her sleeve.

What would he look like?

If he really was as outstanding as the rumors claimed, what would he say when he met her?

Yun Yun gathered the reports from the table and instructed:

"Inform the guards at the mountain gate that when the Xiao Clan's people arrive with the letter, they are to be welcomed as guests. Do not slight them."

"Yes."

Outside the hall doors, a disciple accepted the order and departed.

Yun Yun glanced at the clouds and mist drifting past outside, her tone calm.

"Whatever the rumors say, we'll have our answers when he arrives."