During this time, Fan Tian accompanied the three beauties to quite a few places around the Black-Corner Region.
They talked about everything under the sun. Fan Tian occasionally spoke of old times in Sound Valley, while Cao Ying and Dan Chen shared little details of daily life in the Pill Tower. Only Zi Yan listened quietly beside them, envy written all over her face. Every so often, she gripped Fan Tian's hand tightly and refused to let go.
Then, one day, Zi Yan brought him to a secluded valley.
Years ago, Su Qian had stumbled upon her here and taken her back to the Inner Academy.
"You mean... you were born here?" Fan Tian's voice was filled with shock.
"Yeah. There are lots of big fellows here, too. They were always bullying me when I was little."
Dan Chen and Cao Ying swept their soul power across the entire valley in an instant, disbelief appearing in both their eyes.
"There are at least seven Fifth Rank magical beasts here, and two Sixth Rank ones... You actually fought them for food?"
"I had no choice. I was just too hungry. For as long as I can remember, I've never really had enough to eat. Those youngsters couldn't beat me one-on-one, so they ganged up on me. When they still couldn't win, they went and fetched their parents. I nearly died here several times."
As she spoke of those unbearable memories, Zi Yan clenched her fists tightly.
Fan Tian gently rubbed Zi Yan's head, his heart heavy with emotion.
Had the Ancient Void Dragon's body not been tough enough to withstand such beatings, and had its innate bloodline suppression not kept those high-ranking magical beasts from truly striking to kill, this branch of the Ancient Void Dragons' Dragon Emperor Bloodline might well have died out here without a sound.
"Didn't Great Elder Su Qian get even with them for you?"
"Pah, that stubborn old man! He dumped me in the Inner Academy and never bothered with anything after that." Zi Yan pouted, grumbling under her breath.
In truth, Su Qian could hardly be blamed for that. The girl's demand for energy was simply staggering, and Jia Nan Academy had so many elders that its resources were already stretched thin. It could not possibly lavish too much care on an outsider.
"Then today, I'll settle the score for you. Not a single one that bullied you will get away."
As his words fell, Fan Tian stepped into the air, unleashing the full aura of a Dou Zong expert. Throughout the valley, the Fifth Rank and Sixth Rank magical beasts were instantly terrified and scattered in all directions.
"Wow! Thank you, hubby! You're so handsome!" Zi Yan lifted her little face and gazed at the tall, straight figure radiating a mighty aura in the sky, unable to keep herself from cheering.
This girl, who had grown up without a father or mother and struggled to survive in the Black-Corner Region's brutal environment with nothing but her thick hide and two fists, was now utterly won over by Fan Tian's towering, godlike figure.
As for "hubby," Fan Tian had told her to call him that, saying it sounded especially affectionate. Cao Ying and Dan Chen always felt something was strange about it, but neither could quite put her finger on what was wrong.
Next, Fan Tian swept through the valley with Zi Yan, leaving not a single Fifth Rank or Sixth Rank magical beast alive. Zi Yan showed no mercy either, swallowing their magic cores, blood essence, hides, and bones all together. The Pill Tower’s Twin Beauties, who had been hoping to collect some magical beast materials, watched from the side with their mouths agape.
Even Fan Tian felt his scalp prickle.
An Ancient Void Dragon was an Ancient Void Dragon, after all-a supreme magical beast standing at the very top of the food chain, never some gentle, pious soul.
Watching the mature-looking Zi Yan, with her exquisite figure and snow-white skin, chew through the flesh of a Sixth Rank magical beast bite by bite, Fan Tian smacked his lips, his feelings complicated.
The girl really had been starving.
Legend had it that Ancient Void Dragons fed on the Heaven Demon Phoenix Clan. Yet throughout her childhood, Zi Yan had probably survived by gnawing on medicinal herbs, wild fruits, and the like. This was likely her first chance to feast on high-ranking magical beasts like this.
This was what one of the Dou Qi Continent's apex predators ought to look like.
I must never let this girl do... that sort of mouth work... If she doesn't know her own strength and bites my... clean off...
Fan Tian suddenly shuddered, cold sweat breaking out across his back.
Central Plains, Soul Realm.
Despite being a Nine-Star Dou Saint Late Stage expert, Gu Yuan had the words "careful and cautious" carved into his very bones.
That was both a weakness and a strength. It all depended on the circumstances.
At that moment, he was leading the allied army in a steady, methodical advance through the Soul Realm.
Wherever the army passed, not a blade of grass remained. The Hun Clan's forces counterattacked several times, and both sides suffered casualties. Amid this back-and-forth struggle, the war against the Hun Clan had lasted a year and a half, and the allied army had occupied nearly half of the Soul Realm.
"Brother Gu Yuan, one more push! The Hun Clan won't hold out much longer!" Covered in blood, Lei Ying stood beside Gu Yuan at the very front of the army.
Lei Ying and Yan Jin had gained considerable ground fighting the severely injured nihility devouring flame. Yet even without Spirit Devouring, the nihility devouring flame was still a Nine-Star Dou Saint and the second-ranked existence on the Heavenly Flame Ranking. The ferocity of its counterattacks far exceeded their expectations.
Had they not kept themselves going with ninth-grade pills, the battle between the three would likely have been decided long ago. By now, however, the Hun Clan's pill supplies were clearly stretched thin. Neither their Dou Qi recovery nor the healing of their injuries could keep pace with the allied forces any longer.
Although the Yao Clan's army had not entered the fighting directly, vast quantities of pills flowed into the allied army in an unending stream. Injured experts immediately withdrew to the rear to take pills and regulate their breathing. Once their injuries had stabilized a little, they turned around and returned to the battlefield.
"Pfft!"
Gu Yuan suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood, his aura weakening somewhat, but he still spoke slowly. "Even so, we cannot afford the slightest carelessness. Only when Hun Tiandi has been dealt with completely can we truly call this war won."
Yan Jin nodded solemnly. Unless there was absolutely no alternative, no one wanted to provoke a Hun Clan backed by a Nine-Star Dou Saint Late Stage expert. Such a terrifying existence could deter an entire clan single-handedly.
As early as six months ago, Gu Yuan had begun trading injury for injury with Hun Tiandi. This had been their strategy from the outset, and it was also the price they had to pay to eliminate a Nine-Star Dou Saint Late Stage expert.
"The Hun Clan has lost fifty percent of its experts, while our army has lost thirty percent. The advantage is ours!" Lei Ying stroked his beard, lightning flashing in his eyes.
"Pass down the order. The Lei Clan's army is to withdraw, take pills, and recuperate. The Yan Clan's army will take its place and continue wearing down the Hun Clan. The Gu Clan's army is to stand ready to provide support at any moment." Gu Yuan swept his sleeve and issued his orders in a deep voice.
"We're running low on pills for restoring Dou Qi. We need the Yao Clan to hurry and send another batch," Lei Ying added.
"We've also used up all our ninth-grade pills. See whether Clan Leader Yao Dan can get us some more." Flames churned endlessly around Yan Jin.
Gu Yuan nodded slightly. He, too, urgently needed several Nine-Grade Profound Pills. They were his trump cards in his life-and-death struggle against Hun Tiandi. The Hun Clan certainly had a Nine-Grade Profound Pill Alchemist, but in warfare this intense between massive armies, it ultimately came down to accumulated reserves.
The Yao Clan had stood unshaken for ten thousand years. In pill reserves alone, even ten Hun Clans put together could not measure up.
Far away at the edge of the Soul Realm, Yao Dan suddenly shivered for no reason, feeling cold all over.
After this grueling struggle, both Lei Ying and Yan Jin had benefited greatly. Their opponent was powerful enough, and between their life-and-death clashes and the ninth-grade pills they kept swallowing, both men had unknowingly placed half a foot over the threshold of Nine-Star Dou Saint.
After this war, there was a very real chance that both would break through and reach nine stars.
"Gu Yuan, do you dare fight me high above in the void?"
An indifferent voice suddenly rang out amid the allied ranks. Hun Tiandi's figure appeared on the horizon, his blue robes covered in bloodstains.
"Heh, why wouldn't I? We'll settle both superiority and life or death." Gu Yuan smiled faintly. His right hand swiftly took the jade bottles Yao Dan had just sent over. He poured out a pill and popped it into his mouth, then put all the rest into his Storage Ring.
The two vanished once more. A string of thunderous explosions immediately came from the distant void, shaking heaven and earth like the wails of ghosts and gods.
"Nihility, you bastard! You dared devour my Lei Clan's bloodline! Today, your Grandpa Lei will cleave you apart with the Thunder Emperor's supreme techniques!" Lei Ying roared as well, flashing into the depths of the void alongside Yan Jin.
"Devour Heaven and Earth-"
The nihility devouring flame's somewhat weakened yet still savage roar rolled endlessly out of another stretch of the void.
Immediately afterward, the allied army launched another offensive, surging toward the Hun Clan like a raging tide.
At that moment, in four unnoticed corners of the Soul Realm, four ancient coffins silently appeared. An instant later, four aged figures slowly stepped out of them.
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