Flame Protector: "Heh heh heh"

After Xiao Yan killed the black-robed elder, Jia Ma Sacred City fell into an eerie silence.

Countless prying gazes came from every direction. Some were delighted, some felt vindicated, and some were terrified, but one gaze among them held profound shock.

"That man is... Xiao Yan?!" On a rooftop, Nalan Jie nearly lost his footing and fell. He had contracted Brand Poison and had been bedridden for years, only forcing himself up to watch the distant battle between two Dou Wang-level experts.

What he had never expected, however, was that one of those "Dou Wang" experts would actually be Xiao Yan, his old friend's grandson, whose engagement his own granddaughter had broken off over a year ago.

"Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river! Never scorn a young man for being poor!"

"This contract isn't an agreement to dissolve our engagement. It's a letter of divorce from this young master, casting you out of the Xiao Clan!"

"From this day forward, you, Nalan Yanran, have nothing whatsoever to do with my Xiao Clan!"

In little more than a year, the youth burdened with the name of a good-for-nothing had arrived in Jia Ma Sacred City as a mighty expert!

Recalling the words Xiao Yan had spoken, which Nalan Yanran had relayed to him, Nalan Jie couldn't help thinking of their Three-Year Agreement.

If Nalan Yanran won, everything that had happened before would be wiped clean. If Xiao Yan won, she would become his slave and servant, to do with as he pleased.

But looking at things now, did Nalan Yanran have even the slightest chance of winning?

After all, although only half of the Three-Year Agreement's allotted time had passed, Nalan Yanran was merely an Eight-Star Dou Zhe, while Xiao Yan could already overpower and kill a veteran Dou Wang, and had even mastered Heavenly Flames.

In another year or so, his granddaughter Nalan Yanran would, at best, advance to Da Dou Shi. But what heights would Xiao Yan reach?

It was simply unimaginable.

Should I strike and snuff Xiao Yan out in his cradle?

Nalan Jie pondered for a while, then unclenched his tightly balled fists and smiled bitterly.

"Forget it. Yanran, everyone has to pay for their mistakes in life. Back then, you went behind my back to break off the engagement, and your methods were far too extreme. You brought the Xiao Clan too much trouble and humiliation. This past year, my illness has kept me from leaving the Nalan Family estate, too. If that day truly comes, then at worst, these old bones of mine will risk their life to plead with that nephew of mine..." Nalan Jie smiled bitterly, his face growing ever paler. The black aura between his brows thickened further; clearly, he had little time left.

"Alas, Xiao Lin, this grandson of yours is far more outstanding than us waves that came before him..." The countless words in Nalan Jie's heart all dissolved into a sigh. Had he still been in his prime, how could something as absurd as the Three-Year Agreement ever have happened?

A temporary Spatial Passage appeared beside Xiao Yan and Xiao Yi Xian. They exchanged a glance, then both stepped inside.

After a dizzying blur, Xiao Yan and Xiao Yi Xian returned to the Hall of Souls Branch in Jia Ma Sacred City, the same place Hun Tiandi had brought them earlier.

To Xiao Yan's surprise, however, several figures now stood inside the previously empty Hall of Souls Branch. Their auras were as still as ancient wells, and every one of them looked like an ordinary person.

But how could anyone who belonged in a Hall of Souls Branch possibly be ordinary?

Just as Xiao Yan was marveling at this, he suddenly spotted a familiar face: Hun Miesheng.

"Heh heh heh, Xiao Yan, you're not dead? Looks like that female Dou Zong corpse I prepared for you has gone to waste." Hun Miesheng's sinister voice sounded beside Xiao Yan's ear, making his hair stand on end.

"Hun Mie... no, Hall Master." Xiao Yan froze on the spot, fear showing in his eyes. Had Hun Miesheng really prepared a woman's body for him?

"Uncle Miesheng, you're always so unserious." Xiao Yi Xian knitted her delicate brows, somewhat displeased.

"It was a joke, Miss Xian'er. How could I possibly do such a thing?" Despite Hun Miesheng's words, the mockery in his eyes as he looked at Xiao Yan hadn't diminished in the slightest. "Wouldn't you agree, Young Master Xiao Yan?"

"Ha..." Xiao Yan had no way to continue that conversation and could only give an awkward laugh.

Seeing this, Hun Miesheng stopped making things difficult for him. With a turn of his hand, he took a token from his Storage Ring and tossed it to Xiao Yan.

The token was made entirely of a black metal Xiao Yan didn't recognize, with various formations engraved upon it whose functions he couldn't discern. The character for "flame" was carved on its front, while the word "protector" was carved on its back.

"What's this?" Xiao Yan turned the token over and over as he examined it. He had a vague suspicion, but didn't voice it.

"The clan leader saw that humiliating encounter you had out on the street earlier and was very displeased, so he told me to find you a vacant position in the Hall of Souls. As it happens, one of the protectors here in the Jia Ma Empire was sent back to the Soul Realm to raise pigs, so you'll take his place. With this token, apart from a handful of factions, no one anywhere on the Dou Qi Continent will dare lay a hand on you," Hun Miesheng explained slowly.

"A Soul Hall Protector?" Just as he had suspected. Xiao Yan inwardly clicked his tongue. Xiao Yi Xian had already told him what sort of organization the Hall of Souls was.

The strongest publicly known factions on the Dou Qi Continent were the one hall, one tower, two sects, Three Valleys, and Four Pavilions. The "one hall" referred to the Hall of Souls, which was also the strongest publicly known faction of them all.

At the same time, the Hall of Souls had experts as numerous as clouds. According to Xiao Yi Xian, the minimum strength required to join was the Dou Zong realm. Anyone below that realm could only serve as a peripheral member. Its threshold for entry was exceptionally high.

After all, a Dou Zong was powerful enough to establish a sect anywhere on the Dou Qi Continent, yet in the Hall of Souls, such an expert was merely a lowly protector.

"Yes, but don't get ahead of yourself. Until your strength reaches a certain level, there's no way I'll actually hand the branch's affairs over to you. Blood River!" Hun Miesheng clapped his hands, and Blood River, the Fourth Heavenly Venerate of the Hall of Souls, shuffled out from behind him, looking thoroughly unwilling.

"This man is called Blood River. For now, he'll be responsible for the branch's affairs. Once you advance to Dou Wang, I'll hand authority over to you. Understood?"

"Understood!" Xiao Yan tightly gripped the Soul Hall Protector Token, his heart brimming with excitement. From now on, when he roamed the world, he would be a man of standing!

Soul Hall Protector: Xiao Yan!

"Look at you, so full of yourself." Hun Miesheng shook his head, then took another token and a Jade Slip from his Storage Ring and handed them to Xiao Yi Xian. "Miss Xian'er, these are your token and Jade Slip. The Jade Slip contains instructions for using this token. Please use it with care."

"All right." Xiao Yi Xian nodded, accepted the token and Jade Slip, and put them straight into her storage pouch before Xiao Yan could get a clear look.

But by then, Xiao Yan-no, Flame Protector-no longer cared about that.

"Heh heh heh, today's little mishap probably won't happen a second time," Flame Protector declared.