Having lived for so many years, Yao Lao naturally knew that mercy toward an enemy was cruelty toward oneself.
Since ancient times, anyone who wished to achieve great things had needed to be decisive and ruthless.
He said nothing more, turned, and vanished from the spot. Xiao Yan did not linger either, flying back to the Pill Tower crowd.
The moment he landed, he saw the youths in his class scatter and form two rows, obediently watching him.
This young man was terrifying. On the very first day of class, he had beaten up the teaching assistant, and even the Pill Tower Grand Elder had nearly taken a beating when he arrived.
The conversation between Xiao Yan's group and the Pill Tower Grand Elder had been screened off by a spatial barrier, so the others could not hear exactly what Xiao Yan had said. But they had seen the Grand Elder's expression shift from blazing fury to stifled frustration.
It was not hard to imagine that the elder had run headfirst into a wall with Xiao Yan.
It was difficult to believe that a Dou Zun expert who was also an eighth-tier alchemist could do absolutely nothing against Xiao Yan.
Not only was his background frighteningly powerful, but his strength was terrifying too. He beat an Eight-Star Dou Emperor as though he were beating a dog, and he was overbearing to boot.
These youths, who had never weathered life's storms, now felt a trace of fear toward Xiao Yan.
"He's a demon king. Nobody can afford to provoke him."
"What are you all staring at me for? Go back to the classroom." Seeing their awed gazes, Xiao Yan gave them a kindly smile.
Yet in their eyes, that smile felt as chilling as plunging from beneath a blazing sun into an ice cellar, making them want to shudder.
Still, now that Xiao Yan had spoken, they all obediently left. Only Cao Ying and Dan Chen remained where they were, watching him.
"Are you all right?" Dan Chen hesitated, then could not help stepping forward to ask.
"Do I look like anything's wrong?" Xiao Yan spread his hands with a smile. Alluring lines shifted with his movements across the muscles of his upper body, lean but brimming with explosive power.
"Oh, hurry up and put some clothes on." Dan Chen blushed and covered her eyes.
"Hey, those gaps are a little wide. Your eyes are showing." Xiao Yan stared straight at her gaze.
"Ah, oh!" The girl was so embarrassed that she wished she could find a crack in the ground to crawl into.
"I really never imagined you could beat Senior Brother Song Qing..." Beside her, Cao Ying looked at Xiao Yan's upper body with seductive eyes, making none of Dan Chen's attempts to hide it.
"Heh, what a heartless woman!" Xiao Yan gave her a cold laugh, then took another set of black robes from his Storage Ring and put them on.
"How am I heartless? Xiao Yan, explain yourself." Cao Ying's slender brows shot up.
"How are you heartless?" Xiao Yan turned back and gave her a cold look. "That Senior Brother Song Qing of yours adores you, yet you use his affection to wield him like a weapon.
"Miss Cao, if I ever became a subject beneath your skirts, would I meet the same end?"
"You!" Cao Ying's face paled slightly, and she blurted out, "Is that really how you see me?"
"Isn't it true, Miss Cao Ying...? A woman who uses someone's feelings for her to make him do dangerous things is far too dangerous herself. We'd better keep some distance."
With that, he turned and left without looking back, leaving a pale-faced Cao Ying behind.
When it came to scheming, no matter how clever Cao Ying was, how could she possibly be Xiao Yan's match?
After all, beneath his youthful face lurked a soul as wily as an old fox.
To deal with a woman like Cao Ying, he naturally could not obey her every whim as Song Qing did. Besides outclassing her in ability, he also needed a stronger personality than hers.
A lapdog was destined never to win a girl like her.
From the alchemy contest to feeding her medicine in her bedroom, from beating Song Qing to this sudden distancing, Xiao Yan had planned everything step by step. Even if Song Qing had not interfered, he would have beaten up some Ma Qing or Zhang Qing to show what he could do.
It was just like a male lion deliberately displaying his powerful physique to demonstrate his strength.
Once Cao Ying was willing to set aside her pride and approach him with goodwill, things would essentially flow into place like water finding its channel.
"Sister Cao Ying!" Dan Chen gave Cao Ying a concerned look.
"I'm fine." Cao Ying raised her head to look at Dan Chen, a trace of envy and jealousy in her eyes. Pale-faced, she shook her head and said, "Come on. Let's go back."
"Mm." Dan Chen nodded sweetly.
Xiao Yan's uproar sent the entire Pill Tower into a stir. Only then did its many elders learn that Yao Chen's genius disciple was actually the Xiao Clan's Holy Son.
Compared with the suffocatingly terrifying backing of the Xiao Clan, his mere status as the young pavilion master of the Starfall Pavilion was hardly worth mentioning.
Beyond his somewhat ruthless nature, Xiao Yan had deliberately humiliated Song Qing and subdued the Pill Tower Grand Elder partly to flex his muscles before these old men.
Playing the pig to devour the tiger was not always useful. After all, the Pill Tower was one of the continent's foremost powers, second only to the Ancient Seven Clans. Using the Xiao Clan to give these old fellows a warning would make things much easier for him in the future.
Since Song Qing had been severely injured, the morning class was canceled at short notice. That afternoon, the Pill Tower assigned another elder, an advanced seventh-tier alchemist, to teach them.
After arriving, this elder taught with considerable care and treated Xiao Yan very politely. His words even carried a hint of wanting to curry favor.
Xiao Yan did not converse with him much, merely responding politely with a smile, much to the elder's regret.
If he could cling to the towering tree that was the Xiao Clan, perhaps that connection would prove useful someday.
The initial basic theory classes passed quite quickly, flying by as his relationship with Dan Chen deepened step by step. During that time, Cao Ying also approached him twice of her own accord.
The first time, Xiao Yan's attitude was neither warm nor cold, as though he were dealing with a stranger. The second time, his expression softened a little, as though he were treating an ordinary friend.
In truth, they had only ever been ordinary friends. But the subconscious impulses Xiao Yan had carefully calculated were invisibly guiding Cao Ying to try to develop their relationship into something deeper.
While Xiao Yan was studying alchemy at the Pill Tower, a terrible conflict broke out on a plain in the western Central Plains.
The Fertile Plains lay in the western Central Plains and had long been under the jurisdiction of a second-rate faction, the Black Wind Gate. Although precious resources were scarce there, grain yields were immense, and living things reproduced very quickly. Thus, it was the foundation of the Black Wind Gate.
Today, however, a terrifying upheaval occurred on a small mound in the Fertile Plains.
Fine cracks first appeared in the usually peaceful sky, then it shattered as though unable to bear the strain.
An enormous ancient ruin fell from within, striking the ground hard enough to make the entire Fertile Plains shudder three times.
It was an ancient city roughly twenty li in diameter. The city was circular, with a dried-up riverbed running through its center and dividing it in two. Seen from the sky, it was unmistakably an enormous yin-yang symbol.
The ancient city's sudden fall from the sky drew countless eyes.
As the local overlord, the Black Wind Gate dispatched two Dou Emperors with a group of disciples to investigate the moment the Fertile Plains shook. An ancient city that could remain hidden within space was undoubtedly the work of some Dou Sheng Expert.
If they could obtain treasures or legacies, the Black Wind Gate's strength might rise another level.
The two Dou Emperors excitedly led their party into the ancient city.
Then something eerie happened...
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