The next day, under Hun Changqing's full-speed journey, they soon arrived at Wutan City in the northern border of the Jia Ma Empire, the place where a legendary era began.
Hun Changqing watched the bustling pedestrians on the street, sensed the location of the Xiao Clan, and with a flash of his body, arrived outside the Xiao Clan gates, concealing his figure to enter the estate.
Hun Changqing knew very well that inside the Xiao Clan, there was a Dou Emperor skilled in concealment and assassination, the old servant of the Gu Clan, Ling Ying.
Therefore, Hun Changqing acted extremely carefully, yet he remained confident that the concealment method of the Supreme Yin True Explanation would prevent Ling Ying from discovering him.
Just as he arrived at a corner of the Xiao Clan's courtyard, the reception hall within the compound emitted sounds of dispute, drawing Hun Changqing's attention.
I didn't expect such a coincidence; as soon as I arrive, I get to see this iconic scene.
Advancing to take a look at the scene before him, the expression on Hun Changqing's face turned somewhat peculiar.
"Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river, do not bully a young man into poverty!"
"Do not think that I, Xiao Yan, care all that much about some genius wife like you. This contract is not one to dissolve our engagement; rather, it is a letter of divorce by which this young master casts you out of the Xiao Clan! From this moment on, you, Nalan Yanran, and my Xiao Clan shall have no further connection whatsoever."
"You... how dare you divorce me?"
Seeing this unfold, Hun Changqing had not expected himself to arrive with such timing, directly stumbling in to witness this iconic scene.
Had Hun Changqing not existed, the Flame Emperor, who would henceforth terrify the Great Thousand World and rule the Endless Fire Domain, would have been born.
The chief culprit who caused all of this was the young maiden standing right before him who had come to annul the engagement: Nalan Yanran.
At that moment, Hun Changqing's eyes were filled with amusement as he looked meaningfully at Xiao Yan.
"Young Miss of the Nalan Family, I hope that in the future you will not regret your actions as the young miss today. Furthermore, do not think that you can act lawlessly just because you have the Misty Cloud Sect to back you up. The Dou Qi Continent is vast, and there are quite a few people far more formidable than Yun Yun..."
At the very instant Nalan Yanran was about to leave, the maiden's ethereal voice, carrying a faint indifference, suddenly rang out.
Nalan Yanran's footsteps paused, and her slightly shifted gaze turned toward the purple-clothed maiden in the corner who was gently turning the pages of a book.
Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the doors and windows, just wrapping the maiden within it. Viewed from afar, she resembled a purple lotus blooming in the mortal world, pure and graceful, untainted by worldly dust.
Noticing the gaze cast by Nalan Yanran, the maiden lifted her delicate face-resembling a blooming green lotus-from the archaic pages. Within her pair of autumn-water-like eyes, a wisp of tiny golden flame suddenly surged forth...
Gazing at the golden flame in the maiden's eyes, Elder Ge Ye by Nalan Yanran's side trembled, and in panic, he scurried out of the hall with Nalan Yanran as if fleeing for his life.
Seeing the reaction of that Misty Cloud Sect elder, Ge Ye, Hun Changqing was slightly startled. Watching this Elder Ge Ye, could it be that he recognizes the Golden Emperor Burning Heaven Flame? That's impossible, isn't this just a minor elder of the Misty Cloud Sect?
Hun Changqing scratched his head, unable to figure it out, and concluded that eight times out of ten, this elder merely recognized Heavenly Flames, feared the power of Heavenly Flames, and had no idea what Gu Xun'er's flame actually represented.
He did not dwell on it further, casting his gaze back onto the aloof maiden.
Gu Xun'er, eh? Her appearance is truly flawless, and her temperament is extraordinary. Many people say Gu Xun'er is the number one beauty of the Dou Qi Continent, so it seems that isn't unfounded.
Tsk, this little wealthy heiress Gu Xun'er has her heart firmly tied to Xiao Yan at such a tender age; it's somewhat a pity.
However, her current strength completely fails to match her status and talent.
The sole legitimate daughter of the Ancient Clan Chief, possessing a God-Grade Bloodline and Inborn Tenth Grade.
This was not some bloodline power elevated through external forces like Hun Feng's.
Yet as a result, she is currently only a Six-Star Dou Zhe?
You must know that back at Gu Xun'er's age, Hun Feng-with that God-Grade Bloodline-was already a mid-stage Dou Emperor!
Hun Changqing had to admire Gu Xun'er. To prevent Xiao Yan from feeling inferior, she forcibly suppressed her own cultivation and refrained from practicing.
Yet Hun Changqing did not judge Gu Xun'er's behavior too harshly.
There was no helping it; although she wasted her own talent, she couldn't be faulted on the fact that her eye for people was genuinely good, truly venomous.
With so many people in the Dou Qi Continent, she managed to find Xiao Yan-the Flame Emperor whose might terrified the Great Thousand World-right out of the crowd. That in itself was her ability.
However...
Watching Xiao Yan storm out of the hall in a fit of anger and run toward the back mountain of the Xiao Clan,
and watching Gu Xun'er gaze with a face full of worry in the direction where Xiao Yan had departed, a smile surfaced on Hun Changqing's face.
Your Brother Xiao Yan... might disappoint you this time...
Smiling, Hun Changqing watched the classic scene draw to a close, then quietly followed the furiously sprinting Xiao Yan.
On the back mountain, Xiao Yan stared blankly at the steep mountain range on the opposite side shrouded in mist, which was the Magical Beast Mountain Range famous throughout the Jia Ma Empire.
Xiao Yan buried his ten fingers into his black hair, biting his lips tightly and letting a faint trace of blood spread across the corners of his mouth.
"Heh, strength... strength..."
Like an injured little beast, Xiao Yan let out a helpless and desperate cry of sorrow.
Suddenly, a black figure appeared behind Xiao Yan. Hun Changqing wore a smile, but his eyes revealed an endless indifference. He brought his fingers together like a blade and chopped down on the back of Xiao Yan's neck.
Turning around, Xiao Yan saw the newcomer: dressed in black robes, with his features hidden beneath a black hood, and his left arm entirely empty. Having firmly imprinted these characteristics of the person in his mind, he lost consciousness and collapsed.
Hun Changqing looked coldly at the unconscious Xiao Yan lying on the ground, murmuring in a low voice,
"Strength, you say? This time, you probably won't have a way to possess it."
Following that, he plucked off the storage ring hanging around Xiao Yan's neck. Staring coldly at Xiao Yan, he suppressed the urge to kill him right here on the spot.
He vaguely sensed that Xiao Yan still had some utility, and besides, he would be keeping an eye on him right here in Wutan City, so Xiao Yan wouldn't be able to stir up any major trouble.
Taking the storage ring, Hun Changqing vanished into the back mountain of the Xiao Clan. What Hun Changqing did not know, however, was that as he left, a speck of white light-so minuscule it was almost entirely invisible to the naked eye-shot out from the archaic black storage ring and embedded itself into a boulder not far from where Xiao Yan lay unconscious. Even Hun Changqing, whose sensory perception was exceptionally strong, failed to notice it.