Finding Xiao Yi Xian a Fighter

Xiao Yi Xian was stunned too.

This was the first time she had seen such a miraculous feat.

Kong Ruonan was dumbstruck.

So he had run into a Dou Zun expert this time?!

"Why didn't you run?"

Xiao Chen turned his gaze toward the woman in the red dress.

Her delicate body trembled, and she dropped to her knees with a thud. Paying no heed to how filthy the ground was, she kowtowed and pleaded, "I was blind and failed to recognize your greatness. Please forgive me, Senior, and spare my life!"

She shook uncontrollably, terrified beyond measure, already certain that the person before her was an old monster who knew how to preserve his youthful looks.

"You were chatting and laughing so freely before, carrying yourself with such composure. Now that you realize things have gone wrong, you kneel and beg for mercy. Have you cast aside all your dignity as a Dou Huang expert?"

Contempt showed on Xiao Chen's face.

"Though I have reached the Dou Emperor level, I can only throw my weight around in the surrounding empires. How would I dare act arrogantly before you, Senior?"

The woman in red said bitterly, "As long as you spare my life, Senior, I am willing to serve at your side and follow your every command."

"Serve at my side?" Xiao Chen raised an eyebrow.

The woman in red wore exquisite makeup, but to Xiao Chen, she looked rather ordinary.

If she wasn't pleasing to the eye, why keep her around?

Besides, this person didn't seem like anything good.

"Forget it. You aren't qualified."

Xiao Yi Xian, standing nearby, had also heard the woman's words, and an inexplicable tension rose in her heart.

But after hearing Xiao Chen's answer, that inexplicable trace of tension vanished at once.

She quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

Then she looked at Xiao Chen with a slight smile. "Teacher, why not let me deal with her?"

The woman in red, prostrate on the ground, shuddered, then suddenly sprang up and lunged at Xiao Yi Xian to kill her.

Xiao Yi Xian's beautiful eyes abruptly narrowed.

Pfft!

A streak of golden light shot out at that instant, piercing straight into the woman's throat.

Before she had even landed from her leap, she fell to the ground.

Clutching her bleeding throat, she stared fixedly at Xiao Chen, her eyes filled with venom and madness.

Unfortunately, she could no longer speak, and in the blink of an eye, she breathed her last.

Xiao Yi Xian gently patted her chest, still shaken. "I only said one thing, and she wanted to fight me to the death. That woman was far too crazy."

Xiao Chen glanced at her and smiled. "She saw your methods with her own eyes, you know. That was why she would rather die at my hands."

Xiao Yi Xian's pretty face immediately flushed slightly.

Am I really that frightening?

"Gather up the spoils, then throw the three bodies somewhere farther away."

As he spoke, Xiao Chen had already turned back into the grotto. He lay lazily on the bamboo chair and looked at Kong Ruonan, who was lying in the muddy water on the ground.

"Tell me, what exactly happened?"

After a moment of silence, Xiao Chen spoke slowly.

Rain was still falling, though it had eased considerably.

At his words, Kong Ruonan, who had been lost in stunned disbelief, snapped out of his daze as though waking from a dream and struggled to get up.

He panted rapidly for a moment, then said bitterly, "I was blind and failed to recognize your greatness."

Xiao Chen looked at him calmly and said, "With this appearance of mine, it's only natural that you couldn't recognize this Emperor."

This Emperor!

Shock flashed through Kong Ruonan's eyes.

Could this human who looked like a young man actually be a Dou Di expert?!

"Stop standing there in a daze. Speak."

A look of reverence came over Kong Ruonan's face, and he answered truthfully, "To be honest with you, Senior, I am from the Jia Ma Empire, while those three were Dou Huang experts from the Luo Yan Empire. I had lived in seclusion for many years and had long since disappeared from everyone's sight, yet I never imagined they would still discover my whereabouts-"

Before he finished, Xiao Chen understood and said, "So you died at the hands of the Luo Yan Empire?"

"Huh?"

Kong Ruonan froze.

He clearly wasn't dead.

Xiao Chen's eyes narrowed slightly.

It seemed the truth differed little from what he had guessed.

Duan Ruifeng and Kong Ruonan had both died.

So in the end, Hai Bodong was the only one left to appear in the original story.

"What were you hoping to do by living in seclusion all those years?" Xiao Chen was rather curious about this.

Kong Ruonan let out a long sigh. "Many years ago, I attended a gathering of experts from various empires. Afterward, I felt deeply that it would be difficult for my cultivation to advance any further, so I chose to withdraw from the world and spend the rest of my life in peace."

"But I never imagined You Yingluo and the others would still come knocking-"

Xiao Chen nodded. "So that was your choice."

"Then if this Emperor wanted you to follow me from now on as a fighter, would you be willing?"

Kong Ruonan paused, then hurriedly cupped his fists. "You saved my life, Senior. Whatever commands you may have in the future, I will brave boiling water and raging fire without hesitation!"

Xiao Chen nodded in satisfaction. "As long as you're willing. I never force anyone to serve me."

Without a second thought, Kong Ruonan said, "I am willing to follow you, Senior. I will engrave today's life-saving kindness in my heart and never forget it for all eternity!"

Xiao Chen asked, "Do you have a wife, daughters, or other family?"

Kong Ruonan shook his head. "I am merely an unaffiliated cultivator. My family died at my enemies' hands long ago."

Xiao Chen nodded gently.

Before long, Xiao Yi Xian finished gathering the spoils and entered the grotto.

"Teacher, apart from their weapons, all these three had were some healing pills and a few Xuan-tier cultivation methods and combat skills. There was nothing worth noting."

As she spoke, she laid the spoils before Xiao Chen one by one.

Xiao Chen gave them a brief inspection and lost interest.

"Give them all to him."

"To him?" Xiao Yi Xian paused.

Xiao Chen nodded. "Those three were from the Luo Yan Empire, and the man before you is Kong Ruonan, once one of the Jia Ma Empire's ten great experts."

"Of course, none of that matters."

"What matters is that he'll be working under you from now on."

At this, Xiao Yi Xian looked slightly stunned.

But she was very clever and immediately understood. She walked up to Kong Ruonan, took out a bottle of healing pills, and handed it to him. "Here, take this."

"Thank you, miss."

Kong Ruonan cupped his fists gratefully.

Xiao Yi Xian said, "There's no need to thank me. If you hadn't still been thinking of securing a chance of survival for Teacher and me when you went to fight to the death, we might not have saved your life."

Understanding immediately dawned on Kong Ruonan.

Gradually, the rain stopped, and white mist rose through the mountain wilderness, dreamlike and illusory.

During this time, Xiao Chen also learned a little about Kong Ruonan's past.

Whenever Xiao Yi Xian thought of how such a legendary figure would actually become her subordinate, she felt dazed.

At that moment, Kong Ruonan sat crouched beside the campfire, occasionally glancing at Xiao Chen on the bamboo chair and Xiao Yi Xian opposite him, his feelings very complicated.

He truly had never imagined that what had been certain death would end like this.

He also knew that being able to serve under such an expert was, in fact, an honor for him, Kong Ruonan-

Soon, dawn broke.

Gentle morning light dispelled the darkness, bathing the vast mountains and rivers in color.

The distant mountains rose in overlapping layers, with clouds and mist winding among them like gauze.

Across the verdant mountain wilderness, ancient trees stood in all manner of shapes.

Suddenly, a flock of birds swept over the woods, scattering a few strings of clear calls before vanishing into the morning light.

A fresh breeze brushed past, carrying the faint fragrance of plants.

In the faint light of dawn, all things brimmed with vigorous life.

Despite not having slept all night, Kong Ruonan was not tired.

After all, as a Dou Huang expert, sleep was no longer much of a necessity.

"Let's go."

Xiao Chen rose and casually put away the bamboo chair.

From that day onward, what had been a journey for two became an outing for three.

Only after spending time with him up close did Kong Ruonan discover that this mysterious expert did not seem to possess that lofty, superior bearing.

He seemed quite approachable toward his own people.

As they walked through the mountain wilderness, whenever he saw wild fruit along the way, he would casually pick some to taste.

If it tasted good, he would have Kong Ruonan and the young lady try some too.

This was completely different from the image of an expert Kong Ruonan had imagined.

But Xiao Yi Xian had not been in very good spirits these past few days.

Because the day when she would part with her teacher was drawing ever closer.