With that, no matter how formidable that person was, he could not possibly run wild at the Misty Cloud Sect.
A Dou Huang expert was not someone to trifle with.
"Wouldn't that make him Niece Nalan's fellow disciple?" Xiao Zhan's expression turned odd.
He wondered whether the old master still wanted to bring the two together.
Xiao Yan was somewhat unwilling too. They had already come to his door to break off the engagement. Although Old Master Nalan was a decent man, he truly did not want to see Nalan Yanran.
Nalan Jie naturally noticed the expressions of father and son. He stopped concealing things and said outright, "Breaking off the engagement wasn't this old man's idea. The main reason was that Yanran caught the eye of a truly powerful expert..."
"A Dou Zong?"
Xiao Zhan and his son paled in shock.
"A Dou Zong?"
"A mysterious enemy?"
Xiao Xun'er wrinkled her delicate nose. "So, Brother Xiao Yan, you agreed to that Old Master Nalan's proposal to go to that Misty Cloud Sect and take a Dou Emperor as your master?"
Xiao Yan rubbed his nose and smiled bitterly. "Xun'er, you know what things are like in the clan. Ever since I lost my talent, you were the only one who didn't disdain me. Now that I've finally seen some hope, I really don't want to endure all that again."
Hearing this, Xiao Xun'er pursed her little lips and said crossly, "Brother Xiao Yan, you make it sound as though I don't want you to recover your talent. Since you want to go, then go. Just don't forget that Xun'er is still waiting for you."
"Don't worry, Xun'er. I'll return as a king!" Xiao Yan laughed, reaching out to ruffle Xiao Xun'er's hair.
This left Xiao Xun'er momentarily stunned.
Ever since Xiao Yan had lost his talent, it had been so long since he had patted her head.
"Little brat."
Up in the sky, Gu Yuan felt a sour pang. Even he had never patted his own daughter's head.
"Forget it. Since you're a future Dou Di, your father-in-law won't hold it against you. But this ring on the little brat really is interesting." Gu Yuan's profound gaze swept lightly over the ring.
As an old fox who had lived for thousands of years, he understood everything upon seeing the little fellow inside the ring.
He naturally knew this counted as Xiao Yan's fortuitous opportunity, so he merely issued a warning before vanishing from above the Xiao Clan in a flash.
With his cultivation having fallen to early-stage Nine-Star Dou Sheng, he naturally could not watch Xiao Yan at all times. He needed to find somewhere to hide and restore some of his cultivation first.
At that moment, inside the black ring.
Yao Chen panted heavily, a bitter smile on his face.
He naturally thought nothing of a Dou Wang, but he was all too familiar with Heaven Realm soul power.
He had thought the Soul Hall had come knocking to kill him, and had been about to detonate his soul in grief and rage, fighting those Soul Hall bastards to the bitter end.
Yet, unexpectedly, this person had sent him a voice transmission, telling him to follow his original plan.
This left his mind churning.
If he fled, he certainly could not escape, but if he stayed, he would become an object for others to butcher at will.
He could only heave a deep sigh and secretly ponder how to train that brat Xiao Yan to satisfy the mysterious Heaven Realm soul.
Several days later, at the Misty Cloud Sect on Misty Cloud Mountain.
Yun Yun, a Dou Emperor dressed in a plain, long gown, looked at the little brat Xiao Yan whom Nalan Jie had personally brought over. She drew a deep breath, recalling the instructions that mysterious Dou Zong had given her a few days earlier.
After sighing inwardly, she could only hold her nose for the sake of the Misty Cloud Sect's future and announce that Xiao Yan had become her personal disciple.
Night.
The residence of the Misty Cloud Sect's personal disciples.
Xiao Yan excitedly crossed his legs, preparing to cultivate.
Having endured three years as a good-for-nothing, he cared more than anyone about the return of his talent.
As Dou Qi circulated through his body, the feeling of fullness filled him with excitement.
But the very next second.
The ancient black ring on his finger began to emit an eerie glow.
The Dou Qi inside his body vanished without a trace in an instant.
Xiao Yan's eyes immediately widened in fury.
He had already taken a Dou Emperor as his master, yet that mysterious enemy dared pursue him all the way here?
Rage surged within him, and he opened his mouth to call his teacher for help.
But just as his mouth opened, an aged voice sounded beside his ear.
This made Xiao Yan hesitate.
Only after a long while did he let out a long breath and ask solemnly, "Are you truly my mother's ancestor?"
"Of course. Why else would I be in this ring?" Yao Chen replied bluntly.
He had not wanted to impersonate someone else's ancestor, but he had no choice. The boy he had set his sights on had been taken as someone else's disciple. It was too late for him to emerge now, so he could only invent an identity for himself.
It was not as though he had never considered fleeing along the way, but where could he possibly run?
He might as well hang himself on this one tree.
In any case, from what he had learned over the past few years, not a single member of Xiao Yan's maternal clan remained. Even if he accidentally exposed himself, there would be no one to confront him.
Thus, his identity as an ancestor was unassailable!
While Yao Chen was coaxing Xiao Yan into cultivating the Flame Mantra, Xiao Han slowly opened his eyes in a small town several dozen li from Wutan City, having cultivated for several days.
"Badass!"
"Just what you'd expect of a Dou Di Bloodline!"
"Just a few days of cultivation, and I've smoothly reached Dou Shi." Unconcealable delight appeared on Xiao Han's face.
In his memories, before he had awakened his past-life wisdom, his cultivation speed had truly been like a turtle crawling.
"Now that I've reached Dou Shi, I can try devouring the Yanhuang Lightning. Presumably, after I finish devouring this strange lightning, whose ranking matches that of the heavenly flames, I should smoothly reach Da Dou Shi. Then I'll go find Xiao Yi Xian. Won't that be as easy as reaching out and grabbing her?"
After this cheerful thought, Xiao Han willed it, and a mass of constantly leaping lightning, wrapped in the system's power, appeared before him.
Looking at the crackling mass of lightning containing immense power, Xiao Han hesitated no longer. He opened his mouth and swallowed it whole.
With the system's power supporting him, he had no need for assistance from external medicines. He only needed to refine it slowly.
The moment the strange lightning entered his stomach.
Xiao Han immediately began circulating the Lightning-Control Art. As the cultivation method circulated ceaselessly through his body,
The strange lightning was steadily devoured by the cultivation method. His newly attained Dou Shi cultivation gradually stabilized, while his meridians expanded as well. With every breath, he drew closer to the Two-Star Dou Shi realm.
Half a month passed in the blink of an eye.
During this time, nothing happened in the Jia Ma Empire.
But a tremendous storm swept through the Central Plains.
Everyone was searching for a woman named Nalan Yanran.
Because the rewards offered by the Soul Hall were far too tantalizing.
Anyone, regardless of who they were or their cultivation realm, could obtain a reward from the Soul Hall simply by providing information about Nalan Yanran. The rewards ranged from becoming a Heavenly Venerate of the Soul Hall to being guaranteed advancement to Dou Zong by the Soul Hall, and as time passed, the rewards kept increasing.
"Useless! A bunch of useless fools!" In the Soul Hall, Hun Miesheng hurled curses.
A full half-month had passed without the slightest information about Nalan Yanran, leaving him with no way to account for himself to the clan leader.
Although he did not know why the clan leader had yet to issue his punishment, Hun Miesheng, who knew how terrifying Hun Tiandi was, was already wondering whether he should take his own life.
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