In front of the main testing hall, amidst the crowded throng, in a relatively open space, Xiao Yan looked at the two people in front of him with a gentle expression.
The girl known as Qianqian was none other than Murong Qianqian, the beloved daughter of the Azure Luan Clan in the distant Western Region.
Mu Leng was naturally the young man Xiao Yan had met in the southwestern border of the continent years ago. At that time, he was determined to become Xiao Yan's disciple. However, due to a twist of fate, he became a student of Zhou Tai of the Southern Region Alchemist Alliance. Unexpectedly, he also came to the Pill Tower Gathering.
"I never expected to see you here."
Seeing these two old friends again after so many years, Xiao Yan felt a surge of warmth in his heart. Especially since Murong Qianqian had a complicated relationship with Leng Bingshuang, which made another stunningly beautiful face flash through Xiao Yan's mind when he looked at her. At the same time, a sense of guilt welled up within him...
He had been away from the Southwest Continent for many years. Although it was not easy to venture out alone, it was no easy task to place the entire Xiao Gate on Leng Bingshuang's shoulders. Now that he had established himself in the Central Region, he wondered what Leng Bingshuang's situation was like. After all, she was his wife.
"I was also sent by the Southern Region Alchemist Alliance to attend the meeting at the Pill Tower, but she insisted on coming along."
Mu Leng Ling's breathing gradually calmed, he spoke with a smile. The girl, upon hearing this, nudged him with her nose and gave a soft snort.
"Who's following you? I came to the Central Region on my own initiative. You're the one who dragged me along, forcing my way behind me..."
The two of them chatted back and forth, which helped Xiao Yan recover from his brief daze. Mu Leng sighed helplessly, shook his head, and said to Xiao Yan:
"This girl left her clan without permission, and I ran into her on the way. After I contacted her family through the Alchemist Alliance, they asked me to look after her, and that's how she got here."
Upon hearing this, Xiao Yan chuckled and nodded. Running away from home was quite common for this girl, but the Murong Clan probably never expected that she would actually run away to the Central Region this time.
"Where's Bai Hua? You're here, surely Bai Hua isn't gone?"
Murong Qianqian lightly spat at Mu Leng, then glanced around at Xiao Yan. Hearing this, Xiao Yan was slightly taken aback, but remembering the close relationship between this girl and Bai Hua, he paused briefly before saying:
He did not Pill Gathering gathering with me.
"What's wrong? Did he run into some trouble?"
Upon learning that Bai Hua was not with Xiao Yan, a look of worry immediately appeared on the girl's face. The former smiled reassuringly and said:
"Don't worry, it's just that Lian'er and a few other companions are still traveling in the clan, and Bai Hua stayed behind to look after them. If you want to see him, I'll take you there after the Pill Gathering Conference."
Upon hearing this, Murong Qianqian's expression softened considerably. Just then, a noisy shouting and cursing suddenly came from not far behind Xiao Yan.
"I thought he was some kind of hero saving a damsel in distress, but it turns out he's just another arrogant brat."
"Although you are also a member of the Yuan Zong, you are facing the three of me all at once. Even if you are made of iron, how many nails can you twist?"
The gaunt man who had just been pushed back by Xiao Yan took a few steps forward with a gloomy expression. At the same time, his cultivation aura as Four-Star Yuan Zong cultivator spread forward. The other two beside him met him at the same time. Amidst their sarcasm, the three auras of the same level intertwined and spread, causing the expressions of some people around to change slightly.
Four-Star Yuan Zong is not particularly impressive in the Yuan Zong realm, but if the three of them team up, even a single high-level Yuan Zong would not easily dare to provoke them.
Seeing the three approaching, Mu Leng and Murong Qianqian's expressions changed again. Judging from Xiao Yan's previous actions, it was not difficult to tell that he was also a Yuan Zong expert. However, if they were to face three Yuan Zong at the same time, the situation was obviously not optimistic.
Seeing the three's posture, Xiao Yan frowned slightly. Mu Ling, who Mu Leng to the side, was about to advise Xiao Yan to leave when he suddenly turned around and reprimanded the three in a rather impatient tone:
"Roll!"
Murong Qianqian's appearance already stirred Xiao Yan's thoughts back to the past, making his emotions quite complicated. The two people in front of him were fine, but these three brats daring to make a fuss really made Xiao Yan a little impatient.
With a single threatening word, the aura of Peak Yuan Zong swept across the area, instantly turning the faces of the three men ashen. Their leaking auras shrank back into their bodies like mice before a cat, and the surrounding crowd immediately quieted down.
After a moment, when Xiao Yan turned his gaze back and saw the two people beside him staring in disbelief, he was slightly taken aback. He smiled gently, offered a few words of reassurance, and then turned to look at the Pill Tower Elder in the crowd on the side, asking with a smile:
"Senior, these two are my friends. May they accompany us?"
Upon hearing this, the old man had no doubts, and simply nodded with a smile, saying:
"That's natural."
With the approval of the Pill Tower Elder, Xiao Yan bowed slightly to express his gratitude, then led the two to Xiao Ming and Xiao Siyu's side. The Pill Tower Elder stared intently at Xiao Yan's back with deep eyes, secretly astonished.
Nine-Star Yuan Zong —such strength is unparalleled among the younger generation of the entire Central Region, let alone a master alchemist. When did the Xiao Clan produce such a figure, and how could they not know?
"It seems we should pay extra attention to the Xiao Clan..."
The old man's fingers gently rubbed together in his sleeve. His gaze inadvertently swept over Xiao Ming, only to find the latter staring at him. A slight chill ran through him, then he abruptly turned his head to look at the three people in the arena who were intimidated by Xiao Yan. His old face became solemn, and he said:
"The Pill Tower Pill Tower has its own rules, and no one is exempt here. Since you were in the wrong first, you should leave the line and rejoin the queue."
Upon hearing Pill Tower Elder's words, not only the three youths in the arena with grim expressions, but also many people on the sidelines showed sighs. The order of ranking was based on strength, which was an indisputable fact. Similar incidents had occurred frequently before, and even Pill Tower Elder had remained silent on the matter. This behavior, however, seemed to indicate a bias towards those who were treated differently based on their strength.
Under the watchful eyes of everyone, the expressions on the three youths' faces grew increasingly grim. Having come this far, with the entrance to the main hall so close at hand, how could they possibly accept being driven out like this? After a moment of tense tension, one of them finally gritted his teeth, his face showing dejection, and respectfully said:
"Elder, we three have already acknowledged our mistakes regarding what happened before. Besides, now that these two friends have left the group, perhaps..."
"If we're talking about conditions, you're not even qualified before the Pill Tower."
However, before the young man could finish speaking, the old man interrupted him with a single sentence, his calm words carrying an air of dominance.
"Get out."
Upon hearing the old man's words, the faces of the three men present turned ashen. Since the matter had been brought to this point, there was clearly no turning back. Today, the three of them could only slink away in disgrace...