In the blink of an eye, a week has passed since the last battle of Feng City.
In the final moments before leaving, Xiao Yan suffered a heavy blow from the Southern Hall, sustaining serious injuries. Xiao Xuan, having intervened to defend, also suffered some damage to his Soul Origin power. Furthermore, the Northern King was blasted into the Obsidian Tower by the Southern Hall. It can be said that Xiao Yan suffered a complete defeat in this battle.
Within a week, Xiao Yan's injuries had fully healed, while Xiao Xuan remained silent, slowly recovering his Spiritual Strength.
Xiao Xuan's injury caused Xiao Yan's anger to instantly transform into boundless killing intent. At the same time, Xiao Yan also noticed something else that surprised him.
That is the Northern King.
At this moment, the Northern King was already sealed inside the Obsidian Tower. Logically speaking, under the terrifying pressure of the Obsidian Tower, the Northern King should have been crushed into a pile of fragments, and the soul imprint of Xiao Yan deep within his body should have dissipated as well...
However, at this moment, Xiao Yan could vaguely sense that the soul imprint he left in the body of the Northern King had not changed in any way. This meant that the Northern King had not been destroyed under that terrifying pressure and should still exist intact in the Obsidian Tower.
The Northern King was not destroyed by the Obsidian Tower, but exists inside Obsidian Tower. However, due to the great distance and the oppressive aura within the tower, Xiao Yan could not perceive the Northern King's current condition. But he was certain that the Northern King was completely unharmed at this moment.
In this way, he only needs to wait five years until the Obsidian Tower reopens, which will be the day the Northern King returns!
Five years have passed, and under the oppressive power of the Obsidian Tower, will the Northern King undergo any changes?
All of this is still unknown; we will have to wait five years until we reach the Feng City!
In the sky, Xiao Yan flew straight north, and at the edge of his vision, a massive city stood...
A short while later, Xiao Yan appeared in front of the city.
" Nanlin City is the location of the Southern Hall of the Northern Wasteland Hall. Beyond here lies Mount Beiji, where the main hall of the Northern Wasteland Hall is situated."
He murmured something under his breath, Xiao Yan looked down. In the deepest part of the vast city stood another enormous ancient castle— the Southern Hall.
Meanwhile, in the city, a large crowd was gathering in one place, and the noise was deafening. Even though they were far apart, Xiao Yan could still see at a glance that several flames of different colors were rising in the hands of several people in an open space in the center of the crowd.
Looking closely, five heavy medicine cauldrons stood there, their faint fragrance permeating the air. From this aroma, Xiao Yan could tell that the pills these five people were refining were all third-grade pills, and two of them would certainly be considered top-grade among all third-grade pills.
"A competition of alchemy?"
He murmured a phrase to himself, and with a flash, Xiao Yan appeared in the city. At this moment, everyone's attention was still focused on the five people, so they did not notice Xiao Yan's sudden appearance.
Of course, it wasn't that everyone was unaware of Xiao Yan's presence.
On the open ground in front of the crowd, five figures slowly rose from in front of the medicine cauldron. Behind them, two chairs were placed on each of them, with ten people sitting on them. They had already noticed Xiao Yan's presence the moment he landed.
Meanwhile, somewhere in the crowd, an elderly man with a somewhat disheveled appearance also looked at Xiao Yan with surprise.
A barely perceptible glint flashed deep within his sharp eyes. Then, with a twist of his body, the old man vanished silently into the crowd...
The ten Daoist priests turned their gaze to Xiao Yan, and the surrounding crowd also noticed this. Immediately, their gazes shifted, following the ten priests' line of sight, and landed on Xiao Yan, their eyes filled with astonishment.
Unexpectedly, the person who caught the attention of these ten powerful figures was actually a young man.
Xiao Yan was slightly surprised by these ten people, because all of them were Fourth-Tier Alchemist. In fact, one of the elders had extremely powerful Spiritual Strength, probably reaching the level of Fourth-Tier Intermediate Alchemist.
"Tsk tsk, ten Fourth-Tier Alchemist, this is a feat that even the Western Region Alchemist Alliance couldn't produce. Indeed, true powerhouses prefer to remain hidden. This continent truly is a place where dragons and tigers lie in wait!"
Even Xiao Yan couldn't help but marvel at the sight of ten Fourth-Tier Alchemist at once.
"Hehe, sir, since you're here, may I have a chat with you?"
Among the ten people, an elderly man with gray hair slowly rose from his seat, a sharp glint flashing in the depths of his gloomy old eyes, and asked in a cunning tone.
Upon hearing this, the other nine people also quickly stood up, exchanged glances, and their expressions were indeed quite strange.
Although these people were gathered together, the atmosphere was far from harmonious.
"I never imagined that you, young man, could become a Fourth-Tier Alchemist at such a young age. It truly makes us feel ashamed!"
The white-haired old man cupped his hands in a respectful greeting to Xiao Yan, a look of amazement appearing on his old face. Such a young Fourth-Tier Alchemist was truly the first person he had ever seen in his life.
"You flatter me. I only managed to reach the level of Fourth-Tier Alchemist by sheer luck."
As the saying goes, one cannot hit a smiling face. Since the other party had a kind appearance, Xiao Yan naturally could not show a cold face. He also respectfully cupped his hands in return. However, the words that came out of his mouth shocked the surrounding crowd.
" Fourth-Tier Alchemist!"
" Fourth-Tier Alchemist this young? Is that even real?"
"Tch, if Senior Hu speaks for me personally, it can't be fake. I just didn't expect this seemingly ordinary-looking kid to actually be a Fourth-Tier Alchemist."
"Sir, you are too modest. Becoming Fourth-Tier Alchemist already proves your strength. Moreover, luck is often a part of ability as well. Therefore, I hope to have you preside over the final results of this competition."
"Hehe, Master Hu is right. After all, the ten of us belong to our own factions, and it's hard to say whether the judgment will be fair or not if we don't have a sense of proportion. This gentleman's appearance is timely. If he can help us ensure the fairness of this alchemy competition, that would be the best outcome."
Among the ten people, a middle-aged man stepped forward with a smile, clearly understanding the old man's intentions.
"I wonder, who is this gentleman?"