Misty Cloud Sect at the Gates

(1)

The air in Wutan City suddenly grew thick, as though an invisible net had descended over it. Xiao Yan had barely emerged from the secret passage beneath the Jia Lie residence when an immense pressure bore down on him, making his chest tighten. It was a gaze of lofty appraisal, like an eagle eyeing an insect in the grass. He looked up and saw the clouds to the northwest spinning into a vast vortex. At its center, the billowing folds of cyan robes were faintly visible.

"Dou Wang..." Xiao Yan gripped his iron ruler until his knuckles turned white. The system panel flashed red wildly:

[Alert! Dou Wang-level pressure detected (Misty Cloud Sect · Ling Ying). Distance from Wutan City: 30 li. Target: Xiao Clan!]

[Alert! A second Dou Wang presence detected (Misty Cloud Sect · He Xue). Distance: 35 li!]

[Emergency mission triggered: Protect the Xiao Clan! Mission requirements: Stall until the Dou Wang leave or use outside help to force them back. Mission rewards: 100,000 points and unlock the Heavenly Flames Affinity talent (elementary). Failure penalty: Destruction of the Xiao Clan and forced system unbinding.]

Before he could even digest the temptation of 100,000 points and the unlocked talent, the words "forced system unbinding" stabbed into his heart like an icicle. He spun around, pushed Explosive Step to its limit, and shot toward the east of the city, where the Xiao Clan stood, his figure becoming an afterimage.

Wind howled in his ears, and the airwaves he stirred up sent pedestrians along the way staggering. Some looked up, saw the strange sight in the sky, and scattered with screams. Shopkeepers hurriedly closed up, the clatter of shutters mingling with children's cries as the little city plunged into chaos in an instant.

"Xiao Yan!"

A figure suddenly rushed out from the street corner. It was Xiao Li. He wore a constable's uniform, the saber at his waist still swinging, and blood stained his face-clearly, he had just dealt with a counterattack by the remnants of the Jia Lie Family. "Those people in the sky... are they from the Misty Cloud Sect?"

"Don't ask!" Xiao Yan grabbed him and ran. "Where are Father and Mother?"

"At the residence! I just came from there. The second elder is organizing the clan members to reinforce the defensive formation!" Xiao Li's voice trembled. "Dou Wang... what are they here for? Our Xiao Clan never provoked the Misty Cloud Sect!"

Xiao Yan gritted his teeth. He knew why. Before Jia Lie Ao died, he had sent a message talisman to an outer sect deacon of the Misty Cloud Sect. The old bastard had probably wanted the Misty Cloud Sect as a backer, never expecting to bring a death warrant down on them instead.

(2)

The Xiao Residence was already in complete disarray. On the bluestone paths, clan members carried boulders to block the gates. Women and children were sheltered in the ancestral hall, while several elders versed in formations gathered around a stone stele covered in runes, pouring Dou Qi into it. The patterns of light on the stele flickered like a dying candle in the wind. Xiao Zhan stood on the stone steps, leaning on his cane, his face grimmer than a stone carving. When he saw Xiao Yan rush in, he slammed his cane down. "How many have come?"

"At least two Dou Wang." Gasping for breath, Xiao Yan pulled all his healing pills from his Storage Ring and thrust them into Xiao Li's hands. "Give these to the wounded!" He then took out the Azure Nether Stone and handed it to Xiao Zhan. "Father, this stone can amplify Dou Qi. Try channeling it into the formation!"

Xiao Zhan took the Azure Nether Stone. The moment his fingertips touched it, a cool force enveloped him, and his depleted Dou Qi actually began to stir. His eyes lit up, and he immediately turned and rushed toward the stele. "Good stuff!"

"Xiao Yan!" Xun'er squeezed out of the crowd. The hem of her plain white dress was dusty, but her back was still straight. "I just sent Grandfather a message. He said he'd send someone as soon as possible, but..." She bit her lip. "It would take at least a Dou Emperor to suppress the Misty Cloud Sect's Dou Wang."

A Dou Emperor? Xiao Yan's heart sank to the bottom of a valley. There were only a handful of Dou Emperors in the entire Jia Ma Empire. Even if Xiao Xun'er's grandfather sent someone, they wouldn't arrive in time.

"Rumble-"

A tremendous crash shook the entire Xiao Residence. The plaque above the main gate, bearing the words "Xiao Residence," shattered with a bang. Looking up, they saw two cyan-clad figures hovering in midair, cloud patterns embroidered on their robes. One had a face as if carved by a blade and eyes steeped in ice: Ling Ying of the Misty Cloud Sect's Law Enforcement Hall. The other was a woman with a gauze veil over her face and a longsword in her hand. A silver bell on its tassel swayed gently with her breathing-He Xue.

"Xiao Zhan." Ling Ying's voice sounded as if it had been pulled from an ice cellar. "Your Xiao Clan cannot escape responsibility for what happened to the Jia Lie Family. Hand over Xiao Yan and surrender without resistance, and your clan will be spared."

Xiao Zhan stood before the formation stele. The Azure Nether Stone had already fused into it, and its patterns of light had grown brighter. He looked up and sneered. "What impressive authority the Misty Cloud Sect wields! You dare force your way into my Xiao Clan on Jia Lie Ao's word alone? Do you take us for soft persimmons you can squeeze at will?"

"Stubborn fool." Ling Ying raised a hand, his five fingers curling into a claw. The surrounding air froze in an instant, and an invisible force reached for the stele-he intended to break the formation outright!

"Don't even think about it!" Xiao Yan leaped into the air, Green Lotus Core Flame blazing on his iron ruler. "Flame Splitting Wave Ruler: Raging Waves!" Crimson waves surged skyward and collided with the force, exploding into flames that filled the sky.

Ling Ying raised a brow, seemingly surprised. "A mere Da Dou Shi can actually wield Heavenly Flames?" His fingertips twitched, and the force suddenly split apart, bypassing the flames and continuing toward the stele.

"Xun'er!" Xiao Yan shouted urgently.

Xun'er had already gathered her Dou Qi. Pale purple force became vines that wrapped around the attack like a vast net. But the gulf between a Dou Wang and a Da Dou Shi was like an impassable chasm, and the vines shattered inch by inch in an instant. Just as the force was about to touch the stele, an aged figure stepped in front of it-the Xiao Clan's first elder. He spat out a mouthful of essence blood and poured a lifetime's worth of Dou Qi into the stele. "Clan leader, take the children and go!"

"Boom!"

The force struck the stele, and the first elder flew away like a kite with its string cut, slamming heavily into the ground. The patterns of light on the stele dimmed at once, and the formation teetered on the verge of collapse.

"Grandfather!" Xun'er cried out and rushed over.

Ling Ying's gaze returned to Xiao Yan, amusement in his eyes. "Interesting. So you're Xiao Yan? Jia Lie Ao said you killed his son and robbed the Jia Lie Family's treasury?"

Xiao Yan shielded Xun'er behind him and pointed his iron ruler straight at Ling Ying. "Jia Lie Ao and his son committed every evil under the sun. They deserved to die! If the Misty Cloud Sect refuses to tell right from wrong, I, Xiao Yan, will fight you to the end!"

"Fight us?" He Xue chuckled softly. Her voice was like a feather brushing the tip of one's heart, yet it carried a bone-piercing chill. "A Da Dou Shi thinks he's worthy of saying that?" She turned her wrist, and her longsword traced a silver arc. Sword Qi fell like moonlight, aimed straight between Xiao Yan's brows.

(3)

The sword Qi came so fast that Xiao Yan could even smell the cool sandalwood scent on the sword. His pupils contracted sharply. He pushed Wind Walking Step to its limit, his body nearly parallel to the ground. The sword Qi skimmed past his scalp, slicing off several strands of hair, and a corridor pillar behind him snapped with a crack.

"Xiao Yan!" Xun'er's voice was thick with tears.

"Stay back!" Xiao Yan sprang to his feet, the flames on his iron ruler burning ever more fiercely. "Qing Lin, come out!"

Red light flashed from the Storage Ring, and Qing Lin, half human and half serpent, appeared beside him. Her tail slapped the ground with a dull thud. She looked at the Dou Wang in midair, her vertical pupils full of wariness. "Human, this is the 'little trouble' you talked about? Those are Dou Wang!"

"Didn't you want revenge on the Jia Lie Family?" Xiao Yan said quickly. "Help me hold that woman off, and afterward I'll help you settle the score with the Black Snake Tribe!"

Qing Lin licked the corner of her lips and flicked her tail. "Deal!" She moved like lightning, dark green poisonous mist spreading instantly as she lunged straight at He Xue.

"A mere snake-person dares to act so outrageously!" He Xue's longsword traced a flower in the air, and her sword Qi split the poisonous mist in two. As the silver bell chimed softly, the two were already locked in combat. Qing Lin's poisonous mist excelled at entangling its foes, but He Xue's sword Qi was sharp beyond compare. The mist was split apart again and again, only to gather again each time, and for the moment it really did keep He Xue occupied.

"You don't know the meaning of death." Seeing He Xue held up, Ling Ying's killing intent intensified. His figure flickered, and he appeared before Xiao Yan in an instant, pressing down with a palm as large as a hand fan and a force that could destroy heaven and earth.

Xiao Yan's breath caught, as if an entire mountain were bearing down on him. He pushed Green Lotus Core Flame to its limit, his iron ruler becoming a bolt of crimson lightning. "Flame Splitting Wave Ruler: Burning Heaven!"

This was a new move he had created by combining it with the power of the Azure Nether Stone. The flames carried a trace of cool water vapor, combining hardness and softness. But under a Dou Wang's pressure, the crimson ruler shadow began to break apart the moment it touched his opponent's palm.

"Pfft!" Xiao Yan was blasted backward into a pillar of the ancestral hall. A sweet taste rose in his throat, and blood spattered over the spirit tablets on the altar.

"Xiao Yan!" Xiao Zhan's eyes nearly split with rage. He tried to rush over, only to be stopped by two Misty Cloud Sect disciples.

Ling Ying walked toward Xiao Yan, each step cracking the ground. "Jia Lie Ao said you had Heavenly Flames. He wasn't lying. Hand them over, and I can give you a quick death."

Xiao Yan struggled to his feet and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. Suddenly, he smiled. "You want the Heavenly Flames? Come and get them!" He drove the iron ruler into the ground, and Green Lotus Core Flame spread along it, setting the entire floor of the ancestral hall ablaze!

Amid the flames, the spirit tablets bearing the names of the Xiao Clan's ancestors began to glow, as though countless faint presences were flowing into Xiao Yan's body.

[System notification: Power of the Xiao Clan ancestors' remnant souls detected, resonating with the host's bloodline! Temporarily acquired Ancestor's Blessing status: Dou Qi surges to Peak Dou Ling for 10 breaths!]

"What?!" Ling Ying's expression changed drastically.

Xiao Yan's presence soared in an instant, actually reaching Peak Dou Ling! He seized the burning iron ruler and became a streak of light. "Ling Ying, try this!"

"Flame Splitting Wave Ruler: Ten Thousand Waves!"

Countless crimson ruler shadows swept forth like a tsunami, each carrying the power of the ancestors' remnant souls. Ling Ying hastily formed a Dou Qi shield, but the ruler shadows battered him backward, covering the shield in cracks.

"Impossible!" he cried out.

Ten breaths passed in the blink of an eye. Xiao Yan's presence plummeted, and he spat out another mouthful of blood as his vision darkened. But he knew he had bought time.

Just then, a long, piercing cry came from the horizon, making the Misty Cloud Sect disciples' eardrums bleed. "You little brats from the Misty Cloud Sect, did you ask me before bullying my grandson?"

A streak of golden light tore through the clouds and landed before Xiao Yan. The newcomer wore golden armor and carried a spear. It was Xun'er's grandfather-the Gu Clan's Dou Emperor expert, Gu Yuan!

Ling Ying and He Xue's expressions changed drastically, and both retreated. "Gu Yuan?!"

Gu Yuan glanced at them and waved a hand. Two bursts of force struck them, making them spit blood. "Scram. Tell Yun Shan that if he dares touch one of my Gu Clan again, the Misty Cloud Sect can forget about keeping a foothold in the Jia Ma Empire."

Ling Ying and He Xue didn't dare say another word. Supporting their injured disciples, they fled in sorry fashion.

(4)

The crisis had passed.

Gu Yuan caught the swaying Xiao Yan, and a gentle force flowed into his body. "Good child, you've suffered."

Xiao Yan shook his head and looked at the clan members in the ancestral hall. The first elder had already breathed his last, many clan members were injured, and Xiao Zhan was holding the first elder's body, tears streaming down his aged face. Qing Lin leaned against a corridor pillar, a sword wound on her tail so deep that bone showed. When she saw Xiao Yan looking over, she rolled her eyes. "Don't forget what you said. The Black Snake Tribe..."

"I won't," Xiao Yan said softly.

Xun'er offered him a healing pill, her eyes red. "I'm sorry I came late."

"You're not late." Xiao Yan took the pill and looked at Gu Yuan. "Senior, thank you."

Gu Yuan sighed. "I'm afraid the Misty Cloud Sect didn't come this time just for the Jia Lie Family. The news that you have Green Lotus Core Flame has probably already spread. The road ahead will be harder."

Xiao Yan tightened his grip on the iron ruler, its warmth startlingly hot against his palm. On the system panel, the emergency mission rewards were flashing:

[Emergency mission "Protect the Xiao Clan" complete! Rewards issued: 100,000 points and Heavenly Flames Affinity talent (elementary) unlocked!]

[New function unlocked: Heavenly Flames Compendium (can investigate information on known Heavenly Flames).]

[Main quest triggered: Go to Jia Nan Academy and find Fallen Heart Flame, ranked 19th on the Heavenly Flame Ranking.]

He looked up toward the Misty Cloud Sect. The clouds in that direction were still dark.

"Hard or not, I'll walk it."

Xiao Yan's voice was quiet, but it carried an unshakable resolve. Sunlight streamed through the holes in the ancestral hall, falling on his bloodstained face and on the ancestors' spirit tablets that still stood upright after the fire.

The upheaval in Wutan City had subsided for now, but Xiao Yan's journey had only just begun.