The Enforcer Arrives, the Ruler's Shadow Appears

The deathly silence over the training ground was broken by hurried footsteps. Five figures came rushing down the mountain path, led by a solemn-faced man in gray robes. A token engraved with the words "Enforcer" hung from his waist, and the steady pressure of Seventh Stage Dou Qi radiated from him. He was Zhang Hao, an outer-sect enforcer of the Misty Cloud Sect, responsible for managing its outer-sect disciples and maintaining order on the training ground.

Four inner-sect disciples followed him, all with Sixth-Stage Dou Qi cultivation. They had evidently received word and come specifically to deal with the "troublemaker."

Zhang Hao's gaze swept over the disciples wailing on the ground before settling on Xiao Yan, who stood there unharmed. His brows knotted, and his voice was cold as frost. "Was it you who injured the disciples of my Misty Cloud Sect?"

The pressure of Seventh Stage Dou Qi descended on Xiao Yan like an invisible mountain. Such pressure was enough to make an ordinary cultivator with no stage of Dou Qi struggle to breathe and find their movements sluggish.

But Xiao Yan's expression did not change. His Sovereign-level mind had long since been tempered as firm as a rock; to him, this pressure was no more than a breeze brushing his face. He replied indifferently, "They were the ones who picked a fight. I was only defending myself."

"Defending yourself?" Zhang Hao sneered. "You injured people of my Misty Cloud Sect on our own territory, and you think a single claim of 'self-defense' will settle it? Do you take my Misty Cloud Sect for a place where anyone can run wild?!"

One of the inner-sect disciples behind him immediately chimed in, "Enforcer Zhang, it was this Xiao Yan! Not only did he injure Zhao Li, Wang Hao, and the others, he even severely wounded Senior Brother Lin Chen! This brat is arrogant beyond measure. If he isn't punished severely, where will our Misty Cloud Sect's dignity be?!"

The fierceness in Zhang Hao's eyes intensified, and he released the full might of his Seventh Stage Dou Qi. "Xiao Yan, considering that you came for the Three-Year Agreement, cripple one of your own arms, then kneel and kowtow to admit your wrongs, and we can let this matter rest. Otherwise, today I'll have you carried down the mountain!"

The surrounding Misty Cloud Sect disciples all looked on with glee at his misfortune. Enforcer Zhang was a Seventh Stage Dou Qi expert. Dealing with Xiao Yan, who was at the peak of the fifth stage, would be as easy as catching him with one hand.

Xiao Yan's gaze turned cold. "Cripple my arm? Kowtow and admit my wrongs? Your Misty Cloud Sect's rules are certainly overbearing."

"Impudent!" Zhang Hao shouted. "It seems you won't know how high the heavens are or how vast the earth is until I put my hands on you!"

Before his words had faded, he moved. His right foot slammed into the ground, shattering the hard stone slabs in an instant. Using the recoil, he lunged at Xiao Yan like a gray shadow. His right hand formed a palm strike, carrying the immense power of Seventh Stage Dou Qi straight toward Xiao Yan's chest. Before the palm wind arrived, it had already made the air erupt with muffled blasts.

This strike was called the Stacked Wave Palm, a Dou Technique commonly used by Misty Cloud Sect enforcers. Its palm force built up layer upon layer, giving it tremendous power. An ordinary practitioner of Sixth-Stage Dou Qi would be severely injured by one strike, if not killed outright.

"Bring it on!"

Rather than retreat, Xiao Yan advanced, the Dou Qi at the peak of the fifth stage boiling up inside him. He chose not to dodge. Instead, he turned his right hand over, and a plain, black iron ruler appeared in it. It was the ordinary iron ruler he had brought from the Xiao Clan, but now he had infused it with Dou Qi. The ruler trembled faintly, giving off a deep hum.

[Ding! Host detected using a long weapon. Triggering "Dou Technique adaptation" prompt: 100 points can be spent to temporarily deduce the incomplete scroll of Flame Splitting Wave Ruler to the beginner level. Proceed?]

"Proceed!" Xiao Yan answered without hesitation.

[100 points deducted. Flame Splitting Wave Ruler (beginner) has been temporarily unlocked!]

In an instant, the basic method of circulating Flame Splitting Wave Ruler flooded into his mind. Though it was only at the beginner level, it already contained the rudiments of the artistic conception of "splitting flames" and "devouring waves."

Xiao Yan's gaze sharpened. He turned his wrist and swept the iron ruler out with a whistle through the air. As its shadow swung through the air, a faint reddish Dou Qi glow could be seen flowing around it, like burning flames and surging waves at once, its fierce power carrying a trace of agility.

"Hmm? Is that... a Dou Technique?" Zhang Hao paused in surprise. He had not expected Xiao Yan to have mastered a Dou Technique, much less one that seemed formidable, judging by its display. But he was a seventh-stage expert, after all. Though startled, he did not slow his hands in the slightest. He urged his palm force onward, adding the second layer of the Stacked Wave Palm's power.

"Bang!"

The iron ruler and the palm collided head-on.

A violent force traveled up the iron ruler and into Xiao Yan's arm. The web between his thumb and forefinger went numb, and he involuntarily staggered half a step back. The gap in cultivation between the seventh and fifth stages was, in the end, a chasm difficult to cross.

But Zhang Hao was no better off. A searing, domineering force struck his palm, seemingly intent on tearing apart and devouring his palm force. He grunted and was also knocked a step back, his gaze full of shock and suspicion as he looked at the iron ruler in Xiao Yan's hand.

"This Dou Technique... is rather interesting," Zhang Hao said gravely. "But that little bit of skill isn't enough!"

He lunged forward again, unleashing the Stacked Wave Palm in a continuous barrage. Layer upon layer of palm shadows crashed like waves against the shore, each stronger than the last, sealing off every path of retreat around Xiao Yan.

Xiao Yan's expression turned grave, and he did not dare be careless in the slightest. He pushed Wind Walking Step to its limit, weaving and dodging among the palm shadows while constantly swinging the iron ruler, repeatedly executing the moves of Flame Splitting Wave Ruler (beginner).

The ruler's shadows flew, now like flames sweeping across the plains, driving back the palm wind with searing force; now like waves rolling against the shore, using supple strength to dissipate his opponent's fierce power. Though his cultivation was inferior, Xiao Yan relied on his exquisite Dou Techniques and Sovereign-level combat awareness to hold back Zhang Hao's storm-like assault.

"How is this possible?" The surrounding Misty Cloud Sect disciples were utterly dumbfounded. The peak of the fifth stage against the seventh, and not only had he avoided being defeated in an instant, he had held on for this long?

The longer Zhang Hao fought, the more alarmed and furious he became. He was a dignified seventh-stage enforcer, yet he could not defeat a fifth-stage youth. It was an utter disgrace!

"Brat, you've succeeded in making me angry!" A vicious glint flashed in Zhang Hao's eyes. "Today, I'll cripple you for certain!"

He suddenly let out a low shout. The Dou Qi throughout his body surged wildly, and his gray robes billowed without wind. His palm force abruptly swelled by thirty percent, and the third layer of the Stacked Wave Palm's power-the strongest power he could currently unleash-struck at Xiao Yan like raging waves on a furious sea!

This palm was faster and heavier, carrying an overwhelming force that left no room to dodge!

Xiao Yan's pupils contracted. He felt an unprecedented pressure. Drawing a deep breath, he poured all the Dou Qi in his body into the iron ruler and shouted inwardly, System, deduct another 100 points and temporarily increase the power of Flame Splitting Wave Ruler!

[100 points deducted. The power of Flame Splitting Wave Ruler (beginner) has been temporarily increased by 50%!]

In an instant, the pale red glow on the iron ruler turned scorching, and faint flames seemed to dance within it. Xiao Yan flicked his wrist, sending the iron ruler through a perfect arc. As though transformed into a crimson wave, it slashed down head-on against the domineering palm wind!

"Flame Splitting Wave Ruler!"

In this new life, this was the first time he had fully executed the Dou Technique that had accompanied him for so long!

"Boom!"

The ruler and palm collided again. This time, there was no earthshaking crash, only a blast wave that erupted after being compressed to its utmost. It spread outward with the two men at its center, ripping an entire layer from the training ground!

Xiao Yan felt a tremendous force strike him, and his arm throbbed with unbearable pain. The iron ruler nearly flew from his hand. As though struck a heavy blow, he stumbled back seven or eight steps before regaining his footing. A sweet taste rose in his throat, and he nearly spat out a mouthful of blood, but he forced it back down.

Zhang Hao was not much better off. A searing, savage force rushed through his palm and into his body, making his Qi and blood roil. The force of his Stacked Wave Palm collapsed instantly, and he staggered five steps back. A flush passed over his face as he looked at Xiao Yan, his gaze full of disbelief and deep wariness.

He could not understand how a youth at the peak of the fifth stage could withstand a full-power blow from his Seventh Stage Dou Qi and even injure him with the impact.

[Ding! You have clashed head-on with Zhang Hao, a Misty Cloud Sect enforcer with Seventh Stage Dou Qi. Though neither side won, you displayed astonishing potential. Mission "Challenge a Stronger Expert Above Your Level" complete!]

[Mission rewards: Sixth Stage of Dou Qi cultivation, 150 points, slight increase in physical strength.]

A warm current instantly surged through his entire body, soothing the upheaval within him and pushing his Dou Qi into a new realm-Sixth-Stage Dou Qi! The surge in strength lifted Xiao Yan's spirits, and the injuries he had just suffered rapidly eased under its nourishment.

He tightened his grip on the iron ruler and looked up at Zhang Hao, fighting spirit blazing in his eyes. "Still got any strength left? Come again!"

Seeing that Xiao Yan was not only unharmed but that his presence had grown even more substantial, Zhang Hao finally felt a chill in his heart. He knew that taking Xiao Yan down today would likely come at a tremendous cost, and he might even capsize in a ditch.

Just as he found himself unable to advance or retreat, a cool female voice came from the distance, ringing clearly across the training ground like pieces of jade striking together:

"Enforcer Zhang, stop."

Everyone turned toward the voice and saw a young woman in a long, moon-white dress approaching slowly, surrounded by several inner-sect disciples. She was breathtakingly beautiful, with a cool bearing, like a snow lotus atop a snowy mountain. She was the young mistress of the Misty Cloud Sect, Nalan Yanran!

Her gaze settled on Xiao Yan, carrying a trace of complexity and cold pride. She spoke indifferently:

"Xiao Yan, for the Three-Year Agreement, tomorrow at noon, on the Misty Cloud Platform. I'll be waiting for you."

With that, she turned and left without sparing Xiao Yan another glance.

Seeing this, Zhang Hao felt as though he had been granted a pardon. He shot Xiao Yan a vicious glare and left in a sorry state with his subordinates.

Silence returned to the training ground, but the way everyone looked at Xiao Yan had completely changed.

He could clash head-on with a seventh-stage enforcer and force Nalan Yanran to personally step in and end the conflict... This Xiao Yan had become someone no one in the Misty Cloud Sect could ignore.

Xiao Yan wiped away a trace of blood from the corner of his mouth. Feeling the surging power of Sixth-Stage Dou Qi within him and the 150 points remaining in the system space, a sharp light flashed in his eyes.

"Nalan Yanran..." He murmured the name. "Tomorrow, on the Misty Cloud Platform, I'll be there as promised."

The Three-Year Agreement in this life was destined to be even more earthshaking than in his last!