"Gentlemen."
Han Feng's voice wasn't loud, but it clearly reached the ears of everyone present.
His voice was cold, devoid of any warmth, yet it carried an imposing aura that compelled people to obey him. "I have summoned you all here because I have good news to tell you."
A slow smile crept onto his lips, a smile devoid of any warmth, which only made his already sinister face appear even more chilling.
"Just now, a riot broke out at the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower of the Jia Nan Academy."
Do you know what this means?
Xiao Huohuo —that kid who was burned in the Fallen Heart Flame for two years—might not be dead. He might have broken out of the tower.
A murmur rippled through the hall. Some people wore expressions of disbelief.
How could someone survive being burned by the primal flames of the Fallen Heart Flame for two years?
This can no longer be explained by luck.
Some people wore thoughtful expressions, beginning to consider whether this was good news or bad news for the Black Alliance.
Several leaders who had dealt with Xiao Huohuo before immediately changed their expressions.
Two years ago, many of them witnessed Xiao Huohuo's strength firsthand. That kid was able to fight Dou Wang even when he was only at the Dou Ling stage, and he managed to turn Han Feng's carefully planned siege upside down.
If he were to actually refine the Fallen Heart Flame now, what would become of us?
"But,"
Han Feng changed the subject, his voice becoming more ruthless.
"This is actually better, while he's still recovering."
Xiao Huohuo is like a fish that has just crawled out of the pot; its scales haven't fully grown in yet, and its bones haven't hardened.
"As long as we seize this opportunity, all the Cultivation Methods and Combat Skills will be ours."
He paused, his gaze slowly sweeping across the faces of everyone in the audience, as if to confirm whether they understood his meaning.
His gaze swept from left to right, making eye contact with each leader for a moment.
Under his gaze, the leaders straightened their backs, some instinctively gripping their weapons, some licking their chapped lips, and some with gleaming eyes.
They've already started calculating the profits from this deal.
"Gentlemen, you have been in the Black-Corner Region for so long, you should know better than anyone else that fortune favors the bold."
What kind of place is the Black-Corner Region? It's a jungle where the strong prey on the weak, a casino where might makes right.
If you don't attack Jia Nan Academy today, Xiao Huohuo will recover his strength tomorrow and attack you. At that time, will you still have a choice?
He'll come knocking on your door one by one, demanding back the debts from two years ago, principal and interest. Do you think you can stop him?"
No one answered.
But Han Feng saw the answer in their eyes.
Those eyes held greed, ferocity, a thirst for power, and fear of the Jia Nan Academy.
Their desire for wealth and power overwhelmed them. The people of the Black-Corner Region have never lacked gamblers; it's just a matter of how big the stakes are. And today's stakes are so high that they're willing to risk their lives.
Han Feng nodded slowly.
"Set off. Take Jia Nan Academy, capture Xiao Huohuo alive. Anyone who stands in my way—kill without mercy."
Douluo Continent, the ruins of the Slaughter City.
The blood mist remained thick and impenetrable, like countless layers of translucent gauze covering the scorched earth.
The air was thick with the stench of blood and decay; the two odors mixed together to create a pungent smell that instinctively made one want to vomit.
The ground was black, scorched earth, so soft and unsettling that it made one feel uneasy, as if the soil beneath one's feet wasn't even real.
Instead, it was countless crushed bones.
Occasionally, one or two skeletons can be seen protruding from the scorched earth, leaving one wondering who died here, when, or if they have been buried here for decades or even centuries.
The ruins were filled with signs of destruction—broken stone pillars, collapsed walls, and shattered stone slabs.
The stone slabs bear countless deep claw marks and hammer marks, each containing extremely violent residual energy.
In the distance, the roar of the mad old man had disappeared, and all around was deathly silent, with only the blood mist slowly churning in the air, and occasionally a few extremely faint whistling sounds, like the wind blowing through dilapidated windowpanes.
Xiao Yan knelt on one knee where Zhu Zhuqing had disappeared, his fists clenched so tightly that his knuckles turned white.
It has been almost ten days.
His fingernails were almost digging into the flesh of his palms. The Gate of the Mystic Realm had been shattered by the mad old man's hammer, and the backlash had turned his dantian upside down.
The vortex of Soul Power within his body has not yet fully recovered its function. Several nodes in his meridians have developed minute cracks, which are aggravated with each breath.
A series of tearing pains shot through him. His back was still throbbing.
There was a cut on his shoulder blade from a piece of gravel, and Zhu Zhuqing Zhu Zhuqing's blood still stained his robe. He clutched the blood-stained corner of his robe in his hand, his knuckles turning white.
The old madman's hammer not only shattered his Gate of the Mystic Realm, but also nearly shattered all his hopes.
A level 67 Soul Emperor is not considered weak in the Douluo Continent, but in front of that old monster...
He couldn't even withstand a single move. His strongest attacks— Cold Heart Lotus Explosion, Startling Soul Spike, and Demon-Breaking Light —were unleashed in quick succession, each powerful enough to severely injure a Soul Douluo- level expert.
But on that old monster, only his robes and beard were scorched. His Clear Sky Hammer struck Zhu Zhuqing's twin blades, shattering them into countless fragments in an instant.
He held Zhu Zhuqing in his arms, and the impact propelled his body, carving a furrow dozens of feet deep into the ruins. His back shattered countless stone pillars and rubble.
He hated it.
He hated himself for not being strong enough, hated himself for being unable to do anything when he should have been protecting her the most.
He also hated that mad old man.
No matter who he is, no matter what he was like in the past, no matter how many people he once protected, he will remember this grudge.
That old monster had better pray he dies before he's killed, because one day, Xiao Yan will personally knock the Clear Sky Hammer from his hands and let him taste the bitterness of being crushed.
But he didn't let himself wallow in despair for too long.
He's not the kind of person who gets stuck in despair.
When Zhu Zhuqing's body was enveloped by that layer of dark light, he witnessed the entire process at the closest distance.
He witnessed the wounds healing at a visible speed under the influence of the Nether Power.
Her sunken chest rose again, her broken bones returned to their original positions, and even the blood that had spilled from the corners of her mouth turned into a wisp of pale purple light and was absorbed back into her body.
She told him to wait for her. And she never broke her promise.
She waited for over a year in the Star Chasing City, and she kept her promise.
She waited for him at the Cangling Manor when he returned from Spirit City, and she kept her promise. Every time she said "wait," she ultimately fulfilled it.
This time, he will wait too.
No matter how long the First Trial of the Nether Swift Shadow God takes, no matter what she has to go through in that unknown Nether Space, he will wait for her to come back.
Before she returns, what he needs to do is become stronger.
Powerful enough to protect everyone he wants to protect.
He was so powerful that when the mad old man reappeared before him, he no longer needed a woman to shield him from the blows with her own body.
He is so powerful that when the Gate of the Mystic Realm is shattered again, he can piece the fragments back together with his own hands.
The opportunity to become stronger lies within the Soul Imprint on his body that is currently trembling violently.
That was the connection between him and Xiao Huohuo etched deep in their souls, the original imprint of their Soul Division Martial Soul.
He could sense that Xiao Huohuo had already broken through.
That guy spent two years soaking in the lava, and his strength increased even more dramatically than he had expected.
After resting for two days, Xiao Yan's injuries, though still present, no longer affected his combat power. His Sixth Soul Ring lit up again, and a dark crack slowly opened in front of him.
The Gate of the Mystic Realm had just been shattered once, and releasing energy again in such a short time would put an enormous burden on the meridians.
Xiao Yan could feel the meridians in his body groaning under the strain, and the newly healed cracks were throbbing with pain again.
But he didn't hesitate, not even frowning.
Stepping into this new world means entering a world engulfed in flames of war. And he needs those flames to temper his still-imperfect blade.
Inside the crack, turbulent silver-gray spatial currents surged, like countless tiny blades constantly cutting through space. Xiao Yan stepped into it without pausing.
Dou Qi Continent, Jia Nan Academy.
The cheers of the Pan Gate disciples hadn't yet subsided in the plaza in front of the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower. Xiao Huohuo was still hovering in mid-air, bickering with Great Elder Su Qian.
"Elder, your welcoming ceremony is far too meager; there's not even a banner."
"You brat, how dare you say that?"
Queen Medusa had just descended slowly from the exit of the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower and was standing at the edge of the plaza with a cold expression.
With his arms crossed, he looked at Xiao Huohuo's grinning face, but the corners of his mouth involuntarily twitched slightly.
Zi Yan was still clinging to Xiao Huohuo.
Everyone was still immersed in the joy and shock of the reunion.
The rubble on top of the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower was still falling in a rustling sound, and the bluestone slabs on the square still bore the cracks caused by the heat wave from the Fallen Heart Flame.
Several daring freshmen stood on tiptoe, trying to get a better look at the legendary figure in the air.
But at that very moment, dark clouds pressed down from the direction of Maple City.
Those weren't real dark clouds, but Dou Qi, black with red patterns, obscuring the sky and the sun.
Wherever the war clouds passed, the sunlight was completely swallowed up, casting a huge shadow over the square, enveloping the black statue and the cheering crowd in front of it.
A faint yet unsettling killing intent began to permeate the air. At first, the killing intent was extremely weak, but in an instant, it surged forth like a rising tide, overwhelming everything.
Xiao Huohuo's smile was still on his face, but his eyes had turned cold.
He raised his head and looked at the dark clouds pressing in from the direction of Maple City.
Queen Medusa slowly lowered her arms, which were crossed over her chest, and a cold glint flashed in her narrow, serpentine eyes.
Great Elder Su Qian's face turned extremely ugly at this moment.
Han Feng knew better than anyone that the riot of the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower had triggered an energy fluctuation, and that energy fluctuation could not possibly escape his perception.
Han Feng, that old dog, had been lurking in Maple City, watching with predatory eyes, waiting for the moment when Jia Nan Academy would reveal a weakness.
The Black Alliance's battle flag fluttered in the gale, its surface embroidered with a blood-red skull, looking particularly ferocious in the dim light.
Like a pack of bloodthirsty wolves howling in unison, the battle flags fluttered amidst a dense, dark mass of people.
The Black Alliance deployed all its elite forces.
Their Dou Qi was released from their bodies and merged with the battle clouds, forming an extremely oppressive energy tide.
Even before the tide arrived, the students in the square already felt the heavy pressure, and several freshmen with lower cultivation levels even involuntarily took a half step back.
Leading the way was Han Feng. He stood in mid-air, with a pair of pale blue flame wings behind him. Sea Heart Flame flowed across his body, scorching and slightly distorting the surrounding space.
His gaze, like two poisoned blades, swept across everyone in the square below from mid-air.
Finally, his gaze settled on Xiao Huohuo. The moment their eyes met, a cruel, cold smile curled at the corner of Han Feng's lips.
" Xiao Huohuo, I didn't expect you to be so resilient."
The Fallen Heart Flame burned you for two years but didn't kill you.
Han Feng's voice came from mid-air, carrying a hint of sarcasm, a touch of amusement, and a hint of gritted teeth and hatred. His voice wasn't loud, but it clearly reached the ears of everyone present.
"But it's all good this way. In fact, I should thank you."
Thank you for delivering the Fallen Heart Flame to me. Two years ago, you narrowly escaped; today, you have nowhere to run.
Xiao Huohuo was about to retort, having already prepared his first sentence, ready to curse Han Feng's character and his ancestors for eighteen generations.
But the moment he opened his mouth, a dark crack suddenly appeared in the space in front of him.
The crack appeared abruptly, without any warning, as if a complete painting had been slashed open from behind.
Silver-gray spatial turbulence surged at the edge of the seam, and the way the energy fluctuated was completely different from any spatial Dou Technique known on the Dou Qi Continent.
Everyone was stunned.