A Misunderstanding from Afar
Black Rock City, located on the eastern edge of the Jia Ma Empire, was an extremely prosperous large city.
Not only did it have a Dou Wang expert stationed there, but two Fourth-Rank Alchemists from the Alchemist Guild also resided there permanently.
Besides that, its gates were exceptionally sturdy, having once withstood a bombardment by two Dou Wang experts without shaking. That alone showed something of the city's overall strength.
Yet at this very moment,
The sky was anything but peaceful.
A fierce wind swept past, and ten enormous streaks of light suddenly came rushing in, blotting out the sun from people's sight.
The world darkened in an instant. Against the sunlight, a shadow fell across the streets, enveloping the terrified crowd.
"M-monsters!"
The townspeople screamed and fled into nearby houses, shutting their doors and refusing to come out for fear of bringing trouble upon themselves.
Some scooped up their children, some ran in a panic, while others nervously gathered their belongings, trying to get away from the monsters in the sky as quickly as possible.
Just then, three streaks of light quietly flew out of the chaotic crowd and stopped in midair, gazing at the distant beasts with exceedingly grave expressions.
The man at their head was tall and powerfully built, with a resolute face. The brown Dou Qi Wings on his back trembled slightly. He was unmistakably a Dou Wang expert, and a Four-Star Dou Wang at that.
The other two were Dou Ling, dressed in fine black robes. Through their subtle control of soul power and skillful manipulation of Dou Qi, they could remain in midair for a short time.
They were Black Rock City's only Dou Wang expert, He Qian of the He Family, and the Alchemist Guild's only two Fourth-Rank Alchemists, President Frank and Vice President Otto.
"What powerful Dou Qi pressure..."
The three each released their soul perception. As they sensed the presence of the ten magical beasts, their hearts sank, and cold sweat broke out on their foreheads.
Every one of these magical beasts had reached the Dou Wang realm. Without exception, they were all around the level of a Five-Star Dou Wang, or even stronger.
He Qian swallowed, turned his head from side to side, and exchanged a glance with the other two. Sending his soul power into their minds, he said in a low voice,
"Ten Dou Wang-level magical beasts. Judging by their direction, they should have come from the Magical Beast Mountain Range. They may have come with hostile intentions."
When he finished speaking, all three fell silent.
It had been a long time since there had been such a great commotion in the Magical Beast Mountain Range. Now ten Dou Wang had suddenly appeared. Could they be declaring war on the Jia Ma Empire?
"Could it be... someone on our side offended a magical beast overlord? Otherwise, they wouldn't have gone to such lengths to surround Black Rock City, would they?"
In an instant, it was as though the three minds had become one, and they quickly arrived at the same thought.
A moment later, Frank was the first to respond. He sent a soul transmission to the other two and said calmly:
"Whatever the case, let's find out why they're here before deciding what to do. Otto, send a soul signal to the imperial capital at once and ask for help. He Gan and I will find a way to stall them."
The two had no objections. They nodded repeatedly, then each set about his task.
Otto sat cross-legged in midair, forming an arcane hand seal as he muttered an incantation.
Before long, he flicked a finger, shooting out a strand of milky-white soul power.
Then he covered his lower abdomen with a hand and drew a cluster of Dou Qi from the Qi cyclone in his dantian, slowly wrapping it around the strand of soul power.
The next moment, he released his hand and let the cluster of Dou Qi rapidly drift away, turning into a streak of red light that pierced the clouds.
The light was headed in the direction of the Imperial Family in the imperial capital.
Frank took a deep breath and calmed himself.
"Let's go over!"
He beckoned to He Qian, then stepped up into the clouds.
Seeing this, He Qian gave his Dou Qi Wings a helpless flap and slowly floated after him.
But the closer they got, the stronger the presence of the ten magical beasts became.
When that pressure gathered together, it was like a tangible hurricane, blowing against them until they could scarcely breathe.
Still, seeing no sign that the other side intended to attack, Frank and He Qian quietly relaxed their taut nerves considerably.
Only when they had come all the way to the magical beasts' encirclement did they notice a figure reclining on one of the golden divine birds.
It was a young man, lying on the bird's back with one leg crossed over the other, looking perfectly at ease.
Indeed, this was Xiao Yan.
When he had first seen Frank and the other two, the young man had wanted to raise a hand and greet them.
But when they remained where they were, showing no sign of approaching for a long time, Xiao Yan lowered his waving arm.
Later, he turned to look at the magical beasts and suddenly understood:
It seems this entourage of mine is still too conspicuous. No wonder it made them wary.
Xiao Yan thought it over carefully and soon realized what the problem was:
I've been wandering around the Magical Beast Mountain Range all this time, and I've become somewhat detached from the order of human society.
When the townspeople fled just now, I didn't even notice anything was wrong. I really shouldn't have missed that...
Now, watching Frank and the others approach in silence, Xiao Yan cupped his hands around his mouth and called out:
"Everyone, don't be nervous! My name is Yan Xiao. I've come to take the alchemist examination today!"
He did not give his real name, using an alias instead.
After all, the great commotion he had just caused was bound to attract the empire's Dou Huang experts.
If his real name got out then, and the Misty Cloud Sect and the Hall of Souls set their sights on him ahead of time, he would be in trouble.
The young man's gentle voice carried outward, seemingly containing a trace of soul power that soothed the heart.
Once Frank and He Qian clearly heard what he had said, they soon calmed down.
"Huh? Taking the alchemist examination?"
Hearing why Xiao Yan had come, Frank and He Qian looked at each other, their expressions frozen.
For a moment, they simply stopped where they were. Even Otto below them was no exception.
After a long while, He Qian was the first to recover. He flew to the young man's side, patted him on the shoulder, and said with an enthusiastic smile:
"I am He Qian, head of the He Family, a Four-Star Dou Wang."
After briefly introducing himself, He Qiankun continued, trying to get on friendly terms:
"Hey, little brother, so you've come to take the alchemist examination! Why didn't you say so earlier?"
As soon as he finished, he pointed down in a direction and continued:
"Come, come, come! I'll personally take you to register!"
At the same time, he kept weighing Xiao Yan's background in his mind, speculating:
This child looks to be only in his teens, yet he dares to come and take the alchemist examination.
And he has ten Fifth-Order Magical Beasts accompanying and protecting him. The faction behind him is probably no ordinary one either...
As He Qian thought this, his fleshy face filled with smiles, giving him the appearance of a kind and amiable elder. He thought:
At the very least, I have to leave him with a good impression!
After doing all this, he bowed respectfully and extended an arm like a gentleman, gesturing:
"After you, young genius!"
Meanwhile, watching He Qian's actions, Frank and Otto also immediately came to their senses and realized what he intended:
He wants to befriend Yan Xiao!
Their gazes swept over the surrounding Fifth-Order Magical Beasts and abruptly froze as they began to weigh Yan Xiao's value.
A young man guarded by ten Fifth-Order Magical Beasts!
What did that mean...?
Even the strongest sect in the Jia Ma Empire, the Misty Cloud Sect, had fewer than ten Dou Wang, much less Dou Wang who had all reached the Five-Star level.
Moreover, they all came from the Magical Beast Mountain Range. There was probably a powerful magical beast overlord behind them as well.
A thought flashed through Frank and Otto's minds, and they immediately recalled the current situation in the eastern part of the Magical Beast Mountain Range.
As far as they knew, there were only three overlords there.
The Amethyst Winged Lion King, the Deadly Mad Bird, and the Nether Snake King...
As members of the Jia Ma Empire, Frank and Otto naturally knew about these three vicious beasts.
The first two certainly did not have such powerful subordinates.
So, with the Amethyst Winged Lion King and the Deadly Mad Bird ruled out, the only one left was the Nether Snake King.
And who was the Nether Snake King? A monster who had broken through to become a Seventh-Rank Magical Beast decades ago and had also fought off Yun Shan, the former sect leader of the Misty Cloud Sect.
Now that several decades had passed, the Nether Snake King's strength was probably unfathomable.
By that comparison, Yan Xiao's background might be far more formidable than even the Misty Cloud Sect's.
At that thought, Frank and Otto were filled with regret.
They had just missed their chance to leave Yan Xiao with a good impression!
After all, the strongest alchemist in the Jia Ma Empire today, Pill King Gu He, had only been a Fourth-Rank Alchemist before he became famous.
His greatest opportunity had been joining the Misty Cloud Sect and receiving the immense resources and training of the empire's strongest sect.
It was precisely because of that that he had been able to break through completely to the realm of a tier-six alchemist in just ten years.
But now, the figure behind the young man named Yan Xiao was very likely even more powerful than the Misty Cloud Sect.
Add to that the Magical Beast Mountain Range's abundant medicinal resources...
Frank and Otto scarcely dared imagine what an enormous opportunity this was!
If they too joined this great faction and received training backed by resources even more plentiful than the Misty Cloud Sect's,
They were certain that, with the accumulated cost of countless attempts and failures, they too could reach the heights of tier-five or even tier-six alchemists.
At that thought, they excitedly flew to Xiao Yan's side as well.
The two cupped their hands and introduced themselves, eagerly striking up a conversation with Xiao Yan.
"Young friend Yan Xiao, I am Frank, president of the Black Rock City Alchemist Guild. I am both a Fourth-Rank Alchemist and a Seven-Star Dou Ling..."
"When it's time for the examination, I'll personally oversee it and guarantee absolute fairness and impartiality. There will be plenty of medicinal ingredients, so you can rest assured."
Frank spoke with a cheerful smile, his tone utterly sincere and without the slightest trace of arrogance.
Master Otto, on the other hand, was somewhat more shameless.
As soon as he arrived, he asked Xiao Yan how old he was and whether he was married, among other such questions.
He even said outright, "I have a disciple. I wonder what you think of her..."
How to put it?
It gave the impression that he was repeatedly trying to sell his beautiful disciple, hoping to bring the two together in a relationship.
But it had to be said, this move really did work on many people.
Even his good friend Frank could not help sucking in a cold breath when he saw it. He thought to himself:
So that's how it is. There's that move too!
So he followed Otto's example and began promoting his own pretty disciple.
After that, He Qian joined in as well, introducing the many young women of his family.
Xiao Yan's background had likewise given him the idea of attaching himself to someone powerful.
"Well, I'm still young. There's no need to look for a woman or anything like that."
Xiao Yan nodded slightly to express his thanks, but inwardly he felt no stirrings.
Clearly, he did not like this display of insincere pleasantries and only wanted to get to the point quickly.