Arrival and departure

Xiao Yan had just arrived at the gates of the Jia Ma Imperial Capital, dusty and travel-worn. He had no idea his ancestor had more plans for him.

At that moment, he was brimming with confidence.

The Three-Year Agreement? That was too long to wait. Xiao Yan had come here now to give Nalan Yanran a resounding slap in the face.

She had been so arrogant before, and she had made his father lose face.

During the three years when his strength had stagnated, his temperament had improved considerably, but that did not mean Xiao Yan had lost the sharp spirit of youth.

Besides, the Misty Cloud Sect and the Jia Ma Empire were both territories the clan needed to occupy for its next expansion. As the young clan leader, Xiao Yan naturally had to share the burden.

What was more, his master, Yao Chen, had accompanied him throughout his travels and training.

With a mighty Dou Zun protecting him, could anything really go wrong? Did anyone think Yun Potian was still alive?!

But after listening briefly to the conversations around him as he entered the city, Xiao Yan learned that Yun Shan, the former sect leader of the Misty Cloud Sect, had broken through.

Dou Zong?

If Xiao Yan had heard that before his ancestor emerged, he would have felt some caution. After all, a Dou Zong certainly stood at the pinnacle of the empire, a top expert beneath its heavens.

But now?

Yun Shan had cultivated for so many years, passed down his position as sect leader, and spent so long in seclusion before finally breaking through to Dou Zong.

That was barely enough to make his name worth knowing!

"Master, when I go up to the Misty Cloud Sect, help me keep that Dou Zong pinned down, and don't let anyone notice!" Xiao Yan was full of confidence. He was no ordinary Dou Ling.

To fight a Dou Zong head-on would indeed be asking a bit much of him, though it was not impossible if he paid a price.

But with his master stepping in, there was no need for him to rely on brute force.

Setting aside that opponent outside his plans, Xiao Yan paid the Misty Cloud Sect's ordinary Dou Wangs and Dou Emperors no heed at all.

Even Nalan Yanran was only his excuse for coming. All he needed to do was teach that little girl a lesson and show her how harsh the world could be.

His main goal was still to take down the Misty Cloud Sect in one stroke for the clan.

"You don't even have the confidence to deal with a Dou Zong? What a waste of my careful teaching all this time." Yao Chen sighed and lamented, but in truth, during the time they had spent together,

Yao Chen had long since come to acknowledge Xiao Yan.

Even if the Xiao Clan senior had not appeared, there was an eighty or ninety percent chance that Yao Chen would have taken Xiao Yan as his disciple.

Talent was secondary. The key was his resilience.

That was the most crucial quality for becoming an expert.

Xiao Yan's lips twitched at his master's complaint. "Why don't I give you three years to find a Dou Ling who can take on a Dou Zong head-on? You have such an outstanding disciple, and you're not even secretly delighted."

"You little rascal!" Yao Chen said with a laugh.

"Let's go take a look at the auction house. If we can find another piece of that map, that would be even better. Since one piece ended up in the Jia Ma Empire, the others should be somewhere nearby too."

Changing the subject, Xiao Yan grew excited again.

To help Xiao Yan devour a Heavenly Flame, Yao Chen had taken him out to search for some rare heavenly treasures. Only after enduring countless hardships had Xiao Yan managed to fuse with and gain control of the Green Lotus Core Flame.

And during that time, they had also made a major discovery.

A map marking the location of the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame!

Although much of it was missing, it was already a heaven-defying find. Even Yao Chen had marveled that Xiao Yan's luck truly had no equal under heaven.

Unfortunately, after Elder Hai told them about Queen Medusa, Xiao Yan and the others went to look for her, only to find that she had long since departed from her home deep in the desert.

They turned the place upside down but found nothing, and could only leave in disappointment.

"Elder Hai, doesn't your family run an auction house? Help us look for that kind of map fragment too!"

At his side, the Jia Ma Empire's Ice Emperor Hai Bodong was now traveling with Xiao Yan. The map fragment had come from him.

But Hai Bodong, who had recovered his peak strength and even advanced a little further, showed no sign of being pleased with himself.

After all, calling the difference between a Dou Emperor and a Dou Zun a mere gap was an understatement.

After Yao Chen had taught him a little lesson about respecting the old and caring for the young, Hai Bodong had made following his heart the basic principle by which he conducted himself.

Hai Bodong, who had been looking around, turned at Xiao Yan's words and replied somewhat helplessly.

"How could such a mysterious map fragment turn up so easily? I'm afraid that was the only one in the Jia Ma Empire." Hai Bodong was not speaking without reason. With his resources and connections in the Jia Ma Empire, if there had really been any news,

Hai Bodong would have acted on it long ago, during those past decades.

"Let's try!"

Xiao Yan refused to let it go. "Come on, let's go have a look at the auction house. I feel like my luck has been pretty good lately."

With that, Xiao Yan pulled them toward the Mittel Family's auction house.

Above the clouds, Xiao Xuan took in everything the group below had done and said calmly, "Arrange an alchemist competition later. Let's see how this boy's alchemy has progressed."

Xiao Xuan was perfectly relaxed. This was just a bit of amusement.

But once he spoke, no one present dared take it lightly.

"Is that the young master? He truly is an outstanding young talent!" Yun Shan cupped his hands and spoke in heartfelt admiration.

He was not exaggerating. Xiao Yan really did have the strength to back it up. Even Yun Shan could sense a trace of terrifying heat from him, faintly carrying a violent and dangerous feeling.

For a mere Dou Ling to reach such a level was truly shocking.

As for the two others accompanying the young master, Yun Shan could not quite see through them.

One was Ice Emperor Hai Bodong, who had made a little progress. Although he had disappeared for a long time, he was still nothing out of the ordinary.

The other was the one who truly alarmed Yun Shan.

Unless he deliberately observed him, Yun Shan would never have detected the man's presence through ordinary sensing.

A Dou Zun!

A bitter taste filled his mouth. The senior had indeed spoken the truth; he had shown the Misty Cloud Sect great favor after all.

Otherwise, if the young master had come to their door in person, the Dou Zun at his side could have easily reduced the sect to ashes.

The Misty Cloud Sect was still far too weak.

"You make the arrangements! Nothing serious will happen to Little Yanzi. I'm going to the neighboring country. That's the Chu Yun Empire, where poison masters are common, isn't it?"

Xiao Xuan spoke calmly. He did not think any force left in the Jia Ma Empire could threaten the Xiao Clan now.

The nearby Hun Clan affiliates had mostly moved away from the Jia Ma Empire. Presumably, after taking control of Yun Shan of the Misty Cloud Sect, they had thought they could rest easy.

He would go out and meet them, and see what crooked scheme the Hun Clan was plotting now.

Of course, he had another purpose: to take his disciple along for some training.

Poison masters were common there?

Perhaps the place might have the right soil to give birth to the Nether Poison Flame.

Xiao Xuan knew quite a lot about Heavenly Flames.

Besides, he still needed the power of quite a few Heavenly Flames, but not simply to devour and refine them to strengthen himself.

The power of earth, fire, water, and wind, which could nearly remake heaven and earth, was not so easily obtained at will.

He needed to study it.

But he had to be somewhat careful in choosing which Heavenly Flames to use.

They could not be too strong, nor could they be too weak.

He would see if he could find one!

Xiao Xuan drifted away with Mo Xuan.