The familiar, light laughter caused Liu Qing’s body to stiffen. After a moment, he finally snapped back to reality, staring at the smiling, unfamiliar young man in front of him with disbelief: “You… You’re Xiao Yan?”
As Liu Qing spoke, the lovely figure of Liu Fei behind him also jolted. The name Xiao Yan had left an indelible impression on her heart as well. This was the true genius of the Inner Academy back then, even surpassing her proud cousin, Liu Qing…
She secretly observed the young man, then paused on his somewhat unfamiliar face, slightly stunned. She then noticed something peculiar. Her delicate hands fidgeted within her sleeves, and she avoided meeting his gaze. She and Xiao Yan had a minor grudge in the past, which led to a conflict between Xiao Yan and Liu Qing. But in the end, her reliance on her cousin was completely shattered. Even now, Liu Fei could not forget the slim, proudly standing figure in the arena. At that time, Xiao Yan was just a youth who had recently arrived at the Inner Academy, but his achievements were enough to make the entire Inner Academy take notice.
“Is it really… him?” Liu Fei lightly bit her red lips. Throughout history, beauties have favored heroes. Xiao Yan made her realize that there are many people in this world more powerful than her nearly invincible cousin. This gradually made her temper her arrogance and learn to be gentle with others.
“There is a bit of a difference in appearance, but the voice is definitely right,” Xiao Yan chuckled and shrugged. He scanned Liu Qing with his eyes, and with a bit of surprise, said, “A Seven-Star Battle Emperor? Not bad, much stronger than Lin Yan.”
Hearing the familiar tone, Liu Qing finally confirmed the identity of the person in front of him. A touch of excitement filled his eyes. He also looked at Xiao Yan, and his expression froze slightly. He smiled bitterly, “You’ve probably already broken through to the Battle Sect rank, haven’t you?”
He had seen clearly the scene of Xiao Yan walking on air.
Liu Qing’s words made the faces of the people behind him change. They looked at Xiao Yan with surprised expressions. Such a young Battle Sect was quite rare.
“Good fortune, I suppose,” Xiao Yan smiled and didn’t deny it.
“Ah, I still can’t catch up with you. Truly, you are the most talented person in the Inner Academy, and I can’t help but acknowledge it,” Liu Qing sighed. When he had just entered the Dou Wang rank, Xiao Yan was still only a Dou Ling. Now, in just a few short years, he had reached a level that Liu Qing could only look up to. Such a drastic change was truly hard to accept.
Xiao Yan smiled and swept his gaze over Liu Fei’s face behind Liu Qing. He nodded at her with a smile, and under his gaze, her cheeks blushed. Her beautiful eyes darted away.
“Back then, why didn’t you wait for me? I thought something had happened,” Xiao Yan turned back to Liu Qing and asked.
“Lin Yan and the others said that your revenge was complete, and there wasn’t much left for you to do there, so they left the Jia Ma Empire together. By the way, what brings you here?” Liu Qing smiled, and the sternness on his face faded quite a bit. Clearly, he was very pleased to meet Xiao Yan here.
“I need to go to the Pill Region. Tianhuang City has a space wormhole that leads directly there. I decided to drop by and see how you’re doing,” Xiao Yan smiled. His gaze briefly swept over the Cheng family, who were not far away.
Liu Qing nodded and laughed heartily, “After today, the space wormhole will reopen. I’ll make sure to arrange things for you. Leave this small matter to me.”
“The Cheng family should be in charge of the space wormhole now. They always look down on our Liu family. If you intervene, they might deliberately make things difficult for you,” Liu Fei muttered from behind Liu Qing.
Liu Qing’s face darkened, and Liu Fei immediately fell silent.
“What’s going on? Do you need help?” Xiao Yan, seeming not to have noticed Liu Qing’s expression, turned to Liu Fei and smiled.
“It’s nothing, just a minor problem. Let’s go back first. Since you’re in Tianhuang City, we must treat you properly,” Liu Qing waved his hand and moved to pat Xiao Yan’s shoulder, smiling.
“When you followed me to the Jia Ma Empire, I never expected to hear such things,” Xiao Yan met Liu Qing’s gaze and said with a light smile.
Liu Qing’s arm froze in mid-air. He exchanged a glance with Xiao Yan and could only laugh bitterly, “This isn’t the Jia Ma Empire. The Cheng family alone is stronger than the Yun Luan Sect. If you get involved, you might attract some trouble.”
“Hehe, Liu Qing, you underestimate Xiao Yan too much. He just emerged from the Wind Lightning Pavilion. Even the northern pavilion’s head, Fei Tian, couldn’t handle him. What’s one little Cheng family compared to that?” Lin Yan chimed in, with a snort.
Liu Qing and the two elders behind him were stunned, then visibly moved. Killing his way out of the Wind Lightning Pavilion?
“Don’t listen to this kid. I just came down from Thunder Mountain. I did have some issues with the Wind Lightning Pavilion, but they’re all resolved now,” Xiao Yan waved his hand and laughed. His tone was light, but the danger he had faced was palpable, even to Liu Qing and the others.
A glimmer of something unusual flashed in Liu Fei’s eyes as she slowly scanned Xiao Yan.
After a moment of astonishment, Liu Qing struggled briefly before sighing, “It all started because of the space wormhole. It was supposed to be our Liu family’s turn to manage it, but the Burning Flame Valley needed to find a high-level alchemist, so they used this as a bargaining chip. The Cheng family found a Grade Six Alchemist, while our highest-level alchemist is only a Grade Five…”
“Why does the Burning Flame Valley need a high-level alchemist? With their strength, they can’t possibly lack alchemists, can they?”
“Not entirely clear, but word has it that the Burning Flame Valley’s Valley Master needs to refine a certain pill and requires some high-level alchemists to assist,” Liu Qing shook his head.
Xiao Yan nodded slightly and suddenly looked at the proud, old man not far away, saying, “So, if you provide an alchemist with a higher rank than that old man, the control of the space wormhole will revert to the Liu family?”
Liu Qing nodded and looked at Xiao Yan, his heart filling with hope. He knew Xiao Yan was an alchemist and that he could refine Grade Five pills in the Inner Academy. Over the years, with Xiao Yan’s talent, he must have made some progress. Liu Qing guessed that by now, Xiao Yan should at least be a Grade Six Alchemist. He might not surpass that old man in purple robes, but he would likely be no weaker.
Seeing this, Xiao Yan smiled and stepped forward. He cupped his hands towards the robed old man and said, “Elder, the Liu family hasn’t conceded yet. Please hold off on the transfer.”
When Elder Red Fire discovered Xiao Yan, he was also slightly surprised. At such a young age, reaching the Battle Sect rank was a notable achievement. Few people in the Burning Flame Valley could match that.
“If the Liu family hasn’t conceded, then bring out the alchemist. If the Liu family can find an alchemist stronger than Master Zeng Xiu, the control of the space wormhole will remain with the Liu family,” Elder Red Fire’s tone was much more relaxed due to Xiao Yan’s current strength.
Xiao Yan nodded and smiled. He then turned to the purple-robed old man and said, “Since that’s the case, let this junior compare with Master Zeng Xiu, shall we?”
“You’re the alchemist the Liu family hired?” Hearing this, Elder Red Fire was taken aback. His sharp gaze swept over Xiao Yan, and he felt a sense of disbelief. Xiao Yan had already reached the Battle Sect rank at such a young age, which was impressive. If he also had the identity of an alchemist, that would be almost too terrifying. Dou Qi cultivation and alchemy were both profound paths. Standing out in one was already difficult; excelling in both was extremely rare.
Xiao Yan’s words caused a stir among the onlookers. However, most people scoffed at his words. Although he seemed very strong, it didn’t mean he had the qualifications to challenge a master like Zeng Xiu.
Zeng Xiu himself was also stunned. Then, a cold smile crossed his withered face. “Perhaps in terms of Dou Qi, I am inferior. But in terms of alchemy, to put it bluntly, you’re not qualified!”
Xiao Yan ignored Zeng Xiu’s cold words and turned to Elder Red Fire, asking, “How do we determine the outcome? Must we refine pills in front of everyone?”
“There’s no need for such complexity. I don’t have time to waste,” Zeng Xiu interjected with a cold smile. “Since you’re also an alchemist, you should know the importance of soul force. So, let’s compare soul force! Since you are the junior, I’ll let you go first. If you can use your soul force to push me back, you win!”
Not surprising, as soul force was the biggest difference between alchemists and ordinary fighters. A Grade Six Alchemist’s soul force could rival that of a Battle Sect.
Hearing Zeng Xiu’s words, Xiao Yan was first stunned, then his expression became odd. As Zeng Xiu finished speaking, he waved his sleeve and stood with his hands behind his back, looking at Xiao Yan with a dignified aura.
“Go ahead,” Xiao Yan opened his mouth slightly, then sighed. Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, he slowly raised his hand and gently pushed toward Zeng Xiu through the air.
As his hand descended, a vast, torrential soul force erupted, sweeping across the sky like a storm!
In that moment, the indifferent face of Elder Red Fire suddenly changed drastically, and Zeng Xiu’s calm expression turned deathly pale.
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