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As for Gu He, a trace of longing appeared on his face. His eyes burned with intensity as he gazed downward, whispering softly, "I didn't expect you to dare come walking right into our trap."
Clutching her chest, Nalan Yanran forced herself to endure the pain surging within her body and looked down.
Seeing Xiao Yan kneeling on one knee on the ground, and not having noticed the white energy barrier earlier, she assumed he had blocked the impact of the shockwave with his own strength. She bit her red lips tightly, a hint of unwillingness flashing in her eyes.
With the last of her strength, she flung the green longsword in her jade-like hand toward Xiao Yan.
Then, her body slowly descended to the ground, collapsing on the stone pavement. She stared hopefully at the green longsword, wishing it could land a final blow on Xiao Yan.
Clang!
Xiao Yan barely managed to lift the heavy ruler and block the incoming longsword. Upon seeing this, Nalan Yanran's gaze dimmed again.
In her eyes, this duel… she had lost. Even though her Dou Qi level was over five stars higher, she had still lost.
Xiao Yan also understood that those shockwaves couldn't have just vanished without reason. It was definitely his teacher who had intervened to protect him.
Although he had hoped to defeat Nalan Yanran using only his own strength, what's done is done—now wasn't the time to dwell on that.
He could only hope that the gathered powerhouses hadn't noticed his teacher stepping in.
Holding onto a shred of hope, Xiao Yan clutched his aching chest and looked up toward Yun Yun in the sky, speaking firmly:
"The Three-Year Agreement—I've won. According to our agreement, your Yun Lan Sect must let me leave the mountain. And from now on, you are forbidden to seek revenge."
Nalan Yanran, hearing these words, buried her head weakly into her arms and said no more.
"If you didn't violate the rules, of course we'd honor that. But, Xiao family brat, you said earlier that life and death would be left to fate. Yet just now, that white barrier appeared… at the very least, a Dou Wang would be required to release such a thing. Doesn't seem like something a mere Da Dou Shi could do."
Yun Yun stood up, drew her longsword, pointed at the kneeling Xiao Yan below, and said calmly through slightly parted pink lips.
Upon hearing this, Xiao Yan's heart sank. He thought to himself, So I was discovered after all…
Noticing the changing expressions of the surrounding experts, his face also turned a bit grim.
He didn't want to fight these people here and now, so he could only retort sharply:
"What? Is this how narrow-minded your Yun Lan Sect is? I clearly won, yet you're trying to smear me with false accusations. Hah, how shameless can you get?"
"Could this guy… be my target?"
From the younger generation's section, Zi Yan looked at the brash Xiao Yan. She gently rubbed her chin and muttered uncertainly.
She had felt that fleeting white energy earlier—it seemed like some kind of flame. But because she was too far away and didn't dare get closer, she couldn't be sure.
"Mysterious Ice Thorn Wall!"
Just as Yun Yun was about to speak again, Hai Bodong, who had remained silent till now, suddenly shouted with a roar.
A pair of icy wings unfolded behind him, and he shot down toward Xiao Yan.
At the same time, he conjured a thick ice barrier nearly seven or eight zhang wide in front of him.
On the surface of that barrier, countless sharp ice thorns—each several meters long—protruded, all stabbing directly toward Xiao Yan.
The other powerhouses were all shocked. They hadn't expected Hai Bodong to skip the talk and go straight for the kill.
"Xiao Yan, danger! Let me take over your body!"
Sensing Hai Bodong's approach, Yao Chen shouted urgently.
With that, he swiftly took control of Xiao Yan's body. Several streams of white flame instantly shot out, forming a white barrier that blocked the incoming ice wall.
"Heh, a white Heavenly Flame… as expected. That wasn't your power earlier. But you… and that sixth-tier alchemist from before… seem to be more closely connected than we thought."
Seeing Xiao Yan use a white Heavenly Flame, Hai Bodong chuckled.
"Gu He, Yun Yun—shall we take this brat down together?"
Looking at Gu He and Yun Yun beside him, Hai Bodong spoke once again.
Gu He had long desired this Heavenly Flame to improve his alchemy skills, so naturally, he had no objections. He immediately looked up toward Yun Yun.
Sensing his gaze, Yun Yun gave a slight nod and shouted delicately, "All elders, hear my command—help me capture this brat!"
As soon as her words fell, the momentum of the elders beside her surged. Over a dozen Dou Wang-level auras exploded atop the peak of Yun Lan Mountain.
"This is trouble."
Watching those powerful figures with overwhelming presence, Fa Ma's heart sank as he silently worried.
He had just confirmed through the aura released by Yao Chen that this man in front of him was the benefactor from his youth.
Now that his benefactor was in danger, of course he had to find a way to save him.
Yao Chen scanned his surroundings, and finally, his gaze landed on Gu He.
As long as he could deal with Gu He, the Yun Lan Sect and the other powerhouses would not make a move.
By then, even if Hai Bodong, who had just entered the three-star Dou Huang stage, still wanted to stir trouble, Yao Chen alone could kill him.
He then thought back to the item he had accidentally snatched during his fight with Mu Gu.
From Xiao Yan's mouth, an aged voice suddenly rang out: "Heh heh, Gu He, you're still stuck at the low sixth-tier alchemist, aren't you? I imagine it's because you lack a proper sixth-tier inheritance. You've hit a ceiling and want the Heavenly Flame to boost your alchemy?"
"That's not something for you to worry about, old man. You just need to hand over the Heavenly Flame," Gu He replied, frowning slightly as the unfamiliar, elderly voice struck a sore spot.
The other experts also frowned subtly, puzzled by what was happening with Xiao Yan.
Why had his voice suddenly changed into that of an old man?
After thinking it over, they could only conclude that Xiao Yan's teacher had somehow concealed his consciousness within Xiao Yan's body, leading to this strange situation.
Yao Chen didn't take offense at Gu He's response and continued smiling: "I'll give you a complete and advanced sixth-tier alchemy method, one that even includes a seventh-tier technique. I won't pursue the matter of you ordering people to attack me earlier. In return, you can never again try to seize my Heavenly Flame. How about that?"
"Master, giving away such a high-level alchemy method for free… Isn't that too much of a loss?" Xiao Yan couldn't help but speak bitterly, seeing how generous Yao Chen was being.
"Heh heh, you think I'm that stupid? There's only one low seventh-tier method in there. The rest are all sixth-tier. Besides, all those alchemy methods were ones I snatched from Mu Gu… or others.
They're not orthodox techniques. Sure, they can boost alchemy fast, but the price… heh heh… that kid can forget about ever advancing past the low seventh-tier."
Yao Chen gave a cunning smile and said slyly.
After all, Gu He had caused such misery for him and Xiao Yan without reason—how could he possibly offer him anything truly good?
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