Chapter 108: The Unremarkable Xiao Yan

With the ten seeded contestants finalized, the final ranking tournament of the Hidden Dragon List finally began.

Among the Chat Group members, the first to take the stage was Yue Buqun, whose opponent was a martial artist at the mid Embracing Yuan stage.

The latter's strength was indeed very strong; in terms of fundamentals alone, he was even far superior to Yue Buqun, yet facing Yue Buqun, who had long since practiced the Mount Hua Sword Art for several decades, he was still no match.

After all, Yue Buqun's original talent was not bad to begin with — it was only limited by the world he lived in.

And after joining the Chat Group, with its help, Yue Buqun's talent had already been fully revealed.

After Yue Buqun and his opponent decided the victor, the dragon-shaped phantom on his body instantly shot out, then pounced directly on the dragon-shaped phantom on his opponent's body; at a speed visible to the naked eye, the opponent's dragon-shaped phantom rapidly shrank.

Sensing the strengthening of his own dragon-vein energy, a hint of joy soon appeared on Yue Buqun's face, but it quickly turned to frustration again.

After all, with his current strength, at most he could break into the top forty of this Hidden Dragon List tournament; in the subsequent matches he would surely lose to other contestants, so naturally he couldn't accumulate much dragon-vein energy!

Thus, the matches proceeded rapidly one after another.

Because the ten seeded contestants had been separated in advance, there were no particularly anticipated battles at the start.

After all, in many matches, once some contestants faced opponents far stronger than themselves, they would immediately concede to preserve their own strength, so naturally it looked rather dull.

After ten rounds of matches, the dragon-shaped phantoms on the Chat Group members had all grown considerably; among them, Xiao Yan had the best luck — every opponent he faced was a renowned expert from the previous Hidden Dragon List, so after defeating them, the dragon-shaped phantom on Xiao Yan's body had already reached six zhang and two chi.

As for Pang Bo and the others, although they too had been selected as seeded contestants, the opponents they faced at the start were all quite ordinary, with not very strong dragon-vein energy, so naturally their dragon-shaped phantoms couldn't compare to Xiao Yan's; even the largest, Han Li's, was only four zhang and nine chi.

Precisely because of this, Xiao Yan, with his six-zhang-two dragon-shaped phantom, standing together with the seeded Pang Bo and the others naturally drew extra attention; many spectators had even begun to notice him.

"Who is that person? How can his dragon-shaped phantom be even larger than those geniuses selected as seeded contestants?"

"I remember him! This man is called Xiao Yan, he should be together with Pang Bo and the others. I heard they once entered a mysterious ancient inheritance site together?"

"Could this Xiao Yan's strength be even more formidable than Ye Chen and the others?"

"Not at all! I watched his earlier battles — it's just that his luck was extremely good, which is how he got his undefeated record!"

"That's still impressive. I saw him defeat Zhang Tao, who was ranked thirty-third on the previous Hidden Dragon List. I reckon his strength breaking into the top twenty of this Hidden Dragon List should be no problem!"

……

Listening to the discussions from the spectator seats not far away, some of the powerful geniuses felt quite disdainful.

"Just a fellow with pretty good luck, that's all!"

Mo Yan, the chief disciple of the Flying Demon Sect, who had failed to be selected as a seeded contestant, looked at Xiao Yan with an extremely cold gaze: "The ranking tournament requires fighting every single genius. This time you definitely won't have such good luck!"

"Moreover, the better your luck now, the larger the dragon-shaped phantom behind you — in the end, it'll all just be a wedding dress made for someone else!"

"I hope I get to face you next. When that time comes, I'll definitely make you regret it!"

As for the other powerful geniuses, they naturally shared the same thought.

After all, the rules of the ranking tournament were completely different from the previous elimination rounds. In the two elimination rounds, each genius only needed to fight ten battles; as long as one's luck was good enough, it was entirely possible to avoid those powerful geniuses.

But the ranking tournament was different!

Every genius on the list had to fight the other super geniuses on the Hidden Dragon List, so naturally it was impossible to keep avoiding those powerful geniuses.

On the other side, the Chat Group members standing together were all teasing Xiao Yan.

Pang Bo turned to look at Xiao Yan and said with a smile: "Xiao Yan, those people are all saying you got insanely lucky. What do you think about that?"

Xiao Yan rubbed his nose, then replied somewhat helplessly: "Can you blame me? I've long wanted to have a proper contest with those powerful fellows, but every battle I run into is some random weakling — I'm pretty frustrated too!"

Hearing this, Han Li beside him couldn't help feeling a bit jealous — he wanted that kind of treatment too.

Thinking of this, Han Li soon looked at Xiao Yan and said: "Xiao Yan, speaking of which, your luck really is something. Every time the Chat Group snatches red packets you grab more than anyone else, and this tournament is the same — you barely ran into any powerful experts! Do you have any tricks? Teach me!"

Hearing this, a smile soon appeared on Xiao Yan's face, and he said quite modestly: "Brother Han, what tricks could I possibly have? It's just that I'm a bit better-looking, that's all!"

"This……"

Han Li, whose skin was dark, was briefly stunned, then said: "Xiao Yan, you brat better hope you run into me later!"

"Brother Han, don't get worked up!"

Xiao Yan hurriedly explained with a laugh: "I was only joking! When it comes to luck, how could I possibly compare to you, who holds the Heaven-Grasping Bottle and can exchange all kinds of resources with the Group Leader anytime?"

Just then, Ye Chen beside them suddenly said: "Actually, I think it's entirely the other contestants' luck that Xiao Yan didn't run into any powerful geniuses in the elimination rounds."

Hearing this, Pang Bo was briefly stunned, then quickly asked: "Ye Chen, what do you mean by that?"

Ye Chen quickly explained: "Brother Pang, think about it — if Xiao Yan had run into those powerful opponents from the start, wouldn't the ten seeded contestants have one more slot taken by us?"

"That's true!"

Pang Bo added with a smile: "If Xiao Yan had run into that Sikong Sheng earlier and accidentally defeated him, this Hidden Dragon List tournament wouldn't have been as fun!"

Hearing this, all the Chat Group members burst out laughing.

And Xu Jing, standing with them, listening to the conversation between Pang Bo and the others, couldn't help feeling a bit bewildered.

Because Xu Jing was Ye Chen's future wife, Pang Bo and the others had never avoided her when chatting, so Xu Jing had also noticed some of the special things about them.

But no matter how special, saying something like that was really too much, wasn't it!

Could that Xiao Yan, who had always seemed utterly ordinary — in Xu Jing's eyes about the same strength as her — actually possess the strength to defeat Sikong Sheng, the chief disciple of Floating Mountain and number one on the previous Hidden Dragon List?

Thinking of this, Xu Jing couldn't help shaking her head, quickly kicking that thought entirely out of her mind.

Time kept passing, and soon the second day arrived. Xiao Yan finally met an extraordinarily powerful opponent in the thirty-ninth round — the chief disciple of the Heaven Fall Sect, Lin Yun!

Lin Yun had been ranked fifth on the previous Hidden Dragon List, and his strength was already extremely formidable. Moreover, before this Hidden Dragon List tournament, he had even cultivated his main Earth-grade top-tier technique to the eleventh layer, so its power was naturally terrifyingly fearsome.

Even the Sect Master of the Heaven Fall Sect believed Lin Yun had the strength to contend for first place on the Hidden Dragon List. Not only did he promise that Lin Yun would become the next Sect Master of the Heaven Fall Sect after claiming first place, he also mobilized the entire sect to prepare numerous killing moves for dealing with the other geniuses.

"Round thirty-nine, match fifteen — Lin Yun versus Xiao Yan!"

Hearing the referee's words, many of the surrounding spectators, and even the Hidden Dragon List geniuses themselves, grew quite excited.

You have to know, Xiao Yan's luck before this had really been too good!

In the current ranking tournament, apart from the final ten seeded contestants, every other Hidden Dragon List genius had already suffered one or two defeats.

Among them, Bing Ling, the chief disciple of the Ice Absolute Sect, was defeated in the nineteenth round by Yan Chihuo, ranked second on the previous Hidden Dragon List; Qian Yun, the second disciple of Lady Luoxia's sect, was defeated by Lin Yun, the chief disciple of the Heaven Fall Sect; Gu Youyun, a disciple of Floating Mountain, was defeated by Tuoba Ku; and Mo Yan, a disciple of the Flying Demon Sect, was the unluckiest of all — he was once again defeated by Pang Bo, who had beaten him before!

You have to know, Bing Ling and the other three were all the strongest geniuses beneath the ten seeded contestants!

If even they had fallen to the seeded contestants, there was no need to mention the other geniuses.

Only Xiao Yan was the exception!

In the previous matches, Xiao Yan had never encountered any of the top ten seeded fighters, nor any of the four Bing Ling, so until now he had maintained a perfect winning record just like the top ten seeded fighters!

Yet in all his previous battles, Xiao Yan had never displayed any overwhelming strength, which gave everyone present the feeling of "When the times lack a hero, it lets a nobody make a name."

And now, Xiao Yan had finally been matched against a top ten seeded fighter — and not just any, but Lin Yun, the chief disciple of the Heavenly Fall Sect, whose strength ranked among the very best of the top ten seeded fighters!

"This Xiao Yan has finally run into a top ten seeded fighter!"

"Yeah, I thought his luck would just keep holding out!"

"I wonder if Lin Yun will use that ultimate move he used to defeat Qian Yun when he takes down this Xiao Yan?"

"Probably not, right? Although Xiao Yan's strength isn't bad, I don't think it can compare to Qian Yun's. The fact that he's kept an undefeated record is just because his luck has been good enough!"

On the other side, upon hearing his name called, Lin Yun, the chief disciple of the Heavenly Fall Sect, instantly erupted with momentum. His figure flashed, and he slammed down onto the dueling platform like a meteorite, the domineering aura radiating from his body making everyone's heart tremble.

Unlike Lin Yun's arrogance and domineering, Xiao Yan wore a faint smile on his face, then his figure swayed and likewise landed on the dueling platform.

In everyone's eyes, a showdown that held no surprises yet carried considerable significance was finally about to begin.

"Hahaha, my luck really is great!"

On the dueling platform, Lin Yun, the chief disciple of the Heavenly Fall Sect, looked at Xiao Yan, whose dragon-shaped phantom behind him was now nearly on par with his own, and said with a great laugh: "Earlier, the few of us were chatting, guessing who you, the lucky fellow, would run into first — never expected it would be me!"

"Xiao Yan, being the first to meet you is definitely my good fortune, but for you, it's bad luck!"

"But don't worry — to thank you for delivering so much dragon vein energy to me, when I make my move next, I'll definitely be clean and decisive about it. I absolutely won't let you take too serious an injury!"

And inside the chat group.

【Pang Bo: Didn't expect this Lin Yun to start putting on airs!】

【Han Li: I originally thought that unlucky bastard Mo Yan would be the first to run into Xiao Yan — never expected it to be this guy!】

【Yue Buqun: I recall that in the original work, this Lin Yun's performance was pretty pathetic too. He clearly had powerful strength, yet he threw the fight against Murong Qingcheng and ended up defeated by her — truly laughable!】

【Pang Bo: A toad wanting to eat swan meat! This guy's a complete clown. Xiao Yan, Henhendi Sect him a good beating, and wake him up from his daydream while you're at it!】

【Han Li: Actually, I think you'd better go easy, Xiao Yan, or you'll scare the others!】

【Xiao Yan: Enough talk, it's finally my turn to show off — watch closely, everyone!】

"Lin Yun, I'm really glad to run into you!"

Xiao Yan said with a smile: "In my previous fights with the others, I never got to fight freely. Your strength is far greater than theirs, so I don't have to worry about hitting too hard and killing you!"

Hitting too hard and killing Lin Yun?

The surrounding crowd, upon hearing Xiao Yan's words, couldn't help but all slightly freeze.

And Lin Yun, facing Xiao Yan, also froze for a moment, then instantly flew into a rage.

"Xiao Yan, you're far too arrogant!"

Lin Yun roared furiously: "You're nothing but a guy with decent luck who got lucky and won his way here — I've never even considered you an opponent! Hit too hard and kill me? I'll show you my strength right now!"

The instant his words fell, a glint flashed through Lin Yun's eyes, carrying within it the conceptual intent of a meteorite falling from the heavens, and it pressed ferociously toward Xiao Yan.

At the same time, Lin Yun let out a great shout, and a dark-red flame-wreathed iron spear instantly appeared in his hand. He then leveled the spear and charged straight at Xiao Yan.

"Four Heavens-Fire Spears!"

As the first spear shot out, the dark-red flames instantly began spinning wildly, transforming into streaks of flame threads that shot toward Xiao Yan. The searing temperature even ignited the fire-attribute Yuan Qi in the air!

Watching Lin Yun's terrifying attack, Xiao Yan couldn't help but slightly freeze.

"You dare play with fire in front of me? Be extinguished!"

Xiao Yan's mind stirred, and threads of flame flashed through his eyes.

Then, accompanied by a puff, the terrifying flame threads were instantly snuffed out.

At this moment, Lin Yun's remaining three spears came surging in — each one more ferocious than the last, each one faster than the last. Even without the burning flames, they still carried the power to split mountains and crack stone.

"Now that's a little more interesting! Flame-Dividing Stacked Wave Ruler!"

A black iron ruler instantly appeared in Xiao Yan's hand, and he unleashed an Earth-tier Dou Technique he had learned from his teacher, Yao Chen.

Although his strength was suppressed to the equivalent of the peak of the Embracing Yuan realm, when this Earth-tier Dou Technique was unleashed, it still carried world-shaking might, instantly completely shattering Lin Yun's Four Heavens-Fire Spears — and even swept toward his opponent with its remaining force.

The spectators outside, upon seeing Xiao Yan unleash such a terrifying attack, couldn't help but freeze, then quickly exchanged glances.

"Heavenly Fall Strike!"

On the other side, seeing his attack instantly shattered by Xiao Yan, Lin Yun was shocked, but he once again unleashed another of his ultimate moves.

He was seen taking a deep breath, channeling all his true Qi completely into the iron spear in his hand, then fusing man and spear into one. In an instant, he charged at Xiao Yan with an unstoppable momentum.

Under this strike, the younger generation standing closer to the dueling platform were all affected by a trace of its conceptual intent. Some of the weaker ones even felt as though massive meteorites had appeared in the sky, crashing down toward them.

"Lin Yun has finally brought out his ultimate move!"

"Qian Yun was defeated by this very move earlier!"

"I wonder if that Xiao Yan can block this strike!"

The watching crowd outside all grew excited at this moment.

Among Embracing Yuan realm martial artists, there were probably hardly a few who would dare claim they could take on Lin Yun's ultimate move.

But just then, Xiao Yan merely gave the black iron ruler in his hand a slight sweep, and Lin Yun's domineering strike crumbled.

Then...

"Eight Extremities Collapse!"

Xiao Yan's figure swayed, and his entire body slammed into Lin Yun in an instant, sending Lin Yun flying dozens of meters away.

Pfft!

As he rapidly retreated, Lin Yun violently spat out a mouthful of fresh blood, and the conceptual intent surrounding his body was completely shattered.

"What?"

"Lin Yun actually fell at a disadvantage? How is that possible?"

"How could Xiao Yan's strength be this strong?"

The onlookers outside were instantly dumbfounded.

They hadn't expected that even after Lin Yun had unleashed his ultimate move, it was still broken by Xiao Yan.

But just when everyone thought Lin Yun was about to be defeated by Xiao Yan's hand...

"Xiao Yan, I never expected your strength to be this powerful—stronger than even the top ten seeded contenders!"

Having steadied himself, Lin Yun gave a light flick with his right hand, quickly gathering the blood that had sprayed out together: "Blood Flame Break!"

The instant the words fell, the ball of fresh blood in Lin Yun's hand instantly transformed into a blood-colored spear tip, shooting straight toward Xiao Yan.

Whoosh!

The blood-colored spear tip was extremely fast, appearing before Xiao Yan almost instantly, then transforming into a sheet of blood-colored flames that grew with the wind, completely engulfing Xiao Yan in an instant.

And seeing his ultimate move engulf Xiao Yan, a smile finally appeared on Lin Yun's face: "Actually, this move was originally something I had prepared specifically for Sikong Sheng. Being defeated by this move is your honor!"

But just then, a voice once again rang out from within the blood-colored flames.

"Lin Yun, I just warned you already—don't play with fire in front of me!"

Within the wrapping of blood-colored flames, Xiao Yan merely extended one hand, and the surrounding blood-colored flames instantly converged toward his palm, quickly reforming into a ball of blood-colored flame.

"This flame is rather interesting!"

Xiao Yan felt the might of the flame in his hand, then looked at Lin Yun and said: "Since you think you can defeat me, then take another strike from me!"

At a thought from Xiao Yan, a wisp of cyan flame once again appeared in his hand—it was precisely the Blue Lotus Earth Core Fire from before it had fused with the Falling Heart Flame.

Then, the cyan flame and the blood-colored flame slowly rose, quickly fusing together before Xiao Yan, forming a strange lotus woven of cyan and blood-red.

"Go! Buddha's Fury Lotus!"

Xiao Yan waved his hand lightly, and that strange lotus instantly shot explosively toward Lin Yun.

(End of chapter)