Chapter 1022

I think those guys couldn't wait any longer; seeing that you, big brother, haven't made a move yet, they just went ahead and acted on their own.

In response to that question, the big guy's lips twitched a few times, then he lowered his head and spoke in a muffled voice.

"Acting on their own?"

Hearing that, the blue‑clothed man immediately flared with anger and said: "If next time I give an order that goes against the wishes of your Black Nether Army, will you also act on your own and just abolish me?"

"Or does that mean from now on I can only follow your wishes, otherwise your Black Nether Army will act on its own and treat me as if I don't exist?"

"Is that so?"

By the end, the blue‑clothed man almost shouted his words.

This time, he was genuinely angered.

After all, no leader likes an army that disobeys orders and acts arbitrarily, or a group of subordinates who refuse to follow commands.

Especially when he, as the leader, is personally present on the scene, the other side dares to ignore him, blatantly deceive and do whatever they want.

In this situation, if he had the authority, he would probably have smashed the ringleader who defied his orders into meat paste!

"Big brother, calm down; things have come to this point, we can't easily change them. Let's first assess the situation, handle what's at hand, and after we succeed we'll consider how to punish those guys."

At that moment, the man in silver robes stood up, frowned slightly, and said.

"Hmph!"

Hearing that, the blue‑clothed man gave a cold snort, then gripped the window before him with his palm and stared coldly down at the stone platform.

After all, he knew that saying anything now would be of no real use.

The only option was to wait for the outcome of the match below.

At the same time, he prayed in his heart that Lin Feng would not avoid the fight, but would instead slip away, leave the tavern, and return to the side rooms.

Otherwise, all his preparations this time would be wasted.

And with the loud proclamation of the colored referee, the sound slowly echoed above the stone platform.

The announcement of the competitors' names instantly silenced the noisy crowd around the stone platform.

However, this silence didn't last long; soon, most of the people on the surrounding balconies had their eyes fill with strong curiosity.

Their gazes swept back and forth, trying to locate those two individuals.

After all, both of their reputations are extremely formidable.

One is the Third Commander of the Ancient Clan's Black Nether Army; the other, regardless of whether things have gone well or poorly, has nonetheless earned a formidable reputation in Zhongzhou.

Thus, the people around naturally have intense interest in this sparring match!

Meanwhile, Yao Chen and Qing Xiao were also stunned by this sudden turn of events, frozen in place.

But shortly after, upon seeing Xiao Yan's grim expression, they instantly understood.

Yao Chen furrowed his brows and said in a low voice: "I never expected that we would just have arrived at the Ancient Sacred City, not yet entered the Ancient Realm, and trouble would come knocking—but these people's methods are really too underhanded."

Given the shrewdness of these two old foxes, Yao Chen and Qing Xiao, it was obvious at once that the Ancient Clan side feared Xiao Yan would back out and refuse the match invitation.

So they simply decided, in front of everyone, to play a 'strike first, report later' trick.

After all, if Xiao Yan were to simply choose to retreat at this moment,

then later, upon entering the Ancient Realm, some members of the Ancient Clan could directly accuse him of being weak‑willed, bullying the weak and fearing the strong, and use that as grounds to attack him.

Under such pressure, Xiao Yan would likely yield to psychological stress and the blame of those around him, choosing to retreat and give up being with Gu Xun'er.

At the same time, if Xiao Yan chooses to spar with Yang Hao this time and loses,

then later, some members of the Ancient Clan will likely immediately use his lack of strength and inadequacy for Xun'er as an excuse to harshly strike him down.

"Damn it!"

At this moment, Xiao Yan's face was grim as he slowly rose to his feet, gnashing his teeth: "Fine, I don't like being constantly bothered. If I can kill a chicken to scare the monkeys before entering the Ancient Realm, that wouldn't be a bad choice. Since that so‑called Third Commander has volunteered to come up as that chicken, I'll take him!"

Recently, due to the affairs of the Flower Sect and the Starfall Pavilion, Xiao Yan has suffered successive blows, and his mood is now extremely terrible.

Now that a punching bag has literally delivered itself to his door, he will accept it no matter what.

Besides, he can't beat Lin Feng, so surely he can't handle you little shrimps!

Thinking this, Xiao Yan snapped his head around, his icy gaze shooting up to the balcony, where a blue‑clothed man had suddenly appeared shortly after the referee's words fell.

"Hehe, you're pretty perceptive."

Seeing Xiao Yan's gaze, the blue‑clothed man also smiled, showing no trace of fear; instead, a hint of cruelty curled at the corner of his mouth.

After all, he is a five‑star Dou Zun at the peak of his cultivation, whereas Xiao Yan, although he has now entered the five‑star Dou Zun rank,

but has only just broken through; when fighting an opponent of the same level, he, as a genius of the Ancient Clan, possesses many techniques.

Could he possibly lose to this fallen Xiao family's Xiao Yan?

"Third Brother, don't act rashly; go easy on him later. After all, no matter what, the opponent is still a member of an ancient family, even if that family is now extremely fallen, and we ourselves acted privately without authorization—if we cause too big a scene, we'll be in trouble later."

Seeing that smile on the former's lips, another Black Nether Army commander beside him furrowed his brows and then reminded him.

"Fifth Brother, rest assured; it's just a sparring match, I know my limits."

Having said that, Yang Hao gave a light smile and continued: "After all, no matter how you say it, the Xiao family once 'helped' us tremendously—not only did it instantly double the size of our Ancient Realm, but it also instantly elevated our Ancient Clan's foundation to a level that could suppress the Soul Clan; I won't make things too difficult for him. Of course, the precondition is that he knows his place."

Hearing that, the Fifth Commander's face instantly changed; he hurriedly interjected: "Third Brother, watch your words! If the clan's elders learn that you're spouting such nonsense outside, you're as good as dead!"

"Alright, Fifth Brother, you don't need to be so timid; after all, there are no elders here."

In response to that reminder, Yang Hao paid it no heed, merely waving his hand casually to indicate he understood.

As his final syllable lightly fell, without waiting for the Fifth Commander to continue speaking, Yang Hao's form flickered and he vanished from the top of the balcony.

The next moment, he appeared on the stone platform below.

After steadying himself, he smiled toward Xiao Yan's position and said: "Mr. Xiao Yan, I am Yang Hao, Third Commander of the Ancient Clan's Black Nether Army; I have long heard of your name. May I have the honor of sparring with you today?"

Whoosh!

As his words fell, everyone's gazes in the balcony snapped toward him at once, finally converging entirely on Xiao Yan standing by the window.

"Is he the Xiao Yan who was expelled from the Pill Tower?"

He doesn't look particularly young; although I heard he previously suffered several defeats at Lin Feng's hands, despite his young age he has already reached the level of an eighth-rank alchemy grandmaster, and coming from the impoverished Northwest Continent, he can also be considered a top-tier talent without a noble bloodline.

Yeah, it's said that the Xiao clan was exterminated by the Soul clan a thousand years ago. Moreover, the Xiao clan's Dou Emperor bloodline seems to have been exhausted. Even if there is some enhancement, it wouldn't be very noticeable. In fact, this so-called bloodline might not even be as good as that of some powerful factions from Zhongzhou with decent strength.

However, it's said that his teacher was the Medicine Venerable of the past, now the Medicine Saint, and he also has an excellent relationship with Qing Xiao and the three giants of the Dan Tower. Although he has recently been severely suppressed by the Soul Hall, even so, he is still not to be underestimated.

Hearing the many whispers around him, Xiao Yan paid no attention; instead, he calmly turned his head, directing his gaze toward the blue-clad man on the stage with a sinister smile, slowly rose to his feet, and said: "Since the three commanders insist on this, then I can only accompany you to the end."

Seeing that Xiao Yan did not retreat, Yang Hao's eyebrows slightly rose.

At the same time, the smile on his face grew even richer, and he then made an inviting gesture.

However, some observant people could notice that, in that instant, a flash of icy coldness swiftly passed through Yang Hao's eyes.

Be careful.

Regarding Xiao Yan's departure, Yao Chen and Qing Xiao did not stop him, merely giving a reminder.

After all, they knew that Xiao Yan, imitating Lin Feng a few months earlier, had produced that strange fire lotus battle technique.

They had tested the power of that technique before; when Xiao Yan unleashed it with full force, it already surpassed most low-ranking Heaven-tier battle techniques.

They believed that, with that as a trump card, plus the Heaven-tier battle technique previously given by the three giants who thought Xiao Yan's battle technique was insufficient, it would be enough to deal with Yang Hao.

Even though the latter is from the ancient clan that claims to be the number one power under heaven.

Hmm.

Hearing his teacher's reminder, Xiao Yan confidently nodded.

Afterwards, he stepped forward with his foot, and the space before him suddenly began to twist.

In the next instant, his figure appeared not far from Yang Hao.

"As expected of a descendant of the Xiao family, such courage is truly admirable."

Seeing the former step onto the stage, Yang Hao immediately glanced at Xiao Yan with a narrowed-eye smile and said with a sinister laugh.

Glancing at Yang Hao's face that wore a smile but not genuine, Xiao Yan knew that further words would be useless; he then stepped forward, and the vast battle qi within his body instantly surged forth like a flood covering the sky and earth.

"Come on."

As he spoke, the pale yellow strange fire within Xiao Yan's body instantly erupted, turning into a sea of flames that swirled around him.

"How terrifying the strange fire!"

Upon seeing the strange fire released by the former, the surrounding crowd immediately burst into successive exclamations.

Even some strong individuals, upon seeing Xiao Yan's strange fire at that moment, changed expression and became solemn.

After all, such a grade of strange fire is a rare sight even for them.

"Another powerful strange fire, although it cannot compare to Lin Feng's strange fire, it's hard to say whether it's stronger or weaker than my Scarlet Lotus karmic fire."

Upon seeing that pale yellow strange fire, Huo Zhi, seated by the window, instantly had a look of surprise appear on her pretty face.

Upon hearing that, the other three members of the Yan clan immediately nodded in agreement.

Being able to witness such powerful strange fire consecutively today is truly astonishing.

But shortly after, one of the four men shook his head and said: "Based on the earlier introduction, this Xiao Yan should be a member of the Xiao clan. I never expected that a clan whose bloodline has almost become waste could still produce someone comparable to a seventh-grade bloodline; it's truly unbelievable."

"However, this time the ancient clan invited the Xiao family's descendants; could it be that they've had a change of heart and are preparing to return the quota of the Tian Mu to the Xiao clan?"

As he spoke, a hint of curiosity involuntarily appeared in his eyes.

Upon hearing that, another man thought for a moment, then said: "I've heard that Xiao Xuan of the Xiao clan from a thousand years ago was also buried in the Tian Mu. Perhaps the ancient clan, seeing the Xiao clan's descendants grow, intends to let Xiao Yan visit Xiao Xuan's tomb in the Tian Mu to retrieve the Xiao clan's final inheritance."

As he spoke further, a hint of teasing also appeared on that man's face.

"Haha, you kid really love to joke. Back then, the ancient clan's closeness with the Xiao clan was based solely on the Xiao clan's strength. Later, when the Xiao clan faced the crisis of bloodline exhaustion, Xiao Xuan went all-in, gathering the entire clan's Dou Emperor bloodline to break through to Dou Emperor. The ancient clan, however, was the first to kick them when they were down."

"Otherwise, how could the Soul clan and our other major families possibly know when, where, and by what method the Xiao clan attempted to break through to Dou Emperor?"

Having just finished speaking, the third man couldn't help but shake his head and laugh.

Upon hearing that, the two men before also burst into cheerful laughter.

As top-tier geniuses of the ancient clans, they naturally know many things that ordinary people do not.

Back then, none of the seven great ancient clans wanted to see Xiao Xuan succeed in his breakthrough.

Otherwise, if the Xiao clan gained a new Dou Emperor powerhouse, their Dou Emperor bloodline would surge again—would they still have good days?

Therefore, back then their elders chose to stand by and watch when the Soul clan attacked the weakened Xiao clan.

At the same time, the ancient clan's peak Nine-Star Dou Saint Gu Yuan, the Eight-Star Dou Saint Black Nirvana King, and other Seven-Star Dou Saint-level ancient clan Three Immortals, together with numerous other strong warriors, joined forces.

They also didn't know why, but suddenly they couldn't overcome an Eight-Star Dou Saint-level Wu Nie Tun Yan.

Only after Xiao Xuan's death did Gu Yuan, due to losing his 'close friend,' suddenly 'awaken'; a single slap nearly drove Wu Nie Tun Yan to doubt his own existence.

In the end, left with no choice, Wu Nie Tun Yan could only drag his heavily wounded body back to the Soul clan in a sorry state.

"Hehe, you don't need to keep mocking; it's normal for the ancient clan to look down on the present Xiao clan. After all, friendship between clans is always based on roughly equal strength foundations."

"These years, if it weren't for some elders of the ancient clan opposing, they would likely have sent strong warriors to forcibly break open Xiao Xuan's tomb in the Tian Mu and take his spatial ring."

As he spoke further, Huo Zhi involuntarily shook her head, and amidst the slight sway of the gauze, she continued: "After all, the tomb of a peak Dou Saint expert is something even the ancient clan cannot resist!"

"Forget it, let's just keep watching the show. Anyway, the ancient clan wouldn't dare to seize our Yan clan's quota. As for the Xiao clan's quota, whether they keep it or return it to the Xiao clan has nothing to do with us. Rather than wildly guessing here, we might as well happily watch the match."

As Huo Zhi's cool voice just fell, the man sitting opposite her immediately shook his head and waved his hand with an indifferent expression.

Upon hearing that, the others also lightly nodded, then turned their gazes toward the two individuals on the stone platform below.