Chapter 330: Having My Former Demeanor

"Could the Yan Alliance be a new power backed by your Tian She Mansion?"

Hearing the Shi Ming Sect Master's question, She Tianhao smirked and said, "Master Shi Ming, you're joking—our Tian She Mansion merely has some ties with the Yan Alliance."

"Oh?" Not only did the Shi Ming Sect Master's eyes flicker with doubt, but even the leaders of other sects wore strange expressions.

Given that the Yan Alliance's strongest member is only a One Star Dou Zong, with the rest being Dou Huang or even Dou Wang, their strength barely qualifies as top-tier—essentially equivalent to the Yun Lan Sect when Yun Shan first broke through to Dou Zong.

Such strength could never have any real ties with a dominant power like the Tian She Mansion; moreover, from She Tianhao's expression and gaze, it seemed the two sides were actually at odds.

"Is that the Snake Tribe? The Yan Alliance… I recall there was a report once saying the Jia Ma Empire and the Snake Tribe formed an alliance, establishing a new faction—could this be that Yan Alliance?" said a tall man, seemingly no older than forty or fifty.

This man was Ting Hao, the Sect Master of the Thunder Sect and the Tian She Mansion's greatest rival; he wore a silver robe embroidered with lightning patterns, from which faint thunderous energy subtly radiated as he spoke.

His cultivation realm was also Star Seven Dou Zong.

Hearing Ting Hao's words, some of the leaders present finally understood the reason—it was because of the Snake Tribe.

After all, everyone knew the Tian She Mansion's longstanding feud with the Snake Tribe ruled by Mei Du Sha; the Tian She Mansion had always sought to devour the Snake Tribe and unify the entire Northwest Region.

As the men spoke, the temperature of the VIP seating suddenly rose several degrees, and everyone turned their gaze to the sky.

Even Xiao Yan far away sensed it, slowly looking up at the two figures in the sky; then, to everyone's shock, a mass of blazing fire wrapped around two people, flames soaring hundreds of meters high like a colossal fire dragon roaring as it spiraled forward, crashing down with a boom onto the VIP seating.

"Hah! I'm late this time."

The tornado instantly dissolved into countless specks of light, scattering away, while the two figures slowly descended from the sky and landed on their seats.

The two figures were an old man and a young one; the young one was the speaker—Gu Tong, the Sect Master of the Gu Bone Sect; though he looked no older than an eleven- or twelve-year-old child, his age surpassed everyone present.

It was said that Gu Tong once entered an ancient Alchemist's Ruins, where he not only obtained a powerful Alchemist legacy but also acquired an Eighth-Grade Elixir that completely transformed his body into one perfectly suited for Spirit Refining.

But the side effect of this Elixir was that as his body and age grew, his development regressed; when he regressed back to infancy, his death would come—hence he now appeared only eleven or twelve years old.

Beside Gu Tong stood an elderly man, short and slight, dressed in coarse hemp robes, looking like an utterly unremarkable old man among the masses.

Yet when the leaders present saw this old man appear, they all rose and bowed respectfully.

"So it's Master Qiu Ping of the Qiu Family from Dan Domain! A pleasure to meet you," She Tianhao also shed his arrogance and respectfully raised his hand to the old man.

After all, Dan Domain in Zhong Zhou could be called the entire Dou Qi Continent's homeland of Alchemists, gathering countless Alchemists, and it was jointly controlled by five great families, one of which was the Qiu Family.

Qiu Ping merely nodded, saying nothing more—he had come only on Dan Tower's orders, to serve as a judge and to assess the Spirit Refining level of the Northwest Region's Alchemists; if any outstanding young talents appeared, he might recommend them to the Qiu Family for cultivation.

"Xiao Yan? What's wrong?" Yun Yun sharply noticed Xiao Yan's changed expression and asked.

"That's an Infernal Fire."

"Infernal Fire?!"

What could possibly draw Xiao Yan's attention? Not the Qiu Family or Gu Tong—even though both were Seventh-Rank Alchemists, to Xiao Yan they meant little.

What truly caught his eye was the flame just now displayed by Gu Tong—the one resembling a fire dragon; if Xiao Yan hadn't misread it, that was Feng Nu Long Yan, ranked eighteenth, one level above Qing Lian Di Xin Huo!

Extremely rare, born in the heart of ancient desert fire tornadoes, it manifests as a swirling vortex that fuses wind and fire into a dual-element Infernal Fire.

Instantly, Xiao Yan smiled—half a year ago, after absorbing You Ming Du Huo, the Fen Jue had only slightly improved without upgrading; if he could refine Feng Nu Long Yan too, perhaps it might elevate the Fen Jue to Heavenly Rank Intermediate.

Of course, Xiao Yan could only imagine it for now.

Even as a尊者 of the Hun Sect, acting here under so many eyes would be suicide—he lacked Dou Zun strength.

"Nalan Yanran is appearing."

Whether by cruel fate or deliberate arrangement by the Tian She Mansion, the Yan Alliance's first opponent turned out to be the Jin Yan Sect of the Luo Yan Empire, one of the Three Empires.

"That's Luoyan Hong, son of Jin Yan Sect's Sect Master Luoyan Tian; his cultivation realm matches Yanran's—both are Nine Star Dou Wang," said Jia Xingtian, his gaze sharpening as he looked toward a noble middle-aged man in golden robes on another peak—the very Luoyan Tian who had once kept the Jia Ma Empire awake at night.

Luoyan Tian sensed Jia Xingtian's gaze and frowned upon realizing Jia Xingtian had broken through to Dou Zong.

Previously, the Three Empires dared to gang up on the Jia Ma Empire because it had no Dou Zong; now that Jia Xingtian had broken through and allied with the Snake Tribe, Luoyan Tian's heart sank.

"This old devil really broke through to Dou Zong…" Luoyan Tian used voice transmission to his son waiting on the Arena Stage, sternly saying: "Hong'er, you cannot lose this battle. If you lose to the Yan Alliance, given Chu Yun Empire's current state, it might surrender to them—and then our Luo Yan Empire won't fare well."

This was the influence of the Sect Grand Meeting—the greatest impact fell on factions and empires lacking even a single Dou Zong.

These second-tier sects always acted according to the strength of the powerful; just now, with constant friction between the Yan Alliance and the Three Empires, weaker sects and even other factions within empires had to choose sides.

If the Jin Yan Sect suffered a crushing defeat at the Sect Grand Meeting, it would trigger a chain reaction—the most terrifying outcome being internal division within the Luo Yan Empire, with sects flocking to join the Yan Alliance.

Long ago, Mei Du Sha's Lu She Tribe joined the Tian She Mansion simply because the Tian She Mansion was too powerful.

The Sect Grand Meeting served as a platform for weaker factions to clearly see the balance of power, allowing stronger ones to absorb them without bloodshed.

Luoyan Hong glanced at Nalan Yanran across the arena and smiled: "Don't worry, Father. Nalan Yanran is barely Nine Star; I'm already Nine Star Peak. Besides, I have your personally forged Tian Jiu Feng Yan Yi—this battle, I will win."

As the Snake King on the Arena Stage shouted "Begin!", Luoyan Hong instantly erupted, unleashing his Nine Star Peak Dou Wang spiritual pressure; the moment his jade-like, exquisite goose wings unfurled, many sect geniuses present changed expression.

"That's the flying wings forged by Luoyan Tian!"

"They say it's the Jin Yan Sect's secret technique—its Sect Master relies on this Dou Technique to move faster than even high-level Dou Zong, despite being only Two Star Dou Zong."

With wings unfurled, Luoyan Hong's figure vanished instantly—his speed was beyond the naked eye's tracking.

"Nalan Yanran, you've merely inherited your sect's legacy, but my Jin Yan Sect's Tian Yan Jiu Xing Yi is peerless under heaven—among all Dou Techniques, speed is supreme! Before absolute speed, all else is futile!"

Luoyan Hong's voice echoed from all directions—audible, but invisible; such speed surpassed even low-level Dou Huang, let alone Dou Wang.

The Jin Yan Sect's domination over the entire Luo Yan Empire was no accident.

"Huh? That's a Flying Dou Technique?" Xiao Yan rubbed his chin—he'd obtained two scrolls of Flying Dou Techniques, but the method to forge them had been lost.

"Could the Jin Yan Sect possess the secret technique to forge Flying Dou Techniques?" Xiao Yan blinked—unexpectedly, the Jin Yan Sect held this lost ancient method.

"Yes, the Tian Yan Jiu Xing Yi technique of the Jin Yan Sect must be the secret method for forging Flying Dou Techniques—and not just any method; I've seen Luoyan Tian's Tian Yan Jiu Xing Yi before—his speed was truly beyond measure," Jia Xingtian sighed helplessly; though the Jia Ma Royal Family had some treasures, none compared to this.

Yun Yun covered her mouth and smiled lightly, gazing at Nalan Yanran in her Yun Lan Sect robes: "Too bad he's facing the wrong opponent."

On the arena, Nalan Yanran shook her head: "Your speed isn't even close to his."

Qing! Nalan Yanran slowly drew her Yun Sha Black Sword; the blade scraped against its scabbard, its chime ringing continuously.

As the sword emerged, her gaze turned sharp and chilling: "I'll give you one chance to surrender—otherwise, my blade draws blood."

"Hahaha! Save your dreams for sleep!" Luoyan Hong would never surrender—his forte was counterattack.

Evade with absolute speed, then strike the vital point in one fatal blow!

This wasn't a friendly sparring match at Jia Nan Academy—it was the Sect Grand Meeting; victory could mean death!

Nalan Yanran's eyes instantly turned icy, and her combat qi surged within her.

At this moment, the others also held their breath; Nalan Yanran was well-known throughout this region of the West District, having received Yun Potian's legacy, her name renowned far and wide—her sword was swift, each strike drawing blood, often killing with a single cut.

She was even more famed across the Three Empires!

A flash of cold light—between spark and lightning—Nalan Yanran drew her sword; this strike was too fast, like chasing light and snatching thunder, so swift that no one could discern how she had drawn it—a single slash of thunder.

Puff—a forearm shot high into the air, along with a section of wing; one clean cut, not a trace of hesitation.

Xiao Yan nodded and said, "Not bad, not bad—you've got a tenth of my old flair."

(End of Chapter)