Chapter 99: The Cunning Xiao Yan

Hearing Hai Bodong's question, Xiao Yan beneath the black robe merely smiled faintly, gripping the Xuan Zhong Ruler, slowly descending from the air to the ground, then storing the Xuan Zhong Ruler back into his storage ring.

His keen Soul Force allowed Xiao Yan to discover that Hai Bodong no longer had any Battle Intention, and even the circulation of his Dou Qi had slowed considerably.

The facts were indeed so—after a bout of close-quarters Battle and mutual probing, they found that if Xiao Yan forced his way to escape, Hai Bodong, with only the strength of a Dou Ling, might not even be able to fly faster than Xiao Yan.

Coupled with the suppression of the Ten Thousand Beast Spiritual Flame over his icy Dou Qi, even though Hai Bodong's Dou Technique was practiced and his Dou Qi higher, he still could not keep Xiao Yan.

"Hai Lao has sharp eyes—this really is a Heavenly Flame." Xiao Yan did not conceal it in the slightest; what could suppress Hai Bodong's icy Dou Qi, the answer was already practically self-evident.

Xiao Yan was fairly satisfied with this Battle of his; to defeat a former Dou Huang when he himself was only a One-Star Grand Dou Master was unrealistic no matter how one thought about it.

But at least Xiao Yan now knew he had the strength to fight a Dou Ling. If the opponent was an ordinary low-level Dou Ling, whose Cultivation Method was not Arcane-Rank High-Level, and who did not know Earth-Rank Dou Techniques, Xiao Yan even had the confidence to defeat him.

He now had a certain judgment of his own strength.

Hearing Xiao Yan's admission, a somewhat panicked thought flashed through Hai Bodong's mind: "Could this kid be someone from those Factions?"

Hai Bodong had once been a Dou Huang powerhouse, and he had also tried flying out of the Jia Ma Empire to the more central regions of the Dou Qi Continent, where he had seen Disciples of the continent's top Factions.

Those top Factions, to say nothing of Earth-Rank Cultivation Methods, were rumored to even possess Heaven Grade Cultivation Methods; Dou Zong powerhouses that the Jia Ma Empire did not have were not uncommon in those places.

Shocked by those terrifyingly powerful transcendent Factions, he could no longer maintain his composure.

Moreover, Xiao Yan had said at the very beginning that he was collecting those Residual Maps only because of an organization's orders.

Hai Bodong naturally did not know that Xiao Yan was merely intimidating him, but it was precisely this intimidation that forced Hai Bodong to be cautious.

"Sigh, I never thought that after living in seclusion here for over twenty years, today I would be made to look so wretched by a Grand Dou Master. Truly a little pathetic." Hai Bodong's voice carried a touch of bleakness.

Then his tone suddenly shifted, and gazing at Xiao Yan he said lightly: "Kid, is this piece of Residual Map very important to you?"

Xiao Yan was silent for a moment, then nodded.

Seeing Xiao Yan nod, Hai Bodong smiled smugly and said: "Look closely at that Residual Map—it is only half of it. After I obtained the Residual Map, I spent over ten years before finally splitting it into two halves; the other half I hid in a place no one knows."

Xiao Yan's heart trembled; he opened his palm, picked up the Residual Map and discovered that one of the four edges of the picture was very fresh, completely different from the other three edges—clearly the trace of having been cut not long ago.

Upon getting this result, Xiao Yan's expression became a little ugly and unfriendly. He had thought he had picked up a treasure, but he hadn't expected it to be only half.

"Hehehe, kid, I don't care what Faction you come from, how high your talent is, or how formidable your master is. I, Hai Bodong, have no sons, no daughters, no kin, no ties; having been sealed and my Dou Qi dropped to Dou Ling strength, I don't have much longer to live anyway. If I don't want to talk, no one can force me." Hai Bodong said with a face full of smug mockery.

After a moment of silence, Xiao Yan not only did not utter any threats, but instead took off his Hood, revealing a youthful, tender face.

With a gentle smile, he shrugged and said: "Hai Lao, if you have something to say, feel free to say it directly; no matter how precious a thing is, it should have a price, right? I don't think Hai Lao would say these things just to deliberately anger a kid like me."

Xiao Yan was also clever; he knew an old fox like Hai Bodong would not deliberately say spiteful words to anger him. Moreover, from Hai Bodong's words, Xiao Yan could be certain that Hai Bodong already believed Xiao Yan came from some major Faction with someone backing him.

If Hai Bodong truly feared no death, then Xiao Yan's dozen-plus years would have been lived in vain—no one does not fear death, and no one would die for some unknown Residual Map.

The reason Hai Bodong said this had only one purpose: to play hard to get, to drive up the price, to sell at a good price.

Xiao Yan naturally saw through exactly what trick Hai Bodong was playing, so he did not hide anything either, and simply showed his true face.

Seeing Xiao Yan's youthful, tender face, Hai Bodong's heart jolted—this looked like a child of only a dozen or so years!

He exclaimed in admiration: "You really are a monster; which Faction could possibly cultivate such a little monster? In less than ten years, you'll likely dominate the entire Jia Ma Empire."

Hai Bodong knew the strongest in the Jia Ma Empire was a Nine Star Peak Dou Huang, which meant Hai Bodong felt Xiao Yan would surely become a Dou Zong within ten years!

Xiao Yan neither confirmed nor denied, spreading his hands, and said lightly: "Hai Lao, you wouldn't be trying to dig into my background, would you?"

After pondering for a while, Hai Bodong asked very seriously: "Since you possess a Heavenly Flame, are you an Alchemist?"

"Mm, although my Rank isn't high, I can still be called an Alchemist." Xiao Yan said modestly.

"Which grade?"

"About Four Grade Bloodline."

Hearing Xiao Yan's Alchemist Rank, Hai Bodong's eyes dimmed slightly. Having keenly noticed this, Xiao Yan frowned lightly and asked: "Hai Lao, you wouldn't be thinking of having me help you with Pill Alchemy to break the Flame Sealing of the Mei Du Sha Queen, would you?"

Hai Bodong nodded and said: "Mm, over these twenty-plus years I have found a Pill Formula that can break this kind of Flame Sealing."

Xiao Yan said with a look of exasperation: "Hai Lao, as far as I know the Mei Du Sha Queen's strength is that of a Sixth Rank Peak Demon Beast; the Flame Sealing she cast that could seal you for twenty years cannot possibly be an ordinary Flame Sealing. To break the special Flame Sealing technique of a Sixth Rank Demon Beast, you would need at the very least a Six Rank Pill of the same Rank. Wouldn't it be better to go to Gu He?"

"He can't do it. The first condition of the Pill Formula I found is that it requires a Heavenly Flame; I know Gu He does not have a Heavenly Flame." Hai Bodong sighed—if it were that simple, he wouldn't have been sealed for over twenty years.

"You possess a Heavenly Flame, and I was thinking of asking you to seek help from the Faction behind you to refine it." Hai Bodong said.

Xiao Yan's eyes shifted; he understood Hai Bodong's meaning. But the problem was, what Faction was behind Xiao Yan? Soul Sovereign couldn't really be called a Faction; Soul Sovereign was more like a company. You work for it, it pays you; Soul Sovereign takes orders from the Yao Clan, and Xiao Yan wasn't a member of the Yao Clan.

The Yao Clan, the Yao Clan—these were the true family Factions.

However!

It just so happened that Xiao Yan really did have a way to break the Flame Sealing!

Back then, Yun Yun had been struck by the Flame Sealing of the Amethyst Winged Lion King, and it was Xiao Yan who relied on the Swallowing Flame to directly devour the Flame Sealing!

Moreover, Mao Wu was now much stronger than back then; although the Mei Du Sha Queen was a Sixth Rank Peak Demon Beast, Xiao Yan believed the Swallowing Flame could likewise devour the Flame Sealing—it was only a matter of how long it would take.

Xiao Yan didn't need to refine any Elixir at all; relying directly on the Swallowing Flame, he could help Hai Bodong break the Flame Sealing.

Hai Bodong probably never dreamed in his sleep that the eighteen-year-old youth before him actually possessed a sub-flame of the Swallowing Flame, ranked second on the Heavenly Flame Ranking!

"If this matter is handled well, perhaps I can make a big profit." Xiao Yan, that profiteer, had already begun scheming in his heart—how to squeeze Hai Bodong dry!

(End of this chapter)