Chapter 134: A Grand Spectacle!
At this moment, Xiao Yan's gaze, devoid of joy or sorrow, swept across the vast plaza, finally resting upon the beautiful woman atop the stone platform, who likewise cast her bright eyes over toward him.
The young man raised his head, fixing his eyes upon the woman. He spoke faintly, "Xiao Clan, Xiao Yan."
The plain, simple words drifted slowly across the great plaza. Within the arena, countless Yun Lan Sect disciples cast gazes carrying all manner of emotions toward the black-robed youth at the stone steps.
Among them were disdain, disgust, curiosity—and, of course, admiration!
Alone, emerging from a minor clan of mere Da Dou Shi—to actually dare face the Jia Ma Empire's hegemon-level power, the Yun Lan Sect, head-on!
This was not something an ordinary person could do!
"Nalan Clan, Nalan Yanran." Nalan Yanran looked at the youth before her with a complicated expression—this, her 'fiancé'!
She too had grown considerably over these past few years. Looking back now, her actions back then had indeed been somewhat rash. But if given another chance, she would still make the same choice.
She, Nalan Yanran, would absolutely not be bound by a mere scrap of an engagement contract!
Before meeting Jiang Yun, her goal had been to become a female Dou Huang like her teacher, Yun Yun. But after witnessing Jiang Yun, after glimpsing the geniuses from across the continent, after learning of the vast, broad horizons of the outside world—
her heart had already begun to grow discontent with the Jia Ma Empire!
'The world is so vast—she wanted to go out and see it!'
Nalan Yanran's graceful figure stood as tall and proud as a snow lotus of unyielding pride. Her bright eyes fixed upon Xiao Yan. Gradually, her complicated expression faded, and her voice became as calm as his.
At the main seat, Yun Yun raised a brow. Looking at this young man of extraordinary bearing, then glancing at her own disciple beside her, a trace of regret welled in her heart.
Had there been no annulment, he would not have been an unworthy match. Yet, toward Nalan Yanran's decision, she also did not believe it was wrong—only that the methods used in the process had been somewhat extreme.
With this thought, Yun Yun looked at Xiao Yan. A voice full of authority rang out: "Xiao Yan, the entanglement between you and Yanran shall be thoroughly resolved after today. As for the specifics of this duel, you two shall decide. I, and the Yun Lan Sect, will not interfere."
Beside her, Yun Lun furrowed his brows slightly, seemingly somewhat dissatisfied with Yun Yun's decision. But in such broad public view, he couldn't very well openly contradict Yun Yun, the Sect Master.
Most importantly, for some unknown reason, Yun Shan had recently ceased to pay much mind to his reports, seemingly having already begun to fully act as the sect's hidden, foundational expert.
Some time ago, he had even come forward on behalf of the imperial family to repel the allied armies of the Luo Yan Empire and the Mu Lan Empire. This left Yun Lun unable to gauge Yun Shan's true intentions.
Thus, during this period, he had been keeping a much lower profile!
"Life or death—each to their own fate?" Xiao Yan looked at Nalan Yanran and said flatly.
"A gutsy little fellow!" Jia Xingtian watched Xiao Yan with surprised eyes, offering a word of praise. Then, somewhat gloatingly, he added, "Now the Yun Lan Sect is likely in a tough spot. There'll be a good show to watch!"
Nalan Yanran's eyes lifted lightly, gazing intently at the black-robed youth. After a long moment, she nodded slightly. Her voice cool and clear: "Fine."
As her voice fell, cyan wind-attribute Dou Qi and crimson-red fire-attribute Dou Qi surged simultaneously. A nimble longsword and a heavy black ruler collided in a single instant. In the blink of an eye, Nalan Yanran and Xiao Yan were locked in combat.
"A Da Dou Shi! This kid's cultivation isn't bad at all!" Jia Xingtian watched the corporeal Dou Qi armor on Xiao Yan in the arena and spoke with some surprise.
To reach such an accomplishment at this age—within the imperial capital, aside from Nalan Yanran in the arena, there was likely no one else. Even the Mu Clan's Mu Zhan would fall a step behind.
At the same time, a faint trace of doubt rose in his heart. This person gave him a feeling... of familiarity!
As if he'd seen him somewhere before?
Within the arena, the battle between Nalan Yanran and Xiao Yan grew ever more intense.
Nalan Yanran had also now summoned her Dou Qi armor. The two sides traded blows back and forth. The sound of metal clashing against metal rang out without end. Cyan wind spirals and crimson Dou Qi collided and tangled.
Xiao Yan's cultivation was at a two-star Da Dou Shi. Nalan Yanran's was somewhat higher, at a five-star Da Dou Shi, bolstered by the Yun Lan Sect's support.
Nalan Yanran's equipment, while not of any particularly high grade, was still nothing to scoff at compared to Xiao Yan's at this stage.
Very quickly, the cyan wind spirals gained the upper hand. Xiao Yan's expression was grim and solemn. In this battle, he was fighting with his very life on the line. Yet Nalan Yanran, compared to him, did not fall into the slightest disadvantage. His ferocious, vicious, ruthless combat techniques couldn't gain the slightest advantage against her.
"That coffin-carrier's got some skill after all!" Zi Yan ate her melon seeds with great relish, offering a critique here and there.
"Of course, compared to me, he's still far off. At the same level of strength, someone like him—I could send him flying with a single punch!" Before the three could even answer, Zi Yan added with a face full of pride.
"Haha!"
Zi Yan's words immediately drew light laughter from the three. Jiang Yun smiled as he ruffled the top of Zi Yan's head. Lifting his head, his gaze turned toward the distance.
A familiar aura, bringing a large force of men, was rapidly approaching this way!
"It's about to be decided!" Suddenly, Zi Yan's surprised cry rang out as she abruptly straightened up, her face full of keen interest as she watched the arena.
Qing Lin and Xiao Yi Xian also cast curious gazes over at this moment!
Clang!
A sword cry abruptly rang out. Streak after streak of fierce, sharp sword energy howled forth, instantly shredding the Dou Qi armor on Xiao Yan's body and sending him flying.
"Xiao Yan, you've lost!" Nalan Yanran panted heavily, looking at Xiao Yan with a calm expression. In her eyes lingered a solemnity that hadn't yet faded. Although Xiao Yan only had the strength of a two-star Da Dou Shi,
those desperate, perilous fighting methods had made Nalan Yanran extremely uncomfortable. So much so that despite her higher cultivation, she had, for a time, actually been suppressed and beaten by Xiao Yan.
Fortunately, it now seemed she was still the superior one!
"Hah!" Suddenly, a wild laugh rang out. The fallen Xiao Yan abruptly leapt up. His right hand stretched out lightly. Red flame—poof—abruptly materialized under the gaze of the entire crowd.
Simultaneously, his cold voice rang out, "Nalan Yanran, this duel hasn't reached its final moment yet!"
"This is..." When that red flame appeared, to the ordinary Yun Lan Sect disciples, it meant little. But the elders, as well as Gu He and other experts atop the tall trees, all had their eyes abruptly fly wide open.
"Heavenly Flame?!" Gu He stared fixedly at the flame in Xiao Yan's hand, a trace of longing flashing through his eyes. This was the heavenly flame he had bitterly sought, yet failed to obtain!
"Lucky brat!" In the end, Gu He still suppressed the greed in his heart with a sigh. His gaze as he looked at Xiao Yan was complicated.
"Elder Gu He, are you certain that is a heavenly flame?" Yun Yun watched the flame in Xiao Yan's hand below, which radiated a startling aura. With some startled doubt, she asked Gu He beside her.
"Yun... Sect Master. It is indeed a heavenly flame. Judging by its form, it should be the Myriad Beast Spirit Flame, ranked twenty-second on the Heavenly Flame List!" Gu He had wanted to call her Yun'er, but seeing her furrowed brows, he immediately corrected himself and explained.
Nodding, Yun Yun cast a somewhat worried glance at Nalan Yanran. Xiao Yan now had the aid of a heavenly flame. This victory and defeat... was beginning to grow difficult to predict.
At this moment, her gaze was fixed tightly upon the arena. Should any mishap occur, she was ready to intervene at any moment.
Jia Xingtian, Nalan Jie, and Mu Chen, who were watching from afar, also abruptly stared at Xiao Yan, a trace of startled suspicion in their eyes.
"Was it him?" Past memories surfaced. Jia Xingtian now recalled the black-robed figure who had come to the imperial palace, claiming he could heal him. The two silhouettes, in this moment, overlapped heavily in his mind.
"Since you still won't admit defeat, let's settle this in one final move!" Her beautiful eyes staring directly at the tall, straight-backed youth below, Nalan Yanran drew a deep breath of air.
In the next instant, the longsword in her hand began moving at a speed so slow one could barely perceive it was moving at all. And as the longsword moved, the expanding ripples of energy grew ever more violent.
Xiao Yan, at this moment, beckoned once more. A blue flame appeared above his left hand. His gaze calmly watched Nalan Yanran's ever-sharpening sword momentum.
"Oh~ it still came out—the Flame Emperor's trump card, signature finishing move!" Watching the two flames in Xiao Yan's palm, Jiang Yun cast a curious gaze over, inwardly unable to resist muttering.
Amidst one startled cry after another, under Xiao Yan's manipulation, the two flames slowly drew closer. In the process, the fiery sprouts rippled violently, surging madly. The searing temperature climbed rapidly.
Suddenly, a red-and-blue light blazed brilliantly from his palm. On Xiao Yan's hand, a red-and-blue fire lotus slowly spun.
Raising his head to look at Nalan Yanran, Xiao Yan inhaled deeply. He abruptly flicked his finger against the fire lotus. In a soft, low murmur, he said, "Bearing three years of my fury—three years of humiliation—today is the day to end it all."
"Go. Buddha's Fury... Lotus Flame!"
As his voice fell, the cyan-purple fire lotus abruptly shot from his hand, transforming into a streak of light. Like a shooting star, it flew lightning-fast toward Nalan Yanran.
The moment the fire lotus left his hand, the energy upon the longsword was also fermenting to its peak state.
Nalan Yanran finally suppressed it no longer. Her pretty face solemn, along with a crisp, clear shout, the already eye-piercing sunlight upon the longsword abruptly swelled once more. For a moment, the intense light upon the sword actually obscured the blazing sun in the sky!
"Extreme Wind: Setting Sun Radiance!"
In the sky, as the delicate shout fell, the terrifying energy fluctuations finally erupted into violent motion. A sharp, fierce sword aura, from the sky above, as if descending from the heavens, shot toward Xiao Yan in overwhelming waves.
The razor-sharp aura tore through the very air. Mournful, miserable wails rang out in the air.
The hard stone floor, under the oppressive force of that sharp, fierce sword aura, actually splintered into crack after crack spreading to the very edges of the plaza.
"Boom!"
Amidst a thunderclap-like deafening roar, the moment the fire lotus and the sword aura made contact in the sky, they each released their own vast, mighty energies. Fire and wind tangled together. Energies of different attributes eroded and devoured one another—like heavenly thunder stirring earthbound fire, utterly unstoppable once begun.
For a moment, the intense light erupting in the sky completely overwhelmed the sun overhead, becoming a blazing, brilliant sun close at hand. Following closely behind, surging waves of air billowed outward, sweeping in all directions like a fierce hurricane passing through.
"All elders, heed my command! Form the defensive grand array! Do not permit the residual energy waves to spread!" Yun Yun sensed the might of the residual energy and abruptly let out a fierce shout, already shooting toward the center of the explosion.
The might of the pair's Dou Techniques was simply too great. The energy now erupting in the sky was not something even a Dou Ling could take lightly. If part of the residual waves were allowed to spread outward, the Yun Lan Sect disciples of Dou Zhe and Dou Shi level on the periphery would all suffer calamity, and part of the structures would be destroyed along with them.
"Yes!"
As Yun Yun's command was issued, energy barriers of every color rapidly spread outward, enveloping the entire plaza.
"It's that Xiao Yan who won!" At this moment, Zi Yan's gaze had already pierced through the surging waves of energy, seeing the scene within the arena. Somewhat reluctantly, she smacked her lips.
"That final Dou Technique of Xiao Yan's—even among Dou Lings, few could withstand it. Nalan Yanran's loss wasn't unjust!" Xiao Yi Xian, with her keen perception, offered her commentary.
"That move was indeed very formidable. How did he manage to fuse two flames in equilibrium? The flame control technique required for that—I'm afraid it's not something a Da Dou Shi could accomplish!" Qing Lin also spoke up, finally looking at Jiang Yun with a question in her eyes.
"Flame fusion?" Zi Yan tilted her head in thought, feeling it sounded somewhat familiar. She glanced at Jiang Yun.
"That's right. He cultivates the Burning Art." Jiang Yun nodded, then explained to Xiao Yi Xian and Qing Lin, who were unfamiliar with it.
"Then... should we kill him?" After listening, Xiao Yi Xian turned her head to look at Xiao Yan, her face brimming with a deadly, murderous air.
"Why on earth would I want to kill him?" Jiang Yun looked helplessly at Xiao Yi Xian. She was clearly no longer the Calamity Poison Girl—where did such killing intent come from?
"I see you're also collecting heavenly flames. Now he too is collecting heavenly flames. The heavenly flames in this world are finite. In the future, he's bound to become our enemy. Killing him now saves effort later!" Xiao Yi Xian reasoned as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
"Stop wanting to kill everything all the time. You're now a genius alchemist—you should be more about saving lives, healing the wounded. Besides, I still have some conjectures I want to verify. I have no intention of taking his life!" Jiang Yun lightly flicked Xiao Yi Xian's smooth, fair forehead and said gently.
"Got it." Clutching her forehead, Xiao Yi Xian pouted, looking at Jiang Yun all 'wronged and pitiful.'
At the same time, within the arena, Xiao Yan's Dou Qi was nearly completely exhausted. He could do nothing but curl up with an unsightly expression, sheltering behind the Black Xuan Ruler, relying on its sturdy frame to withstand the blast.
In the sky above the plaza, Nalan Yanran's situation was extremely dangerous. Powerless, she plummeted toward the ground without even the strength to evade. Fortunately, at the critical moment, Yun Yun rushed over, shielding Nalan Yanran and sparing her disciple from further secondary harm.
The intense light gradually dissipated. The energy slowly subsided. Dust and smoke permeated the entire plaza. Every gaze in the arena was fixed within that smoke, awaiting the final outcome.
"Young Sect Master..."
The smoke cleared. Gaze after gaze from the surroundings shot over. Nalan Yanran lay paralyzed in Yun Yun's embrace. Her cyan Dou Qi armor had dissipated. The moon-white robes on her body had been torn. The skin left exposed was now red, swollen, charred, and black.
Xiao Yan also did not appear to have had it easy. Most of the robes on his body were ruined. Every part of him bore scrapes and abrasions.
Yet still, by sheer tenacity of will, leaning on the Black Xuan Ruler, he swayed and tottered but adamantly refused to collapse.
With a complicated look in her eyes, Nalan Yanran glanced at Xiao Yan. From her bosom, she retrieved that annulment letter from back then. A somewhat hoarse voice rang out: "Xiao Yan... you win..."