"However, there is no point in saying these things now. After all, the three-year agreement has already been set, and the news has spread widely throughout the Jia Ma Empire."
Yun Yun's expression turned solemn as she released a trace of Dou Emperor aura and said seriously, "Yanran is my disciple. Even if she did this wrong, she can only continue down the wrong path."
As one of the few Dou Emperors in the Jia Ma Empire, she still had to care about face when going out.
"The outcome of this matter can only be decided by you yourselves through victory or defeat. I believe you, Xiao Yan little friend, think the same." Yun Yun used provocation.
"Of course!" Xiao Yan clenched his fists tightly and answered immediately. "The humiliation Nalan Yanran brought to my Xiao family a year ago — I will personally take it back."
"This sect leader will be waiting for you at the Misty Cloud Sect."
A trace of appreciation appeared in Yun Yun's eyes. "This sect leader can promise that this match will be absolutely fair. If you win, I will absolutely not make things difficult for you or the Xiao family. But if you lose, there will be no compensation or apology that should have been given. Even if Yanran is willing, this sect leader will not allow it."
"No need." Xiao Yan's eyes were extremely firm as he said word by word, "What I cannot take back in the match, I would rather not have as private charity."
Yun Yun had no intention of engaging in verbal sparring with Xiao Yan. She withdrew her aura and looked at Xiao Ting, saying privately, "Xiao Ting, Yanran is young and cannot represent my Misty Cloud Sect. This sect leader came in person. I believe you can see that clearly and will not miss the opportunity to acknowledge Pill King Gu He as your teacher because of this."
In the Jia Ma Empire, if someone could acknowledge Pill King Gu He as their teacher, it was normally impossible to refuse.
Xiao Zhan and several elders all looked at Xiao Ting with expectant faces.
Yun Yun had personally come to "apologize" and invited Xiao Ting to join the Misty Cloud Sect.
Once the news spread, the face the Xiao family had lost a year ago could be regained. The benefits were real.
"Sect Leader Yun Yun, the conditions you offered are very tempting, but I still want to go to Jia Nan Academy." Xiao Ting spread his hands and said in a lazy posture, "Pill King Gu He is very good, but I cannot become a pill refiner. He is not suitable to be my teacher."
Yun Yun's heart immediately sank.
Xiao Ting seemed to have misunderstood her meaning, thinking she was finding him a teacher specifically for pill refinement techniques.
But anyone with a little common sense knew that a non-wood-fire attribute Battle Qi cultivator could not become a pill refiner.
"Don't misunderstand that I know he has pill refiner talent and then suspect that I can see the Journal." Yun Yun's thoughts turned rapidly.
She immediately said, "I naturally know you cannot learn pill refinement from Pill King Gu He. However, the lightning attribute belongs to the wood element in the five elements. Gu He, as a peak Dou King expert, is also skilled in combat. As a pill refiner, he has abundant resources. This is why I recommend you acknowledge him as your teacher."
"Gu He already has one pill refiner disciple. He once promised this sect leader that he would cultivate one or two disciples for the sect. This sect leader feels that it does not have to be a pill refiner. A cultivator more skilled in combat with lightning-fire Battle Qi attributes would also be good."
"But I would rather go to Jia Nan Academy." Xiao Ting's expression remained unchanged as he answered again: "Jia Nan Academy has Dou Ancestor experts. The Misty Cloud Sect does not."
"Jia Nan Academy has the renowned Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower on the continent, which is very suitable for my cultivation. The Misty Cloud Sect's cultivation environment is not suitable for me."
"Admittedly, acknowledging Pill King Gu He as a teacher can provide many resources — far more than joining Jia Nan Academy. But I prefer freedom."
"After graduating from Jia Nan Academy, one can return to the family to develop or venture out on the continent. But if I join the Misty Cloud Sect, from then on I will carry the label of the Misty Cloud Sect, right?"
At this point, Xiao Ting's tone became playful: "After all, even the family-arranged engagement of a disciple can be interfered with and canceled at will. Who knows — if I later become a disciple of the Pill King, you might force me to marry a princess to represent the sect in a political marriage, right?"
Hearing these words, Xiao Yan immediately began holding back his laughter. He felt that Xiao Ting was venting anger on his behalf.
While secretly delighted, he also worried that these words would provoke the Dou Emperor expert Yun Yun and cause her to fly into a rage from humiliation. He secretly observed.
Sure enough, Yun Yun's originally good expression became somewhat ugly. The atmosphere in the entire Xiao family discussion hall sank.
"Teacher, if Yun Yun makes a move, can you come out and handle it?" Xiao Yan injected Battle Qi into the Bone Flame Ring to contact Yao Lao.
"This old man has only recovered preliminarily. It is not suitable to directly fight with a soul body. Even borrowing your body, I can only exert a few percent of my strength." Yao Lao's answer made Xiao Yan's heart tighten.
But the next moment, if the occasion had allowed, he would have wanted to curse out loud.
"Taking you to escape is no problem. Deterring Yun Yun so she doesn't dare to act is also doable. After all, there is no deadly grudge between her Misty Cloud Sect and the Xiao family. She wouldn't offend a mysterious expert over a verbal dispute." Yao Lao laughed and said, "If it really comes to it, I can borrow Xiao Ting's body. With his current Dou Grandmaster strength, although the power this old man can exert is less than one or two percent of my peak, suppressing Yun Yun is not difficult."
Xiao Yan: "…"
"Besides, do you think your Brother Xiao Ting's little girlfriend is just for show?" Yao Lao continued, "If she is willing, tomorrow the Misty Cloud Sect would have to change its name to the Smoke and Disappear Sect. Your Brother Xiao Ting clearly has backing, which is why he dares to provoke Yun Yun with words."
"In terms of using relationships around him, Xiao Yan, you are not as open as Xiao Ting. You still have things to learn."
Xiao Yan: "Teacher, I don't have such good soft rice to eat either."
"Then you should look more at your own problems. Why can Xiao Ting do it, but you can't?" Yao Lao said with a sigh. "Back in the day, this old man was also popular with countless young ladies in the Central Plains. But for some reasons, I rejected them all. Xiao Ting actually has the same style as I did back then."
Xiao Yan: If I were the number one alchemist on the continent, I could also be popular with countless young ladies.
The master and disciple started chatting idly as if no one else was around.
Yun Yun closed her eyes for a moment.
After a simple exchange with the girls, Yun Yun opened her eyes again.
To outsiders, she simply looked angry and was deliberately exerting pressure. One could tell from the way Xiao Zhan and the others looked trembling.
"You have quite the nerve!" Yun Yun's voice was very soft, yet it exploded like spring thunder in everyone's ears.
"I've been like this since I was young," Xiao Ting retorted tit-for-tat.
He couldn't afford to have small courage.
Not to mention that he had Xun Er to back him up first.
The Little Fairy Doctor had run to Wu Tan City and been coincidentally encountered by him.
When he went to Rock Desert City for a stroll, Xun Er had happened to choose Qing Lin as a guide, and then the latter had proactively asked to become his maidservant.
He had heard for the first time that a Heavenly Flame could help find another Heavenly Flame, but Xun Er had indeed sensed the location of the Green Lotus Core Flame.
After coming out of the underground lava world, he had coincidentally run into Queen Medusa again. Because Ling Ying was there to hold the fort, she had been particularly easy to talk to.
Now, Nalan Yanran and Xiao Yan had a three-year agreement, and Yun Yun had happened to pass by and even said she wanted to take him as a disciple.
What did this indicate?
It indicated that he, Xiao Ting, was the Child of Destiny.
The Child of Destiny relies entirely on recklessness. Everything else depends on heaven's will!
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