Domestic Zone: You already have a system, why join a chat group?

Chapter 175 The Xiao Family, Xiao Yan, comes to pay respects!

The next day, the team led by Jing Tian to protect the box and search for the pearl officially set off from Mount Shu.

Although it's unclear how the old Taoist Qingwei persuaded Xu Changqing, Xu Changqing followed along eagerly. As for whether he would be bewitched again like in the original story, that's not Russell's concern.

Three hundred days is neither a long nor a short time. In addition, he was only one step away from entering the Dragon Transformation Secret Realm. Therefore, Russell did not intend to join the trip to the God Realm. Jing Tian had his own path to walk, and he had his own trials to overcome. Everyone was busy with their own things, which was fine.

Of course, not going doesn't mean doing nothing.

He separated a thought and attached it to the Demon-Sealing Box, as a small surprise for Fuxi.

Time passed day by day, and Russell remained seated before the Tai Chi diagram, with three-colored light flowing around him, flickering and converging into an invisible river that circulated endlessly within the Wuji Pavilion.

According to the messages that Xu Changqing sent back from time to time, Russell also roughly understood the progress of the plot. This time, because Long Kui and Zi Xuan were no longer slowing down the mission, only three months had passed, and they had obtained the Earth Spirit Orb and the Fire Spirit Orb from the Ancient Vine Elder and the Fire Ghost King in succession. They were now heading towards Yunzhou.

At this rate, they might reach the Celestial Realm and unlock the final boss instance in less than 300 days.

In comparison, Xiao Yan's situation is much slower. He arrived in the capital a month ago, but there's still no news of him, and it's unclear whether he's even reached the Yunlan Sect yet.

In the world of Battle Through the Heavens, at the foot of Yunlan Mountain, Xiao Yan sneezed for no apparent reason.

"It must be that bastard Russell talking nonsense about me." Xiao Yan rubbed his nose, muttered to himself, and looked up at the snow-white mountain peak that pierced the clouds at the end of his vision.

The palaces and pavilions of the Yunlan Sect were built on the summit of that mountain. From the foot of the mountain, only some blurry outlines could be seen, like a celestial palace floating above the sea of ​​clouds.

Buildings of this scale would naturally be considered top-tier in a remote place like the Gama Empire in the Northwest Continent. However, Xiao Yan was a worldly man, and after just one glance, he withdrew his gaze and began to walk unhurriedly.

Above the sky, above the clouds.

Three streaks of light—one blue, one yellow, and one white—flashed by in an instant, leaving long trails in the sky. These were Hai Bodong, Jia Xingtian, and Fa Ma, the president of the Alchemist Guild of the Jia Ma Empire, all of whom were among the top ten strongest figures in the Jia Ma Empire. They, along with the patriarchs of many other families, had received an invitation from the Yunlan Sect to witness this three-year agreement.

"Is that Xiao Yan?" Gazing at the black-robed youth below, who carried a giant ruler and looked like an ascetic, Jia Xingtian couldn't help but look at Hai Bodong with curiosity: "This kid looks ordinary, so why do you think so highly of him? I heard you even gave him half of the Mittel family."

"Haha, who knows, maybe the Ice Emperor has taken a liking to this kid and wants to take him as his disciple." Fa Ma also chimed in with a joke.

In fact, the news of Hai Bodong's disappearance for decades was never a secret within the top circles of the Gama Empire.

A powerful Douhuang suddenly vanished from the face of the earth. Various forces searched for him for several years without success, and gradually assumed that he had perished.

Just when everyone was about to erase the name Ice Emperor from their memories, Hai Bodong not only suddenly returned, but also made a big show of promoting an unknown young man. The resources, connections, and wealth of the Mittel family poured into the black-robed young man named Xiao Yan like flowing water.

It's hard not to notice that.

Ha, what a short-sighted country bumpkin.

Hearing the words of the two beside him, Hai Bodong sneered inwardly, without offering any explanation. With a flap of his icy wings, a bright blue light shone from behind, and he transformed into a blue meteor, his speed increasing dramatically. He left Jia Xingtian and Fa Ma far behind and disappeared in the blink of an eye, leaving only a long trail of ice crystals in the air.

"This guy." Feeling the chill emanating from him, Jia Xingtian narrowed his eyes. "It seems that Hai Bodong has made considerable progress during his years of disappearance. He has probably already broken through to the Nine-Star Dou Huang realm."

"It's good that he has truly broken through; he can also keep the Yunlan Sect in check." Fa Ma glanced at the mountain peak deep within the Yunlan Sect, which was shrouded in layers of formations, and sighed softly. "Otherwise, if we wait until Yunshan emerges from seclusion, the Jia Ma Empire will have completely become the Yunlan Sect's backyard."

Yunshan — Upon hearing Fa Ma mention this name that he had deliberately forgotten, a look of solemnity flashed in Jia Xingtian's eyes.

Yun Shan was once at the peak of the Dou Huang realm, hailed as the most likely genius in the Jia Ma Empire in a century to break through to the Dou Zong realm. Now, so many years have passed, who knows if he's still alive or not?

If Yunshan truly breaks through to the Dou Zong realm, the格局 (geju, a term referring to the overall structure or landscape) of the Jia Ma Empire will be completely altered. The royal family? The three major families? The Alchemist Guild? They will be nothing in front of a Dou Zong.

"Forget it, let's not think about these things. Given the Yunlan Sect's nature of responding to gentle persuasion but not force, if Xiao Yan wins this time, he probably won't be able to leave so easily. When the fighting starts, both Hai Bodong's strength and Yun Shan's life and death will be witnessed."

Upon realizing this, Jia Xingtian and Fa Ma did not delay any longer. Their fighting spirit erupted almost simultaneously, following the trajectory of Shanghai Bodong's departure.

At the end of the long stone steps, shrouded in mist, lies a vast plaza, entirely paved with massive stones, exuding an ancient and grand atmosphere. In the center of the plaza stands a colossal stone tablet, inscribed with the names of past sect leaders of the Yunlan Sect and those who made great contributions to the sect. The most recent figure is the former sect leader, Yunshan.

The engravings are still fresh, only a few decades old. The strokes are sharp as swords, and every stroke reveals the spiritedness of the person who carved them.

Looking at the inscription on the stone tablet in front of him, Xiao Yan's lips curled into a cold smile. This time, he would see if the Yunlan Sect could still stop him.

Just then, a surge of azure Dou Qi appeared, and a white figure appeared in front of Xiao Yan.

"Elder Ge Ye." Xiao Yan nodded slightly as he looked at the newcomer.

He was familiar with this person; three years ago, when Nalan Yanran went to Wutan City to annul her engagement, this was the person who accompanied her.

At that time, he was just a useless young master with only the third level of Dou Qi, abandoned by his family and ridiculed by his clansmen, while Ge Ye was a high-level Dou Master who was a small realm higher than his father Xiao Zhan.

Three years have passed. Ge Ye has already reached the Dou Ling level, while Xiao Yan possesses several systems and his combat power is approaching that of a high-level Dou Wang.

Life is unpredictable; fate truly plays tricks on us.

"Xiao Yan, come with me. The young sect leader is waiting for you." Ge Ye looked at the young man in front of him, whose temperament was completely different from that of three years ago, and his heart was not stirred much.

In his view, the three-year agreement was nothing more than a farce that was destined to happen.

Even if Xiao Yan's talent is restored, so what? A full ten-year gap cannot be made up for by any fortuitous encounters or elixirs. He simply cannot imagine any possibility of catching up.

Following Ge Ye's steps, Xiao Yan arrived outside the arena. Looking around, he saw a circular staircase leading from low to high and from the inside out, with nearly a thousand people sitting cross-legged on it, all of whom were now looking at him.

Facing the Yunlan Sect members who had already noticed him, and the girl in a silver moon-colored robe sitting cross-legged in the center of the square, Xiao Yan took a deep breath.

"Xiao Yan of the Xiao family has come to pay his respects!"

The sound exploded from deep within his chest, like a thunderclap.

In an instant, the entire Yunlan Mountain Range was detonated.

The disciples of Yunlan Sect were not unfamiliar with this young man named Xiao Yan.

His relationship with Nalan Yanran and his three-year agreement with the Yunlan Sect made him a topic of conversation among many Yunlan Sect disciples.

Now that I've seen it with my own eyes, I'm quite disappointed.

How to put it—ordinary, ordinary from head to toe. There was no trace of cultivation on his body, not even the most basic battle qi gauze. He carried a giant ruler wrapped in several layers of coarse cloth on his back, looking clumsy and comical, showing no sign of being a strong person.

In the very center of the arena, Nalan Yanran slightly opened her bright eyes, her gaze lingering on Xiao Yan's face for a moment before she slowly stood up. She took out a long sword from her storage ring, her graceful figure standing tall like a proud snow lotus in the morning breeze, her clothes fluttering and her long hair flowing like a waterfall: "Nalan family, Nalan Yanran."

With everything ready, an elderly man in white robes, who was sitting at the head of the table, suddenly stood up.

His position was at the top of the circular staircase, directly opposite the central axis of the arena, offering the widest view of the entire arena. Naturally, the person sitting in this position must be the most noble person here. Since Yun Yun was not present, the person sitting here could only be Yun Leng, the Grand Elder of the Yunlan Sect.

"I am Yun Ling, the Grand Elder of the Yunlan Sect—"

Cloud Ridge!

Upon hearing this name, a fierce killing intent flashed in Xiao Yan's eyes. As for what Yun Leng was saying, it didn't matter. He had already decided that as soon as Nalan Yanran was defeated, he would strike first and kill Yun Leng.

"Why is this kid so murderous?"

On the stands, Hai Bodong was the first to notice that something was wrong with Xiao Yan.

Since taking the pill Xiao Yan gave him, he not only broke through the seal and greatly increased his cultivation, but his perception ability also improved significantly.

Following the direction of the murderous intent, he quickly locked onto Yun Leng, who was boasting.

That's strange. He's been following Xiao Yan since the desert, and all along the way, this kid has always been as calm and collected as an old monster. It's unprecedented for him to harbor murderous intent towards this guy. Interesting—

Hai Bodong's gaze lingered on Yun Leng for a second, and he grinned slightly. This was good; he had been worried about not finding an opportunity to deepen his connection with Xiao Yan.

Without any hesitation, Hai Bodong prepared a contingency plan for the upcoming events—

Whenever Xiao Yan initiates a group bet, he goes all in.

"Little Yanzi, rein in your killing intent. You're disturbing your master's sleep." Yao Lao's lazy voice rang out from inside the storage ring. Only then did Xiao Yan calm down. The surging killing intent in his chest slowly receded like the receding tide and sank into his dantian.

"Teacher, have you confirmed the location of the Soul Palace?"

"Don't worry, as soon as you enter Yunlan Mountain, I can smell their nauseating odor. Just go ahead and do your thing. Even if you punch a hole in the sky, I can fix it for you."

Hearing the protective tone in Yao Lao's voice, Xiao Yan felt a touch of emotion, but the next moment, Yao Lao personally destroyed that feeling.

"Speaking of which, this little girl in front of you is actually quite pretty, and she even has a master-disciple relationship with Yun Yun. Don't you really want to have a master-disciple meal together?"

"Teacher, please, please stop playing matchmaker!" Seeing his teacher acting inappropriately again, Xiao Yan had no choice but to beg for mercy.

He was genuinely afraid of Yao Lao's actions, fearing that he would get entangled with Nalan Yanran just like in the original story. He didn't even participate in the Alchemist Competition, and spent the time holed up in the Mittel family, never leaving the house, living like a well-bred young lady.

But to everyone's surprise, no matter how much you guard against it, it's hard to guard against a thief within your own family. Even staying at home, trouble can still happen. Half a month ago, when he and Ya Fei were chatting late at night, pollen from mimosa flowers inexplicably appeared in the air, which directly resulted in Xun'er having to wear another hat on her head.

He wasn't stupid. Once was a coincidence, twice was an accident, and three times could only be the work of someone. And there could only be one person who could commit such a big crime without anyone knowing.

So, after a day and a night of debate, he finally persuaded the old apothecary to stop drugging him and any of the girls on the list.

This is not only disrespectful to him, but also disrespectful to these girls.

The old man said that he was also helpless. He was just getting old and wanted to have more grandchildren. Old people like to see a house full of children and grandchildren and liveliness. However, since Xiao Yan had discovered it, he could simply stop using the drugging method in the future and use other methods.

On the field, Yunling finally finished announcing the rules, and the battle of the three-year agreement finally began.

"I will make my own decisions about my marriage. Even though three years have passed, I don't think I made a mistake back then. I have the right to choose my own destiny. Perhaps I made some inappropriate moves when I made the choice, but if time could go back, I think I would still do the same thing." Nalan Yanran said this while looking into Xiao Yan's dark eyes.

She had regrets, but her proud and aloof nature wouldn't allow her to back down first.

"I know," Xiao Yan said calmly.

"What?" Nalan Yanran was incredulous upon hearing the calm words from the other person.

She had imagined that Xiao Yan might refute her, might criticize her, might make sarcastic remarks, might even fight her. She was even prepared to be humiliated by Xiao Yan in public. But she never expected that Xiao Yan would be so calm.

"I said I know." Xiao Yan let out a soft breath and chuckled, "Marriage is a lifelong commitment. If it were me, and I had to marry a useless person who can't do anything, I'm afraid I would make the same decision as you, only in a less extreme way."

"I came here this time simply to put an end to this past event myself, nothing more."

The damage to his family from the annulment of the engagement wasn't actually as great as he claimed; his impulsive act was more a product of youthful impetuosity.

"So, let's begin. Consider this a friendly spar." Xiao Yan brandished the Xuan Heavy Ruler in his hand and laughed, "Don't cry if you lose."

"Afraid of you? You're the one who should be crying." Nalan Yanran snorted lightly. With all her psychological burdens lifted, a smile appeared on her face. As her fighting spirit surged, her whole body was enveloped in a whirlwind. She stomped her right foot on the ground, and wind-attribute fighting spirit exploded in her soles and back. She activated her explosive step and transformed into a streak of wind, stabbing fiercely towards Xiao Yan.

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