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Xiao Yan hesitated no longer and stepped into the Space Lock.
A wave of Spiritual Strength swept over his Soul Robe as he entered. Subsequently, a character 'Yan' ford by Spiritual Strength appeared on his robe.
Soul Envoys did not have titles; only those at the Protector rank and above were qualified.
A Protector's Soul Robe would not display their title when outside. Only upon entering the Hall of Souls would the title, written in Spiritual Strength, appear on the Soul Robe for convenient identification.
'There's quite a difference between the branch hall at the Misty Cloud Sect and this one in the Black-Corner Region,' Xiao Yan surveyed his surroundings. Compared to the branch hall built atop the mountain at the Misty Cloud Sect, this one was established on vast plains.
There were no obstructions as far as the eye could see. Apart from the colossal black Hall of Souls in the distance, there was nothing else, not even a single tree.
However, the branch hall in the Black-Corner Region was 'thriving with activity.' Visible to the naked eye were nurous black-robed Soul Envoys holding black chains, each binding a soul body.
So high-star Dou Spirits could produce soul bodies. Generally, Soul Envoys and Protectors without Soul Command Tokens would use Soul Chains as the standard thod to capture soul bodies.
These chains, forged using special thods, could not only seal Spiritual Strength to harm soul bodies but also make escape impossible once bound.
A large number of murders occurred every day in a chaotic and lawless place like the Black- Corner Region. Such a place was undoubtedly the favorite hunting ground for the Hall of Souls.
"Yan? A Protector!! Greetings to Protector Yan!"
Xiao Yan passed by a Soul Envoy preparing to head out. The Soul Envoy saw the title on his Soul Robe and imdiately dropped to one knee, bowed his head, and called out.
Hearing the exclamation, several small teams of Soul Envoys who were preparing to go out hunting soul bodies, or directly kill people to seize their souls, all turned to look at Xiao Yan.
When they saw the spiritual character on his Soul Robe, they too knelt down one after another, bowed their heads, and shouted:
"Greetings, Protector Yan!!"
Wherever Xiao Yan passed, those Soul Envoys who usually hunted soul bodies during the Black Storms all knelt and called out, losing their usual arrogance.
Xiao Yan said nothing and rely walked through the crowd, unhurriedly making his way to the grand doors of the Hall of Souls.
With a creaking sound, the doors opened automatically, and Xiao Yan stepped inside.
Those kneeling Soul Envoys finally stood up one after another when they saw Xiao Yan enter the Hall of Souls. Each of them revealed traces of fear and doubt.
"Isn't this branch hall under the charge of Protector Xuan? How is there another Protector here?"
"Perhaps it's a friend of Protector Xuan who happened to pass by."
"Yan... I wonder what rank this Protector Yan is and what he's here for."
There were also so Soul Envoys exchanging soul bodies for Soul Points inside the Hall of Souls. What surprised Xiao Yan was that this branch hall not only imprisoned a large number of soul bodies but even had a Dou Emperor-level soul body bound.
'Even a Dou Emperor's soul body... If it's a branch hall where a Heaven Grade Protector resides, wouldn't they even have Dou Ancestor-level soul bodies?!' Xiao Yan pondered inwardly.
'There are no alchemists here; perhaps it's because the Black-Corner Region itself doesn't have an Alchemist Association.'
Xiao Yan walked toward the innermost Soul Offering Altar while observing the situation of this branch hall. On the altar, an elderly man with a weathered face was sitting cross-legged, cultivating.
The Soul Offering Altar emitted waves of soul light. Xiao Yan sensed with his Spiritual Strength that these soul lights were condensed from tiny specks in the air. This was
equivalent to accelerating the cultivation of the Soul Training thod.
The old man slowly opened his eyes upon sensing Xiao Yan's arrival. "Yan? Are you a newly promoted Human Grade Protector of this branch hall?"
Xiao Yan sneered coldly and took out a Soul Command Token from his storage ring. A 'Heaven' character shot out from the token.
"A Heaven Grade Protector!! And possessing a Soul Command Token!!" Protector Xuan was so frightened that he hurriedly descended from the Soul Offering Altar.
"This subordinate didn't know of Your Excellency's arrival. Please forgive my lack of a proper welco." Protector Xuan imdiately bent his waist at ninety degrees, knowing when to yield.
He knew that generally, a Heaven Grade Protector who possessed a Soul Command Token was close to being promoted to an Honorable Elder. Only exceptionally outstanding Heaven Grade Protectors would be granted a Soul Command Token in advance.
"May I ask the purpose of Your Excellency's visit?" Protector Xuan forced out an ugly smile, slightly raised his head, and inquired.
Xiao Yan lowered his voice and said slowly, "Nothing much. I'm gathering so Soul Envoys to help attack a place."
Protector Xuan's expression changed dramatically upon hearing this. He stamred, "Could it be that Your Excellency intends to attack Jia Nan Academy?!"
Only Jia Nan Academy was qualified to make the Hall of Souls take action in the entire Black- Corner Region!
"It's not Jia Nan Academy. The place I want to attack is the Blood Sect. I need a high-star Dou Emperor and five Dou Kings."
"Blood Sect??" Protector Xuan looked puzzled. A re faction with a Dou Emperor-he could easily wipe them out himself. Why would a Heaven Grade Protector need to borrow people?
Xiao Yan had already thought of an excuse and calmly said, "The Blood Sect is hiding so things. I can't make a move casually, or it would arouse suspicion from other factions."
"So that's how it is. If Your Excellency doesn't mind, this subordinate is willing to contribute to destroying the Blood Sect."
Xiao Yan was overjoyed in his heart. Oh boy, the people of the Hall of Souls were really
accommodating.
He had initially considered asking Queen dusa for help, but thinking she might not be
willing, he ultimately chose to seek assistance elsewhere.
"Mm, if this matter succeeds, I will record it as a rit for you."
"Thank you, Your Excellency!"
...
Half a day later, at the location of the Blood Sect.
Within the Black Storm, the densely packed black-robed figures ford a terrifying force that caused Fan Lao's face to turn deathly pale. Especially when he saw Protector Xuan beside Xiao Yan-that sinister and ferocious face made his complexion almost as white as frost.
"A Dou... Dou Ancestor!!"
"Why is this happening? Just why!"
Great battles erupted daily in the Black-Corner Region. Even a Dou Emperor-level faction like the Blood Sect could be wiped out if they were careless.
But Fan Lao couldn't understand where he had erred to actually bring about the joint attack of a Dou Ancestor and so many experts!
When he saw Protector Xuan shatter the sect's protective grand formation with a single palm, Fan Lao realized that if they engaged in a frontal battle, the Blood Sect had no chance of
victory.
"Hand over that tattered cloth. It's not sothing you can possess."
Upon hearing Xiao Yan's words, Fan Ling and Fan Lao suddenly understood-they had offended soone they absolutely could not afford to offend.
The final outco held no surprises. Even though Fan Lao desperately tried to help his son break through and escape, there was no possibility in the face of the Hall of Souls'
encirclent.
Xiao Yan naturally did not sympathize with the Blood Sect. On his way here, he had seen just how vile the interior of the Blood Sect was. Their Qi thods were evil and heretical
techniques that required human blood to cultivate.
The interior of the Blood Sect was like a living hell.
Finally, Xiao Yan found the third fragnt of the Purifying Lotus Demon Fla map in the
secret chamber of the Blood Sect.
'Only one piece left...' Xiao Yan looked at the three map fragnts in his hand. Pieced together, they revealed that only the last corner was missing.
As long as he found the last map fragnt, he might actually be able to locate the Purifying Lotus Demon Fla before those Dou God Clans and obtain it ahead of them!
In the end, Xiao Yan tossed 10,000 Soul Points to Protector Xuan and returned to Jia Nan
Academy.
'With just 10,000 Soul Points, I can easily annihilate a Dou Emperor-level faction. The power
of the Hall of Souls is truly enough to make people lose themselves.' Xiao Yan shook his head, deeply understanding the terrifying nature of the Hall of Souls. No wonder those Soul Envoys desperately capture soul bodies to advance to Protectors, and Protectors strive to ascend even
higher.
With a light flick of his storage ring, a cold jade brocade box containing the Yin-Yang Mysterious Dragon Pill and a scroll of its pill recipe appeared in his palm.
'Why is there a recipe for the Yin-Yang Mysterious Dragon Pill in the storage ring? What is the relationship between the person who refined this pill and the owner of the ring?' The Yin-Yang Mysterious Dragon Pill was a tier 7 dicinal pill. Even in the mysterious storage ring, tier 7 pill recipes weren't many, so Xiao Yan rembered each one clearly.
In the end, he couldn't find any connection between the Yin-Yang Mysterious Dragon Pill and the pill recipe, so he simply swallowed the pill in one gulp.
After all, the dicinal effects of this kind of pill would remain dormant, waiting for the day of tamorphosis and rebirth.
'Ugh, it tastes a bit bitter. Maybe the pill recipe could be modified to add so sugar...'
In the days that followed, Xiao Yan did not leave Jia Nan Academy again, nor did he go stirring
up trouble. Instead, he settled down and cultivated earnestly, waiting for the start of the
Inner Academy Qualifying Competition.
...
Ti flew by, and more than half a month passed quickly. As one of Jia Nan Academy's grand events, the so-called Inner Academy Qualifying Competition naturally attracted a great deal of attention. Moreover, those who were usually renowned figures in the academy would all
make an appearance in this competition. This was undoubtedly a huge attraction for those male and female students who regarded these people as their idols and objects of admiration.
Therefore, even though the academy had long prepared the largest plaza for the event, it was still packed to the brim. Countless Jia Nan Academy students squeezed their way into the seats in the plaza. Looking out from the stands, all one could see was a dense mass of black heads and the clamorous noise that soared into the sky.
This enormous plaza was circular in shape. Around the plaza, stone steps extended upwards continuously, forming an arena-like structure. The sea of people seated around the plaza could clearly see the entire grounds.
The class led by Instructor Ruo Ling was naturally among them. "Sigh, you should be the instructor from now on," Instructor Ruo Ling said helplessly as she
looked at the young man beside her. She truly never imagined that in just four months, Xiao
Yan had really raised the strength of Xiao Ming, Xiao Yue Liang, and Xiao i to a level
capable of entering the Inner Academy.
The qualifying competition had already begun. The first round was a points-based competition with random pairings for one-on-one battles.
To prevent capable students from being eliminated early by encountering strong opponents,
each person in the first round was randomly matched with three opponents. Winning two out of three matches would qualify them to enter the Inner Academy.
Xiao Ming, Xiao Yue Liang, and Xiao i all won their first-round matches.
In just four short months, they had increased their cultivation to high-star Dou Masters, and
their strength was remarkably formidable. This left Instructor Ruo Ling feeling sowhat ashad.
Even Xiao Ning and Xiao Yu had reached the Dou Grandmaster realm. Their fierce attacks
defeated their opponents in one move, winning exclamations and cheers from the audience. Xiao Yan chuckled sheepishly and said, "Instructor Ruo Ling is joking. I'm just a humble alchemist. If you hadn't laid a solid foundation for them, no matter how many pills I had, it would have been useless."
At this mont in the plaza, two figures, one male and one female, flashed past each other, their palms clashing and erupting with fierce Dou Qi fluctuations, causing exclamations of amazent from the surrounding stands from ti to ti. However, it was clear that more
than half of the gazes in the stands were fixed on the lithe figure in the light cyan dress, whose graceful movents were light and ethereal.
The two figures crossed paths once again in a perilous exchange. The light cyan figure suddenly paused, golden light bursting forth between her palms, tracing a ray of light that
accurately struck the young man's chest. The powerful force directly sent him retreating out of the battle circle.
"Senior, thank you for letting win!" Having repelled her opponent with one strike, the
green-clad young lady smiled slightly and gave an impeccable bow to the handso young
man.
"Junior Sister Xun Er truly lives up to being the most promising student of this year's cohort. I admit defeat." Although he was defeated, the handso young man remained amiable. He
smiled, gazed deeply at the girl as graceful as a green lotus, and then gracefully withdrew.
"In this match, Xiao Xun Er wins!"
Xiao Yan looked toward the young lady in the arena upon hearing the referee's announcent. Clearly, Xun Er's cultivation had already reached the Dou Grandmaster realm, even close to Dou Spirit, but her kind-hearted nature led her to deliberately suppress her strength. She exchanged over a dozen moves with her opponent before defeating him.
"Xiao Yan ge-ge." Xun Er walked over slowly, smiling sweetly. Her delightful smile made those around feel as if they were bathed in a spring breeze. However, when they saw Xun Er sitting next to Xiao Yan, chatting and laughing, that spring
breeze instantly turned into a bloody gale. They silently mouthed curses toward Xiao Yan. If looks could kill, Xiao Yan would have died a thousand tis over.
At a well-positioned spot in the stands, a white-robed youth looked gloomily at Xiao Yan and
said fiercely, "I will defeat him to prove he's unworthy of Xun Er."
This white-robed youth was none other than Bai Shan, who had previously obstructed Xiao
Yan. He was a prominent figure among the younger generation of the Outer Academy, with montum not much weaker than Xun Er's, and a strong contender for the top five positions. "Tch, so this is the guy Xun Er keeps talking about? He doesn't look like much, and his
strength doesn't seem impressive either. Following such a guy is worse than following . What's so good about these stinking n? They all think with their lower halves." At another pri spot in the stands, a girl in a red dress leaned against an iron pillar with her arms crossed over her chest. Her alluring curves were accentuated by the straight pillar, making her extrely enticing. At this mont, she couldn't help but curl her lips and sneer with so disdain as she looked toward where Xiao Yan was.
Clearly, Xiao Yan had also beco sothing of a celebrity.
"Little Witch, sit properly. How can you be so unruly in public? Where are your manners?"
Beside the red-dressed girl, an old man with white hair and beard saw her posture and unconventional words and couldn't help but scold her, his beard bristling with anger. The Deputy Headmaster glanced at Xiao Yan, his eyes showing a trace of peculiarity as he
muttered, "Strange, I can't see through his cultivation level. There's a very strong Spiritual Strength blocking . Is that a treasure or..."
The red-dressed girl gave this elderly man, who obviously held a high position in Jia Nan Academy, a disdainful look and snorted coldly, "To think you're the Deputy Headmaster of the Outer Academy. If it were , I would have kicked that Xiao Yan out of the academy long
ago. He disappeared for over a year and never attended a single class. How can he still be a student of our Jia Nan Academy?"
The Deputy Headmaster looked at his granddaughter and said, "Don't be so arrogant. That
boy's strength may not be weaker than yours. He's the sa age as you, and didn't you claim to be invincible among your peers? I don't think you can easily defeat him." "Heh, you're giving him too much credit. Only Xun Er is qualified to compete with ." The
Little Witch wore a look of disdain. In her eyes, only Xun Er mattered.
The matches in the arena continued. Xiao Yan's Spiritual Strength swept across the entire area, his brows slightly furrowed as he looked toward three directions in the plaza. 'This Jia Nan Academy does have so talents. The cultivation levels of these three are higher
than Xiao Yu and Xiao Ning. It's a bit troubleso. Should I secretly eliminate them?' Xiao Yan pursed his lips, hoping he could encounter these three in the first round.
But Heaven didn't always grant one's wishes. Xiao Yan's first-round opponent was a young
man at the 9-star Dou Master stage.
"So you're Xiao Yan? Hmph, let see if you have the strength to be worthy of Junior Sister
Xun Er!" A long spear was drawn with a clang.
"Cascading Waves!"
"Scram." Xiao Yan glanced at him, flicked his finger, and a ball of red fla shot out. With a
loud boom, the fla exploded, directly blasting the person out of the arena. Xiao Yan didn't even bother to look back and directly jumped off the battle platform. He's not
Xun Er; dealing with these Outer Academy students, taking more than one move would count
as his loss.
He left behind a dumbfounded referee and an audience full of shocked faces.
Xiao Yan had never showcased his strength in Jia Nan Academy before, only his sharp tongue.
Everyone's impression of him was that of a lecher, a scoundrel, and soone who lived off
won.
"So strong!"
"Is that real fire!! Has he reached Dou Spirit?!"
"Not necessarily. One doesn't need to be a Dou Spirit or a 4th-tier alchemist to use real fire.
So fire-attribute Dou Qi cultivators can refine fire seeds to borrow fire."
"But he defeated him in one move..."
In the stands, except for those who knew Xiao Yan like Xiao Yu and the others, the rest who
didn't know him all had their mouths slightly agape, staring in astonishnt at the youth who had jumped down from the battle platform after a single strike. Many girls with budding feelings couldn't help but have stars in their eyes. Who could have
imagined that Xue Beng, whose strength was at the 9-star Dou Master stage, would be defeated in just one exchange-no, in just a face-off-even after using his strongest Dou Technique, beaten by a re flick of a finger!
Even the referee forgot to announce the end of the match, resulting in this outco that left everyone dumbfounded.
On the other side of the stands, Bai Shan stood with his arms crossed, frowning slightly as he gazed at the black-robed youth standing straight in the plaza. After a while, he slowly exhaled and said with a faint smile, "Not bad. He indeed has so skill. Now you're finally
worthy of being elevated to a position where I take you seriously. If there's a chance, I'd like to test you myself."
Faced with the exclamations and discussions from the entire plaza, Xiao Yan remained deaf to
it all. At this mont, he was solely focused on how to get his clan mbers into the Inner
Academy, or even directly occupy the top five positions and claim the reportedly generous
rewards.
'I wonder if using dicinal pills is allowed.'
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