Battle Through the Heavens

Reflecting on what he saw from this point, it appeared that the gap between Xiao Yan’s and Nalan Yanran’s strength was not very big. The thing that caused Jia Xing Tian to be shocked was how this little fellow of the Xiao clan, who did not have a strong backing behind him, could actually swiftly catch up to Nalan Yanran in these three short years. One should know that behind Nalan Yanran was this huge being known as the Misty Cloud Sect which was grooming her and providing support.

“This young fellow is not someone simple.” Jia Xing Tian and Fa Ma exchanged glances with each other. Both of them could see this emotion within the other’s eyes.

“Ah.”

On another side, Nalan Jie’s face which had only just relaxed for only a short while, then once again tensed up. His eyes stared intently at the Dou Qi armor on Xiao Yan’s body. A long while later, he finally let out a long breath. He slowly closed his eyes and the expression on his face held some bitterness.

This time around, Nalan Jie truly felt a regret. He regretted not having stopped Nalan Yanran back then. If Nalan Yanran did not create the whole issue of cancelling the engagement, this young person who relied on himself as he changed into a strong Da Dou Shi from a useless person in three short years would become a son-in-law whom the Nalan clan would be extremely satisfied with.

In the past, Nalan Jie was furious with Nalan Yanran’s act of cancelling the engagement because he was extremely prideful. The agreement he and Xiao Yan’s grandfather made was something that he felt humiliation for after she broke it off. If it were not because of this reason, who would be willing to let his own outstanding granddaughter marry a young master of the Xiao clan who was merely a useless person back then.

Now, however, the young man who had revealed his sharp edges in front of Nalan Jie caused the latter to clearly see the terrifying potential contained in the former’s body. The value that such a potential could bring in the future had far exceeded the limit which Nalan Jie could imagine. He clearly understood that there was no large faction like the Misty Cloud Sect supporting Xiao Yan from behind. And even without such a support from behind, Xiao Yan , however, was still actually able to swiftly catch up to Nalan Yanran’s speed within three years. This kind of training talent could only be described with one word: Terrifying!

Therefore, only at this moment did Nalan Jie really sense just how great a loss the Nalan clan had suffered through the impulsive action of Nalan Yanran back then. A Da Dou Shi that was not even twenty years old. Who could guarantee just what extent he would grow by after some years.

A Dou Wang was sufficient to support the entire Nalan clan. If Xiao Yan were to reach this class in the future, who could guarantee that the strength of the Xiao clan would not abruptly soar? It may even reach the point of threatening the three large clans.

As he thought of that serious consequence, the bitterness on Nalan Jie’s face grew even denser. A long while later, he opened his eyes and once again let out a sigh. Suddenly, he appeared much older.

“Ah, Xiao Ling, you have such a good grandson.”

By the side, Mu Chen and a few other heads of different fractions eyed the bitter expression of Nalan Jie. Although they were wise enough not to prod the other person’s wound, they could not help but gloat within their hearts. Due to Nalan Yanran, the relationship between the Nalan clan and the Misty Cloud Sect was increasingly close. This caused many groups within the capital to become a little afraid. The Nalan clan losing out was something that many were happy to see.

On the stone platform beside the open ground, the ten plus white robed old men were shocked until they were at a loss as they eyed the Dou Qi armor which Xiao Yan had suddenly summoned. A long while later, they gradually recovered. They exchanged glances with one another while serious expressions appeared on their faces for the first time. Looking at the current situation, it appeared that they had greatly underestimated this person who was once the trash of the Xiao clan.

“First Elder, this...” A white robed old man frowned slightly as he whispered.

“Let’s wait and see.” There was not much change on Yun Leng’s face. He gently waved his hand and suppressed the worry of the other few elders. His gaze rested on the skinny back of the young man in the square and slowly spoke, “Although his strength has somewhat exceeded my expectations, there is still some gap between him and Nalan Yanran. Moreover, the Dou Techniques that Nalan Yanran practices are all the advanced ones in our Misty Cloud Sect. On this point, I doubt that nameless little fellow can compare with her.”

“Let’s watch quietly.” Yun Leng’s gaze paused on the open ground. His face was calm, but the hands which were inserted within his sleeves were tightly clenched. He appeared to have felt some sort of uneasiness.

On the open ground, Nalan Yanran’s gaze swept over Xiao Yan’s body. The indifferentness on her pretty face finally had difficulty hiding her shock this time around. Although she did not underestimate Xiao Yan’s training talent, she had never thought that Xiao Yan could actually directly leap to a Da Dou Shi class from being someone who was not even a Dou Shi within three years! This kind of training speed was something that Nalan Yanran, who had the help of the Misty Cloud Sect and Pill-King Gu He, could not help but feel stunned about.

Nalan Yanran slowly inhaled a mouthful of somewhat icy cold air. The indifference on her face had gradually disappeared. Her seriousness increased. It appeared that the current her had truly begun to take Xiao Yan seriously.

Nalan Yanran tightly held her longsword. This time around, she did not say any unnecessary words. This young man in front of her whom she had once regarded as a useless being, was worthy of using all of her effort in order to ensure her victory in this fight.

The longsword shook and a clear ringing of the sword sounded. Following the sword ringing, the pale green-colored Dou Qi on Nalan Yanran’s body abruptly soared. An instant later, the Dou Qi disappeared and a delicate pale green Dou Qi armor covered her exquisite pretty body.

The Dou Qi armor which Nalan Yanran had summoned was undoubtedly much slimmer and more elegant compared to Xiao Yan’s one. Her body which curved at the right places was wrapped by that tight body armor. It emitted the beauty of a heroic spirit, causing her, who was originally the focal point of the place, to attract the attention of everyone’s eyes.

Although the color of both of their Dou Qi armor was similar, Nalan Yanran’s Dou Qi armor was clearly much more refined if one were to compare their outer appearances. On the other hand, Xiao Yan’s one appeared a little crude. From this, one could see that despite the two of them being Da Dou Shi, there was still a gap between their strength.

The powerful Dou Qi surged forward within Nalan Yanran’s Qi Paths like a flowing river. She gently lifted her pretty eyes and the tip of her feet abruptly pressed gently on the ground. Her body turned into a light ray, and she took the initiative to begin her attack on Xiao Yan as everyone watched.

The distance between the two of them was but ten meters. For Nalan Yanran’s speed, this was something that could be covered in a few seconds. Her body flashed and reappeared, placing Xiao Yan within her attacking range. She waved her sword, making it appear much like a venomous snake which had come out of its hole as it carried a sharp rushing wind sword glow and trickily pierced at Xiao Yan’s chest in a vicious manner.

Xiao Yan indifferently watched the tip of the sword which repeatedly became enlarged within his pupils. His palm completely left the hilt of the Heavy Xuan Ruler. Due to him leaving the Heavy Xuan Ruler, the currently rising Dou Qi in his body roared as they surged within his veins. A feeling of being filled with energy lingered within Xiao Yan’s body.

When the pale green-colored substance, which was like a small rotating wind that covered the sword, was about to reach a spot half a foot from Xiao Yan’s chest, he finally made a move. He violently kicked on the Heavy Xuan Ruler which was inserted in front of him. His body moved half a meter to the left and agilely dodged Nalan Yanran’s aggressive attack.

“Thousand Wind Blade!”

Nalan Yanran was not surprised that Xiao Yan was able to dodge her attack. Her hand swiftly turned and five spiraling sword blades which were agglomerated from wind type Dou Qi instantly formed on the tip of her finger. With a soft cry, five sharp sword blades left her finger. They twined around each other, turning into tiny green lines as they charged at Xiao Yan in a lightning like manner, while carrying a sharp piercing wind sound.

Five sharp rotating sword blades broke through the obstruction of the air and almost instantly appeared in front of Xiao Yan. The green-colored ray of light abruptly trembled and the five rotating sword blades immediately spread out from the middle. After which, they targeted five vital points on Xiao Yan’s body and shot out explosively. The ferocious wind that they carried as they flew passed caused Xiao Yan to narrow his eyes.

“What a fast speed.” The speed at which the rotating sword blades attacked was fast enough to cause Xiao Yan to feel shocked. From such a close distance, it was clearly impossible to completely dodge all of them. Therefore, in the little time that remained, three green-colored flames were swiftly flicked out from the tip of Xiao Yan’s finger. These tiny flames were shot out in different directions and perfectly blocked three rotating sword blades. They also managed to incinerate them as desired.

Although Xiao Yan had blocked three of the rotating sword blades, there were still two more of them which ruthlessly shot toward the left and right arm of Xiao Yan. The sword blades struck the Dou Qi Armor and a wave of sparks and a ear-piercing chafing sound was emitted when the two came into contact. Due to the exhaustion of energy, the sword blades slowly disappeared. At the same time, two significantly big holes appeared on Xiao Yan’s Dou Qi Armour. Although these holes were gradually being repaired by Dou Qi, one could still vaguely see some traces of blood from them. It appeared that this attack caused Xiao Yan to receive some external injuries.

Of course, from Xiao Yan’s point of view, such external wounds would naturally not affect his combat ability. Therefore, his left foot abruptly stomped heavily on the ground after withstanding this round of sharp attack unleashed by his opponent. As an explosive sound was created, his body turned into a black-colored shadow. He appeared to be nestled on the ground as he closed the gap between him and Nalan Yanran in a flash. His palms supported himself on the ground while his feet carried a ferocious force which violently whirled and smashed toward Nalan Yanran’s neck. From the whirling sound emitted from the air, it appeared that the force which Xiao Yan used was merciless.

Sensing Xiao Yan, who had actually appeared this close to her with such swiftness, Nalan Yanran knit her eyebrows together. She immediately twisted her waist and her body became like a catkin within a violent storm. Although she had only pulled back a short distance of half a foot, she had coincidentally escaped Xiao Yan’s attacking range. Without any hesitation, Nalan Yanran waved her longsword after she had dodged the other party’s attack. She turned into a green shadow as she cut at Xiao Yan’s legs in a lightning like manner.

Sensing the thick cold sword aura approaching, Xiao Yan’s right hand abruptly opened while facing his front. A ferocious shapeless force violently surged and heavily struck Nalan Yanran’s chest.

The sudden attacking force caused Nalan Yanran, who could not react in time, to take a couple of steps back. As she had the protection of the Dou Qi Armor, however, Xiao Yan’s attack this time around did not have much impact other than breaking the opponent’s attack.

Xiao Yan’s heart also understood this point very clearly. Originally, he did not expect that this attack would cause much harm toward Nalan Yanran. Therefore, when she was retreating, his palm violently struck the ground. The ferocious force caused a few crack lines to spread on the hard, green rock surface. His body leapt up and moved closer to Nalan Yanran like a ghost. Immediately, he unleashed his fiercest attack since he had arrived, much like a volcano erupting.

Xiao Yan specialized in close combat. Therefore, his hands, arms, elbows, legs, head, and every part of his body had at this very moment, were turned into terrifying weapons, that could kill. His arms and elbows danced and a frightening energy caused explosions to repeatedly appear in the surrounding empty air. Each time the force missed, it would leave quite a deep pit scar on the green rock surface.

When faced with this incomparably aggressive attacks of Xiao Yan, Nalan Yanran did not show any sign of weakness. Although the opponent was just beside her, she managed to rely on the uniqueness of her agility Dou Technique to repeatedly dodge Xiao Yan’s attack. She waved her longsword, emitting a stern sword aura as the sword glinted, thus leaving behind countless of cut marks on the ground.

As the fight between the two gradually entered an intense phase, powerful Dou Qi appeared to be surging within the two bodies and was released at a gushing speed. When the Dou Qi collided, powerful energy explosions repeatedly sounded on the open ground.

Green glows flashed in the open ground. Hot Dou Qi and sharp sword blades repeatedly shot out from the cover of the green glow. Two shadows continuously moved swiftly within the square. Clear ringing of the sword and the sound of metal clashing was emitting unceasingly from the points where the two meet. The strength of their attacks had also become increasingly wild following the increase in the intensity of the fight. Progressively, it left everyone present speechless.

Eyeing the repeatedly flashing and moving blurry figures in the square, the expressions of the surrounding Misty Cloud Sect disciples were all a little dull. In the battle earlier which had come to a stalemate, they could clearly sensed that Nalan Yanran had at the very least displayed three Xuan class Dou Techniques. However, these Dou Techniques which were sufficient enough to help her easily defeat some strong people who were stronger than her were completely defused by Xiao Yan, whose strength was clearly a little weaker than her own. Only at this moment did these disciples of the Misty Cloud Sect finally understand just what a silly rumor it was when their comrades described Xiao Yan of the Xiao clan as being a useless person and how he overestimated his own ability.

Being able to fight with the most outstanding person of the younger generation of the Misty Cloud Sect for so long without being defeated, proved that this delicate and handsome young man in front of them was far from an ordinary person!