All the gazes on the open ground paused on the slowly descending Nalan Yanran. All of their expressions were different as they did so.

“This fellow seems to be quite good.” On top of a huge tree, Jia Xing Tian smiled as he stared at Xiao Yan. Immediately, he shook his head and said, “Unfortunately, the attack this time round did not cause much damage to Nalan Yanran even though it appeared ferocious. The ‘Flying Floc’ agility Dou Technique does indeed live up to its name.”

“Ah.” Fa Ma by the side nodded slightly. His gaze stared at the falling Nalan Yanran and softly laughed, “The girl from the Nalan clan is not weak either. It looks like Yun Yun has really tried her best to groom that girl during these three years.”

Hai Bodong frowned slightly. He stared at Nalan Yanran and his eyebrows abruptly twitched a moment later. “The energy within her body is swiftly increasing. Additionally, it faintly has the sign of having broken the limit of a Dou Shi. Tsk tsk. What a profound method of hiding her strength. Even I did not discover it. The secret technique of the Misty Cloud Sect is indeed extraordinary.”

Jia Xing Tian and Fa Ma smiled. Regardless of how one put it, the training that Nalan Yanran received as the next Misty Cloud Sect’s sect leader was naturally not something that an ordinary Misty Cloud Sect disciple could compare with. Moreover, the Misty Cloud Sect also had Pill-King Gu He’s help. Adding all these to Nalan Yanran’s strong foundation, it was not considered ridiculous for her to reach the Da Dou Shi class at this age.

“Looks like the fight this time around is going to be somewhat intense. That little fellow from the Xiao clan is also not someone ordinary. In addition, the huge black ruler in his hand is also a little strange.” Fa Ma stared at the Heavy Xuan Ruler in Xiao Yan’s hand as he spoke.

“Seeing the airflow which he creates when his feet land on the ground, that ruler seems to have some weight. Have the both of you realized that after the ruler leaves his hand, not only did his speed increase, but even the eruption and density of his Dou Qi had instantly become much stronger.” Jia Xing Tian was worthy of being a strong person who even Hai Bodong feared. Even the slight movement when Xiao Yan landed on the ground was actually observed by him to such a detail.

“Yes.” Hearing Jia Xing Tian words, Fa Ma nodded slightly. It appeared that he had also sensed these changes.

“From the looks of things now, this competition will be a hard-fought one. But what causes me to be curious is what exactly does this little fellow rely on? He is actually able to escape from the reputation of being a useless person three years ago and catch up with the progress of Nalan Yanran, who has received the Misty Cloud Sect’s training, with such swiftness.” Jia Xing Tian was uncertain as he softly said.

“I don’t know. Our Alchemist Association has never met him so we have never investigated him.” Fa Ma shook his head. His gaze glanced at the open ground and suddenly said, “That girl from the Nalan clan is about to use her true strength.”

The slowly falling Nalan Yanran strangely floated in the air just as she was around half a meter from the ground. She gently waved her hand and her body flipped in the air. After which, she landed on the hard green rock surface in a light and agile manner.

Eyeing Nalan Yanran, who was actually unhurt after landing on the ground, a sigh of relief involuntarily sounded throughout the square.

Nalan Yanran’s pretty eyes were serious. She eyed Xiao Yan on the opposite side whose expression was still calm. In a soft voice, she said, “You have really surprised me. No matter what, I, at the very least, believe that you are no longer that useless young master of the Xiao clan from back then.”

Xiao Yan did not give any reply to the somewhat lamenting words of Nalan Yanran. He merely lifted his eyes and glanced indifferently at her. As he sensed the slowly soaring pale-green-colored energy within Nalan Yanran, he softly mumbled in his heart, “Is she finally about to display her true ability?”

“I do not want to say anything more about all that happened back then.” Nalan Yanran slowly raised her hand. The green glow above the pale-green-colored longsword became increasingly dense as her gaze stared at Xiao Yan. “But the current me represents the Misty Cloud Sect. I will not hold anything back for its reputation.”

As Nalan Yanran’s voice slowly fell, the robe on her body and her black hair on her head suddenly moved despite the absence of wind. A forceful presence gradually rose from within her body. The extent of the strength of the imposing presence caused the surrounding Misty Cloud Sect’s disciples to widen their mouths in shock. Numerous soft cries involuntarily sounded, “This Qi... has Nalan shi-jie advanced to a Da Dou Shi?”

Seeing the expressions of the Misty Cloud Sect disciples around, it appeared that even they were uncertain about Nalan Yanran’s actual strength.

“It is really unexpected that niece Nalan has already reached the Da Dou Shi class at such an age. She is really quite admirable.” Mu Chen turned his head and said with a smile to Nalan Jie after eyeing Nalan Yanran who was emitting a powerful force. His laughter contained some envy. Although Mu Zhan was currently a nine star Dou Shi and appeared to be merely half a step away from a Da Dou Shi, Mu Chen knew that this half a step was something that was extremely difficult to cross if one did not have sufficient luck.

“Nephew Mu Zhan is also not weak.” Nalan Jie smiled and gave a polite response. The strength that Nalan Yanran suddenly displayed also caused him to sigh in relief. Regardless of how one put it, Nalan Yanran was ultimately a member of the Nalan clan. If she were to lose this competition today, not only would the Misty Cloud Sect lose face, but the Nalan clan would also feel ashamed. Moreover, Nalan Yanran had even impulsively said that if she lost, she would become his slave when she made the agreement back then. When he thought of the eldest young lady of the Nalan clan and the future successor of the Misty Cloud Sect becoming someone else’s female servant, there was some indication of ugliness on Nalan Jie’s old face.

“This girl.” As he slowly released his breath, Nalan Jie eyed Xiao Yan who was calmly watching Nalan Yanran. He softly said, “Ah, nephew Xiao, I am really sorry. This competition has far too many complications for Nalan Yanran. I’m afraid that we can only wrong you. In the future, I will order the Nalan clan to compensate the Xiao clan.”

Hearing his confident words, it appeared that he was not optimistic of Xiao Yan being able to win this competition. However, one could not blame him. Xiao Yan’s current age was not even twenty. Regardless of how outstanding his training talent was, the difficulty of reaching the Da Dou Shi class at his age was extremely great. After all, he did not have the support of a huge faction like the Misty Cloud Sect behind him.

Of course, this was indeed so under normal circumstances. Were it not for the ‘Three-Lines Green Spirit Pill’, Xiao Yan would really only be lingering below that of a Da Dou Shi. Unfortunately, the situation Xiao Yan was in was not considered normal. Therefore, this thought of Nalan Jie was bound to be faced with disappointment.

The blazing sun hung high in the air and the sunlight poured down from the distant sky, dispersing the faint mist that shrouded the square. It shone upon the bodies of everyone present, causing their skin to feel a little warm.

The nearly one thousand Misty Cloud Sect disciples sat on the ground around the square, forming a semicircle. They sat on the rock surface like wooden pillars and the pouring sunlight from the sky did not cause their body to make even the slightest movement. The endurance of these people was something that Xiao Yan could not help but praise despite not having a good impression of the Misty Cloud Sect. Seeing how they were able to train the talented people whom had been picked up from all over the land in such a manner, the Misty Cloud Sect really did not simply rely on its empty reputation to stand above the Jia Ma Empire for so many years.

On the stone platform just behind the rock monument located at the middle of the square, the ten plus white robed old men were narrowing their old eyes as they watched the two people in the square. Occasionally, they would whisper something among themselves.

“First Elder, the fight has only just begun yet Nalan Yanran was forced to use her true strength. On the other hand, the little fellow from the Xiao clan appears to have remained very calm.” A white robed old man turned his head and softly said beside Yun Leng. His voice carried a little worry.

“His mindset is indeed quite good.” Yun Leng’s finger gently skimmed off some of the non-existent dust on his robe as he said casually, “But this kind of competition isn’t something where one can just rely on their mentality. The progress of Nalan Yanran during these few years is something that caused even us old fellows to feel shocked. Moreover, the sect leader appears to have passed her some of the sect’s secret technique. No matter how outstanding that young fellow’s talent is, at the very least, it is somewhat impossible for him to catch up with Nalan Yanran now. All of you need not be overly worried.”

“Since Nalan Yanran has already displayed her true strength, this battle should likely be over soon. Once we chase away that little fellow from the Xiao clan, I will not need to worry about it any longer.” Yun Leng faintly said.

Hearing Yun Leng put it in this manner, that white robed old man could not say anything more. He nodded his head, turned around and glanced at the rock platform below. Suddenly, he said, “Ge Ye, is something wrong?”

Upon hearing the question, a white robed old man who was sitting on the second level of the stone platform turned around. Seeing his appearance, it was surprising that Ge Ye was the one who had accompanied Nalan Yanran to the Xiao clan in order to cancel the engagement back then. His current expression was a little strange. Moreover, the source of the expression on his face seemed to be Xiao Yan in the open ground.

Ever since Xiao Yan appeared in his eyes earlier, Ge Ye’s expression had turned into this manner. This was because he had discovered that the young man earlier had actually faintly appeared to be somewhat similar to the mysterious black robed person whom he had seen at the Mo clan within Yan City back then.

“Impossible. That mysterious man is a Dou Huang. With Xiao Yan’s age, even if he had the talent of the heavens, he cannot possibly reach that step!” Ge Ye violently shook his head, wanting to throw away the ridiculous thought within his mind. However, the two faces continued to slowly merge together. At one instance, when the two faces were completely merged together, Ge Ye’s entire body trembled. He exhaled his coarse breath as he recovered. He suddenly realized that his entire robe had actually been drenched in cold sweat.

“Are you alright?” The ten plus elders of the Misty Cloud Sect watched the cold sweat filled face of Ge Ye with surprise as they knit their eyebrows together and asked.

“It’s nothing.” Ge Ye swallowed a mouthful of saliva that had intruded into his dry throat. He hesitated for a moment, only to shake his head. He did not voice the thought within his heart. Even though the two faces appeared extremely similar, he still did not believe that the mysterious black robed person was Xiao Yan. If the latter really had that kind of strength, did he need to exhaust himself and come to have a tough fight with Nalan Yanran?

“It was definitely an illusion! Seeing his manner, he is at most at the Dou Shi class. No matter what, he is definitely not that mysterious black robed person!” Ge Ye clenched his teeth, slowly raised his head and continued to throw his gaze into the open ground.

On the open ground, Nalan Yanran’s rising imposing presence from within her body slowly stopped increasing when it finally reached the Da Dou Shi class. With the wave of the longsword in her hand, a clear ring of the sword sounded above the open ground in a relaxed manner.

At the tip of the sword, a green-colored sword’s aura was expanding and shrinking. It was pointed at Xiao Yan from a distant away and a wild wind instantly appeared out of nowhere.

Eyeing Nalan Yanran on the opposite side as her force cease rising, Xiao Yan pursed up his lips. He softly muttered, “As expected. Around a two star Da Dou Shi.”

“Let’s start preparing to go all out.”

Xiao Yan twisted his neck and gently exhaled. His palm held the Heavy Xuan Ruler above the ground. Immediately, he used his strength to insert it into the ground. The green-colored Dou Qi on his body was like a flame as it abruptly surged. A long while later, the Dou Qi disappeared and a green-colored Dou Qi Armor appeared in front of everyone’s eyes.

“Dou Qi Armor? This fellow is also actually a Da Dou Shi!”

Eyeing the armor which appeared to be made up of a substantial substance, waves of noises made when inhaling cold air sounded around the open ground.