BTTH: From Genius to Invincible

Chapter 211: Chapter 211: Yan



Word Count: 3,566 Words

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The entire North-Western Region was filled with numerous sects, and all the prime locations had long been claimed. Not to mention a treasured land with excellent feng shui like the Misty Cloud Mountain. Cultivating Dou Qi in such a place made absorbing the energy of the world much easier.

Therefore, the land owned by the Misty Cloud Sect was exceptionally valuable.

Medusa's enchanting eyes stared directly into Xiao Yan's pitch-black pupils. Her red lips parted slightly as she said, "Very well, I'll trust you this once and return to inform the other tribe leaders."

Xiao Yan chuckled and said, "You'd better not come back saying you couldn't persuade them."

Medusa sneered coldly, "Those who couldn't be persuaded are already dead."

Xiao Yan slowly extended his hand and said, "Then, I wish us a pleasant cooperation, Your Majesty."

Looking at Xiao Yan's outstretched hand, Medusa pondered for a moment before lightly clasping it. Xiao Yan couldn't help but feel his heart tremble when he felt that soft, seemingly boneless, slightly cool jade-like hand.

This was truly a natural-born enchantress.

Although reluctant, Xiao Yan didn't dare to hold her hand for too long. He turned around and prepared to leave.

"Hey, what exactly are you planning?" Medusa's eyes flashed with a hint of curiosity as she gazed at his departing figure and asked softly.

Without turning back, Xiao Yan merely shrugged and said lightly, "Who knows?"

As the door closed gently behind him, a trace of curiosity appeared in Medusa's eyes. Perhaps even she hadn't realized that she was becoming increasingly intrigued by Xiao Yan, even harboring a faint sense of anticipation.

...

Early the next morning, Medusa disappeared from the Misty Cloud Sect and returned to the Snake - People Tribe. After a full day and night, she came back, confirming their decision to join the Yan Alliance.

When Princess Yao Ye learned that even Medusa's Snake-People Tribe had joined Xiao Yan's Yan Alliance, she no longer hesitated and likewise announced her willingness to sign the agreement, officially joining the Yan Alliance.

Not long after, the Misty Cloud Sect, the Jia Ma Imperial Family, and the Snake-People Tribe jointly issued a 'Yan Alliance Treaty' to all neighboring empires, formally establishing a collective defense alliance.

The day after the Yan Alliance Treaty was issued, several invading armies from the Chu Yun Empire attacking the Snake - People Tribe's borders were instantly annihilated by Yun Yun, Jia Xing Tian, Medusa, and Hai Bodong.

This action declared that the Yan Alliance Treaty was genuine and effective.

The news swept through the entire North-Western Region like a tornado.

"The Yan Alliance Treaty? What's that?!"

"The Misty Cloud Sect, the Jia Ma Imperial Family, and the Snake-People Tribe have actually formed an alliance?!"

"No way! The armies of the Chu Yun Empire attacked the Snake-People Tribe and were counterattacked by all of them together!"

"What's going on? How did they suddenly form an alliance? Wasn't the Misty Cloud Sect about to disband? I heard that the Mulan Valley, Luo Yan Sect, and Ten Thousand Scorpion Gate were planning to join forces to raid the Misty Cloud Sect. What's happening now?"

"I heard it's because of an alchemist who possesses a Heavenly Flame that these factions have united. I think his name is Xiao Yan or something!"

Shortly after the Yan Alliance Treaty was issued, the Desert Metal Mercenary Company led by Xiao Ding and Xiao Li, as well as the Xiao Clan from Wu Tan City, finally arrived, albeit a bit late.

It wasn't their fault for being slow; after all, they didn't have any Dou Kings, let alone Dou Emperors. After receiving Xiao Yan's letter, Xiao Ding and Xiao Li had been traveling non- stop. It took quite some time to fly to Wu Tan City on flying-type magical beasts.

Then, flying to the Jia Ma Sacred City took several more days. A few talented mercenaries from the Desert Metal Mercenary Company even got airsick and vowed to cultivate to the Dou King realm so they wouldn't have to ride slow flying-type magical beasts again!

"Uncle Xiao Zhan, this way, please." Nalan Yanran, dressed in the silver-white robes of the Misty Cloud Sect, had been waiting at the mountain gate early.

It had been more than two months since Xiao Yan defeated Nalan Yanran. The news had naturally spread to Wu Tan City, and they also knew that Xiao Yan and Nalan Yanran had agreed to peacefully cancel their engagement.

Xiao Zhan saw Nalan Yanran's polite and courteous demeanor. In his heart, he still held onto the hope of fulfilling his father's deathbed wish.

"It's been over three years since we last met. Niece Yanran has grown into a graceful young lady," Xiao Zhan spoke like a kind old man, his gaze gentle.

In fact, Xiao Zhan wasn't that old, only in his forties, but years of toiling for the Xiao Clan had grayed some of his hair, aging his appearance considerably.

"Back then, it was Yanran who was immature and acted rashly. I wouldn't dare ask for Uncle Xiao Zhan's forgiveness," Nalan Yanran said humbly. Having lost twice and matured significantly over the years, she had become much more sensible.

The group from the Xiao Clan followed Nalan Yanran to a residential area filled with pavilions and courtyards. The pleasant climate and magnificent scenery left the Xiao Clan members staring in amazement and exclaiming in admiration.

"Look over there! There's a waterfall cascading down the mountain!"

"Wow! That tree is enormous. How many years has it been growing? At least two or three

hundred years, right?"

"Quick, look at this! The outer walls of this pavilion are actually built with jade stones. This is too extravagant! Truly worthy of the Misty Cloud Sect."

Nalan Yanran explained, "This used to be the elders' residences. Now it has been designated as the Xiao Clan's area. Xiao Yan is inside. I'll leave you here."

Even the Xiao Clan members, who were like local nobility in Wu Tan City, felt overwhelmed when they saw this extensive area of luxurious residences.

"Third Brother has really done something incredible," Xiao Li exclaimed in surprise. There was a time when the Misty Cloud Sect was an existence they couldn't even dream of

approaching.

The thoughtful Xiao Ding said, "Third Brother knows we're not ones to indulge in luxury. He called us here; perhaps he has something to tell us."

Just as Xiao Ding finished speaking, the door creaked open, and Xiao Yan emerged from the

hall.

"Father, Big Brother, Second Brother." Xiao Yan looked at his family in front of him and

quickly walked forward.

"Grand Elder, Second Elder, Third Elder, everyone, long time no see." Xiao Yan greeted the

elders one by one.

"Greetings, Little Clan Leader!"

"Greetings, Third Company Leader!"

Xiao Li grinned from ear to ear, laughing as he put his arm around Xiao Yan's neck and ruffled his hair. "Hahaha, Xiao-Yan-Zi, I heard you've been quite impressive lately. You even came up with something called the Yan Alliance Treaty."

Xiao Yan didn't resist, allowing his second brother to mess his hair into a bird's nest. He rubbed his nose and said with a wry smile, "I'll explain this matter to Big Brother and Second Brother later. Let me show you around first. We'll be living here from now on."

Rarely having such leisure time, he enjoyed the happiness of being with his family, chatting

and strolling around.

Whether it was Ancestor Xiao Xuan or his own father Xiao Zhan, they both desired the clan to prosper. Although they were still far from their former glory, rising from a small city's clan to a super noble clan in the imperial capital was already a significant step forward.

At night, after settling the Xiao Clan, Xiao Yan came to Xiao Ding's room, where Xiao Li was

also present.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

"Xiao Yan, you've suddenly done all these things. It can't be just for showing off, right? Did something happen?" Xiao Ding was indeed the most thoughtful among the three brothers. He had sensed something was off when they received the letter.

After arriving in the Jia Ma Sacred City and hearing that Xiao Yan had established the Yan Alliance, he knew that something significant must have happened.

Xiao Yan did not conceal anything and directly told his two elder brothers everything he had learned from the Gate of Life and Death. In this world, there were four people whom Xiao Yan

trusted unconditionally.

Hearing the stories that sounded like legends, Xiao Ding and Xiao Li didn't know how to react

for a moment.

Because the former Dou God Clan- the Xiao Clan-and the current Xiao Clan were separated

by too much time, almost all traces of being a Dou God Clan had disappeared.

If it weren't for Xiao Yan's bloodline resonance with the black jade of the Skyfire Three Mysterious Change, even he wouldn't have believed it.

"This... This is really quite unbelievable," Xiao Li finally managed to say after being stunned

for a while.

Xiao Ding's expression was solemn as he said, "Xiao Yan, you want to use the power of the Yan Alliance to protect the clan and prevent retaliation from the Hun Clan, right?" Xiao Yan shook his head and said, "The strength of the Hun Clan is unfathomable. The Yan

Alliance's power is not enough to resist them. Right now, due to certain reasons, the Hun Clan believes the Ancient Jade has been taken by the Gu Clan, so they shouldn't make a move for

the time being."

"I'm just worried that besides the Hun Clan, if the other six Dou God Clans get any bad ideas, it would be troublesome. So I want Big Brother to temporarily manage the Misty Cloud Sect and use its resources to improve the clan's strength. If something really does happen, at least some people can escape and preserve the Xiao Clan's bloodline."

Xiao Yan's words made both of them shudder. They hadn't expected that their third brother's purpose in establishing the Yan Alliance was actually to prepare for the worst, using the Yan Alliance to buy time and give the Xiao Clan a chance to preserve their bloodline!

This was making preparations for the worst-case scenario!

With Xiao Ding's talent and strategy, Xiao Yan believed he could secretly control the Misty

Cloud Sect, and even the entire Yan Alliance, to secure the greatest benefits for the clan.

Xiao Yan looked at his second brother, and after hesitating for a long time, he took out Protector Wu's Soul Robe from his storage ring.

"Second Brother, I want you to join the Hall of Souls and manage the Hall of Souls branch in the Misty Cloud Sect." A hint of hesitation flashed through his eyes.

The Hall of Souls was an extremely dangerous organization. Even Yun Shan had fallen because

of it. Moreover, the Hall of Souls required using soul stones to hunt soul bodies, which was

not exactly a glorious task.

Xiao Li took the Soul Robe and patted Xiao Yan's shoulder upon seeing the hesitation in his eyes, "You're underestimating your second brother. Although I'm not as good at scheming as Big Brother, I'm no pushover either. This kind of thing suits me perfectly." Xiao Yan had considered destroying the branch of the Hall of Souls in the Misty Cloud Sect, but now, whether it was the Xiao Clan or the Yan Alliance, they were all very weak. The Hall of Souls was spread throughout the entire Dou Qi Continent. It wasn't as simple as just possessing resources; their intelligence network was what Xiao Yan needed most.

If he wanted to know about the situations of the other Dou God Clans, he could only rely on

the Hall of Souls.

To deal with the Hun Clan, at the very least, he had to infiltrate the enemy from within first. Xiao Yan intended to grasp both the righteous and the clandestine paths!

Xiao Ding also nodded heavily and said, "You are the future of the Xiao Clan. You still need to

continue getting stronger and cultivating. Let Big Brother and Second Brother handle these matters for you. Xiao-Yan-Zi, you must remember that your strength is the greatest guarantee for the Xiao Clan!"

"You're shouldering too many things alone. Let Second Brother help share some of your

burdens!"

A warm current surged through Xiao Yan's heart as he felt the deep affection of his two elder brothers. He nodded lightly and softly said, "I understand."

Xiao Ding thought of something and asked, "By the way, you killed Protector Wu. Don't the

others in the Hall of Souls know?"

"I heard from Protector Wu that all Protectors of the Hall of Souls have soul imprints in the Hall of Souls. If they are killed, the Enforcers will discover it." Back when Xiao Yan was listening to Protector Wu's introduction of the Hall of Souls, he had heard him mention this

matter.

Human Grade Protectors had the qualification to know the location of one branch; Earth Grade Protectors could know two; and Heaven Grade Protectors could know three.

The more branch locations one knew, the more resources one could exchange for and the

more intelligence one could access. Protector Wu had invited several Dou Emperor Soul Envoys back then, who were Soul Envoys from another Hall of Souls branch.

After all, the Hall of Souls branch in the Misty Cloud Sect had been established not long ago and was short on manpower.

"Then what should we do? How strong are those Enforcers?" Xiao Li asked.

Xiao Yan revealed a meaningful smile and said, "Leave the Enforcers to me. I have a way."

...

In the following days, the Xiao Clan, having officially taken over the Misty Cloud Sect, was bustling with activity. Besides Jia Xing Tian and Princess Yao Ye of the Jia Ma Imperial Family personally coming to offer congratulations, Nalan Jie and his son Nalan Su also came. When Xiao Zhan saw the two of them, the three men could only sigh together. It could only be said that things often don't go as one wishes. What parents hope for, children often stubbornly go the opposite way.

Besides them, Miteer Tengshan of the Miteer Clan brought Ya Fei to visit. Who knew what

Miteer Tengshan said to Xiao Zhan, but the latter had been beaming with pride all day.

As for Xiao Yan, apart from some necessary receptions, he spent every day refining pills, refining pills, and refining pills.

Because Yun Yun had opened the Misty Cloud Sect's Medicine Hall and planned to give all the precious medicinal ingredients inside to him.

One had to know, this was the Misty Cloud Sect! The number one sect in the Jia Ma Empire, the

most ancient sect!

The medicinal ingredients collected by such a sect were simply tempting enough to make one commit a crime!

Even Medusa's treasury was less than one-tenth of what was here. Xiao Yan could say with 100% certainty that the Jia Ma Imperial Family's medicinal ingredient storage couldn't compare to the Misty Cloud Sect's.

Xiao Yan even saw a main ingredient for a tier 8 pill, several main ingredients for tier 7 pills, and quite a few for tier 6 pills.

It was worth noting that Gu He was able to go from a 4th-tier alchemist to a 6th-tier alchemist in just over a decade because the Misty Cloud Sect provided medicinal ingredients

unconditionally for his practice.

The fact that the Misty Cloud Sect could cultivate a 6th-tier alchemist from scratch showed its profound foundation.

Xiao Yan originally wanted to refuse. As an upright cultivator who didn't steal, rob, or

deceive, how could he freeload!

But after thinking for about a second, he felt that if these medicinal ingredients were left

here, they'd be stolen by others anyway.

Not only had Gu He, the 6th-tier alchemist, left, but even the only two 5th-tier alchemist

elders and those 4th-tier alchemists had all left. Only a few 3rd-tier alchemist disciples remained.

Rather than that, he might as well refine the medicinal ingredients into pills before returning

to Jia Nan Academy. This way, his big brother could also better cultivate talents, and he would just charge a tiny refining fee. This couldn't be considered freeloading, right? Thus, Xiao Yan began refining tier 4 and tier 5 pills, while the tier 6 and those few tier 7 and the only tier 8 medicinal ingredients were collected by him with a clear conscience. And through such intense alchemy, frantically consuming Spiritual Strength and Dou Qi, the

Dou Qi instability caused by his breakthrough from a 7-star Dou Grandmaster to Dou Spirit was consolidated. It was killing two birds with one stone.

The only thing that Xiao Yan found regrettable was that the Flame Mantra hadn't advanced; it remained at Low Di Class, though now it was infinitely close to Intermediate Di Class. This made him understand that if he wanted to continue improving the Flame Mantra, the

Heavenly Flames he sought had to be ranked even higher.

There was also one thing that puzzled Xiao Yan immensely: he couldn't comprehend the Secret Technique 'Breaking Through the Heavens' created by his clan's Dou God ancestor! Xiao Xuan had already transmitted all his insights and circulation paths of this Secret

Technique to him. But when he tried to execute it again, he understood why Xiao Xuan said

this Secret Technique might be incomplete. Because it was too weak.

Being able to instantly kill Protector Wu was entirely due to the strength left behind by Xiao

Xuan being powerful enough. In fact, this Secret Technique made Xiao Yan feel like

something was missing.

'Sigh, Ancestor, you're really messing with me. Giving me a high Tian Class Dou Technique would have been more practical than anything else.' Xiao Yan couldn't help but complain. However, maybe it was because the Death Flame could only store one Secret Technique, so Xiao Xuan chose the Secret Technique created by the Xiao Clan's Dou God ancestor and didn't

leave behind other Dou Techniques or Qi Methods created by other powerful Xiao Clan

members.

Just as Xiao Yan was pondering where the problem with the 'Breaking Through the Heavens'

Secret Technique lay, suddenly the Soul Command Token emitted a faint spiritual light. 'They've finally come!' Xiao Yan's eyes flashed. Donning the Soul Robe, his body transformed into a shadow as he rushed toward the location of the Hall of Souls' Space Lock. At this time, quite a few Soul Envoys wearing Soul Robes were already standing in the main

hall of the Hall of Souls. These were all Soul Envoys belonging to the Hall of Souls branch in the Misty Cloud Sect, personally selected by Protector Wu. Today was also the day when the Hall of Souls Enforcers would come to check on the soul collection situation, so they had all gathered in the main hall.

The Hall of Souls had quotas. If the Protector in charge of the branch couldn't meet the quota, they would be punished. Exceeding the quota would be rewarded with soul points. Therefore, increasing the number of Soul Envoys collecting souls was the most basic method.

Some Soul Envoys weren't at the Misty Cloud Sect at the time, so naturally, they weren't killed by Xiao Xuan's technique.

"Enforcer Hun Lu, the soul imprint of this branch's Protector has disappeared. He must have been killed."

In the center of the main hall stood three people wearing Soul Robes. The most distinctive

was the one in the middle referred to as an Enforcer, because he wore a Soul Command Token at his waist!

The Hall of Souls Enforcer named Hun Lu asked, "Hmm? Who was the Protector in charge of this branch?"

"Reporting to Enforcer, it was Protector Wu," said another subordinate beside the Enforcer. "Wu? Oh, that Earth Grade Protector who got lucky and received a reward from our clan's Pill Saint. No wonder this branch is so shabby, and the Soul Envoys are all a bunch of rabble-just a mere Earth Grade." Although Hun Lu's face couldn't be seen, his disdainful tone made it

clear that his status was much higher than Protector Wu's.

"But he was still one of the Hall of Souls' Protectors after all. Go to the Soul Offering Altar and

use the secret method to investigate who exactly killed him. Use the soul light to guide you to

find that person and eliminate them."

"Understood!" x2

Creak, creak, creak. At this moment, the main door of the Hall of Souls was slowly pushed

open, and a sinister laugh accompanied by a voice came through: "Jie Jie Jie, no need to look.

He was disobedient, so I killed him."

Xiao Yan pushed the door open and entered, wearing a hood that concealed his appearance.

His gaze swept past all the Soul Envoys and focused on the Enforcer at the back. His tone was extremely calm.

Hun Lu frowned and asked, "Who are you?"

Suddenly, a Soul Command Token flew out from the storage ring, emitting a soul-stirring

glow. The character "" (Yan) was engraved on its back.

"This intensity of soul light! You are a Heaven Grade Protector?!!!" Hun Lu exclaimed in

shock.

When did a Heaven Grade Protector arrive in this North-Western Region?! And he even possesses a Soul Command Token?!

"Greetings, Protector Yan!"

All the Soul Envoys present immediately knelt down and shouted in unison.

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