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**
As Yun Yun's voice faded, silence descended across the field.
Jia Xingtian and the others gently shook their heads and sighed inwardly.
Meanwhile, the elders of the Yun Lan Sect and countless disciples farther away erupted in cheers.
With Yun Yun's decision, there was no doubt that Yun Lan Sect had just gained another peak Dou Huang-level combatant.
More importantly, as the former Sect Master, Yun Yun's prestige was immense. Under her command, the strength and unity of the Yun Lan Sect would no doubt reach new heights.
"Yun Yun, so this is your choice…" Xiao Yan slowly lowered his eyelids, concealing the flash of pain and complexity that passed through his eyes.
It wasn't wrong of Yun Yun to make such a choice in this moment.
But to say Xiao Yan wasn't disappointed… would be a lie.
Still, he could understand it—and he respected it.
"Hahaha! As expected of the successor I personally trained. Yun'er, you've done well. I'm truly pleased!" Yun Shan tilted his head back and laughed in triumph.
Unlike the original timeline, Xiao Yan and Yun Yun had far fewer entanglements in this version of the story. Because of that, Yun Yun—bound by multiple chains of duty and responsibility chose the opposite path.
Yun Shan's laughter, however, sounded particularly grating in Xiao Yan's ears.
That lingering reluctance in his heart… began to dissipate, little by little.
When Xiao Yan opened his eyes again, both his gaze and expression had returned to complete calm.
In that single moment, a certain thread in his heart had been severed by his own hand.
The Yun Zhi of the past was, at this moment, already dead to him.
When he looked at Yun Yun again, there was only cold indifference in his eyes as he said plainly, "Our stances are different. So, I don't blame you. But my Xiao Clan's blood feud must be avenged. Today, anyone who stands in my way… will die—including you."
As he finished, Xiao Yan turned his head toward Jia Xingtian, Elder Yin Gu, and the others. His voice turned icy: "Anyone from Yun Lan Sect—do not hold back."
With this one sentence, Xiao Yan made his position crystal clear.
Those few fleeting days of brief companionship with Yun Zhi, and the faint affection that may have once existed—none of it held weight in comparison to his clan's blood vengeance.
Upon hearing this, a faint smile tugged at the corners of Yun Yun's lips. Within that smile was a sense of release, perhaps even liberation. Her chin moved ever so slightly in a nod.
The next moment, her figure shot toward Jia Xingtian and the others as a cold, commanding voice rang out: "Disciples of Yun Lan Sect, follow me—kill all invading enemies!"
"Yes!"
"Kill!" Jia Xingtian's side roared in response.
In an instant, the two factions collided with a thunderous crash.
Earth-shaking cries of war erupted across the entire Yun Lan Mountain, echoing even a hundred li away.
Bursts of multicolored energy lit up the sky like fireworks.
…
High in the sky, Xiao Yan looked upon Yun Shan's face, where a twisted smirk lingered.
At the corner of his own mouth, an equally chilling smile surfaced.
Now that the thread between him and Yun Zhi had been severed, Xiao Yan's heart held no more hesitation or sentiment.
He glanced down at the intense battle already underway below and muttered softly, "Yun Shan… your despicable shamelessness has once again redefined my understanding of just how low you can sink."
"You old dog—there's no term more fitting for you than that," Xiao Yan said coldly.
"You damn mutt. You caused my father's disappearance. You destroyed my Xiao Clan… Today, either Yun Lan Sect is completely erased from the Jia Ma Empire, or I, Xiao Yan, die here."
Each time Xiao Yan called him an "old dog," Yun Shan's face twitched with rage.
After a moment, he inhaled deeply and said darkly, "You little bastard. It's a shame your father didn't fall into my hands. If he had, I would've made sure he suffered—just to see whether his bones were as tough as yours."
"So he's not in your hands… Then it's true—my father must have been taken by Hall of Souls," Xiao Yan frowned deeply. The last shred of hope he had in his heart was now thoroughly extinguished.
He had been holding on to a small fantasy—that his father was imprisoned somewhere in Yun Lan Sect, being used as bait to lure him in.
But now, it seemed Hall of Souls never even intended to use that kind of trick.
"Still don't get why a minor clan like the Xiao Clan would attract the attention of Hall of Souls... But even if you've found out where your father is, so what? You don't have the slightest hope of saving him. So go ahead—despair," Yun Shan sneered, now fully dropping all pretenses.
"Heh… despair? What's it like, being a dog for Hall of Souls?" Xiao Yan's voice was filled with smoldering fury. "On the surface, it looks glorious—you're a dignified Dou Zong, the master of a sect. But you can't even control your own life and death. Don't tell me that doesn't make you despair?"
Those words made Yun Shan's pupils suddenly constrict. That hidden scar in his heart—Xiao Yan had just torn it wide open without mercy.
After a long pause, Yun Shan finally responded, his voice hoarse and sinister, "Seems you know quite a bit about Hall of Souls... Oh, that's right. I suppose that soul residing inside you told you everything, hmm? What was his name again? Yao Chen?"
Xiao Yan's expression changed slightly upon hearing this.
Yun Shan knew that much?
It looked like Hall of Souls had already investigated him thoroughly from the shadows.
"No need to waste more words. Let's settle this with strength. Everything else can wait. Today, I'll deal with you—this old dog—first," Xiao Yan said coldly, suppressing the roiling emotions in his heart. Vast Dou Qi surged from his palm.
Yun Shan laughed—cold, eerie. With a flick of his sleeve, he responded with a sinister grin, "This time, I'll make sure you—and the last pitiful remnants of your Xiao Clan—vanish from this world completely!"
As his words fell, a wave of deep cyan Dou Qi erupted from his body. The color was so dark and thick that it appeared nearly viscous as it spread over his skin.
Xiao Yan watched as that slimy Dou Qi covered Yun Shan's body, and the space around him began to distort from its sheer intensity.
His expression grew solemn. A Dou Zong... truly terrifying.
"Just a mere Dou Wang? Your courage is admirable!" Yun Shan let out a twisted laugh. He slowly raised his palm toward Xiao Yan, energy compressing and writhing in his hand like a cannon gathering power.
As Yun Shan's aura surged stronger and stronger, Xiao Yan also began to form several hand seals. He suddenly shouted:
"Skyfire Three Mysterious Change—Glazed Change!"
With his shout, the Dou Qi inside his body roared to life, and in that instant, his aura skyrocketed.
In just a few seconds, his power surged across the boundary between Dou Wang and Dou Huang, rising from the peak of Dou Wang straight into the Dou Huang realm!
"Oh? A secret technique that boosts strength?" Yun Shan's expression flickered with mild surprise at Xiao Yan's sudden power-up.
But the next moment, he grinned viciously, and the cyan energy in his palm grew even denser.
"I'll show you with cold hard facts—before a Dou Zong, all your tricks and illusions are worthless."
"No mere secret art can bridge the enormous gulf between you and me!"
"You might as well summon the soul residing in your body. What's wrong, Yao Chen—do you think you can keep hiding?"
"Die!"
BOOM!
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