"Clank..."
A pitch-black chain of light shot out from Yan Qingshan's palm, blowing the head of the corpse to pieces. As the chain of light retracted, an illusory figure was exposed directly to countless pairs of eyes. "I'm not asking for your opinion; I'm informing you.
If you don't agree, you will all die. You'll be refined into your soul essence just like him. A Dou King's soul is a tasty dish."
Under the faint firelight of the invisible fire python, the ghostly figure screamed and finally turned into nothingness. A glowing ball of soul essence was sent into the pale storage ring.
Witnessing this scene, everyone, including Han Feng and Ying Shan, felt their faces twitch. A cold shiver swept from the soles of their feet all the way to their heads.
Killing a person, destroying their body, and refining their soul—Yan Qingshan's three actions were done in a single breath. The cruelty he displayed shocked everyone present. They were all people who had lived in the chaotic Black-Corner Region and were not ordinary. But no one had expected to meet such a ruthless person.
Two figures appeared beside Yan Qingshan. The Scorpion Demon and Roc Demon puppets stood like his left and right guardians. Their auras also faintly locked onto Ying Shan and the Gold and Silver Elders.
"Can't win!"
Ying Shan, and the Gold and Silver Elders looked at each other and shook their heads. They weren't fools. They had already realized they were being targeted, so how could they possibly take a risk now?
"As of today, the Black Alliance is disbanded. You can get out of here right now. You are not allowed to take anything with you except for yourselves."
Yan Qingshan issued his final ultimatum. "By tomorrow, there shall not be a single person from the former Black Alliance left in Feng City. No one is allowed to touch a single blade of grass or a single tree in this city. If I find out, your entire sect will be exterminated. I mean what I say. Now, scram!"
To everyone's surprise, Ying Shan, the nominal leader, was the fastest to back down. After saying those words, he disappeared into the horizon in a flash, heading straight out of the Black-Corner Region without any hesitation.
Ying Shan was helpless. When anyone is targeted by two Dou Ancestor-level puppets, one of whom is even stronger than them, they would likely make the same choice.
When Ying Shan ran, the Gold and Silver Elders also chickened out. "Our two brothers are just wanderers. We only accepted an offering from the Black Alliance..."
With the three strongest experts all announcing their withdrawal, no one else dared to make a move. Under Han Feng's resentful gaze, these experts, whom he had worked so hard to win over, abandoned him one by one. If Yan Qingshan hadn't restrained him, he would have cursed at them all.
When the people from Qingwang City and the Qingshan Association of the Inner Academy got the news and rushed over, they were all dumbfounded. Who would have thought that in just one night, the power structure would change completely? The huge Black Alliance was completely destroyed by Yan Qingshan overnight.
"So the Black-Corner Region issue... is solved?"
Ya Fei, Xue Lan, Xiao Yi Xian, and the others were inspecting the things in Feng City. Looking at the relaxed Yan Qingshan, they still felt as if they were in a dream.
"It's not completely solved yet, but after I make a trip to the Demon Flame Valley and the Black Emperor Sect to intimidate Old Ground Demon Ghost and Mo Tianxing, the rest will be easy."
Yan Qingshan smiled faintly. He pulled Xiao Yi Xian close and held her in his arms, burying his face in her silky hair. After a while, he whispered, "Xian'er, after I leave, you must follow my instructions and never pursue advancement anymore."
"I know, Xian'er will," Xiao Yi Xian nodded obediently. In front of outsiders, she was a gentle yet strong beauty who kept her distance, but with Yan Qingshan, she was a sweet and obedient girl who enjoyed being cared for.
"I've sealed all of Han Feng's cultivation. You will plant a seal in his Dantian. If he makes even the slightest move, kill him!"
Yan Qingshan continued to instruct Xiao Yi Xian about Han Feng. He then looked toward the Jia Ma Empire in the distance. "I've already sent a message to the Jia Ma Empire. That Xiao Yan will arrive soon. After you hand Han Feng over to him, you don't need to have any more contact with him."
"He's an extremely troublesome guy. If it weren't for the fact that Han Feng has many benefits and that I owe his teacher a huge favor in the Jia Ma Empire, I would never have left Han Feng for him to deal with."
In the Jia Ma Empire, Yao Lao had helped him solve a problem. Although he had taken some medicinal herbs, it was nowhere near enough to repay his effort. Yan Qingshan was essentially in his debt, and he had to repay it.
Yan Qingshan was actually very reluctant to leave the Sea Heart Flame and Han Feng behind, but to prevent Xiao Yan's growth from completely collapsing, and to leave himself an escape route for the future, he took the Fallen Heart Flame but left Han Feng and the Sea Heart Flame. After all, there was only one rank difference between the fourteenth and fifteenth heavenly flames, so the gap wasn't significant.
Because of Yan Qingshan's intervention, Yao Lao had recovered earlier and more completely. Xiao Yan's growth at this time was not weak compared to the original story, but without the aid of a heavenly flame, his cultivation progress had become extremely slow after reaching the Dou Master stage.
Yan Qingshan didn't want to completely ruin Xiao Yan now, because he wasn't sure if he could successfully break through to Dou Di. He also didn't want Hun Tiandi to have no one to check him in the future. So, while suppressing Xiao Yan's growth, he also left some room for him to grow. The Sea Heart Flame was what he intended to leave for Xiao Yan.
His idea was simple: if he truly had no hope of breaking through to Dou Di in the future, when it came to fighting Hun Tiandi, he would at least have Xiao Yan, who could inherit the legacy of the Ancient God Tuoshe, so that the situation wouldn't completely collapse and the Dou Qi Continent wouldn't fall into darkness.
Of course, all of this was under the premise that he genuinely couldn't break through. Before that, he would still suppress Xiao Yan as needed. Especially the heavenly flames from the original story; he had taken the first two, but he gave away the Sea Heart Flame, which Xiao Yan had only obtained in the middle and later stages of the original story.
The Fallen Heart Flame and the Green Lotus Core Flame played a significant role in the original story, and he was familiar with both. He had also used the Dawn AI to deduce his own possible path of cultivation based on them.
The Sea Heart Flame, however, didn't fit well with him. He didn't know enough about it, and it had already been subdued by someone else, so its energy wasn't as pure as a wild or uncultivated heavenly flame. That's why he left it for Xiao Yan, who primarily used heavenly flames to evolve his cultivation method.
…
With the collapse of the Black Alliance, the Black-Corner Region fell into a period of chaos again. Qingwang City, the Demon Flame Valley, and the Black Emperor Sect formed a three-way standoff. However, the previously opposing Demon Flame Valley and the Black Emperor Sect now joined forces to resist the Jia Nan Academy and Qingwang City.
Old Ground Demon Ghost and Mo Tianxing were not fools. This was especially true for Old Ground Demon Ghost, who had realized many things after the news about the Roc Demon and Scorpion Demon puppets was leaked.
When Yan Qingshan went to the Demon Flame Valley alone, he boldly made a move, but unfortunately, he was no match for the combined forces of the Roc Demon and Scorpion Demon puppets. In the end, with Yan Qingshan showing mercy, they signed a treaty. The situation was similar with the Black Emperor Sect.
Yan Qingshan had no intention of destroying the two major forces to unify the Black-Corner Region. The reason the Black-Corner Region was so prosperous was precisely because of its chaotic rules, which made it easy to sell stolen goods. A standoff between two or three top powers was fine, but a complete unification would be a problem.
A force that completely unifies the Black-Corner Region would inevitably impose its own rules, which would destroy the entire environment of the region and would certainly provoke a backlash.
Even if everything was truly settled, would the Black-Corner Region still thrive without the presence of desperadoes from all directions?
So he chose not to destroy the Demon Flame Valley and the Black Emperor Sect. Instead, he wanted them to act as a source of chaos against Qingwang City, making Qingwang City more popular by contrast.
"Rivers and mountains change, but we will meet again, everyone! If it is our destiny, we will meet in the Central Plains!"
In the sky above Jia Nan Academy, Yan Qingshan, with Han Yue and Zi Yan, sat on the Amethyst Winged Lion King and bid farewell to everyone. Today was the day he would leave Jia Nan Academy and travel to the Central Plains.
There were many familiar faces in the crowd, as well as some new students who had come to see him. Xiao Xun'er was also there, with Xiao Mei and Xiao Yu, and she had also brought a few people like Ling Quan, who were grinding their teeth at him.
Xiao Yi Xian, Xue Lan, and the others didn't come. They had said their goodbyes last night. Neither he nor the girls wanted to have a tearful farewell in front of the crowd.
With his final farewell, the Amethyst Winged Lion King in the sky turned into a small black dot and quickly disappeared from everyone's sight. The lingering echo left many people feeling a bit emotional.
First Elder Su Qian slowly withdrew his gaze and turned his head to look at Lin Yan and Liu Qing beside him. He said with a smile, "Don't worry. With that guy's personality, he'll do just fine even in the Central Plains."
Lin Xiuya laughed beside him. "I certainly believe that. He's even more of a playboy than I am. I wonder how many beauties will cry for him when he gets to the Central Plains!"
Liu Qing's mouth twitched, and he said helplessly, "I don't know about others, but before he left, he specifically asked me about the Burning Flame Valley. The new successor to the Burning Flame Valley is a young miss, and she's about the same age as him..."
Yan Qingshan's reputation as a womanizer had already spread throughout the entire academy. Han Xian and Qian Mo laughed, "That guy can't stay out of trouble no matter where he goes..."
"The Central Plains, huh?"
Lin Yan, who was in the crowd, whispered to himself, silently looking in the direction where Yan Qingshan had disappeared. For someone with his ordinary background, a bigger stage was the only way to become stronger.
Xiao Xun'er looked at Yan Qingshan's retreating back. Suddenly, a voice in her heart said, "He's gone to the Central Plains. I wonder if we will ever see each other again."
"That kid... I believe he will become the pride of Jia Nan Academy..."
Su Qian laughed loudly, then turned and walked toward the Inner Academy. As he walked, he said, "I really don't know how interesting it will be when that little guy meets the Dean in the Central Plains. With the Dean's personality, hehe..."
Hearing Su Qian's strange laugh at the end, the people at the academy gate looked at each other, then inexplicably turned and followed.